Blog topic #11

Washington: Wash Tin
Oregon: All Gone
California: uninhabitable
Idaho: Hi Ho
Utah: You Saw
Nevada: Never Add
Arizona: Arid Zone
New Mexico: New Mix (Hiccup)
Montana: Mount Annie
Colorado: Color Radio
Wyoming: Why Home In
North Dakota: North Colder
South Dakota: The Cold (South)
Nebraska: Knee Grass
Kansas: Can This
Oklahoma: Okay?
Minnesota: Mint Soda
Iowa : Out-A-Way
Missouri: Misery
Wisconsin: Wise Cousin
Illinois: Ill Noise
Michigan: Miss Again
Indiana: Indian Annie
Arkansas : Arch Insult
Ohio: Old High
Kentucky: Canned Turkey
Tennessee: Ten Seeds
Louisiana: Lousy Annie
Mississippi: Miss-Is-Yippi
Alabama: All Mammy
North Carolina: North Carol’s Line
South Carolina: South Carol’s Line
The New England states (plus NY, NJ and PA – and a big part of Maritime Canada): “Damned Yankee” Land
West Virginia: West Gin
Maryland: Snafu
Georgia: Judgy
Florida: Swamp Land


Well I'm from Louisiana and have never had anything against Texans personally.  I have developed a distaste for the utter size of Texas.  I've often been told I'd be a good candidate for president when people hear my politics but I know I'm not the man for the job because if I were ever president I'd divide Texas diagonally into East Texas and West Texas. I'd also combine the Dakotas to maintain the even number of 50 for the states. I find the map does show the ego that most Texans I've met have.  They do see themselves as the "Big Deal" of America sort of in the same way that America sees itself as the "Big Deal" of the world. 

Blog Topic #10

I think the only way that Sub-Saharan Africa is going to get better in the short term is through individuals. The best kind of aid that you can supply to the region is help that you give DIRECTLY!! Whenever you send things through corporations or through governments the money is bound to end up somewhere other than where you intended it. The best kind of charity that you can provide is things that will end up creating the availability of education and health services to anyone and everyone.  Ensuring the education and health of the layman is the first step in creating a better Africa. It's tough to look at it in terms of what the U.S. government can do but I would say that they have to invest in education and health services as well and that would probably fall under the jurisdiction of infrastructure.

Blog Topic #9

I am selecting Yemen and I know almost nothing about this country except that it is currently divided. There have been many protest both pro and anti-governmental in the past few months all with non-comforting names such as "Day of Rage" "Friday of Anger" and "Friday of No Return".  The people are obviously fired up.  The pro-governmental people want to keep the current people in power because they feel that they are a lesser of two evils, the other evil being the people who would replace their current government. The anti-governmental people are fed up with unemployment and poor economic conditions and were pushed over the edge by a proposed modification to the constitution of Yemen.  The main thing the protesters want is for their leader President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down and they don't want his son to take over either.  He has already said he does not plan to run for re-election in 2013 and that his son won't inherit power either, but there is still mounting pressure for him to step down now.

Blog topic #8

I like this picture because it shows how much land separates modern day Germany and Russia. When I was in a European History class my senior year in high school I found it strange that we incorporated Russia into the class seeing as how the book classified Germany as being Eastern European. It's difficult to include in Russia in any other regions history though, Russia has almost always been doing their own thing culturally.  I think this map helps us to understand Russia's hesitancy and sometimes inability through out history to "Westernize." It is important and has always been important to take this into account when considering Russia and it's people.

Blog topic #7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvUdruvbdmI

This is just a trailer for the movie but it did a few things well.  The first thing I think it did well was show the difficulty that the soldiers have upon returning to the U.S. after serving especially in places as bad as the Valley was. The soldiers speaking about nightmares and about not quite knowing how to deal with or process what they've been through or what they've seen brings to life the struggle of the people who defend our freedoms.  The other thing was the sacrifices they make while they're there.  These people really enter into situations where it's life and death everyday. It makes you wonder whether or not you would be able to do the same if you had to.
I think the most important question that the movie raises is the question of whether or not leaving or retreating makes the soldiers sacrifice in vain.  We had forces in the Valley for a good while because we had labeled it as being strategically important, yet we have since withdrawn from the region; and not because it is safe now.  We watched the whole movie about the struggle and the sacrifice to build that camp, Camp Restrepo.  The soldiers were proud of that and it probably helped them to carry that sense of pride with them about their service while they're back home.  I wonder how they feel about the withdrawal from the Valley. I can't imagine they'd be too happy about it because I know I would be terribly upset.