The Many Projects of Michael Mergen

This past week, our American Studies class embarked on a day filled with adventure in Hyde Park and downtown Chicago. The trip began at Osaka Garden, a Japanese garden, in Hyde Park and continued with a trip to Court Theatere's Jitney play. The day ended with a visit to Colombia College's Museum of Contemporary Photography, which was very captivating. The museum featured the exhibit "Peripheral Views: States of America" which consisted of many diverse photographs that bring to light the issues of class, race, and power in the United States of America.( To read more about the exhibit click here) There were many different photographs ranging from pictures of classic board games like CandyLand to abandoned streets. The artist the intrigued me the most was Michael Mergen and his photographs of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I thought it was very interesting to see the many different locations and situations of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue across the country and it was even more interesting that the White Houe was not included within the photographs he took.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Tyron, PA

These photographs prompted me to research more about Michael Mergen, and I was very happy to look at his other photography projects. His other projects Vote, Naturalization, and Deliberate all convey the same themes as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. These projects take picture of the voting stations, immigration rooms, and jury deliberation rooms around the country to demonstrate the collision of private and public, consumer and citizen and the inappropriate relationship between space and voting. The photographs he takes are very thought provoking and opened my horizons on how different many places are around the United States are. Before this exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, I never thought about the relationship between voting and personal, private space, government and normal civilization, and the many themes that Michael Mergen brings forward in his photographs.

A Photo from Michael Mergen's project Vote. Early Voting in Las Vegas, NV

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Eleven Years and Fifty-Two Terrorist Plots Later

      Last Friday, September 14th, only three days after the Eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an eighteen year old Adel Daoud drove a green Jeep Cherokee in front of a Chicago bar. In the car was a device that he believed to be a bomb as he walked away into an alley. However, the bomb was inert and had been planted by FBI agents (More details about this attempted terrorist attack click here). This Daoud plot marked the fifty-second terrorist attack since the unforgettable events on September 11^th, 2001. Since these attacks, there have been many security provisions that have restricted everything from sharp objects to no more than three ounces of liquids on planes. These newer and stricter rules have provided travelers and highly populated cities with more security and have captured many terrorist. However, the United States has paid big money for foiling many of these terrorist plots. The United States has spent more than $7.6 trillion on defense and homeland security since September 11th, 2001 and a total of $635.9 billion on total homeland security spending. The money spent on homeland security has proven to be worth it to this day, with no major terrorist attack since 9/11. However, can all of this money spent on security and against terrorism stop every terrorist plot and attack in the future?  

The Great White Hope?

        The beginning of the 20^th century, African American boxer Jack Johnson became the first heavyweight champion. As a result, the fight promoters searched for a “great white hope” who could restore the championship to the whites. According to a Republican GOP political strategist, Republicans are looking for their own “Great White Hope” in this year’s presidential elections. In an article from the New York Magazine, a Republican strategists claims that, "This is the last time anyone will try to do this” (Chait). "This" being the last ever white vote election, which will take place this upcoming November.  A white vote election is the total dependence on white votes to win the the presidential election. Ever since the 1992 presidential election, white voters have declined as a portion of the electorate, causing the 2012 election to be the last white vote election. Recent studies of demographics have shown that Romney needs to win sixty-one percent of the seventy-five percent accounted for white voters, and Romney's camp is focused on winning these votes. However, this is a very tough winning formula and strategy for Romney, leaving him no margin for error. For Barack Obama to win a second term, he must win eighty-percents of minority voters and forty-percent of whites(Brownstein). (To read more about the demographic specific statistics click here). This could be more manageable for Obama because of the more minority potential voters in this election, but only if these minority voters turn out and vote.  

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/images/presidential-vote-by-race.jpg

       Although these demographic statistics allow presidential candidates to form different strategies to win more votes, does it polarize whites and minorities?  Does it push candidates to change the real belief system to come up with a platform that appeals to the target demographic? So, should racial polling data affect politicians’ political platforms?

Where is the Corn?

The delicious smell of a homemade BBQ fills my nose as I grab as much food as I can get my hands on. A cheeseburger, some baked beans, a little salad and fruit….but where is the corn? This past summer, an unusually hot and dry season struck the Midwest and much of the United States, resulting in a drought covering nearly sixty-percent of the US ("U.S Seasonal Drought Outlook." National Weather Service  ). This drought has hit many farmers and their crops very hard, especially corn. According to the National Weather Service, "51 percent of the corn crop was in poor or very poor condition across the 18 primary corn-producing states" (to read more drought statistics click here). The drought has devastated corn crops resulting in a shortage of corn and rising corn prices. For many avid corn eaters,  this has had negative impact on many meals that have been missing this tasty summer staple. However, many scientists are working towards bring farmers drought-tolerant corn seeds. 

Photograph by: JOHN SOMMERS II , REUTERS from Vancouver Sun

        Drought-tolerant corn seeds are a type of genetically modified organisms (GMO's) that could offer protection to many crops from hot and dry summers. The drought tolerant seeds would provide farmers with more security in their crops while also giving consumers more better quality corn crops. However, drought-tolerant seeds are not that simple. Genetically modified organisms use a foreign DNA and insert it inside the original DNA to give the food desirable traits. Some studies of GMO's have shown that the consumption of genetically modified foods has been linked to organ failure  Although these seeds will provide consumers with more corn crop, it will stir debate about the use of genetically modified organisms. The big debate over GMO's will continue if scientists proceed with their quest to perfect the science of drought-tolerant seeds. But will the surplus in corn be worth the risks of consuming genetically modified corn?