Monday, December 30, 2019

Its Time to Sin More, and Hate Less Essay - 1004 Words

nbsp; Its Time to Sin More, and Hate Less nbsp; nbsp; My soul is embedded with classic Catholic-sin like crimson rubies buried in a sandbox. And Im not just talking about eating two helpings of double-decker chocolate cake (although I do that, too) - I swear, I lie, I mock the Bible, I use the Lords name in vain (to name a few). I love the very term sin - never has there been a three-letter word with so much power, such drastic implications. But as far as Im concerned, my sins are holy. Each moment, as my moral code thickens like congealing milk, I sin more - for I embrace my sin. As humans, we are born and die with a myriad of imperfections, but to fear sin and god is to fear life. I cant live this way†¦show more content†¦We are all animals with instincts to survive, and we do what is needed to live. There is no shame in this struggle that has been taken up by ants and bears and men. Besides, sins come and go - what may be unholy today could make me a martyr tomorrow. Take a look at Galileo: he was shunned for his work when he lived and now he is studied. Most of us sinners arent dark, twisted characters that tote guns like garments; we are passionate, sensitive, thoughtful people. We, as Billy Joel sings, merely would rather laugh with sinners than cry with the saints. nbsp; John Steinbecks novel, The Grapes of Wrath, shows that sin is relative. Tom Joad, for example, murdered a man who attacked him. Throughout the novel, he explains that, Id do what I done - again. I killed a guy in a fight. We was drunk at a dance... No, I aint (ashamed of nothin)(33). As he shows, the murder was simply a means of survival; he never had nothing against Herb(69). Similarly, the migrant farm workers, left starving by the system, are forced to go out not to beg, but to steal(555). And there is no shame in their theft because they have no choice - is it more of a sin to let your baby die or to steal food from people who have too much, people who make sure the hungry never get fed enough. Clearly, the Joads, for example, are generous people who never heerd tell of no Joads or no hazletts, neither, ever refusin food an shelter or a lift on the roadShow MoreRelatedThe Broad Term Of Freedom1646 Words   |  7 Pagessociety to not fall into chaos. I think free speec h exists so people can express, protect and defend their rights. I believe then that â€Å"free speech† is not entirely free. It comes with responsibilities and it should be used wisely, to make a better and more just world, not otherwise. Free speech can do a lot of great things but if it is not regulated it opens itself to be used in the wrong ways. One of the things I believe should not be accepted is pornography. I believe it perverts humans and it incitesRead MoreLight in August Essay1518 Words   |  7 PagesIn the novel Light in August, Joe Christmas and Joanna Burden are extremely damaged individuals. Both characters were raised in turbulent environments with an emphasis on religion. The sins they committed had a profound impact on them. They knew that their behavior was wrong but they were compelled to continue. Religion became a mental prison for them. A prison that they created but that they would never escape alive. Although Joe and Joanna viewed religion in completely different ways, they bothRead MoreThe Changing of Chillingworth throughout The Scarlet Letter Essays936 Words   |  4 Pagesthat is a deep sense of self loathing. Chillingworth hates who he is, so in an attempt to appease his own sense of self, Chillingworth attacks others in order to transfer his loathing from himself to Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdal e. Chillingworths relationship with Hester is rife with conflict and confusing details. This husband and wife tandem are officially married, the union seems artificial. Hester and Chillingworth spent a large amount of time separated from each other, starting with Hester journeyingRead MoreEssay about Prejudice Runs Deep in To Kill A Mockingbird1650 Words   |  7 PagesMockingbird    To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in small town Maycomb, Alabama, a depression era town where people move slowly and twenty-four hours seems longer.   The narrator of the story is a six-year-old girl named Jean Louise Finch, a tomboy who hates wearing dresses and goes by the nickname Scout.   Scouts being a tomboy is of no little significance because while we are treated to a sweet and affectionate portrayal of Maycomb at the novels opening, we will find it is a town where racial prejudiceRead MoreSociological Imagination Essay1005 Words   |  5 PagesFrom the time I was born, I was given certain characteristics that follow through my life which creates limits on opportunities that I can obtain. Every person has a unique way of expressing themselves because no one grew up exactly the same. I wouldn’t have my own identity if I didn’t carry morals and beliefs I had while growing up. I also gained characteristics that represent me from the society we live in today. T hinking of the daily tasks I partake in and how I do them in a certain way makesRead MoreAnalysis of Hawthrone ´s The Mminister ´s Black Veil Essay977 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The subject of the sermon had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them† The minister’s sermon the day he began wearing his veil was on secret sin. In this passage, and with this information, the narrator points us in a direction of the veil representing ‘secret sin’, which is a religious idea of sin that we hide away and pretend like it doesn’t existRead MoreGay Marriage Is Morally Wrong1616 Words   |  7 Pagesmorally wrong. Is it though? Consider this: was this country built off of arguments coming from a bible draped in a plastic, one-sided American flag, that entails such perennial gems as â€Å"Adam and eve, n ot Adam and Steve,† and â€Å"Love the sinner, hate the sin† (Frye). From the standpoint of someone who supports gay-rights, then that is exactly how this country looks like it was built. But let’s look at this emerging topic from Rapper Macklemore’s point of view, who was on a news interview talking aboutRead More Beliefs Taken to the Extremes Essay1623 Words   |  7 PagesBeliefs Taken to the Extremes      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Belief is a fundamental human trait. Belief in many things is what helps humans continue living their lives. Religious beliefs are one of the strongest forces of human emotion and often times those emotions can create dangerous situations. When peoples religious beliefs are taken to extreme levels innocent people can be hurt. All throughout history there have been examples of just such incidents occurring. From the Inquisition, to suicide bombersRead MoreOriginal Writing : New York1392 Words   |  6 Pageswhich the song â€Å"The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot,† appears, was written on an acoustic guitar while touring their previous album’s material. [1] The French title, meaning â€Å"already heard,† seems to be a slight commentary on the pop punk scene at the time, and the unimaginative and unoriginal music it seemed to produce. The band’s following slowly graduated from underground to mainstream, leading them to a deal wit h Interscope Records. Touring halted for a while, as did interviews and updates, whileRead MoreDante s Inferno : The Inferno1704 Words   |  7 Pagesbook Dante s Inferno or is commonly known as Dante s Hell dwells in many issues that are true in today society and is entertaining and thought provocative to the reader. This book shows that Dante’s life, as strange and different as it reads, is no more different than many people’s lives today. The expeditions that Dante takes after he is lost and confused in the gloomy forest and on his way met by Virgil, a Roman poet, who promises to show him the various punishments of hell and afterward purgatory

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Investigation of Network Security Requirements and Their...

Overview Networks have become a vital part of almost every organization changing the way that business is conducted from day to day. In the early days of the computer era business men and women have had to use standalone machines that were partially interconnected or not interconnected at all. Since then computing has gone through various changes through a number of decades which has led to the complete integration of various computing devices and now professionals are able to share hardware and software resources without difficult which has led to the reduction of business costs and a higher level of productivity. For example instead of having to buy a printer for every department or office, an organization can simply use one networked printer which everyone in the organization has complete access to. Another cost reduction example is the ability for an organization to install software such as Microsoft project on a server and therefore, enabling every one that has access to the server to us e the resource. This saves the organization expenses as they don’t have to buy separate licenses for every user’s computer. However, this great development has led to a number of security threats and challenges in the organization from outsiders through intrusions, once hackers identify a loop hole in the network they can be able to attack a firm and steal data to be used for of criminal activities including cyber vandalism, revealing trade secrets, industrial espionage etc. The goodShow MoreRelatedThe Application Of A Self Organizing Network ( Son )8393 Words   |  34 PagesAbstract A Self-Organizing Network (SON) is a compilation of functions (or actions) for the automatic design of communication nodes for optimized performance. Moreover, Self-Organizing Networks are computerized and optimized versions of cellular networks. Capital expenditure, also called CAPEX, is the cost of doing business to create a future advantage. Operational expenditure (OPEX) is the money that a business spends to transform stock into throughput. The self - organization is considered to beRead MoreCloud Computing Security67046 Words   |  269 PagesSECURITY GUIDANCE FOR CRITICAL AREAS OF FOCUS IN CLOUD COMPUTING V3.0 SECURITY GUIDANCE FOR CRITICAL AREAS OF FOCUS IN CLOUD COMPUTING V3.0 INTRODUCTION The guidance provided herein is the third version of the Cloud Security Alliance document, â€Å"Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus in Cloud Computing,† which was originally released in April 2009. The permanent archive locations for these documents are: http://www.cloudsecurityalliance.org/guidance/csaguide.v3.0.pdf (this document)Read MoreCognitiveradio and Networking Research at Virginia Tech23281 Words   |  94 Pagesto address the broad research agenda of cognitive radio and cognitive networks. Our core research team spans the protocol stack from radio and reconfigurable hardware to communications theory to the networking layer. Our work includes new analysis methods and the development of new software architectures and applications, in addition to work on the core concepts and architectures underlying cognitive radios and cognitive networks. This paper describes these contributions and points towards criticalRead MoreSdlc23489 Words   |  94 Pagesfor achi eving goals set; †¢ To discuss in detail various System Development Tools like – DFD, Decision Tree, Flowcharts etc.; and †¢ To understand the auditors’ role in SDLC. 2.1 Introduction Information systems serve many different purposes, ranging from the processing of business transactions - to provide information needed to decide recurring issues, assisting senior officials with difficult strategy formulation, and linking office information and corporate data. But how do suchRead MoreCissp Study Guide67657 Words   |  271 PagesISC CISSP ISC CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Practice Test Version ISC CISSP: Practice Exam QUESTION NO: 1 All of the following are basic components of a security policy EXCEPT the A. definition of the issue and statement of relevant terms. 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TheconfigurationofRDactivitieswithintheVolkswagenGroupRead MoreOnline Banking42019 Words   |  169 PagesContents Chapter–1– Introduction 0 Chapter–2– Internet Banking a new medium 7 Chapter--3 - International experience 19 Chapter -4 -The Indian Scenario 33 Chapter- 5- Types of risks associated with Internet banking 41 Chapter- 6- Technology And Security Standards For Internet - Banking 49 Chapter -7 - Legal Issues involved in Internet Banking 74 Chapter- 8- Regulatory and supervisory concerns 84 Chapter–9 - Recommendations 98 Annexure 1 111 Annexure 2 112 Annexure 3 113 Annexure 4 115 Read MoreEffective Performance Management With The Balanced Scorecard Technical Report19419 Words   |  78 PagesEffective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard Technical Report Writers: Liz Murby Stathis Gould CIMA CIMA CIMA gratefully acknowledges the contributions of Gary Ashworth, Philip Barden, Peter Brewer, Gavin Lawrie, Bernard Marr, Professor Bob Scapens, Dr Mostafa Jazayeri-Dezfuli, and Francesco Zingales. Contact: liz.murby@cimaglobal.com Copyright  © CIMA 2005 First published in 2005 by: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 26 Chapter Street London SW1P 4NP Printed

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Totalitarianism Free Essays

Totalitarian is stated as a political authority widely used to describe the kind of state and society engineered by Joseph Stalin. Historians on Soviet politics recognize the two theories focused on the totalitarian model. Basically, there are two totalitarian models- â€Å"an operational one that tried to describe the existing Soviet society and a developmental one that focused on the origins of totalitarianism and on the responsibility of Marxism-Leninism for Stalinist. We will write a custom essay sample on Totalitarianism or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"l According to Marxist theory, only through a modern industrialized economy could a true proletariat class be plopped, as Marx makes no mention off peasant class. Marxist theory aside, the need to Industrialized was also a pragmatic matter of self-defense that was rooted on ideology; In a sense, It called for a totalitarian authority to successfully pull off the grandiose project. 2 This paper argues that while there is much discussion about the heavy industrialization and rapid acclimatization done during Stalin’s reign, there is evident indications that it was during this time that Soviet Union truly became a totalitarian state. In a totalitarian authority, there is an evident indication off nominate leader and a one-party state. There Is also the presence of brutal crushing of Internal opposition. â€Å"The state not only monopolized the Instrumentalities of coercion but also dominated the means of mass communication;†3 totalitarianism allows â€Å"no challenge to the single official ideology. â€Å"4 Those who actually publicly oppose the leader are then faced with brutal suppression. The period during Stalin’s reign was perhaps the most transformation period of Soviet history. He consolidated his grip on power and used this to actively transform the culture and economic leslies of the time. It was during Industrialization that the Soviet union became truly totalitarian. Industrialization was the key element of Stalin’s revolution Rejecting the prior Bolshevik conviction with the bourgeois institution, he sought to embrace â€Å"socialist realism,†5 denouncing anything that was remotely of â€Å"bourgeois intellect. â€Å"6 However, these cultural changes were minor in comparison to the vast changes of his economic policies. Joseph Stalin understood the inherent problem in starting a communist revolution In Russia: the nation failed capitalism, and It would need to aka a translation from socialism to communism. He understood that the translation would require heavy Industrialization on a massive scale in order to successfully compete with Western modernization. 7 Stalin saw the need to industrialized as a pragmatic matter of self-defense. â€Å"Do you want our socialist fatherland to be beaten and to lose its independence? â€Å"8 he asked in a famous February, 1931 speech. He continued on: â€Å"If you do not want this you must Putnam end to its backwardness in the shortest possible time and develop genuine Bolshevik tempo In building up the socialist system of the economy†¦ We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this difference in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed. â€Å"9 Once Stalin ascended into power, the New Economic Policy introduced by Lenin was gradually destroyed. 10 In agriculture it was replaced by collective farms, while In Industry, It paved the way to a Five-Year Plan which assigned production targets to production figures for heavy industrialization quota at the beginning of the first five year plan in 1929. As Keen pointed out, the unrealistic optimism of these goals were to reached until 1960. 11 It seemed that there was no viable structure behind the planning as â€Å"planning’ was reduced to naming target figures which had little more than propaganda significance†12. Abstruse commands were of a more practical importance than carefully elaborated planning; and â€Å"the commands were based on guesses, prejudices, and whims. â€Å"13 The propaganda, however, was extremely successful in that it accomplished its goal which was to increase production. By 1934, there was a fifty percent increase in industrial output with an average annual growth ate of eighteen percent, while the population of industrial workers doubled. 14 The success was due to the effective manipulation of the public in Stalin’s grandiose project; the workers’ continuous belief that accepting lower standards of living was a small amount to pay for the future modernization of Soviet Union. Cashbook, a peasant, described how his family property was arbitrarily taken and his brother murdered, only to conclude: â€Å"But then, after all, look at what we’re doing. In a few years now we’ll be ahead of everybody industrially. We’ll all have automobiles and here won’t be any differentiation between kulaks and anybody else†1 5 The poor were blinded by an unrealistic optimism off utopian society Stalin has laid out. Stalin and his followers undertook a series of actions that drastically reinforced totalitarianism in the Soviet order. The basic elements were maintained: the single-party state, the single official ideology, the manipulation of legality and the state’s economic dominance. Service pointed out that other elements were greatly altered as he â€Å"crucified politics and hyper-centralized administrative institutions. â€Å"16 In 1927, the localization began with voluntary collective farms. However, very few volunteered. In 1928, only less than 1% of arable lands were collective and by 1929, the numbers increased to 7%, which were still not sufficient. 17 As Stalin continued to intimidate those who politically opposed him, the courage of people who wanted to stand up to his wild economic policies faltered. By the spring of 1930, the proportion of collective lands increased to 60%. 8 The reason was Stalin’s decision to make acclimatization a mandatory process, which was also increasingly violent and brutal. The government called for the rapid and complete acclimatization, which would eventually lead to the overall colonization of the countryside. Kulaks stood to lose the most from acclimatization; the process of rapid acclimatization was made possib le through a governmental assault on the peasant group. Stalin’s government proclaimed that the collective farms should be formed exclusively from the poor peasant households. Like Lenin before him, Stalin saw the kulaks, vaguely defined as wealthy peasants, as â€Å"unacceptably capitalist. â€Å"19 Stalin was forceful in denunciation f the kulaks, he said: â€Å"We have gone over from a policy of limiting the exploiting tendencies of the kulak to a policy of eliminating kulaks as a class†¦ Decentralization is now an essential element in forming and developing kolkhoz. Therefore, to keep on discussing decentralization is ridiculous and not serious. When the head is cut off, you do not weep about the hair. â€Å"20 Stalin successfully divided the peasants, which made it easier for them to oppose. The attacks on the kulaks also helped make the impression that it was only the kulaks that resisted acclimatization. They were used for such an impression that they were exploiting their neighbor peasants. The lower peasants felt no empathy towards the Kulaks, who always was a little better off than them. And since kulak was so loosely defined, anyone who resisted acclimatization could be quickly labeled a kulak. The Communists were often dismayed that even after vicious propaganda campaigns, most peasants sympathized more with kulaks than with the Communist Party. So those who sympathized with the pleas of the kulaks were quickly labeled a sub-kulak. 21 Many of these poorer peasants were ultimately reclassified as kulaks themselves s they strongly resisted Stalin’s oppression. Most Joined the collective farms reluctantly. Many were executed for trying to sell off or slaughter their livestock rather than donating them to the collective farms. Stalin’s Russia was a case of a totalitarian state. Stalin was an absolute dictator who used the most conniving means of coercion. The Kulaks who opposed acclimatization were dealt with absolute brutal treatment. Many were killed, sent to Siberia, or thrown in the gulags, forced labor camps. 22 And the one thing that remained consistent was their loss of properties. Local districts were even required to fill quotas of Kulaks to identified. Keen described the violence of this time as â€Å"collaboration’s most significant precedent: Mass murder for vaguely defined political and economic goals became a possibility – this was the most important legacy of acclimatization†24 The ultimate results of acclimatization were not what the regime had hoped. Grain production declined ten percent between 1928 and 1932, and in addition delivery quotas were â€Å"two to three times higher than the quantities the peasants had previously marketed†. 5 Many people starved to death between 1932 and 1933. The grain production was minimal and the statistics were miscalculated. As there was little amount of grains brought in the cities, almost none were left for the people in the countryside. The horrors of the famine were focused in Ukraine. It was estimated that five to seven million people starved to death. 6 Meanwhile, the Cheek, also known as the Main Political Administration, efficiently detected and suppressed any dissent in the city. Stalin and the Cheek chief Yoga scoured for any political opponents. Former Immensities and Socialist-Revolutionaries were hunted out penthouse their political parties had barely existed since the 1922 show-trials. 27 In 1931, newspapers were filled with stories of professional malefactors caught, accuse d, and sentenced. A witch-hunt atmosphere ascended as â€Å"workers were hallowed into denouncing any superiors who obstructed the implementation of the Five-Year Plan. 28 Stalin had tried to root out any possible opposition. When Bess Laminated and Sergei Sorts, who were supporters of Stalin , had publicly expressed their disgruntlement, the Cheek immediately arrested them and later were punished for factionalism. â€Å"29 Stalin ran a tight political control as he used the Cheek as a weapon to bring terror to all opposition to his economic policies. The rapid acclimatization and industrialization under Stalin’s regime had costs millions of lives. The purges which victimized the peasants, workers, the intelligentsia, and the State party itself had been â€Å"previously unequaled in the long and brutal history of Russia. â€Å"30 As Stalin launched his revolution from above, the rapid industrialization and acclimatization of agriculture races of capitalism left by the New Economic Policy was reached. While many historians still argue whether Stalin intentionally starve the people to death or it was simply a matter of miscalculated production , the consistency remains on the fact that it was through acclimatization and industrialization that Soviet Union’s totalitarian rule was sealed. Stalin’s central planning was immediately heavily emphasized on rapid industrialization, which ultimately led to its collapse due to the high imbalance. Although the goals set out benefited the nation, the process of localization and industrialization bought in violent coercive methods that created a period of famine and left the legacy of broken morale. During Stalin’s acclimatization, the difference between public and private spheres of life was utterly destroyed as everything was state-centered. The attempts to immobile the public in Stalin’s grandiose projects to gain legitimacy of the act, the tight political and economic control run by violence and threats, as well as the utter destruction of public and private affairs are all substantial evidences of Soviet Union becoming an official totalitarian state. How to cite Totalitarianism, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Donner Party free essay sample

Document Study: Donner Party 1. The Donner Party was made up of the Donner brothers, George and Jacob, along with their wives and children, all adding up to 8 people, they were the main members. The families set off with another friend, John Denton, six wagons and two teamsters, Noah James and Samuel Shoemaker. The Reeds were another key family and they consisted of James Reed, his wife Margaret and their three children. Also travelling with them were: Virginia Reed (Margaret’s daughter from a previous marriage), Margaret’s mother and 5 employees: A servant, Eliza Williams, her half-brother, Baylis, and three teamsters. Hiram Miller also travelled with the Reeds as an employee. The Breen’s (9 in total), Eddy’s (4 in total), Murphy’s (13 in total), the Keseberg’s and Hardkoop (6 in total), the Wolfinger’s, Spitzer and Reinhardt (4 in total), McCutchen’s (3 in total), Graves’ (12 in total), Stanton, Halloran, Antonio and Trudeau were the others who made up the party. 2. Virginia Elizabeth Reed was Margaret Reeds daughter from a previous marriage. She was 13 years of age when she left with the Donner Party. She wasn’t formally adopted by James Reed, but he was her legal guardian and treated her like one of his own children. Her writings have become the most invaluable source of information regarding the Donner Party’s experiences on their trek. 3. In her letters, with the innocent and naive perspective of a child, Virginia Reed writes about her experiences as a member of the fateful Donner Party. The letters are addressed to her cousin, Mary (â€Å"My dear cousin Mary) and all state â€Å"I take this opportunity to write to you now, that we are all well at present†. She explains and illustrates to her cousin the trouble that her family went through on their journey to California. We see that, until they came to the â€Å"Big Sandy†, they did not have any troubles but when they crossed the desert, some of their best oxen were lost, their â€Å"best yoke of oxen’s† and are forced to sell some of their supplies to replace the animals. She then goes on to explain how the Donner Party was then forced to take a short cut, â€Å"Hastings’s Cut-off†, over the Salt Plains. Apparently, the Donner Party saved three hundred miles but was forced to go through a ong drive of â€Å"40 miles without water†. They eventually reach the mountains and experience on of their coldest nights. To escape the freezing temperatures, Virginia tells us that â€Å"We spread one shawl down, we laid down on it and spread another over us and then put the dogs on top†. She further states that, â€Å"if it hadnt been for the dogs w e would have frozen†. The Party lost their cattle and were forced to halve their provisions. Soon enough, the Reeds are forced to pack all their provisions onto a single mule and trek through snow which was so deep â€Å"we could not go over†. They were forced to build cabins and withstand the horrid weather in the Sierra Nevada from November through to March. They had to resort to killing their dog for food and then buried his carcass. Ten members of the group die from starvation and malnutrition and Virginia states that â€Å"we was hardly able to walk†. Their bleak situation is made even more profound as the letter goes on. Finally â€Å"pa† arrives back from seeking help and manages to bring them to safety. Virginia remains proud that throughout the ordeal the Reeds were the â€Å"only family that did not eat human flesh†. The next letter she writes is much lighter in nature and Virginia outlines to her cousin, Mary, how beautiful California is, exclaiming that, â€Å"We are all very pleased with California† She then goes on to explain how everyone has put on weight and tells Mary that there are many horses. Finally she says, â€Å"It aut to be a beautiful country to pay us for our trouble giting there†, which it was and after all their troubles it was truly deserved! 4. The letters are a comprehensive report of the events the Donner Party experienced on their journey to California. They cover the frightening journey the Donner Party undertook in great detail, especially considering a12 year old girl wrote them! First and foremost, she writes about the harsh and inhospitable conditions the party met along the way. Virginia, however, rarely speaks of the other families and people in the Donner Party, making only a single reference to the Donner’s. After all the families are reunited again after crossing the Great Salt Plains, Virginia only writes of the events which concerned, and involved the Reeds. However, this is probably to be expected because as a 12 year old girl, her sights and priorities would be of her own family. Another major area which she avoids completely is the cannibalism which the other families took part of. The one instance of eating something close to her is when she speaks of eating their dog, Cash. Interestingly, in the original letter she had inked out the line involving ‘Cash’ and its inclusion can only be merited to the Illinois journal, which had the sentence recorded. You can infer that she inked out these lines because she was ashamed of what she did and that could be why she didn’t include it in the letters. However, apart from those areas, the letters are incredibly detailed and comprehensive. 5. This document is priceless as a historical source. Written by Virginia Reed herself, it is a primary source which captures the feelings and experiences she had while on the challenging and disheartening journey the Donner Party underwent. Even though it lacks some parts, it is still an incredibly comprehensive and detailed source.