Not the official Health & Wealth Ad. Just a teaser for the real thing below.

This is not the official Health & Wealth Magazine ad, this is just a teaser.  See the official version below.

Health & Wealth Magazine 2009

America the Beautiful: What We're Fighting For

In "America the Beautiful: What We're Fighting For" by Dinesh D'Souza, the author hopes to persuade the reader to accept his viewpoint on why Islamic terrorism exists in the world today. With an impressive resume as a policy analyst from Stanford, D'Souza's argument seems legitimate, and compelling.   However, D'Souza resides in the conservative fear camp, and his policies for Islamic fundamentalist eradication are off base.

Every time I hear an author or speaker like D'Souza talking about how the only solution to the problem with Islamic fundamentalists is totally annihilation, that concerns me.   There is no doubt that America is the greatest country on earth, and those of us lucky enough to live here should appreciate that everyday.  But, for us to impose our way of life to everyone on earth is not right.  

If it were as simple as America fighting for this grand idea of freedom for the world, without the corruption of money and power that some American politicians and big businesses strive for, then 100% of American's would support freeing the world.  However, money, power, religion, political ideals, and control of resources is still the underlying motivation.

I would love to hear D'Souza's war plan for ridding the world of Islamic extremists.  I mean, the detailed, actual war plan.  Would he just send in a couple sharp shooters and take out the few bad guys?  And after taking out that bad guy, would that bad guy's sons care?  Would he have to take them out too?   After taking out that guy and his 5 sons, would he then have to kill the mother as well?  Wouldn't she be ticked about the loss of her family as well?  How about uncles? etc. etc. etc. etc. D'Souza, and his type, are unrealistic. There is no way to strategically take out a few bad guys and rid the world of Islamic Fundamentalists.  As soon as one of the "bad guys" were taken out, another would take his place instantaneously.  

How did America become free and independent?  Did somebody come into this country and impose freedom on us?  No, it started from within.  American's wanted America to be free of any parent country or external control and we made it happen.  If people truly want freedom in their countries, then they will fight for it.  And that fight from within will be more meaningful than if we go hand them "freedom."  That doesn't mean we should let bad things happen when we see it.   We should help when it's needed, but that help must be towards a realistic end.

America will win the hearts of the world's people when we care as much about the repression in Africa, for example, as we do in Iraq or Iran.  If we are truly in the game of spreading freedom, then there are plenty more countries to spread freedom than the middle east.  Let's get to it if that's what this is truly all about. 

Final Grammar Post

Wow, where did the time go? It seems like we just started class, and now it's over.

For my final grammar post I am going to sum up my issues and show my improvement. Overall, I would say I have improved my grammar substantially. I am glad Chelsi had use do these weekly exercises on our own; I would have studied my grammar as much otherwise. These grammar posts inspired me to want to learn more about grammar.

For this week I want to share with you all an online grammar lecture that I found to be brillant. It's called "The Modern Scholar: A Way With Words Part III: Grammar for Adults" By Professor Michael D. C. Drout. The publisher gives this summary on the lecture:

Who eats shoots and leaves? A panda? Or a gunman at a restaurant? The answer to this all depends on - you guessed it - grammar. In the third part of his extraordinary Way with Words series, Professor Drout continues to explore humanity's intimate association with language, here delving into the finer points of English grammar. Since others judge you by the way you speak, the intricacies of grammar, in fact, should not be relegated to the realm of fussy "guardians of the language," but are rather essential clues all can employ to communicate more exactly. In such a light, this course forms an invaluable guide for everyone from all fields of interest.

You can find the link to purchase the audio at http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_RECO_002562&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

The price is around $49.00, but I think it is well worth it.

Grammar Post

I am a big fan of testing to see how much I know about a certain subject. I found another cool test at Grammar Mastery Test. It's kind of a long test, but it's worth it.

Michael

Comparison/Contrast

I am most intrigued to write an essay in the comparison/contrast form. I found a website that has 4 simple rules to follow when writing this style. They are:

1. 1st Compare, then contrast (or vice versa).
2. 1st do one idea, then do the other.
3. Write only about the comparable and contrastable elements of each idea.
4. Only compare or only contrast.

Each of these rules is broken down in detail on this website. Click here if you are interested to learn more about this style.

Michael

Grammar Post

Ok guys, here it is, your Mid Term Diagnostic English Grammar Test (actually it is not hard at all, just good practice more than anything).  Check it out here!

Along with feedback from an instructor, tests are another good way to gauge your grammar.  Grammar is so vitally important to successful writing.  It makes sense to improve grammar as much as possible whenever you can.