Blog Stage 7

One of Trump's major pledges to his presidency was to build a wall between the U.S and Mexico. Although the wall would help to eliminate the amount of illegal immigrants that come into the United States from Mexico, there is nothing that can be done to eliminate illegal immigrants. Whatever the U.S does, illegal immigrants will still find a way to enter the country. Building a wall will only hurt the taxpayers even more. 

Building a wall is estimated to cost anywhere between $4-$10 billion dollars. Trump has claimed that Mexico will pay for the wall, but Mexico's foreign minister stated Mexico will never pay for it. This means that the financial burden of the wall will be on the taxpayers. 

The wall would be on the border between Mexico and the United States lying on California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas borders which is about 2,000 miles. Since there is so much land to cover there is a variety of different types of land including beaches, cities, dessert dunes, mountains, flatlands, and bodies of water. The wall would have to be able to be sustainable for these environments. Which could also include repairing and maintenance to the wall, costing more money. 

The wall would extend through territories that would possibly not be able to have a wall. Such as private property, national parks, Native American reservations and floodplains. Owners of private property might not allow their land to have the wall built upon, or could possibly ask for extra money from the government for compensation. 

The wall itself would range in cost anywhere from $400,000 to ten million per mile. Depending upon which type of material used for the land. Additional costs would be electronic surveillance and border patrol. Places along the border that have a wall right now have still been known to have people illegal cross, using ladders, tunnels and ramps. 

Illegal immigrants will still try to get into the United States even if there is a wall. The wall will only cost the tax payers billions of dollars plus additional money for maintenance and repairs. 

Blog Stage 6

On November 2nd, 2018 Jackson Brown posted the blog Vote For Beto O'Rourke! on his blog US Government. In his blog he talks about the reasons why you should vote for Beto O'Rourke. It is clear from the title and the blog post that Browns main reason for writing this blog is for you to be persuaded to vote for Beto. This post was posted before the midterm elections, so it is possible that Brown's post could persuade people to vote for Beto.

Brown starts off his post by giving us facts about Beto such as: "He has visited every county in Texas and has made sure to acknowledge the opinions of all his residents." This immediately draws the audience into have a good first impression of Beto. He continues the paragraph by telling us how devoted Beto is and that his opponent Cruz has not done the same in Texas. This makes the reader begin to favor Beto over Cruz.

The next paragraph he gives the reader facts on Beto's campaign such as that Beto is running a grassroots campaign: "This means that he hasn't accepted money from any political action committees. This ensures that he will remain unbiased." He goes on to tell us that the same can not be said for Cruz. He also points out the fact that Beto's money raised is solely on people who support him and when you look at the amount raised by Beto compared to Cruz (the incumbent) it is impressive.

Brown continues by talking about Beto's opinions on universal healthcare and his progressive immigration policy. Two things that people can have very strong opinions on. By adding some of Beto's policy stances he can either draw in the reader for a for sure vote for Beto, or a no because they disagree. He goes on to persuade the reader of why Beto is better than Cruz: "it is comforting to know that O'Rourke cares more about the well-being of citizens than the money, unlike Ted Cruz." This can encourage the reader to take Browns side and agree that they would rather have a senator who cares about the well-being of the citizens.

I believe Brown does a good job of persuading you to vote for Beto. He uses facts and policys to draw the reader in. Then he compares Beto to Cruz to make the reader believe that Beto is the better pick. Lastly he gives his opinion on Ted:"Ted Cruz has been more focused on furthering his own career and agenda that adhering to the voices of Texas." Persuading the reader every further because everyone wants their voice and concerns to be accounted for.

Blog Stage 5

With midterm elections in full swing, you should vote for the candidate you believe represents your beliefs. Voting has become the new trend, specifically in Texas among the younger crowd. The 2018 election is not a presidential election, but an election for all 435 House of Representative and one third of the senate. Along with some governor and mayor elections in specific cities and states. Midterm elections are officially on November 6, 2018 but different states allow different periods to early vote, otherwise known as early voting. The time gap allowed between the start and finish of early voting allows people who wouldn't be able to take off from work on November 6, time to go and vote.

Voting for a candidate is essential to democracy. Your vote in the election acts as your voice and benefits your ideal senator/mayor/governor. Voting is a right and a responsibility to every U.S citizen. By voting for your candidate you can see the changes you want to be made. Early voting in midterm elections causes many people to vote, the statistics for this years early voting are very high and cause voting to become trendy. With the use of campaign strategies and mass media voting has become the fashion of today's current society.

Websites, flyers, emails, and text messages are a few of the stimulants for early voting. Modern technology eases some of the anxiety that comes with voting. With the internet at your fingertips you can look at websites telling you where to vote, when you can vote, and what to bring. Senators send out constant emails and text messages reminding you to vote and if you will commit to voting early for them.

In Texas, Beto O' Roruke has targeted younger crowds, and hoping to get their support more than older crowds. For many younger college kids, this election is the first time they can vote, with that in mind and the constant campaigning everywhere younger voters are more determined to have their voice heard. Senators O' Roruke target's college kids by holding events in his name (including one with Willie Nelson, a well known, well loved, country singer) and advocating at the college campus causing college kids to want to vote.

Finally, lets not forget the famous I Voted sticker. In a time where social media is popular, the voting sticker is constantly plastered on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snap chat, by friends and family showing they voted. The constant Images and captions encourage early voting and are a motivation to go and vote so you can be part of the trend. Causing you to post pictures of your I Voted sticker making the cycle to continue.

Blog 4

     The Article, “Israel’s Detention Of Alleged BDS Activist Lara Alqasem, Isn’t Something Democracies Do” was written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 15th, 2018. Sarah McLaughlin is the author of this editorial blog, she is a guest writer for Huffington Post, and is a senior program officer at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. 
     
     The blog starts off giving the reader information about Lara Alqasem, telling us that she was a former student activist of a group called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and is now detained in Israel because of her activism in the United States. McLaughlin goes into details of the event, telling us that Alqasem is on a student visa on her way to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem when she got stopped by customs. From the beginning, McLaughlin writes her article portraying Lara Alqasem as innocent college student pursuing Israel for academics. McLaughlin then goes into details of the case saying that “Alqaem ceased involvement with the activist group eighteen months ago and her desire to attend Hebrew University proved that she does not currently support the BDS.” Which might be true but, McLaughlin goes even further to say that Alqasem is in custody, without a cell phone, and allegedly in a bedbug-infested cell. By saying this McLaughlin is drawing sympathy from the reader. Israel's Affairs Minister suggested that in order for Alqasem to stay in the country, she would have to “release a public denouncement of BDS in her own voice, not through all kinds of lawyers or statements that can be misconstrued.” This statement is what McLaughlin bases her argument off of. She continues to say that free speech is not supposed to be censored.

       McLaughlin sets her blog up in a way that makes the reader feel sympathy for Lara Alqasem. She does not set up her argument to make the reader believe that Israel's detention of activist Lara Alqasem isn't something democracies do. She only gives a few examples of how it is not something a democracy would do and then wraps up her article on what other countries have done to activists. Instead of focusing on her argument McLaughlin makes the readers feel sympathetic towards Lara Alqasem. 

Blog #3

On October 5th, 2018, Tom Fitton wrote the article Confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme court for USA TODAY. The author of this article, Tom Fitton is the president of Judicial Watch, a group that investigates alleged misconduct by government officials. In his opinionated argument, he uses facts in his favor to persuade his audience that Brett Kavanaugh is not guilty.

In light of the recent events involving Brett Kavanaugh, Fitton's desired audience are people who are in favor of nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court or citizens who are uneducated on the subject matter and will believe his argument because of how his facts aline with his argument.

Fitton’s argument begins by saying “The supplemental report is said to show nothing that corroborates any claim of sexual assault or misconduct. This concludes his seventh background check by the FBI.” By starting off his argument with this statement, he is pulling the readers in to believe Brett Kavanaugh is not guilty that based on the FBI’s reports. Fitton goes on to state that Brett Kavanaugh should have never been presumed guilty, the accusations were handled corruptly by Democrats, and there has never been enough facts to convict him. Fitton concludes his argument by saying that America has had enough of this abuse, and “Let’s hope that the Kavanaugh circus won’t be the new normal confirmation process.” Fitton lays out his argument logically, every statement he says backs up a previous statement, making the reader believe his argument is true. Whether or not you agree with Fitton’s argument, he presents it in a way to make the reader believe what he says is true.

The Russia Investigation

On July 27th, 2018 The Huffington Post published the article "The Muller Investigation, Explained. Here's Your Guide To The Trump-Russia Probe", by Ryan Reilly. This article starts off by explaining how the Russia Investigation got started. Reilly tells the reader that two years ago in 2016, the Trump investigation had started and was kept under protocol by The FBI to be kept a secret. The Russia investigation is an investigation on Trump to see if he was colluding with Russia during his campaign for presidency. The article goes on to explain the details of the Russia Investigation:
- Who is Robert Muller and How did he get involved
- Comey's Firing
- What is a special council
- What is Robert Mullers Job
You should read this article to be informed on the Russia Investigation and the details surrounding it. It is important to have a basic understanding of the events and actions that have taken place.

Introduction Post

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