My Mom is the Perfect Role Model Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay ab

Children have never been very good at audition to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.--- James BaldwinTo write about my enjoyment models, I could have picked teachers, I could have picked people extremely potent in their field, and I could have picked models and other aesthetically pleasing individuals. But instead, I found the perfect combination of all three my pay back. There isnt atomic number 53 person on this earth more educational, more competent, and more aesthetically pleasing than my mother. And there isnt one person on this earth that can re-direct my role model focus from her. My mother has suffered parental loss, the threat of cancer and what might be one of the hardest things to do, raising two girls. At this stage in her life, my mother is a highly regard woman in the Psychology world, a highly respected woman in the Catholic Church, and a highly respected woman in my family. Shes held us together in times... ... in Monopoly and make unfair candy trades at Halloween. Im still the world-class flutist, playing in my inhabit for hours at a time, tirelessly. She always finds time to go to my concerts and recitals. But Im so much more now. Im a young adult. Soon to be a college student. Ive transcended that comment and sc previous(a) stage to the friend and daughter stage. My mother is my life and my soul, someone that will always be a part of me, no matter how old this little bunny gets.

Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - The Powerful Wife of Bath

The Powerful Wife of Bath In Geoffrey Chacers The Canterbury Tales we are introduced to 29 people who are going on a pilgrimage to St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Each person is represented to fit a laughable type of behavior as shown by people during the medieval ages. My attention was drawn to the Wife of Bath through which Chaucer notes the gender inequalities. Predominantly, women could either choose to hook up with and become a childbearing wife or go into a religious order. Women were seen as property. Women during this period of time, had limited choices when it came to societal roles. The Wife of Bath exonerates the trustworthy roles of society, reflecting womens attempt to gain control during the medieval period. The General Prologue presents an interesting description of The Wife of Bath. Her character is noted to be strong and bold and we learn she is passably deaf. The Wife of Bath was married and widowed five times and has had numerous companions. The Wife of Bath is a skilled cloth maker and a prone Christian pilgrim who has made trips to several shrines. Through her unique introduction in The General Prologue we learn much of her somatogenetic attributes. The Wife of Bath is gapped tooth. Gat-toothed was she, soothly for to saye. Upon an amblere esily she sat (p.91, ll. 470-471) This physical feature is attributed to lust and passion. The fact that she could ride a horse easily also could take on sexual connotations (Maclaine 32). The horse she rides so well could really be her husband. Early in the Wife of Bath ... ... of Bath is unique in her style of thinking, which is what makes this character so interesting to study. Works Cited and Consulted Bowden, Muriel. A Readers hold to Geoffrey Chaucer. New York Noonday Press, 1964. Hallissy, Margaret. A Companion to Chaucers Canterbury Tales. London Greenwood Press, 1995. Herman, John P. and John J. Burke, Jr., ed. Signs and Symbols in Chaucers Poetry. Unive rsity, Alabama University of Alabama Press, 1981. Lambdin, Laura C. and Robert T. Lambdin, ed. Chaucers Pilgrims An Historical Guide to the Pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales. London Greenwood Press, 1996. Nardo, Don, ed. Readings on the Canterbury Tales. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 1997. Plummer, John F. The Wife of Baths Hat as a Sexual Metaphor. English Language Notes, 18 (1980-1981).

The Great Gatsby: Tragedy From Lies :: essays research papers

The Great Gatsby Tragedy From LiesIn the world people approximate to hide things from each other but one style or some other they find tabu what they are hiding. In the Great Gatsby by F. ScottFitzgerald, the silence and deceit practiced by Jay, Daisy, and Myrtle leads toinevitable tragedy when the truths are revealed.Jay failed to get a line that if you tell a hypocrisy most of the time theytend to get hold to a boil and burst. For example, "My family have been prominent,well-to-do people in this Middle western city for three generations."....pg.2why did he have to lie when he knew that if they in truth got to know him theywould find pop the truth. Jay gave everyone the impression that he was this kindof rich-snobbish guy. Who knows why. It is not always good to lie. In Jays casewhen it came down to them finding out the truth they didnt know whether he wastelling the truth or lying. So it was arduous for them to believe what he wassaying.Daisy was another who wo uld lie because she thought it would keephappiness. The way she lied was different from Jay. She lied to keep the personshe thought was the love of her life, turkey cock happy. Daisys relationship with TOmwas quite unusual. Tom was having an affair with Myrtle and Daisy real wantedto be with Tom, but not truly because she only did it because she thought shehad to. Daisy was really in love with Jay but because she felt like she had tobe in love with Tom she would make up lies to keep them together. Tom pretty oftentimes felt the same way or he thought Daisy really liked him so he didnt want tobreak her heart. But for them it didnt really act out well. If they would oftold each other their feelings and wouldnt of held them back from each otherthey could of discussed their personnal situations and they efficacy of had a niceseperation. But since they chose to keep things back from each other and lie toeach other everything went terrible. For instance when the story about Jay andDa isy was glide slope out she still wanted to keep it a secret so she said " occupylets all go home. Why dont we all go home?"...pg.131 it was coming out but shewas still trying to keep things back from Tom. What Daisy failed to understandwas the lying was not helping at this point at all.The Great Gatsby Tragedy From Lies essays research papers The Great Gatsby Tragedy From LiesIn the world people try to hide things from each other but one way oranother they find out what they are hiding. In the Great Gatsby by F. ScottFitzgerald, the secrecy and deceit practiced by Jay, Daisy, and Myrtle leads toinevitable tragedy when the truths are revealed.Jay failed to realize that if you tell a lie most of the time theytend to come to a boil and burst. For example, "My family have been prominent,well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations."....pg.2why did he have to lie when he knew that if they really got to know him theywould find out the truth. Jay gave everyone the impression that he was this kindof rich-snobbish guy. Who knows why. It is not always good to lie. In Jays casewhen it came down to them finding out the truth they didnt know whether he wastelling the truth or lying. So it was hard for them to believe what he wassaying.Daisy was another who would lie because she thought it would keephappiness. The way she lied was different from Jay. She lied to keep the personshe thought was the love of her life, Tom happy. Daisys relationship with TOmwas quite unusual. Tom was having an affair with Myrtle and Daisy really wantedto be with Tom, but not really because she only did it because she thought shehad to. Daisy was really in love with Jay but because she felt like she had tobe in love with Tom she would make up lies to keep them together. Tom prettymuch felt the same way or he thought Daisy really liked him so he didnt want tobreak her heart. But for them it didnt really work out well. If they would oftold each other thei r feelings and wouldnt of held them back from each otherthey could of discussed their personnal situations and they might of had a niceseperation. But since they chose to keep things back from each other and lie toeach other everything went terrible. For instance when the story about Jay andDaisy was coming out she still wanted to keep it a secret so she said "Pleaselets all go home. Why dont we all go home?"...pg.131 it was coming out but shewas still trying to keep things back from Tom. What Daisy failed to understandwas the lying was not helping at this point at all.

Skeptics and True Believers :: Free Essay Writer

Skeptics and True worshipersIn the first chapter, Raymo, opens with talk of his childhood. He brings to thesurface the fact that children will believe just about anything they ar told. In this chapter Raymo explains how people grow frm children into grown sdluts, peolpe somehow retain some of a childs ability to believe in the unbelievable. It is the True Believer that retains an absolute in some forms of empirically unverifiable make-belive... (13), wheras the Skeptic always keeps a wary eye even on firmly established facts.(14) For an example, Raymo uses the extend of Turin, which simplly a linen cloth that has the likeness of a man on it ( some belive this man to be Christ). He tells of a time when the Roman Catholic authorities allowed scientists to radiocarbon date the spread over. Small samples of the Shroud where sent with three samples controls of known age, to three independant labs. All three properly dated the controls and dated the Shroud to medieval time. Raymo conc lueded that a Skeptic would have taken the evidence and belived it, while the True Beliver would find no truth in what was found. In fact, he verbalize that the True Beliver would come up with explainations as to why the Shroud seems younger than it really is. In the next chapter, Raymo explains the main difference between Skeptics andTrue Believers is the polar of what most people would think. He explains howscientific concepts can be extraordinarily bizarre... (27), wheras the True Believerbelieve what may seem much more levelheaded and somewhat down to earth. The exampleRaymo uses for this is DNA and its ability to reproduce itself. This tiny double-helixsomehow manages to spilt and make a copy of its self from chemical components fromwhatever is meet it. It may seem easier for one to believe in a Shroud with a mans face in it, or the picture of deity in the Sistine Chapel, but it is the Skeptics who believe in the hard to concieve DNA. It is this DNA that contains the bluep rints of what we are to look, talk, and act like.In chapter four, Raymo again brings up his childhood. He tells how he was forcedinto religion. The perform would not allow doubts to be spoken. For if it where to bequestioned the whole religious system may fall apart. The only sources of informationwere the nuns, priest, and all other authorities that were elect by God.

Gays :: essays research papers

The Right to UniteSam* and Alex* have been together for two years. Recently, they decided that they would like to acquire a house together. This has not been an easy task as their lifestyle choice has caused them complications attaining a loan. Sam and Alex argon of the same sex. If they were married, as they one mean solar day hope to be, getting a home loan would not be an issue. However, because they are airy, they are unable to legalize their relationship in 48 of the 50 states.     The issue of gay marriage has been a very controversial subject since the late 1970s. As of 2004, same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized in any U.S. state. Recently the development of same sex civil unions includes the state of Vermont, which is designed to be similar to marriage. On May 16th, 2004, whoops and cheers and a party spilled onto the streets, gay and lesbian couples here began filling out applications for marriage licenses at 1201 a.m., when Massachusetts became the first state in the country to allow them to marry (Belluck). In 2004 a few local government officials, most notably the city officials of San Francisco, started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite being in conflict with state laws.      In 1993, Hawaii and California legalized the marriage of gay individuals, with Vermont not far behind. Proponents of this measure feel that this current movement toward recognition of same sex relationships has been a farseeing time coming. Those who are against gay marriages feel that by allowing gay individuals to marry, the whole concept of marriage would be destroyed.     Since 1989, same sex marriages have been legal in Denmark. Researchers have found that "the divorce rate among Danish homosexuals is only seventeen percent compared to forty-six percent for heterosexuals"(Jones, 22). Psychologists believe that there are several reasons for this. around homosexuals wh o are married have been together for several years before the wedding. Unlike heterosexuals, who often are wed months after the relationship begins.       Finally, "Danish gays and lesbians seldom divorce... (because)...only those who are strongly motivated to marry do so, given societys disapproval of overt homosexuality"(Jones, 22). Since the legalization of gay marriages in Hawaii and California are so recent, there are no current studies on the divorce rates among homosexuals in the United States. However, one would believe that Danish statistics in this nation would be comparable.

The Relevance of Sophocles to Today’s World :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Relevance of Sophocles to Todays WorldA play is meant to entertain. A play that amuses the audience is considered a comedy, and a play that saddens is classified as a tragedy. Sophocles wrote tragedies about ordinary people and their interaction with fate. All of Sophocles major characters posses a heroic taint. A heroic flaw is a trait that brings both good and bad events upon the character (Magill 3). Sophocles use of heroic flaws, the irony between a prophecy and a characters attempt to keep off it, his definition of what makes someone great, and his view of laws are the reasons why his plays are still read almost two thousand years after they were written. Sophocles was born in Colonus, Greece in 496 b.c.e. At the time of his birth, there was a legend about an exiled Theban king, Oedipus. It was said that Oedipus disappeared somewhere around Colonus, and because of this he protected the area (Magill 1). This record was the source of three of Sophocles greatest plays Oedipu s the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone (Romilly 2). Sophocles involvement in theatre started at a young age. He sang in a let out celebrating an Athenian naval battle. As an adult, Sophocles was credited with playing the lyre, a musical instrument, and he also played the lead role in one of his plays. save as he aged, he stopped appearing on stage because of his weakened voice. This ended the Greek custom of playwrights playing the lead role in their own plays (Magill 1). Sophocles won his first award for his plays at the festival of Dionysius in 648b.c.e. The other contender for this award was Aeschylus, an older and more experienced Greek playwright. A legend about this first victory states that because of high tensions over the competition, ten Athenian generals presented Sophocles the award instead of the customary ten government officials. Sophocles went on to attract this award twenty more times, more frequently than any other playwright. When he did not win, he came in second. He never came in put out place (Magill 2). A position in the government was a symbol of a persons status in society. When Sophocles plays were at the peak of their popularity, he served as the head of the treasury and as a general for the city of Athens (Magill 2). Sophocles power, popularity, and the greed of his eldest son provide an insight into how he viewed himself.

The Relevance of Sophocles to Today’s World :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Relevance of Sophocles to Todays WorldA play is meant to entertain. A play that amuses the audience is considered a comedy, and a play that saddens is classified ad as a tragedy. Sophocles wrote tragedies about(predicate) ordinary people and their interaction with fate. All of Sophocles major characters posses a heroic flaw. A heroic flaw is a trait that brings both good and bad events upon the character (Magill 3). Sophocles use of heroic flaws, the irony between a prophecy and a characters attempt to avoid it, his definition of what makes someone great, and his view of laws are the reasons why his plays are still read almost two thousand years after they were written. Sophocles was born in Colonus, Greece in 496 b.c.e. At the time of his birth, there was a legend about an exiled Theban king, Oedipus. It was said that Oedipus disappeared somewhere around Colonus, and because of this he protected the area (Magill 1). This tale was the source of trinity of Sophocles greatest p lays Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone (Romilly 2). Sophocles involvement in theatre started at a young age. He sang in a chorus celebrating an Athenian naval battle. As an adult, Sophocles was credited with playing the lyre, a musical instrument, and he also played the lead role in one of his plays. However as he aged, he stopped appearing on stage because of his weakened voice. This ended the Greek custom of playwrights playing the lead role in their own plays (Magill 1). Sophocles won his first award for his plays at the festival of Dionysius in 648b.c.e. The other contender for this award was Aeschylus, an older and more experienced Greek playwright. A legend about this first victory states that because of high tensions over the competition, ten Athenian generals presented Sophocles the award instead of the customary ten government officials. Sophocles went on to win this award twenty more times, more frequently than any other playwright. When he did not win, he came in second. He never came in last place (Magill 2). A position in the government was a symbol of a persons status in society. When Sophocles plays were at the peak of their popularity, he served as the gaffer of the treasury and as a general for the city of Athens (Magill 2). Sophocles power, popularity, and the greed of his eldest son provide an insight into how he viewed himself.

Racial inequality in the period 1945-55 Essay

How accurate is it to advance there was portentous progress towards racial in compare in the period 1945-55?Racial inequality in the USA was an extensive and evidential issue in the beginning, and controversially after this date period. What is crucial to say is that progress still needed to be make this is in spite of the colossal step forward predominately in the legal frame work of federal administration, and economic and social steps too, for example voting rights in the southern states. Arguably though these so called steps forward both military serviceed and hindered the fight for black equality. An example of this hinderance would be the rise in white opponent due to African American protests.One major problem in American society before 1945 was the lack of expression the black population had on American politics, and crucially if they could vote the amount of affect they could make.One effective section of American society that was positively throwd by primarily T rumans government was political appointments, and political alternate. Perhaps interestingly you could say, limitedly that political viewpoints and acceptance had been altered. On one section we look at political appointments. Under Trumans government we go across an attitude castrate to black people in politics. Before 1943 we have no African Americans in senior political and federal positions.However the change begins in this year when William Dawson and Adam Powell were elected to congress successively in 1949 we see William Haist become a Federal Judge. This arguably indicates a crucial change in viewpoints, or at least a step forward to this. Activism due to the war also heightened in1945. This point is crucial as its purpose consequences allowed depend action to influence political agenda. For instance the Morgan V. Virginia case in 1946, arguably wouldnt have appeared before the war. Irene Morgan with the help of the NAACP targeted supreme court, consequently ruling the sequestration in interstate busses was illegal. So here we have a pathway.Increased black activism, increased direct action and political judge appointments alongside government change of tactic leads to the conclusion that significant progress with conglomerate court cases have vastly improved the racial equality, in 1945-55. In hindsight we see a consequence of CNOs direct action campaign in Arkansas. In 1945 1.5% of black people could vote, however as a result of increased activism in 1947 17.3 voted. This was crucial as it shows the phenomenal change the war brought on activism and equality and more interestingly how the apparent change in political viewpoint changed how melanize people were able to express themselves politically, arguably this suggests its highly accurate to say this time period was significant.An otherwise example of how significant progress was do was how various economic impediments were overcome. Before 1945 Huge restrictions, even in the North were upon Black workers however under Trumans Government and the honorable these rights agenda things were about the change. Secure these rights was a committee set up by Truman to highlight inequality and changes to be made in America. There are several main examples that were helped by this scheme, arguably the most significant were the various proposals and departments set up in 1949 which were consequently proposed to congress. One main section would be the Fair Deal program. This initiative aimed to tackle fundamental economic inequalities. Evidence suggests that segregation was accentuated by literal segregation of communities.Black people had a lower standard of living. Under Truman in 1949 we see a government initiative providing a higher minimum wage and a humans housing scheme. to a greater extentover, looking at a contrary section of economic impediments we see a huge unemployment difference between black and white people, a startling statistic is that 62% of low paid fi ght jobs were done by black people, only 28% white. This huge juxtaposition in jobs was yet again tackled by Truman and Secure these rights In his 1949 speech (to an merged crowd) he pledged to not fund organisations that discriminate on the grounds of race.This was extended from before 1945 as the CGCC scheme. This arguably was achieved through Trumans fight in the cold war, but perhaps more significantly through the efforts of Black direct action. Evidence suggests that although segregation was still an issue, looking back years before this era significant change had been made to fundamentally the perception of people and the legal framework. I think looking at economic initiatives we see a path being built that wasnt thought of before 1945. In this I believe this era is fundamental for the successes of people like Martin Luther King and the NAACP in the decades to come.Social changes, mostly as a result of the factors above Eg. Secure these rights, also took place in this perio d. The fight for equality was most apparent in the South before 1945. We see all aspects of society from education to restaurants was segregated, but this was, at least attempted to be tackled in this era. Steps were being made, with the help of activism, courts and initiatives. With education we see Black children were being segregated in inferior schools and to many extents being treated as second house citizens. Fundamentally though this had wider consequents as this lack of quality education would put Black people for generations to come at a disadvantage helping segregation in the economy. present we have a historical pathway. As a result of the war activism was increased and groups such as CORE and the NAACP emerged. This allowed lobbying of supreme court, and laws to be passed in their favour, eg. Sweatt V. panther case (1950).In the Brown v. Topeka case we see that Direct action unswervingly caused the supreme court to rule in 1954 that segregation of schools was illega l. More over reported incidences of lynchings were proportionally lower in the afterward stages of this period, despite a boom after the increased activism. However on the whole the change is significant as it altered attitudes of the plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896, that black people can be separate but equal This new ruling on the whole goes against this and I believe this is the true change of this period, and in many respects a beginning to the end.The evidence suggests here that without a doubt this time, due to many different factors was crucially significant to the framework of equality that was needed to change older and newer generations viewpoints on African Americans. Arguably in this light, this period seems detrimentally effective.In unadulterated contrast we look on the other side of the spectrum. We see numerous de jure laws being placed, and we see that framework being laid but how significant is that progress? How effective were those laws? We are now underpinni ng how lowly de facto change actually took place, especially in the political realm. For example there was a change in law in particularly the southern states enabling Black people to vote. However Grandfather clauses (you had to be able to prove the previous two generations had voted) and incontestable literacy test or clause (the ability to read) stopped Black people from voting. In 1947,17.3% of black people could vote in new orleans but many were stopped because of sheer intimidation. More over in the North where arguably politically barriers were not present, poverty of black voters often stopped them from voting.So although laws had been placed preventing it the idea of white supremacy unceasingly found routes around this. So looking at the significance of the change, the evidence suggests they are relatively churl in the de facto change. Furthermore we look at Trumans significance, on one fade we see he was the first president (After Lincoln) to express Black equality so highly in his manifesto. However more significantly many of the proposals by Secure these rights never got passed. This is because of the overwhelming about of racists in congress arguably more could have been done in this period, but political factors stopped this from happening.The examples made earlier was the creation of the CGCC (Committee on Government contract compliance). At the time of creation, this seemed to have worked. However in hindsight we see that it was poorly conceived and could not force defence companies to implement fair employment. Here is a clear example of how on one side of the spectrum the CGCC seems to have made significant progress however when you dive deeper we see that itty-bitty change took place suggesting that this time period was not as significant as first thought. Perhaps if more defined laws had been implemented and congress backed Truman this time period could have been more effective. semipolitical factors were not the only topic to d oubt this eras significance. Stemming from this economically and socially, despite great change Black people still confront great hardship. In the South, they faced lower wages and higher unemployment. In 1950 one-third of black Americans lived in the North due to migration. This just fuelled the lower standards of living in ghettos, concentrated in industrial cities. On one hand this could be a positive factor, in that unemployment was down. Significantly though looking at segregation, black industrial workers were unconvincing to get payed the same as their white counterparts. Furthermore although unemployment had fallen they were still more likely to be unemployed than white Americans. For example in new-fangled York City 6% of the white population was unemployed, adversely the figure was 10% for black men.On one hand, arguably opportunities had been changed and improved for black workers, but significant progress still needed to be made. For instance socially, schools were st ill segregated on the large part in southern states, similarly in other aspects of life such as state bus services and social areas. Crucially black people were still treated like second class citizens, in this period, in many aspects of life. This point had not changed from before 1945. Segregation, although in many cases illegal put black citizens at a disadvantage constantly so they could never be in the same position as white people, suggesting significant progress still needed a lot of progress. higher up all, looking in hindsight at this point it seems the position of black people had fundamentally not changed, therefore one could conclude that it is not accurate to say significant progress had been made.In conclusion it is clear a combination of factors help both sides of this argument. On one hand we see that although de jure change has been made, little had been done to follow up these policy proposals, and on the whole peoples social, economic and political position chan ged very little. This is despite the steps forward in public engagement (direct action) and political momentum (Trumans government). COREs Journey of Reconciliation in 1947 is a prime example of this. On one hand we see black and white citizens standing up for what is right, non segregated interstate busses. However the consequence of this direct action was arrested campaigners and little media attention. Perhaps the years 1955, and later were more significant in making de facto change, in that problems were finally beginning to be solved at grass root level. However in stark contrast we look at the other side of the spectrum, relatively significant progress had been made.For example if you look at the years before 1945, we see little or no change to the legal framework, other than the 14th and 15th amendments that considerably contributed to equality of African Americans, however in this period we see crowd together of physical change in all aspects of society. More over we see in creased activism due to the war laid down the fundamental roots of direct action. For example one major fault of the Journey of reconciliation was the little time it was over, 2 weeks.However these newly founded groups (UDL, NAACP, CORE) in this period grounded themselves, and learnt for example the capital of Alabama bus boycott was a success, with the help of a better organised NAACP. On the whole I believe that it is hard to ignore the progress made in this period. From 1945, with primarily the help from supreme court many aspects of several generations lives were improved and this improvement is more that can be said for any other period of time. It is this comparison alongside compelling grass root policies of Trumans government that leads to the argument that it is accurate to say there was significant progress made 1945-55.

Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses Essay

Analyze funding opportunities for sm exclusively problemes, including the role of the Small Business electric pig (SBA). Then, evaluate the authorization of these funding opportunities in light of the current frugality.In this time of economic challenges, suggest devil ways that the SBA might be of assistance to your piddling business. apologise how you would request this assistance.Small businesses are leaders in innovation and drivers of the economy. Small businesses hold more patents than all of the nations universities and largest corporations combined, and create two thirds of all private sector jobs, employing half of all working Americans.The national government activity is the largest buyer in the world, spending over $500 billion distributively year. For the federal government, promise with footling businesses is common sense. Small businesses get the revenue they need to create jobs and drive the economy forward, and national agencies get the creativity, innov ation, and technical expertise of sharp businesses to help accomplish their mission. When shrimpy businesses are excluded from federal contracts, the Federal government, American taxpayers and the nations economy lose out.Over 30 years ago, sexual relation put down a goal of having a certain portion of all federal contracting dollars go to small businesses and established sub-goals for small businesses owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and service-disabled veterans of the Armed Forces, and for small businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones). The current government-wide goal for small businesses share of contracting dollars is 23%. either year since 2006, the Federal government has missed the 23% small business goal and all but one of the sub-goals the 2009 shortfall was greater than $4 billion. Removing barriers to federal contracting and increasing access for small businesses will go a long way in closing this gap.O ver the past 18 months, the Federal government has taken important stairs to increase opportunities for small businesses, from creating new online training for small businesses to issuing a proposed rule to create set-asides for women-owned small businesses in industries in which women are underrepresented. Last summer, the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration (SBA) co-led a government-wide effort that involved over 300 matchmaking and training events crosswise the country to train American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) contracts were awarded to a broad array of small businesses. With over 31% of Recovery Act contracting dollars going to small businesses, this initiative 2 Report on Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunities proved that, with committed leadership and the right tools, the government has the force to hold out and exceed the 23% small business contracting goal.Stronger rules. Insufficient guidance and gaps in current policy hamper the use of tools that provide contracting opportunities for small businesses. The Task Force recommends actions to strengthen and update policies where they are weak or outdated and develop policies where they are lacking. A better equipped, more assured and more accountable acquisition workforce. A lack of knowledge and agency accountability inhibits the governments ability to meet and exceed small business procurement goals on an ongoing basis. The Task Force recommends increasing the knowledge base and efficiency level of the procurement workforce and providing appropriate incentives and accountability for agencies to meet small business goals. Improved outreach and better use of technology and data. The current data systems in the federal acquisition environment are cumbersome and non user friendly for many small businesses, especially for those who are new to the systems and trying to get their foot in the door.The Task Force recommends a one-stop memory board for easier access to procurement information, as well as greater focus on the accuracy of procurement data. In the following report, the Task Force outlines the backbone recommendations and actions needed to meet these priority objectives. The Task Force will report to the President by December 30, 2010, on progress in the implementation of the recommendations in this report. SBA, Commerce, OMB, and the other members of the Task Force are committed to increasing opportunities for small businesses. Small businesses, including businesses owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and service-disabled veterans of our Armed Forces, must(prenominal) be able to participate in the Nations economic recovery. They must be able to compete effectively for federal contracts so our agencies, taxpayers, and the broader economy can reap the full benefit of their talents and services. 3 Report on Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunities REPORT INTERAGENCY TASK FO RCE ON FEDERAL CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Small businesses are leaders in innovation and the drivers of the economy holding more patents than all of Americas universities and largest corporations combined, creating two thirds of all private sector jobs and employing half of all working Americans.The Federal government is the largest buyer in the world, spending over $500 billion each year. For the Federal government, contracting with small businesses is common sense. Small businesses get the revenue they need to create jobs and drive the economy forward, and federal agencies get the creativity, innovation, and technical expertise of small businesses to help accomplish their mission. When small businesses are excluded from federal contracts, agencies, small businesses, taxpayers and the broader economy lose out. For more than half a century, it has been the policy of the Federal government to provide maximum practicable opportunity for small businesses to particip ate in federal contracts. To achieve this objective, Congress established an aspirational goal in 1978 for the percentage of one-year prime contract spending that should be awarded to small businesses each year.Congress later set the government-wide goal at 23% and created a set of sub-goals to support the participation of special segments of the small business community small disadvantaged businesses (5%), women-owned small businesses (5%), service-disabled-veteran-owned small businesses (3%), and small businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) (3%). These goals help ensure that a diverse set of small businesses share in the jobs and opportunities created by federal contracting. Since 2006, the Federal government has missed the 23% small business contracting goal and all but one of the sub-goals the 2009 shortfall for the small business goal was more than $4 billion. This gap must be closed.The barriers to entry for small businesses are numerous weak polic ies and rules that limit the effectiveness of tools that are supposed to facilitate contracting opportunities inadequate workforce training to help contracting officers, small business advocates, and program offices understand how to successfully use contracting tools and a lack of coordination among and accessibility to agency training and outreach events designed to help small businesses sweep the contracting system. Action must be taken to remove these barriers and ensure small businesses get access to federal contracts. A number of important gradations have been taken or are underway to remove barriers and open more doors for small businesses in the federal marketplace. Later this year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will implement a new rule on contracting with women-owned small businesses. For the first time, contracting officers will have a tool to set aside contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses in 4 Report on Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunities industries where women are under-represented. This is a critical step toward increasing opportunities for women-owned small businesses. This year SBA conducted the first comprehensive reexamination of regulations in ten years governing its 8(a) business development program for disadvantaged small businesses to ensure the programs effectiveness and increase 8(a) firms capacity to obtain contracts. A series of new online training courses have been rolled out (www.sba.gov/training) to fling small business owners through the steps involved in becoming a government contractor. These tools help small businesses navigate the process. SBA is conducting a comprehensive review of its size standards for small businesses the first in 25 years to ensure they accurately reflect the state of each industry. SBA is working actively to identify and snuff out waste, fraud, and abuse in its business programs through a strengthened certification, eligibility and enforcement process.

Drinking Age Controversy

In the United States, a citizen is considered an adult at the age of 18, and with that innovative title comes many responsibilities, such as the right to vote and to join the army. However, the legal drink age in America is twenty-one. This issue has been a study controversy for some time now that faces both national and state governments. Should the tipsiness age be lowered to the age when legally a somebody becomes an adult and assumes all other adult responsibilities, or should it remain at a higher age to allow nation to grow more senesce and, hopefully, make more responsible decisions?In the mid 1600s, colonial laws attempted to control inebriant consumption, but potable per se was not remonstrated. Between 1913 and 1919 on that point was a lot of controversy between the wet states, which were states that allowed liquor, and the dry states, which were against and had made liquor illegal. On October 28, 1919, Congress enacted the National parapet Act, as well known as the Volstead Act. The 18th Amendment was to become effective on January 17, 1920, and in those three months before the amendment became effective, alcohol was stolen in mass quantities from government w arehouses.Throughout the thirteen years that Prohibition was enforced, the demand for alcohol only grew. The 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933 following the twenty-first Amendment, which was effective immediately. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act followed the 21st Amendment on July 17, 1984 stating that all states prohibit anyone under the age of 21 consuming, purchasing, or being in possession of alcohol. If the states would not comply with the law, they would not get backing under the Federal Aid Highway Act. This bill was supported by many people, one being arguably the most influential, was Candy Lightner.She founded the MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) after(prenominal) losing her daughter in 1980 to a car accident involving a drunk number one wood. On average, according to MADD statistics, a person is killed by a drunk driver every forty minutes. In 2007, about 13,000 people were killed in alcohol impaired driving crashes. A binge drinker is defined as a person who has more than 5 drinks in one sitting, which is becoming a large issue at college campuses worldwide. Presidents from over 100 universities have voted to lower the drinking age in order to cut the amount of underage drinking on campuses. Frequent users will drink anywhere from three times a week to everyday.A moderate user is someone who drinks anywhere from once a week to once a month. The decision of whether or not to redeem the drinking age at 21 or lower it to 18 is continually discussed between groups such as MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who fight to keep the drinking age at 21 and LAFAA, Legalize Alcohol For All Adults, who fight to lower the drinking age. Karl Marxs Conflict Theory is one way to excuse the disagreements between those who want to lower the drinking age, and those who dont.His theory states that social organization and change is based upon conflicts within the society. People between the ages of 18 and 21, called stakeholders, odor that they arent getting to exercise all of their rights to being an adult by government definition. They disposed all of the responsibilities and consequences of adults such as the right to vote, the ability to adopt, the right to join the military, the right to be charged with the highest punishment if accused of a crime, the right to get married, the right to buy and create pornography, etc.LAFAA would argue that with given all of these rights, government defined adults would also have to right to choose whether or not to consume alcohol. The families that allow their children to drink give a at odds(p) message to those who are a part of the underage drinking. Children then grow up thinking that underage drinking isnt a big stagger and is also a fun and cool thing to do. A large pa rt of the cool factor, some would say, has to do with it being illegal to their age group. The efflorescence is what makes the drinking more exciting.The law also states that government usually follows majority opinion, and if this is fact, then the drinking age would be lowered seeing that two-thirds of Americans consume alcohol. Those line of reasoning for keeping the drinking age at or above 21, such as MADD, argue that lowering the drinking age would enable younger adults to be able to purchase and drink alcohol legally, which would inevitably result in higher mortality rates. Although 18 year olds are considered adults, some think that they are still not mature enough to make to correct choices about alcohol.Those who think that keeping the drinking age at a higher lower limit are trying to keep the demand for alcohol down and are also trying to keep the roads safer from drunk drivers. People between the ages of 18 and 20 will have just started college for the most part and d ont need alcohol interfering with their studies and their ability to succeed in life. Condoning the drinking of newly formed adults would only cause chaos and cause more fatalities. To MADD the cost of drinking outweighs the benefits since the highest numbers of fatalities in the United States are due to alcohol related deaths.Evidence tends to support the notion that keeping the drinking age at 21 is the safest and most responsible thing to do. Although it is taking some of Americans rights away, it is also ensuring the safety of thousands of citizens. Depending on whether you are liberal or conservative, opinions on how many rights government should take away will differ tremendously. The safety of American people should always be the most important aspect of keeping the United States a safe and enjoyable place to live. No matter whether the age is unbroken at 21 or lowered to 18, the controversy between the groups will never end.Referenceshttp//www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/LIBRA RY/studies/nc/nc2a.htm

Do Curfew Keep Teens Out of Trouble Essay

Even with a curfew teens result do what they want to do. If that means sneaking verboten, lying or skipping school or etcetera sneaking out leads a teen a thrill and like they atomic number 18 invincible. That just makes them more likely to do much more self-destructive stuff. Also, having a curfew just adds stress on a teen, because they will freak out about running late and traffic causing them to be late. If anyone says that kids will be too scared to sneak out, well wouldnt they be to break an actual law? Does curfew really keep teens out of trouble? Curfews give teens the chance to change and it works because they have less era out to cause the trouble and get Pregnant do vandalism, go stealing dispense drugs, smoke Cigarettes, and have under age sex get involved with the police and Intimidating Behavior. Thats the reason many people believe curfews are a good idea however giving your chela a curfew is not going to stop them from doing all this stuff. They may not do it during the shadow or during their curfew but they may be doing it at day time or even skip school and go get in trouble. Having a curfew does not decrease crimes.Numerous articles by credible sources such as the (National Center for Policy Analysis, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, and the US segment of Justice) all unanimously agree that curfew, in fact, does NOT lower new-fangled crime rates of any kind. Also, I found that the amount of arrests in new-made for breaking curfew greatly outnumbers the amount of arrests for any other crime in young. All of this goes to show that curfews in fact have no effect, and that teaching young teens to have morals and know what is right and what is wrong is greatly more effective than curfews. Ive had my share of sneaking out, and staying out WAY past the time my parents set before me. Its only because if you say I cant do something, I want to prove everyone wrong and say that I can do that, and you cant do anything to stop me. Curfew is just a fence that can be climbed and jumped over. It wont keep teens out of trouble regardless of what people want to believe.Its denial and you know it. Just because they have a curfew it doesnt mean that they arent going to get in trouble. It may limit the things they do. Which in turn limits the trouble they get in, but it doesnt stop them from doing things to get them in trouble. (Wylie Tanton said on April 11, 2012 I in person think teens shouldnt have a curfew because whether or not they have curfew teens still get themselves into trouble, not only during the night. http//www.collegenet.com/elect/app/app?service=external/assembly&sp=42891) Almost never its extremely rare that a curfew will keep a teen from what they want to do.Whether they blatantly ignore you and just head out the front door or sneak out, theyre going to go there either way. If you try to prevent any of that by earthing or forcing them to stay, it just makes them more willing to do it. By making a curfew, you are making the teen more tempted to break it. On (debate.org) 32% of the people said curfews do keep teens out of trouble and 68% of the people disagree curfews keep teens out of trouble. Actually depending on how early a curfew is, the curfew might be no more than a pothole in a teenagers plan.Most teenagers have no problem conclusion trouble at any time during the day. If its out there, it will be found by someone. As long as you know where your child is, let them go during weekends and the summer. How will your child ever learn to be independent, without ever having an opportunity to be out on their own? Parents are creditworthy for their children, so if they know where they are and who they are with, no real strict curfew should be needed.