After you read the chapter on “Ethical Proof” in Ancient Rhetorics for Wednesday, I’d like you to pick one of the regular columnists from the Denver Post and read three or four pieces by this writer. (Note: You can do this instead of reading all of the op-ed pages.) Feel free to choose from any of the regular columnists from the opinion section, including Dan Haley, Vincent Carroll, David Harsanyi, Mike Littwin, Ed Quillen, Mike Rose, or the other writers listed. You can also choose to explore pieces by the local news columnists, too, like Tina Griego or Bill Johnson. You can find links to their columns through our Blackboard page if you look under “Course Documents.”
Once you’ve read their columns, write one paragraph in which you describe the writer’s invented ethos or the persona that this writer cultivates in his or her column. How does this writer establish his or her expertise and credibility? What kind of values does he or she stand for? How do they secure the goodwill of his or her readers?
In a second paragraph present three brief quotations—a sentence or so—that offer evidence for the discussion in your first paragraph. Explain how these quotes support your ideas.
Please post your response as a comment to this post on our course blog before class on Wednesday, January 26.
Dan Haley focuses on the political scene in Colorado. He is very critical of the political systems and has a sarcastic tone when commenting on the actions of our major leaders. Haley is incredibly opinionated and his articles could be seen as very controversial to Colorado communities. His ethos is the expert politician who was never actually elected. He seems to stand for political justice and voicing the opinions of those who rarely speak up. Haley represents progression in his articles too which is seen by the way he emphasizes that Colorado’s ancient laws are holding back the state during times of innovation. His sarcasm draws in the reader because he makes his pieces somewhat humorous through analogies and maxims. The creativity expressed in his articles keeps us reading and leads us to step back in order to analyze the decisions of our lawmakers.
ReplyDeleteIn his article titled, “Hickenlooper at the bat”, Haley states, “Will Hickenlooper homer or whiff at the plate? Will he bat left, or right? Will a divided statehouse — with Republicans holding the House and Democrats in control of the Senate — mean partisan gridlock or will it mean healthy compromise that's good for Colorado?” The analogy between Hickenlooper and a baseball player is creative and helps us to easily understand the concerns of the article. In his article, “A real nowhere man”, he states, “It's been suggested we need a third political party for the masses in the middle, but it would never work. Even though 35 percent of Americans consider themselves to be moderate, the middle is mushy. It's tied together only by one common thread: It feels left out from the extremes of the left and the right.” Haley is persuasive to the reader because we don’t really step back to see that people really are having difficult belonging to a specific party these days. We may think it to ourselves, but never address it. His suggestion of a third party for the “middle men” is original and his opinions are backed by strong evidence which makes these types of suggestions in his writing seem plausible. In another one of Haley’s articles, “Blueprint for Colorado”, he states, “Much like in Congress, there hasn't been the political will in Colorado to fix our problems.” The Colorado constitution is full of mandates that are restraining lawmakers from passing new laws or amending ones that currently exist. He is blunt with his thoughts which is admirable and helps people who are reading the column to organize their own ideas based on the information Haley provides.
Mike Littwin is a man who has been doing his job for many years. Therefore, he is very good at what he does. Just from seeing his picture, one can tell that Mike is a very laid back, easy going, and shaggy haired kind of guy. He’s the kind of guy who loves Colorado, and cares about the politics, people, and even the sports of this great state. I have only read a few of his articles, but I like them and will continue to read more just because the way he writes. From reading his articles you can tell he is a fun loving guy who would probably have a beer with you, even if he had never met you. That is what I like about reading his articles. In his articles he comes off as easy going, but he also writes strongly about his beliefs and the values he stands for. He mentions that he has written articles on events before, such as the Broncos winning the super bowl, which any Denver fan knows was far too long ago. If he was writing then, and is still writing now, he must be doing something right. Clearly this guy cares about his readers because everything he says is to them, for them, about them, and designed to help them. Even if you don’t take his advice or admire what he has to say, he is a great columnist who I will continue to read!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few quotes in Columnists Mike Littwin’s pieces that I found told a lot about who he is as a writer. He speaks with a casual bravado about him, yet uses strong phrases and facts to support him. Reading an article about the dream job he would like to have, Littwin speaks with a sarcastic tone that anyone with a sense of humor would enjoy. Unless you are a Republican in which case you may disagree with what he has to say. I am neither Democrat nor Republican because in 2008 I was unable to vote, and, I have yet to find where I stand on numerous issues. However, in one of Littwin’s articles he states “who’s known for his work supporting conservative election issues,” referring to Scott Gessler, newly appointed secretary of state and his second job. Gessler, in addition to being secretary of the state, also holds another job working for his old firm, which focuses primarily on election law. Another quote I enjoyed form Mike was one he had on why Gessler needed a second job. While everyone is hurting in the economy, Gessler feels that his government salary isn’t efficient enough to live on. While any middle class family could live on his salary, he wants more. So in his article Littwin writes, “It’s not like he’s Oprah and just discovered he has a family.” This quote not only brings humor to the piece, it also adds a bit if sarcasm while bashing on Gessler. Lastly, Littwin speaks of the Bronco’s new re-hire of football great John Elway. As a sports fan I enjoyed his comments and thoughts on the Bronco’s organization. My favorite line goes as follows “not quite brief enough Josh McDaniel’s era,” stating how he felt on the former head coach.
Dan Haley stays focused on issues in Denver. Even when he starts very broad in his articles, he always brings them back to local issues. In all of the columns he would start off broad and then focus the argument. In some of them after he focused he would spread back out and make it very broad again. Also in his columns, he uses historical references to contrast with the daily lives of Americans today. In some of his pieces, he uses humor and even satirical and sarcastic tones to help portray his point. He definitely draws his reader in and uses his pathos about the Denver community to help him persuade his audience.
ReplyDeleteIn his article, “A real nowhere man”, he uses a historical reference to Ronald Reagan when he says, “Four decades ago, after campaigning to keep taxes low as governor of California, Ronald Reagan, took a look at the books, swallowed hard, and told voters in his inauguration speech that he’d be asking for a tax hike”. This quote clearly supports the fact that he uses a lot of historical references. Another quote that supports this is in his article titled, “Yes Virginia…”, “More than a century ago, a doubting 8-year-old girl named Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to her local newspaper, the New York Sun, questioning the existence of Santa Claus”. He contrasts with the quote a little later that says “How quaint. Today, Virginia would simply Google ‘Is Santa real?’”. In his article, “Ignoring Superman”, he shows how he always brings his arguments back to Denver. He starts off talking about the documentary and the schools in other cities around the country but then brings his argument back to the city of Denver. His humor shows in this quote from the article, “Yes Virginia…”. It says, “It’s like “CSI: Grade School” around our place these days”. He contrasts this humor with the main claim of this article about believing in things.
Harsanyi: Fear of a Red Planet
ReplyDeleteBy David Harsanyi
The author begin with a case that Hollywood is remaking the ’80s classic “Red Dawn”, which have connection with communism. The author picks up an example, which is China. He mentions that because Chinese economy developed in a amazing speed, many American think that it would be a big threaten for US. He shows this fact by two surveys by Pew. David analyzes this wrong idea. First he points out, the relation between China and US is a kind of complicated and dangerous. Nevertheless, on economic, we are mutually beneficial on a competition market. The influence of China is not as big as most American thinks. He stands for China is not a threaten for US. They secure the goodwill of readers by use a serious of facts, which is obvious for us to see. Like use the idea from CNN.
He explain that if a country has real econmic wealth is typically free and do not like violence. Then, give an analogy of” suicide bombers rarely drive top-of-the-line BMWs”. In this way he put a abstract idea into a lively example. If a country have great of wealth would not like to make themselves in a war, which will destroy them obviously. Well this might be a good example but I don’t think it is suitable for this condition.
“A new CNN poll found that 58 percent of us believe that China's ‘wealth and economic power’ are a threat to the U.S. “ he uses this news from CNN, which known by every American has more power to support his idea.
The Denver Post Columnist, Mike Littwin is a strong writer indeed. Littwin invents his ethos as a sarcastic and comedic author. He reveals his strong personality to his audience with his well-written arguments about Denver events. Littwin makes sure the readers know his true thoughts on the topic at hand. Through his satirical tone, he lightens up the mood of the argument making it almost comedic to read. I, as a reader, was interested and engaged in his articles.
ReplyDeleteIn Mike Littwin’s article, Musings on moonlighting, he states “You may not have been paying attention to the secretary of state race last year — I know I wasn't — but there were apparently questions during the campaign about whether Gessler…” This quote emphasizes Littwin’s sarcastic tone. He alludes to the event of Gessler running for secretary of state, and within dashes adds his thoughts on it. He did not truly care about Gessler’s running, but yet he shows interest in the event. His use of punctuation conveys his midthought about Gessler. Also in this article, Littwin says “I'm not sure what Gessler was thinking. It's not like he's Oprah and just discovered he had a family.” This statement shows Littwin’s humor. He references Oprah’s recent dilemma and compares it to a state secretary, even though the two have nothing to do with each other. Littwin utilizes his humor and sarcasm to create his argument about local Denver news.
John Andrews is definitely someone I would describe as a creative writer. Instead of dragging on about boring topics and facts that overwhelm the brain, he finds a way to make politics seem exciting and comical. Andrews pulls a lot of his topics from personal experiences in government. As a former president of the Colorado Senate, he has an awful lot to say about the way Colorado runs it’s state and who has power way. Although he is not a regular contributor to the Denver Post, he has a lot to say ad says it very eloquently. You can tell from his writing that he knows a lot, but is also very sarcastically harsh and has very dry humor. Andrews is very right-wing and has a whole article called “A modern Christmas Carol” mocking his own beliefs and the fact that he is a “grouchy Republican”. Although I only read three articles of Andrews for this project, I read a couple more just because all of his writing was entertaining to read and I learned a lot about current Denver politics by reading his humorous and clever articles. I have to admit, I don’t really agree with a lot of his opinions, but I would love to read more of his stuff for the entertainment value of it.
ReplyDeleteIn Andrews article “A modern Christmas Carol” he tells a fictional story of seeing ghosts of Christmas past after he gets in a car accident when he is distracted by an Obama bumper sticker. He rights of the visuals he sees when an old elementary school teacher leads him through defining moments in his childhood like “Stopping at several homes, she showed him classmates he'd looked down on. Peeking into a church, he saw two brothers ridiculing a less affluent family's Christmas attire”, after seeing this his teacher asks him, in not so many words if he always practices what he preaches. The article continues on like this, going through the city on a pretend helicopter ride pointing out homeless shelters and places where inner-city kids can go to be mentored. Through the article, we see Andrews mocking his “Republican” lifestyle with his large SUV and ignorance towards helping others. This article is entertaining because of his story telling approach and sarcastic writing style. In another article titled “Hey Colorado government, we’re out of patience” he writes pretend valentines from various Tea Party members to important politicians in Colorado. On the fact that there are no Tea Party members on Hickenlooper’s cabinet he says that “The Tea Party, a movement of hard-working Americans fed up with over-spending and over-government, is that impatient with politicians of both parties”. Andrews just has a very harsh approach to politics in Colorado and the quotes provided support his idea of “Government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem” mind-set.
David Harsanyi’s ethos is extremely obvious in his editorial writing. The general idea that Harsanyi offers is not everything is a huge deal. In other words, “calm down!” Not everything needs to be the end of the world. Pick your battles, and things to be upset about. If everyone’s upset about everything, what do we have to joyous about? Harsanyi assures that his ethos is prevalent through his voice in his writing. There’s an edge of sarcasm in his work that can cut a stick of butter like a scalding knife. This shows that he is frustrated with how frustrated people are about everything (you follow?)
ReplyDelete“Wasn't it moving to see progressive tweetdom and punditry unite in the defense of Jewryin the Middle Ages? As a member of this most oppressed minority, I personally want to thank you. After all, how dare she?” (Harsanyi) His writing stabs like a falling icicle. “Now, the American populace can typically be divided into two categories: 1. Those who don't care one whit about foreign policy. 2. Newspaper editors.” (Harsanyi)
Good stuff, isn’t it? “I can't recall a single federal program, legislation or proposal in the past two years that was initiated to ease the burden on consumers or businesses. (If you know of any, please send specifics to sorry@dowelooklikesuckers.com.)” (Harsanyi) Sorry@dowelooklikesuckers.com. No one would post something like that unless they were really trying to be cynical. Maybe cynicism is a good way to get points across. After all, Harsayni is quite so.
The author started on asking question.”Why did the panel focus on increasing revenue, rather than cutting spending”? When I saw the question the first response is answer it, and think about it. After that, I try to read the article very quick because I want to know what is gonna be talk about. The panel wants to keep the higher education. Some of the reader want to cut their income tax, because they think that is too high. If the government wants to keep their higher education, they have to have enough tax revenue. The whole article is talk about colorado’s budget problems is not that simple, because it can cause different problems and different problems that the government have to face. Therefore, the author using the questions to get the reader’s response, let the reader to think about it. After the reader read the article, it is easy to make common sense. For example, when I read the reader want to cut their income tax, my response is if I am a citizen in the U.S. I would like to lower my income tax either. I think it is a very good way to apply ethos, and it works for the reader.
ReplyDeleteDan Haley is a straightforward speaker who states his own opinions without hiding behind words. He connects closely with the readers with the style of his writing; he uses first and second person, uses somewhat informal/natural language, and analogies that almost anyone and everyone can relate to. It is clear he has investigated the topics to which he is addressing in that he cites examples and facts from the past or current events. Haley also uses common political terms with conviction and appropriately. By doing this, he can give his opinion freely without scrutiny of being uninformed. It is clear that Haley, politically, is a moderate and supports that government should be a balanced entity, not based on extremes of left and right. This belief of balance extends to other matters of discussion (like Santa Claus) as well extending outside of politics. In giving his opinions, Haley is skilled at uniting his readers as a single people. This tactic gives faith to readers that he is pro-unity.
ReplyDelete“For most Coloradans, it's just the start of another legislative session, but for us bleacher bums, it's like opening day in baseball, thick with possibilities and new beginnings.”
This is in reference to Hickenlooper’s start to the governor’s term. Here Haley relates a new governor’s term to the start of a new season of baseball. This is an analogy that the majority of people can relate to. This allows those who do not necessarily understand the specifics of politics to understand it better by means of example.
“Lieberman, a Democrat who declared himself an independent five years ago, said last week that he won't seek re-election in 2012. His brand of politics, he said, doesn't fit in today's political spectrum.”
This in regards to moderates in government. Haley brings in a fact of political happening to support his opinions on moderates in government. This backs up his claims and gives validity.
“I wondered if we could pull off something similar here — away from the politics that often kill good ideas in the statehouse…”
Discussing budgetary conflicts in Colorado government. By using simple language, Haley reduces the distance between the reader and writer by using everyday language. It is easier for the reader to relate when it feels like a continuous conversation.
Mark Littwin is a writer that seems to connect with the everyday person. He has a laidback and personable personality. He is able to connect with the reader on a real level and in this way he strengthens his writing. Littwin makes his point and states his opinion and successfully backs it up while including humor and sarcasm. He combines the perfect mix of comedy with an informative basis. By doing this, he is able to draw his readers in and keep them interested throughout his articles.
ReplyDelete“Once upon a time, I wanted the Scott McInnis job, wherein you retire from Congress, write your "musings on water" — which turn out to be virtually unreadable and not at all muse-worthy — and get $300,000 for the, uh, effort.”
“State of the Union speeches are rarely memorable. This year, we didn’t have the theater this year of seeing who applauded or guessing who shouted an insult from the crowd. And there are, by necessity and tradition, way too many areas to cover to make all of them fit into a theme. It’s enough that Mark Udall and Jim DeMint sat next to each other.”
“This was the anti-malaise speech, meaning you’ll never catch Obama in a Jimmy Carter cardigan.”
In each one of these three quotes, Littwin remembers to include humor and a little bit of sarcasm to keep the readers entertained. However, at the same time he is doing that, he is also remembering to keep his ground upon where he stands in his opinions. Mark Littwin’s writing creates the perfect mix of humor and educational opinion.
The columnist from the Denver Post that I read was Susan Thornton. Thornton`s persona in her articles is one of awareness and protection of both humans and the environment. The articles I read were about a new drug which many high school and college students are getting involved with. This drug is legal because it uses legal herbs, although it also contains other herbs that can be said to have the affect of THC. In her article Thornton stresses that, “legislature should attempt to get ahead of the curve and make herbal incense illegal in Colorado.” Thornton provides creditable sources such as information from sheriffs, chief of chemistry and drug metabolism, and a member of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Thornton stands for making the earth and people healthy and clean. Susan Thornton discusses the need for clean water around the Colorado communities. She keeps her readers by providing valuable information about Colorado’s local problems.
ReplyDeleteThornton says, “Wastewater is not a very sexy topic, but it is one that will inevitably pose an increasingly expensive challenge for Colorado in the near future.” Thornton understands that the topic about wastewater is not the “hottest” topic to speak about, but it is one that is important to improving Colorado. In another article Thornton says “The legislature should attempt to get ahead of the curve and make herbal incense illegal in Colorado as well.” She makes the point that legislature needs to be aware of what is going on and needs to maybe make some changes with legal and illegal drugs. In another article about Littleton public school systems, Thornton says, “If they care about strong property values and excellence in education, they should.” By this quote she is saying, if the Littleton family and communities value education as strongly as they say then they will continue more funding in their public school systems.
Dan Haley is not a hard writer to follow. All of his pieces contain simple language and he relates himself in many of the issues at hand. He is very political, especially Colorado’s political scene. He is very opinionated when it comes to politics and acts as though he knows how to fix all the problems. His articles are either related to his own personal experiences or focus on his strong opinions. He also uses modern technology to relate to topics, such as youtube and internet sites. In many of his editorials he would use quotes or metaphors to start of his broad idea of the topic. Then as the editorials went on he focused on the topic more with specific examples.
ReplyDeleteIn his article, “Yes, Virginia,” Haley uses multiple personal experiences to relate to the issue. He started off with the main issue of the article, a 8 year old girl named Virginia wanted to know if Santa Claus was real, so she wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking for the answer. Haley then starts pick apart the issue by using asking himself what he would say to his own little girl. He writes, “[t]he question hit a nerve because I have my own 8-year-old ‘Virginia’ at home who started questioning old St. Nick last year”. Another article “Imagine no ambitions,” is about the economic stand of the country and how both Republicans and Democrats are not agreeing on the rescue plan. He uses his own witty personal opinion as a strong focus of the article. Haley states, “[f]unny, I thought the single most important thing was cutting runaway spending and reforming our entitlement system before the country collapses once and for all”. This statement not only shows his strong opinion that the politicians are dumb but also his sense of humor. The final article, “Avoiding the issues,” Haley bashes the excessive amount of money that Senator Michael Bennet used during his campaign. Haley makes the point stating, “[h]e’s spending thousands of dollars engaging in the political games he despises and is mostly avoiding the issue”. This statement is not only bashing the way he campaigned but that he did not spend his money wisely. Haley presents his opinion of the campaign and it is strong and one sided.
The columnist I decided to look at was Mike Littwin. Mike seems to very good at his occupation. He keeps readers attentive and interested in what they are reading about. From what I can tell he is someone who is really interested in Colorado. He has numerous articles talking about Colorado and different situations that are happening around the state. He seems like he is someone who would be interesting to have a conversation with whether it is about sport, business, or even on the economy. He has written on sports as well before which makes me interested in him because I am a sports fanatic, and love reading what people have to say about different things in the sports world. He states his opinion whether you like it or not and gives you his advice which you can take it for what its worth. Overall, I think he is a great writer and I would not mind reading his article’s again.
ReplyDeleteThere are a bunch of quotes that I found from Mike that would grab your attention and engage you in the article. An example of this is when he says to start the article about defending our national defense, “With more than $4 trillion in federal budget deficits over the last three years and more than $3 trillion projected over the next four, there's good reason for concern over runaway government spending.” This quotation makes you realize the amount of money that is being lost and wants to make you read more. I think this is his way as a writer to get people to read his articles.