... Barack Obama Barack Obama Biography U.S. Representative, U.S. President, Lawyer (1961–) Early Life Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where her father worked on oil rigs during the Great Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dunham's father, Stanley, enlisted in the service and marched across Europe in Patton's army. Dunham's mother, Madelyn, went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, the couple studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program and, after several moves, landed in Hawaii. Barack Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama Sr. grew up herding goats in Africa, eventually earning a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams of college in Hawaii. While studying at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, Obama Sr. met fellow student Ann Dunham, and they married on February 2, 1961. Barack was born six months later. Obama did not have a relationship with his father as a child. When his son was still an infant, Obama Sr. relocated to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University, pursuing a Ph.D. Barack's parents officially separated several months later and ultimately divorced in March 1964, when their son was 2. In 1965, Obama Sr. returned to Kenya. In 1965, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro...
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...But times have changed, and today most Americans believe that the gun law needs to be stricter. Therefore it can be difficult to understand why nothing happens when the majority of the US population supports stricter gun laws. So why is it that the law cannot be changed? And what can the politicians do to end this nightmare? Barack Obama is trying to highlight this issue in his newest speech on gun violence – “Remarks by the President on Common-Sense Gun Safety Reform” – that he presented at the White House Press Conference on the 5th of January 2016. This paper analyses Obama’s speech. The analysis will focus on the communicative and rhetorical devices in the speech. The sender of the speech is Barack Obama, the current president in the USA. He is representing his own party, the Democrats. Obama is speaking for all Americans and against the gun lobbyists. The speech is built on the foundation of all the gun tragedies, which have happened over the last years, and therefore makes use of al lot of pathos. He expresses his compassion for all the people who have been victims of gun violence and uses concrete examples of victims he has known. Obama presents four solutions to the problem of gun violence and mass shootings. Number 1 “…make the background check system more efficient” and “…hire more folks to process applications faster…” He wants to use more resources on the background checking system and by that make sure that...
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...Barack Obama Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States —becoming the first African American to serve in that office —on January 20, 2009. The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama grew up in Hawaii. Leaving the state to attend college, he earned degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, where he met and married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson in 1992. Their two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha (Sasha) were born in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Obama was elected to the Illinois state senate in 1996 and served there for eight years. In 2004, he was elected by a record majority to the U.S. Senate from Illinois and, in February 2007, announced his candidacy for President. After winning a closely-fought contest against New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, Obama handily defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee for President, in the general election. When President Obama took office, he faced very significant challenges. The economy was officially in a recession, and the outgoing administration of George W. Bush had begun to implement a controversial "bail-out" package to try to help struggling financial institutions. In foreign affairs, the United States still had troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and warfare had broken out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, illustrating the...
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...* “22 years ago in Chicago, two young bright attorney’s met and joined forces…” * Michelle LaVaughan Robinson, born Jan. 17, 1964 in Chicago. * She has a degree in sociology and graduated from Harvard for Law. * They got married Oct. 18, 1992 in Chicago * Malia, their first child was born in ’88 and their second daughter Natasha was born 3 years later. * In 2007, Sen. Barack Obama announced he would run as President. * Barack’s idealism and need to help people in need swept Michelle off her feet. * After one year at Sidney & Austin, the firm assigned her to mentor a summer associate named Barack Obama (she was his boss!). * The firm didn’t usually hire summer associates so it was coincidental that Obama was even there that summer. * The response to Obama’s arrival was upsetting to Michelle, who couldn’t understand why everyone was so shocked that a black man was a gifted attorney. * "I had dated a lot of brothers who had this kind of reputation coming in, so I figured he was one of these smooth brothers who could talk straight and impress people. So we had lunch, and he had this bad sport jacket and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and I thought: 'Oh, here you go. Here's this good-looking, smooth-talking guy. I've been down this road before.' " * She numerously refused Obama’s requests to them going out, saying it was “tacky” for them to start dating because they were the only black people. * The Obama’s old boss at Sidley...
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...Obama!!! David Sedaris Presidential elections are a very big deal in America. Most people have a very strong opinion about whom they think should win, and very few don’t care at all. The months before an election you would have to be both blind and deaf if you didn’t know the election was going on. Signs banners etc are all over peoples’ front yards, it’s all they talk about on TV and radio, and debates and discussions are started within classrooms. The election in 2008 was a very big deal. America could end up having their first ever African American president. Many doubted it was ever going to happen; that America was still trapped in the world of segregation. At the time of an election many people usually think they’re experts on the subject, even in Europe. David Sedaris, who is an American author and comedian, lives in France. In his essay from the essay collection Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls he discusses the Presidential Election from 2008 amongst other things. He explains how big of a deal the whole election was in European countries. Even though he didn’t write about politics he would still be asked political questions during interviews. The most common question was of course who he thought would win the election. He explains how people in France didn’t think America would elect an African American president because “they’re racists”, so whenever he answered that he thought Obama would win he was met with the same with a pitiful facial expression with a shake...
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...Tara Rose Professor Lewis EN 101 November 18, 2008 McCain’s and Obama’s Views on No Child Left Behind Act “Change.” Change has been a word brought up often in this election. Obama promises to bring “change” to America. How are we going to change our education system? How do the candidates plan to change the education system? In 2001, President George Bush, reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, with his new piece of legislation, The No Child Left Behind Act. This was the largest reform of federal education policy in any generation. However, many believe this Act had little or no impact on Americans. Nevertheless, both candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, plan to keep the act intact but with their own revisions, and both parties stress the importance of every child receiving what they call a “world-class education. (Internation Reading Association: Reading Today: McCain vs. Obama)McCain’s key concept in changing the No Child Left Behind Act, is giving parents and their children the choice of any school through charter schools, vouchers, or tax credits for private schools, while Obama’s main focus is recruiting new teachers and paying them higher salaries; I believe Obama’s plan to reform the No Child Left Behind Act is a more productive plan, and that he has a better approach to reforming the No Child Left Behind Act. The No Child Left Behind Act, NCLB, was introduced on January 23, 2001, immediately after George Bush stepped into office. This act...
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...number is increasing each and every year due to the fact that our economy has been in a slump recently, and because our nation has spent a majority of our federal funding to support warfare, our government had to cut back on allot of public programs. With the lack of money in circulation, many business owners have had to cut back on wages as well as their employees. Majority of uninsured people state that they do not have health insurance simply because they just cannot afford it. In an attempt to create a solution, President Barrack Obama came up with a universal healthcare program called the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obamacare. In this paper, key points that will be discussed are how the program works, its pros and cons, if it raises any issues with federalism and if the program is actually helping our nation’s healthcare crisis . President Barrack Obama has made it clear that when it comes to healthcare, everyone should have coverage. The Obamacare plan lists a number of provisions that will go into effect over the next ten years, and is estimated to cost our nation $940 billion. Its long term goal is to reduce our nation’s by 1.2 trillion dollars if all goes as planned. According to the President, the government should offer some type of assistance to help those who do not have...
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...Care Reform Bill is all about because it affects all of us. In terms of our new Health Care Reform Bill that went into effect in 2010, why were so many people against it? It would clearly help keep our country healthy so why all the outrage behind it? There are so many reasons why Americans are against the 2010 Health Care Reform Bill some of which includes higher taxes, changes and the wealthy. Few Americans have health insurance and the others cannot afford good medical care. According to studies 46 million Americans have no insurance and 25 million more are underinsured. One major reason for this crisis is that many employers have stopped offering insurance to employees because of the high cost. So therefore the Obama Republican and Democratic members of Congress, the American Medical Association and Americas Health insurance Plans , which represents the insurance industry , all have agreed the system needs to be changed ! In order for them to finance this they are going to raise the level of taxation and that will affect the wealthy the most so of course they are not happy with that and as for the business owners they are totally against it seeing that they will now have no choice but to offer health insurance to their employees since it states that in the bill its either that or penalties or jail time. People also felt that free market health care provided a lower quality of...
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...Steve Blender As Friday dawns, here's what a health insurance crisis looks like to many millions of Americans: Barely six weeks shy of 2014, they do not know whether they will have medical coverage Jan. 1. Or which hospitals and doctors they might patronize. Or what they may pay to protect themselves and their families against the chance of medical and financial catastrophe. How much, that is, they may pay in order to satisfy the Democratic politicians and federal bureaucrats who are worsening a metastasizing health coverage fiasco. … We understand why the president and leaders of his party want to rescue whatever they can of Obamacare. On their watch, official Washington has blown the launch of a new entitlement program ... under the schedule they alone set in early 2010. What we don't understand is their reluctance to give that failure more than lip service. Many of the Americans who heard their president say Thursday that "we fumbled the rollout of this health care law" would have been pleased to hear him add: So we're admitting it. This law is a bust. We're starting over. You can expect the calls to repeal ObamaCare to grow from non-GOP sources in the coming days. The news released Saturday that thousands of doctors have been dropped from Medicare Advantage is a likely tipping point. Destroying health care for the elderly is The Third Rail on steroids. This is Armageddon for Democrats. The only chance they have is to repeal. If they do not, they will be wiped out in...
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...CASE: M-321 DATE: 8/27/09 OBAMA AND THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY In early 2007, Barack Obama was a little-known senator running for president against Democratic nominee and household name, Hilary Clinton. But on November 4, 2008, Obama made history as the first African American to win the election against Republican candidate, John McCain, thus becoming the 44th president of the United States. Obama won by a margin of nearly 200 electoral votes and 8.5 million popular votes. Many factors contributed to his success, but a major one was the way Obama and his Chicago-based campaign team used social media and technology as an integral part of their campaign strategy, not only to raise money, but also more importantly, to develop a groundswell of empowered volunteers who felt that they could make a difference. Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute said: “No other candidate has ever integrated the full picture the way he [Obama] has, that‟s what‟s really new about his campaign.”1 Edelman Research analysts said that Obama won by “…converting everyday people into engaged and empowered volunteers, donors and advocates through social networks, e-mail advocacy, text messaging and online video. The campaign‟s proclivity to online advocacy is a major reason for his victory”2 (Exhibit 1). In terms of the numbers, externally, Obama‟s campaign was able to garner 5 million supporters on 15 different social networks ranging from Facebook to MySpace...
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...revious healthcare reform bills never made it to the Supreme Court, which mostly house Republicans who fear that insurance companies will lose profits. Republicans also fear that in order to fund a healthcare reform bill, the bill will heavily tax the wealthy. Just recently, the Supreme Court ruling upheld ObamaCare to the FDA’s approval on June 28, 2012. ObamaCare, formally known as Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is a provision that makes it mandatory for every citizen to purchase private health insurance. The Supreme Court's verdict to indorse the Affordable Care Act (ACA) safeguards assiduous, middle-class families will acquire the safety deserved. This bill also defends every American citizen from the worst insurance company manipulations. Opponents of this bill may try to repeal it mainly because they feel that healthcare choices are the stepping stones of controlling citizen’s lives. Republicans have also come up with a quote that states, “Health reform will lead to a government takeover of health care.” The ObamaCare bill should not be repealed because the government is by the people for the people, all preventative care is free of charge, and Medicaid will be reformed and expanded to cover more citizens. The ObamaCare bill should not be repealed because the government is based on the principle that citizens should govern themselves through their elected representatives by the high caliber of one man one vote. Our democratic government is by the...
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...Obama Care The text is an article about Obama Care which is The Health Care for America Plan by Obama. The article is from the official Obama care facts website. The language in the text is not that hard, and that might make it a lot easier to read. The reason that is has been written with those kind of words could be that Obama wants everyone to be able to read it. The sentences are not very long, and that also makes it easy read. The tone of the text is cheerful, because Obama basically says that we can live a better life if we choose Obama Care. The tone is also desperate, because they make it sound very appealing to join Obama Care. It’s optimistic because they make you think you can get a better life. There are many references to health insurances companies, because they say that you will never get abandoned when you get a long-termed disease. The text says a lot about all the good things about Obama Care, but they don’t really mention all of the bad things about it, such as deficit. In the article they use many arguments such as you will feel better and if you have a low income you won’t have to pay a very big percentage for Obama Care. The whole article is written in bullet points, and that makes it easier to read, because it has a clear structure. There are two pictures. The first shows the Obama Care sign and the second one shows Obamas signature on a piece of paper that says approved. That’s means that Obama care has been approved by the president. The...
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...in America. That change is Obama Care. What is Obama care you may ask? Obama care is known as the patient protection and affordable care act. It was signed by president Obama on March 23, 2010, and upheld by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012. Basically the patient protection and affordable care act is a health plan that is meant to be cost efficient, and to decrease health care spending. Sadly, Obama care may sound interest, and beneficial, there are so many issues and glitches that is making everyone upset and angered at the situation. This brings up criticism to this health care plan. Criticism will rise here and there, and no one can say anything because it’s everyone’s opinion. Recently on the news, we have seen how the Obama care website has not been functioning, and this makes people wonder. If they were so sure of how it was all going to be laid out, then why is it giving problems? Or why glitches if it was done professionally? Not only has this become a problem for everyone around but criticism has gone so far that they are cyber bullying Adriana the “the face” of Obama care website. She describes in an interview how this has become serious; she explains that they shouldn’t hate her for the glitches of Obama care website. Everyone trusted that the Obama care health plan was going to function and had many people excited but in the end many say was a waste of time, a waste of money for something that doesn’t even work. As of right now Obama care is doomed to fail. No...
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...President Obamas Back To School Speech “When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school.” This is an example of exemplum. This enhances the speech because it illustrates a story of President Obama’s childhood. He didn’t have much growing up and relates to the audience as being an ordinary person just like us. “This is no picnic for me either, buster.” Obama uses an oxymoron when he refers to this. It enhances his speech because it emphasizes an example of when he was a kid. The word buster helps him connect to little kids and be at their level. Obama is trying to connect to all different ages to help us take his advice. President Obama uses an allusion to Michael Jordan when he quoted him, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And this is why I succeed.” This line enhances his speech because his personal experiences helped him display the obstacles that he overcame in his childhood. We all have obstacles so it helps us feel that everyone goes through a hard time and we will get over it with perseverance. Obama helps enhance his speech by using the rhetorical device apostrophe. He used it when he stated, “asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength.” He uses emotion to connect with the audience because we sometimes struggle and are afraid to ask for help. For some people this is emotional because they are afraid to talk to people...
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...Obama speech The speech, ”A more Perfect union” is spoken by Barack Obama, the president of the united states. He states in his speech that he didn’t win the election because he is black and potential could be the first black president, but because of his hard work and political statements. His main point in the speech is to illuminate the racial issues due to making a more perfect union. Obama states that in order to make a perfect functioning country everybody, no matter age, race and religion needs to incorporate together in order to make it work optimally. He consumes that America can’t make a perfect union if everybody aren’t willing to work. “And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.” These quotes support the importance of Obama’s statements and shows that everyone in America needs to be together in order to make a perfect union. Obama also claims that racism has been and still is a huge problem – and with active racism in America it hampers the target, which is America to be function as a perfect union. “It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. And contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle or with a single candidate”. In order to make America a perfect...
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