All Men are Created Equal

Gay people should be allowed to join the military if it is their wish.

The reason why gays should be allowed to join the military is the fact that that everyone in America is equal. No one group should be singled out and be forbidden to do certain things in America, "the land of the free." In the U.S. Declaration of Independence it Thomas Jefferson clearly stated,"all men are created equal. To not let gays join the military would be doing the same thing as not letting women join the military. We eventually found that unconstitutional and not letting gays join is also unconstitutional. Gays should have the right to fight for their country too if they want to.

Tim Who?

Today on May 7th Jamaracus Russell was released from the Oakland Raiders. Just three years ago Jamarcus Russell was drafted first overall in the NFL Draft. His career with the Raiders ended with only eighteen touchdown passes. He never finished with an above five hundred record. That got me to thinking of first overall draft picks in the NFL who have turned out to be major busts. Now here a few of them:

Tim Couch, first overall draft pick in 1999 by the Cleveland Browns. Here are some of is career statistics. Throughout his career he played in a total of sixty-three games. He threw for a total of sixty-seven career interceptions. He had only and fifty-nine percent completion rate. Many of you probably had no recollection of Tim Couch and the fact that he even ever played football and to think, that he was a first overall pick in the NFL Draft

Courtney Brown was selected first overall in 2000 draft by the Cleveland Browns. By March of 2007 he had been cut by the Denver Broncos and never returned to the game of football. Countless injuries ruined Courtney Brown’s career. He started twenty-six games throughout his whole career. Courtney Brown another huge NFL bust.

Oh and what about Mike Vick, drafted first overall in 2001 by the Atlanta Falcons. Who would have known that in just a few short years he would be locked up in prison? Vick was a successful quarterback in the NFL. He led the Falcons to the playoffs more than once and broke many of the NFL rushing records for a quarterback, except his actions off the field cost him. Mike Vick landed his butt in jail for dog fighting. He was labeled as public enemy number one. I am sure the Atlanta Falcons were expecting to have an inmate come out of the first overall draft pick.

The first overall draft pick is always a hit or miss. Think of the name Bo Jackson and then think of the name Steve Emtman. What do these guys have in common you may ask? Both were first overall draft picks in the NFL Draft. One is now a hall of famer and the other a nobody. These are the chances you take when you select the first player overall in the NFL Draft. You can either look like a genius or you could be out of a job a couple years later.

SIMUN

SIMUN was a blast. It was the most in global Ed all year long. I love the chance to be able to get in a good debate. For me arguing with someone gives me a lot of joy. Someday I hope to be a lawyer and it the debate forming gave me a chance to argue.

I feel like I did a great job in SIMUN for it being my first time doing something in a model UN format. I made a lot of speeches to defend my country. I also asked questions. In a couple of scenarios it was vital for me to speak because as Russia I was right in the thick of things. I had to speak in support of Ukraine’s decision not to join NATO. I had a few who roughly opposed me but in the end my goal was successful. All in all I think I did a pretty good job in SIMUN.

First when preparing for SIMUN I did a lot of research on my country. I researched information on my country for about a week or two to get all the information I needed. Then we had to write a two page paper on our country. The two papers were each about a page long. We also needed a cover page with a map of our country on it and also the flag of our country on it. After those were turned in we were given for scenarios that we might have had in SIMUN and we had to answer them. The four questions were a lot of work but we were given an ample amount of time to answer them. The first one we turned in was graded by the seniors. They gave us feedback on the papers which made it easier to write the following three. We wrote one in class and the other two were due a couple of days before SIMUN began. The papers ended up being really helpful when it was time for SIMUN because it helped me be prepared.

I feel like I was pretty well prepared for SIMUN. When I do it next year I will remember that you can never learn too much about the country that you’re representing. I wish I would have known more about my countries allies as it would have made it easier to caucus with other countries. All in all SIMUN was a fabulous experience.

HURRY TURN OFF THE MICROWAVE!!!

As you are probably aware, at this time, the Pakistan government is on the edge of being overthrown by the Taliban. The Taliban are a real threat to International Security. With the Taliban in control of nuclear weapons every country in the world would be endangered. Terrorist organizations often take actions that to a normal citizen would not make sense. Where they would send nuclear bombs nobody knows but what we do know is that it's a very serious threat. Therefore as the country of Russia we fully support the U.S. choice to invade and secure Pakistan and the nuclear weapons that are stored there.

The U.S. has already handled a nuclear threat once in dealing with Iraq. Therefore Russia believes the U.S. is the best country in this situation to handle the problem. Nuclear weapons are something that should not be taken lightly. Especially when the chance of the Taliban gaining control of the nuclear weapons are very high. Are hopes in this situation is that the U.S. will be able to solve this problem before any lives are lost. Any country is at stake if loosing lives when a terrorist organization is in the power of nuclear weapons.

Russia at this time is on a strict budget and low on military members and supplies. We are sorry we cannot make a better effort in preventing any actions held by Pakistan but we believe the U.S. will be able to succeed in the plan without us. The U.S. is a noble and powerful country that will be able to stabilize Pakistan without any outside help. However we fully support the U.S. and our thoughts and payers will go out to those who fight to gain what’s right. This is how Russia feels in the response of Pakistan obtaining nuclear weapons.

Auto Biography of my Dead Brother

As a kid living in Livonia Michigan some of my everyday worries are things like catching the bus on time or whether I should ride my bike or walk to my friends house. In the inner streets of Harlem, New York kids have to worry about enemy gangs pulling up and opening fire on them on their way to school. African American kids in Harlem, New York and other violent cities have to deal with so much more than kids like me and you.

From the day their born it's almost a fact that they will be joining a gang about as soon as they hit the age of twelve. The gang that they joins all depends on whether or not they were born on 145th Street or 155th. The things that those kids grow up witnessing would have you crying after one day.

Gangs shooting up the block and druggies making deals on the corner are things these kids witness at a young age so why wouldn't think it's the right thing to do. When your ten years old you look to take after kids who are older than you. You admire them, so as you grow up you join the same game as your idol who is probably dead by know thanks to a drive by.

It's a viscous cycle these kids are pressured into but getting killed probably isn't even the worse consequence. I guarantee some kids would rather die then be ridiculed for not joing gangs or killing and dealing drugs but for Jesse and CJ it's the decision that they make and the story shows the struggle it takes to stay clean of those things.

Diary of a Soldier

“Pow, Pow,” the shots rang out in the air. My ears felt as if I had been standing right next to the speakers at a Kiss Concert for a week. “HELP ME!” The scream came from Bebop, my mentor since I was first deployed hear. Without Bebop guiding me through this hell of a place I probably wouldn’t have made it through the first week. Legs trembling, knees shaking, I turned to find Bebop’s leg from the knee down separated from the rest of his body. I could see the muscle and bones of his leg as clear as one of them HD TV’s back home. I ran over to him and covered his body in the midst of the chaos. Grenades being flung from every which way and exploding plus heavy machine gun fire had already take the lives about sixty of our soldiers. I prayed to the Lord that Bebop and I would be spared. What I had to do was get Bebop out of firing range. I picked him up into a fireman’s carry and began to run. I could feel the blood from his leg soaking into my uniform. When we were far enough from enemy fire where many other injured soldiers were located I laid him down. I quickly took the rag out of helmet and began to tie it like a tourniquet around Bebop’s leg. Through this whole time he hadn’t stopped screaming. He asked if he was going to be all right, and I lied and said I knew for a fact he was. I thought for sure that he had last too much blood to survive. I grabbed his head in my hands and told him I loved him, and I left to go back in and fight as a medic and now surfaced. As I was leaving all I heard was Bebop calling for me, “BOSTON, BOSTON DON’T LEAVE ME!” My eyes were full of tears now, as I knew that, that might have been the last time I would see my best friend.

I grabbed my M-16 and started firing at the enemy; I wanted revenge so bad for what they did to my best friend. Once tall buildings were now painted with fire and forming piles of ash. The shouts from the screaming wounded echoed in my head. I felt like I was in a nightmare and couldn’t wake up. What had I signed myself up for?

No Country Like The U.S.A.

As the 2010 Olympics are off and running in Vancouver, Canada its been a parade of medals for our own sweet country. The U.S. is far in the lead in the medal count so far in this Olympics with eighteen medals. These medals include seven bronze medals five silver medals and six prized gold medals. The next closest challenger to the U.S. is Germany with the eleven medals. As members of the United States I am sure everyone expected the U.S. to come out on top in the medal count but winning medals at the rate the U.S. is, is pretty amazing. The medals are coming from all across the board from men singles figure skating to women snowboarding. Now I am gonna take some time to introduce to the U.S.'s brightest stars.

The first athlete I am introducing to you is the first men's speed skater ever to win back to back gold medals in the 1000 meter race. Shani Davis won a gold medal in the 2006 Olympic Games and blew by competitors to capture the gold in Vancouver.

Evan Lysacek stunned many as he stole the show and beat the favored Russian in the Men's Singles Figure Skating Competition. The medal marks the first gold for American men since Brian Boitano won in 1988. Some were upset at Lysacek winning challenging the judging of the competition because Lysacek did not throw a single quad but never the less he brought home another medal, gold to be precise, back to the U.S.

Shaun White, to no ones surprise, won a gold medal in the Men's Half Pipe event. He won the medal with ease taking a conservative run and still scoring the highest winning the gold. Then on his last run, being the crowd pleaser he is, he topped off his victory run with a Double McTwist.

As the 2010 Olympics are off and running in Vancouver, Canada its been a parade of medals for our own sweet country. The U.S. is far in the lead in the medal count so far in this Olympics with eighteen medals. These medals include seven bronze medals five silver medals and six prized gold medals. The next closest challenger to the U.S. is Germany with the eleven medals. As members of the United States I am sure everyone expected the U.S. to come out on top in the medal count but winning medals at the rate the U.S. is, is pretty amazing. The medals are coming from all across the board from men singles figure skating to women snowboarding. Now I am gonna take some time to introduce to the U.S.'s brightest stars.

The first athlete I am introducing to you is the first men's speed skater ever to win back to back gold medals in the 1000 meter race. Shani Davis won a gold medal in the 2006 Olympic Games and blew by competitors to capture the gold in Vancouver.

Evan Lysacek stunned many as he stole the show and beat the favored Russian in the Men's Singles Figure Skating Competition. The medal marks the first gold for American men since Brian Boitano won in 1988. Some were upset at Lysacek winning challenging the judging of the competition because Lysacek did not throw a single quad but never the less he brought home another medal, gold to be precise, back to the U.S.

Shaun White, to no one’s surprise, won a gold medal in the Men's Half Pipe event. He won the medal with ease taking a conservative run and still scoring the highest winning the gold. Then on his last run, being the crowd pleaser he is, he topped off his victory run with a Double McTwist.

Lindsey Von was another favorite before the Olympics in all of her Alpine Skiing events but leading up to her events she was having severe pain in her shins. Some questioned the fact if she would even compete in the Olympics but she persevered and won gold.

All in all this Olympics has been a big success for the great United States of America. Our athletes have stepped it up and really done our country proud in these 2010 winter Olympics. Let’s hope that we can win another gold in ice hockey!

The Attack of The Sharks

My family and I were on vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Some people also refer to it as the eighth wonder of the world. Being able to swim in the Gulf of Mexico is a once in a lifetime chance but I am going to tell you people around here don't know. The Gulf of Mexico at that time was known for some of the biggest sharks ever known to man. Witnesses say that some of these sharks were twenty feet long, weighed 900 pounds and had the mouth as wide as bulldozer. Of course me being the young arrogant kid I was I paid no attention to those "rumors". Who had ever heard of a creature that big? Little did I know that I would have an encounter with a few of them buggers and I was lucky to make it out alive.

The sun was just rising and I thought I'd go for a little swim before the mobs of people started crowding the beautiful beach. I was swimming for about an hour not really paying any attention to the direction I was going. I had no worries. I was young and clueless and not to mention the fact one of the best swimmers in my entire town. When I finally stopped, I turned to look back at the hotel but nothing was there. All I could see around was nothing but the beautiful blue ocean as the sun began to rise. I must have swum about a hundred miles and not even noticed it. Not quite sure which direction the hotel was located I pulled my handy dandy compass out of my pocket which I also kept on me on account of good luck. I began swimming back toward the hotel when I saw I first saw it.

Something dark about the size of a bus brushed my leg! As I looked down I almost emptied my bladder. This was the shark those people had spoke of only you couldn't really imagine the size of this thing unless you saw it in person. I turned around to see if it was circling back but to my displeasure I spotted two more of the monsters! I tried not to panic because I knew the sharks could sense fear as I quietly tried to make of run for it. Before I made two feet of progress the three sharks made a wall blocking me from returning to the hotel. I had no choice. These sharks wanted a fight, and boy was I going to give it to them.

I decided to throw the first punch at the biggest shark which was stationed in the middle in hopes to scare the other two off. I wound up and threw a punch that would have given Ali a run for his money back in the day. The shark whined and whimpered and swam off, what a coward. I wasn’t out of the woods yet though as I had two more gigantic sharks I had to deal with. These other two sharks were smart and they decided to attack me at the same time. I was able to connect a beautiful under water kick right under the chin of one of the sharks sending it away but I wasn’t able to avoid the shark coming from the other side that put about a seven inch gash directly to the right of my right eye. (Doctors later told me that one inch to left and I would’ve been blind for the rest of my life.) Now it was me mono a mono, me up against the blood thirsty shark who almost had rid me of my eyeball.

I was full of anger right now, blood covering my face. I was ready to go for the kill on this shark that almost took my life. I charged full head a steam, it doing the same in return. The scene reminded me of a jousting match held by the knights back in the middle ages. As I already told you I was one heck of a swimmer and I must been up to about 300 MPH when my shoulder connected with the shark sending it flying over two hundred feet in the air as I swam right under it heading back to shore. I never stopped to look back at the sight in which my life was almost taken. I breathed a sigh of relief as I reached shore. I finally made it back. Land never felt more like home.

The Invisible War

The Invisible War in Congo should be made international media everyday.

One reason why the Invisible War should be made national news is because it will put pressure on the U.N.to take stronger actions. With everyone in the world hearing and seeing the tragedy in Congo people will ask what the UN is doing to help. The U.N. will feel pressured to act. Imagine the quarterback of a football. His team is failing against the tough defense on the other side of the ball. Everyone on the offense is looking for the quarterback to do something that can put his team back in the game. The U.N. has to act cause the whole world expects them to do something.

A second reason that the Invisible War should be made international news is because it would be a great way to raise money to help the cause. If the horrific scenes going on in the Congo right were made visible to Americans just think of the money that could be made to donate to organizations like the Red Cross to help the injured. If the Invisible War was given the media attention that the earthquake in Haiti was given imagine the results. Here are some numbers from Haiti donations which could be very similar if the Invisible War was made national media according to the Huffington Post, "In addition to Americans sending more than $8 million via text message donations facilitated by cell phone companies." We need to make the Invisible War crisis international media.

Semester Reflection

This year one thing I have learned was how to prefect a two paragraph response paper. At the beginning of this year I struggled a lot with this concept. I had trouble breaking down two reasons of support and staying on topic. I struggled so much for about the first months getting back low grades on the responses. I kept working at it and finally one day I got it. I now know the concept of writing a paper, using support, transition, Ethos, and Pathos. One of my favorite pieces of work that I did this year was the Paul Letter I wrote. I was able to include all those above qualities in the paper along with a good thesis and I did really well on the paper. “Imagine a child going to school every day, and everyday he gets beat up by the school bully. No one says anything to the bully, no one tries to intervene, and everyone just looks the other way as the boy is beat. That is very similar to the situation we are in now. The people in my hotel are that schoolboy and the Interahamwe the bully, but in this case the bully won’t stop till death. Now you may ask who you are in this situation and right now you are the children standing by and doing nothing to help that poor boy who is enduring so much pain every day. So as the time draws nearer, I ask you do to what you can to help. Maybe it’s not my family you save but the other 1,263 people are just as valuable. Please stand up to the bully and send troops to protect and transport the refugees at my hotel.” As a writer I have come so far this year and I definitely think the two paragraph response papers played a big role in it.

Although I believe that everyone in our class including me thought that margin notes were a huge pain in the rear end, margin noting really helped me to understand things that I read a lot better. When I first started reading articles this year they seemed very complicated and almost impossible to understand. The article involving Dick Cheney or the article about how China will soon be the most dominant country in the world were just a few of the very difficult articles we were expected to understand. In past year I probably would have read it once and given up but that wasn’t an option this year. This year we all were forced to really think about what we were reading and work hard to understand it. Without margin noting I doubt I would have been able to understand any of the articles. With margin notes I was able to break the article down and put it into a prospective I could understand. As I continue reading more difficult pieces of writing I will definitely use margin notes as a way to better understand what I am reading.

One section this year that really had an influence on me was learning about the Rwandan Genocide. I have become so much more knowledgeable on what actually went on in Rwanda. Before I learned about the Rwandan Genocide if someone were to ask me what happened I would answer a bunch of people died. Now if someone were to ask I would be able to go in great detail. I know I can speak for most of us in the class that when we were given the group in which we were supposed to represent we all thought our group had done the right thing. It didn’t matter if you were representing the Red Cross or the Interahamwe the people representing their group felt like their group did the right thing. We all were almost like attorneys trying to prove that our group did nothing but good. My group represented the Rwandan Patriotic Front. Some called them a rebel group who only caused trouble but to this day I believe that without the RPF the genocide wouldn’t have ended till every last Tutsi and moderate Hutu was murdered. This project also opened to my eyes to how many different viewpoints could be drawn from this event and how putting the blame on one group of people would be too hard. In the end every single group played a part in the tragedy of the Rwandan Genocide whether they will admit it or not.

Another thing I learned was about a story having more than what it is just explaining on the surface. Learning that some stories have a deeper meaning that what is actually just written. We were given the analogy to the glacier when comparing it to this type of story. What you see of the glacier on the surface is maybe just the tip of it. Under the surface there is so much more of the glacier you can see. This was like the story The Man in the Well. At the surface it seemed as if we were just reading about the man in the well. About after hearing it and reading it numerous times I found a deeper meaning. I now am always trying to look for a deeper meaning in something. It has opened my eyes to the fact that a story can say something but it means something way more meaningful.

The Power of One was one of my favorite movies I watched this year. Not only the fact that one of my classmates starred in it as a great actor but the fact that it was so realistic to the things that went on in South Africa during apartheid. It chronicled the life of PK and how much struggle he went through being a British kid often surrounded by Afrikaners who showed hatred toward him. One scene that will forever be etched into my brain is the scene in which PK is actually being urinated on by the Afrikaner boys. It really paints the picture of how the Afrikaners thought of the British. Another group in which the Afrikaners discriminated against was the native South Africans. The movie clearly displays what was thought of the Afrikaners and how very little land they were actually given to live on. This movie really inspired me because PK was able to do so much and preserved even though it seemed like he lost everyone close to him. He continued on in life and made a difference. It was an amazing movie.

South African Natives

If I had to choose to be a native from one of the four countries we spoke about I would choose South Africa.

The main reason I would choose to be a native from South Africa is because the natives of South Africa still have a say in the government today. The natives help to make the ANC (African National Congress). Descendants of the native tribes have even accounted for the last four presidents of South Africa. Nelson Mandela a descendant of a native tribe went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Another reason why I would choose to be a native of South Africa was the fact that they were innovative fighters and could hold there own in some ways against the European powers. When Shaka, who was arguably one of the greatest rulers of the Zulu Kingdom, realized that the Zulu's would not be able to hold there own against the European powers he worked to unite all the tribes. The united South African tribes were able to defend there land better than the natives of other countries did. One example of this is the Battle of Isandlwana when the the Zulus overwhelmed the British troop killing 1,300 of them.

In conclusion, although it would be unfortunate to be in the position of any of these native tribes, the best chance at living and succeeding would be with the South African Natives.