Bush Dynasty Essay Example for Free

Bush Dynasty Essay With American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush Kevin Phillips looks at the Bush-Walker family going back four generations. Phillips uses the term dynasty advisedly to mean a fact, not a political theory. He claims that dynasties tend to show continuities of policy and interest-group bias and there is a consistency in their behavior (Phillips 2-5). This dynastic tendency need not be a negative thing. This is not unique to the Bush-Walker family nor to the Republican Party; similar claims against the Kennedy family that has had political influence throughout the twentieth century; the Roosevelts, Harrisons and Adams had similar power structures that lead to each family having two family members as President of the United States. The problem, Philip writes with the Walker-Bush family is the type of behavior it has engaged in to achieve its goals and the effects this behavior has had on the United States. The author begins his book by looking at the pattern of behavior that has developed within the extended Walker-Bush family. Phillips claims there is a history use of family influence in arranging or smoothing over difficulties in the military service of George W. , George H. W. , and Prescott Bush, grandfather of the current President. However he fails to mention what any of these difficulties were. He claims that the familys interest in the petroleum dates back nearly a hundred years when Samuel Bush had financial connections with Standard Oil. This interest spans the twentieth century and continues until today. This interest has included a relationship with the now defunct Houston-based oil company Enron since the mid-1980s. This time period included time when George H. W. Bush was Vice-President and President. Phillips contends that the Bush-Walker family has long been involved with the United States public policy and has a vested interest to promote five areas to enhance their wealth and power: involvement in the United States investment banking, the increasing size of the military-industrial complex, the ballooning of the CIA, the attempts to have the United States control the worlds oils supplies, and a close alliance between the United States and Great Britain (Phillips 2). In fairness to Phillips he does point out that affiliations should not be transformed into a latter-day conspiracy theory. Phillips provides a long list of behavior by the Bush family that smacks of impropriety. The family has engaged in eight decades of involvement with the petroleum industry. Throughout this time they used their influence and wealth to further their economic and political aspirations (Phillips 246). Prescott Bush engaged in business that included selling of arms to Germany as late as 1938. In 1942 his corporate directorships had strong links to Germany even though we were at war with Germany, were publicly exposed. George W. H. Bush has a history of covert activity that includes support of the Bay of Pigs, as Vice-President he engaged in clandestine arms operations that included Nicaragua, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. He is alleged to have been instrumental in negotiations with Iran that led to an agreement that Iran would not release the American hostages until after the November presidential election. He was heavily involved in the Iran-Contra Scandal and secretly armed the Iraq army from 1984 until 1990 when he abruptly changed sides when Hussein invaded Kuwait. George W. Bush has followed in his fathers footsteps. His first 2000 election was disputed when he won by a handful of votes in Florida where his younger brother was governor. He has invaded both Afghanistan and Iraq, and willingly denied Constitutional rights of individuals in favor of his own agenda. His accumulation of presidential powers actions has threatened the very fabric of the United States Constitution with his challenges to the separation of powers. Phillips has extensive experience and qualifications to be examining this issue. He received an undergraduate degree from Colgate University, studied at Edinburgh University, and studied law at Harvard Law School. He served as an adviser to Richard Nixon during the 1968 campaign and later served as a White House strategist. He has been a political and economic commentator for more than thirty years and has written nine books on politics and economics in the United States. He is a regular contributor to NPR, PBS, The Los Angeles, and The Wall Street Journal. During his youth he was a member of the Republican Party but became an Independent when he became aware of the direction the United States was taking in the late 1970s and 1980s (Phillips flyleaf; Kevin Phillips). One wonders what effects Phillips decision to leave the Republican Party has had on his political beliefs. It is easy to imagine that someone who loses faith in an institution would strike out against the institution with fanaticism. However Philips does not appear to do this. The combination of playing an important role in the Republican Party and his subsequent withdrawal from the Republican Party appears to have put Phillips in a neutral position. Instead of having an agenda to promote he appears to be interested in the truth. Phillips writes in a simple, clear, and readable style. He provides extensive endnotes and an index. What he does not provide is a bibliography; this would be a useful tool for the student, reader of popular political science, and anyone who is trying to make sense of current United States politics. At times American Dynasty does read like a conspiracy theory. One is overwhelmed not by the nature of the activities, but by the sheer volume of activities and the consistent manner members of this family have behaved. One is tempted to dismiss the book as the ranting of a paranoid fanatic. However Phillips appears to have written a thoroughly researched accurately reported and well documented. This book is disturbing precisely because of this. If it were clearly false it would be easy to dismiss it. At the very least Philips has written a book that should cause concern about the manner in which our President engages in politics. At most he has written an indictment again George W. Bush and the entire extended family that has had its hand in too many questionable activities to be innocent of wrongdoing. Notes Phillips, Kevin. American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush (New York: Penguin Group, Viking, 2004). Kevin Phillips: Political Historian. Speakers of Substance: Leigh Bureau. N. d. [Cited 30 Mar. 2007]; available from the World Wide Web: http://leighbureau. com/speaker. asp? id=125.

Gothic Theme in Chapter 5 of Frankenstein Essay -- Mary Shelley

Gothic Horror has been described as â€Å"delightful horror†. Focusing on Chapter 5 of Frankenstein, how has Shelley used the Gothic Genre to explore deeper issues? The term ‘Gothic’ conjures a range of possible meanings, definitions and associations. It explicitly denotes certain historical and cultural phenomena. Gothicism was part of the Romantic Movement that started in the eighteenth century and lasted about three decades into the nineteenth century. For this essay, the definition of Gothic that is applicable is: An 18th century literary style characterized by gloom and the supernatural. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a wide range of issues are explored. Frankenstein represents an entirely new vision of the female Gothic, along with many other traditional themes such as religion, science, colonialism and myth. Mary Shelley, the author of the novel Frankenstein, was born on August 30th 1797. He father, William Godwin, was a philosopher, and her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft, who is still well known for being an author and one of the first feminists. But unfortunately Mary Shelley’s mother died of puerperal fever ten days after giving birth to her daughter. As Mary’s father was a philosopher, Mary had to listen to many intellectual talks. Mary was strongly impressed by the brilliant talks she listened to since she was young as she was surrounded by famous writers and philosophers. The intellectual environment in which she lived stimulated her Romantic sensibility and the political revolutionary ideas of the time. Later on in life Mary married a man named Percy Bysshe Shelley. Percy was a poet and a member of the Romantic Movement. But unfortunately Mary had to elope with Shelley at the age of 16 as he was... ...t agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demonical corpse which I had so miserably given life.† The archaic vocabulary such as â€Å"demonical† and â€Å"I took refuge† are not words or phrases that we would particularly use today but here it shows Victor’s own scientific and religious readings are perhaps too dated and too passionate. To conclude, I believe that this novel gives a warning to the reader. I believe that it is telling us not to push the boundaries of reality and not to tamper with things that would perhaps be better left alone, because the consequences are unknown, unpredictable and unnatural. It tells us that death and birth are things that in the modern world we just have to accept, and that we should not even attempt to exceed mortal limitations: Playing God should be left to God.

How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Tiayna Bradford BRADFORD 1 Mary Jo M. Keiter English 051 Oct 18, 2012 How to make a grilled cheese sandwich on an electric stove. First you need to make sure that you have all the things needed for this process. 1. Frying pan 2. Bread 3. Butter or Margarine 4. Butter knife 5. Cheese 6. PlateFirst you take out two pieces of bread and lay them on your plate. Then you open up the butter, get the butter knife; put some butter on the knife, then spread it on one side of the bread. Make sure that the side you put the butter on is the side down. The other side of the bread that is faces up; put two slices of cheese on it. After you put the cheese on it; put piece bread on it, then spread butter on that side too.When that part is done, turn the stove on number four; so that it is not up to high; or to low. Place the frying pan on the eye that you turned on. Once it gets hot put the sandwich in the pan. You can put a lid on it to make it cook faster or just leave it open. Let it cook for lik e two minutes and then turn it to the other side and repeat the same thing. Once you see that the bread is brown a little, you can take it out using a spactula. It is then ready to eat. How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich My Recipe For Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Topic: How to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Audience: Parents that need to cook something quick for there children. Purpose: To teach someone how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Format: An expository paragraph. ——————————————————————————————————————— You will need: An electric frying pan, 2 slices of bread (preferably white), (softened) butter, and some cheese of your choice Step 1.Plug in and pre-heat the electric frying pan to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Step 2. Take your butter and spread it on one side of both pieces of bread. Step 3. Then you need the cheese (if you are cutting it of a block, 1 eighth of an inch is my recommended thickness) But I like to use singles chee se slices with mine. Step 4. Place your cheese in-between the un-buttered sides of your bread so that the buttered sides are facing out. Step 5. When your electric frying pan is fully heated, place the sandwich on it. Step 6.Let it sit for around 3 minutes, if you want a panini style sandwich, then you can lightly press on the sandwich with a a spatchula while it's cooking. Step 7. Then flip it and let the other side sit for only about 2 and a half minutes. Step 8. Then it's done! Step 9. If you want to make it better, try adding Ketchup on the side, along with a pickle. Step 10. Part of the process of making anything is the clean up so don't forget to put away everything, including turning off and unplugging the electric frying pan. Step 11. Eat up! By: Adam Brice

Biographical and Historical Approach to Langston Hughes...

Biographical and Historical Approach to Langston Hughes Dream Boogie Michelle Cooks ENG Teacher January 30, 2012 A biographical or historical approach attempt to measure how much an authors life or history has influenced their writings. Most of the time, writings are strengthened when the author writes from a biographical or historical angle, and the importance of their history becomes significant when it is used to create characters that express its values and examines trends that occur in that time period. When using a biographical or historical approach to an author and his work, it is important that the critic is familiar with the circumstances that the author writes about. The critic must explain whether or not the†¦show more content†¦Langston Hughes embraced his surroundings and adopted the characteristics from his culture, and with his unique style, tone, and use of symbols, he used his writings as a plan to identify and overcome the injustices of the African American people in Harlem during the Civil Rights Movement. Langston Hughes short poem, Dream Boogie captured my attent ion because of the style in which it was written and honestly, because of the author. The use of his words and the style of his writing, also known as the tone of this short poem give the reader insight into the dialect of African Americans in Harlem during Hughes era. Their language, which was considered slang, was informal and contained made-up words and used common words in abnormal ways. For example, Hughes used words such as aint and boogie-woogie, which was a term that was used in Harlem to refer to the blues. The tone was set on the style of be-bop, which is slang for jazz music. This is music that is improvised or made-up and put together along the way and originated in Harlem (Dictionary, 2005). Langston Hughes stated that jazz music to him is one of the deep-rooted styles of expression of the Negro life in America (Clugston, 2010). The rhythm in Dream Boogie is altered and does not have a continuous repeated pattern (Kate, 53). Through his imagination, Hughes designed this poem to reflect the mood and attitude of be-bop, and his unclearness orShow MoreRelatedReader-Response Criticism: Langston Hughes’ Dream Boogie1222 Words   |  5 PagesReader-Response Criticism: Langston Hughes’ Dream Boogie T Wilkins ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor M. XXXXXXXXX May 22, 2011 Literature, no matter what the topic of form it comes in, has the ability to raise issues, spark thought/imagination, and/or draw out emotions that have been buried deep within us as people. It is expected, from the authors, that readers will form opinions and criticisms for their works. Be it that the readers’ emotions parallel those of the writerRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 PagesIn 1919, when Langston Hughes was seventeen years old, he spent the summer with his father, Jim Hughes, in Toluca, Mexico. Langston had not seen his father since he was a small child, and he was excited about making the trip. However, during this visit, no affectionate bond would develop between Langston and Jim. Jim Hughes was a cold, difficult man, who was driven by ambition to make money and achieve respect. He had moved to Mexico to avoid segregation and racial injustice in the United States