The Very Best of John Coltrane free essay sample

They say it’s rare to purchase a CD and actually like every track. Well, I scored when I found â€Å"The Very Best of John Coltrane.† As a saxophone player, I was sold after listening to the first seconds of the demo in the store. I let out an enthusiastic â€Å"Yeah!† then looked up to see a few people staring at me. I didn’t care, I was in heaven. Even though I already knew Coltrane’s stuff, and have always loved it, this collection is beyond amazing. His incredible improv solos fill me with such inspiration. I started jamming as soon as I got home. This CD starts strong with one of Coltrane’s most famous hits, â€Å"Giant Steps.† Once I figured out the melody, I couldn’t stop playing it. The rest of the CD has standards such as â€Å"Like Sonny,† â€Å"My Favorite Things,† â€Å"Summertime† and many more. Coltrane is a beast! Switching off between tenor and soprano, this cat can play! I’m not a huge fan of slow songs, but the third track flows perfectly. We will write a custom essay sample on The Very Best of John Coltrane or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Trane picks you right back up with â€Å"Like Sonny,† an upbeat, hard bop tune that always makes me smile and think of my other favorite saxophonist, Sonny Rollins. And â€Å"My Favorite Things† wow! This 16-minute rendition has him on the mellow soprano, blowin’ away in-between the repeating melody which is greatly jazzed up as Trane plays around with the rhythm, adding some twirls, trills and thrills. The CD is full of this stuff: his perfect sound, famous solos and standards make it worth learning how to play yourself, if you don’t already.

McCleskey v. Kemp Essays

McCleskey v. Kemp Essays McCleskey v. Kemp Paper McCleskey v. Kemp Paper CRJ 150 McCleskey v. Kemp The case began with Warren McCleskey, an African-American man who was sentenced to death in 1978 for killing a white police officer during the robbery of a Georgia furniture store. McCleskey appealed his conviction and sentence, relying on the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendments guarantee of Equal Protection to argue that the death penalty in Georgia was administered in a racially discriminatory and therefore unconstitutionalmanner. Jack Boger, then director of LDFs Capital Punishment Project, argued the case before the Supreme Court on Mr. McCleskeys behalf. Joining him on the briefs were Julius Chambers, James Nabrit Ill, Anthony G. Amsterdam, Deval Patrick, Robert Stroup, Vivian Berger, and Timothy Ford. In support of McCleskeys argument, LDF presented the United States Supreme Court with strong statistical evidence showing that race played a pivotal role in the Georgia capital punishment system. LDF introduced a landmark study by Professor David Baldus, who examined over 2,000 Georgia murder cases. Baldus concluded that in capital ases, the race of the defendant and victim determined who was sentenced to death. Specifically, Professor Baldus found that that African-Americans were more likely to receive a death sentence than any other defendants, and that African- American defendants who killed white victims were the most likely to be sentenced to death. His findings indicated that racial bias permeated the Georgia capital punishment system. Although the evidence presented by LDF gave the Court the opportunity to acknowledge and renounce the arbitrary influence of race on the dministration of the death penalty, the Court found no constitutional error in a system where African-Americans and whites were treated unequally. In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. , the Court ruled against McCleskey and found that unless he could submit evidence showing that a specific person in his case acted with a racially discriminatory purpose, McCleskeys death sentence and the stark racial disparities in Georgias capital punishment system would stand. In this specific case I do not think that race played a role in the sentencing that McCleskey had gotten. The common punishment for people who kill police officers is a death sentence. Although, I do believe that the minority groups get treated much worse than whites. Statistics reveal that blacks are found to be suspicious more often than whites are. This suspicion leads to minorities being stopped to be searched, ticketed and arrested more often than whites. This could also be due to the fact that minorities tend to be in areas where more police officers on patrol, and therefore the police will be more likely to notice any violations that these minorities commit. It is very clear that people of color get arrested at a much higher rate than whites and they are more likely to receive capital punishment according to the Baldus Study. It does not seem very fair because blacks make up twelve percent of the U. S. population, yet they amount to 44 percent of sentenced inmates, which makes them the largest group behind bars. I know that most people think that blacks are very bad people in general and that they commit much more crimes than people in other groups, but this is most likely because of a low economic class. In poor areas people re less educated and are more prone to committing crimes, if they are constantly surrounded by this bad behavior and they have little to no guidance from their parents, then they are likely to follow in the wrong path. Statistics also say that one in three African-American males will be imprisoned at some point in the lives. That number seems to be outrageously large to me. It does not sound right that people of color commit the most crimes. Minorities are called minorities for a reason, so it absolutely blows my mind how such a small percentage of people get charged at uch a high rate. A few studies also show that black defendants get harsher sentences when their victims are white, and that whites get lesser sentences for the same crimes. It is evident that our world is not perfect and that people are biased, and not everyone gets treated equally, but that is part of life, which everyone knows to be unfair and there is nothing anyone can do to change that. Over the past few decades we have become more diverse but some people will always be favored more than others. Maybe if the current minority groups become the majority, and the majority ecomes the minority, things might be the other way around. No matter what race or ethnicity, killing someone is a serious crime, especially if they happen to be a police officer. I think that everyone should get charged the same way for the same crime no matter what they happen to look like. I was under the impression that our systems were supposed to treat individuals as equals. I do believe that if a white man committed the same crime as McCleskey, that his sentencing would be the same because crimes committed against officers are taken very seriously because the eople who protect and served must also be protected to a higher degree because they are big targets. Therefore a death sentences for cop killers may be an effective of protection for police because people might think twice before shooting and killing a cop. In my opinion it does not make a difference if the Jury did not like Mr. Mcleskey due to the fact that he was a colored man, because I feel as if he got the punishment that any person should get for a crime such as that one. Bibliography naacpldf. org/case/mccleskey-v-kemp

Rhetoric of Batman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Rhetoric of Batman - Essay Example acy and its success in apprehending and stopping the mad terror that has been rampant in Gotham — makes it clear that the politics of Batman continue to echo the dark side of politics in America. Batman has been one of the most interesting of the superhero comic since his inception since, as we’ve pointed out, he’s a hero without super powers. He’s a regular guy thrust into extraordinary situations — much like politicians, who are rarely faced with issues of clear right and wrong. Unlike other superheroes, Batman’s world is full of moral ambiguities. He must often make unpopular decisions to support policies and politicians with whom he doesn’t agree because it’s the right thing for the city. And unlike other superheroes, whose difference from mere mortals moves them to an uncontested ethical sphere where political leaders essentially play a secondary role, Batman is very much a player on Gotham’s political scene — and not just because his alter ego happens to be a billionaire capitalist. Ultimately, though, Batman’s socioeconomic status probably impacts his political stance, which has historically skewed heavily toward the conservative side of things. One of the most interesting things about The Dark Knight is that in it, Batman’s strong and stated desire is to get out of politics and be an ordinary billionaire. But he’s forced by his internal desire for justice to interfere in the affairs of Gotham City, even though he know that doing so is problematic — Batman’s existence and the fact that he’s successful at shutting down crime seems to bring out the crazy in the criminals of Gotham City. â€Å"As we looked through the comics, there was this fascinating idea that Batman’s presence in Gotham actually attracts criminals to Gotham, attracts lunacy,† said Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight. (Halbfinger) It is much the way Americans felt after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which left many people

Reflections on Federal Welfare Policy - Week 3 - Journal Coursework

Reflections on Federal Welfare Policy - Week 3 - Journal - Coursework Example The federal government further governs the unemployment insurance, a program that provides unemployed individuals with a source of income for about 26 weeks. I believe the policies are effective in eradicating poverty thereby creating a desirable society for every American. Labor relations remain contentious issues with the country lacking a holistic federal policy to govern the compensation of workers. The unpredictable labor relations are likely to affect my social welfare when should I migrate from one state to another. Despite such, I believe that the governments are doing their best in providing the populace with a better living condition. Such policies as the No child left behind act and the Obama care have for example succeeded in reducing the costs of education and health care, two of the most important yet equally costly social requirements. This way, the public enjoys lower costs of living (Meier & Wood, 2004). Furthermore, the social security act safeguards the future of Americans after retirement thereby ensuring that every citizen enjoys a comfortable life. This week’s readings have exposed me to a number of policies thus reinforcing my belief that the government is doing enough to safeguard the social security of the

Fundraising Skills - Writing a Fundraising Bid Essay

Fundraising Skills - Writing a Fundraising Bid - Essay Example These include planning requirements early in advance, having sound conceptual framework, including the aims and objectives of the program and generally seeing everything from the perspective of the funder among others. All these need to be in the bid. Communication is key when one is fundraising. This is because one has to present their needs to the funders eloquently and clearly. Diplomacy is also important since fundraising includes interactions with other people. Proper management skills are also necessary. This is of the time of the funders and the money allocated for the program. For one to be employed there is need for grasp of the content, ability to be part of a competent, diverse and empowered workforce, being able to manage funds and having great vision and sense of direction. Careers need to be managed by ensuring one performs his or her duties as well as advancing in the level of education. If one does all this, then their future is somehow assured to be successful. The Make Them Smile Charity Organization. We intend to grow big and strongly influence our society. Therefore, we are requesting for funds from you, The Big Lottery, so that we can achieve our desires. We are filling this application form stating our request. We have identified a need in the society requiring our services to fulfill and we shall attempt to convince you on our mission and vision. Cleft lip and palate are developmental defects of the upper lip and roof of the outer mouth present at birth. They may occur separately or in combination. Incomplete fusion of the developing lip or the incomplete fusion of the hard or soft palate causes them. All this happens during the prenatal stage of a child’s life. This condition causes feeding problems, ear infections or even hearing loss, speech problems and dental problems (Howard & Lohmander 2012, p.56) Although rectifying this is done through a simple

Tax Compliance And Smes Economics Essay

Tax Compliance And Smes Economics Essay According to Marti (2010) tax compliance is a complex term to define. Simply put, tax compliance refers to fulfilling all tax obligations as specified by the law freely and completely. It has been found that regulatory burdens fall disproportionately on small and medium enterprises internationally (Pope Abdul-Jabbar, 2008). Their size and nature makes the issue of tax compliance one of particular importance especially since most SMEs have access to limited resources and inadequate expertise to comply with diverse and complicated regulation. He also believes that high compliance costs can result in tax avoidance, tax fraud, and inhibit investment by way of diminishing competitiveness of the country in terms of taxation attractiveness. Tax non-compliance may be in one of many forms; it could either be failure to submit a tax return within the stipulated period or non submission, understatement of income, overstatement of deductions, failure to pay assessed taxes by due date. (Kasipillai Abdul Jabbar, 2006) and in some cases non-compliance may mean an outright failure to pay levied taxes. Studies have shown that the problem of tax evasion is a widespread one (Kasipillai Abdul Jabbar, 2006). Furthermore, Fagbemi, Uadile Noah (2010) found that it is prevalent in developing countries and it hinders development thereby leading to economic stagnation and other socio-economic problems. Chipeta (2002) identified tax rates as one of the causes of tax evasion. He pointed out that a higher tax rate increases taxpayers burden and reduces their disposable income therefore, the probability of evading tax is higher. 2.5 Tax Policy and Level of Voluntary Compliance among SMEs Small taxpayers under the regular system of taxation are discriminated against, since the compliance requirements, cost of compliance and tax rate are the same for both small and large enterprises. Reducing the compliance costs and tax rate increases the small enterprises profit margin. It also increases the Governments tax revenue, since the simplified provisions for small and medium enterprises reduce the size of the informal economy and the number of non-complying registered taxpayers (Vasak, 2008). Furthermore, SMEs usually have to operate in an overbearing regulatory environment with the plethora of regulatory agencies, multiple taxes, cumbersome importation procedure and high port charges that constantly exert serious burden on their operations. An overly complex regulatory system and tax regime or one opaque in its administration and enforcement makes tax compliance unduly burdensome and often have a distortionary effect on the development of SMEs as they are tempted to morph into forms that offer a lower tax burden or no tax burden at all (Masato, 2009), and this results in a tax system that imposes high expenses on the society. A poorly executed tax system also leads to low efficiency, high collection charges, waste of time for taxpayers and the staff, and the low amounts of received taxes and the deviation of optimum allocation of resources (Farzbod, 2000). Existing empirical evidence clearly indicates that small and medium sized businesses are affected disproportionately by these costs: when scaled by sales or assets, the compliance costs of SMEs are higher than for large businesses www.ccsenet.org/ijbm International Journal of Business and Management Vol. 7, No. 12; June 2012 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 91 (Weichenrieder, 2007). 2.6 Tax Policy that will Encourage Voluntary Compliance by SMEs SMEs constitute untapped revenue potential and an uneven playing field in many countries (International Tax Dialogue, 2007) as such they need to be captured by the tax net. However, though legislations are necessary regulator for protection of the business environment and security of the economic agents, for establishment of the necessary social security regulations, they may also hamper compliance and the growth of business through additional expenditures and administrative obstacles. Thus Shahroodi, (2010) stated that for a tax system to be efficient, the tax policy needs to be designed such that the tax rates are appropriate and rational, the exemptions are lower in amount, the tax collection organization are more efficient, the tax burden of the indigent people should be lighter and the fight against corruption and tax evasion should be much more intense. Tax policies can be designed in such a way that they do not only directly affect SMEs but also indirectly push for voluntary compliance and their growth. Yaobin (2007), emphasized declared that special tax regimes for SMEs may be appropriate policy instruments for minimizing the cost of collection. Because awareness of the dangers of inadequate taxation of SMEs has grown because of the potential of uneven tax enforcement to cause distortions of competition, voluntary compliance by larger enterprises and by wage earners, (International Tax Dialogue, 2007), government intervention should help maintain balance while ensuring that countries exploit the social benefits from greater competition and entrepreneurship. Pro-business (and Pro-SME) Tax regimes and enforcement should be simple, consistent and predictable should to lower compliance and administrative costs, and hence reduce uncertainty faced by taxpayers as well as improve the levels of voluntary compliance (Kasipillai, 2005). 2.7 Theories of Tax Compliance Various opinions exist about the best ways to improve tax compliance. Given the chance, a lot of businesses will not pay taxes unless there is a motivation to do so. Some believe that the best way is to increase incentives (Feld Frey, 2007) others believe the best way is to increase penalties. Tax compliance theories can be broadly classified into two. They are; economics based theories and psychology based theories. 2.7.1 Economic Based Theories They are also known as deterrence theory and they place emphasis on incentives. The theory suggests that taxpayers are amoral utility maximizers- they are influenced by economic motives such as profit maximization and probability of detection. As such they analyze alternative compliance paths for instance whether or not to evade tax, the likelihood of being detected and the resulting repercussions and then select the alternative that maximises their expected after tax returns after adjusting for risk. This process is referred to as playing the audit lottery by Trivedi and Shehata (2005). Therefore according to the theory, in order to improve compliance, audits and penalties for non-compliance should be increased. 2.7.2 Psychology Theories Psychology theories on the other hand posit that taxpayers are influenced to comply with their tax obligations by psychological factors. They focus on the taxpayers morals and ethics. The theories suggest that a taxpayer may comply even when the probability of detection is low. As opposed to the economic theories that emphasize increased audits and penalties as solutions

Violence in Video Games Essay -- Media Violence

Violence in the media is a very complex subject; extracting what actually causes aggression and what is just arbitrary circumstance can be a very sticky process. For instance, as a recreational player of video games, I play what might be considered violent games (mostly an online "shoot 'em up" game called Counter-Strike) in the eyes of someone who perceives what I am doing as "killing" or as violent, but there in lies the problem: I make no association with the death, killing or violence. Yes, I realize that on the screen there are guns and that to someone unfamiliar with the game it might look like mindless killing, but for me, it is truly just a challenge, a very engrossing and difficult one at that (due to the nature of the game I play, online, I am playing other people with real minds trying just as hard as I am to "come out on top"). The object isn't killing, the object is winning, competition and honing your skill, which takes practice, like anything else. Now, admittedly this is a bit tangental, but the point I am making is that it is not the actual video games that are causing these deviant behaviors, but rather outside stimuli cause the ills we are experiencing as a culture. Now, having said that, if the conditions are right, I definitely believe that video games and other types of media violence can at least influence an unstable target, but banning video games or censoring everything is not the correct approach, not given my experience, not based on the friends I have as models (given their video game history) or those whom which I have interacted with in gaming community at large (we've been under attack for some time now from these crusading Christian bible thumpers!). Video games are an intrical part of a large percentage of males in my generation's lives and to have this outlet reduced to the whim of outsiders who have never enjoyed beating a level or vanquishing an opponent, who see these games as purely degenerative and wasteful, to me is just ridiculous. Look at parenting, look at T.V., look at the politics, look at social unrest, look at economic pressures, hell even look at video games if you really want, but to resign to the notion that some game actually causes these real life tragedies is a simply ludicrous and short-sighted in scope (90% percent of the time). Unfortunately for the quiet throngs of video game practitioners world/n... ...ic violence in video games in recent years, I thought I would conclude by citing a piece I heard on NPR Radio that reported a study done at University of Rochester, in the magazine Nature (http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1278017); the study showed considerably heightened visual attention skills amongst "hardcore gamers"(who played what are called "fps" or "first person shooters" in which you carry the first person perspective and can only see your gun/weapon and it's crosshair) and were even able to increase the original control group's (those that hadn't previously played video games) perceptual awareness dramatically in 10 short hours of involved training (learing to play video games). The question that concluded the piece, was one that posited whether non-violent video games could produce the same positive effects without some of the known ills of violent video games. Finally, the question of media violence, and distinguishing between what is harmless enter tainment and what the possible negative effects are can include a lot of grey area, but it's important to know the facts and decide for yourself what place video games/media entertainment has in our lives. Violence in Video Games Essay -- Media Violence Violence in the media is a very complex subject; extracting what actually causes aggression and what is just arbitrary circumstance can be a very sticky process. For instance, as a recreational player of video games, I play what might be considered violent games (mostly an online "shoot 'em up" game called Counter-Strike) in the eyes of someone who perceives what I am doing as "killing" or as violent, but there in lies the problem: I make no association with the death, killing or violence. Yes, I realize that on the screen there are guns and that to someone unfamiliar with the game it might look like mindless killing, but for me, it is truly just a challenge, a very engrossing and difficult one at that (due to the nature of the game I play, online, I am playing other people with real minds trying just as hard as I am to "come out on top"). The object isn't killing, the object is winning, competition and honing your skill, which takes practice, like anything else. Now, admittedly this is a bit tangental, but the point I am making is that it is not the actual video games that are causing these deviant behaviors, but rather outside stimuli cause the ills we are experiencing as a culture. Now, having said that, if the conditions are right, I definitely believe that video games and other types of media violence can at least influence an unstable target, but banning video games or censoring everything is not the correct approach, not given my experience, not based on the friends I have as models (given their video game history) or those whom which I have interacted with in gaming community at large (we've been under attack for some time now from these crusading Christian bible thumpers!). Video games are an intrical part of a large percentage of males in my generation's lives and to have this outlet reduced to the whim of outsiders who have never enjoyed beating a level or vanquishing an opponent, who see these games as purely degenerative and wasteful, to me is just ridiculous. Look at parenting, look at T.V., look at the politics, look at social unrest, look at economic pressures, hell even look at video games if you really want, but to resign to the notion that some game actually causes these real life tragedies is a simply ludicrous and short-sighted in scope (90% percent of the time). Unfortunately for the quiet throngs of video game practitioners world/n... ...ic violence in video games in recent years, I thought I would conclude by citing a piece I heard on NPR Radio that reported a study done at University of Rochester, in the magazine Nature (http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1278017); the study showed considerably heightened visual attention skills amongst "hardcore gamers"(who played what are called "fps" or "first person shooters" in which you carry the first person perspective and can only see your gun/weapon and it's crosshair) and were even able to increase the original control group's (those that hadn't previously played video games) perceptual awareness dramatically in 10 short hours of involved training (learing to play video games). The question that concluded the piece, was one that posited whether non-violent video games could produce the same positive effects without some of the known ills of violent video games. Finally, the question of media violence, and distinguishing between what is harmless enter tainment and what the possible negative effects are can include a lot of grey area, but it's important to know the facts and decide for yourself what place video games/media entertainment has in our lives.