Summary 11

In the article “Progressive Wal-Mart. Really” by Sebastian Mallaby it is reported that Wal-Mart’s critics suggest that the company is bad for “poor Americans.” Mallaby claims that this statement is untrue and calls Wal-Mart a “progressive success story.” He reports that the discounts on the food they sell increase the welfare of American shoppers by a minimum of $50 billion a year and how important this gain is to poor and moderate families. In comparison to families that shop at places such as Target and Costco, Wal-Mart shopper’s annual income is significantly lower. Therefore, Wal-Mart’s “everyday low prices” make a huge impact to the poor considering that they spend majority of their income on food.
Furthermore, Wal-Mart’s assistance to consumers makes it a force for poverty relief. Mallaby reports that going against the savings for consumers is Wal-Mart’s “alleged” low hourly wages disputes. But he suggests that if Wal-Mart does indeed pay less to its employees then not everyone feels that way. At a store in Arizona that opened up, for 525 jobs they received 8,000 applicants. And if the retail workers do take home less pay, thanks to Wal-Mart’s low prices, their “purchasing power” grows. As one of the consumers that make less annually that shop at Wal-Mart they are able to save on food and other basics due to Wal-Mart’s discounts on products. Mallaby feels that with the amount of jobs Wal-Mart creates by opening up new stores and its “everyday low prices” it is definitely the opposite of bad for what is considered “poor Americans”.

Summary 10

In the article “Up Against Wal-Mart”, by Karen Olsson it is suggested that Wal-Mart employee’s barley earn $18,000 a year working for the company. Even though in the year 2002 the company made $6.6 billion dollars in profits, Wal-Mart’s workers do not get paid enough to live off of. Olson argues that most of their employee’s decide not to get the medical coverage that is offered by the company because of how much it costs them. When you factor in the already low hourly wages and the deductions that would come out for medical coverage, the workers feel they can’t afford it. But despite the conflict between Wal-Mart and its workers regarding hourly wages, Wal-Mart has said to be “The future of working America” due in part by its size and its rapid growth.
However, its size and rapid growth has not stopped former employees that disagree with their wages from suing the company. Olsson describes cases consisting of 27 states that are suing Wal-Mart for violating wage and hour laws. In the one case, the company was found guilty of forcing employees to work overtime without pay. There are other cases brought on against Wal-Mart that Olsson discusses in her article, such as sex discrimination in which the company was being sued due to denying women promotions and equal pay. Because of what the workers feel is unfair wages and working conditions, many are trying to get a union at Wal-Mart. Even with the attempt to stop the organization to unionize

Summary 9

In the article “The Truth About Wages” by Bruce Bartlett it is suggested that the average American worker is in no better shape, financially, today versus that of seven years ago. Bartlett claims that even though the economy was growing steadily in the year 2005, a man’s yearly income dropped $1,772.00 from what it had been in the year 2003. He states that male earnings were lower in 2005 than the previous years since 1997. Bartlett goes on to say that annual income for females also are lower in 2005 by around $427, this being the lowest it has been since 2000.
Bartlett insists that there isn’t a simple explanation for this decrease in wages. However, he gives a few examples on what may be the cause. The first argument is that workers don’t have any “organizational mechanism” to be able to fight for higher wages because of the Labor Union membership’s sharp fall. The second argument is that workers are thankful enough to even have a job even if the pay isn’t so great after the layoffs and givebacks throughout the past years. And the fact that there is a lack of health insurance coverage offered by employers workers aren’t ready to leave their job for one that pays more hourly in fear of losing their health benefits. Bartlett feels that because of the rising cost of health benefits that employers pay, there isn’t any money left over to give any raises. And even though workers may not like it but it is a reality that they have chosen to accept.

Summary 8

In Gerald Graff’s article “Hidden Intellectualism” it is suggested that everyone knows someone, a young someone that does badly in school but is very “street smart”. And how someone may think to themselves about how that someone can be so very wise about life but not able to apply the same energy into academics as they do street smarts. Graff argues that it may possibly be the schools that they are attending fault for not taking advantage of channeling those street smarts into better academics mainly because of how street smarts is considered to be “anti-intellectual concerns”. The reason for this thought, according to Graff, is due to the way that subjects and texts are related to education versus street smarts relating to things such as cars, fashion, TV, etc. Therefore, if you have a high interest in cars, TV, fashion, dating, etc, you aren’t looked at as someone that is or can be intellectual.
However, Graff tells us that although people make this assumption there has not been any established connection between subjects or text and the generation of a deeply educated discussion. He admits that before college he didn’t like books that well but cared for sports. He only cared to read sports magazines and sports novels, thinking of himself as a “typical anti-intellectual”. However, that was until he realized all his reading he had done about sports and the passion he had for it actually didn’t make him an anti-intellectual at all, but an intellectual in another form.

Summary 7

In his article “Reality Television: Oxymoron”, George F. Will believe that shows such as NBC’s Fear Factor consists of what he considers “stupid and greedy” people who are willing to degrade themselves for money. He explains how television shows like Fear Factor is an “imitation” of the MTV show Jackass that attracts viewers due the nature of violence or sexuality. Will suggests that these people who participate in these graphic television shows may do so because they feel unrecognized in life. And by exploiting themselves on television in some way they feel authenticated. Will claims that America is becoming more desensitized by its attraction to these increasingly graphic television shows in which the viewers find very entertaining. The networks that air the graphic television shows look at it as supplying a market, that as long as they have customers who demand their product it’s justifiable.
Another point the author makes in this article is how the networks get the attention of millions of viewers by adding more violence and sexuality to their newer shows. He also compares what was considered scandalous in earlier years, which had way less violence and sexuality, to what is allowed to be broadcasted today on television. Will goes on to quote the Supreme Court as saying “One man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric” as to why these shows are allowed to be aired. And because these reality television shows are not for private uses only, the public suffers the consequences in our culture’s downward spiral.

Summary 6

In the article “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” by Dana Stevens it is argued that watching TV does not necessarily make you any smarter. Stevens‘s article is a response to an article that claims that watching TV makes you think about the events taken place on the shows that you are watching, therefore making you smarter. In contrast to his fellow author’s interpretation of the hit TV series 24 being “nutritional” Stevens points out that the show has a few controversies. These controversies range from the shows representation of Muslim terrorists to how the program endorses torture. These issues Stevens believes were ignored by Steven Johnson, who is the author of the article “Watching TV Makes You Smarter.”
While Dana Stevens admits that he watches a good deal of television and boasts that it is mainly because he gets paid to do so. He suggests that watching television doesn’t make you anymore intelligent as well as it will not cause you to be any less intelligent than what you currently are. Going back to his interpretation of the show 24, Steven’s admits that the program’s plots and information keeps audiences captivated but fails to have them think about anything other than future episodes. Unlike Johnson who feels as if the show makes its audience pay attention to their surroundings, becoming more aware of “social relationships”, Stevens considers the show to promote racial profiling. Another point Dana Steven’s makes is that with all the excitement that goes on in 24 the audience fails to see that the show is about a vigilante, therefore closing his argument that this particular television show doesn’t make anyone smarter.

Summary 5

In the article “Being Fat Is Ok,” Author Paul Campos argues that lies about fat, fitness, and health helps fuel America’s $50 billion-per-year diet industry. He considers himself to be in good health due to the fact that he runs 35 to 40 miles per week. But according to the Body Mass Index (or BMI) charts when his height and weight are factored in, he is considered to be overweight. According to the government, who use these BMI charts, over 61 percent of Americans are overweight. Campos believes that the diet industries with help from the government are being dishonest to the American people. He discusses the three lies that are most noticeable to him. The first one is that fat people are less healthy than thin people because they are fat. Campos feels that this is a lie because there is no solid scientific basis. The second lie Campos speaks of is that of fat people would be as healthy as thin people if they lost weight. There are some studies that show an increase in death in people who have lost weight. The last thing the author considers to be a lie is that fat people can choose to be thinner. Statistics have proven that a group of dieters will weigh more than a group that never began dieting.
The question remains if being fat causes serious health problems. And if losing weight can be good for someone or bad for them. Things such as Diabetes and High Cholesterol problems have been linked to obesity. Not to mention the high risk of a heart attack someone who is obese has. More studies are needed to get Americans on a healthier track.

Summary 3

In the article “Perfecting the Union” by Roger Cohen, the author argues that prior to Barack Obama winning the Presidential election, the American people had been lied to, and sacrificed their lives in the war in Iraq for weapons that did not exist. And because of this, what Cohen describes as “serial incompetence” it was the American people’s self-respect that was at the highest importance at the time of Obama’s win. He points out that Barack Obama spoke about the American people being connected as one in a speech he gave in 2004 at the Democratic convention. And kept with that belief of America as one people in his victory speech he gave in Chicago. Cohen insists that Barack Obama himself symbolizes a “more perfect union” for various reasons. First because of his belief of the American people as one, and the thought that America can be better that what it has been. Another reason the author points out is Barack Obama’s Kenyan father, the fact that an African- American was elected into the white house after years of slavery shows how the American people are becoming more united, more as one nation, one people. It is because of these reasons Cohen believes that Obama is a symbol of a “perfect union”.
I don’t want to come across as being bias, considering the fact that I to like Cohen voted for Barack Obama. But I would have to say that I do feel that given the fact that an African-American is now the President of the United States of America does prove that we can be better than we have in the past. And it also proves that as Americans, we are showing efforts in our attempt in becoming one people. We can look past things such as a person’s race and look at what is more important, like in Obama’s case, what a person believes in or what they stand for. This is clearly a sign that America is on its way to being a “Perfect Union”.

Summary 2

In his article “Kidnapped in Pakistan: The End of American Ideals?” Hady Amr believes that Muslim Americans would rather welcome the help of local officials in Middle Eastern countries, in a life threatening situation, then to involve the United States government. The author tells of a story in which a friend of his by the name Ayesha, an ex co-workers, brother is abducted in Pakistan. When Amr suggests involving the American Government in the kidnapping of Ayesha’s brother she decides against their involvement. Even though Ayesha’s future goals as a highly educated Muslim American with a Harvard degree was to improve the relationships between the United States of America and the people from the Middle East and South Asia, she believed that it was best to let the Pakistani officials handle her brothers kidnapping. As a Muslim American himself, Hady Amr suggests that this decision may be based on how the American government is loathed for its “hypocrisy” in places that at one time admired American ideals. Furthermore, Amr claims that it is due to the actions and behaviors of people including himself, elected representatives in Washington D.C., and other citizens of the United States that has damaged America’s reputation and has made it almost impossible for America to defend its citizens.
While I am not a Muslim American I can agree with Amr on the fact that it may just be due to actions, like voting on going to war with Iraq with barley any evidence, etc… that would make certain countries distrust and loath the American government. In the article Amr speaks of a time when the Muslim world looked at America as a “hope for a positive future”. But today because of how America has conducted itself that view has turned negative. And it is because of this dislike for America that I can understand why Ayesha felt it was safer for her and her family not to ask the U.S. government to step in and help.

Summary 1

In his article “A Fire in the Basement,” Bob Herbert suggests that the United States of America is in serious trouble even though currently it may be more powerful and prosperous than ever before. Today there is an increasing amount of men and women unable to find jobs, and as a result of this, these middle class families are winding up in incredible amounts of debt. In his travels to different cities in the United States Herbert found that there are staggering numbers of young adults across America who are out of school, unemployed, and they do not receive any help from the government to find work or further their education. Herbert believes that unlike the times when the people of this country were committed to protecting the rights of workers, today the people running this nation are selfish, full of greed, and care not for the middle class American, but only for fattening their own pockets. Herbert’s hope for America is someone to call attention to what he calls “injustice and deceit” and for someone to stand up and fight for anyone and everyone who needs a helping hand.
In my view, I agree with Herbert’s observations. I have witnessed many people around me lose their jobs and who are forced to foreclose on their houses and even file for bankruptcy. All the while, the very rich CEO’s of major companies asking for bailouts and receiving just that. Unfortunately, there isn’t the same option for the middle class worker. They are to just tough out these hard times and get through it.