Post #11 Free Write

**I wouldn't recommend watching this video in its entirety because it is a 45 minute video. It's just a little insight to who I am and where I came from.**

Let's start with the basics, this video is of my high school football team. I went to Plattsmouth High School in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. For those of you who don't know where that's at it is 20 minutes south of Omaha. It is a highlight video from our 2006 season or my junior year. Our team is blue and white, our jerseys are all blue, all white, white with blue pants, or blue with white pants. I wear number 31, the same number that I wear here at Wesleyan.

I chose this video not only because I'm in it but because it has some of my fondest memories within it as well as a group of people that I will never forget. The friendships and bonds that you create during a football career are unforgettable. Although moving forward from those relationships is tough you will make new ones. Here at Wesleyan I've already started to create new bonds with the kids on the football team here. Those bonds that I make will last me a life time and so will the memories that will be forged from the practices and games.

The football team is who I am and what has characterized me since I got to high school. People used to always come up to me and say, "Hey your number 31 right? Well you had a really awesome game last night." No one will remember who scored and who didn't but they will remember watching as the game slowly progressed and fun was had by all those who stood, watched, and cheered. I'm sure many of you have experienced many of these things at your respective high schools as well. Don't ever forget those memories but don't forget to make new ones here.

Life isn't all about what accomplishments you achieve right away. The ones that stick are the ones that you have to work to earn. In this video you don't see much of me in the first two or three games. Part of that is due to injury, I rolled my ankle the week of the first game and part of that is because I wasn't a starter to begin with. At a school like mine not everyone gets to play, only the best at each position get the opportunity to play in varsity competition. To start the season I wasn't good enough. Through hard work and sheer determination I got to that starter status. That is evident as you see more and more of me in the clip as games go by. There is something to the saying, "Hard work gets the job done." If you work hard and believe in your talents you can earn any spot or job you want. This can be applied in any aspect of life not just sports.

T.I.

Post #10 Vice Presidential Debate

The first way that Sarah Palin appeals to logos in her rebuttal to Joe Biden's answer to the question is when she says, "The good thing about working with Senator McCain is that he doesn't tell one group one thing and a different group another thing." This appeals to logos because why would you do something like that. It would be unethical and it would eventually bring his whole campaign to a screeching halt. Another way in which she appeals to logos is when she talks about the energy bill that Barak Obama voted for. She says, "That bill that your running mate voted for is what gave the oil companies that big tax break." This is absolutely crazy because the oil companies don't need a tax break. They don't need any tax breaks they are having record profits yearly with the inflated price of gas. This may also appeal to pathos in some degree because is also sides with the grievances that the American public is having with rising gas prices. She says that she told the oil companies in her state that they weren't going to get the relief of those tax breaks because she deemed it unnecessary. She wanted some of that money that they were gaining so rapidly to be given back to the people of Alaska. She also applies to this style of rhetoric when she says, "There is nothing that I have promised that I would take back because of the financial crisis we're in....and I don't think that John McCain has made any promises that he would take back either." This is because they shouldn't have to take anything off of their campaign because of the financial crisis. They should be able to complete things that are necessary for our country at a low cost. They can get things done quickly and efficiently.

There is another aspect that I think is worth mentioning here and that is the appearance of Sarah Palin. Notice that she is wearing a United States flag pinned to her suit jacket. I think this implies a little bit of pathos and ethos. This suggests pathos because she is an American citizen like all the people she is trying to represent in the White House. I think that it suggest ethos because she is trying to convey to the people that she is a true American and only votes for things that are helpful and necessary for the people of the United States of America.

I think that these things are essential to the speeches that these candidates give because they inform the people on the issues and what side that each candidate represents. Without appealing to logos, pathos, and ethos they would never be able to successfully get their opinion and point across. The use of these three types of rhetoric are evidence that often times propaganda is used to sway our votes. People's minds can be swayed easily by certain expressions of rhetoric. Often times what these candidates are telling us is totally and fully propaganda to get us to vote for them and not the other candidate. They may not even believe in what they are saying. This is why it is important for you, as a good voter, to research about each candidate so that you can see what they truly believe in so that you can make an informed vote.

T.I.