"Quo Vadis, America?"

Buchanan is absolutely correct when he says that there needs to be a dominant majority in order for our nation to advance. He speaks about the situation in Britain, in which Muslim immigrants are flooding into the nation which is causing the true British to lose their sense of national pride. This is making more and more Brits flee to America. We cannot allow this to happen on our soil. We must remain strong and protect the majority so that all may prosper. Buchanan raises the question “Quo Vadis, America?” which translates to “Where are you going, America?” and the answer is forward if we can protect the foundation that has made us so great.

"Quo Vadis America" A.J. Murray

In this section, Buchanan argues that during the 1960s when 88.6 of our country was European stock and 95 percent christian that our country had never been so united. But since the cultural revolution and Immigration Act of 1965 our country had no unifying culture. European ethnic core is down from 88.6 to 67 percent today and is expected to keep declining to 50 percent by 2040. Buchanan believes that if have have no common faith and are divided by morality and culture and separated by race and ethnicity that we have nothing to bring us together and keep our country unified like it once was. So he asks "Where are we going" and how are we going to change this.

Thoughts on "Quo Vadis, America?" - Connor Ellis

The final section in Buchanan's piece is entitled "Quo Vadis, America?", which means "Where are you going, America?" In this section Buchanan talks about how in 1960 America was united because so many people were Christians of European descent. He went on to suggest that by this time African Americans had been completely assimilated in to American culture. I don't understand what led him to this statement. Did he not consider that in 1962 President Kennedy had to send soldiers to the University of Mississippi to force them to let a black student enter? Did he not consider that until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 century-old Jim Crow laws were still in effect which made it extremely difficult for African Americans to register to vote? And how could he forget the race riots which took place in the late 1960's across the entire nation?

Buchanan goes on to say that things like the Immigration Act of 1965 led to a shrinking European class and implies that this is a terrible outcome. He is worried that as the European-centric America goes away there will be a divide in both "morality and culture" which greatly harms our nation. It is clear now that the mixing of cultures in America has improved our nation greatly and that we would not be the same if various cultures had not been allowed to become Americans.

Quo Vadis, America?

In this section, Buchanan argues that for a multicultural nation to stay strong it must have either an "authoritarian regime" or a "dominant ethnocultural core." With this said, Buchanan noticed how up until 1960, America consisted primarily of European stock and an overwhelming majority were Christian. This strong ethnocultural core held America together. After 1960 however, America's core started to dissolve because of the large influx of immigrant. Buchanan observed Britain and how 200,000 citizens left as more than a half million immigrants entered; "life in Britain has become unbearable for them." He is posing a question to America: where are we going and what are we going to do about no longing having our strong ethnocultural core? Buchanan argues that only division can result.

Fernando Valezuela picture

Through our inspection of Fernando Valenzuela’s visual we discovered many aspects that go deeper than what meets the glancing eye. Some of these aspects include the fact that he is leading the baseball team during their jog, smiling while he is running, and also the fact that it was included within the L.A. times. The fact that Fernando is leading the team is symbolic of how he led the Latino community into baseball, and also shows how even though he was the only Hispanic on the team he was still among the team leaders. The second insight into this picture is Fernando smiling while on his jog. Fernando’s smile is a gateway to show the emotion that he was feeling while on the team. It is symbolic of the happiness and also the fact that he was being welcomed to the team considering that his teammate next to him is also smiling. Lastly being that this was featured within the L.A. Times means that the city of L.A. had a great interest in Fernando. It shows that he himself was a symbol within the city and also that he is one of its outstanding figures

Picture Analysis

Group 1: Vishnu, Sarah, Cody, Eric P.

Our initial impression was that the use of neon lights contrasting the dark night was to make the restaurant seem new and popular, which makes the restaurant a desirable place to dine.  It makes the "new experience" of fast food seem enticing.  The design of the building with the golden arches and slanted roof makes the restaurant seem futuristic and unique.  The fact that the picture was taken at an angle makes the picture stand out more and makes it more interesting.  The cars in the foreground are used to show that it is a popular place to go.  The neon sign in the front displays the cheap price and a cartoon, which are also used to attract people.  The picture was taken around 1955, but the context in which the photo was first published is unknown.

Statue of Liberty Image Analysis - Connor, Kevin, Taylor, Keith

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/EdwardMoran-UnveilingTheStatueofLiberty1886Large.jpg

Our image related to the Statue of Liberty is a painting which was done when the statue was unveiled in 1886. It is titled Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World and was painted by Edward Moran.

The first thing caught our eye about this painting was all of the flags included. We expected to see French and American flags but were surprised to see flags of many other nations. It would be interesting to learn more about why these flags were included.

The painting is meant to show that the dedication was a great day and that the Statue of Liberty is an imposing and grand monument. People in the image seem happy to see the unveiling of the statue. In the background people can be seen standing at the base of the statue that seem to be addressing the crowd. It was also interesting to see that a marching band was present to celebrate the occasion. Overall the purpose of the painting is to be patriotic and to preserve the image of an event which is extremely important to America’s history.

Image Analysis

Trevor McCoy, Thomas Smith, Sydney Wallace, Max Schroeder, and Adam Perrez

We used a picture of a poster from Woodstock found at: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1508&bih=763&tbm=isch&tbnid=8gjcLiM2gRmNCM:&imgrefurl=http://www.alvinlee.de/alvmems8.htm&docid=rP73GJ7VWeud2M&imgurl=http://www.alvinlee.de/page8hs1/3days.jpg&w=300&h=407&ei=VlKxTvbnH4nqtgfS15yTCw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=351&sig=105751343978970807379&page=1&tbnh=163&tbnw=120&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:0&tx=91&ty=104

The first thing that is noticeable about the poster is that it has multiple icons of peace and music, especially in the symbolism of the dove sitting on the guitar. The colors of the poster are different than normal colors. They stand out and seem to look like something from a picture book. The poster also had basic information such as where and when the concert would be as well as who was playing. The color choices for the words, "Days", "Peace", and "Music" cause them to pop out at the reader first. The font for these words seems to be written very casually. It was especially aimed towards the youth of the time.

Group 5 Picture analysis

http://www.hollywoodmegastore.com/Images/5759_Mustang_Shelby_Poster.jpg

This image is of a 1967 Mustang Shelby GT-500, Eleanor, from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. This is actually a poster, so the main objective was for it to be appealing to people and to be sold. The giant flag superimposed over the sunset in the background gives the whole picture an American identity. The car appears to be on water which could show that the car is extraordinary and magical in some way.

iPhone

This image portrays a typical iPhone user: a white male, likely upper middle or upper class in society. The average iPhone user is of this stereotype and the product marginalizes society in terms of who can obtain an iPhone. The iPhone has many applications and uses. Whether for business, fun, productivity, or social applications, the iPhone disconnects people from society. In the photo, the individual is text messaging another white male. Text messaging is viewed as real communication by the young generations; in this photo the content of the message is banter. The iPhone demeans the idea of having a real connection with those they communicate with. Instead, impersonal relationships are almost favored. Society is becoming isolated as a result of the use of the iPhone, as well as the economic divide preventing many from having an iPhone.

Website Analysis

Group Members: Vishnu, Sarah, Cody, Eric P.

1)

A) “Professional” Source:   http://www.mcspotlight.org/company/

This website focuses primarily on research and highlighting controversial issues about the corporation.

B) “Popular” Source:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7501092/ns/business-us_business/t/after-years-influence-mcdonalds-still-felt/#.Tq6w7UMg_UA

This website, MSNBC.com, features an article written by the Associated Press about McDonald’s influence.  It mostly discusses the history of the company and how it grew to where it is today, but also begins to delve into some of the negative aspects of it such as obesity.

2)

A) This site seems to focus its efforts and information on propagandists. It uses information on

the environment and a heavy reliance on sensitive issues of health in order to perhaps cast

McDonald’s in a negative light.

B) The audience for his site is the general American public.  It has an average use of language and doesn’t address anyone specifically, but assumes that the reader has been to McDonald’s and knows about the company and the influences it has made.  It has a slightly attacking tone at times.

3)

A) The top of the home page has dozens of McDonald’s food items, like hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and French fries. Scrolling down a bit, the eyes land on an image of Ronald McDonald with his mouth covered by the word grease. This imagery serves to let readers know that they are about to find information about the faults of McDonalds. The site also uses a warning symbol in order to inform readers that propaganda is present in a given article.

B) The website has graphics in its header, as well as a picture of the first McDonald’s restaurant.  It relates to the topic because it follows the history of the company that the article discusses.  The graphics do not draw attention away, but some of the advertisements do distract the reader.

4) 

A) After reading through several of the article pages within the organization’s database, we found it to be more based on propaganda than fact. Questionable citations (e.g. “29/10/01 . Unknown . Yahoo . U.S.A.”) or a complete lack of citations (e.g. ending the article with a simple “this is complete unadulterated fact”) cause the site to lack reliability. It seems that the site is highly bias, as they use only facts that make McDonald’s look bad. No article present on the site highlight any traits of McDonald’s that one would deem beneficial. The majority of articles are based on political and corporate hierarchy or health problems associated with the corporation.

B) The information seems credible because of the source.  The author seems well versed in the history and facts about McDonalds, which shows that sufficient research was performed about the company.  He uses quotations from a variety of people as references, such as an owner of several McDonald’s chains and a customer at one of the first McDonald’s restaurants.  All of these aspects solidify his credibility.

5) 

A) At first glance, the website seemed reliable and well-organized by a reputable group. After looking into the site and delving into the individual articles, we found that these initial interpretations were far from correct. One could, therefore, argue that information on the Internet can be useful and much of it may, in fact, be true; however, as a general rule of thumb, a critical eye and a certain level of skepticism must be maintained when doing research online.

B) Initially McDonald’s was a groundbreaking idea when it first opened, especially the drive-thru.  It discusses the fast-paced food production assembly line that it created, the availability of cheap food that it produces, and the extent to which it has grown today.  It also talks about some of the negative impacts, such as the low wage “McJobs” that it creates, problems with obesity, and hitting on Americans’ desire for bigger and better things.  While this source is useful initially to learn the basic information about McDonald’s, it does not go into specific detail about any one aspect of the topic.  Sources must be evaluated wholly and must be viewed in the larger picture.

6) Our “professional” website included random facts and cited websites improperly.  The information used didn’t seem totally reliable.  Our “popular” website had solidified information with a variety of sources, which generated a great deal of facts as well as quotations.  Though the second choice was the more popular source, it also happened to be more professional than the first source. The popular website appealed more to the general public and was fairly neutral in its portrayal of McDonalds, while the professional website was very one-sided.

Website Analysis

AJ, Jordan, Eric, Randy

Popular Website

http://www.losangelesdodgersonline.com/fernandovalenzuela.php

1. This website provides an overview of Valenzuela’s career including his baseball statistics and honors.

2. The audience is mainly for Dodgers fans. Along the side panel are links to famous dodgers players and there are links to buy season tickets at the bottom of the page.

3. There are few graphics in the article. Most are simply pictures of Valenzuela. They seem to stand-alone and only fill space in the article.

4. The website has very little creditability because at the bottom the page reads, “This site is meant to be a fan site of the Los Angeles Dodgers only”. The information is blatantly biased because it only gives the positive aspect of Valenzuela’s life because that is what Dodger’s fan what to read. Moreover, the bottom has a link for fan’s opinions on topics.

5. Locating creditable sources on the web is difficult. We must read all the information on the article and look for bias before we decide to use the sources. We must simply be cautious when using websites.

6. The main difference between popular and profession sites is that professional sites are either written by an expert or have citations from experts. Moreover, professional sites seem to use a more professional language and appeal to a more professional audience.

Professional Website

http://framework.latimes.com/2011/03/30/fernandomania-the-fernando-valenzuela-years/#/4

1. This website gives an overview of Valenzuela’s career.

2. The audience is targeted is people who are looking to find out more about Valenzuela’s career without doing a lot of reading

3. The graphics are provided to give insight to the text that is below.

4. The credibility is high because a world-known newspaper wrote the article and the photographer and writer are professionals.

5. Look above

6. Look above