Responsible Resident 'Retchedly 'Ronged

Stephen Henderson uses diction very effectively. Explaining the story: "Some city functionary swooped in to confront the Quades..." "Swooped" conjures the image of a hawk or another bird of prey, like the city tries to hurt people and it flies overhead until it spots an opportunity and comes and hurts them.
Besides the fees, the Quades are "ordered to appear before the city's Department of Administrative Hearings, presumably to explain their menace." With a sarcastic tone as well, "menace" aptly fits this situation. The way the City jumped on them to fine them would make it seem as though they did something worth the City's time to deal with... which, of course, they simply misunderstood and broke a law which doesn't require government attention while there are many other, bigger problems at hand.
"Let's start with the fact that their house and block are an oasis in an area that is just a disaster." Rather than spend time trying to "fix" (if you can call it that) a worse-off area, the City officials spend time dealing with a house in a great area--an 'oasis'--instead of time in the real desert.
The whole ordeal must be so unbelievable to the Quades, especially since they see empty cans left out by curbs all the time! "Surreal barely seems a sufficient word..." It's even stranger than a bad dream.
These and other instances of strong word choice give the whole article more ground to stand on, and they make the article easier to agree with.

Darnell Writes Well

What a powerful essay coming from a teenager! Right off the bat, the fact that the author is young (and posted by the Detroit Free Press) separates the article from most other articles and means that it is probably coming from a point of view different than those of most articles on this topic. Along similar lines, Darnell reveals a few things: "I am a lifelong Detroit resident, a student in the Detroit Public Schools, and the child of a tax-paying single parent. I have the right to voice my opinion, and I believe that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has an ethical and contractual obligation to listen to it." This tone he takes and words he uses really show that he is serious, can relate to the problems and on-goings of the city, is thoughtful, and is intent on change. He specifically says that Kilpatrick should listen to him because of "an ethical and contractual obligation." Here, as well as a few more times throughout the essay, Darnell insists that the Mayor works for the people of Detroit. And he is absolutely correct. The practicality Darnell writes with is astounding compared to the Mayor's speeches. While Kwame can orate pretty well, it's not difficult to see through him and his slimy style. Darnell Gardner, Jr., however, says it like it is, and there ain't no way to refute the fact that the Mayor does indeed work for the people of Detroit.

"These words are not tainted with 'bigotry' or a product of some 'lynch-mob mentality.' My words are drenched in tears -- for my people and my city." Once again, Darnell uses his practicality and realism to show that Kilpatrick has been a fool. Kwame tries to sound victimized when he talks, but Darnell, the one who--since he lives in Detroit--really is a victim, does not do such a thing. He tries to solve the problem through organized thoughts as well as passion, hence the tears. This short excerpt also contains some good diction. By using the word "tainted," Darnell says that the sentences containing the words "bigotry" and "lynch-mob mentality" highly contributed to the ruining of Kilpatrick's speech. As said later in the essay, the Mayor's speech was at least bearable until he swerved into the unscripted ending and destroyed what little respectability may have existed. Also in that excerpt, the use of the word "drenched" shows how much he cares about his city--that he is brought to tears with the knowledge that Detroit's own mayor is pretty much destroying the city's reputation and turning it into a mockery.

Another great example of diction comes in this passage: "In the past 10 years, I have seen every aspect of Detroit decay." "Decay" really hits a good chord in terms of accurate description both in a figurative and also in a somewhat literal sense. In subsequent sentences, Darnell uses the word "gem" to describe different parts of the city that once were great places... but have now turned to rubble. The word "decay" is both powerful and seemingly true.

All in all, Darnell Gardner, Jr.'s deep concern for his city as well as his proclaimed ability to relate to and understand the problems from more than one perspective makes this essay an influential, effective piece of literature.

I Will Not Make a Pun about Worthy's Name

Kym Worthy, for starters, is not as eloquent a speechwriter as Kilpatrick (or Kilpatrick's speechwriters). However, she is not over-using pathos as Kilpatrick did. Worthy uses very little pathos in her message at all. She mainly tried to stick with facts, reason, and reputation. She pumped her message with ethos. Virtually throughout the whole message, she said in a myriad of ways that she and her legal teams are skilled, dovoted to justice, and working hard and honorably. Her message says that the team is on the side of fairness and of the people, for the common good. She says: "For the men and women in this office, doing things right trumps doing things fast and easy every time." The common conception of the American justice system is filled with either the idea that court cases are very long and drawn out and a waste of time, money, and energy, or, out of haste, things are rushed and not done well. Wisely, her next statement proclaims that not only do they work thoroughly and very well, but that "We serve you with independent thought – unbossed and unbought. We have taken orders and instruction from no one. The only body that has told us what to do is the body of the law. We started with clean slates and open minds. We have been careful, deliberate, thoughtful and analytical. Our decision is well reasoned, supported by the evidence, and autonomous." This "body of the law" statement is powerful; the law is supposed to be the all surrounding protector of American society and life. By proclaiming that the team worked under no one but the law, that gives her message ethos. Her team had not to deal with the often iniefficient ways people operate... especialy in government, as most people would agree. The law, however, changes not and cannot be impartial. She also goes on to say that the way they operate--in thoroughness, diligence, determination, honor, and truth--is unlike the 44-minute dramas people see on television. This statement elevates Worthy and her team to another leverl; it places them above the average person, which is necessary, seeing as how they are the esperts and the ones making very, very important decisions.

"The public trust was violated." ...Logos also fits well into Worthy's message. This case is not about lying about sex or getting into people's personal lives, she says. The purpose and goal of the case is to ensure justice is served. Too often the stature and/or power of an individual comes unfairly into play in the courtroom and cripples the proper administration of justice. Worthy has a logical, reasonable approach to this. She says in her message that witnesses are crucial to a case and justice could not be served without them. She reasons that it is unfair to expect the same complete truthfulness from all witnesses, but to punish different witnesses differently. Power, wealth, reputation, or status cannot excuse anyone from the law. Perjury is a crime and the punishment cannot depend on things that make that punishment unfair. Also logical is her list of the fundamental principles of justice, which she calls simple and says that we learn them as children. This logical argument is tough to counter... "even children understand that lying is wrong." How then could mature adults mess this up?

And that's a very good question--How did this whole scandal happen? And unfortunately, the answer to that question is much too easy.

The 'Unscripted' Part Of Kilpatrick's Address

Kilpatrick milks his talking time for all its worth. His emotionally saturated improvisation provides us with an excellent example of pathos. He wrings out the words in his sentences for all they're worth, in order to make the listeners really think and feel what he is apparently going through.... but not just him, also his family.... i mean, also his wife and children (he uses "wife and children" because it's more specific and will probably conjure up vague faces in the minds of listeners and make them feel slightly more emotional importance for them, so using specifically "wife and children" is an excellent use of both pathos and description because of the more descriptive level he takes it to). Don't forget how he brings in the loaded words "nigger" & "lynch" to strike that racial, emotional chord among listeners, who often connect the use of those words with the receiver being treated unfairly and unjustly. Racism and racial slurs of all forms are unethical and evil, but regardless of almost all other factors, Kwame can bring those up and people will be sympathetic. I'm sure Kwame knows within himself that what he did was intrinsically wrong, yet he can never admit his fault, so the only other choice is to try and make people feel sorry for him, to weasel out, so that is in fact what he's been doing.
To get back on track, let's see how he crafts two descriptions: "This unethical, illegal lynch mob mentality has to stop." & "a hate-driven bigoted assault on a family." Kilpatrick tells listeners that the people against him are bad, conspiring people, in order to further his emotional appeal. He plays well with his words once again near the end of his speech, this time with a slightly different rhetorical strategy. "I humbly ask members of council, I humbly ask the business community, I humbly ask the religious community, I humbly ask the brothers and sisters of the city of Detroit - I humbly ask that we say 'no more' together. I humbly ask that we say no more together." Syntax plays a role here when Kwame uses the words "humbly" six times then repeats a sentence. He puts up a facade; he fakely uses these words to lower himself as if he were talking up to everyone, but I don't think it fooled anyone. He wants to stress that his requests are modest and sensible, and that the mocking insensitivity of the media/public/whoever is attacking him and his family is not necessary.
After all is said and done, he is a horrible, lying mayor. But he is good at using words.

Open-Minded Liberals?

Larry Elder's article "Open-Minded Liberals?" link available here

Many people falsly assume, according to Larry Elder (and others), that liberals are the open-minded ones. A quiz was taken by some Americans. They were asked to rate the "temperature" of a some politicians, meaning, 100 is the best and 0 the worst. Liberals in general rated conversatives in general unnaturally low. Also, interestingly, in 2004, sixty percent of the liberals polled gave Bush and Cheney a 0.... and Saddam Hussein received from all Americans a total average score of 8. Huh.. The point being that conservatives are seen by liberals as evil people with bad motives, but conservatives look at liberals as well-intentioned but misguided.
Larry Elder does a great job mocking liberals using their own words. For example, he recalls having a conversation at his barbershop with another customer. This other customer found out that Larry voted for Bush and he couldn't believe it. He asked Larry why, and he said something about opposition to big givernment, lower taxes, and keeping the country safe. The other customer responded with several ridiculous allegations against Bush, such as that 9/11 was an inside job set up to kill black people, that somebody intentionally ruptured a levee in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and that Bush simply serves as a puppet for others and that "they" wish to "destroy" the little people in the middle class. These allegations are ludicrous and outlandish and their supporters have basically set themselves up for ridicule. To most people in their right mind, this makes it sound like America is run by a group of terrorists.
Then again, sometimes it seems like that's exactly what liberals think of conservatives. After Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in the mid-'90s, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., compared the newly conservative-controlled House to the legislature set up by the Czar of Russia and the parliament of the German Weimar Republic that brought Hitler to power. Elder jests, "Comparing Republicans to Nazis remains a favorite pastime of some Democrats."
The article goes on to tell how the billionaire democrat George Soros said that the Bush White House displays the "supremacist ideology of Nazi Germany" and that the Bush administration does some things that remind him of his childhood in Nazi-occupied Hungary. "When I hear Bush say, 'You're either with us or against us,'" Soros said, "it reminds me of the Germans." Soros fails to mention the enormous differences between the Nazis and the conservatives/Bush. Here, Larry Elder need not interject any words, because the strangeness of the liberals' own words speak for themselves. Elder goes straight on through to note that Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean described the contest between the Democrats and the Republicans as "a struggle of good and evil. And we're the good." By putting themselves on a pedestal and leaving such a tiny amount of room for the conservatives to be right, these liberals practically lose all their own credibility; that's the attitdue Elder takes the whole way through the article.

"Mo' money, mo' problems"

Many wealthy people are out of tune with reality. If we took a real look at the lifestyles of some very well-to-do people, we'd see a world often profoundly different from ours. Although people from all classes can be oblivious to what's going on in the world, it may be more so with some of the overly comfortable rich, and that's what this comic strip is trying to say. The man cleary appears wealthy, with the nice looking robe, thenose up high on his face, and the glass of wine; the woman also, with all her jewelry, the nice black dress, and also the high nose. But what truly delivers the assertion of the comic strip is the woman being truly oblivious to an issue that's hard to miss: the environment. This strip says that some rich can get too self-absorbed and feel 'safe' in their own status that they have no desire or feel no real need to really care about much outside of their own realm.

Different Audience

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080118/BIZ04/801180386

The main point of this article is that, with all the many modes of communication, it becomes easier and easier to take advantage of children and teenagers, especially when so many of these modes of communicaiton allow predators to be anonymous, and hide their real identity. The article goes on to give several good examples of predators getting caught trying to take advantage of kids, but also goes on to warn that many instances are not caught.
I agree with the article, because it's hard for parents to monitor and safeguard their kids' activity. And although many kids may be able to avoid danger on their own, there are also many who cannot.
If I were writing this article with an average middle-school-aged audience in mind, I would also address how kids can prevent problems by going to their parents or teachers or other responsible adults. I'd leave in the examples & statistics to show how dangerous it is, and I would also expand on how to spot and deal with a predator, as well as how to avoid one in the first place. Other than that, I would put into simpler language the details about the courts and other more adult-ish things.