The United States' Foreign Affairs

When or if the United States should enter another country is a very controversial subject. Throughout history America has acted as the global police trying to solve other countries problems. The U.S. government has taken the approach of stepping into another country whenever they feel like it is necessary. I think that this kind of behavior has hurt us as a nation more than it has helped us. I think that although we may feel like we are helping solve other countries problems, it usually ends up making us look more like dictators trying to spread our ideals on everyone else in the world. I think the best way for America to help out other countries is to only step in when they are asked by the country's government or when the people of that country ask for our assistance. A good example of the United States helping aid another country is in Uganda. 

The United States government has been working in Uganda to help create better infrastructure and has been working to help the people of Uganda through education and health outreach. The government has been helping countries like Uganda through USAID. In 2008 USAID gave about $138 million to Uganda to help assist them in rebuilding northern Uganda. USAID has programs in Uganda helping to reduce poverty, treat diseases like tuberculosis and malaria, and to create a stronger economy. This kind of positive intervention in a country is what I believe will help us in the global community for years to come. 

For the United States to offer its help to other countries is a much better way of dealing with foreign affairs. If we keep claiming to be liberators by forcing our way into other countries we will lose credibility and be looked at as a big bully forever. If we offer our assistance to a country and they deny it then we can deal with our own problems here in the U.S. I think sometimes problems in our own country are overlooked because we always find the need to heal and solve the world's problems. As a country it isn't our responsibility to look after all of the world. If we offer a hand to others and go about helping other people in a more civil and less violent way then we will be welcomed by others. We as a country need to get our problems solved before we can go out solving everyone else's problems. 

Creative Writing

We had to write a story based on this picture. All we were told was that the dog was named Barder and the orange turban gave him the power to fly. This picture was taken by Jan Von Holleben, here is a link to more of his work. 

Johnny Jones and Wonder Dog

Johnny Jones was a kid superhero, he wore an orange turban and a blue jacket. His dog Barder and him flew all around the city of Chicago fighting crime. His orange turban was magical and gave the duo the power of flight. One day they were flying through the city and Barder hit the side of a building. At first Johnny ignored it and thought Barder just shook him as a joke. But Johnny soon realized it was no joke. Barder began plummeting straight towards the asphalt below. Johnny tried to pull Barder's collar and direct him at an angle but it didn't work. The two slammed hard against the black road and Barder's leg was torn wide open. Johnny was too afraid to look at Barder's mangled leg because he was afraid of blood. He covered his eyes and tried to look away but he was shocked to see tiny white stars pouring out of Barder's leg. Barder soon passed away due to his injuries and this sent Johnny into cardiac arrest. They both laid dead on the long Chicago road. The end. 

Ralph From Scotland

For this assignment we were asked to choose a photograph from Bill Sullivan's website of a random person walking through a New York City turnstile. After choosing a photo we had to make a story about the person and the events leading up the time when the photo was taken. For more of Bill Sullivan's work click here. 

Ralph Westchester was a small lad from the lush highlands of Scotland. He had recently moved to Manhattan after his farm burned down in a terrible fire. He was depressed and left with nothing more than the clothes on his back. During his first week in New York City he met a young lady named Danika. She was a divorced immigrant from Croatia with three children. Ralph and Danika had an instant chemistry when they met in a busy city bus. They shared their life stories with each other over dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street from Ralph's work. Ralph worked at a cigar shop two blocks from Times Square. Ralph loved his job because he had conversations all day and he never had a dull day. Danika was always annoyed with Ralph's clothes smelling like cigars because it reminded her of her father. She never talked about her father. 

Three and a half weeks ago Ralph began saving up for a magnificent present he wanted to give to Danika. Every week he would stash away $130.00 he made at the cigar shop. Then one day he lost all of the money he had saved. His buddy Vinny from the cigar shop told him about a horse race he could triple his money on. Ralph was hesitant at first to put all the money he had saved on one unreliable horse. After a few days of weighing his options he decided to go through with it. Ralph got dressed up in his light brown blazer he had brought with him from Scotland and his favorite tan fedora. He never really wore ties but he felt like it was appropriate since he was going to the race track. He met Vinny at the race track two hours west of the city. He got there and Vinny explained to him how to bet and which horse he was counting on. The horse was named Lucky Lance and he had only won one race in the past. The odds were totally stacked up against Lucky Lance and Ralph, but Vinny was confident Ralph would walk away with more money than he originally had. The race began at 2:30pm and Ralph had just enough time to find a good seat where he could watch Lucky Lance take the victory. Since he was aging and had poor eye sight he sat in a seat very close to the track. The shot rang out exactly at 2:30pm and Lucky Lance got a heavy lead. As the horses began to pile up along the railing Lexington, a dark brown Stallion, took the lead from Lucky Lance. They were neck and neck up until the last furlong when Lucky Lance's knee buckled and he flipped. The crowd erupted in hysteria and fear as the white horse was trampled along with it's jockey. After the dust settled and the race ended the crowd was still in shock as they watched the jockey driven away in an ambulance and the horse was attended to by a medical team. 

Ralph couldn't believe it. He had lost over $400.00 in a matter of seconds. He was full of anger, sadness, and regret. Ralph got up from his seat and ran to the train station. He got on his train and headed to Manhattan. As he got off at his stop he walked with his head down and he kept himself from crying. He pushed his way through the turnstile and began his sad and slow walk home.