Devan (U.S.)

Interview a Baby Boomer

For this project, I interviewed Chris Burr, a second-time Nobles faculty member and a man born right in the heart of the baby boom in 1950. I started out with the more general questions given to us, then moving on to the more specific questions that I myself thought up. Mr. Burr said that the political events that first shaped him occurred in the 1960's, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated followed in a matter of years by the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. He then went on to say that these events combined with the Vietnam War to create a situation filled with chaos in the United States. He believed that much of this chaos was directly related to the United States "losing their first war". Relating back to the essential question, this shows that many Americans were shaken by the Vietnam War, as it was clear that the United States was not exactly the military super-power it had believed itself to be. As the interview moved along, we also discussed both Watergate and Ronald Reagan. Mr. Burr described his feelings upon first hearing about the Watergate break-in, saying that he felt that it was a significant story even before the connections to the President were made and also describing how he wondered what would happen if President Nixon was connected to the break-in. As the story moved along, Mr. Burr said that he was very struck by the Watergate story and he felt that the notion of the American president lying was something very foreign and disturbing to him. For Mr. Burr, it seems, the Watergate scandal had a similar effect on him as it did on many other Americans--it "shook {them} up" and made them doubt politicians. Ronald Reagan, he believed, was the perfect president for his specific time period. In effect, Mr. Burr believed that Reagan reinstilled the confidence and faith in Americans that had been missing since the tumultuous 1960's and 1970's. He said that the Carter presidency was a complete disaster, and that Reagan was an effective President who reasserted America internationally and positively impacted average Americans via his strong rhetoric and confidence. My question asked specifically about how the media acted toward Reagan, and Mr. Burr believed that the media was never really able to nail Reagan the way that they had been able to with Presidents such as Nixon and Carter. He did concede that the press finally got Reagan with the Iran-Contra scandal, but his overall feeling was that this was a mere kink in Reagan's armor that did not really effect the overall public sentiment of Reagan's presidency.

2/15/07

What primary sources have you found? How did you find them? (Describe tools and search strings) Do you feel that you have adequate primary and secondary source material on your topic? If not, why not?

The majority of useful primary source material I have found has come from the book, Casino. I knew immediately that this was going to be one of my main sources, as the movie was written in conjunction with the book. It is filled with long quotes from people who worked with, were friends of, and surrounded Spilotro as well as those who were constantly investigating him for the FBI. These people tell of many specific stories, some of which show up in the movie or are changed slightly to fit into the movie. These things will certainly fit into my paper and will serve as evidence for assertions that I will make. I have exhausted most of the other research avenues, as I found some material relating to my topic but nothing that I could use in my paper. I feel that I do have adequate primary and secondary source material, as there is a limited amount of stuff out there on my topic and I have the evidence that I will need to compare the real actions to those that were depicted in the movie.

research project progress #2

-books you have found/ordered via Google Books, Putnam Library, Class, and Minuteman and how you found then
Casino, by Nicholas Pileggi--> Minuteman network
The Enforcer: Spilotro--The Chicago Mob's Man Over Las Vegas--> Minuteman Network

-an updated working bibliography that includes new sources (print or electronic) since your last post
Books listed above
http://www.frankleftyrosenthal.com/frankslife/
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=55
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=110
http://www.ipsn.org/vegas.html
http://www.onewal.com/maf-art11.html

There seems to be a terrific amount of info on Spilotro online, as is shown via a google search

-discussion of how you might narrow your topic and any problems you are having to date
I believe that I am going to narrow my topic by educating myself specifically about Spilotro and then taking a close look at the movie Casino to see how accurate the portrayal is. I have not had problems, but I have a big concern. I am worried that I will not be able to find things that are not accurate about the movie's portrayal of Spilotro, since I do not know of anything inaccurate to date and I am worried that it is basically all accurate and the sort of extraneous details that have been changed are not obvious or important.

research project

Topic: The infiltration of Las Vegas by the Italian mob and the move Casino

Specific Topic: It the movie's portrayal of Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro as Nicky Santoro accurate?

Key Words: Casino, Joe Peschi, Anthony Spilotro, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, Frank Rosenthal, Casino

Possible Sources: Casino (book and movie), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Spilotro, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_%28film%29, http://www.paperlessarchives.com/spilotro.html, google has great results.

a day in the life of a hobo

Woke up this mornin', and could hardly remember where I was. Turns out I was in a Hooverville somewhere in Tennessee. I got some food, and then got outta there fast as I could! Those Hoovervilles sure are depressing. Seein’ one’ll haunt you for a good while—it’s like the people got sentenced to live there for somethin’ bad they did. I can’t imagine a worse place to live. I then headed down to the railway station to wait for the train headed South. Took near all day for that train to come! I sure was glad that I had some food before I left—otherwise I would’a nearly starved. Train came and I jumped on the back of a car. Rode for a while, and eventually got off and settled for the night on the edge of a forest near the station where I got off. I spent a little while ridin’ the rails to nowhere until a hobo told me about the CCC camps down in the southeast. He said that I can get steady meals, bed and some wages. Since then, I’ve been headin' southeast to try and find work in a CCC camp. Getting’ down there hasn’t been real easy, though. It’s tough enough findin’ trains that are goin’ in the right direction, and even then I run into the railway bulls, who are liable to beat you and take your money if they catch you ridin’ without payin’ the fee. The CCC sure sounds nice, but I’m a little worried that it ain’t all the ‘bo said it was.
Started out somethin’ ‘round 5 weeks ago back home in Danbury, Nebraska, on a grain farm. I lived with my mother, father and my three younger brothers until I was 17. Danbury is located toward the outside of the Dust Bowl, and by that time, the dust storm was whippin' on through, and it just about ruined our entire livelihood. One night, I overheard Mama and Pop talking about how they had run out of money when they thought we were all asleep. That night, I decided that I had to leave. The next day, I put an extra pair of clothes in a pillowcase and told my family that I was goin' to leave so they could have the food and money that I take. The boys's young, and they need all the food they can get. I hugged them all goodbye, and with that I walked to the nearest rail station and hopped aboard. Sure was hard to leave, but I knew that it was best for the rest of ‘em, especially my brothers.
Since that time, I have been travelin’ alone most of the time, once in a while travelin’ with someone else for a little while but for no long time. I had been ridin' the rails for a week or so when I first learned one of the risks. I was at a stop when one of them bulls found me and smacked me over the head with his club. Another man who was also discovered by the bull lead me to a jungle nearby, where there were a good number of hobo's gathered. That night, the ‘bo’s gave me my first taste of Mulligan Stew. Didn't remind me of my Mama's cookin', but it was food. Since then, I have had plenty of Mulligan Stew and also any other scraps of bread and vegetables that I can get by beggin’ and stealin’. I’ve been wearin’ the same clothes that I left home in, but they sure are getting’ to be ragged. This ain’t all bad tho, ‘cause it makes people feel worse for me, ‘n’ more likely to give me food. I carry with me any change and food that I am able to find and a spare pair of clothes that I took when I left home. I’ve been savin’ the other clothes until these clothes get too bad to wear. Other than the clothes, I don’t carry any possessions.
In my time ridin’ the rails, I have seen some scary and saddening sights. In Hoovervilles like the one that I slept in last night, there’s people livin’ in conditions near to hell. Everywhere, the homeless are crammed into tents while those who can’t fit are forced to sleep on the ground. This is depressin’ and also scary, to know that if I don’t find work at a CCC camp I could end up livin’ in a Hooverville. Another fear I have is that I might lose my grip when I’m holdin’ onto the train and fall underneath the train to my death. Even in these hard times, I feel that a better life is ahead for me and I’m tryin’ to hold on until then. For this reason, I’m able to stay optimistic. Physically, I am feelin’ pretty good. I get tired every now and again when I ride the rails for a while, but I can sleep it off if I need, because it won’t delay me by too much.

Research project progress

---->So far, i have researched a few different sources. I started off with the best of history websites and followed some of the links there. I found a small amount of success at first, because there were a lot of websites discussing more the jazz age and its culture and less about music. I then read an article on PBS' website, which talked how many traditionalists disliked the jazz music because of its culture and origin, which they believed to be in black southern brothels. Then i moved on to wikipedia, where i found information about jazz artists and a little overview of the music. I also searched on Google advanced search, receiving good results including a site that had links to sound clips from the time.
---->In my research, ive been able to discern a couple important points along with many supporting details. I have an understanding of how jazz music was a new movement for mainstream American society, and how many people embraced it while others were outraged by it and/or disliked it. Jazz music and the dancing that went with it swept through America, becoming wildely popular throughout the nation. Its popularity was made even greater by the new use of radio and the phonograph, allowing it to become more in the mainstream. While many people liked this new music and dance, many traditionalists objected completely. Jazz and dancing had a clear connotation to sex, and it symbolized that America was becoming more open about the topic. Specifically, these people were outraged by the Flappers and by the Charleston Dance, both of which they believed to be far to sexual and completely unacceptable and inappropriate.
---->In terms of music specifically, this jazz came from the south, and most specifically from New Orleans. It was a new type of music in which there wasn't a specific order for every last note. Many artists still famous and popular today arose in the 1920's, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and George Gershwin. Big band style jazz also became popular, with the most famous band leader of the time being Paul Whiteman.

What is the proper role of government in American society?

The proper role of the government is to protect and ensure the well-being of its citizens. It should protect the country from any outside threats, and also from any physical threats that come from inside the country. In addition, it should ensure that our market remains fair for all citizens. It should remove any unfair advantage for the workers as well as small businesses and big business as well. There should also be some consumer protection by the government. In terms of foreign affairs, I believe that the government should be most worried about what it occurring inside its own country, rather than the things that are occurring outside of the country, especially on the other side of the world.

Ragged Dick

1. Hard working - Dick accumulates money through his hard work
2. Brains - Dick is smart in his dealings with people--> How he met Frank
3. Good Character - Dick never steals or rips people off
4. Honesty - Dick's honesty with people creates him more customers
5. Good-looks - When Dick is well-dressed and clean he isn't suspected of taking the woman's purse

Industrial Age Post # 1

Todays activity was a role play of an assembly line. The assembly line was first used by Henry Ford in his factory to create a more efficient and economic way of making cars. In this exercise we created an assembly line to make the airplanes, and we had to practice scientific management to make the most planes in the least amount of time. The quality of the product was also taken into account, and if anything was not up to the standard then it was discarded. The point of this exercise was to teach us about how the assembly line worked and to give us a bit of real life experience.

9:11: Are we safer 5 years later?

Five years ago, our country was rocked by the greatest attack on American soil ever. The attacks created an overhaul of the system of airport security and of other systems which affect national security the safety of civilians. Five years later, I do think that we are safer. I do not doubt that with meticulous planning another awful terrorist attack could occur, but I think that there is somewhat of a better chance that we might be able to stop it. I believe that each time a potential terror threat doesn't leave the ground, it is indicative of an improvement in intelligence in the terror field. Also, since 9:11 there has been more of a focus on terrorism, so therefore with more people focusing on it, we are safer than before the attacks.