Reflection 7: Shaking Things Up—Living in Earthquake Country

Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

California is earthquake country. We all know it. We should all be prepared. We all expect "The Big One" to come ... someday. But aside from the occasional tremblor, it's sometimes easy to forget about just how perilous the place we call home can be. Yet, as we recently witnessed in Japan, living in an earthquake-prone area can have devastating impacts. Here at home, the East Bay's Hayward Fault, called the most dangerous urban fault in America, sits under two and a half million residents. In fact, all of California's major cities lay on or near potentially catastrophic fault lines. And yet, we stay put. Why? Why do we put ourselves at so much risk to live here—and why are so many others still clamoring to live here? Is California worth the risk? How often do you think of the dangers of earthquakes? Do they impact your life on a daily basis? Finally, are you prepared for a major quake?

Requirements:

• MLA format
• 2 pages minimum

Due: We 4.27 / Th 4.28

Bangor Man Arrested After Calling San Francisco Man a ‘Sexual Slur’

By Nok-Noi Ricker, Bangor Daily News
04.20.11

BANGOR, Maine — A local man who apparently repeatedly called a man from San Francisco a sexual slur caused a Tuesday night fight at Longhorn Steakhouse and was arrested, Sgt. Paul Edwards said on Wednesday.

Three Bangor police officers were called to the Hogan Road restaurant at 9:45 p.m. to deal with Kevin Schmersal, 58, who got into a fight with a group of five men and one woman —  at least one of whom was from San Fransisco — at the restaurant’s bar, the sergeant said. The California city is known for its gay community.

After finding out the victim was from San Francisco, “Mr. Schmersal then allegedly made a derogatory remark about his sexuality based on his hometown,” Edwards said in a statement.

“He thought it was his right to say whatever he wanted,” the police sergeant added Wednesday, saying he was barred from releasing exactly what Schmersal called the visiting man.

The California man’s son became upset by Schmersal’s remarks and he and others in the group began fighting with Schmersal.

“There were actually punches thrown, but no one got hit,” Edwards said.

Bangor police Officers Kim Donnell, Gary Decker and Richard Polk went to Longhorn and found the group outside the restaurant waiting to talk to them, while Schmersal and his wife, Patti, waited inside.

When Donnell and Decker interviewed Schmersal, “that is when he became irate and continued to try and justify using that word,” Edwards said. “Then he just lunged at Officer Kim Donnell in an aggressive manner” and was subdued by the officers and then arrested.

Schmersal was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to Penobscot County Jail but was later released, he said. If convicted of the disorderly conduct charge, he could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

“The case is being forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for review in order to see if any hate crime laws have been violated,” Edwards said.

The Schmersals appeared in the Bangor Daily News at the end of March in a story about criticism from neighbors concerning their home-based dog breeding operation and kennel on Pushaw Road.

Obama as a Chimp? E-mail Gives California GOP Problems It Didn't Need

By Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor

04.19.11

Los Angeles An e-mail by an Orange County Republican Party official that shows President Obama’s face superimposed on a chimpanzee is a fresh blow for a state Republican Party already teetering on the brink of political irrelevance.

State party officials have categorically condemned the e-mail by Marilyn Davenport, which shows the altered picture of Obama with the caption: “Now you know why – No birth certificate!” California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said "the actions in question are completely unacceptable.”

Yet the fact that a Republican official in Orange County – sometimes called “the most Republican county in the US" – so obviously endorses the "birther" movement and promoted it in a borderline racist e-mail runs the risk of confirming negative GOP stereotypes for some California voters.

“This underscores the problems that the Republican Party is having in the state of California, and spotlights the perception they are having nationally that the GOP is white, conservative, and sometimes insensitive to race," says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California.

As immigration has recast California and helped push it left of center, the Republican Party has adamantly stayed true to the small government, anti-illegal immigration credo that emerged from Orange County in the 1980s and made the party a potent political force through the early '90s.

More recently, however, that platform has been an electoral stumbling block. For the second time since 1882, no Republican was elected to statewide office last November. (The other time was 2002.) Moreover, Republicans are only three seats away – one in the Assembly and two in the Senate – from being outnumbered 2 to 1 in each chamber of the California Legislature.

Ms. Davenport apologized for the e-mail Monday. “I wasn’t wise in sending the e-mail out. I shouldn’t have done it. I really wasn’t thinking when I did it.”

The monkey caricature is not necessarily racist, some political experts note. President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld – all white – have been targets of monkey comparisons online, with one famous critic calling Bush “Curious George."

But political experts say the damage is done. Several activist groups have called for Davenport’s resignation, and the state party is trying to distance itself.

Orange County Republican Chairman Scott Baugh has called for Davenport to resign, saying the e-mail was "dripping with racism and is in very poor taste."

Meanwhile, Gary Aminoff, former vice chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, called Davenport one bad apple.

“The actions of a single misguided, or possibly racist, Republican should not reflect badly on the Republican Party as a whole,” he says. “It has been made clear by leaders of the Republican Party in Orange County that they do not approve of the actions of Marilyn Davenport and such action was not an official Republican Party e-mail.”

At best for the state GOP, it is an opportunity to clarify what the party is all about.

“Kudos to the California Republicans for condemning this e-mail," says Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies. "In these days of birther talk from Donald Trump, et al., it is refreshing to see Republican leaders taking a strong stand against unacceptable behavior."

Assignment: Editorial Essay

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO

Is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, as some say, a brilliant innovator who has reshaped the way millions in the world connect with one another? Or is he, as others have argued, is he an overly-powerful and unscrupulous entrepreneur? Zuckerberg has clearly made an indelible mark on 21st century life, but does his creation threaten to become too powerful? And what of the disputed origins of Facebook? Should the allegations against Zuckerberg give us pause about his creation? Can we trust Zuckerberg, and Facebook, with our private information? What is your view of Mark Zuckerberg?

In a concise editorial, illustrate your views on this most iconic of personalities. Cite evidence from The Accidental Billionaires and the Zuckerberg articles and videos we read and watched this week to support your thesis.

Requirements:

• MLA format, including parenthetical citation
• 2.5-page minimum
• Cite at least four articles/videos, in addition to The Accidental Billionaires

The best papers:

• Stay within the parameters of the subject matter
• Have a concise thesis which clearly outlines a position
• Are written in a voice that is casual, yet informed
• Clearly support the thesis with solid evidence and a logical structure, citing from the Zuckerberg articles and videos, as well as The Accidental Billionaires
• Cite a minimum of four articles/videos, in addition to The Accidental Billionaires
• Conclude with a summation of the argument
• Properly cite evidence using MLA's parenthetical citation method
• Are in compliance with MLA Style

Sample editorials:

• "America’s Elites Have a Duty to the Rest of Us" (Washington Post)
• "The Oil Spill, One Year Later" (New York Times) 
• "The Best Remedy for the Price of Gas" (Los Angeles Times) 
• "Finally, Both Parties are in the Battle Over Debt and Deficit" (Dallas Morning News) 
• "Want Fries with That?" (Chicago Tribune) 
• "Sleeping Flight Controllers are One Harsh Wake-Up Call" (The Oregonian) 

Due: Mo 4. 25 / Tu 4.26 (Bring three copies)

Week 13: Mendocino

Mendocino Bay

Talk to me of Mendocino
Closing my eyes I hear the sea
Must I wait
Must I follow
Won't you say come with me

—Linda Ronstadt, "Talk to Me of Mendocino"

Week 13: Mendocino
Mo 4.18 / Tu 4.19
Read: MYCAL—“The Line” by Ruben Martinez, “Flirting with Urbanismo” by Patt Morrison,

In-class: Reading discussion

We 4.20 / Th 4.21

Read: MYCAL­— “My Little Saigon” by Ahn Do, “The Nicest Person in San Francisco” by Derek Powaze, “The Un-California” by Daniel Weintraub

In-class: Reading discussion; Lecture—“California on TV”

Sa 4/23
Field trip: Alcatraz Island—Participation optional 

Week 14: San Francisco
Mo 4. 25 / Tu 4.26
In-class: Writer’s workshop; Preview—Autobiographical essay
Due: Editorial essay (Draft 1, bring 3 copies)

We 4.27 / Th 4.28
In-class: Guest speakers, TBA
Due: Reflection 7

Note: Don't forget that my Monday office hour is moved to Tuesday until May 9th!