The sis

So this is still a rough draft, nothing exactly done, but at least its not nothing.

Psychologists should be used as a resource and a support during an interrogation because they have studied human behavior and are able to better identify what the suspect is capable of.


There you have it. The following clip is an example of some, unethical interrogation techniques.

I want YOU for U.S. Army!

Do any of these look familiar? How do they affect you? Do they make you want to stand up for our country? Maybe buy a few war bonds or do your part?  The issue I want to get at is propaganda. More specifically Psychological Operations (PSYOP) and if it is effective. I want to address it as if it were an idea proposed the government to me and I had to give my opinion and try to persuade them on way or another. Some questions I might ask would be; Does propaganda work? What makes it work? What impact does it have on the human psyche? I want to see how it has helped both domestically and abroad.

Reflections

Well, another paper done and away with. I was unable to attend class on thursday and I wish I would have. But I think I did the best I could. Looking back though, I definitely would have picked a different article. I think I did a good job at making it sound like there were multiple forms of rhetoric at work, but really it was the same thing done in a different way a few times. Oh well, whats done is done, let bygones be bygones, the chips are on the table.

Analysis, With Horses?

Have you ever tried to diminish someone else’s integrity entirely just to prove a point? Or maybe you just outright attack them? Or display them in black light, showing all their terrible deeds in full display? Well, there are those journalists/bloggers who break down and use those methods. The author of the blog, “Rick Perry’s Problem With The Truth” does just that. Jayde Wyatt uses plenty of low and demeaning attacks to get her audience to believe that her choice of future president is the correct one. She does a great job at proving her point to a less than intelligent audience, who are only looking for low blows to further support their ideas and thoughts and who care nothing about the means to and end, they just want the end. Ms. Wyatt schemes and low blows her way to get her readers to believe that Gov. Rick Perry is a liar and is a far worse choice than her obvious candidate, a one Mitt Romney. She attacks the former by using various forms of rhetoric; firstly by showing how he has lied and misquoted Romney, she also uses many quotes from different well-known people throughout the political spectrum, and furthers her argument by putting her opposition (Rick Perry) on display in a malicious way and exposing the lies her opponent has voiced concerning her choice (Mitt Romney).  These various forms of slander work well together to persuade her one sided audience that her candidate is a far superior option than the opposition by taking down her opponent, and breaking him for all to see.

First things first, Wyatts use of Perry’s own comments on Romney’s quotes to show the audience what a liar Perry is. This is an interesting form of rhetoric she uses, one that I think is potentially very lethal. She has used a comparison of recorded statements used by both candidates. One is Perry’s version of a quote said by Mitt Romney, the other shows Romney’s actual quote:

Perry Version of Romney Quote:

“The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery.”(RickPerry.org, Press Release, 9/28/11)

Actual version of Romney Quote: “The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery, but not as much as it could have had it included genuine tax- and job- generating incentives. President Obama and his economic team said their stimulus would hold unemployment below 8 percent. But unemployment soared well above that level. Not only has the 2009 package already been far less than successful, it will impose a heavy burden on the economy in the intermediate and long term.” (Mitt Romney, No Apology, 2010, pp. 144-145)

 While reading these it is easy to tell how it affects the readers. They are shown that Rick Perry is a liar by using his own words against him with a simple comparison of his and Romney’s actual words. She shows in a very interesting and blatant way that her opposing candidate has lied to the public for all to see. It is very smart of her to start her article with this view because by having actual documented proof that Perry is a liar she effectively starts her argument by showing that her ideas are not coming from nowhere and is able to show her audience (who probably don’t really need it) that Rick Perry is a liar, a scoundrel and a plain jerk, and she has the proof, right from the horse’s mouth.

Now begins her barrage on the already deceitful horse by shedding light on Perry’s inability to bring to the public eye his own misdeeds. Of course, she will kindly do so for him and her audience. Yet again she has proven herself lethal in her attacks on her unfortunate opponent. By using quotes from notable and credible news agencies such as CNN Money and The Washington Post she is able to show that not only Rick Perry can prove himself a liar, but also others can, and do. She uses four very well researched quotes to bring her buckling horse even lower into the ground. Yet upon closer study, I found it amusing that three of her four quotes are taken from the same article (CNN Money, “Texas’s Love/Hate Relationship With Washington’s Money”) that was written by the same author.  For the untrained eye, this may go unnoticed, but for a trained rhetorical analyst such as myself, nothing escapes my gaze. Yet what can this mean for the audience? Well, if they are paying attention to their article, they would be able to notice that she hasn’t really done her research, and only seems to read two or three different news publications and is absolutely willing to use the same one over and over again to prove her point as long as it attacks her opponent in a certain way. Thereby weakening her argument which means a variety of things to her readers; if they are like me they will notice that she has quoted the same article twice, and that she may not have as much support for her ideals as previously thought. Or if I were to not notice it, I would think that she has a lot of support from multiple people and it strengthens her influence over my opinion.

After such a barrage on our lying, deceitful, and injured horse; to make absolutely sure that this horse ends up getting shot, she continues her attack on him by again using various quotes that, in her words, “display [Perry’s] problem – the TRUTH”. She now has stated her obvious meaning behind her attacks; Rick Perry needs to tell the truth. Her first quote attacks Perry’s campaign methods and to do so, she uses a quote from The Washington Post which adds to her display of this obvious liar who continuously “[runs] into a problem – the TRUTH”. The following quote comes from a website called, FactCheck.org, a website that is non-partisan and aims at reducing the levels of deception in American politics and is highly effective in this case for strengthening her argument against Perry.

 “Perry falsely claimed Romney had once written that ‘Romneycare’ is ‘exactly what the American people needed.’ Romney never wrote that. On the contrary, he said after he signed the bill that ‘certain aspects’ of the state’s law might work ‘better in some states than others.’”(FactCheck.org, 9/23/11)

By using such a notable source that routinely blows people lies up in their face, she effectively demonstrates that it is not just her that says Perry is a liar, but another non-profit, non-partisan organization also has found lies just oozing from our now lame and deceitful horse lying in his own bed of lies.

As we can see, Jayde Wyatt has done an effective job at using various forms of rhetoric to add to and strengthen her case to destroy a devious horse in the race for GOP candidacy. By using these various forms of rhetoric, her audience has now been effectively shown that Rick Perry is a liar and a scoundrel. It certainly is no mistake that she comes out with this article at such a crucial time when Romney and Perry come so close in the GOP polls. But thanks to her we, if only a few, have been successfully warded off from a lying candidate. So what do we have now besides a horse that is lying lame in his stall? We have an author who has effectively used different forms of rhetoric to tear down her opponent. Yet, has she been effective in her cause to convince her followers that Romney is the better stallion in the race? Well, by using the imagery already in place, who would I pick? A stallion I have been told nothing about, or a stallion that has been deemed lame. I would take my chances on the stallion I have been told nothing about, and just hope that he’s not dead.

Perfection

First things first, Wyatts use of Perry’s own comments on Romney’s quotes to show the audience what a liar Perry is. This is an interesting form of rhetoric she uses, one that I think is potentially very lethal. She has used a comparison of recorded statements used by both candidates. One is Perry’s version of a quote said by Mitt Romney, the other shows Romney’s actual quote.

Perry Version of Romney Quote:

“The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery.”(RickPerry.org, Press Release, 9/28/11)

Actual version of Romney Quote: “The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery, but not as much as it could have had it included genuine tax- and job- generating incentives. President Obama and his economic team said their stimulus would hold unemployment below 8 percent. But unemployment soared well above that level. Not only has the 2009 package already been far less than successful, it will impose a heavy burden on the economy in the intermediate and long term.” (Mitt Romney, No Apology, 2010, pp. 144-145)

 She shows in a very interesting and blatant way that her opposing candidate has lied to the public for all to see. It is very smart of her to start her article with this view because by having actual documented proof that Perry is a liar she effectively starts her argument by showing that her ideas are not coming from nowhere and is able to show her audience (who probably don’t really need it) that Rick Perry is a liar, a scoundrel and a plain jerk, and she has proof, right from the horse’s mouth. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Governor Perry conveniently fails to mention that he used billions in federal stimulus money to cover up his budget deficits in Texas


While there are many forms of writing the author could have used, she chose to use a negative connotation. There are many ways she could have worded this and it would not have sounded as bad. By the way she worded this sentence, you can definitely tell what she was trying to drive home to the audience at hand. She wants then to loathe Governor Perry because he OBVIOUSLY chose to leave out the simple fact that he used money in the wrong way and claimed he didn't. The effect on the audience is obvious and complete. The connotation she uses is perfect for what her purpose is. 

First Time For Everything

Well, it was pretty cool. I never have been to a poetry reading before, although I have actually read poetry... how odd. Well, before Chris emailed us about this opportunity to attend, my Biology teacher actually talked about him in our class. First thing that struck my interest was that W. S. Merwin was an important figure in the anti-war protest during Vietnam. Not only that, but he was a Pulitzer prize winner for poetry. Pretty impressive.
His poetry was not really that interesting to me (maybe because its meaning escapes me) but it is something to be appreciated I think. Maybe you could say it has influenced me on some unconscious level. All in all, it was something that I am glad I was able to attend, and has definitely brought to light the poetic side of me.
Please visit this link, and feast your eyes and imagination on my favorite poem.