Archive for November, 2010

Community Partner

My community partner is Gary LaPorte. He is my former boss of 18 years and still a good friend. I called him Sunday night and told him about my report on Agent Orange. Gary had served in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange. He currently still owns the business that I worked for at 3919 E. 18th St. in Superior, Wisconsin. I actually only have two specific questions that I plan to ask him. One is whether he had to actually prove to the military that he was in Vietnam, which is surprisingly something I found that many veterans had to do. The second question is about an anti malaria pill that was given to all ground troops in Vietnam and what he remembers being told about it compared to the facts that I have gathered on it. I will bring my sentence outline with me as a guide for discussion. I feel having known this man for 18 years a casual conversation will be the most productive approach.

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Weekly Research Update

In picking a subject like Agent Orange, one cannot help but become frustrated and enraged over the subject. I have found articles dated back to 1970 about the adverse effects of the defoliant. It is interesting that as recently as a couple of weeks ago the U.S. Government was announcing new ailments that they can now link to exposure to Agent Orange. I can’t say that I am completely surprised though. On Wednesday, I will be meeting with my old boss who served in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange. There were many times in the 18 years that I worked for him in which he had expressed to me his frustration with Veteran’s Affairs over the subject. It is frustrating, that after all this time; the government is still reluctant to admit its responsibility towards Vietnam Veterans on this matter.

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My Topic : Agent Orange

Why has it taken so long for the U.S. Government to look into the full effects that Agent Orange had on people? What are the effects known to date about Agent Orange? These are questions that I feel are owed to not only the Veterans of the Vietnam War, but the families of the veterans who have died from the effects of this dangerous defoliant. I worked for over 18 years for a man who served two tours of duty in Vietnam. I saw the effect that it still had on him over 35 years later. I still have a good relationship with this man and will most likely ask his permission to not only include some of the stories that he has told me in the past, but to ask him tough questions about his battle with Agent Orange disease to this day.

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Halfway

We are half way through this class already? Being a student who just came out of Steve’s Composition I class that was 8 weeks long and then immediately starting this class for me it feels like we are farther than half way. I have become used to the work load and what is expected in this class. I didn’t realize, however, that this class was going to have a lot to do with government. My experience in my State and Local Government class does seem to give me an advantage in this class. All I really have to say is, bring on the next 4 weeks.

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To tell the truth

I believe that Rosie is the one who quit McDonald’s after 3 hours. First of all someone that is just starting to work at a place like McDonald’s is going to be given all of the menial tasks. Rosie expressed an extreme dislike of work such as taking out the garbage and cleaning the bathrooms. Rosie also seemed to have knowledge of what jobs were involved with a first day worker at McDonald’s. She used many hand gestures and was quite animated at times expressing her dislike of the jobs she was given. Vanessa, on the other hand, looked like she was uncomfortable at times. The main instance that made me think it was not Vanessa was when I asked her the question about who was the reason she quit. She immediately used my name, making me think she was making it up as she went along. I mean, how likely is it that her boss had the same name as me? It could be possible, but most likely, not probable.

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Mock Topic

Professional athletes should be required to take steroids as part of their training. Wouldn’t baseball be more fun to watch with 20-30 homeruns per game? How about a Football game in which the running back rushes for over a 1,000 yards per game? Of course in professional basketball the rim will have to be raised to at least 15 feet because of the increased vertical jump all of the players will have.

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