Wanted: Police

Lately, Chicago has been growing in violence, and people are putting the blame on Daley and the lack of police officials being hired. Daley claims that the growing violence does not have to do with not hiring more policemen. His evidence is that, "we have an economic crisis. . . " so the violence rate is up, and the jobs are down. He further states that cuts in Chicago's funds will be made since "We have to look at this in a four-year financial plan; we're not going to be irresponsible." Daley's statement that it is based off of economic crisis warrants that because of the economy issues, many people are being laid off and few people are being hired which leads to more desperate times and therefore more violence. He also doesnt want to be irresponsible so he and the government need to make every step carefully so they don't land in debt. Mayor Daley is basing his argument upon logic (logos) with the economic issues, as well as pathossince he doesnt want to mess up the economy or Chicago further. I think Mayor Daley makes a good argument putting the lack of police force on the economy, however, there's no hiding the fact that if there were more police, violence rates would most likely go down.

iPhones, Uggs, and Religion

While reading my morning Tempo section of the Chicago Tribune, I stumbled upon an article title that immediately got my attention. It read: "Catholicism suddenly trendy." It wasn't the religion or even the article itself that stood out to me, it was the word describing Catholicism, "trendy." In American Studies, we are discussing the lives of the Puritans, a community based off of religion, and eventually, Puritanism died out, just like how snap-on bracelets or baggy overalls died out in the 90s. So that got me thinking, is religion simply put, a trend?


A trend in fashion is made by a designer who is sick of the old trends so he/she designs a line, puts it on the runway, and one domino effect later, every Walmart or Kohl's is mass producing it. If brought down to the basics, religion is very similar. For example, Puritanism was created by a group of people who were sick of Europe being under the Catholic rule, so they started Puritanism. Puritanism didn't become the "next hot thing" per say, but it had enough of a following to bring people over to the New World, begin communities there and later have the country be one of the most powerful in the world. However, similar to every trend, it died off and newer religions took hold of the populations creating the United States of America to be what it is today. In today's world, Kabbalism is an example of a "trendy religion." It is a mystical religion inspired by the Jews thousands of years before it was sold to the American public by Madonna and her red bracelet. Still today people strut around with their evil eye bracelets although they may not know the true Kabbalistic reasons behind it. The difference however, is that in America it is more about the trendiness of Kabbalism than the actual practice of it.


I am not saying religion is strictly or predominantly trendy. However, when looked at closely, the connection between religion and the word trend is more evident then one would expect which I find very interesting.

Some websites that might interest you:

Kabbalah: http://www.kabbalah.com/01.php

The article I read (in the paper it was titled "Catholicism Suddenly Trendy"): http://www.kabbalah.com/01.php

ps: The Cubs are in the playoffs =]

The Forgotten Voters

While discussing contemporary Native Americans in class, and the election just around the corner, I began to wonder: Who will the majority of Native Americans' vote for?

I had never heard politicians speak outright about any Indian issues, mostly because those views do not speak for the majority of the American population. While I was researching, I was surprised to find an abundance of information that swings both left and right. A You-tube video I found explained that the Indians of Fort Peck Reservation in Northeastern Montana were in great support of Obama, and even named him, "Black Eagle." Typically, Native Americans' vote democratic, and with Obama, many Indians feel closer to him since, as one man states that, "The Blacks have suffered like the Native Americans have." According to the video, Fort Peck Reservation will be voting for Obama.

McCain, however, seems to becoming more popular. McCain has made obvious effort to meet, greet, and understand Native Americans. Not only was he the only candidate at the NCAI's national convention, but he was also the chairman for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. His knowledge with how tribal governments work independently and with the US government is wide and respectable. The issue with McCain and the Native Americans, however, are his environmental views.

The Native American choice should not swing voters one way or the other, but their 1 percent of the population will have a significant role in the upcoming election.

My First Blog!

This is my first blog!

I'll blog again later...

-Bari