Persuasion at its best...

I gave my persuasive speech on The Humane Society of the United States because it is a topic that I feel very strongly about. I believe that I did very well on my speech. I talked about almost everything that I wanted to and did not use emotion to appeal to my audience. I had a lot of information and statistics in my speech that helped me make my point. The websites that I used were all good sources to use and had a lot of great information on them.
My counterarguments and arguments were solid and I made a lot of good points while talking about my topic. I used information from the Humane Society of the United States website about what they are trying to do outside of animal agriculture. The gaming world will probably have to start working against them soon as well because The Humane Society of the United States is looking to expand.
I feel that I talked at a pretty good pace and was able to keep everyone in the audience awake and paying attention except for Warren. My voice was a little monotonous but I did have fluctuation in it as I spoke. I also used some hand gestures to add emphasis to places in my speech. That day, I also wore a nice shirt and look presentable. My speech was well organized and my visual aid went along well with the presentation of my speech.

Immigration Laws have more Problems

Immigration has been a problem that we have had to deal with for two hundred years. All of us come from families that immigrated here. This nation was built with people from hundreds of other nations fleeing for refuge. The immigrants are what built this nation. Jennifer Holle makes many good points in her blog comparing two articles about this very topic.
These two articles both show biased based on political parties. MSNBC is a liberal news source and their view on the immigration law definitely sides with what the typical stereotype for liberals is. They are more opposed to this law passed by the Arizona governor.
FOX News is a conservative biased news source and that definitely rears its head in their article. They are backing the law passed by the Republican governor.
I feel that this law is not fair. It forces officers to place judgment on people. They have a hard enough job to do as it is, but by adding this to it, they are going to receive a lot of scrutiny. I believe that this law is going to lead to a lot of racial stereotypes. This is also going to get a lot of people in trouble.
I think that this law needs to be lifted. There needs to be a national law put in place to help solve the immigration problem. They should make it easier to become a citizen as well as make the borders harder to pass through. This would lead to better availability of jobs and make this nation a more fair place for everybody that lives here.

Nothing Runs Like a Deere

John Deere and Ford have been competing for many years now. John Deere has been ahead in popularity for many years; ever since they came out with the John Deere 4020. That was their first six cylinder tractor. Before that, they had been known as Johnny Two-Poppers. Ford had one of the best tractors of all time. They came out with the 8-N in 1947 and it is looked at as a tractor that changed the way that all tractors were made. These two companies, Ford and John Deere, have been making tractors for well over half a century.
“I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me” (John Deere). This is a quote from the man who made this tractor famous. The 4020 was the best selling tractor Deere and company ever made. By 1966 Sales of the 4020 accounted for 48% of all John Deere tractor sales. This was the tractor that started it all. I feel that John Deere tractors are much better because they seem to be higher quality and more durable. They are on the top of the world when it comes to production and new technology. John Deere is also the most reliable tractor out there according to sources; however, quality comes with a price tag.
Ford Company was a multi-product company. They were more famous for producing their cars than anything else. When they came out with the 8-N, they became a pretty big hit. They do have a lot of quality tractors as well. The tractors they produce are also at a lower cost which is good for farmers who do not need the biggest and best tractors to get by. These tractors are very affordable and reliable.
After reading through the two lists of the all the tractors and their specs, I still feel that John Deere has better tractor and is a better company overall.

I Can't Believe we aren't Eating Butter!

I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter!
There is one age-old debate that sticks out in my mind when I think of real versus fake food and it can be semi-controversial. They both have their drawbacks and positive sides, but when it comes to butter and margarine, I would choose butter one-hundred percent of the time. As a dairy farmer, I may have a biased opinion, but I believe that the truth is that butter is better for you. It is a natural food that has been around for hundreds of years. Butter also has a lot less “fake” ingredients than margarine. The “fake” ingredients in margarine cause reduced quality in breast milk as well as slowing immune response time. I think that those are some pretty big drawbacks when it comes to eating margarine over butter.
There are some positives that come with eating margarine over butter unfortunately. Margarine has a lower level of saturated fats by about 2 grams per tablespoon of each. There are also many studies out there that say margarine is healthier for you in many different ways. One of the most commonly stated ways is the fact that margarine does not become rancid or spoils like butter tends to. Also, butter is made from a very fattening cream that is produced from the milk of cows.
I have eaten both and definitely prefer the taste of butter over margarine. I also prefer butter over margarine after reading these two articles. To me, margarine sounds fake and not healthy for you. It does not spoil or get rancid and that right there should warn you that it is packed with more preservatives than I care to be putting into my body. As a dairy farmer, I will continue to support myself by buying my own butter that is made from the cows that I milk.

Satire from one Miss Jennifer Holle

Jennifer Holle's blog for the celebrity endorsement was very good. I really like the way that she talks about him wearing two pairs of pants: the purple tights and the trusty Wranglers. They definitely are two very different types of pants and makes for a catchy hook and introduction to her blog. She also stated her opinion in the blog and was clear and concise while writing. The post was very organized and easy to follow. The best part about the blog was not Brett Favre, but the way she stated everything and made it satirical.
I believe that this is a good choice for wrangler because there slogan is “You can count on Wrangler. Comfort, Quality, Value.” When Brett Favre was still in Green Bay, he was a very dependable quarterback. Wrangler Jeans are also a very durable pair of jeans. I own a few pairs of Wrangler and I like them a lot and they seem to last for quite a bit longer than the fancier jeans. Brett Favre is the most durable player of all time in the National Football League. He has started almost 300 games which is more than any player in the NFL. If that was not impressive enough, it has been a consecutive streak that started on September 27th, 1992. Now if that is not durability, I do not know what is. Brett Favre also benefits from this endorsement because he is getting paid to show off jeans that he loves to wear and hardly has to do anything. They also give him the genuine, hard-working person look that is easy for people to remember.
There are also many other celebrities that endorse these jeans as well. Jason Aldean and George Strait are probably two of the best to endorse the jeans because they are looked at as cowboys and that is the image I think of when I go to buy Wranglers.

Cookie for me, Cookie for you

I gave my speech on how to make chocolate chip cookies. It was a fairly easy topic to give a speech on because I already knew how to make the cookies. Those are also some really good cookies to eat and they go great with ice cream, or in ice cream.
After reviewing my speech, I think that there are a lot of things that I did well and there are things that also need some improvement. I believe that the rate of speech was very good. It was slow and easy to understand and follow. I was also very thorough with my steps and directions. The introduction was very solid and introduced the topic very well. It gave a little history and background and added depth to my speech. The speech was also within the time limit of five to six minutes. Furthermore, I feel that it was very well organized. There was also a little bit of humor added to it to break the tension and I did not laugh when I said the jokes.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I sounded very monotonous while I was speaking and that is never good when giving a speech. Some of the audience was probably just ready to eat the cookies and was wondering why this guy was up there speaking. But hey, everyone got cookies. I also seemed a little uneasy up in front of the class and that was evident when I stuttered or lost my train of thought. I could have also made more eye contact with the audience, especially during my introduction.
Overall, it was a solid speech and definitely was worthy of the grade I received on it. I was happy with it and the cookies were tasty so all went well.

Breakfast with Tiffany

I live in Babcock House on University Avenue. We are a corporation that is tax exempt and very low cost, but that is not important. The best thing about Babcock House is having eight meals a week made for us by our fabulous cook Tiffany. She comes in to the house Monday-Thursday to cook and prepare meals for us. I have the luxury of helping out Tiffany on Mondays and Wednesdays. I usually don’t have to do a whole lot because she does all of the planning for the meals. She also orders all of our cooking supplies from Dierks-Wakesha Food Supply. All of our meals are made from scratch and I believe that Michael Pollan would approve. Tiffany definitely cooks by the motto “mostly plants,” which is a big part of Michael Pollan’s book.
When I help Tiffany out on Mondays and Wednesdays, I help her out from 11:00-12:10. In that time, I help do a variety of tasks. I set the table and do little odds and ends to help her out every time; however, this past Wednesday, I got to make some cookies all on my own for dessert. She was short on time and didn’t have enough cookies for everyone. I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I used semi-sweet chocolate that had to be cut up, rather than the usual Nestle Chocolate Chips. I used the recipe from the back of the Nestle bag. The cookies turned out well and everyone liked them.
I also helped her make the Vietnamese sandwiches that day which consisted of pork, carrots, cucumbers, and peppers. They are very healthy for us. With Tiffany here as our cook, it is not necessary to plan a meal because she does all of that for us. She makes sure we all eat healthy food.

Juju's Valid Opinion

After reading Jake's blog on Tiger Woods and Gatorade, I think that there are many valid points in his argument. Gatorade could have found many other celebrities to endorse their product. Football players or soccer players probably would have made more sense for the very reason that Jake stated; those sports require a lot more physical activity. Even a baseball player would make more sense to me; however, they chose Tiger Woods, a golfer. He was a very powerful voice in the sports world.
He still is a very powerful person, but he has lost a lot over the last five or six months. Tiger has gone from cloud nine to rock bottom. For reasons that we are all aware of, Gatorade has since dropped the contract with Tiger and he is no longer an advertisement for the thirst-quenching company. PepsiCo ended the Tiger Gatorade drinks in mid-November just before the scandal broke out. That was for economic reasons. They completely ended their partnership in late February.
However, I feel that this was a good endorsement for Tiger and PepsiCo. Tiger was a very big name in sports and just his name could sell products. The commercials that he did were always a very powerful tool and attracted the attention of many. PepsiCo, the owner and maker of Gatorade, used this to promote the product and it seems to have worked out. Gatorade is the official drink of most sporting events and is a favorite of young athletes. Tiger benefited and was compensated with money as well as more stardom.
I believe that Tiger will still be a big player in the advertisement world. He just needs to get back onto the golf course and make sure the only balls that he uses are the ones he puts on the golf tee.

Response to Jenn's post

I agree with Jennifer for the most part. She brings up a lot of valid points about Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food. The Western diet has change the way of life for many people as the diet is created from a blend of cultures that merged and mixed. I agree that this has led to many health problems, the biggest one being obesity. Obesity also leads to many other health problems such as diabetes, heart problems, and respiration problems. This is also increasing our cost of health care and leading to more debt nationally.

Jennifer also states that nutrition is another cause of obesity. The Western diet has a very wide variety of choices of food to eat. There is a lot that is in all of the food that is causing problems.

There is no real sure answer or solution to fix the problem but there are some simple suggestions that Jennifer made. Consumers need to take responsibility of their food choices, understanding the benefit of real foods versus synthesized products. There is no doubt that choosing to eat healthy foods and getting regular physical activity has positive health benefits. The challenge now is how to inform people to make the right decision.

Carrie Underwood: an Idol for HSUS

Here is a celebrity endorsement for everyone. Carrie Underwood, American Idol winner and country superstar, has stated the Humane Society of the United States is her favorite charity. She grew up on a farm with a few animals in Oklahoma and has always had a deep passion for animals. Carrie Underwood also has a little dog named Ace that travels with her everywhere. She has been an advocate for HSUS for a few years now. Carrie Underwood is most outspoken about getting pets spayed and neutered to prevent unwanted pregnancies among pets. Another of her main platforms is sending the message that acquiring a pet has a lot of responsibilities as well. Many of the people just get a pet because it is cute looking when it is little. They are unaware of all of the responsibilities and the ten to twenty year commitment that comes with having a pet. The Humane Society of the United States has teamed up with Carrie Underwood and, together, they have made a website to help pet owners out and give them tips. I believe that this endorsement has helped out both of the parties involved.

This is a win-win for both Carrie Underwood and HSUS but I do not support this endorsement. I feel that the Humane Society of the United States is not a very transparent organization and the use misconception to sway public opinion. I realize Carrie Underwood is a vegan as well and has many of the same views as much of the HSUS brass; however, she grew up on a farm in Oklahoma with dairy cattle and HSUS is currently trying to pass a lot of legislation that is going to hurt dairy farms as well as pig and poultry farms. I think she is too far removed from her roots and has also fallen for the misconceptions that HSUS has placed on the table. For these reasons, I feel that this was not a good endorsement for her.

A Book and some Controversy

Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, is a book with much controversy surrounding it in the Agriculture industry. He is clearly against the commercialization of farming and believes that farms should still be the old family farms of the early 1900s. He shows that he is against these farms and refers to them as ‘factory farms.’ I believe that we have to start moving to the commercializing of the dairy industry in order to keep up with the growing demand of dairy products. According to the Wisconsin Agriculturist Magazine, large dairy farms produce 55 percent of the milk currently in the market. However, due to land availability, the large farms are mostly on the west coast of the United States. Farms on the west side of the nation average about 1,200 cows per farm. Farms on the eastern side of the nation usually average about 50 cows in size. California is also the state with the most dairy production.

Michael Pollan also talks about other practices in his book. He starts off his book by saying “eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This is his basis for almost the entire book and he obviously feels very strongly about it. Within the first paragraph, he mentions that eating meat will not hurt but it should be looked at as more of a side dish. He argues and asks if a “steak from a feedlot steer that consumed a diet of corn, various industrial waste products, antibiotics, and hormones still a ‘whole food’?” He believes that since farmers got away from feeding and raising their animals on a grass pasture, the quality of the meat has greatly decreased. He states that animals feed for meat production have been altered to put weight on too fast and this leads to low quality meat. I also do not agree with Pollan on his opinion about meat and how it should be eaten. I feel that meat should still be a main dish and should also be eaten at every meal.