Blog Post 4

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-shelters-serve-real-need/article_40bf7266-c51f-5b9d-b8d2-e90b6a041160.html

The first article that I chose is about the homelessness here in Southern California. I decided to read this article particularly because it touches on a topic that most don’t think about on a daily basis (including myself) and I felt it was important to read about something that could easily happen to me. Some of the rhetorical strategies used in this article are: analogy, sarcasm, description, and statistics. The article is basically about the need to provide enough coverage for our new found homeless people/families. It implies that the elected officials offer excuses every year instead of solutions on how to make things better for the deserving. The writer explains how this situation could easily happen to anyone of us at any point and time due to the bad economic issues we are all currently facing. The claim here is that we need to help provide enough homeless shelters to assist people in need. This quote uses analogy, and sarcasm. "In an age when cities trip over themselves in trying to attract animal shelters, it is regrettable what we have elected officials every year offering excuses as to why their city should not have to host shelters for homeless humans." Description is used in the next quote to provide a visual effect of what is claimed to be the normal envision of a typical homeless person. “And what this report shows is that the homeless shelters in our communities are not, as their critics charge, creating a magnet for the stereotypical substance-abusing chronic bum--but instead are providing a bare-bones safety net for people new to homelessness." Statistics are followed in the next paragraph. “In fact, of the 488 people who stayed in Alliance shelters last winter, 85 percent had not stayed in a shelter the year before. Most reported they were homeless because they had lost their jobs and hadn't been able to find another. A quarter of all who used the shelters were families."

http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/13574106-474/editorial-want-to-honor-veterans-help-them-find-good-jobs.html

In my second blog post I will be reviewed the editorial “Want to honor veterans? Help them find a good job” I decided to do this article because I felt like it may have some significance to a lot of us living in the San Diego area. The rhetorical strategies used in the paper were pathos, statistics and an urgent tone. The writer of this article appeals the reader’s pathos when he states “Waving a flag and putting out bunting in red, white and blue is a fine way to celebrate a week highlighted by Wednesday’s celebration of the Fourth of July. But you can do more. Help a military veteran find a job” The writer lays out the statistics on why some vets have not been hired and that all military skills may not transfer easily to the civilian sector “In May, the unemployment rate was 23.5 percent for veterans 18 to 24 — 10 percent higher than for civilians of the same age” and “A recent study by the Center for a New American Security concluded the biggest problem was matching skills learned in the military with civilian jobs.” The problem is multi-faceted and complex, with misconceptions and misunderstandings galore. It seems from this writer’s perspective that he understands this and makes a concession “You’d think a nation’s gratitude for those who have served in two long wars would make it easy for veterans to find jobs. But it’s not that simple” I the end he simply appeals to the audience “Everyone needs to pitch in.” the writer is trying here to shed light on a growing problem in a country where we have fought two separate conflicts for approximately ten years. If we don’t begin to help the one percent of the population who serve the country pretty soon no one will be willing to do it, than where would we be?