Bush And Gore The Issues Essays - Bush Family, Livingston Family

Bush And Gore: The Issues Presidential elections have taken place every four years for more than two hundred years. This year is no exception. The forerunners in the 2000 elections are Governor George Bush (Republican) and Vice President Al Gore (Democrat). These candidates have strong and different views on many issues such as crime, abortion and energy. Crime is a major concern of all American citizens and has been addressed by the majority of candidates in past elections. Voter.com, a web site designed to keep voters informed on the candidates and their stand points on different issues, state that Al Gore believes that there is no more fundamental responsibility than to make Americans safer and more securein there in their homes, on the sidewalks, and in their communities. Gore also helped pass the three strikes and youre out law. This law was designed to keep career criminals off the streets, expands the death penalty to drug lords, and about sixty additional kinds of violent felons (Al Gore on Issue of Crime/Drugs.) George Bushs view on crime is plain and simple, tough love. Bush firmly believes that criminals should suffer the consequences for their actions. The backbone of Bushs view on crime is the death penalty. While Bush was in office more than 134 criminals were executed on Texas Death Row. Bush is quoted, I support the d eath penalty because I Mace 2 believecapital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other innocent lives (George Bush on Issue of Crime/Drugs.) Abortion is another important issue at the center stage of both candidates campaigns. Gore is pro-choice. He believes that women have the right to choose and plans on making abortion safe, legal, and rare. Kate Michelum, President of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, has supported Gore. Michelum stated, Vice President Gore and the Clinton Administration have always been dedicated to the principles embodied in Roe v. Wade. Gore is also currently fighting for $4.5 million to fund additional security enhancements for clinics deemed at risk of violence (Al Gore on Issue of Abortion.) Bush is pro-life with the exceptions of rape, incest, and if the life of the mother is endangered. Bush believes that all children should be welcome to life and protected by law. Bush also supports parental notification standards, no use of taxpayer funds for abortions, and increased adoptions (George Bush on Issue of Abortion.) In addition to these things, Bush also strongly advoc ated the Partial Birth Bill. Bush states, I believe that life is valuable, even when it is unwanted, even when it is physically imperfect. I believe our society has a responsibility to defend [the rights of] the vulnerable and the weak. And I believe our nation should set a goal: that unborn children should be welcomed in life and protected in law (Statement.) With the country concerned with the high gas prices, the issue of energy has become a cornerstone in the campaign for president. Gore says, Mace 3 We will demand and develop new technologies to free ourselves from gas tank price-gouging, and we will sell those technologies to the world. Well build a new generation of fuel-efficient vehiclesand then make it easy for families to afford them. Gores energy policy is specifically designed to stimulate economic growth, create new jobs, and clean up Americas air and water. His policy covers cars and trucks, homes and businesses, home weatherization, state and local efforts, and empowerment zones. Bush says, America must have an energy policy that plans for the future, but meets the needs of today. I believe that we can develop our own natural resources and protect our environment. We are paying a steep price for seven and a half years without an energy policy. Bush believes that presidential leadership and a national energy policy will ensure U.S. energy security. Bushs energy policy has several objectives it will try to reach: to provide energy assistance to low-income households and address short-term supply threats, to make energy security a priority of U.S. foreign policy, to promote the development of U.S. oil and gas Resources, to meet the electricity needs of the new economy, and to protect the environment and develop alternative energy sources (Energy.) Bibliography Works Cited Al Gore

Oversimplification and Exaggeration Fallacies

Oversimplification and Exaggeration Fallacies Fallacy Name:Oversimplification and Exaggeration Alternative Names:Fallacy of Reduction Fallacy of Multiplication Category:Faulty Causation Explanation The causation fallacies known as oversimplification and exaggeration occur whenever the series of actual causes for an event is either reduced or multiplied to the point where there is no longer a genuine, causal connection between the alleged causes and the actual effect. In other words, multiple causes are reduced to just one or a few (oversimplification) or a couple of causes are multiplied into many (exaggeration). Also known as the reductive fallacy because it involves reducing the number of causes, oversimplification seems to occur more often, perhaps because there are so many ostensibly good reasons for simplifying things. Well-intentioned writers and speakers can readily fall into the trap of oversimplification if they are not careful. One impetus for simplification is the basic advice given to all who want to improve their writing style: dont get bogged down in details. Good writing needs to be clear and precise, thus helping people to understand an issue rather than confusing them even more. In the process, however, a writer can easily leave out too many details, omitting critical information which needs to be included. Another important impetus which can lead to oversimplification is the overuse of an important tool in critical thinking: Occams Razor. This is the principle of not assuming too many factors or causes for an event than are necessary and is often expressed by saying the simpler explanation is preferable. Although it is true that an explanation should be no more complicated than necessary, one must be very careful not to construct an explanation which is less complicated than necessary. A famous quote attributed to Albert Einstein states, Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. Examples and Discussion of Oversimplification Here is an example of oversimplification which atheists often hear: 1. School violence has gone up and academic performance has gone down ever since organized prayer was banned at public schools. Therefore, prayer should be reintroduced, resulting in school improvement. This argument obviously suffers from oversimplification because it assumes that problems in schools (increasing violence, decreasing academic performance) can be attributed to a single cause: the loss of organized, state-mandated prayers. A myriad of other factors in society are completely ignored as if the social and economic conditions havent changed in any relevant way. One way to reveal the problem in the above example is to reword it slightly: 2. School violence has gone up and academic performance has gone down ever since racial segregation was banned. Therefore, segregation should be reintroduced, resulting in school improvement. Presumably, there are racists around who would agree with the above, but very few of those who make the argument in #1 will also make the argument in #2 - yet, they are structurally the same. The reasons for both examples of oversimplification is actually another Causation Fallacy, known as Post Hoc Fallacy. In the real world, events typically have multiple, intersecting causes which together produce the events we see. Often, however, such complexities are difficult to understand and even more difficult to change; the unfortunate result is that we simplify things. Sometimes that isnt so bad, but sometimes it can be disastrous. Sadly, politics is one field where oversimplification occurs more often than not. 3. The nations current lack of moral standards was caused by the poor example set by Bill Clinton when he was president. Granted, Clinton may not have set the best example imaginable, but it isnt reasonable to argue that his example is responsible for the morality of the entire nation. Once again, there is a wide variety of different factors which can influence the morality of individuals and groups. Of course, not all examples of oversimplification identify as the cause something which is completely irrelevant: 4. Education today isnt as good as it used to be - obviously, our teachers are not doing their jobs.5. Since the new president took office, the economy has been improving - obviously he is doing a good job and is an asset to the nation. Although #4 is a rather harsh statement, it cannot be denied that teacher performance does impact the quality of education which students receive. Thus, if their education isnt very good, one place to look is teacher performance. However, it is a fallacy of oversimplification to suggest that teachers are the sole or even primary cause. With #5, it should also be acknowledged that a president does impact the state of the economy, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. However, no single politician can take sole credit (or sole blame) for the state of a multi-trillion dollar economy. A common reason for oversimplification, especially in the political realm, is a personal agenda. It is a very effective means for either taking credit for something (#5) or for placing blame on others (#4). Religion is also a field where oversimplification fallacies can be readily found. Consider, for example, a response which is heard after anyone survives a major tragedy: 6. She was saved through Gods help! For the purposes of this discussion, we should ignore the theological implications of a god who chooses to save some people but not others. The logical problem here is the dismissal of all the other factors which contribute to a persons survival. What about the doctors who perform the life-saving operations? What about the rescue workers who spend insane amounts of time and money in the rescue effort? What about the product manufacturers who made the safety devices (like seat belts) which protect people? All of these and more are causal factors which contribute to the survival of people in accidents, but they are too often ignored by those who oversimplify the situation and attribute survival to just a single cause: the Will of God. People also tend to commit the fallacy of oversimplification when they simply dont understand what they are talking about. This is a common occurrence in science debates because so much of the material can be comprehended best only by experts in specialized fields. One place where this is seen quite often are the arguments some creationists offer against evolution. Consider this example, a question which Dr. Kent Hovind uses in an attempt to prove that evolution isnt true and isnt possible: 7. Natural selection only works with the genetic information available and tends only to keep a species stable. How would you explain the increasing complexity in the genetic code that must have occurred if evolution were true? For someone unfamiliar with evolution, this question may seem reasonable - but its error lies in vastly oversimplifying evolution to the point where it becomes unrecognizable. It is very true that natural selection operates with the genetic information which is available; however, natural selection is not the only process which is involved in evolution. Ignored are such factors as mutation and genetic drift. By oversimplifying evolution down to just natural selection, however, Hovind is able to portray evolution as a one-dimensional theory which cannot possibly be true. It is in such examples that an oversimplification fallacy can also become a Straw Man Fallacy if a person takes the oversimplified description of a position and then proceeds to criticize it as if it were the genuine position. Examples and Discussion of Exaggeration Related to, but much rarer than, the fallacy of oversimplification is the fallacy of exaggeration. Mirror images of each other, an exaggeration fallacy is committed when an argument tries to include additional causal influences which are ultimately irrelevant to the matter at hand. We can say that committing a fallacy of exaggeration is a consequence of failing to heed Occams Razor, which states that we should prefer the simpler explanation and refrain from adding entities (causes, factors) which are not specifically necessary A good example is one which is related to one of those used above: 8. The rescue workers, doctors and various assistants are all heroes because, with the help of God, they managed to save all of the people involved in that accident. The role of individuals like doctors and rescue workers is obvious, but the addition of God seems gratuitous. Without an identifiable effect of which can be said to be necessarily responsible, the inclusion qualifies as an exaggeration fallacy. Other instances of this fallacy can be found in the legal profession, for example: 9. My client killed Joe Smith, but the cause for his violent behavior was a life of eating Twinkies and other junk food which impaired his judgment. There is no clear link between junk food and violent behavior, but there are other identifiable causes for it. The addition of junk food to that list of causes constitutes a fallacy of exaggeration because the real causes only end up being masked by additional and irrelevant pseudo-causes. Here, the junk food is an entity which is simply not necessary.

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example Given that Hustler defends male dominance in sexual matters one can conclude that Hustler harms and subordinates women. On the other hand, this magazine has also a negative connotation for men promoting their sexual coarseness and inclination towards violence against women. As a result, this leads to the consolidation of the male domination in society that negatively affects the relationship between men and women. In this respect, the legal regulation of pornography may reduce the negative impact of pornography on society. Catharine MacKinnon would point to the fact that pornography is immoral phenomenon, which violates the principles of gender equality and is thus a direct threat to the status of women in society. One can suppose that freedom of speech might strengthen these tendencies in the society, as it will promote the idea that men have a right to sexual dominance over women including the use of

How does Barthes' The Death of the Author help illuminate the themes Essay

How does Barthes' The Death of the Author help illuminate the themes of Goodnight Desdemona(good morning Juliet) - Essay Example It does not have to be necessary that both texts are in the same category or addressing similar subjects. The most important thing to note is that they give the audience the ability and opportunity to understand various concepts better than if they did not bother reading them both. Ideas of two authors can be either similar or contracting with each other, but still, drawing reference between them remains a good reason why two texts can be read together. The advantages of reading two texts together and drawing references cannot be underestimated, as revealed by two texts, Barthes’ â€Å"The Death of the Author† and â€Å"Goodnight Desdemona (good morning Juliet)†. ... She came into this conclusion after she realized that if wise fools had been used in the plays instead of the real fools who had been used, they would automatically lose their tragic element. Although she is clever enough to realize the fools in both the two texts, she does not realize the fool in in the death of the author, the author points out that there are those readers who will properly understand the every word and the duplicate as well as hear the voice that the characters are speaking in the text. By this he meant that the most effective leaders are those that can read in between the lines and understand the hidden meanings of the author without any hardship. An effective reader can make out the culture of the characters, their behaviors and the kind of relationship that they exhibit even without these details having to be revealed in open by the text. This definition perfectly suits the character of Constance, who deductively comes into a conclusion that the characters in t he two tragedies by Shakespeare were fools (Barthes web). In drawing her conclusion therefore, she feels that a change of the characters would significantly change the type of the texts. From this analysis, the definition of a reader by Barthes effectively helps in the illumination of the theme of reading my MacDonald. Another theme that can effectively be illuminated by the text the death of the author is the theme of criticism. Criticism can be defined as positive or negative close scrutiny of a text or a book to reveal the effectiveness of the author in addressing the particular topic in his mind. Positive criticism looks at the positive side of the text and where the author successfully tackled their point while negative

Telecommunication industry Essay Example for Free

Telecommunication industry Essay Telecommunication industry is a fast growing industry all over the world, During the beginning era of mobile phones, call charges was highly expensive and it was not affordable to common public, during period of 2000-2007 telecommunication industry become a highly competitive and mobile phones become a common commodity, this development gave extra energy to the telecommunication sector and mobile phone service providers started to attract subscribers Most of the countries have multiple operators and they do have very tight competition among them. Big countries like India, China, USA, have plenty of mobile operators, Most of the operators are offering low call costs and added value services to attract the subscribers. UAE is a very fast developing economy in MENA region and growth in UAE telecommunication sector is very aggressive. From 2003 UAE telecom sector started growing rapidly by increasing of mobile users, internet users, adding new broad band technology etc. UAE’s first telecom provider is Etisalat and it is established in 1976, up to 2007 Etisalat was the sole player in UAE telecom sector. When compare to some other countries UAE was the only country that had a single operator for long time. By 2007 UAE government has given the permission for one more operator, hence a new company has started which is Emirates Integrated Telecommunication PJSC. Currently UAE have two telecom operators which is Etisalat (Emirates Telecommunications Corporation) and DU (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications). Both companies are governed by TRA, Telecom Regulatory Authority. TRA UAE has been established according to the UAE federal law, TRA is responsible for the managing of every part of telecommunication information technology industry of UAE. As per a recent press release by TRA, (Telecom Regulatory Authority of UAE) number of mobile subscriptions in UAE growing hurriedly and it is expected to reach 11.7 million by the next year. This indicate that this rate is one of the high mobile penetration rates in the world. During 2008 -2012 the number of internet service subscribers increased 10.5% to over 1.3 million showed the figures. The percentage of internet subscriptions connected by fiber technology increased by 7.8% of customers were upgraded from copper networks to new advanced networks. As per the figures in 2011 telecommunication industry contributed a significant part in UAE’s economic growth and this sector an employer for around 10,000 people from different nationalities. Since UAE Is a place who have lot of expatriates, number of intern ational calls are very high than some other countries and the revenue from ISD calls are also high. There is a lot of illegal VOIP calls provides in the market which is a threat to the telecom sector in UAE, Government has started a campaign to prevent this but still illegal VOIP providers are active in the market. Both operators Etisalt DU has published lot of notices and warnings via media to educate people to stay away from illegal VOIP phone services. The development of information technology energized the telecommunication sector, in some cases the IT development helps the mobile companies to make more revenue, but some cases the IT development become a reason for their revenue lose also. Let me take the example of smart phones, since smart phones are very popular among the public, the revenue from the DATA usage has increased significantly, but in other ways the revenue from the calls has declined drastically as people has started to use messenger services with the help of mobile data internet. About DU- Profile Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) is a telecommunications company in the United Arab Emirates. Although Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company is its legal name, it was commercially rebranded as DU in February 2006.They started their operation in 2006 with mobile and fixed telephone services, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to individuals, homes and businesses. The company, has invested AED 1.7 billion in 2011 and has a total of 4,993,600 active mobile subscribers, 623,7000 fixed-line telephony subscribers and 127,000 broadband internet subscribers. By end beginning of 2012 DU have employee strength of 2000 peoples from 60 nationalities. As a part of their commitment with UAE government they have employed a lot of UAE nationals in their senior level posts. Since Etisalat was the one and only service provider in UAE for long time, and there was lot of complaints among the public about the call rates of Etisalat while compare to the other operators in other regions, DU has got a warm welcome to the UAE telecom sector, they have faced lot of technical issues in the starting era, Etisalat was so established in the market as they are the one who started the telecommunication in UAE with fixed telephone lines, it was a challenge for DU to break the barriers of an industry leader like Etisalat. During the beginning time DU has started with mobile phone services, fixed lines and internet, services, but their main focus was in mobile phone subscriptions, obviously the coverage of mobile network was an important concern, DU has started investing on new mobile towers and highly advanced equipments to overcome this issue. gradually they have started focusing on internet services providing as well as fixed telephones, By 2010 DU has become a prominent player in UAE telecom sector, DU has implemented a lot of new marketing strategies to grab the market share.e.g. Etisalat billing method for long time was 10 second billing and DU has started one second billing which clicked in the mind of the public as they start think about saving call costs. Due to the tight competition Etisalat also forced to reduce their call costs to protect their subscriptions. Year by year the gap between DU and their competitor become shorter, as of October 2012 DU has got a market share of 47.2%. In terms of revenue during the time of 2009 DU got a revenue growth by 35% to aed.5.3 billion, 2010 also considered as a robust year as DU achieved considerable milestones, in 2009 the net profit before royalty was 0.5 bi9llion and it had growth of 132% hence it reached in a level of 1.2 billion. As per the recent press release by DU regarding their financial result as of Q3-2012, DU got an increase in revenue by 12.9% year on year. In 2011 Q3 their revenue was 2.23 billion and as of October-2012 the revenue become 2.52 billion. In case of number of active mobile users DU has got an increase of 20.7%.in Q3 2011 it was 4,938,000 and Q3 2012 their active customer base become 5,960,700. They have achieved same level of growth in case of the number post-paid mobile users and fixed line users, broadband internet users etc. With more than five million subscribers, DU is now focusing on improvement the average minutes of use and average revenue per user. This ARPU rate was aed.113 in 2010 , DU has managed to make it as AED.119 in 2011. Growth in the revenue from internet is become a significant part of DU’ revenue. Based on the industry forecast and projections DU is expecting a rapid growth on the coming years. During 2011 year period DU has managed to reduce their overhead and reinforcing the operational controls. DU has made a significant reinvestment in 2011 which was aed.1.3 billion, they have added 1,275 new base stations, this has improved the network coverage of DU,and 3G data coverage also got very good improvement. In view of a shareholder, DU is a highly profit expecting company in coming years, as per the press release by DU by end of Q3 2012, they have made good control over the overheads. The published figures represents company’s ongoing focus on controlling costs and delivering shareholder values. The increase of overhead in Q2 –Q3 2012 is very tiny, Published financial data, 2009,2010,2011. An over view. Financial overview 2009. As per the financial documents published in end of 2009 , du has reached the mobile market share fof 32%.In terms of revenue growth DU has marked a growth of 35% ,in 2008 it was 3.9 billion and it touch 5.3 billion in 2009.Earning per share for DU share holders grew to aed.0.066 from Aed. 0.001 in 2008. DU has made a reinvestment of 2.4 billion in 2009. While compare to the year 2008 share holders equity has increased by 11% which raised from 2.5 billion to 2.79 billion. Earning before interest , tax, depreciation and amortization increased substantially to the DU’s highest level at AED.1.1. billion for 2009, up 185 from the previous year. Net profit before royalty reached aed.528.2 million, well growth than previous years. Financial overview – 2010 Year 2010 was a very significant year of DU, despite of economic uncertainty in UAE rest of the world DU has achieved a significant growth in terms of market share, gross profit etc. Net profit before royalty amplified by 132% which was a record in the region, in addition to this significant mild stone, DU received the confirmation from Federal Government about the royalty charge for 2010. This early determination from Federal ministry enabled them to plan their liability in terms of royalty payable to Government. As per the published figures by TRA DU has achieved market share of 40% by 2010. Since 2010 is a fourth year of operation this market share is a good achievement. Gross profit has increased from 3.5 billion to 4.6 billion. Financial overview – 2011 The year financial performances has led to the recommendation by the board of directors to purpose our first cash dividend of 1.5 fills per share for 2011. By end of 2001 DU has become the 46% share holder of UAE telecom industry, and subscription strength touched to 5 million, during this period the net net profit before royalty has grown rapidly, increased to aed. 1.8 billion in 2011 which is 48% increase year to year. During this year DU has marked a significant milestone in corporate governance, company has ranked number one in the recently rebalanced S P Hawkamah ESG (Environment Social Corporate Governance) pan arab index. Following chart shows the revenue growth of DU during the time of 2009-2010 period. About DU, a SWOT analysis Below SWOT analysis shows the overall picture of the organization’s current strengths, opportunities etc. STRENGTHSWEAKNESSES 1.A very good growth graph of last 5 years. 2.Highly advanced systems in telecommunication. 3.Good image among the public 4.Support from the Government 5.A strong chain of retail outlets 6.Recently started DU’s mobile WIFI internet 7.Very good plans for corporate sectors 8.Good business cooperation with mobile phone manufactures, Apple, Blackberry, Nokia etc. 9.Attractive plans for cooperate sector. 1.Lack of network coverage in some areas 2.Number of fixed phone subscribers are very less while compare to competitor. 3.DU doesn’t have any international operations which lead to high roaming charges in some regions. OPORTUNITIESTHREATS 1.High internet literacy level of people in UAE which leads to increase in internet usage. 2.Popularity of the smart phones, most of the people are opting smart phones with internet connections, which leads to the increase of data usages. 3.Increase in number of expatriates 4.People’s trend to use two or mobile phones at a time.1.Illegal VOIP phone services, this illegal phones are active in market, which decrease the revenue of DU in case of International calls 2.Pressure from the international telecom sector to allow more operators in the region. 3.Popularity of the messenger services, internet based messenger services which is possible via smart phones tend people to keep away to make calls, this reduce the income of DU in terms of local mobile calls. As per the above analysis DU has got a good path to proceed to the success, while comparing to the competitor DU have some disadvantages, but they got success to overcome this with their marketing strategies. While compare with the competitor DU have got more attractive data packages, and mobile hand set packages as they have managed to build good relationship with the mobile manufacturers which help them to implement more attractive packages. Since the smart phones are became a trend among the public usage of data packages are increasing and this can contribute more revenue in the coming years.

Appearance vs. Reality in Merchant Of Venice Essay example -- Merchant

The theme of Appearance Vs. Reality is used throughout the play to mislead and confuse so things may not always be what they seem. Shakespeare uses deception to enhance the unfolding drama and involve his audience more fully in the play – the audience are party to deceptions which the characters themselves are unaware of. Prejudice was common and the word â€Å"Jew† applied to hardhearted unscrupulous moneylenders. An Elizabethan audience would have been happy to see a Jew, Spaniard or a Moor deceived and Shakespeare clearly tried to give his audience what it wanted. In contrast, many, particularly ladies, would have admired the strong and witty Portia and even though she appears arrogant and racist this would have been accepted in Elizabethan England. Any deception carried out by Portia would therefore be admired and applauded by Shakespeare’s audience and it is not surprising therefore she carries out that many deceptions. A major theme running though the play is that of Christians disliking Jews and Jews returning the feelings. Towards the start of the play Shakespeare introduces deception when Antonio (a Christian) wants a bond from Shylock (a Jew). Shylock agrees to the bond under the condition that Shylock gets a pound of Antonio’s flesh for each pound he cannot return. This bond seems to come out of friendship from Shylock and he describes, â€Å"I would be friends with you, and have your love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The audience, however, knows at this point that Shylock is deceiving Antonio; although Shylock pretends to like Antonio â€Å"Antonio is a good man† and wants to be friends he has already expressed to the audience his hatred for Antonio. Shylock also describes the bond as â€Å"this merry bond†. A merry bond is a bond which is not serious, a joke, and if the terms of the bond were broken you would not expect to see Shylock wanting to take up the strict terms of it. Again, this is another deception, as later in the play Shylock wants full revenge by taking his pounds of flesh from Antonio. These are two deceptions played on Antonio by Shylock. An Elizabethan audience might expect nothing less of a Jew. By hiding his hatred for Antonio and making light of the pound of flesh, Shylock succeeds in his deception. The next deception is the elopement of Jessica and Lorenzo; a deception in this instant against Shylock. Lorenzo doesn’t care about the consequences to Shylock a... ...eceit when they elope. Deception and intrigue were very common in Shakespeare’s times. He writes about deception as it is what he saw around him and also because it holds his audience’s attention especially when the audience know a character in the play is deceiving another but the other character is not aware of this. Therefore, through deception Shakespeare brings his audience into the play itself and maintains their interest. They would have greatly appreciated being involved in the deceits and lies and would have been familiar, from life around them, with the concept of deception and enjoyed it. The line â€Å"All that glistens is not gold† has survived over 400 years and is used today to warn that outward appearances may mask what is on the inside and this is the message of Shakespeare’s play. Whether Shakespeare was using deception to put across such a message or just to entertain his audience or both, the use of deception gives the play an intriguing plot, with heroes and villains and a theme which his Elizabethan audience could easily relate to. Work Cited Kaplan, M. Lindsay, ed. William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. Bedford/ St. Martin’s: New York, 2002.

African-American Studies Essay

During the period between 1865 and 1900, the lives of many African Americans had changed in both political and social ways. They had a lifestyle transformation. Politically, African Americans were able to vote. As for socially, African Americans were beginning to be viewed as equals. African Americans were given the opportunity to vote. There opinion began to matter. As Alfred H. Ward expresses in his art black men waiting in a line, it means much more than a single file. Displaying the men dressed in different outfits and uniforms waiting to put in their opinion, their vote (Document A). Negroes were now being viewed as another person and another opinion needed. It was even expressed that one shall not be denied a vote for their race (Document C). This is yet again another prime example of the African Americans new progress in a political aspect. Though it may seem a simple and smooth change it wasn’t a golden path through the transformation, some still could not accept the fact that black deserve to have the right to vote. Dramatic words and publication were existent during the late 19-century, even a cartoon was published of an African American man dying, and reason of death being he used his right to vote (document F). Soon the African Americans had their heads soaring high, some people were finally giving them some social respect. Along with the 14th amendment supporting their new freedom things seemed to be changing. Simply re stated â€Å" no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States† just with the first statement, African Americans are entitled to even more rights (Document B). Again, the civil rights act of 1875, this enacted that all persons of the U. S. shall be entitled to full enjoyment of accommodations, advantages, and privileges of inns, public water and entertainment. Also stating that this is applicable to every citizen of every race (Document D). Though yet again things were not always so positive and equal. â€Å"Jim crow laws of the deep south† created many restrictions and much un fair treatment. To the extent of marriages between white and blacks were prohibited in Florida (Document H). In Georgia one could not burry an African American where whites were buried (Document H). Also, in Mississippi, discussion of or defending for social equality would immediately be guilty of a misdemeanor (Document H). Some cases so harsh that blacks who would assert their rights would face unemployment, eviction, and sometimes physical harm. From evidence shown the African Americans had dramatic reconstruction stages in both political views along with social views. They received some respect and rights of being created equal. They also received their right to vote. Though, it didn’t all become easy and perfect they had much progress of reconstruction. Many changes were made. As many lives were transformed.