Online reading for Tuesday, March 2, 2010

"War on Drugs: The Collateral Damage"

Extra credit assignment for morning class

Write a one-page persuasive letter trying to influence the decisions of a leader in business, education, or politics. Your letter should follow appropriate business letter format and be limited to one page.

To receive any extra credit, turn in a copy of your letter no later than the beginning of class on Thursday, March 4, 2010. The letter will be graded pass-fail and (if passing) will replace your lowest in-class writing grade. Should you decide to mail or email your letter to the addressee, you may also receive extra credit on a quiz grade (depending on the response you receive). You do not need to give me an electronic copy of the letter.

Note on today's homework assignment

Just so we're clear: the one-page writing assignment for today counts as an in-class writing exercise and will be graded pass-fail. You don't need to give me an electronic copy. For those of you who have already sent me an e-copy: thanks for going the extra mile.

Questions to ask in evaluating web sources

Author

• Who is the author of the article?
• Is the author writing as an advocate of a particular position or ostensibly writing as an impartial reporter?
• Is the author expressing only his or her opinions or that of an organization, publication, or website?
• Is the author qualified to write on the topic at hand?
• Does the author have known biases?
• Does the author have a reputation for telling the truth?

Website

• What is the parent website?
• What organization is behind the website? Who funds it?
  
• Does that organization take an official position on the issue at hand?
• If so, what is that position?
• Whatever the organization’s position or values, is its work reputable and trustworthy?
• If the website is the work of a single author, is that author a legitimate authority in the field under consideration?

Article

• Is the article in question a primary or secondary source?
• Does the article cite sources for information?
• If so, do these sources appear to be valid for the subject at hand?
• If the article purports to be an unbiased treatment, are both sides of the issue treated fairly?
• If the article takes a position on an issue, does it acknowledge and interact fairly with opposing views?
• Does the article deal with a broad enough subject to be of more than anecdotal value?

In-class exercise: evaluating web sources

Deficit spending
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30089
http://publicservice.evendon.com/OmniApprop2009M.htm
http://talk.baltimoresun.com/showthread.php?t=238563
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29471.html

Police force militarization
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/08/swat-team.htm
http://www.ntoa.org/
http://www.cato.org/raidmap/
http://reason.org/news/show/death-by-swat-raid

Red-light speeding cameras
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/yourview/1559771/Has-Big-Brother-taken-over-our-security.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/cash-to-become-extinct-as-chips-take-off.html
http://citizencoma.com/big-brother-and-the-police-state.php
http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/rlr.html

Tea party movement
http://taxdayteaparty.com/about/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/us/politics/08palin.html
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/tea_party_movement
http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

Iranian & North Korean nukes
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/nuke.htm
http://www.psaonline.org/article.php?id=635
http://www.bible-prophecy.com/2009/wars2009.htm
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/irans-nukes-and-other-illusions/