Recent orders
Legislators play the critical role of representing their constituents’ opinions in the state senate.
Name:
Course:
Professor:
Date:
Millie Gonzalez
Legislators play the critical role of representing their constituents’ opinions in the state senate. They also make laws that are necessary to ensure the welfare of the citizens of the state. Many times, the members of the House of Representatives in each state go on to serve for many years. One such representative is Senator Millie Gonzalez representing the 3rd District in Hartford, Connecticut. She has been a member of the house since 1997 and recently in 2017; she was elected as the Deputy Majority Leader. During her long term in office, she has brought and supported many bills before the house that have contributed to the welfare of the residents of the state of Connecticut.
Millie Gonzalez was born in Puerto Rico on the fourth of August, 1950 in the town of Adjuntas. She has seven siblings and lived in the town where she attended Adjuntas High School. After her education, she moved to the United States in 1981 and began working as a Deputy Sherriff in the superior court in West Hartford. She was also an Assistant Registrar of Voters in the same district. She has three children; two boys and a girl, with her husband, Ramon Arroyo.
Millie’s political career began in 1986 in the Hartford Town Committee. She held the position for ten years after which she was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives. She represented the 3rd District of made up of several Hartford neighborhoods including Behind the Rocks, Parkville and Frog Hollow. Between 2003 and 2004, she was the Assistant Majority Leader in the house. In the following year between 2005 and 2006, she held the position of Assistant Majority Whip. She continued her streak with a seven-year position as the Deputy Majority Whip-at-Large from 2007 to 2014. After that she was promoted to Chief Majority Whip for a year and eventually, in 2017, she was made the Deputy Majority Leader of the house. She is also a member of the house committees for Public Safety, Appropriations, Security and Housing.
Throughout her political career, Millie Gonzalez has expressed strong views concerning several areas of life including education, law enforcement, healthcare, the minimum wage among many others. To begin, she wants more technical high schools in the state to improve the levels of skill among workers. In addition to this, she has proposed free community colleges in Connecticut which have many advantages. These include easing the financial burden of college tuition as well as the reduction of student debts. Free college would also allow more people to attend college as they work or bring up a family. Free education would be a huge benefit to the residents of the state of Connecticut.
For many years, Millie Gonzalez has expressed her support for reforms in family court. In connection to this, she sponsored a piece of legislation proposing that the best form of parenting for children whose parents are divorced is hare parenting. The only exception should be in cases of child neglect or abuse by a parent. Another bill she sponsored in connection with family court reforms proposes that parental alienation should be defined as a form of child abuse and to recommend children with their alienated parents. Also under Millie’s belt is the 2014 law that sought to limit the use of costly guardian ad litem’s. Following this, in 2019, she sponsored a bill mandating that the ad litems are only employed when deemed necessary in extreme cases approved by the Department of Children and Families. To further add credence to her position on family court, she and fellow hose members prevented the reconfirmation of Judge Jane Emons in 2018. Judge Emons is a controversial family court, and she failed to be reconfirmed although the committee passed a positive vote. To increase public awareness on family court, she organized a public hearing in 2019 on the subject o parental alienation as well as necessary reforms in family court.
On the matter of healthcare, she objected to the cutting of Medicaid for single people. Governor Dennel Malloy brought the proposition. Gonzalez argued that it would be improper to fix the state budget by disadvantaging and discriminating against poor people. In 2015, Gonzalez partnered with fellow representative Jason Rojas to sponsor a bill on housing. The bill stipulated that three-quarters of all affordable housing projects should be built in affluent neighborhoods. The main reason for the proposal was to reverse the trend of constructing low-income housing subsidized by the federal government in the most impoverished areas. The bill was a radical one that would have been transformative and visionary. It garnered a lot of o interest throughout the country, with an article on the proposal appearing on the New York Times. Despite this, the bill never received a vote, and it died.
On the matter of law enforcement, Millie Gonzalez is a strong supporter of body cameras on police to ensure objective evidence on police activities. Body cameras have gained widespread popularity for many reasons. In the same area o law enforcement, she achieved a considerable measure of success in ensuring that family court judge Jane Emons was not reconfirmed to her position. The minimum wage is another area in which Gonzalez expressed her support for an increment. In a bill sponsored by the representative in 2019, it was proposed that the minimum wage be increased until it got to $15. This began with an increase of 90 cents to $11 in 2019, then annual increments of $1 until 2023 when the wage will be $15.
Legalization of marijuana has been the center of debates all over the country, and Millie Gonzalez has not been left behind. In 2019, she sponsored a piece of legislation proposing that the sale and taxation of marijuana be made legal for adults over the age of 21. The proceeds from the taxations would be used to combat some of the effects of opioid use in the state of Connecticut including addiction, depression and other mental and physical illnesses. It is clear that the fight against drugs has failed miserably and the legalization of drugs for adults is one argument that has gained popularity. It is meant to ensure that the profits made by black market trade in drugs are made legal so that the government can collect revenues. Legalization will also ensure a reduction in crimes and convictions related to sale and use of drugs, resources which would have been diverted to more useful areas.
It is evident that the state legislature deals with important issues concerning their constituents’ welfare including housing, health, minimum wage, law enforcement, and education. The House of Representatives in Connecticut has done an excellent job in fulfilling its mandate. Some of the challenges the house faces include budget gaps that prevent efficient delivery of services to the people, the rising costs of healthcare and reform, high cost of education, the challenge of clean energy alternatives and unemployment. The underlying issue in all these problems is inadequate money to meet the state budgets which has led to rising taxes in an attempt to cover the deficits. The bills sponsored by representatives including Millie Gonzalez will be instrumental towards addressing the challenges faced by the state of Connecticut.
Bibliography
Caulkins, Jonathan P., Beau Kilmer, and Mark AR Kleiman. Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know®. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Page, Lindsay C., and Judith Scott-Clayton. “Improving college access in the United States: Barriers and policy responses.” Economics of Education Review 51 (2016): 4-22.
State Representative MINNIE GONZALEZ, Deputy Majority Leader – Proudly Serving Hartford. Connecticut House Democrat. http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Gonzalez/BiographyTompkins, Al. “Top Nine Issues Facing State Legislatures” Poynter. 11 Jan 2009. https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2009/top-nine-issues-facing-state-legislatures/
Manhood in ‘Gran Torino’
Name:
Course:
Professor:
Date:
Manhood in ‘Gran Torino’
The film ‘Gran Torino’ is one of Clint Eastwood’s renowned films released in 2018. The famous and acclaimed actor directed and starred in the film. Eastwood plays the character Walt Kowalski, a racist old man uncomfortable with the influx of Asian residents in his formerly all-white neighborhood. ‘Gran Torino’ explores several themes such as racism, gang violence, masculinity, and sacrifice. Although Walt starts out as a bitter, angry old man mourning the death of his wife, the film ends with him having reformed and sacrificing his life to end gang activity in his neighborhood. Some people have criticized the toxic masculinity traits depicted in the movie, but the evolution of characters shows how people can learn from their mistakes and learn to be better. Some of the traits that characterize manhood in the film include the love of cars, vulgar language, love of guns, assertiveness, gang activities, and self-reliance.
The title of ‘Gran Torino’ comes from Walt’s 1972 vintage car, a Gran Torino. Walt kept his car in pristine condition, showing that it was one of his most prized possession. Walt’s relationship with Thao is based on this car. Thao’s cousins, who were in a gang, forced him to steal Walt’s car. Thao’s efforts were foiled by Walt himself and eventually led to a positive relationship between the two, as well as improved relations between Walt and his neighbors. The men in the film share a love for cars. Walt kept his car in perfect condition over the years he owned it, and his granddaughter was surprised that her grandfather owned such a fancy car. The area gang also wanted to steal the car as part of Thao’s initiation due to its high value. A lot of people assume that men love cars, and this is idea is widely used in the film.
Assertiveness is yet another masculine trait shown in the film. Walt is known for his assertiveness which makes everyone, including his own children, fear him a little. Walt would never back down from any challenge or show weakness in any situation (Redding 13). This trait is negative when Walt’s wife dies. During the events around her funeral, Walt remained stoic and did not show any emotion. For example, when his son offered to help him with the chairs, he refused and carried them up from the basement by himself. Additionally, Walt was never afraid of the gang members. He knew them to be armed and dangerous yet never flinched in his interactions with them. One night when the gang harasses Thao and Sue, Walt emerges from his house, menacingly pointing a gun and telling the gang to get off his lawn. Spider, one of the gang members, tried to threaten Walt, but he never backs off, threatening to kill the gang members. Walt remained assertive and never caved in to threats in all his interactions.
Gang activity is one of the ways that some men in the film use to prove their manhood. For people who are part of gangs, members must participate in some violent activity to show that they are masculine enough. The Spider gang in Walt’s neighborhood shared this toxic belief and tried to initiate Thao into their gang to make him a man. Thao never wanted to be in a gang, although he wondered if it was the only way to prove his manhood (Sierra & Martín-Alonso 5). His sister Sue warned him against engaging in gang activity. The gang terrorized the neighborhood and enjoyed making other people feel powerless. When the gang wanted to recruit Thao, they told him, “Is you a boy or is you a girl man, I can’t tell” (Gran Torino, 28:51). This scene shows that since Thao was not in the gang, he was considered a girl, a sign of weakness and femininity. Men had to show some traits of violence to be considered masculine.
Vulgar language is another common trait that the male characters in ‘Gran Torino’ share. There is the use of explicit violent language in many scenes during the film. For example, during the gang recruitment scene, the gangs attack Thao with obscene language when he refused to join them or talk to them. Walt uses vulgar language in the film as well. When he takes Thao to the barber to teach him how guys talk, there is a lot of vulgar language in the scene. For example, Walt begins with, “How are you doing Martin you crazy old Italian prick?” To which Martin replies, “Well you bastard I should’ve known you’d come in, I was having such a pleasant day” (Gran Torino 1:17:02). Their conversation goes on in the same tone, all so that Thao can learn how to talk like a guy. Vulgar language is associated with manhood.
In summary, most of the characters in ‘Gran Torino’ are male, which is why the film has a lot of male stereotypes. Some of these characteristics include the use of vulgar language, a love of cars and guns, assertiveness, and gang activity. All of these are traits that define manhood. Any male who does not conform to this is convinced to do so so that they can become manly. That is a perfect example of a male who is seen as not manly enough, and the other male characters try to initiate him into violence and vulgar language. ‘Gran Torino’ has a tragic ending when Walt dies to save Thao and his family. He also ended up getting along with his Asian neighbor despite his earlier racist tendencies. Showing his evolution as a person.
Works Cited
Gran Torino. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Performances by Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carely, Ahney Her, Warner Brother, 2008.
Redding, Art. “A Finish Worthy of the Start: The Poetics of Age and Masculinity in Clint Eastwood’s” Gran Torino”.” Film Criticism 38.3 (2014): 2-23.
Sierra, Eduardo, and Diego Martín-Alonso. “Intergenerational relationships and construction of masculinities. Thinking with” Gran Torino” and” Million Dollar Baby”.” Géneros: Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies 8.2 (2019).
Lion in the White House A Life of Theodore Roosevelt
Name:
Course:
Professor:
Date:
Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt
The author of the book ‘Lion in the Whitehouse’ is Aida D. Donald. She is a famous writer and editor with several works under her belt. These include books on American Presidents John F. Kennedy and Truman. She has also contributed to many scholarly articles and is the former editor in chief on the Harvard University Press. The biography on Roosevelt gives a look at the president that led the Rough Riders cavalry during the Spanish-American war. He was also one of the most popular US presidents in his eight-year tenure between 1901 and 1908. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts towards ending the Russo-Japanese war. The book is a general analysis of his public political career as well as his personal life. Roosevelt was a forward thinker, a man that many still admire to date. ‘Lion in the Whitehouse’ is a tribute to the heroic president, father, husband, and lover of nature.
The main reason as to why the author decided to write the book is to shed more light on the life of Roosevelt. There are different accounts each focused on different areas of his life. The book brings all these aspects together. One of the primary sources for the book is Roosevelt’s autobiography. Donald takes excerpts of the autobiography at the beginning of each chapter to give a glimpse into his life and his experiences. From the autobiography, we get to know what kind of person he was and the author then expounds on this using other sources to remove bias. The book enables the reader to understand Roosevelt’s life as he grew up, his motivations and the reasons for his decisions in life, both as president and in his personal life. Roosevelt is known to be one of the most open-minded presidents of all time at a time when America was quite conservative and not yet ready to embrace change.
The purpose of the book is to inform. The reader finds out more about the youngest president of the country and all of his achievements. For a person who wishes to get an understanding of Roosevelt and his accomplishments, this book is perfect for them. It details his life from his sickly childhood to his days as president. For example, the first chapter begins with the start of his career as a zoologist. He was also a weak boy as he says, “I was a sickly, delicate boy, suffered much from asthma, and frequently had to be taken away on trips to find a place where I could breathe.’(Donald 3) His life at home was quite sheltered, and he got to learn about politics from an early age. His parents and uncle were a significant influence in his life. His family believed in charity and helping the less fortunate although they grew in a life of privilege. His father also established the National Museum of Art. All these different experiences in early life shed light into his type of leadership when he became president.
One of the main arguments in the book is that Roosevelt was quite the forward thinker and a natural leader who expected as much from himself as he expected from others. The first instance of this is being voted as an assemblyman at only twenty-three years old. (Donald 40). As police commissioner, he fought greed and corruption. He also made sure that appointments did not take color, race, and religion into consideration. For him, all people were equal. The author explains, “Just as importantly, Roosevelt made appointments regardless of color, creed, religion, or politics. When challenged about appointing blacks, he openly defended his policy. The blacks were qualified. As a Republican whose ideal was Abraham Lincoln, Roosevelt would always be color-blind and guided by the tenet of equality.” (Donald 72) He looked up to Abraham Lincoln as his role model, and Lincoln was credited with the fight for equality by fighting against slavery and racial discrimination.
Another argument that the author makes is that Roosevelt was a brave and fearless leader. He led the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American war. “Roosevelt jumped from his horse and led the soldiers on foot. At another, he killed a Spaniard with his bare hands…….this day would be the indelible symbol of his courageous leadership.” Roosevelt stepped up to lead his men by example during the war. It is clear that he would lead the country equally fearlessly. He was granted a Medal of Honor for his bravery during the war. He was also a charismatic leader, winning the governorship of New York under the Republican vote while the city was known to be firmly Democratic (Donald 109) he advocated for better working conditions for workers and also protected the rights of women. “He was generally welcoming to the rising woman’s movement for broader rights and consulted with women leaders in the new social movements.” (Donald 121)
The biography is quite sympathetic to the subject, President Roosevelt. The author portrays him to be a likable and relatable person from his childhood. One example of this was her description of his anguish when his father died (Donald 28). Like any other child, perhaps, even more, he had loved his father. Despite their privileged upbringing, his father took part in numerous charitable activities, and this casts the whole Roosevelt family in an endearing light. His marriage to his first wife Alice also showed him to be a loving and kind man, but unfortunately, she died too soon in childbirth. Tragic life experiences such as this show sympathy to Roosevelt and elicits similar feelings in the reader. While he was still young, he was angry at a corrupt justice of the Supreme Court for engaging in swindles in the railroads (Donald 42). One of President Roosevelt’s significant achievements was breaking the monopoly in the railroads, and it was inspired by his abhorrence for corruption from his earliest days.
I agree with the arguments of the author. Roosevelt’s early life prepared him for the role of President at only forty-three years old, the youngest president of all time. His charisma, hard work, leadership and belief in equality as shown by the author enabled him to achieve a lot in his presidency. He first assumed office as a result of the death of President McKinley who had been shot by an anarchist. The President’s death meant that the vice president would take his position. He aspired to be like Lincoln in his letter, “I must not only be as resolute as Abraham Lincoln in seeking to achieve decent ends, but as patient, as uncomplaining and as even-tempered in dealing, not only with knaves, but with the well-meaning foolish people, educated and uneducated.” (Donald 136). He desired to make changes in the Supreme Court, and the racist South. One of his tenets was equality for all men, and he lived up to this.
The book has some strengths as well as weaknesses. Its main advantage is drawn from the fact that it incorporates Roosevelt’s autobiography at the beginning of each chapter. This makes it credible by showing the reader what Roosevelt himself thought and said. The author’s work is to interpret and expound further on the events associated with a particular excerpt. Its weakness is that it is rarely critical of Roosevelt as a person. It comes across as being more of a tribute and praise to the President rather than a critical analysis of his leadership. The whole narrative is skewed in his favor. However, to be fair to the author, it is merely intended to be an informative piece, and it is based on her own opinion. Roosevelt was generally a likable man, an able leader, and an outstanding President.
President Theodore Roosevelt is widely acclaimed and remembered for many achievements during his presidency. Some of these include the Nobel Peace Prize, strengthening the navy, construction of the Panama Canal, conservation of the environment, removing monopoly in the railroads, and dealing with the coal strike of 1902. He was also instrumental in bringing about equality in terms of racial discrimination and women’s rights. The biography ‘Lion in the Whitehouse’ aptly captures his spirit. The author writes an excellent report on Roosevelt’s life and experiences. The book helps the reader to follow his growth right from his childhood right to all his outstanding achievements as president. While some may remark that it paints an unrealistically positive image, Roosevelt remains human like any other person affected by tragedy and death. His privileged upbringing may have given him an advantage, but he had innate capabilities to become a great leader. The biography is a fitting account of his life and reading it leaves the audience informed about other aspects in life that may not be highlighted as much. Just like the author, the readers end up with a positive bias towards the ‘Lion in the White House.’
Works Cited
Donald, Aida. Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt. Basic Books, 2008.