I. Literary characters
   A. Antigone.
   B. Creon.
   C. Eurydice.
II. House representatives and Senator.
   A. Representative Elton Gallegly.
   B. Representative Wayne Gilchrest.
   C. Senator Jon Corzine.
III. Researched details on literary characters and Congressional politicians.
   A. Literary characters.
      1. Antigone.
         a. Dedicated and determined for her cause.
            i. Trying to give Polynices a proper burial.
            ii. Would rather die than give in to the state’s ruling.
         b. Rebellious – “I didn't say yes. I can say no to anything I say vile, and I don't have to count the cost.” – Antigone.
      2. Creon.
         a. Authoritative figure as king of Thebes.
         b. Does what’s best for the state’s interest and not his own.
            i. Ordered Antigone to death because she wished to bury Polynices.
            ii. Could have simply chosen to overrule her death sentence but didn’t.
         c. His own power rules him.
      3. Eurydice.
         a. A bandwagon character.
         b. Committed suicide to further exaggerate the tragedy of the family, leaving Creon totally alone.
         c. “Oh pity! All true, all true, and more than I can bear! O my wife, my son!” – Creon.
   B. Congressional politicians.
      1. Representative Elton Gallegly.
         a. Serves the 24th District of California.
         b. Entered public life in 1979.
         c. Served Congress for 16 years.
         d. Dedicated to his work; almost 98% voting attendance record in Congress.
         e. Voted yes on deploying Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI (March 1999).
      2. Representative Wayne Gilchrest.
         a. Born on April 15, 1946, in Rahway, New Jersey.
         b. Served in the Marines then became a science teacher.
         c. Serves the 1st District of Maryland.
         d. Committees.
            i. Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans – Chair of Resources Subcommittee.
            ii. Resources.
            iii. Science.
            iv. Transportation and Infrastructure.
         e. Also voted yes on deploying Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI (March 1999).
      3. Senator Jon Corzine.
         a. U.S. Senator for New Jersey.
         b. Ex-chairman of an investment bank; strong business background.
         c. Elected into U.S. Senate in November 2000.
         d. “[Senator Jon Corzine], the chief sponsor of the Chemical Security Act, said Homeland Security Secretary Thomas Ridge’s visit to Port Elizabeth today underscored the fact that more needed to be done to protect New Jerseyans against the potential of an attack against chemical facilities”.
IV. Annotated bibliography.
   A. United States House of Representatives, 108th Congress, 1st Session. (n.d). Elton Gallegly’s Home Page. Retrieved June 12, 2003, from http://www.house.gov/gallegly/welcome.htm
      1. This website contains information on the United States House of Representatives. Specifically on Elton Gallegly’s Home Page, personal information as well as information on the congressman’s legislation can be found. This information was used as to how Gallegly compares to the literary characters assigned for this assignment.
   B. United States House of Representatives, 108th Congress, 1st Session. (n.d). Wayne Gilchrest’s Home Page. Retrieved June 12, 2003, from http://gilchrest.house.gov/
      1. This website contains information on the United States House of Representatives. Specifically on Wayne Gilchrest’s Home Page, personal information as well as information on the congressman’s legislation can be found. This information was used as to how the Congressman compares to the literary characters assigned for this assignment.
   C. U.S. Senate. (n.d). U.S. Senator Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey. Retrieved June 12, 2003, from http://corzine.senate.gov/
      1. This website contains information on the United States Senate. Specifically on Senator Jon Corzine’s Home Page, personal information as well as information on the Senator’s legislation can be found. This information was used as to how the Senator compares to the literary characters assigned for this assignment.
   D. THOMAS – U.S. Congress on the Internet. (n.d). THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet. Retrieved June 9, 2003, from http://thomas.loc.gov/
      1. This website is used to find legislative information on the Internet. The bill concerning the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, or simply put the Nuclear Security Initiative Act of 2003, was queried on the site’s search engine and used as reference to the assignment.
   E. OnTheIssues.org. (n.d). OnTheIssues.org – Candidates on the Issues. Retrieved June 16, 2003, from http://www.ontheissues.org/
      1. This database site consists of nearly every political leader representing the United States. It shows information on important political issues that concern the general public and how the politician stands on the issue(s). Representatives Gallegly and Gilchrest, and Senator Corzine were searched for to evaluate their stance on these issues.
V. Thesis and outlined argument.
   A. In recent years, nuclear weapons and issues regarding them have been investigated to try and reduce possible terrorist threats.
      1. The Nuclear Security Initiative Act of 2003 took steps to try and promote nonproliferation cooperation between the U.S. and the Russian Federation and foster various other actions that will increase the national security of the U.S.
      2. Homeland Security Secretary Thomas Ridge visits New Jersey where Jon Corzine represents in the Senate.
   B. Gilchrest has a background in supporting issues he firmly believes in.
      1. Such as supporting a wildlife preserve bill; Gilchrest has a history for pro-environment cause.
      2. Voted yes for Strategic Defense Initiative, showing his support for building a security against nuclear threats.
      3. Like Antigone, Gilchrest is dedicated and determined to his beliefs and chooses to show this by his actions.
   C. Gallegly shows no recent support for any Homeland Security or nonproliferation.
      1. Still voted yes for Strategic Defense Initiative.
      2. Shows no strong stance on issues concerning relations between the U.S. and the Russian Federation along with the nonproliferation of nuclear weaponry.
      3. Similar to Eurydice.
         a. Eurydice was a background character that did not do much except add on to Creon’s woes by killing herself.
         b. A bandwagon metaphor – Gallegly shows no knowledge on issues regarding nonproliferation, yet he voted yes for SDI.
         c. As Eurydice committed suicide along with everyone else’s death, Gallegly voted for SDI with other major supporters.
   D. Corzine has a Homeland Security Secretary visit his represented state of New Jersey.
      1. Unlike Gallegly, Corzine shows some opinions on nuclear weaponry and its involvement with the world.
      2. Although he’d rather spend time criticizing Bush’s economic plans, he takes time to tackle the issue of terror attacks on nuclear power plants and further take steps into nonproliferation.
      3. Creon was an authoritative figure as well is Corzine being a Senator of New Jersey.
      4. They both put forth the state’s interest and had their own interests in second priority.
         a. Creon didn’t want Antigone to die, but had it done anyway.
         b. Corzine would like to take some time to save today’s economy, but would rather assure the public’s safety by trying to look concerned for their well being.
   E. Overall, this bill doesn’t have the amount of supporters it deserves. None of the Representatives and/or Senator used in this research took part in supporting this bill.
      1. The bill is another sugarcoated attempt to ease into world peace.
      2. Although it further expresses the U.S.-Russian relationship.
      3. Nonproliferation cannot be decided by one nation, especially when every other nation owns their own weaponry of nuclear arms.

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© Copyright 2003, Paul Yoon.