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!