Writing Techniques English Writing Online Tutorpace

Writing Techniques English Writing Online Tutorpace Writing techniques expresses the ideas of the writer. The writer first researches topics and limits the topics. If soccer is the topic (broad topic), it can be limited to how soccer has influenced my life, which is narrow. While compiling ideas, the writer could organize the information in charts, webbing tables, diagrams etc. Introduction of Writing Topic When the writing process starts, the writer begins by introducing the topic to the reader. The introduction is an entrance that the writer provides for the reader to get into the topic. The main point of the writing is called thesis and the last part of the introduction consists of the thesis. The thesis tells the reader what stand the writer has taken regarding an issue or any topic. It is a strong statement in a complete sentence. The other paragraphs start with a topic sentence in each to focus the attention of the reader to the topic. Providing elaborating explanations and examples will help the reader understand what the writer intends to say. Paragraph breaks show the different ideas separately and transitional phrases lead the reader smoothly from one idea to the next. Just as the introduction provides a gateway for the reader, the conclusion serves as an ending to the discussion. The writer summarizes the main ideas and states his thesis. It provides the reader an opportunity to look back on what has been said until then. Writing technique also involves knowing the audience and using appropriate tone and correct usage of literary devices. The whole work should show coherence, clarity in expression and concise language.

How to Learn Chinese with Videos

How to Learn Chinese with Videos Learn Mandarin Chinese while Having Fun! Chapters YouTube and Educational Channels for Learning Mandarin Chinese Chinese Films Cartoons in Chinese Chinese SeriesIf you’d told me when I was at school that I could do my language lessons just by watching a video on a computer (or even my phone!), I would have leapt at the chance to watch a video tutorial from the comfort of my own bed!With the arrival of high-speed internet, mobile apps, and digital tools, the way we learn languages (both in school and at home) has completely completely changed.This doesn’t mean that we need to completely say goodbye to learning with a teacher in a classroom. In fact, learning a language with a teacher or private tutor still remains one of the most effective ways to learn languages.  Find private Chinese lessons across the UK (including a Chinese tutor London) with Superprof.Additionally, the Chinese language can be pretty complicated and it can be demoralising to to hit a speed bump during your language learning journey and have nobody th ere to help you.So stop searching for “learn Chinese” on Google and check out some of the best video resources for Mandarin lessons  we’ve put together for you in this article. NingChinese Teacher 5.00 (10) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorraineChinese Teacher £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoyceChinese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicoleChinese Teacher £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KatyChinese Teacher £16/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YangChinese Teacher £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChengChinese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YouTube and Educational Channels for Learning Mandarin Chinese“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.” - Chinese ProverbTaking Chinese lessons is often seen as a journey where grammar, tones, and characters are the milestones.  When y ou think about how different the language is to English, you can start to get demotivated at how complicated speaking Chinese is going to be. However, you needn’t worry about it. You're not the first Westerner trying to speak Chinese and you won't be the last!Don’t forget that there are plenty of resources like Chinese apps and on-line videos that can make learning Chinese fun, interesting, and, above all, much easier.  While YouTube may seem to have replaced textbooks, we're certainly not going so far as to say that they should all be consigned to a museum!Chinese words can be made up of one or several characters. (Source: Photo Mix)However, there are almost as many Chinese channels on YouTube as there are Chinese speakers on the planet since the demand for learning the language is so incredibly high at the moment due to the political and economic power of the countries where the language is spoken.When you first start learning Chinese, the Chinese writing system, and the chara cters, these videos can help you massively without needing to show up to a single Chinese class.  Whether you’re preparing for an official exam, looking to improve your listening comprehension or writing, or just studying the language for fun, you’ll find that there are plenty of ways to practice Chinese on video-hosting websites like YouTube.There are also plenty of courses from “e-learning” (which basically means learning online) websites which aim to teach you through the medium of video.You can also interact with other learners and teachers by leaving comments on videos, contacting the organisation running the video courses, via their social media channels, or just by simply sending them an email.Here are a few channels that you should check out for learning Chinese:Learn Chinese with Emma: Emma’s online Chinese lessons are very well produced and aimed at both absolute beginners and advanced beginners. While most of the videos are in English, there are sections complet ely in Chinese that are accompanied very clearly by subtitles so that you won’t get lost.Chinese with Mike: While Mike’s lessons are never serious, that doesn’t mean they can’t be educational. These are a great way to learn Chinese while having a load of fun. The videos are between 10 and 15 minutes each and go at a very good pace for those learning. You’ll never be bored in Teacher Mike’s (MIKE LAOSHI) classes.Yoyo Chinese: The host of Yoyo Chinese is Yangyang Cheng, a resident of Los Angeles who’s fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. In addition to the lessons on the channel, you can also find interviews with other native Chinese speakers as well as some recordings of Google Live Hangouts that she’s conducted.Discover these other online resources for learning Chinese! Chinese FilmsWatching films is one of the best methods for improving your foreign language skills, especially in a language such as Chinese where pronunciation and listening skills are hugely i mportant.Just like how reading a book can improve your writing, reading comprehension, syntax, and writing style, watching Chinese films (maybe with subtitles in Mandarin Chinese, too) can help you to improve your listening comprehension, pronunciation, and level in general.Watching films can greatly help your comprehension. (Source: startupstockphotos.com)Concentrating on listening to Chinese pronunciation for around two hours at a time is effectively revision. Additionally, watching films is a great way to expose yourself to Chinese culture and conversational Chinese.  However, heading straight to streaming sites is a grave error!Since most film productions come out of Hong Kong, a lot of films available in the West will actually be in Cantonese. While this is great if you’re learning Cantonese, it’s pretty useless if you’re learning Mandarin. Thus, if you go straight to a streaming website looking for Chinese films without doing any research, you’ll end up getting films i n a language you’re not even studying! If you want to learn how to speak Mandarin, you'll need to be looking for films from Mainland China or Taiwan.Don’t panic, though! More and more films are coming out in Mandarin Chinese and not even the Great Wall of China could stop them making their way to the West.Chinese directors and screenwriters are also very creative and their films offer something significantly different to the type of cinema that most of us are used to in the West. There’s something for every kind of film fanatic!Here’s a few examples worth checking out:Wolf Totem ???, (2015): Based on a Chinese novel, this French-Chinese film tells the story of a Chinese student who is sent to inner Mongolia to teach shepherds. Wu xiá (Dragon): In the same vein as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this historical Kung Fu film is full of impressive fights and high-flying acrobatics. Perfect for motivating you to study!Lost In Thailand: A bit like a Chinese version of “The Han gover”, this film successfully mixes action and comedy. The dialogues in Mandarin Chinese will put your comprehension to the test. A great challenge for any Chinese learner.The Great Hypnotist ???? (2014): This Chinese mystery-thriller is for people who liked either “The Butterfly Effect” or “Inception” and may leave you scratching your head. With a bit of insanity and lots of introspective dialogue, this film is a great opportunity for anyone wanting to improve their listening comprehension and speaking skills.Get your reading on with these great Chinese books... Cartoons in ChineseEvery generation has a certain passion for the cartoons they watched growing up. Whether they watched them on Saturday mornings or when they got home school as they had their tea, every cartoon is very reminiscent of the time in which is was made.Whether you grew up watching Scooby Doo, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, or Rugrats, cartoons remind us of our childhood and bring back good memories.Do you really need to spend money to learn Chinese? (Source: pixabay.com)While animation from Japan has made its way into Western culture (in the form of anime), China has yet to make animations as successful as Fullmetal Alchemist, Deathnote, or Cowboy Bebop.It doesn’t really matter that the Mandarin Chinese spoken in cartoons is for kids and isn’t really the same as you’d hear it spoken by adults in streets around China since they're a fun, educational, and powerful way to improve your Chinese. While it’s nothing like the Chinese taught in universities around the world, especially in terms on pronunciation, it will still help you better understand Chinese and Chinese characters.In China, the news, cartoons, and adverts are subtitled in Standard Mandarin, which has been the country’s official language since 1956. This is because there are plenty of people in China who speak different Chinese languages and dialects like Cantonese and Wu.Standard Mandarin is thought of as the language of TV and is the common linguistic ground for around 800 million people, which is actually only around 70 to 80% of the population.China has also banned 29 different anime series due to their violence, sexual nature, and on grounds of encouraging terrorism in order to protect the youngest generation.  In addition to censorship, Chinese channels have to give priority to Chinese productions much like the French on the radio with French music.Here are a few classic Chinese animations you should check out:Journey to the West - Legends of the Monkey King is a 1999 cartoon show that is based on the novel “Journey to the West” that was the source of inspiration for the anime Dragon Ball.The King of Tibetan Antelope.Tian Yan Chuan Qi.Monkey King: Hero is Back.Mr Black: Green Star.Ling and Tao.Sparkling Red Star (????? ?????).Three KingdomsIt should be noted that Russian cartoons (like “Masha and the Bear”) are also very popular in China. Perhaps this might be to the two cou ntries’ shared history with communism or just due to their proximity to one another.You may also enjoy playing games to learn Chinese with of these apps... Chinese SeriesWhen talking about China’s cultural influence on Japan, economists tend to describe it using the term “soft power”. This means that China uses its culture, rather than military strength, to influence its neigbours.In terms of television, China produces thousands of series every year (around 30,000 episodes per year, making it the largest production in the world) which, while hugely popular in their home country, struggle to make any sort of impact here in the West.Completely unknown by most people in the UK, the TV series and direct-to-TV films made in China are often watched by tens of millions of viewers. We are talking about a country of 1.3 billion people, after all. What a great education in language and culture you'll get from the comfort of your own home! Take Mandarin classes London, Birmingham or wh erever you're located.There are series on old Chinese legends, which are an integral part of Chinese cultural, dating back to the Ming, Qin, and the very popular Han dynasties.You can learn more about the Chinese language and Chinese culture on any device. (Source: pixabay.com)There are also more modern stories focusing on the current social phenomena in the People’s Republic of China.  These series tend to bear very little resemblance to the series we’re used to in the UK like Game of Thrones or even Coronation Street (I bet you never thought you'd hear those two shows mentioned in the same sentence!). In fact, with all the Chinese cultural richness available, there’s very little space left for Western concepts.Thus, in addition to improving your understanding of the language, watching Chinese TV and films are also a great way to deepen your understanding of China’s culture.Of course, for those who love martial arts, there’s always the “The Legend of Bruce Lee”, a Chi nese biographical TV series on the Kung Fu legend himself.  This series covers the stories of the world’s strongest man from a Chinese perspective without all the Western cliches that are often applied to his life.Using media to learn a new language is the best way to learn Mandarin and a great way to create an artificial immersion environment. If you can't go to China, making sure that all the media you consume is from Chinese speaking sources, taking Chinese classes, and finding resources to learn Chinese online is the next best thing. Don't forget to ask your Chinese teacher for their recommendations, too!If you're looking for a textbook to complement your classes or are just a keen reader, you should find out more about the best books for learning Chinese.Discover also the best tools for learning Chinese...

Categorical Data - Online Math Tutoring

Categorical Data - Online Math Tutoring Definition:-A variable that cannot assume a numerical value but can be classified into two or more nonnumeric categories are called categorical variable or qualitative variable. The data collected on such a variable are called categorical data. It is also known as qualitative data. Note:-Categorical data are always nominal whereas nominal data need not be categorical. Example:- The status of an undergraduate college student is a qualitative variable because a student can fall into any one of four categories: freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior etc. Other examples of Categorical variables are the gender, race, sex, age group, educational level, hair color of a person, and the make of a car, model of a car or computer, colors of cars, marital status of people etc. Suppose there is several numbers of toys with different colors. These toys can be classified according to their color brown, yellow, red, blue, and green as: Color Number of toys Brown 2 Yellow 5 Red 4 Blue 3 Green 6 Organizing and graphing Categorical data Data set are organized into tables, and data using graphs. Frequency distributions for Categorical data. Relative frequency and percentage distributions. Graphical presentation of categorical data. Bar graph Pie chart

3 Educational Summer Road Trips

3 Educational Summer Road Trips Once school is out and the summer months arrive, many families look for educational activities to keep their students engaged. Educational family field tripsare great opportunities to continue learning throughout the summer months. These educational summer road trips can include visits to National Parks, the Lewis and Clark Trail, or presidential museums and libraries. Here are three educational summer road trips to get your entire family excited about learning this summer: Educational summer road trip #1: National Parks Visiting Americas National Parks with your family can be a very rewarding experience. It can allow you and your student to embrace nature, and to gain a deeper understanding of the protected lands in the U.S. In total, there are 59 National Parks spread across America, providing plenty of opportunities for exploration. You can camp, hike, and take advantage of other recreational activities. The National Parks Service also offers the Junior Ranger program for children. Through this program, students are able to spend the day as a junior ranger, completing various activities and interacting with official park rangers. The National Park Service also has a list of park ranger badges that your student can earn at home. If you are unable to participate in the Junior Ranger program during your visit, you can still incorporate the topics of these badges into your road trip. [RELATED: Educational Road Trip Games for the Whole Family] Educational summer road trip #2: The Lewis and Clark Trail The Lewis and Clark Trail spans the majority of the country. Along their trail, Lewis and Clark made many discoveries, including ecological and geological findings that are discussed in the present day. Many sites on the Lewis and Clark Trail feature locations on the National Register of Historic Places. These include caves, forts, and various historic districts. These sites could provide a roadmap of educational locations to visit. The National Park Service offers a Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail map that you can use as guidance on your educational summer road trip. Educational summer road trip #3: Presidential libraries and museums Presidential libraries and museums can provide students with a deeper understanding of U.S. history. These museums offer: Interactive exhibits Films Memorabilia A closer look into the life of former presidents Many of these museums and libraries offer educational programs that are open to the public. If your student is interested in the lives of American presidents, you can also visit presidential homes. These sites include tours of the houses that presidents grew up in or lived in before or after their presidency, sometimes inside a historic district. [RELATED: 6 Summer Learning Programs for Students of All Ages] There are many opportunities to keep your student engaged in learning over the summer months. Educational summer road trips can not only introduce your student to areas of the country he or she might not be familiar with, they can also further understanding of its history. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

How can I write an awesome thesis statement

How can I write an awesome thesis statement Writing awesome thesis statements involves knowledge and skill. It is a crucial step in learning to write high-scoring essays. To succeed, you have to know how to make a thesis statement well-structured, strong, action-oriented, and focused. Whats more, writing awesome thesis statements is a skill that takes practice to develop. Once you know what to do, you will need deliberate practice hammering out thesis after thesis, revision after revision, until the central claim of your essay says exactly what you want it to say with the structure and force you want it to have. With a well-crafted thesis statement, your essay will almost write itself. How? It will outline your essay so that all you will have to do is give examples to show what you mean. What is a thesis statement? A thesis statement is the central claim your essay makes. It summarizes everything you intend to say in your essay in one sentence. Of course, your argument will need context and further elaboration with examples to persuade your reader, but that is what the rest of the essay is for. Where can you find the thesis statement? The thesis statement almost always comes at the end of the introduction of an essay. The introduction is the name we give to the first paragraph of the essay. Introductory paragraphs perform four important jobs. They start the essay by trying capture the readers attention, give some background and context to your topic, focus your topic saying what you will and will not be talking about, and then end with the central argument you intend to develop with the rest of your essay. The introduction prepares your reader for your thesis, and if your thesis statement is well-crafted it will make your reader want to read to the end. Because of its important role as the organizing idea behind the whole essay, it is vital that you get it right every time. A loose, unfocused, unstructured, bland claim will not motivate your reader to read on. Make your thesis awesome, and your reader will devour your essay with great relish. Heres how. Structure your thesis statement with topics A good thesis statement should contain 2 or 3 three topics that can be developed in the paragraphs of the essay that follow. This formula can be represented as a claim with divisions or prongs. Below, X Y represents the claim, and because A, B, and C represent the topics you will develop with evidence in the body paragraphs of your essay. X Y because A, B, and C Take a stand with your thesis statement A good thesis should take a strong stance that can be debated and defended. In academic writing, students are often expected to make a strong claim about a controversial issue and defend it vigorously. In the example below, you can see that the first example simply offers an observation about the world. The second example raises the alarm that something must change. Make your thesis statements strong. Today, it is common to see young people spending time on social media, memes, and selfies. (WEAK) Today’s generation of young people is becoming alarmingly focused only on themselves because of the rise of social media, memes, and selfies.(STRONG) Use action verbs in your thesis statement A thesis sentence will capture the readers imagination when it conjures up action and transformation. To conjure up action in your readers mind, use action verbs rather than stative verbs. Action verbs suggest an action is being performed. In the example below the active verbs are underlined. Compare them with the stative verbs is and have in the second example which describe states of being and possession rather than actions. Romeoembodies the ideal tragic hero because hebelongs to a noble family, displays great virtue, anddiesof a tragic flaw. (4 action verbs: good) Romeo is the ideal tragic hero because he is noble, he is virtuous, and he has a tragic death. (4 stative verbs: not as good) Keep your thesis statement short A good thesis statement should be short and to the point. Aim for a sentence length of no more than 30 words. If you can make it shorter, do. Eliminate any unnecessary elaboration to give your thesis more focus. You can develop and support your ideas later in your essay. Ice cream is the best of all the desserts because it is creamy owing to the ingredients with a high fat content, sweet because of added sugar and lactose, and cool because of the temperature it is served at. (39 words) Ice cream is the best dessert because it is creamy, sweet, and cool. (13 words) Examples of thesis statements This list of thesis statements illustrates how to structure the central claim of your argument around bolded keywords. Note that each 3-item series of topics that follows the keyword will serve as an outline for the rest of your essay. Because We should wear school uniforms because they would help ensure discipline, help reduce class-consciousness, and help foster school pride.Students should wear uniforms to school because they are less expensive than other clothing, they will decrease issues related to dress code, and they will improve school culture.Zoos should be banned because animals need to remain in the wild, zoos cannot provide natural experiences for animals, and animals in zoos get sick and die.Romeo embodies the ideal tragic hero because he belongs to a noble family, displays great virtue, and dies of a tragic flaw. Spring is the best time of year because the sun shines longer, the temperature rises, and flowers bloom. To + Infinitive Prostitution should be legalized to decrease the number of violent acts committed against sex workers, to give people in the sex trade a safe working environment, and to promote the psychological health of sex workers. By Today’s generation is alarmingly focused only on themselves, as evidenced by the rise of social media, memes, and selfies.This lacking aspect of the American ideal is reflected by the characters, the symbols and the overall theme of the book.Whether by the brutal imagery, the somber theme of the book, the captivating plot, or rather lack thereof, Remarque did his best to paint war in a negative light. Through The author demonstrates this issue through symbolism and her use of language. Through the themes of censorship, knowledge and technology, the novel teaches us that to blossom, people must think by themselves. Through theand but also through This is revealed not only through the main plot of the story, but also through the way characters are portrayed and the themes presented in the novel. For the In The Magicians, Lev Grossman uses magic as a unifying device for the characters, the plot and the theme. In its Samuel Beckett’s Endgame reflects characteristics of Theatre of the Absurd in its minimalist stage setting, its seemingly meaningless dialogue, and its apocalyptic or nihilist vision. Please follow and like us:

When to use Already, Still and Yet in English ?? - Time words in English

When to use Already, Still and Yet in English ?? - Time words in English In this lesson you will learn when to use already, still and yet and other time words in English.We will talk what is difference between STILL and YET.We will review in detail the difference between FOR and SINCE which confuse many many ESL students. When to use Already, Still and Yet - Time Words in English Hi there and welcome back to Harrys English lessons.And if you havent already subscribed to Learn English with Harry YouTube channel, just press the subscribe button.  Today, Im going to talk to you about time words. These are English expressions that we use about time.So I go through each of them and then Ill give you some examples and hopefully youll be able to understand exactly what they mean because I know they cause some people a few problems.So the first one we have is AGO.Ago is referring to back in time in the past. Its all about back. So here were using the simple past in terms of verb tense.When we talk about ago, we can say something like two weeks ago. So its back in time. Youre travelling back in time, like Dr Who.So heres an example. You meet your friend and youre walking down the street and youre asking them about some other friend Jane. He says:Oh yes, Jane, she moved to Canada two weeks ago.So hes talking about two weeks that from the time that you met him two week s ago.The next time word I want to use is BEFOREIn our first example, when were using ago, we said when we spoke to Paul that Jane had moved to Canada two weeks ago.So when you met him two weeks ago, when we use before we can use the same example:The last time I met Paul, he had told me that Jane had moved to Canada two weeks before. Two weeks before the date you last met Paul. So before is talking about again about history.But we can also use before with the simple present and the simple past. Let me give you two examples.I will leave before he comes.Meaning I will leave the office, I will leave the meeting, I will leave home before he comes. Simple present. Okay.Or the simple past.  He completed or did or finished his homework before he had dinner.The next time word I want to use is SINCESo this again can be a little bit confusing, but we use since with the perfect tenses present, perfect or past perfect depending on the circumstances.So let me give you a good understanding of how we use it.So lets say I have been living in this particular house for 19 years.  So that means today is 2019. 19 years ago when I moved in would have been the year 2000. So when I use the word since it takes me back to the past, brings me up to the present and tells me that Ive been living here since a particular date or year.The next time word that I  have for you is FORNow,  since and four always get confused.When were using the word FOR, were talking about a duration period of time.So lets go back to my example about the house here.Living here since the year 2000 started in the past.  It brings me up to the present.I can say it in the exact same way by saying I have been living here for 19 years, for 19 years, the duration of 19 years. Again, it started in the past. It brings me up to the present. I have been living here for a period of 19 years.   When to use Already, Still and Yet - Time Words in English And the next time word that I want to use is ALREADY  And here again we use already with the perfect tenses.It either comes in the middle of the sentence or at the end of the sentence and it tells you something that has already happened.She had already left the party before he arrived. Did you post that letter for me? Yes, Ive posted already. I have posted it already. Here we use the present perfect. I have have plus the past participle posted. I have posted it already and here we have already at the end of the sentence.So you can have it in the middle. You can have it at the end, you can use it with the past perfect. And you can use it with the present perfect.And the next time word then is YET And this one is a bit different so be careful. We only use it with negative statements and questions. And its always about something that hasnt been completed. It isnt finished.So youre asking a question about whether something has done as has been done or youre asking us making a stable as s omething in the negative.Has he finished his dinner yet?Present perfect.  And then if you want to put it into a negative statement:He hasnt called me yet. He hasnt called me yet. Im getting very worried.So again, up to the time that youre talking to the person, you havent received a phone call, so it isnt complete that as an action that hasnt finished. Its a negative statement. HAnd then one I have for you is STILLThis is the last time word. So we use this in positive statements or we use it in questions.It comes after the auxiliary verb and before the main verb. For example:Are you still playing tennis? Yes. I am still playing tennis. Okay, so weve looked at ago, before, since, four, yet and still.So hopefully youve got a good understanding of how to use them.And if you want to contact us, of course, you can subscribe to our channel and join me on www.englishlessonviaskype.com and subscribe, as I said, and we’ll see you soon.

Vice Presidential Debate Live-Journal

Vice Presidential Debate Live-Journal eonline.com 8:47: The panel seems to think it’d be a good idea for Pence to tell some personal stories about his blossoming relationship with the Trump family, the idea being that this would be a good opportunity to humanize Trump. Yeah, maybe. But it isn’t it discomfiting that we’re casually discussing the fact that it’s a month away from the election and we’re not totally convinced of Trump’s humanity? 8:56: Coop’s elegant style, sharp comportment, and sophisticated incorporation of spectacles makes the whole idea of aging a lot more palatable. 8:59: Get me out of this panel purgatory. 9:00: Cutting directly from Coop to Wolf Blitzer is hilariously unfair to Wolf. 9:02: The Candidates make their distinguished walk to the stage and then just kind of plop down in goofy swivel-chairs. usatoday.com 9:07: There’s a kind of refreshing sense of old-school cordiality between the candidates as they both begin the debate with pretty strong, clearly rehearsed answers to Elaine Quijano’s first question. 9:10: Kaine seemed like a relatively banal pick for Clinton, but it’s becoming clearer why she tipped him. He appears to really relish being her cheerleader/chief attack dog. He also follows the same “affable everyman” role that Biden filled so effectively. 9:12: Pence says the Clinton campaign has been an “avalanche of insults”… I genuinely think he’s never seen Trump’s Twitter account. 9:15: Maybe framing a debate as an “open discussion” isn’t the most prudent move. Candidates constantly interrupting each other. 9:16: That cordiality, yeah, it didn’t last. 9:18: Pence is pretty strong on the economy, inasmuch as he can tout some specious economic arguments while seeming credible. 9:19: “Do you want a ‘you’re fired’ plan, or do you want a ‘you’re hired’ plan?” Kaine asks. The Clinton campaign really needs to put the kibosh on the witticisms. 9:21: Pence has resting “I’m so disappointed in you” face. Probably an appropriate demeanor for a Trump VP. 9:23: “You can roll out the numbers, but people in Scranton know different” Pence says. Anti-intellectualism is core to his economic arguments. 9:25: Pence is so weak answering questions about Trump’s taxes. Absolutely flailing, it’s gotta be embarrassing for him. Kaine’s attacks are obvious but they’re scathing. “He’s going to release his tax returns when the audit is over.” Yeesh. 9:30: I wonder what Coop thinks about all of this. 9:35: Pence just explicitly said that we need to stop accusing police forces of institutional racism. “When African-American police officers are involved in the shooting of an African-American, how can Hilary Clinton bring up bias?” he asked. Just a total misunderstanding of what how institutional bias metastasizes throughout institutions, regardless of the individual. 9:42: Pence finally brings up the “basket of deplorables.” It’s astounding that it’s taken one and a half debates for this to come up. I’d almost forgotten about it. I think it shows a serious paucity of political acumen that it’s taken so long for them to try and capitalize on one of Clinton’s only real gaffes. cnn.com 9:46: Kaine has been taking up Trump’s interrupter mantle all night. It seems like a deliberate strategic move but I’m not sure how well it’ll play. Trump supporters will definitely revel in the fact that they can finally accuse a political opponent of being obtrusive. 9:50: Kaine, and the Clinton campaign in general, has always been at their best when simply reciting Trump’s words back verbatim. There’s absolutely no convincing retort that Pence can muster. 9:52: Pence’s revisionism on Iraq is crazy. His conception of history seems to be that we won the initial war without significant difficulty or consequence, and that failed negotiations and management on the part of the Obama administration were the only direct antecedents to the rise of ISIS. Maybe some of his supporters will buy that, but it’s patently insane. Pence’s ardor for the Iraq war also chafes against his running mate’s (er, false) claim that he didn’t support the invasion. But, I mean, I guess the Trump campaign has more pressing problems to address than message coherence. 10:00: I disagree with nearly everything Pence is saying but he is SO MUCH MORE competent than Trump. If Trump was asked specific questions about no-fly zones in Syria it would be an abject disaster. Pence can, at the very least, articulate a response. 10:04: The way Kaine keeps invoking Raegan makes me uncomfortable as a progressive. I get the political calculusâ€"he’s trying to attract disaffected republicansâ€"but I don’t like our only viable left-of-center ticket valorizing Reagan Conservatism. 10:05: It seems like Pence’s plan is to simply act disgusted/dismissive whenever Kaine makes obvious attacks against Trump’s character. In a way, it works. The conversation moves on. But it’s also hilarious to see Pence try and dismiss the asinine things Trump has said. 10:10: Pence just said “this isn’t the old days where you can just say stuff and people will believe it.” I mean… come on… does he have no sense of irony? 10:15: Extensive talks about Russia. Putin probably loves the fact that there’s an entire segment in a major vice presidential debate devoted to talking about him. This is the kind of exertion of soft power that he thrives on. Dude is a cold war thinker and we’re kind of servicing him here. 10:17: It took nearly two full debates for Trump/Pence to bring up the Clinton Foundation, which is one of the main sources of her popular distrust. But here’s the thing, nobody has ever found any creditable examples of malfeasance perpetrated by the foundation. In fact, it’s one of the most successful charity organizations in history. 10:20: I wish there was a box in the bottom corner of the screen showing Coop’s real-time reactions. 10:24: Kaine fails to talk about how he reconciles his faith with his pro-choice political stance, when the moderator seemed to be setting him up to talk about that specific topic in detail. It’s worth nothing that he was something of a late-adopter of both pro-choice and LGBTQ rights positions. 10:27: Lots of scripture quoting going on. Makes me queasy. 10:35: As the debate ends, both candidates explain that they’re confident that they’ll be able to unify the country if elected. If this debate, and this entire election cycle, has shown us anything, it’s that there are serious fissures in the American polity that can’t be remedied over the course of one or two terms. It’s nice to think that we’ll all come together again after November, but this election has revealed how fractious our politics have really become. These aren’t problems of ideology or policy disputes, they’re problems of identity anxiety. There’s a profound fear of change that can’t be assuaged by any one president. But the country won’t stop changing, so either these problems will continue to grow in extremity, or we’ll do some serious collective introspection and decide that a shifting world doesn’t actually portend disaster. 10:47: Back to you, Coop. salon.com

Is Abortion A Basic Right

Is Abortion A Basic Right Photo by thecrazyfilmgirl via Flickr.com I think we can all agree that when people assume things about us or overgeneralize about people like us, it tends to become frustrating. And really for most of us that is an understatement. Assumptions about who we are or what we believe are usually deal breakers when it comes to relationships. We are probably not going to become friends with or even tolerate people who have derogatory opinions about us when they do not even know us. And yet whenever politicians do this exact same thing we seem perfectly fine going along with or choosing to ignore whatever they say. Enter president Obama’s speech at the Planned Parenthood national convention. On Friday the president gave a speech in which he basically said that abortion is a basic right for women’s health and that those politicians opposing it are trying to bring back policies better suited for the 1950s. Now there are a couple things about this that bother me, but at the heart of it are the two assumptions that the president makes here. One is that women consider abortion to be a basic health right, and the other is that only a small portion of old fashion politicians oppose abortion. First I would just like to say that as a 19-year-old, non-politician, woman, I do not support abortion. And quite frankly I do not think that I am the only one that feels that way. I find it extremely ironic that the president is constantly calling conservatives out of touch, when it is my belief that these assumptions of his about women, and Americans in general, are extremely out of touch. Many people believe that abortion is actually less popular today than it was when it was passed, because of the advancements in science that have occurred since then. And what is more, his assumption that all women feel the way that those in Planned Parenthood do about abortion, is completely unfounded. Many women are opposed to abortion and to speak about it as if it is some kind of necessity for us, is not only worn but somewhat sexist. I apologize if this sounds as if I am complaining or nitpicking and I understand that politicians try to appeal to the audience that they are standing before, but this really bothered me. I personally do not like the president assuming things about me or those around me, especially when it comes to something as controversial as abortion.