Snyder V. Phelps No - 1671 Words

Snyder v. Phelps No. 09-751 131 S. Ct. 1207 (2011) Argued October 6, 2010 Decided March 2, 2011 On March 10, 2006 the Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of fallen Marine, Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder. The Snyder family sued the Church, accusing them of defamation, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion, and infliction of intentional emotional distress, a tort under state law. On October 6, 2010, Snyder v. Phelps No. 09-751 was brought before the courts. The Justices’ of the court did not reach a decision until March 2, 2011 (Oyez Project). Fred Phelps and the members of the Westboro Baptist Church believe that God is punishing the United States for its tolerance of homosexuality, especially in America’s military. For the past 20 years they have picketed many military funerals across the country. They also condemned the Catholic Church for the scandals involving their clergy. On March 10, 2006, at Matthew Snyder’s funeral, Fred Phelps and six other members of the church, all of which were his family, peacefully displayed their signs which stated, â€Å"Thank God for Dead Soldiers,† â€Å"Fags Doom Nations,† â€Å"Priests Rape Boys,† â€Å"Semper Fi Fags,† God Hates You,† Pope in Hell,† and â€Å"Thank God for 9/11† (Cornell). Prior to picketing this funeral the members of the Westboro Church notified the authorities to insure the fact that they would not be violating any laws. They staged the picket on public land adjacent to a public street, 1,000 feet away from the church theShow MoreRelatedCase Analysis : Snyder V. Phelps Essay977 Words   |  4 PagesAssignment One: Snyder V. Phelps â€Å"At what point do we take personal attacks, and permit those, as opposed to -- I fully accept you’re entitled, in some circumstances, to speak about any political issue you want. But where is the line between doing that, and creating hardship for an individual?† –Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In the case of Snyder V. Phelps, Two very passionate sides debated just that. The Snyder family accused Phelps, or Westboro, of the tort claim of intentional infliction of emotionalRead MoreFirst Amendment and Free Speech Essay1544 Words   |  7 Pages In the case of Snyder v. Phelps, Snyder sued Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church, for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion, and conspiracy because the church set-up protest outside of his military son’s funeral service (Chen et al., 2010). Another side of free speech involves a case which allow schools to restrict speech that is promoting illegal drug use. To examine this view this paper will look at the case of Morse v. Frederick. LastlyRead MoreFred Phelps Is The Leader Of The Westboro Baptist Church895 Words   |  4 PagesName and Citation: Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U. S. ___ (2011) Facts: Fred Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church which is considered to be extremist. Phelps and his followers believe that God punishes those who are tolerant of homosexuality. Since, the United States has a high tolerance of homosexuality, they believe that the United States is damned. The military also has recently become more accepting of homosexuals in their ranks, thus the Westboro Baptist Church pickets many militaryRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1192 Words   |  5 Pagesspeech is not active fighting words threatening the livelihood of somebody, you’re allowed to say whatever you want. A landmark case in confirming this was the 2010 case of Snyder v. Phelps; the fight between the family of a soldier killed on duty, and America’s most hated family. The petitioner of the case was Albert Snyder, father of 20 year old Matthew A.Snyder (represented by Sean E. Summers). In 2006, Matthew was in Iraq on active duty when his Humvee overturned and killed him. Seven days laterRead MoreThe Controversy of Westboro Baptist Church735 Words   |  3 Pagestaken against them because they have been ruled to be protected by the 1st Amendment. Westboro Baptist Church Background Founded in 1931 in Topeka, KS The church was taken over by Fred Phelps in the 1950s after he was hired as an associate pastor The approximately 75 current members are mostly from the Phelps family, including children as young as five who are made to participate in the protests History of Protests: Anti-Gay Protests (Some examples) Protests against homosexuals or any pro-LGBT:Read MoreLimitations Of Liberalism926 Words   |  4 Pagessocial and economic justice. However, this is the limit to liberalism to not encroach on anyone’s equal rights. In the U.S. Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps, Fred Phelps and the members of his Westboro Baptist Church, who believes God is punishing the United States for tolerating homosexuals, picketed at Lance Corporal Matthew Snyders funeral. Albert Snyder, the deceased’s father sued for inflicting emotional distress. While the acts of picketers were non-liberal by being intolerant, they were actsRead MoreThe Westboro Baptist Church : When Does The 1st Amendment Trump The Public Interest?3824 Words   |  16 Pagesstronger. However, this tactic has caused much consternation from both the public and the government. In the interest of the public, state legislatures have enacted laws against the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church. The landmark case of Snyder v. Phelps would have been the deciding factor against the group, but the Supreme Court held in favor of the group because their actions were protected by the First Amendment. This then would present the notion that the First Amendment trumped public interestRead MoreThe Judicial Philosophy Of Samuel Alito1298 Words   |  6 Pagesthe meaning that someone would have taken from the text of the Constitution at the time of its adoption†(Liptak 2006). To Justice Alito, the Constitution should be look at in terms of the time and era when it was written. In the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry indicates that Justice Samuel Alito dissented this case. He believes that proposition 8 should remain and this kind of case should go through the legislative process instead. In his dissent he stated, â€Å"In the end, what the Court fails to graspRead MoreFree Speech : Freedom Of Speech1889 Words   |  8 Pagesright to make or distribute obscene materials, Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 ( 1957), or to provoke actions that would harm others, Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919). Freedom of Speech includes but is not limited to the right â€Å"not to speak,† specifically, the right not to salute the flag, West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943); the right of students to wear black armbands to school to protest war, Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969); and the right toRead MoreThe Freedom Of Speech Protected Under The Frist Constitution Essay1769 Words   |  8 Pages there are in some cases where a certain kind of speech is unprotected if it involves â€Å" fighting words â€Å" or as defined by the Supreme Court speech that intends to innate a violent reaction or breaches the peace. For instance the case, Chaplinsky v. Hampshire (1940) Walter Chaplinsky, a Jehovah s Witness, was using a public sidewalk as a platform in downtown Rochester, handing out pamphlets and labeling organized religion a racket. After a large crowd had begun to form blocking the roads and

Frostbite Chapter 23 Free Essays

string(42) " her on that first day we’d talked\." Twenty-three THE WEATHER WARMED UP ON the day of my molnija ceremony. In fact, it was so warm that a lot of the snow on campus began melting, running down the sides of the Academy’s stone buildings in slim, silvery streams. Winter was far from being over, so I knew everything would just freeze up again in a few days. We will write a custom essay sample on Frostbite Chapter 23 or any similar topic only for you Order Now For now, though, it felt as though the entire world was weeping. I had walked away from the Spokane incident with minor bruises and cuts. The burns from the melting flex-cuffs were the worst of my injuries. But I was still having a hard time dealing with the death I’d caused and the death I’d seen. I’d wanted little more than to go curl up in a ball somewhere and not talk to anyone, except maybe Lissa. But on my fourth day back at the Academy, my mother had found me and told me it was time to receive my marks. It had taken me several moments to grasp what she was talking about. Then it occurred to me that in decapitating two Strigoi, I’d earned two molnija tattoos. My first ones. The realization had stunned me. All my life, in considering my future career as a guardian, I’d looked forward to the marks. I’d seen them as badges of honor. But now? Mainly they were going to be reminders of something I wanted to forget. The ceremony took place in the guardians’ building, in a large room they used for meetings and banquets. It was nothing at all like the great dining room at the resort. It was efficient and practical, like the guardians were. The carpet was a bluish gray shade, low and tightly woven. The bare white walls held framed black-and-white photos of St. Vladimir’s through the years. There were no other decorations or fanfare, yet the solemnity and power of the moment were palpable. All the guardians on campus- but no novices- attended. They milled around in the building’s main meeting room, hanging out in clusters but not talking. When the ceremony started, they fell into orderly ranks without being told and watched me. I sat on a stool in the corner of the room, leaning forward with my hair hanging over the front of my face. Behind me, a guardian named Lionel held a tattooist’s needle to the back of my neck. I’d known him the whole time I’d been at the Academy, but I’d never realized he was trained to draw molnija marks. Before he started, he had a murmured conversation with my mother and Alberta. â€Å"She won’t have a promise mark,† he said. â€Å"She hasn’t graduated.† â€Å"It happens,† said Alberta. â€Å"She made the kills. Do the molnijas, and she’ll get the promise mark later.† Considering the pain I regularly put myself through, I didn’t expect the tattoos to hurt as much as they did. But I bit my lip and stayed silent as Lionel made the marks. The process seemed to go on forever. When he finished, he produced a couple of mirrors, and with some maneuvering, I was able to see the back of my neck. Two tiny black marks sat there, side by side, against my reddened and sensitive skin. Molnija meant â€Å"lightning† in Russian, and that’s what the jagged shape was meant to symbolize. Two marks. One for Isaiah, one for Elena. Once I’d seen them, he bandaged them up and gave me some instructions about caring for them while they healed. Most of it I missed, but I figured I could ask again later. I was still kind of shocked by it all. After that, all the gathered guardians came up to me one by one. They each gave me some sort of sign of affection- a hug, a kiss on the cheek- and kind words. â€Å"Welcome to the ranks,† said Alberta, her weathered face gentle as she pulled me into a tight embrace. Dimitri didn’t say anything when his turn came, but as always, his eyes spoke legions. Pride and tenderness filled his expression, and I swallowed back tears. He rested one hand gently on my cheek, nodded, and walked away. When Stan- the instructor I’d fought with the most since my first day- hugged me and said, â€Å"Now you’re one of us. I always knew you’d be one of the best,† I thought I’d pass out. And then when my mother came up to me, I couldn’t help the tear that ran down my cheek. She wiped it away and then brushed her fingers against the back of my neck. â€Å"Don’t ever forget,† she told me. Nobody said, â€Å"Congratulations,† and I was glad. Death wasn’t anything to get excited about. When that was done, drinks and food were served. I walked to the buffet table and made a plate for myself of miniature feta quiches and a slice of mango cheesecake. I ate without really tasting the food and answered questions from others without even knowing what I said half the time. It was like I was a Rose robot, going through the motions of what was expected. On the back of my neck, my skin stung from the tattoos, and in my mind, I kept seeing Mason’s blue eyes and Isaiah’s red ones. I felt guilty for not enjoying my big day more, but I was relieved when the group finally started dispersing. My mother walked up to me as others murmured their goodbyes. Aside from her words here at the ceremony, we hadn’t talked much since my breakdown on the plane. I still felt a little funny about that- and a little embarrassed as well. She’d never mentioned it, but something very small had shifted in the nature of our relationship. We weren’t anywhere near being friends†¦but we weren’t exactly enemies anymore either. â€Å"Lord Szelsky is leaving soon,† she told me as we stood near the building’s doorway, not far from where I’d yelled for her on that first day we’d talked. You read "Frostbite Chapter 23" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"I’ll be going with him.† â€Å"I know,† I said. There was no question she’d leave. That was how it was. Guardians followed Moroi. They came first. She regarded me for a few moments, her brown eyes thoughtful. For the first time in a long time, I felt like we were actually looking eye to eye, as opposed to her looking down on me. It was about time, too, seeing as I had half a foot of height on her. â€Å"You did well,† she said at last. â€Å"Considering the circumstances.† It was only half a compliment, but I deserved no more. I understood now the mistakes and lapses of judgment that had led to the events at Isaiah’s house. Some had been my fault; some hadn’t. I wished I could have changed some of my actions, but I knew she was right. I’d done the best I could in the end with the mess before me. â€Å"Killing Strigoi wasn’t as glamorous as I thought it’d be,† I told her. She gave me a sad smile. â€Å"No. It never is.† I thought then about all the marks on her neck, all the kills. I shuddered. â€Å"Oh, hey.† Eager to change the subject, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little blue eye pendant she’d given me. â€Å"This thing you gave me. It’s a n-nazari† I stumbled over the word. She looked surprised. â€Å"Yes. How’d you know?† I didn’t want to explain my dreams with Adrian. â€Å"Someone told me. It’s a protection thing, right?† A pensive look crossed her face, and then she exhaled and nodded. â€Å"Yes. It comes from an old superstition in the Middle East†¦Some people believe that those who want to hurt you can curse you or give you ‘the evil eye.’ The nazar is meant to counteract the evil eye †¦ and just bring protection in general to those who wear it.† I ran my fingers over the piece of glass. â€Å"Middle East†¦so, places sort of like, um, Turkey?† My mother’s lips quirked. â€Å"Places exactly like Turkey.† She hesitated. â€Å"It was †¦ a gift. A gift I received a long time ago †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her gaze turned inward, lost in memory. â€Å"I got a lot of †¦ attention from men when I was your age. Attention that seemed flattering at first but wasn’t in the end. It’s hard to tell the difference sometimes, between what’s real affection and what’s someone wanting to take advantage of you. But when you feel the real thing†¦well, you’ll know.† I understood then why she was so overprotective about my reputation- she’d endangered her own when she was younger. Maybe more than that had been damaged. I also knew why she’d given the nazar to me. My father had given it to her. I didn’t think she wanted to talk anymore about it, so I didn’t ask. It was enough to know that maybe, just maybe, their relationship hadn’t been all about business and genes after all. We said goodbye, and I returned to my classes. Everyone knew where I’d been that morning, and my fellow novices wanted to see my molnija marks. I didn’t blame them. If our roles had been reversed, I would have been harassing me too. â€Å"Come on, Rose,† begged Shane Reyes. We were walking out of our morning practice, and he kept swatting my ponytail. I made a mental note to wear my hair down tomorrow. Several others followed us and echoed his requests. â€Å"Yeah, come on. Let’s see what you got for your swordsmanship!† Their eyes shone with eagerness and excitement. I was a hero, their classmate who’d dispatched the leaders of the roving band of Strigoi that had so terrorized us over the holidays. But I met the eyes of someone standing at the back of the group, someone who looked neither eager nor excited. Eddie. Meeting my gaze, he gave me a small, sad smile. He understood. â€Å"Sorry, guys,† I said, turning back to the others. â€Å"They have to stay bandaged. Doctor’s orders.† This was met with grumbles that soon turned into questions about how I’d actually killed the Strigoi. Decapitation was one of the hardest and rarest ways to kill a vampire; it wasn’t like carrying a sword was convenient. So I did my best to tell my friends what had happened, making sure to stick to the facts and not glorify the killings. The school day couldn’t end a moment too soon, and Lissa walked with me back to my dorm. She and I hadn’t had the chance to talk much since everything had gone down in Spokane. I’d undergone a lot of questioning, and then there’d been Mason’s funeral. Lissa had also been caught up in her own distractions with the royals leaving campus, so she’d had no more free time than me. Being near her made me feel better. Even though I could be in her head at any time, it just wasn’t the same as actually being physically around another living person who cared about you. When we got to the door of my room, I saw a bouquet of freesias sitting on the floor near it. Sighing, I picked up the fragrant flowers without even looking at the attached card. â€Å"What are those?† asked Lissa while I unlocked the door. â€Å"They’re from Adrian,† I told her. We walked inside, and I pointed to my desk, where a few other bouquets sat. I put the freesias down beside them. â€Å"I’ll be glad when he leaves campus. I don’t think I can take much more of this.† She turned to me in surprise. â€Å"Oh. Um, you don’t know.† I got that warning twinge through the bond that told me I wouldn’t like what was about to come. â€Å"Know what?† â€Å"Uh, he isn’t leaving. He’s going to stay here for a while.† â€Å"He has to leave,† I argued. To my knowledge, the only reason he’d come back at all was because of Mason’s funeral, and I still wasn’t sure why he’d done that, since he barely knew Mason. Maybe Adrian had just done it for show. Or maybe to keep stalking Lissa and me. â€Å"He’s in college. Or maybe reform school. I don’t know, but he does something.† â€Å"He’s taking the semester off.† I stared. Smiling at my shock, she nodded. â€Å"He’s going to stay and work with me†¦ and Ms. Carmack. All this time, he never even knew what spirit was. He just knew he hadn’t specialized but that he had these weird abilities. He just kept them to himself, except for when he occasionally found another spirit user. But they didn’t know any more than he did.† â€Å"I should have figured it out sooner,† I mused. â€Å"There was something about being around him. †¦ I always wanted to talk to him, you know? He just has this †¦ charisma. Like you do. I guess it’s all tied into spirit and compulsion or whatever. It makes me like him †¦ even though I don’t like him.† â€Å"Don’t you?† she teased. â€Å"No,† I replied adamantly. â€Å"And I don’t like that dream thing, either.† Her jade eyes went wide with wonder. â€Å"That is cool,† she said. â€Å"You’ve always been able to tell what’s going on with me, but I’ve never been able to communicate with you the other way. I’m glad you guys got away when you did†¦but I wish I could have figured out the dream thing and helped find you.† â€Å"Not me,† I said. â€Å"I’m glad Adrian didn’t get you to go off your meds.† I hadn’t found that out until a few days after being in Spokane. Lissa had apparently rejected Adrian’s initial suggestion that stopping the pills would let her learn more about spirit. She had admitted to me later, however, that if Christian and I had stayed missing much longer, she might have cracked. â€Å"How are you feeling lately?† I asked, recalling her concerns about the medication. â€Å"You still feel like the pills aren’t working?† â€Å"Mmm†¦well, it’s hard to explain. I still feel closer to the magic, like maybe they aren’t blocking me so much anymore. But I’m not feeling any of the other mental side effects†¦not upset or anything.† â€Å"Wow, that’s great.† A beautiful smile lit her face. â€Å"I know. It makes me think there might be hope for me to learn to work the magic after all someday.† Seeing her so happy made me smile back. I hadn’t liked seeing those dark feelings starting to return and was glad they’d vanished. I didn’t understand the how or the why, but as long as she felt okay- Everyone has light around them, except for you. You have shadows. You take them from Lissa. Adrian’s words slammed into my mind. Uneasily, I thought about my behavior these last couple of weeks. Some of the angry outbursts. My rebelliousness- unusual even for me. My own black coil of emotion, stirring in my chest†¦ No, I decided. There were no similarities. Lissa’s dark feelings were magic-based. Mine were stress-based. Besides, I felt fine right now. Seeing her watching me, I tried to remember where we’d left off in the conversation. â€Å"Maybe you’ll eventually find a way to make it work. I mean, if Adrian could find a way to use spirit and doesn’t need meds †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She suddenly laughed. â€Å"You don’t know, do you?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"That Adrian does medicate himself.† â€Å"He does? But he said- † I groaned. â€Å"Of course he does. The cigarettes. The drinking. God only knows what else.† She nodded. â€Å"Yup. He’s almost always got something in his system.† â€Å"But probably not at night†¦which is why he can poke his head into my dreams.† â€Å"Man, I wish I could do that,† she sighed. â€Å"Maybe you’ll learn someday. Just don’t become an alcoholic in the process.† â€Å"I won’t,† she assured me. â€Å"But I will learn. None of the other spirit users could do it, Rose- well, aside from St. Vladimir. I’ll learn like he did. I’m going to learn to use it- and I won’t let it hurt me.† I smiled and touched her hand. I had absolute faith in her. â€Å"I know.† We talked for most of the evening. When the time came for my usual practice with Dimitri, I parted ways with her. As I walked away, I pondered something that had been bothering me. Although the attacking groups of Strigoi had had many more members, the guardians felt confident Isaiah had been their leader. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be other threats in the future, but they felt it’d be a while before his followers regrouped. But I couldn’t help thinking about the list I’d seen in the tunnel in Spokane, the one that had listed royal families by size. And Isaiah had mentioned the Dragomirs by name. He knew they were almost gone, and he’d sounded keen on being the one to finish them. Sure, he was dead now†¦but were there other Strigoi out there with the same idea? I shook my head. I couldn’t worry about that. Not today. I still needed to recover from everything else. Soon, though. Soon I’d have to deal with this. I didn’t even know if our practice was still on but went to the locker room anyway. After changing into practice clothes, I headed down into the gym and found Dimitri in a supply room, reading one of the Western novels he loved. He looked up at my entrance. I’d seen little of him in these last few days and had figured he was busy with Tasha. â€Å"I thought you might come by,† he said, putting a bookmark between the pages. â€Å"It’s time for practice.† He shook his head. â€Å"No. No practice today. You still need to recover.† â€Å"I’ve got a clean bill of health. I’m good to go.† I pushed as much patented Rose Hathaway bravado into my words as I could. Dimitri wasn’t falling for any of it. He gestured to the chair beside him. â€Å"Sit down, Rose.† I hesitated only a moment before complying. He moved his own chair close to mine so that we sat directly across from each other. My heart fluttered as I looked into those gorgeous dark eyes. â€Å"No one gets over their first kill†¦kills†¦easily. Even with Strigoi†¦well, it’s still technically taking a life. That’s hard to come to terms with. And after everything else you went through †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He sighed, then reached out and caught my hand in his. His fingers were exactly like I remembered, long and powerful, calloused with years of training. â€Å"When I saw your face†¦when we found you in that house†¦you can’t imagine how I felt.† I swallowed. â€Å"How †¦ how did you feel?† â€Å"Devastated †¦ grief-stricken. You were alive, but the way you looked †¦ I didn’t think you’d ever recover. And it tore me apart to think of that happening to you so young.† He squeezed my hand. â€Å"You will recover- I know that now, and I’m glad. But you aren’t there. Not yet. Losing someone you care about is never easy.† My eyes dropped from his and studied the floor. â€Å"It’s my fault,† I said in a small voice. â€Å"Hmm?† â€Å"Mason. Getting killed.† I didn’t have to see Dimitri’s face to know compassion was filling it. â€Å"Oh, Roza. No. You made some bad decisions†¦you should have told others when you knew he was gone†¦but you can’t blame yourself. You didn’t kill him.† Tears brimmed in my eyes as I looked back up. â€Å"I might as well have. The whole reason he went there- it was my fault. We had a fight†¦and I told him about the Spokane thing, even though you asked me not to†¦.† One tear leaked out of the corner of my eye. Really, I needed to learn to stop that. Just as my mother had, Dimitri delicately wiped the tear off my cheek. â€Å"You can’t blame yourself for that,† he told me. â€Å"You can regret your decisions and wish you’d done things differently, but in the end, Mason made his decisions too. That was what he chose to do. It was his decision in the end, no matter your original role.† When Mason had come back for me, I realized, he’d let his feelings for me get in the way. It was what Dimitri had always feared, that if he and I had any sort of relationship, it would put us- and any Moroi we protected- in danger. â€Å"I just wish I’d been able to †¦ I don’t know, do anything†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Swallowing back further tears, I pulled my hands from Dimitri’s and stood up before I could say something stupid. â€Å"I should go,† I said thickly. â€Å"Let me know when you want to start practice again. And thanks for †¦ talking.† I started to turn; then I heard him say abruptly, â€Å"No.† I glanced back. â€Å"What?† He held my gaze, and something warm and wonderful and powerful shot between us. â€Å"No,† he repeated. â€Å"I told her no. Tasha.† â€Å"I †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shut my mouth before my jaw hit the floor. â€Å"But†¦why? That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You could have had a baby. And she †¦ she was, you know, into you†¦.† The ghost of a smile flickered on his face. â€Å"Yes, she was. Is. And that’s why I had to say no. I couldn’t return that†¦couldn’t give her what she wanted. Not when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He took a few steps toward me. â€Å"Not when my heart is somewhere else.† I almost started crying again. â€Å"But you seemed so into her. And you kept going on about how young I acted.† â€Å"You act young,† he said, â€Å"because you are young. But you know things, Roza. Things people older than you don’t even know. That day †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I knew instantly which day he referred to. The one up against the wall. â€Å"You were right, about how I fight to stay in control. No one else has ever figured that out- and it scared me. You scare me.† â€Å"Why? Don’t you want anyone to know?† He shrugged. â€Å"Whether they know that fact or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that someone- that you- know me that well. When a person can see into your soul, it’s hard. It forces you to be open. Vulnerable. It’s much easier being with someone who’s just more of a casual friend.† â€Å"Like Tasha.† â€Å"Tasha Ozera is an amazing woman. She’s beautiful and she’s brave. But she doesn’t- â€Å" â€Å"She doesn’t get you,† I finished. He nodded. â€Å"I knew that. But I still wanted the relationship. I knew it would be easy and that she could take me away from you. I thought she could make me forget you.† I’d thought the same thing about Mason. â€Å"But she couldn’t.† â€Å"Yes. And, so †¦ that’s a problem.† â€Å"Because it’s wrong for us to be together.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Because of the age difference.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"But more importantly because we’re going to be Lissa’s guardians and need to focus on her- not each other.† â€Å"Yes.† I thought about this for a moment and then looked straight into his eyes. â€Å"Well,† I said at last, â€Å"the way I see it, we aren’t Lissa’s guardians yet.† I steeled myself for the next response. I knew it was going to be one of the Zen life lessons. Something about inner strength and perseverance, about how the choices we made today were templates for the future or some other nonsense. Instead he kissed me. Time stopped as he reached out and cupped my face between his hands. He brought his mouth down and brushed it against my lips. It was barely a kiss at first but soon increased, becoming heady and deep. When he finally pulled away, it was to kiss my forehead. He left his lips there for several seconds as his arms held me close. I wished the kiss could have gone on forever. Breaking the embrace, he ran a few fingers through my hair and down my cheek. He stepped back toward the door. â€Å"I’ll see you later, Roza.† â€Å"At our next practice?† I asked. â€Å"We are starting those up again, right? I mean, you still have things to teach me.† Standing in the doorway, he looked over at me and smiled. â€Å"Yes. Lots of things.† How to cite Frostbite Chapter 23, Essay examples

Rogerian Arguments Essay Example For Students

Rogerian Arguments Essay The expression argument has two meanings in scholarly writing. First, it means a composition that takes a position on one side of a divisive issue. You might write an argument against the death penalty, or for or against censorship of pornography. But argument has another meaning, too. It means an essay that, simply, argues a point. You might assemble an argument about the significance of ancestor myths in a certain aborigine culture, or you might write an argument defending your understanding of any poem or essay that is read in your philosophy class. (Winthrop University) You are not necessarily taking one side of a divisive issue, but you are required to defend your points with credible evidence. You are taking a position. In a sense, then, an argument is another word for a thesis. An argument needs to be narrow enough for you to support in the length of essay assigned. Typically, we think of winners and losers of arguments. Our practice of argument goes back to traditional Greece when speakers tried to influence fellow voters in the early democratic debates over guiding principles. (Kiefer) Building on this ritual of pro and con, our legal system goes even further to put emphasis on the adversarial nature of many arguments. But arguments dont always have to believe that readers make a yes/no, innocent/guilty, on/off decision. Many arguments build toward compromise. An approach most authors dont describe is called Rogerian argument. Rogerian expression was introduced by Young, Becker and Pike in their 1970 textbook, Rhetoric: Discovery and Change. (Brent) Traditional rhetoric, Young, Becker and Pike asserted, assumes an adversarial affiliation in which the speaker uses modes of influence to break down the audiences oppositi. .to a jury. But classical arguments do not work as well in situations where a loving, congenial or even friendly relationship needs to be maintained. So, again, Rogerian argumentation can be thought of as a â€Å"kinder, gentler† way to argue—and one that may often serve you well. Bibliography Boeree, C. George, Dr. Personality Theories. 1998. Shippensburg University. 27 July 2011 edu>. Brent, Douglas. Rogerian Rhetoric: An Alternative To Traditional Rhetoric. Argument Revisted, Argument Redefined: Negotiating Meaning in the Composition Classroom (1996): 73-96. Kiefer, Kate. What is Rogerian Argument? 1993-2011. Colorado State University. 3 August 2011. Rogers, C. R., and D. Ryback. One Alternative to Planetary Suicide. The Consulting Psychologist (1984): 35-54. Winthrop University. Rogerian Argumentation. 2000. Winthrop . 4 August 2011.

Affliction Essays - English-language Films, Affliction, Films, Wade

Affliction The character Wade Whitehouse from the book Affliction by Russell Banks is very complex. To properly analyze his character one must take into account all aspects of his personality. We must search and break down any information we may find about, the character's background information, describe his personality, determine if any changes have occurred to his character during the novel, how he has affected fellow characters and finally the thematic significance that the author wishes to bring to the reader's attention through his character. Firstly we must look at the major factors that influence the character; background information surrounding the environmental factors of the town, the family relations and early life experiences that have dramatically affected the character. The town of Lawford is a rural community in New Hampshire having no natural resources for economic viability. Due to this poor flow of money the town lacks simple services and recreational facilities and therefore does not attract many tourists. Those who do visit the town are either merely city comers using their fathers cottage as a weekend getaway, or deer hunters profiting from the abundant wild life. The only successful local man is Gordon LaRiviere who owns a well drilling company and who employs Wade and many other men of this town. Affliction is set in a winter scenery and throughout the book the weather is gloomy ? the sky clear as black glass?(6), ?Winter approaches?arriving with such ferocity and stunning relentlessness of purpose that you could give yourself over to it completely and at once? and is a reflection of the attitudes possessed by the characters. Secondly we must discuss Wade's family background. His father is a severe alcoholic who regularly abused each family member. Once under the spell of the alcohol he becomes extremely violent and cannot control his anger. His mother although very loving could not protect the children for she herself feared her abusive husband. On many occasion she had also suffered the trauma of abuse and tried to avoid any confrontation at any cost. Wade had four siblings, two older brothers Elbourne and Charlie, who were both killed during the Vietnam War (specifically the Tet offensive). Wade also had one younger brother Rolfe, who left town for collegial studies, and a younger sister, Lena, who departed shortly after she realized she was pregnant. Elbourne and Charlie running to Vietnam, where they died, Lena to marriage with the Wonder Bread truck driver and obesity and charismatic Christianity and five squabbling children of her own, and I, Rolfe, whom the others regarded as the successful one, to the state university (96). Thirdly as a young child he had to watch Elbourn and Charlie being beaten by his drunken father. Until the age of ten he thought himself invincible sean as his father had not laid a hand on him but this false self- image was cruelly brought to an end. As he obeyed his mother instead of his father, Mr. Whitehouse became inraged and attacked his son, savagely beating him ?slapping him again and again, harder each time, although each time the boy felt it less, felt only the lava-like flow of heat that each blow left behind? (102). Wade has an extremely distinct and complicated personality that at times can be hard to fathom. As we familiarize ourselves better with this character we can easily distinguish certain traits and connect them with past life experiences. The most obvious trait is a lack of self-esteem which leads to an overabundant abuse of alcohol. His failed marriage to Lillian, the limited visitations allowed with his daughter and his monotonous job all lead him to believe that he is less of a man. Wade did not express his feelings openly instead kept them locked up inside which added to all the hardship already present in his life, ? Wade lived almost wholly out there on his skin, with no interior space for him to retreat to, even in a crisis or at a time of emotional stress or conflict? ( 215). All these aspects contributed to his abuse of alcohol which in turn led to his violence. Wade was a violent and destructive drunk that gravily harmed other citizens, he had a reputation around town as

The Marginal Abatement Cost Economics Essay Essay Example

The Marginal Abatement Cost Economics Essay Essay Example The Marginal Abatement Cost Economics Essay Essay The Marginal Abatement Cost Economics Essay Essay Environmental outwardnesss such as pollution have become a large issue all around the universe. This essay will concentrate on how assorted options such as marketable licenses, the Command and Control Approach, revenue enhancements and subsidies and The Coase Theorem can be used to undertake this job. A marketable or a movable pollution license is a measure instrument, issued by the authorities, which allows houses to foul at a degree that is marginally cost-efficient. Low emitting houses are able to sell excess licenses and high emitting houses are able to buy extra licenses. There are many advantages and disadvantages of marketable licenses. First, by apportioning licenses and leting regulators create a market for emanations, they have created market value where there was antecedently no market value. This market value makes breathing pollution a house disbursal which they would wish to optimally pull off. The ability to purchase and sell licenses encourages houses to put in pollution suspension and be more efficient ; it besides rewards houses for cut downing pollution alternatively of penalizing all houses. Second, if there is rising prices in the economic system, the monetary value of license will set automatically for rising prices whereas the revenue enhancement rates would necessitate changeless accommodations for rising prices. However the disadvantages of marketable licenses are foremost they may move as barrier to entry, if big houses buy more licenses than they need to, this will do it hard for possible entrants to buy the licenses they would necessitate to come in the industry. Second the market for licenses tends to be national in range and establishes one monetary value for a license. This is right if the pollution takes the signifier of an aggregative outwardness but most signifiers of pollution are local or regional in their impacts. Pollution revenue enhancement and marketable pollution licenses are really similar policy ordinances. They both rely on monetary value signals and supply inducements for emitters to cut down the costs they impose on society. Pigouvian revenue enhancements involve puting a charge per unit of emanations equal to the entire value of the fringy environmental harm caused by an excess unit of emanations. By enforcing a revenue enhancement on each unit of emanations, houses will hold an inducement to cut down their emanations until they reach a point where profit/loss due to unit decrease in emanations is equal to the harm involved. The figure below shows how both emanations revenue enhancement and marketable licenses try to accomplish the same degree of emanations with minimal costs. MD-Marginal Damage MAC- Marginal Abatement Cost The point E0 is the degree of emanations that would be achieved if emanation control policy ( houses have no inducement to cut down emanation and MAC peers nothing ) is non involved. The point E* is the optimum degree of emanations where the fringy harm of an excess unit of emanations peers to the fringy costs of cut downing one excess unit of emanations. E* can be achieved by enforcing an emanation revenue enhancement ( T ) on each unit of emanations, houses would so happen it really dearly-won to pay the revenue enhancement and would prefer to follow steps that cut down their emanations from E0 to E. Similarly the optimum degree can be reached if the authorities issues a sufficient figure of marketable licenses to make the degree of emanations equal to E. Thus the two ordinances will take to the same result cut downing emanations to the optimum degree at minimal cost. An emanations revenue enhancement requires that a house s emanations to be monitored and in some instances, it is hard to supervise emanations revenue enhancement for e.g. husbandmans usage of fertilizers and pesticides. Some of the waste merchandises may flux into local rivers fouling the H2O. It would be non possible to supervise this overflow and buttocks husbandmans a charge for their emanations nevertheless it is possible to enforce a revenue enhancement on these merchandises when they are sold ( revenue enhancement imposed indirectly ) . In pattern, marketable licenses are a more favorable method of supplying economic inducements for pollution control compared to revenue enhancements. Licenses are attractive because they avoid some of the jobs of pollution revenue enhancements. Even where a criterion is set and revenue enhancements are used to accomplish it, there are hazards that the revenue enhancement will non be estimated right. Marketable licenses do nt necessitate the te st and mistake accommodation of revenue enhancements to accomplish the coveted aggregative degree of emanations. As mentioned above, if there is rising prices in the economic system, the existent value of pollution revenue enhancements will alter ; on the other manus, permits respond to provide and demand, rising prices is already taken attention of. Taxes would necessitate accommodation because of entry to and issue from the industry whereas licenses adjust readily to such alterations. Taxs are used as a punishment on emanations whereas marketable licenses and subsidy attack are used to honor houses for the decrease of emanations. Environmental subsidies are per unit payments to houses for cut downing their emanations. It can promote the development and usage of pollution control engineerings and the publicity of energy preservation and efficiency. A subsidy involves a transportation of financess from the authorities while a revenue enhancement plan would be a gross beginning for the authorities. Some types of subsidies include grants, low involvement loans, favorable revenue enhancement intervention etc. Under a subsidy system, houses have an inducement to bring forth at the societal optimal degree ( the point where the fringy societal benefit peers the fringy societal cost of production ) which would hold been expensive to a house prior to the subsidy. The major drawback of this system is that giving subsidies to houses may promote inefficiency as houses may trus t to a great extent on a subsidy plan and its cancellation can do economic adversity. In some utmost state of affairss pollution control subsidies could hold the perverse consequence of increasing entire pollution. Another option is the bid and control attack which is a method in which the authorities informs the house how much pollution it can let go of or requires the house to follow specific engineerings aimed to cut down their emanations. These controls are normally mandatory and enforced though licensing and punishments for non-compliance. The chief advantage of utilizing this attack is that, when it is decently implemented and enforced, it provides a clear result. This ordinance has utmost flexibleness in commanding complex environmental jobs ; it can modulate each single house, location etc. It besides avoids ambiguity with regard to tauten inducements ; houses are told precisely how to set end product. And eventually this ordinance is really easy monitored compared to revenue enhancement. However this attack is considered to be inefficient and has many drawbacks. First, it is really hard to implement and really expensive to administrate. These lifting costs have made this ordinance less attractive compared to other economic instruments such marketable licenses or revenue enhancement. Second it lacks ways to accomplish equal fringy control costs across houses or requires a batch of information to accomplish equal fringy control costs. Finally, houses who are capable to these ordinances may hold really small pick or no pick in how to make these environmental ends hence there is no inducement to research new and originative ways that might cut down their emanations. Incentives systems such as marketable licenses can carry through decreases in emanations at a much lower cost than the bid and control attack. A house that has no flexibleness in the method of cut downing its emanations to a certain degree has no inducement to endeavor whereas a house confronting a marketable license has a changeless inducement to research new ways to take down its emanations. As houses search for new ways to take down their costs of cut downing emanations, the demand for licenses will fa ll, take downing the measure of emanations and therefore bettering the environmental quality even further. A concluding option is the Coase theorem, developed by Ronald Coase, which states that optimum allotment of resources is accomplishable without any authorities intercession, provided that belongings rights are good defined and dealing costs are low. Outwardness jobs will be solved expeditiously through private minutess if these two conditions hold. Once the authorities assign these rights, the houses and victims will negociate a transportation of payments between them to either accept the harm or cut down pollution on the footing of which is more profitable. Under ideal fortunes when houses and victims deal, the equilibrium degree of pollution is independent of the allotment of belongings rights. The ideal fortunes include perfect information about costs and benefits and the absence of dealing costs. Unfortunately the optimum solution believes that there is full information about the environmental deductions which is really improbable. The Coase Theorem tends to use merely when the re are little Numberss of defilers and victims. The minutess costs involved in negociating solutions would be high if more than two parties are involved. Coase s theorem says that the result will be efficient, irrespective of who has the belongings rights ; nevertheless, the part of the value received by each party differs greatly depending upon who has the belongings rights. If the houses have the right to foul, so the houses end up with most of the value, because the victims must pay the houses to cut down pollution. On the other manus, if the possible pollution victims have the right to a pollution-free environment, so the victims end up with most of the value, because the defilers must pay the victims to accept extra pollution. If society attentions about the distribution of the value, so ordinances may be needed to accomplish the coveted distribution of value.

The General Ulysses Grants Union Research Paper

The General Ulysses Grants Union - Research Paper Example Further, the African Americans’ contributions made a huge impact on the lives of all African Americans starting from 1861 until today’s 21st century. The war focused on the possibility of forcing the Southern states’ white Americans to free their slaves. Many African American soldiers received their share of the Medal of Honor. The African Americans were granted freedom after the war. The African American slaves were happily discharged from their Southern White masters. The present-day beneficiaries include Singer Mariah Carrey, President Obama, and L.A Lakers’ basketball star Kobe Bryant. Â  Furthermore, there are many unanswered queries to be researched. One of the questions is: what would have happened if the Confederate leaders had won the Civil War? Second, do the current African American residents of the United States feel they are on equal status as the White Americans? Third, another research should answer the question: Do the African Americans have better fighting abilities compared to the White Americans during the American Civil War compared to the white Americans? Â  The slavery issued triggered the American Civil war. The Republican Party’s President Abraham Lincoln spearheaded the political party’s ideology that all men should be treated equally, espousing the emancipation of the African American slaves. The Northern states espoused freeing the slaves. The Southern States opposed the freeing of the slaves. Both sides of the war used African Americans to help their causes. The General Ulysses Grant led the northern states’ Union army. General Robert Lee led the Southern states’ Confederate army. Both sides of the war experimented using African American soldiers and civilians in their war campaign.

Public international law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public international law - Essay Example This paper shall discuss such circumstances. Relevant case law shall be used in order to support this discussion. The first part of this paper shall discuss the circumstances by which a state can be excluded from responsibility for its wrong actions. Next, a specific discussion on each of the circumstances shall be carried out with supporting case studies for each circumstance. Lastly, concluding remarks shall end this discussion, summarizing the cases and establishing a clear and comprehensive answer to the issue raised. This paper is being carried out in order to assist politicians and academicians in establishing a better understanding of state actions, state responsibility, and exceptions to such responsibility. Body The International Law Commission established circumstances by which wrongful acts can be excluded from state responsibility. These circumstances include: consent, self-defence, counter-measures, force majeure, and state of necessity1. Article 26 of the UN Charter nev ertheless, supports a rule which does not allow the use of the circumstances indicated above in instances where international legal norms are violated. The commission is however also firm in declaring that the above causes may only be used if the state contradicts international law, regardless of the obligation violated, which may involve international laws, treaties, and unilateral acts2. Defending these circumstances does not seek to eliminate the obligation of states to comply with the provisions of international law; nevertheless, these circumstances provide an excuse and a justification for wrongful acts3. It is also important to consider the distinction which must be established between the impact of the circumstances which do not include the wrongful act and the fulfilment of the obligations undertaken. The first circumstance which can justify wrongful acts of states is consent. International law specialists declare that if a state consents to another state acting in a certai n way which is actually against their legal obligations to the former, the consent would establish an agreement which supports the elimination of the effects of the obligations between the parties4. The crucial element in this circumstance is on the existence of an obligation, and such obligation is on an international scale5. In instances where one state would ask the existing obligation to be disregarded, it is clear that a valid consent has been issued6. Whether or not the act is valid is based on state institutions and internal legal provisions. The consent must also be given freely before the act is carried out, moreover, the act must be protected by the limitations indicated in the consent agreement. Tacit and express consent can cover such act, however, presumed consent is not included in the purview of the discussion7. Article 20 of the draft articles on state responsibility for internationally wrongful act indicates that valid consent indicated by the invoking state regardi ng a certain act eliminates the wrongful quality of the act committed for as long as the act remains within the limitations imposed by the consent8. Aside from consent, self-defence is also another means of justifying a wrongful act by a state. Based on Article 2 of the UN Charter, relations among states must be founded on the commitment not to use force or threat of force against any other state9. Nevertheless, Article 51 indicates that all states have the inherent right to self-defence during armed attacks