Weekend 38

Whoop Whoop! Last weekend before I have finals. I can't wait for school and finals to be over because summer can't start until school's out. That's why the weather has been all wacky. So this weekend I spent Friday sleeping because this past week I had barely any sleep. Friday night we saw Edge of Tomorrow at about 10 o'clock and we got home at about 12 o'clock. I loved the movie's story line, but I absolutely can't stand Tom Cruise's acting, it irks me. So anyway Saturday was my mom's surprise birthday party. It was a lot of fun, we had a live band, a DJ, old school candies, cake, cupcakes, and great food! I've spent my Sunday doing homework with my best friend, Kiki, so the day's been well so far.

Weekend 37

Last Friday I went to a play at my old grammar school. It was the middle school's Cat in a Hat/ Horton Hears a Who! production. I loved their entire performance, it was absolutely adorable. After the production, my aunt picked my brother and I up and we went to dinner with my cousins from Alabama. I met the newest addition to their family, Hope, she's two and month and one of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen. Saturday we went to my little brother's friend's birthday party on 159th somewhere. After that I met some friends in Wicker Park to celebrate one of my friend's birthday. Sunday was my dad's birthday so we went to see X Men and then to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. That concludes the weekend. On a side note #2MOREWEEKS

Weekend 36

This weekend was a 3 day weekend TG! Friday we went to Wrigley Field to watch the Dolphins lose to the Mustangs. Even though we lost, it was a lot of fun to hang with the homies. I got home friday night and got in bed and watched season 2 of Grey's Anatomy. Then I went to bed. Saturday, I woke up around 5 to go pick up Manyin and Shayanna. We headed to Toyota Park and volunteered for Run or Dye ( a 5k/3k race to raise money against child abuse and to promote awareness). We had a lot of fun and my blue hair was awesome. Then I went over a friends house to watch movies. Sunday I went to a new church called Soul City, it was pretty cool. Then I went to another friend's house to watch more movies. After that I went to a graduation party. Monday I went to an interview for Iron Street Farm...you can now call me Farmer Ben-isha. And that was my weekend.

Speech

Please note: The following speeches have been modeled after those of Adolf Hitler and several other unfavorable figures in history (We would also like to note that neither Obama nor Gandhi are included in this category). The message our speeches convey are those of a lunatic, and we in no way condone or align with these beliefs. We are not planning on starting WWIII, nor do we believe such a measure is necessary or should be encourage. We do not believe in violence, nor do we believe manifest destiny is valid. We also do not believe Europe or Socialism are evil.

Inaugural Address by President Calice Robins

Location: United States Capitol

Time:  11:55 A.M. EST

Vice President Kayla McWard, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:  

We, as the American people have lost our place in the world. Generations before us have led the United States of America in revolution. We led the movement of new beginnings. We built this country off the backs of people who have worked from sun up to sun down. We’ve built this country off the sweat, tears, and hope of the American people. The hard work of the past ensured that we thrived and would be able to continue to thrive. It was ensured by our ancestors, who fought for freedom that the people of this nation would be free and remain free. They did not make it so that a country could come and try to overtake us, so that a country could come and take this very freedom that was earned.

More than a year has passed since the unhappy day when the American people, blinded by promises from foes at home and abroad, lost touch with honor and freedom, thereby losing all (Hitler). God has not granted us with his blessings and protection to fight the enemy. He has called upon us to take back our freedom. He has called for me, along with Vice President McWard to lead the way. Though we are angry, we cannot and will not be divided, because divided, we are weak.  Though we are fearful, we cannot and will not put our tails between our legs and hide, because fearful, we are cowardly.

With profound distress millions of the best American men and women from all walks of life have seen the unity of the nation vanishing away, dissolving in a confusion of political and personal opinions, economic interests, and ideological differences (Hitler). Since our nation has been attacked, it’s lost its place in the world, it soon lost its unity of spirit and will (Hitler). Though other countries believe that we won’t survive, we will. We will thrive and make it out on top. We will be better than we ever were and more efficient than we ever were. We will be the nation on top and our people will rise.

People of the United States of America, give us four years and then pass judgment upon us (Hitler). May God give our work His blessing, strengthen our purpose, and endow us with wisdom and the trust of our people, for we are fighting not for ourselves but for this great nation (Hitler).

Let us, each of us, now embrace with solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting birthright (Obama).  With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom (Obama).

Thank you.  God bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America (Obama). (Applause.)  

END

Time: 12:10 P.M. EST

Speech To Inner Circle of the H.Y.W.T.O.F.W. Party

by Vice President Kayla McWard

Location: Undisclosed Location

Time: 1:20 P.M. EST

I would like to thank everyone for being here today, and for your role in helping President Robins and I in our campaign. Without all of you, we would be nothing, and we owe you everything.

As President Robins has said, the United States has lost its place in the world. We have fallen from power. History has proven that all great empires collapse, but now is not our time. We have not reached our pinnacle, we have not exhausted our resources, we have not given up! The American people will reclaim their rightful place as leaders of the free world. And as their chosen representatives, it is our sacred duty to assist them. Everyone one of you here is present because you play a crucial role in securing the rightful future for our country. Too long we have let our great country crumbled, but no more! Tonight we celebrate, and tomorrow the real work begins.

Our first objective is to neutralize our greatest threat, Europe. Too long, these evil, Socialist nations have taken advantage of our great country. They despise our free-markets and have sought to destroy us and all that is good. That is why, after careful planning, Robins and I have settled on a plan that will be ready to be set into motion within the week. A series of small scale nuclear attacks will be staged across the U.S.- Canadian border. Evidence is being planted as we speak that will link these attacks to groups operating within and in collusion with Turkey, Syria, and Morocco. Over the past several months, the Robins administration has worked on diplomatic relations with Canada, and we are confident that they will support us in a formal declaration of war against the above countries. Not only that, but we believe the placement of the attacks will compel the Canadian government to send troops to these countries as well. Our hope is that this act will leave Canada mostly undefended. As many know, Canada has been greatly influenced by the toxic European ideas of Socialism, and such a threat so close to home must be eliminated. Our positions in Turkey and Morocco will serve us greatly in a hasty conquest of Europe, while we have worked with the Syrian government to ensure that Canadian troops will be confined to Syria.

Our allies in Russia and China have already agreed to assist in a conquest of Asia, and Russia will assist us in Europe if necessary. We are confident that if we strike quickly and quietly, we will be able to overcome any threat. It is simply the destiny of the U.S. to be the leader of the free world, and it is up to us to see this destiny come to pass. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Tomorrow, the change begins!

Time: AJdjahfajkajkd

Works Cited

"Berlin: Proclamation To The German Nation -- February 1, 1933." Berlin: Proclamation To The German Nation -- February 1, 1933. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014. <http://www.hitler.org/speeches/02-01-33.html>.

"Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama." The White House. The White House, 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/21/inaugural-address-president-barack-obama>.

Weekend 35

I spent most of this weekend in Peoria Illinois. Which was so much fun. Friday I had an informational meeting for poms and after that I was supposed to go to see my friend's sister off to prom. I ended up not being able to go because I had to go to league at 7. Saturday I got up at 7:30 and finished packing. We were out by 9 and got to the bowling alley by 11:50. When I signed in, I got my second place medal, which was pretty cool. Then I started bowling and had a really rough first game. To make it worst, I broke both of my nails and they started bleeding, and then after my second game my thumb started peeling. So Saturday was really rough, and of course I didn't qualify, but at least I have next year.

Weekend 34

This weekend was a good weekend. It was the weekend of celebrating mothers! So here's a quote  by Dorothy Canfield Fisher about mothers, "A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." Okay so to celebrate we took my mom, aunt, and grandma to an early dinner at Weber Grill downtown on State St. I loved their pretzel bread and the Caesar salad was pretty good. I lost the love for burgers, but I ended up ordering a Wisconsin burger anyway. It was decent , but I still don't like burgers. I was really looking forward to an apple cobbler, but they didn't have it. It turns out their entire menu changed last year or two years ago. So a tip for Weber Grill, UPDATE YOUR MENU!

Second Draft of Research Paper

McWard

Robins

Mr. Jay Rehak

Honors English 2

6 May 2014

Wikipedia is a crowd sourced online encyclopedia that is free and open to the public. Wikipedia allows users to add and edit content at anytime. Wikipedia information is always being added and edited. Members edit the articles every second, whether they add a comma, a paragraph, or an entire article. For the past 13 years Wikipedia has brought information to millions of knowledge seekers. The  website was officially launched on January 15, 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger (Sidener). Now in 2014, Wikipedia has over 30 million articles in 286 languages and has 129,828 active editors (Wikipedia).

Wikipedia is constantly being updated by their 21 million editors. With such a large volume of information pouring in, inaccuracies do occur. This possibility for wrong information included in the articles has given Wikipedia an infamous reputation of being unreliable. However, the pros of Wikipedia outweigh the cons. While traditional encyclopedias are constantly going out of date, Wikipedia is being continually updated as new information becomes available. Studies suggest that Wikipedia is almost or as reliable as traditional encyclopedias. Just as experts found a number of errors in Wikipedia articles, they also found a similar number of errors in the Encyclopedia Britannica, a prestigious encyclopedia.

Wikipedia has a range of articles that have a variety of topics.  The articles are divided into categories that include arts, history, society, biography, mathematics, technology, geography, science, and an all portals category that includes all  the general information. On this online encyclopedia, you can read about the Millennium Prize Problems, get a list of the Presidents of the United States, and learn about a tree frog, all in one day. Wikipedia allows its users to find information on almost any and every topic they can think of. Wikipedia users have all this knowledge at the tips of their fingers.

Wikipedia can be openly edited by anyone that is a Wikipedia member. A Wikipedia member can be anyone. According to the 2011 Wikipedia Editor Survey,  statistics show that  91% of Wikipedia editors are male, 20% reside in the United States,  76% of the editors primarily edit in English, 59% of the editors range in age from 17 to 40, 71% of editors contribute because they like the idea of sharing knowledge, and 69% believe that information should be freely available. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedians http://toolserver.org/~emijrp/wikimediacounter/

The Encyclopedia Britannica is a renowned printed encyclopedia. The encyclopedia’s first edition was printed in 1768. It is written by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 contributors, including 110 Nobel Prize winners and five American presidents. The encyclopedia has recently stopped the production and distribution of it’s paper copy due to the .... The encyclopedia will continue online, but will come with a price, unlike Wikipedia which is completely free.

The Encyclopedia

Wikipedia editors update articles every second. It’s been updated over 2.3 billion times as of April 27, 2014. With such a large volume of information, inaccuracies are not uncommon. According to Jim Giles, co-founder of MATTER (a science and technology magazine), there are on average four inaccuracies per Wikipedia article. However, inaccuracies are not unique to Wikipedia. Encyclopedia Britannica has an average of three inaccuracies per article (Giles). When compared to traditional textbooks, the University of Melbourne found that Wikipedia’s information was generally as good as or better than information found in textbooks concerning mental health (University of Melbourne).         

These studies and many others have come to the general conclusion that Wikipedia’s reliability is comparable to traditional encyclopedias, such as Encyclopedia Britannica. Reliability of information, however, is not the only factor that makes a source credible (or not). A study conducted by the University of Guelph-Humber in 2006 found that while there were very few errors in Wikipedia articles, there were significant omissions (Bragues). Even when all or most facts are included, Wikipedia articles can fail to draw the distinction between important information and trivial facts (Rosenzweig).