The Plague In the Plague Barbra Tuchman provides the audience with detailed images of the plague that eliminated about a third of the European population. The author uses imagery to depict the victims’ symptoms dynamically and incredibly. Additionally, she uses vivid description tom illustrate how the filth associated with the bubonic plague, including how the rich and the poor were affected by the disease (Tuchman 555). Furthermore, she develops her essays from excerpts of other writings of historians’ contemporary to the bubonic plague, coupled with her own opinion of how the disease affected Europeans. Accordingly, Tuchman’s vivid and moving descriptions of the plague serve to convey her tone to portray the sense of fear characteristics as well as the causes of the epidemic and how the pandemic affected Europe’s religious, cultural, economic, and political institutions during that period. The author employs the descriptions of filth to convey a sensation of impending doom to the reader. She vividly and precisely the foulness of the bubonic plague and the filthy environment that fostered the disease itself. For instance, Tuchman depicts the manifestation…

Competitive Elections article review In the first article titled “Competitive Elections,” the authors Tun-Jen Cheng and Gang Lin discuss the similarities in political parties in China and Taiwan. To achieve this, the authors focus on two political parties, namely the KMT and the CCP. Throughout the reading, Cheng and Lin analyze if the competitive election and the party system of Taiwan provides a way of analyzing and describing the institutional change in China. To achieve this, the authors firstly focus on two political parties, namely the KMT and the CCP. Secondly, they look at the conditions for competitive elections in Taiwan, which is followed by the identification of Chinese recent and current developments through the use of Taiwanese experience. The authors at last settle to the conclusion that Chinese elections are becoming more competitive as time goes on since the late 1980s, but the level of competition is narrower in comparison to Taiwanese competition in the 1950s. The second reading is titled “EAST ASIAN DEMOCRATIZATION IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE” by Yu-tzung Chang and Yun-Han Chu. It talks about democracy, which is…

Crime and Punishment When examined loosely, crime and punishment seem to be simple matters. After all, one commits the crime and is expected to suffer the consequences. However, when examined closely, crime and punishment involve multifaceted problems that are rarely addressed. While reading about the Texas justice system, it becomes evident that serious ills ail its structure. For this reason, it is essential to explore the problems in the justice system in regards to mass incarceration, racial disparities in sentencing, emphasis on punishment rather than rehabilitation, violation of human rights for ex-convicts, and disregard of mental health issues. Texas is one of the states with the highest number of incarcerations. Statistics show that as of July 2016, Texas inmate population was at 146,843 (Ragland). This is a staggering 780 individuals jailed per 100,000 people of all ages (Ragland). Ill-advised policies are responsible for the high rates of incarceration. TEDx Talks notes that the “three-strikes” law contributed to the increase in the prison population for the past two decades. The law requires an individual to receive mandatory life in prison if…

F   L    O    R    I    D    A           H    O    U    S    E           O    F           R    E    P   R    E   S    E    N    T    A    T    I    V    E     S   An act relating to federal immigration enforcement;   providing a short title; creating chapter 908, F.S.,   relating to federal immigration enforcement; providing   legislative findings and intent; providing   definitions; prohibiting sanctuary policies; requiring   state entities, local governmental entities, and law   enforcement agencies to comply with and support the   enforcement of federal immigration law; specifying   duties concerning certain arrested persons; specifying   duties concerning immigration detainers; prohibiting   restrictions by such entities and agencies on taking   certain actions with respect to information regarding   a person’s immigration status; providing requirements   concerning certain criminal defendants subject to   immigration detainers or otherwise subject to transfer   to federal custody; authorizing a law enforcement   agency to transport an unauthorized alien under   certain circumstances; providing an exception to   reporting requirements for crime victims or witnesses;   requiring recordkeeping relating to crime victim and…

COURAGE AS DEPICTED IN BOTH “THE ALCHEMIST” AND “KING LEAR”             In most cases, literature by different authors has come into convergence in regard to how issues are tackled, and that’s one of the key factors which indicate its role in achieving the common goal of enlightening the common people through its role as a third eye. A typical example of literature convergence can be seen in the way the theme of courage has been tackled in both the William Shakespeare′s “King Lear” (Shakespeare) and Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist” (Soni, 85). From the two books courage has been portrayed as the brave step which is taken by an individual amidst challenges and which empowers the person to face those challenges with an utmost integrity and to overcome them. What we learn from the two stories is that courage is realized after taking the first step and acknowledging the consequences of taking the courageous step. In Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist” for instance, the boy’s heart is in fear because of the suffering to come as a consequence but by acknowledging the…

US/Mexico Border The problem of insecurity along the US/Mexican border is due to the issue of drug trafficking and illegal movement of immigrants across the border. There has been a decline in the rate of drug trafficking along the US Mexican border due to the improved levels of security. This has created more job opportunities for the people of the United States, which marks one of the benefits of securing the border. Department of Homeland Security is presented with the task of ensuring that the border is secure. However, this task has become a contentious issue with many migrants from Central America seeking asylum in the United States. The impact of securing the border depends on the techniques used, which include building the wall that limits the movement of unscanned people from Mexico into the United States. Computers have also been incorporated to secure the border, which assists in scanning the immigrants. There are economic challenges that the USA is experiencing, which are created by the Mexican people. The problems get experienced despite the positive moves by the united states…

The Outline The need to Abolish Capital Punishment in America Introduction Capital Punishment involves executing offenders. Capital Punishment has raised issues since it seems to discriminate against the poor, minorities, particular races, and religious communities. Thesis Statement: The paper will evaluate the arguments against capital punishment in America. Body Value of human life Human life is considered to be valuable, such that even the worst murders should not be executed. Their bad conduct cannot destroy the offender’s life. Right to live Everyone is subjected to the right to life, and executing offenders violates human rights (Cheatwood, 2015). Execution of Innocent individuals Capital Punishment could lead to the killing of innocent people due to the flaws within the criminal justice system. The innocence project has exonerated many innocent people who were on death sentence, which portrays flaws in the criminal justice system.   Retribution is Morally Flawed Retribution seems to be morally flawed, which is problematic to both practice and concept. Retribution is a sanitized form of vengeance, as portrayed by capital Punishment (McDermott, 2001). Capital Punishment is not applied retributively in the…

Furman vs. Georgia Furman vs. Georgia is a 1972 case where Furman appealed to the Supreme Court his capital punishment sentence by the Georgia court. The Supreme Court ruled that the capital punishment system impacted at that time was uncommon and cruel and that it was against the 14th and 8th amendments. There were no standards to determine when and when not to impose capital punishment. The Supreme Court reinstated the judgment by overturning Georgia’s death sentence on Furman. It further gave two guiding principles that each legislation needed to follow for a death penalty sentencing system. First, the Supreme Court required that the system provides conditions to limit and direct sentencing done by an appellate court. The system also had to give the jury or the judge the freedom to think through reasons that would exempt the defendant from capital punishment, such as the reputation and the character of the defendant. The opinion of part of the jury in Furman vs. Georgia’s case was that capital punishment had a problem since it could be used to discriminate based on…

Narrative on Herrera, Blas Maria (1802-1878) The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a major armed resistance of colonists from Tejanos and the United States against the centralist government of Mexico. One of the most important native Texans who took part in the armed resistance is Blas Maria Herrera (1802-1878). Herrera served as a courier, soldier and scout during the revolution. However, despite his input in the resistance, his name is not popular and has received minimal recognition for the role he played in the Texas War of Independence. Herrera played an active role during the Siege of Bexar that took place in the year 1835 where he served under the command of Colonel Juan Seguin. Col. Seguin assigned Herrera to spy and monitor the activities and movements of the Mexican troops and report to his seniors how the Santa Ana’s troops were advancing. Unfortunately, his seniors ended up discounting his reports after they reached Col. Travis. His dedication to service led him to be selected as a part of the military group accompanying Jose Francisco…

Socrates’ Apology Socrates is a philosopher from Athens who was charged by two crimes; the crime of failure to recognize the god that the state recognized, and the crime of corrupting the youths. He introduced a new deity different from the one the Athenians knew. He was finally executed in 399 BC after a trial in court. Talking of Socrates’ Apology would sound as if he was sorry and apologizes for the crimes that he was charged. It, however, is not the case here; the Apology here means the dialogue that was between Socrates and his accusers in defense to himself. In fact, from the nature of the conversation, the philosopher is never sorry for the crimes, he works hard to let people know that he is the one on the right side and his accusers on the wrong side. From the many dialogues with his accusers, his conversations with Meletus is the one that is featured and mainly tells us who Socrates was. Socrates turns out to be so influential to the youths and a great enemy to those…