Olive Garden Reinvents Itself

Olive Garden, the largest "affordable Italian" restaurant chain in the country, is giving itself a makeover in order to help boost sales in this recession. Restaurants are always hit hard in tough economic times because people aren't willing to spend money on eating out anymore. And when they do, they expect a lot of food at a cheap price. Olive Garden fits those standards by all means. Yet, their sales still haven't been as good as in past years. So how are they going to stop the bleeding? The company will add healthier, cheaper options to their menu. They are also going to use a new ad campaign and are rumored to remodel many of their 750 restaurants.

New business strategies are an excellent way to draw in customers. Being the industry-star that they are, Olive Garden is expected to bounce back from their recent plunge within a few months. This restaurant is a perfect example of an ideal American business. Sometimes sales are good, and sometimes they're bad. Whatever the case may be, staying relevant and being able to adjust to the times is crucial for the success of the business. And even though smaller companies may not bounce back as fast as Olive Garden will, there should be no reason why they shouldn't at least try to appeal to their customers by using new strategies. Statistics show that accommodation boosts performance, and when private sector business do well, the economy can start to recover.

My Meta-Post

After a thorough examination of my first semester blog posts, I noticed a trend; I blog mostly about social and political topics. Especially within the last few weeks (when the Republican-nomination race has developed most), news websites that I use to find topics to blog about, such as CNN and Fox News, are constantly updating us with new stories about the candidates. When I do blog about candidates, I usually offer a brief summary of their latest story and then proceed to connect it to American values. I even throw in some of my own political commentary for the sake of adding a personal touch to my own page.

In the midst of all this personalization, I’ll admit that my commentary took off to a new level and tended to be very critical. If you look at any of my first six posts, you will find a lot of rambling and not much factual support. It took me a while to realize this flaw. Luckily on Thanksgiving break, I actually took the time to read all of my posts and comments. It was surprising to realize how much I lacked rational evidence and from that day forward, I knew that I had to become more constructive.

Because I examined my page a few months ago, I had time to rethink and experiment with how I wanted my posts to sound to the reader. I wouldn’t want him or her to think that I’m a judgemental prick who doesn’t back up my claims. So, I started doing additional research for each story I’d want to blog about and I would try to find the same story from multiple sources. If you look now at my last six posts, you will find that I have turned my angst-filled rants into fact-based analyses of important people and events.

I feel like reinventing myself on my blog page has also helped me write essays. I have been struggling with relating evidence to my claims in papers, and since blogging is essentially mock essay writing, I have been improving my writing technique. Not only is blogging great practice for writing essays, but it forces us to stay in touch with current events. I haven’t paid this much attention to the media since eighth grade when we had to do current events reports every week.

In conclusion, I hope that I will stay motivated enough to sniff out more good stories in second semester, which will help me progress as an essay writer.

Santorum's Sharia Law

Rick Santorum, the Christian Jihadist

I recently read an article on cnn.com about Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum (to see full article, click here). It goes in depth on how he wants to impose a Sharia law in America, like what many Middle Eastern governments, including the Taliban in Afghanistan and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, have done. The only difference is that Santorum's Sharia law would be based on Judeo-Christian values, not Islamic. 

The author, Dean Obeidallah, makes many good points. He points out Santorum's track record of making controversial remarks. For instance, Santorum wants to outlaw porn and contraception. 100%, no exceptions. From a religious point of view, I agree with Santorum's beliefs on not watching porn and not using contraception. But when it comes to a political point of view, it is absolutely ludicrous to think that he has the right to ban people from doing something that doesn't harm anyone. Drugs are outlawed because they cause serious health issues. Fireworks and guns (without permits) are illegal because when in the wrong hands, they can be deadly. My mind simply cannot fathom how condoms and dirty movies could ever be placed in the same category as explosives, firearms and narcotics. (Again, I am in no way justifying the watching of porn or usage of contraception, I'm simply making a point). 

The fact of the matter is that the Office of the President should not be used as a tool for spiritual guidance. Unfortunately, a surprising amount of people just don't understand that. Two weeks ago, I talked to a 40-something-year-old woman from my church. She is an immigrant from Romania and has been living in this country for 17 years. I've known her for about three years now. During our discussion, I randomly asked her who she wants to win the candidacy for the Republican nomination. Respectably, her response was Rick Perry.

"Ok, that's not the best answer but better than some of the other candidates", I thought to myself. Then I asked her why she chose Perry. To my dismay, her reasoning was this: "I think it's about time America had a Christian president. I know a lot of people were upset by the 'Strong' commercial he released, but that wasn't bad at all". I was so shocked that I just told her that I had to leave. I said my good-byes and angrily walked to my car to go home. I was too frustrated to even try to explain a few obvious things that were wrong with her statement, like the fact that just about every President was a Christian of some denomination. The only bright side to this story is that she isn't a citizen and therefore cannot vote. 

With people who rationalize their beliefs like Santorum and this undisclosed woman having any sort of significant power in government, the nation is surely going to divide itself even more. I truly hope that young people will take the initiative to try and educate people like them who are just so blinded by ignorance. Since the people of their own generation couldn't educate them, maybe we should try to. For our own sake and for the sake of the nation.