Nullification Crisis Comic

"The First Day" Response

            “The First Day” is a brief first-person narrative about a child whose mother enrolls her in a kindergarten. They are turned away at what the neighborhood regards as the best school in the area, and the child is enrolled in another school. It is an undramatic story in which the child has her first experience of loss when her mother leaves her at the end. The focus is on the mother, who, illiterate herself, is determined that her child will have a better chance in life than she had.

            The author enhances the reader’s imagery by using sensory words to describe what would seem like insignificant details such as the clothing the child wears. He employs realistic scenarios that are relatable to the audience. Jones’s use of diction and tone makes the story unique, being told from a child’s perspective; it can be a difficult thing to accomplish if the proper choice of words is not present. Utilizing the simplicity of a child’s mind, Jones’s creates an enjoyable read that every reader can relate to.

            The use of irony is minimal throughout the story; the only example I was able to find was of the mother not being able to fill out the forms required to apply her child to school. Because of the mother being illiterate, the reader feels empathy towards her as well as her child, implying that she did not have a good education as a youth. We all know the importance of not only an education, but also just the basic skills we learn in school.

Sharon Pratt Kelley "Biography"

A native Washingtonian and the daughter of a judge, Sharon Pratt belonged to a prominent African American family, she was a leader who emerged in the 1990’s. She graduated from Howard University and from law school. Before a divorce in 1982, she had been the wife of Arrington Dixon, city council chair from 1978 to 1982. She was vice president of the Potomac Electric Power Company and worked in the Democratic Party organization during the 1980’s. Sharon Pratt Dixon ran for mayor in 1990 as a reformer.

She promised that if elected, she would immediately fire two thousand city employees and clean out the bureaucracy. Of the five candidates running, the Washington Post found Dixon the most appealing and endorsed her. With the Post’s backing, Dixon won the primary election, carrying 37 percent of the vote. She was victorious in the November general election. Elected mayor in 1990, Sharon Pratt Kelly, who succeeded briefly but then faced difficult budget and management problems, was a rival of Marion Barry.

Sharon Pratt Kelly was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. Pratt was the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city. She is also to date the only woman to have served as mayor of Washington D.C. Despite her historic election, however, Kelly's administration of Washington is generally regarded as a failure. The city was facing a projected $1 billion budget deficit at the close of her single mayoral term, far greater than that of her predecessor Marion Barry, with Kelly being criticized for mismanagement and inability to deliver the reforms she had promised in her initial campaign.

In addition, she had strained relations with the DC Council, and allowed the popular Washington Redskins football franchise to relocate to the suburbs. Washington City Paper would later characterize her mayoral tenure as "one of the most ignominious periods in modern D.C. history." Once in office, Pratt's grassroots, reform posture met resistance. She made good on her promises to clean house, requesting the resignations of all Barry appointees the day after her election; however, as she began to slash the city employment payroll, her political support began to weaken. In particular, she angered labor leaders who claimed she had promised not to fire union employees, and made no friends among other employees when she began mandating unpaid furloughs and wage freezes citywide.

According to the Washington City Paper, Kelly "was never able to get control of a city government still loyal to Barry, and she often mistrusted the advice she got from aides." In the spring of 1992, just over a year into her term, Barry loyalists mounted a recall campaign, which, although unsuccessful, weakened her administration and forced Kelly to tread more carefully with the public, backing away from her reform efforts. Kelly also faced some racial opposition because she is a light-skinned black, often cited as a hallmark of elite African Americans in the District, thus distancing her from poor and working-class blacks in the city.

Kelly's drive to achieve D.C. statehood in order to improve the District's financial and political standing created fierce opposition from Republican members of Congress, who unleashed a barrage of attacks on the District as a "national disgrace" of "one-party rule...massive dependency, hellish crime...and unrelenting scandal." The attacks brought unwelcome negative press to DC, and the ultimate failure in the House of Representatives of DC statehood legislation depleted her capital with the federal government. She also lost standing with the DC Council when she supported Councilmember Linda Cropp to serve as acting Chair after the suicide of John A. Wilson in May 1993; instead, the Council chose John L. Ray.

Mayor Kelly’s critics complained about her remoteness and inability to reach out to poor and middle-class citizens. Her shift of the mayor’s office from the rundown District Building on Pennsylvania Avenue to an expensive new building ten blocks away solidified the image of remoteness. The offices at One Judiciary Square included an elegant suite designed to Kelly’s orders. The new building added to the costs of running the city government. The Kelly administration took credit for reducing infant mortality, increasing services for families and young people, improving the emergency ambulance system, and making other gains.

Yet too many people still worked for the city. Programs such as public housing and public assistance remained unchanged. Officials manipulated financial data to give the appearance of a balanced budget. Mayor Kelly urged Congress to pass measures such as statehood for the District and a commuter tax to bring in more revenues, even though these goals were generally considered politically impossible. After four years, D.C. voters found her achievements disappointing. In 1994, in a three-way primary, Kelly failed to carry even one of the city’s election precincts.

Kelly was also blamed for then-Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke moving the Redskins out of the city. Cooke attempted to pressure the city to build a new stadium for the team, instead of the aging RFK Stadium where they then played, with the threat of moving the team to nearby Alexandria, Virginia. After negotiations stalled and Cooke was publicly courted by Virginia's governor, Kelly denounced Cooke vocally, saying that "I will not allow our good community to be steamrolled by a billionaire bully."

Although an agreement was ultimately reached, it fell through in late 1993 when Cooke became frustrated with Kelly and the District government. He ultimately moved the team to Landover, Maryland, where as of 2010 it still resides. The Washington Post, which had sealed Kelly's victory in 1990 with its endorsement, turned on her in 1994, reflecting that the mayor "has not been a coalition builder, which a mayor - and perhaps particularly the mayor of a city under enormous financial and social stress - needs to be...the most aggressive members of the city council, those most sympathetic to her cost-cutting message, are not with her.

Nor are key elements in the business community. She has lost them and with them, we believe, her chance to enact the measures she has stood for." The paper instead endorsed Councilmember John Ray. In the Democratic primary that September, Kelly finished a distant third, with only 14% of the vote. Barry won the primary and would go on to win the general election in November.

Another new face among the city’s political leaders in the 1990’s was Eleanor Holmes Norton. Like Kelly, Norton was born in Washington. She graduated from Dunbar High School, Antioch College, and Yale Law School. She had been a civil rights lawyer and a public official in New York City, and then returned to Washington in 1977 as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

As fiscal year 1994 began for DC government (in October 1993), DC faced a $500 million budget deficit, with financial experts predicting a cumulative $1 billion deficit by 1999. Kelly had begun her term having extremely good relations with Congress, successfully lobbying them to increase federal aid for D.C. by $100 million and to authorize the sale of $300 million in deficit reduction bonds. However, when in early 1994 Kelly admitted that the District could not pay its bills, Congress commissioned a federal audit of the city finances by the GAO.

In February 1994, in the face of a ballooning deficit, Kelly faced heavy criticism when the Washington Post reported that she regularly spent taxpayer funds on makeup for cable television appearances. Kelly was reported to have set aside $14,000 of city money to pay her makeup artist. In the weeks following, Kelly came under fire for other inappropriate uses of city funds, including the addition of bulletproof glass and a marble fireplace in her office and a series of 1993 televised town hall meetings that she had promised would be paid for with private financing. The stories were seized by her opponents in that year's mayoral race, particularly the comeback campaign of Marion Barry.

The GAO's report on DC finances was published on June 22, 1994, and estimated that the city would run out of money in two years and "may be forced to borrow from the U.S. Treasury by fiscal year 1995." The report specifically singled out Kelly's administration for gross mismanagement of city funds and agencies, and accused her of concealing the city's perilous fiscal condition from Congress for two years, "using gimmicks and violating the federal anti-deficiency act, which prohibits over-spending of a federally approved budget." The report, coupled with Congress' subsequent assertion of power over DC's budget (including deep cuts and new requirements for mayoral compliance), provided political ammunition for her challengers and effectively destroyed Kelly's reelection campaign.

In 1990 Norton ran for the office of delegate to the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia to succeed the incumbent, Walter Fauntroy. Despite damage to her campaign by disclosures that her husband had failed to pay District income taxes for eight years, she won the delegate’s post. Norton later paid all the back taxes that were due and divorced her husband. Although Norton entered Congress under a cloud, she soon earned high praise as a voice of reason and authority. She was hard working, thoughtful and an able negotiator. Delegate Norton worked successfully with Mayor Kelly to get additional federal money for the city in 1991 and 1992. She attended hundreds of community meeting and events all over the city.

Bibliography

·         Kealoha, Samantha Nichols. "Kelly, Sharon Pratt Dixon (1944- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. June-July 2009. Web. 16 Jan. 2011. <http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/kelly-sharon-pratt-dixon-1944>.

·         "The HistoryMakers." The HistoryMakers.com - African American History Archive. Apr. 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1693>.

·         "Kelly, Sharon Pratt." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite.  Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010.

·         "Sharon Pratt Dixon." Notable Black American Women, Book 1. Gale Research, 1992. Updated: 12/20/1992 Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC, Document Number: K1623000108. Fee, via Fairfax County Public Library 2009-04-10.

·         "Post Plays Down Impact of Endorsement; Not Everyone Agrees". The Washington Post. 90-09-13 url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1147449.html

• James Ragland (July 23, 1992). "Kelly Says D.C. Won't Bow To `Billionaire Bully' Cooke; Mayor Rules Out More Concessions to Keep Redskins". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-10-28. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2010/06/04/vincent-gray-heres-how-you-defend-sharon-pratt-connection/

Comparing Women's Changing Role in Society

Every great civilization in history has been faced with times of hardships and sorrow; where a group of the population is treated improperly and unfairly. The United States is well aware of that situation; slavery and women’s equal rights were the biggest social injustices since our country was founded. America’s society was classified into an idealism of race and gender prejudice; men were seen as physically and mentally superior to women. Men viewed women as a tool for tending of the house, a vessel that bears his child, and even for his sexual pleasure. If we look to the present day, sexism is only prevalent in the most extreme uncivilized regions of the country. So the question arises, have women finally found equality in society? Despite the fact that women can now own property, vote, and pursue political power in the United States, they still have demeaning occupations, and there’s established data that women get paid significantly less compared to men working the same jobs, doing the exact same work.  A woman’s equality in today’s society can be debatable; it has progressed throughout the years, but can be improved upon.

Although inequality is morally wrong, some people continue to live a life filled with discrimination, which should is completely unnecessary and must not prevailed in today’s society. The Declaration of Independence states that every human has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; this was later established after the approbation of women to vote. Women have integrated into the male dominated society, but some fail to take advantage of their rights to vote and an education, and choose to become ignorant. “But when I was in the fifth grade and shared my plans for college with him, I was sure he understood. I remember my father saying, "Qué bueno, mi'ja, that 's good." That meant a lot to me, especially since my brothers thought the idea hilarious. What I didn't realize was that my father thought college was good for girls—good for finding a husband.”(Excerpt from Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros) As stated by Cisneros, certain ethnic groups see a women’s education as a way of finding a decent husband, and not as a way of becoming successful. Cisneros makes her point to show that not only does discrimination of women happen in America, but also in other countries.

Scientific studies show that a woman’s brain is not the “same” as a man’s brain. Women have smaller brains than men and, therefore, could not equal them in intelligence. This fact, anthropologist Paul Broca argued, reinforces a common prejudice in male society, but is also considered scientific fact. However, this is not the case amongst today’s societies, mainly because it was scientific data in which some of the ever changing variables can affect the result of the experiment and therefore create a faulty conclusion. Anyhow, society believes the nonsense that some people have created, to not only discriminate but also to make themselves seem superior to society through defending that “logic”.

Women’s suffering is very intense at the moment when their husband dies; they cry for joy expressing their happiness, and not sadness. In The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin, the author describes the female character as someone who is oppressed by her husband. “And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not.” A woman in a state of joy is someone who has born again, and feels no chains attached to their body they see the world different. “Free! Body and soul free’ she kept whispering”. This quote simply explains the bliss of a person that has been free from an oppressive life; Chopin tells the story to show the reader that even though women have rights, they are not free from oppression; just because a law is created it doesn’t mean that people will stop practicing inhumane actions.

As stated by Deborah Tannen in, There Is No Unmarked Woman, “but men are given a “choice”, unmarked by garments.” The article tells clearly how typical it is in our society for women to be outwardly judged for character on the basis of their looks. In the end, society will continue to do what is “normal”; discriminate against women and what will become of the world? Will we develop into our ancestors, that instead of eliminating inequality and injustice, we will only strive to make it worse? We shall change our views, because in the end who will do it for us?

Malcolm X Speech Response

            Malcolm X believed a black revolution was separate from a Negro revolution. He also believed a revolution always involved violence and bloodshed, and is primarily based on disputes relating to land. He goes on to say that “land is the basis of all independence” and “land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.” He compares the Negro and black revolution as “the only revolution in which the goal is loving your enemy” and describes the ongoing black revolution in Africa where the revolutionist “knocked everything aside that got in their way.” He also states that “You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution” and “there’s no such thing as a non-violent revolution. Malcolm X’s ideas on revolution were considered “extreme” during his time, but as we look upon his actions today, we can appreciate his views to change how society viewed blacks in American in the mid 90’s. His famous quote “by any means necessary” is commonly used throughout today’s culture and society.

Did Lincoln free the slaves?

President Lincoln was concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in the ten Confederate states still in rebellion in 1863, would be seen as a temporary war measure, since it was based on his war powers and did not abolish slavery in the border states.

The Emancipation Proclamation had no theoretical effect on the legal status of slaves in the border states, or slaves in regions of the country not currently under the control of southern armies.

Lincoln correctly realized that as President, he had no legal grounds to single-handedly terminate the institution of slavery--but that this had to be done by a constitutional amendment. He recognized that the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed quickly by a constitutional amendment in order to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.

In Cold Blood

              Journal Entries: In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

	Textual References (Observations)	Reflections (Response to Questions)
1)	“Goodness, no. I just love her to death. Well, everybody does. There isn’t anybody like Nancy (Clutter). Do you know what Mrs. Stringer says?” said Jolene, naming her home economics teacher. ”One day she told the class, ‘Nancy Clutter is always in a hurry, but she always has time. And that’s one definition of a lady.’ ” “All my children are very efficient. They don’t need me.” (page 25) “Seems like I’m always thanking you, Herb (Clutter). But thanks.” (page 29) “You, you’re different. The way you can stand up and talk to hundreds of people. Thousands. And be so easy--convince anybody about whatever. Just nothing scares you,” commenting upon a generally recognized quality of Mr. Clutter’s: a fearless self-assurance that set him apart, and while it created respect, also limited affection of others a little. “I can’t imagine you afraid. No matter what happened, you’d talk your way out of it.” (page 36)	The Clutter family was seen as noble and charismatic. The Holcomb community was embraced by the family as they were actively involved in activities and friendship bonding with one another. Herb Clutter was “well respected” throughout the community, and an easy to talk to guy. He assisted the newly arrived Ashida family with meshing into the town, where the created a strong relationship, and often was asked to comment at events as he was “fearless”. The Clutter family as a whole however was upstanding and cared for in Holcomb.
2)	“I’m not surprised,” Mrs. Clare said. “When you think how Herb Clutter spent his whole life in a hurry, rushing in here to get his mail with never a minute to say good-morning-and-thank-you-dog, rushing around like a chicken with its head off--joining clubs, running everything, getting jobs maybe other people wanted. And now look--it’s all caught up with him. Well, he won’t be rushing any more.” (page 69) “Well, it was pretty bad. That wonderful girl--but you would never have known her. She’d been shot in the back of the head with a shotgun held maybe two inches away. She was lying on her side, facing the wall, and the wall was covered with blood. The bedcovers were drawn up to her shoulders.” (page 62) “All we’ve got out here are our friends. There isn’t anything else. In a way, that’s the worst part of the crime. What a terrible thing when neighbors can’t look at each other without kind of wondering! Yes, it’s a hard fact to live with, but if they ever do find out who done it, I’m sure it’ll be a bigger surprise than the murders themselves.” (page 70)	The previous entry made it seem as if everyone in the Holcomb community adored the Clutter family, and would have been in shock to hear of their deaths, but that was not the case. The clerk of the store was actually happy to know the Herb Clutter had died because he believed Herb was taking the allotted jobs for the entire town, and was too energetic for his liking. Despite this one instance, the majority of the community was mourning their deaths and enjoyed the time spent with the Clutter family. People were saddened by the bad news during their busy lifestyles, and reminisced upon their own family as well. Rumors were brought up like wildfire, and neighbors were now suspecting each other of committing the murders. This brought upon a sense of paranoia to the Holcomb community.
3)	“Perry was not moved by affection. Far from it. He “loathed” Barbara, and just the other day he had told Dick, ‘The only real regret I have--I wished the hell my sister had been in that house.” (page 143) “Dick was awake. He was rather more than that; he and Inez were making love. As though reciting a rosary, Dick incessantly whispered……”The previous midnight, when Dick had brought her to the room and told Perry that she was going to sleep there, Perry, though disapproving, had acquiesced, but if they imagined that their conduct stimulated  him…..” (page 146) “An outstanding athlete--always on the first team at school. Basketball! Baseball! Football! Dick was always the star player. A pretty good student, too, with A marks in several subjects.” “He wanted to go onto college. Study to be an engineer. But we couldn’t do it. Plain didn’t have the money. Never have had any money. Our farm here, we hardly can scratch a living. I guess Dick resented it, not getting to college.” (page 166) “Perry once recalled: “Six of us riding in an old truck, sleeping in it, too, sometimes, living off mush and Hershey kisses and condensed milk. Hawks Brand condensed milk it was called, which is what weakened my kidneys--the sugar content--which is why I was always wetting the bed.” “It was not an unhappy existence, especially for a little boy proud of his parents, admiring of their showmanship and courage--a happier life, certainly, than what replaced it. For Tex and Flo, both forced by ailments to retire from their occupation, settled near Reno, Nevada.” (page 131)	As the story continues, the reader discovers the lives of the two killers, Perry and Dick. Perry has lived a harsh life that he describes as not an unhappy existence. His parents were travelling entertainers that earned little money and cared for a rather large family. They had little education and also little food to feed the entire family. He loathed his sister, but attaches to Dick on their journey. On the other hand, Dick is more of an independent person, having a family himself made him less prone to their love. He roams around the nation, after becoming bitter of his family’s economic status. He was unable to go to college because of this, and attributes who he is today to it. Dick is considered to be slender and athletic while Perry is more sophisticated in nature, dependent on Dick, usually becoming used by Dick. Perry waits at the laundromat while he took care of “errands”. Dick is the “mastermind” of the murders, he used the ideas of a former cellmate, and carried them out when he was released with Perry. Their two personalities are comparable to the characters in “Of Mice and Men” George and Lennie, where George was the “brains” and Lennie was the “brawn”.
4)	“Just unscrew the bulb and smash it and cut my wrists. That’s what I ought to do. While you’re still here. Somebody who cares about me a little bit.” (page 276) “Prior to the accident, Dick had been a “happy-go-lucky- boy,” had done well in school, been popular with his classmates and considerate of his parents--“No trouble to anybody.” “Harrison Smith, gently guiding the witness, said, “I will ask you if, after July, 1950, you observed any change in the personality and habits and actions of your son Richard?” “He just didn’t act like the same boy” (page 292)	The family members and acquaintances of Perry and Dick begin to realize the inevitable for the two is near, the death penalty. By law, they have the opportunity to talk with a psychologist, which can determine whether or not the accused has any mental disorders. The psychologist is then asked to testify if they indeed does, and have a chance of repealing the death penalty to a life sentence or something comparably less severe. Dick has the opportunity to talk with a journalist, which turns out to be the author Truman Capote, while he is piling facts for the novel.
5)	Description of baking apple pies with the Clutter family to the several tattoos on the bodies of Dick and Perry “An outstanding athlete--always on the first team at school. Basketball! Baseball! Football! Dick was always the star player. A pretty good student, too, with A marks in several subjects.”	This creates a contrasting ensuing effect on the work; envision two separate ideas, joined together by the relationship between the Nancy Clutter and Perry. Zeugma is slightly used in the novel, but this rhetorical device organizes the ideas of the reader so the flow of the novel will run smoothly, without much confusion.