Mostrando resultados por autor "Ryan Webb" en Todas las categorías

Kieran Hart is the band director and only queer teacher in Redplains, Texas. Under budgetary pressure from a new principal determined to push him out, he's scrambling to find a way to fund another year for his band. If he can't find the money by Christmas break, he risks losing the music program altogether. When he sees his ex, Dominic, for the first time in years, his feelings threaten to distract him from his goal.

Casablanca effectively made the case that America was the land of hope and freedom in a world darkened by the forces of Nazi Germany. In the beginning of the film, a map of the world serves as the backdrop for a deep-voiced narrator explaining the flood of refugees out of Europe. This ominous mood shrouds the city of Casablanca, in Vichy North Africa, the final stop between Lisbon and freedom in America. Indeed, corrupt French bureaucrats charge a steep price for exit visas. As a result, refugees become desperate.

The complex and intransigent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians has dominated the 20th century. While British support of Zionism facilitated the creation of the Jewish State, it is unclear whether a lack of British support would have prevented it. Nevertheless, following World War II, the British, deeply in debt, transferred world superpower status to the United States, which moved into Greece and Turkey and immediately recognized the Jewish state in 1948. Since then, the US influence has been beneficial towards Israel. Even so, in the 1990’s, the drive to broker a peace ...

On October 23, 1932, the New York Times ran the article, “Roosevelt Asserts Administration Acts Led to World Crisis,” which reported on presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt’s visit to Louisville, Kentucky. Speaking to fifteen thousand people, Governor Roosevelt attacked President Herbert Hoover’s policies and accused Hoover of changing his view as to the cause of the economic depression. Specifically, Roosevelt accused Hoover of falsely blaming foreign nations for the US financial collapse. He also stated that the Republican administration was responsible, since it failed to ...

When Harry S. Truman left office in 1953 he was one of the most unpopular presidents in American history. With an approval rating of only twenty-six percent, the national joke was, "To err is Truman." Clearly, the American populace held an unfavorable view of their parting President. Even so, by 1976, author Daniel Yergin commented that "Harry Truman does just about hold first place in the ranks of modern national heroes." (Yergin, p.138) In fact, in the Presidential race of the same year Gerald Ford attempted to cast himself as the Truman of 1976. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter was saying that ...

This study researched the occurrence of post-traumatic anniversary reactions in Gulf War veterans. The article defines an anniversary reaction as “a specifically timed, emotionally invested episode during which an individual experiences significant psychiatric or medical symptoms.” In other words, an anniversary reaction occurs when a veteran develops abnormal physical or mental symptoms on the anniversary of a previous traumatic experience. The goal of the study was to more fully explain these reactions so that the veterans who experienced them, and the clinicians who develop treatment...

In June 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, moved north through the Shenandoah Valley and invaded Pennsylvania. Brewing with confidence after decisive victories at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and Chancellorsville in April 1863, Lee planned to draw out the Union army and destroy it on ground of his choosing. An aura of invincibility was in the air. A dramatic victory would expose Washington and perhaps lead to Southern secession. In fact, a letter suing for peace was to be placed on Lincoln’s desk following the annihilation of the Union army . . . ...

In the years preceding the Yom Kippur War, Israeli leadership framed the operational environment. The result was the 1973 surprise attack by Egypt and Syria. How did this occur? What caused the Israelis to develop such an erroneous assessment? One way to analyze this situation is by looking at the instruments of national power. Nations impact the international environment through diplomatic, informational, military, and economic sources of power. By using these four areas, a holistic view of Israel’s situation prior to the 1973 war can be developed.

Autistic architect Rafael has been in love with his best friend, Henry, since they were teenagers. Over the nearly two decades of their friendship, they’ve had many romantic close calls. But something always gets in the way, including Henry’s cross-country move. Now recovering from losing his leg to cancer, Rafael is reunited with Henry for his dream road trip to the Golden Gate Bridge. But can they overcome the baggage between them to finally end up together? Or will life continue to get in the way?

In the fall of 1862, the Army of the Potomac under Major General George B. McClellan had a chance to inflict a crushing blow on Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Following his victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Lee moved his army into Maryland, hoping to gain recruits in this crucial border state. He then planned to invade Pennsylvania, possibly reaching Harrisburg, or turn to face the Union army on ground of his choosing. However, on September 13, when Federal forces moved into Frederick, Maryland, following the departure of Lee’s soldiers to Harpers Ferry, Boonsboro, ...

Through a study of history, Alfred Thayer Mahan concluded that six key factors influence a nation’s development as a sea power. Mahan also argued that command of the sea is valuable in both peace and war and that, during conflict, concentrating one’s fleet for decisive battle is key. Mahan’s ideas gained popularity among the major world powers in the late 19th century and continue to influence naval strategy today.

In Plato’s, The Ring of Gyges, Glaucon believed that man created justice by coming to an agreement not to inflict injury or suffer it. Glaucon also pointed out that man struggled to act justly since his natural tendency was to be unjust. This hypothesis is demonstrated in the story of the ancestor of the Lydian Gyges. In this story, a man found a ring that could make him invisible. Leaving his life as a quiet shepherd, he decided to engage in an affair with the king’s wife, killed the king, and then took over the kingdom. Would other men act similarly? Glaucon believed the only way to ...

According to the Holy Bible, man is naturally evil. Psalm 51:5 states, ”Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” As a result, man is selfish, lustful, jealous, envious, divisive, deceitful, malicious, insolent, arrogant, boastful, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless, slanderous, and full of gossip. Even human actions that seem good on the surface are often tainted by evil.

In William N. Still’s essay, “A Naval Sieve: The Union Blockade in the Civil War,” he contended that the blockade “was not a major factor in the collapse of the Confederacy” (Still 72). Of the Union Navy’s primary tasks of maintaining control of Southern ports, supporting amphibious operations, and pursuing piratical cruisers, the effectiveness of the blockade remains the most hotly debated strategy. Did it strangle the Confederate economy and force the South to pursue peace? According to Still, the answer is no. The supporting evidence he cites, however, is inconclusive and can...

An examination of the records of Captain William Scott and Major Samuel Scott in the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files provides insight on their war and post-war lives. Additional information from secondary sources allows for a more detailed biography of these Virginian-born Revolutionary War officers. Both brothers served during most of the war, as did a third brother, Captain Thomas Scott. In December 1775, William saw action in the Battle of Great Bridge, in Virginia, before he and Samuel Scott headed south to Georgia and the Carolinas. This was after ...

Despite their alliance against the Persian invasion in 480 B.C., the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta created separate spheres of influence. Following periods of intermittent conflict, in 431 B.C. they began a destructive war against each other that lasted twenty-seven years. To help explain this struggle, Thucydides, an Athenian military general and historian, looked for cause and effect relationships. He concluded that human emotions and interests, a nation’s pursuit of power, and influential leaders proved instrumental. These elements, which are all part of the theory of realism,...

Purpose: In "Errand into the Wilderness," one of Perry Miller’s goals was to explain the establishment and development of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony using the two meanings of the word errand, in order to gather insight into the genesis of the American experience. Key Questions: Miller first asked whether the Puritans were sent on a mission, like an errand boy, or whether they were acting alone, doing their own errand. He then asked whether the Puritans fell short of their goal by 1660, and, if so, in what sense had they failed. Finally, he examined whether there was a further ...

Both John Mill and Jeremy Bentham agreed with the utilitarianism claim that a “good action” resulted in an increase in the overall balance of pleasure. At the same time, a “bad action” decreased the balance. In other words, actions can be deemed “right” depending on their promotion of happiness and labeled as “wrong” when they produce the opposite effect. It should also be noted that, according to the theory, happiness is characterized as pleasure and the absence of pain.

The Cynefin framework provides a method to analyze systems and can help prevent the application of the same decision-making process to different situations. According to the framework, disorder is the condition where one is unaware of a system’s domain. The domains, or quadrants, are identified as chaotic, complex, complicated, and obvious. As one comes to identify the dominant system, the framework offers a mental tool to guide decision-making. It also helps illuminate the impact if the system bridges the gap between one of the other domains. For example, obvious or complex systems could...

Globalization is bringing international populations into ever-greater contact. Media and the Internet is reaching across nations and continents like never before. While many cultures welcome diffusion and are interested in different ideas and values, this is not always the case. People are wary of those unlike themselves and some cultures feel threatened by the West, the major force behind market capitalism. Specifically, many in the Muslim world feel their religion and customs are incompatible with western culture. This conflict is not unique to the modern era, but is a resurgence of an ...