Essay 2 final

[E101CLS08]

Yolanda Duke
English 101
Section 0459
November 6, 2008
Essay 2
Is America, Rome?
Cullen Murphy, 2007 Are we Rome? In the first chapter The Capitals
points out five different scenarios, on which Murphy compares the U S
with history of the Roman Empire. With a trail of events that contrast
with modern America, but not acknowledging, the great progress America
has accomplished, Murphy continues to make the assumption that America
will follow Rome’s footsteps into a decline. Murphy points out how our
founding fathers had overthrown a great empire and how they looked to
Rome for republican political models. The U.S. and Rome may have some
minor similarities, but the U.S. is by far more organized with the
military and our country follows a democratic government.
The difference between Rome and America is as we know that Rome did
not know how to control the overwhelming size in population, and how
to maintain a solid military. America instead of taking over and
conquering countries, as Rome did, America is significantly different
by helping other nations establish their own government like the
U.S.'s current goals with Iraq. On which it brings us to our founding
fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin,
http://colonialhall.com/ these men created our American constitution,
and looked at Rome as a republican political model in particular for
ideas of “checks and balances” (pg37), which is a separation of power,
executive, legislative and judicial branches. A form of governing
system, of which the Roman Empire lacked while in power, and can
conclude that the Roman Empire was not like America. These three
branches run as followed, the executive, which consists of the
following, President; leader of the country and command the military,
the Vice President of the senate and becomes “President” if the
President can no longer do the job. Departments; Department head
advice the President on issues and help carry out policies,
Independent Agencies; help carry out policy or provide special
services. The Legislative branch writes bills, and there are two
groups Legislative branch, exercises the greatest extent of power,
this branch consist of 100 senators and 435 representatives a total of
535 member of congress. So when a bill is written they need a simple
majority to make it a law. The Judicial Branch is in charge of the
court system. It is structured by three different kinds of court fund
in the federal court system, (1) District, (2) court appeal, these are
some examples of our Democratic government, of which Rome might have
had, and has evolved to become part of the United States of America.
In conclusion there were laws introduced, “congressional bills” such
as these examples: (1) Border Security Accountability Act of 2008
(Introduced in House). (2) To keep faith with the thousands of Iraqi
nationals who have risked everything by assisting and working for the
United States Government and United States Armed Forces in Iraq,
and... (Introduced in House) 2007. (3) Support for Democracy and
Human Rights in Ethiopia Act of 2008 (Introduced in Senate)
For which in return delivers a democratic state of government, that
works.
One which it bring us to our most current event, the Presidential
election, passing judgment on who will do a better job these next four
years, as President of the United States, Senator: Barak Obama (2008)
or Senator: John McCain (2008) These are some of the options Rome, did
not give their citizens, therefore we are a country that might follow
some of the Roman, footsteps, but have accomplished bigger better
grounds, then the Roman empire had done.

Essay 2
On April of 1974, a young boy, of 11 years of age was brought over to
the United Sates. By his parents from Mexico, the family immigrated as
legal residents 5 years later. The boy’s parents were hopeful that
their son, would be very successful in school, and would eventually
graduate from college. In a turn of events, the young boy got in
trouble at school; he would cut class and gang around with the wrong
crowd. He then joined a gang; his parents who worked so hard were
terribly disappointed. The mom who worked the late shift was never
home to help the boy with his homework, to keep track of when he came
home. The father did not seem to care if the boy did his homework or
not, the father insisted he should get a job and forget about school.
Time went by and the continued to get in trouble with the law, it was
as if trouble followed him. The boy was able to graduate from
Elementary and Middle school, but when he got to High school he gave
up in school, he dropped out in the eleventh grade. He got a job in a
printing company, but kept getting in trouble with the law. At the age
of 23 years old, the boy left home and ventured out to Oregon, he
thought if he moved out of Los Angeles he could be successful. But it
became more complicated for him, one night he went out to a bar in
Oregon and while he was having a drink, some guys approached him.
Asked him to leave or they would have to throw him out, because he did
not belong there. The boy who was now a man ignored the guys, who
wanted him out of the bar. The guys continued to bother him and
started to come at him, the boy who was now a man pulled out a gun and
shot one of the guys, killing him. Frantic the boy who was now a man
ran for his life, and from the police who was now after him for
murder. He went back to Los Angeles in search of shelter with his
mother, when he arrived to his parents’ house his mother noticed that
there was something unusual about his behavior. The mother stated to
ask him questions, the boy who was now a man told his mother what had
happened in Oregon, she then asked him to turn himself in. But he
refused, and said he was going to run, six months past and a letter
came in the mail from the boy. Notifying his mother that he was in
jail, all the mother could do was sob for her son. The boy who was now
a man, was sentence to 10 year in Jail, he was striped from his
residency in the United States. After paying his debt to society the
boy was deported back to his native country of Mexico, his mother
immediately helped him set up a business. To sell Mexican artifacts to
tourist visiting Tijuana, his business became a success. But when 911
happened in the United States, many tourists stopped visiting the
Tijuana border, so his business collapsed. Leading the boy into
depression, he then turns to drinking, and eventually to drugs and
living in the streets of Tijuana. The boy, who was now a man, was
constantly visited by his mother, to see if maybe she can get him to
stop using drugs and alcohol. 4 years went by and one Wednesday
afternoon while he was crossing the street, he was hit by speeding
car; his body was tossed 5 feet from where he was crossing. When he
landed on the floor, his head hit the cement, he suffered severe head
trauma. The boy who was now a man died 7 hours later. The Mexican
authorities could not get a hold of the mother, because he did not
carry anything that identified him who he was. Until that weekend the
mother went looking for her son, to find out that he had been killed
by a speeding car. The mother was devastated, the mother thought and
thought how am I going to bury my son, how am I going to get his body
out of the morgue. The mother spoke to the Mexican officials; they
wanted money from her in order to release her son’s body. She could
not figure out how corrupted the Mexican police was, even when you are
in mourning. She was able to gather up the money, the Mexican police
was asking for, to get her son’s body out of the morgue, but after
such an expense. All she was able to afford was to cremate her son’s
body so that she can bring him back with her to the United States, to
be with her.
This boy had a chance, but unfortunately the tables seemed to of
always turn on him, no matter what he did. Maybe if he would have put
more interest into his school work, followed the law. This turnout
would have been a more successful one, the American government gives
its people the freedom of choice to study in whatever field, that you
may want to accomplish. This boy could of changes his life, because
America is not like Mexico.

[Dong O]

Dong Chul Oh
Eng.101, Sec. #0495
November 8th, 2008
Essay 2

In his sensational, sharply-analyzing book ‘Are We Rome?: The Fall of
an Empire and the Fate of America’ published in year 2007, Cullen
Murphy asserts that America resembles Rome in six ways. In chapter 1
of the book, The Capitals, Cullen Murphy describes the ‘Inside the
Beltway Mindset’ and claims that overweening importance and self-
centeredness of America’s capital, Washington D.C. parallel, and
furthermore, surpasses Rome. Rather than providing judgments whether
the similarities between Rome and America are failure or success,
Murphy plainly offers his opinions to readers, allowing them to think
for themselves. This evokes and allows the readers to decide for
themselves. Despite his objective-sounded comparisons, what Murphy
tries to assert is clear: that America is dangerously close to what
Rome was even from its foundation. Many Americans, particularly
politicians, must take notice on Murphy’s assertions on the capital’s
attitudes, as they provide significant warning that America resembles
Rome from its start, therefore America could follow the very same path
Rome went through, despite the fact that America would never become an
empirical state.
Throughout the chapter 1, Murphy points out American capital’s view of
self, which can be summarized as self-importance of the capital, or
inside the beltway mindset. Even from its founding, America was doomed
to follow Rome’s path, as America’s Founding Fathers found their
models from republican Rome. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and
Thomas Jefferson all inquired into Rome to find the best suitable
answers for the newly born nation. Their ideas were to found a
democratic, republic nation freed from the idea of empire – that of
the British Empire and the Roman Empire. This was perhaps the reason
why George Washington refused to accept the permanent position of
President – the position very similar to what Julius Caesar held and
died for - Dictator Perpetuo (dictator in perpetuity), and returned to
his hometown to spend the rest of his life in farming. He must have
known too well that some day, his nation could follow the very same
steps Rome took – from a republic to an empire, then the fall. Thus,
he showed a role example by himself of not repeating the same mistake
that Julius Caesar went through.
The ideas of the Founding Fathers won’t be too problematic as long as
they are well followed, as the ideas focus and emphasize on democracy
that balance the power of the capital and prevent too much power to be
given to the president. But in recent years, the ideas have been
disobeyed, as we witness the coming of emperor in a disguised form –
the president. Murphy’s claim that too much weight being shifted to
the capital, particularly the president of the U.S. is significant
evidence that America is heading toward its own version of empire.
Ever since the Korean War, which was approved by the U.N. Security
Council, all wars carried out by America have been solely approved by
the president, instead of the Congress, which are violations of the
Constitution. As too much weight has been shifted and given to the
president, the president of the U.S. now acts almost like an emperor.
What is even worse is that the capital’s groupthink (a term used by
Irving I. Janis) hasn’t attempted to stop the president’s excessive
use of power. After 9/11, America completely lost rationality to view
the issue in clear, objective views, and consequently committed an
error of put all its focuses and efforts in the war on terrorism by
invading Afghanistan and Iraq, which has resulted in a catastrophic
financial crisis that has swamped not only the U.S. but the world into
economic crisis. Rome, in its history, experienced huge downfalls
during periods of some tyrannical emperors like Nero and Caligula. In
the modern history, it is very likely that America would go through
similar experiences, as a result of overpowered presidency that has no
limit in its power. America was founded based on democracy Rome
practiced in the republican era, which the Founding Fathers of America
sought after. However, unfortunately, in less than 300 years, America
is heading towards empirical state, an empirical state with no true
emperor, but with a figure that resembles an emperor – the President.
This is perhaps clear when it comes to the current President George W.
Bush’s arrogant and self-centered attitude with no respect to others’
opinions: “I’m the commander – see, I don’t need to explain.. I don’t
feel like I owe anybody an explanation.” (p. 43)
In many ways, Washington D.C. is just like the capital Rome – despite
the fact that it is the capital of the U.S., it does not produce
anything concrete, but only consumes. It is filled with numerous
government officials, lawyers, lobbyists, and more – who don’t really
produce anything at all. In other words, Washington D.C. is
economically meaningless city that only live off tax – lots of it. As
the proverb says, ‘All roads lead to Rome,’ every goods and service
head towards Washington D.C. and are wasted. Such phases make people
in Washington D.C. to view themselves as the most important figures in
the nation, and as the U.S. is undoubtedly the most powerful nation in
the world, they make the leader of Washington D.C. and the U.S. – the
President as the most important person in the world. Murphy
demonstrates this idea by stating, “Now that there is no longer an
unfree world, at least officially, the president is simply “the most
important man in the most important city in the world.” (P. 50)
The idea that the capital of the U.S. is the center of the world has
been inherited from Rome – as the Founding Fathers of the U.S.
inherited the founding ideas of the U.S. from Rome. Murphy asserts
this idea as ‘The Omphalos Syndrome,’ a term describes the tendency of
people who “believe themselves to be divinely appointed to the centre
of the universe,” as one geographer explains, to place themselves in
the middle of the maps they draw(P. 44). This is the most important
trait the capitals share, and Washington D.C. is no free from the
syndrome. He views that such attitudes of America’s capital hinder the
central government to see the reality as it is. Despite the fact that
America still hasn’t won wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, $20 million has
been set aside for an eventual “Day of Celebration” marking American
victory in Iraq and Afghanistan. This attitude is no different from
that of Rome, when its west empire had fallen by a warrior named
Odoacer, the Roman Senate ordered new coins to be made, with the
legend “Roma Invica” – “Rome Un-conquered.”
In 1997 film “The Devil’s Advocate,” John Milton, played by Al Pacino
delivers the last line of the film as he reveal himself at the end –
‘Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.’ Vanity and arrogance are the
first weapons a devil uses when targeting man. The U.S.’s capital has
fallen into the trap – being arrogant, surrounded by abundance, and
vain – and they prevent the capital from seeing the reality as it is.
The U.S. is now heading to a path that the Founding Fathers,
particularly George Washington wanted to avoid so much – to an
empirical state. Although many Americans would not see America as an
empirical state, how Washington D.C. works and acts resemble very much
like the capital Rome in the days of empirical era. Unless Washington
D.C. and perhaps the President of the U.S. abandon the idea that the
capital is the center of the world, the U.S. won’t be able to avoid
the very same path Rome had taken. The U.S. is on the blink of
inheriting the mistake that Rome made – the fall followed by removing
its republic government and shifting to an empirical state. Although
it will be very unlike that the U.S. will ever become an empirical
state like Rome, its overpowering presidency could make the U.S. very
much like Rome in many ways. The U.S. must construe what Richard Nixon
said: “When the great civilizations of the past became prosperous,
then they lost the will to go on living and make prosperous, they fell
victims to decadence, which in the long run destroy a culture. The
Unites States is now entering this phase.” (p. 32)



References
Sheila, J. L. Rep. 2007, October, 17. H.R.4020. To recognize the
extraordinary performance of the Armed Forces in achieving the
military objectives of the United States in Iraq, to encourage the
President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the
United States to observe a national day of celebration commemorating
military success in Iraq, and for other purposes. US House of
Representatives. Retrieved from:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:2:./temp/~c110fRLk2C::

Kopelson, A. (Producer), & Hackford, T. (Director). (1997). Devil’s
Advocate. [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Bros.



Dong Chul Oh
Eng.101, Sec. #0495
November 8th, 2008
Short Story

James Marshal is a handsome, rich man in his early 30s. Inherited
billions of dollar as the sole heir from his parents, who passed away
10 years ago, he enjoys a life of abundance, vanity, and extravagance.
Unlike many of those ‘old-money’ people who are reluctant to display
their wealth, James is eager to show off his wealth, due to influences
from his immature, vain friends he has had since childhood. He spends
most of his time at the beau monde, looking for women he could spent
time with. He has never had any serious relationship with a woman, and
he is not willing to do so. To him, women are just subjects of
enjoyment, pride, and sex. Although he is educated at a prestige
university, Yale University, majoring Business Administration,
schooling is only a title that allowed him to be in the beau monde.
Beside, his grades in the university were far below average, as his
only interest in his schooling period was to date women. His garage is
filled with expensive, super cars – from Lamborghini to Ferrari,
Porsche, Maserati, etc – each car costs a normal person’s entire
salaries of lifetime. He owns numerous houses and cottages all around
the country – from Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Upstate New York to
Hawaii, the Caribbean Sea, etc. He has a company of his own – a
financial firm called JM Finances, which is one of the top financial
firms in the world. However, he has never been really involved in
managing the company, as the company is operated by executives whose
only interests are seeing how the wind blows on James and making money
by his side.
Even with all his wealth, he is literally a child on his own – he
cannot cook, send an E-mail, or even wash his own clothes. He is
surrounded by people who are only there to assist and help his living,
from butler to cleaning lady, gardener, etc. Deep inside their heart,
they detest James, as he is an arrogant, ill-natured, and detestable
man with no respect for others around him. Only reason they stay
around him is because of his wealth. At least, James’ huge fortune
allows him to pay them well – far better than any other job can offer.
Despite his child-like characters, James is he is literally a king in
his own world. Everyone around him obeys his words, and no one ask a
question. He can do nearly anything he wants, and there is no one who
would criticize or interrupt him whatsoever. To simply put it, he
can’t imagine a universe that doesn’t revolve around him. That’s how
he grew up, and that’s how he has lived his life.
Then one day, came a financial crisis and a burst of real estate
bubble that have bankrupted many financial firms and crushed real
estate businesses. James’ firm and fortune cannot escape the crises.
His share value starts to fall rapidly, and his firm soon faces
bankruptcy. Only to realize the seriousness of the situation too late,
he tries to do anything to revive his company. However, he has no
knowledge on how to manage the firm, and his efforts only make things
worse. In his desperate attempts, he starts to sell his real estates,
which value 50% lower compared to prior to the burst of real estate
bubble. With his desperate attempt, he somewhat manages to avoid
bankruptcy. But the situation hasn’t really improved, as the measure
is only a stopgap. Soon, his firm goes bankrupt, resulted in losing
more than 80% of his wealth. As he has most of his fortune, everyone
around him starts to leave him. First his girlfriend leaves him as he
can no longer provide her with the luxuries she wants. Then, his
friends in the beau monde turn their back on him, as they also have
their own problems and are reluctant to provide him any help to him –
they know too well that James is incapable to do any business own his
own, and they are too busy to save their own asses. Finally, all those
people who have babysat him, his butler, cleaning lady, cook,
gardener, etc leave him. What makes things worse is his arrogance and
ill-natured personality that are hard to endure if it weren’t for his
money, make people around him to abandon him, without remorse.
Realizing how immature and wrong he has been, he regrets what he has
been and tries to better himself, only realizing it is too late. Being
completely left alone, he now has to live by himself, and only things
left to him are a house in Beverley Hills, an Aston Martin, and 2
million dollar in his bank account. Though he is determined to change,
he cannot easily let go of his life in vanity and leave the glory of
the past behind him, which he has enjoyed for more than 30 years in
his life. With no one to cook for him, he always dines out, ending up
eating expensive foods he is used to. No one to clean or take care of,
his last house started to turn into a dumping ground. As there is no
gardener to take care of his garden, his once beautiful garden soon
turns into a jungle. Despite these decadences that are so obvious,
James still can’t make changes that require him to live off his last
remaining money. Despaired for left all by himself, with no one next
him, he soon falls into the temptation of drug and alcohol. Surely,
doing drug was nothing strange for him when he was rich, but this
time, it has gotten much worse. Within a short period time, he becomes
a heavy drug addict and alcoholic. Once a beautiful house that boasted
its stunning view of LA area, has now turned into a crumbling house
that no one cared to see. Spending most of his money on drugs,
alcohols, and luxuries, James soon becomes a penniless, and lives off
on fast-foods. For months, he does not leave his house, and when fire
fighters and paramedics finally break into his house a few months
later by his neighbors’ call, James have long been dead, heavily
decomposed, with a heroine needle on his forearm.
Just like that, one rich young man who once enjoyed a life of vanity
and abundance has passed away. Only a few people attend his funeral.
No one really cries for him, nor is saddened by his death. His last
house is now deconstructed, as it is impossible for anyone to live in,
and his last loving car, Aston Martin will soon be sold at public
auction. He was born rich with everything one could ask for on his
side, but died with only a crumbling house, an Aston Martin, and
loneliness on his side.

[o]

Deborah
English 101 Writing Composition
Section #0495
O’Connell
October 11, 2008
“Are We Corruption?”
Cullen Murphy’s 2007 Are We Rome? uses “Six Parallels” to argue that
America is similar to Rome; view of self, military, corruption, view
of world, borders, and its complexity; that we should consider the
lessons Rome offers in order to avoid a similar fate. Corruption,
Murphy’s third point, is developed in chapter 3, The fixers. His
more
numerous arguments are primarily military or military related -$80
billion to Iraq for war reparation, national security, border patrol,
high tech virtual fences with motion detectors, and satellite
monitors
-including government outsourcing to huge private corporations such
as
Halliburton. A current review and research of core military
activities
of our government in Iraq and the involvement of giant private
corporations, proves that Murphy is correct. The Bush Administration
condones and is directly responsible for government outsourcing
corruption.
Outsourcing has been employed successfully for years for programs
such
as Medicaid, Medicare, goods and services. However, we can also find
corruption due to outsourcing- employing armed forces and
intelligence-
gathering organizations for national defense; maintaining police and
prison systems to ensure domestic order; undertaking the
administration of supervisory and regulatory functions to carry out
national goals by establishing various bureaucracies to handle each
complex function.
Since the 2003 Iraq invasion, the Bush administration has spent $100
billion on contractors in Iraq and had an unprecedented dependence on
private firms for help in the war. The New York Times June 11, 2008
article “Guilty Plea Given in Iraq Contract Fraud” explains “one out
of every five dollars spent on the war in Iraq has gone to
contractors
for the United States military and other government agencies, in a
war
zone where employees of private contractors now outnumber American
troops.” Due to this large amount of contractor employees, the
administration has been able to manage the number of military
personnel sent to Iraq and avoided a draft but has been unable to
avoid questions about political favoritism in the awarding of
multibillion-dollar contracts.
Halliburton has been at the forefront of these corruption
controversies and the focus of several media investigations for its
contract work with the U.S. Government. The company’s subsidiary
Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) became the largest contractor in Iraq
when
the war began and is said to have generated an estimated $13 billion
in revenue in 2006. The political ties are undeniable; Halliburton
was
run by Dick Cheney before he became vice president and Cheney
appointed Albert Stanley as chief executive of KBR. Stephen Foley’s
September 4, 2008, The Independent article “Cheney colleague admits
bribery in Halliburton oil deals” states that Stanley pled guilty to
“to funneling millions of dollars in bribes to win lucrative
contracts
in Nigeria for Halliburton, during the period in the Nineties when
Mr.
Cheney ran the giant oil and gas services company.” And reports of
corruption and problems with KBR continued following the Hurricane
Katrina disaster. According to Dereck Kravitz’ Washington Post
article, “Halliburton subsidiary faulted for hurricane work,” KBR was
awarded $500 million to repair Navy facilities following Hurricanes
Ivan and Katrina but fell short due to “excessive equipment lease
payments and material profits and noted several over-the-top costs,
including employees getting $540 per month for cell phone charges
during roof repairs; $720 per month in gas charges despite existing
payment of work site fuel expenses; and expensive meals.”
Unfortunately these major private corporations are exempt from
government agency regulations and their records cannot be obtained
through the Freedom of Information Act.
There have been several congressional bills written in an effort to
monitor or completely eliminate government outsourcing but have
received little or no support and are pending additional review. One
such example is Congressional Bill H.R.4102 Stop Outsourcing Security
Act (Introduced in House on 11/7/2007)- A bill to phase out the use
of private military contractors. Sponsor: Rep Schakowsky, Janice D.
Cosponsors (32). Latest Major Action: 11/7/2007 Referred to House
committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and
in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Intelligence
(Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
As Murphy puts it, “there may have been no alternative to giving the
reconstruction in Iraq to private corporations, including giant
combines like Halliburton, but the result has been an effort that
defies management or accountability.” However, there is a glimpse
of
hope. According to Russell Gold’s and David Crawford’s, September 2,
2008, The Wall Street Journal article, “A global crackdown on
companies that use bribery to advance their foreign business
interests
is rapidly gathering steam.” The fact that the severity of the
penalties on companies that use bribery to advance their foreign
business is increasing, has caused “several companies to voluntarily
turn over evidence of wrongdoing in the hope of obtaining leniency
from prosecutors.”
In conclusion, perhaps the new political climate will offer
America a chance to turn the page from the Bush Administration’s
Iraq,
Haliburton and KBR cronyism and instead revisit and review
congressional activism. If the innovation displayed by the Obama
campaign in getting elected can be used to temper such outsource
abuse, then the future of responsible government looks bright indeed!
References
Foley, S. (2008, September 4). “Cheney colleague admits bribery in
Halliburton oil deals.” The Independent. Retrieved from
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cheney-colleague-adm...
Gold, R. and Crawford, D. (2008, September 12). “U.S., other nations
step up bribery battle.” The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122116624489924911.html
Kravitz, D. (2008, June 17). “Halliburton subsidiary faulted for
hurricane work.” Washington Post Investigations. Retrieved from
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/06/r...
Risen, J. (2008, August 11). “Use of Iraq contractors costs billions,
report says.” The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/washington/12contractors.html?_r=1&...


English 101 Writing Composition
Section #0495
O’Connell
October 11, 2008
“The Redemption of Richard Kaplan”
HE STARED AT THE TAPE RECORDER.
“Amazing how small they are now,” he thought. He could remember
the old clumsy ones- the ones where you had to press the black “play”
button and the red “record” button together at just the right time.
But the young man before him had a new one; small and sleek,
something
new to provide the old man’s salvation. Something new to capture an
old past.
“Sir are you okay? You’re sweating?”
And damn if he wasn’t! Was he nervous? Was it hot in here? So
what if it was a run down diner. Didn’t they have air conditioning in
this place?
“Sir”, the waitress Pam asked. “Let me bring you some water”.
“Mr. Kaplean? Mr. Kaplan? They call you “Old Kap” yes?”
“Yes”
“Okay we’re ready to begin the interview. Mr. Kaplan?”
Old Kap felt like he was going to faint- his brow a sea of now
uncontrolled perspiration; his hands perpetually clammy. If it was 95
degrees outside, how hot was it in here?
“Mr. Kaplan? This won’t take long. Whenever you’re ready.”
He wiped his brow with his handkerchief.
It was time.
“My name is Richard Colin Kaplan” he said. “I am 78 years old
and
I have been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I have granted this
interview in the hopes of…” More perspiring. More heat. Unbearable it
was! He had quit taking the medicine the doctor had prescribed weeks
ago. It made his stomach upset. But now? Was not taking the
medication
the cause of the heat flashes? Damn the doctors. Always right.
“Miss! Miss! That water please!” The waitress gave him a cold
stare. Wait a minute. Was she laughing at him? Laughing? The heat
must
have been playing tricks on him.
He struggled to continue. “I have granted this interview in the
hopes of… redemption. Yes that’s it. Redemption. I am not long for
this world and the information I am giving you may prevent further
Government corruption at the highest levels.”
“Yes Mr. Kaplan,” the reporter pressed. “You acknowledge that
you
were one of the architects of one of the most egregious violations of
the public trust? One who masterminded the government Halliburton
contract?”
“Yes. Yes. I was one of a select group. Young man! Don’t you
see!
The government HAD to outsource in Iraq! The public didn’t know we
were already stretched in Afghanistan. There’s no way the government
could have gone it alone! Don’t you see!” His voice rose and he
became
more animated.
But not for long.
God damn it’s hot! Where the hell is that waitress with the
water? He thought.
Again he struggled. “I first met Dick Cheney 35 years ago. He was
chief of staff for Gerald Ford. He was running for office in Wyoming.
Our wives had become friendly, and I helped raise millions in
exchange
for political favors. Wyoming was just a blip on the radar screen,
young man. We moved in the shadows. I’ve moved in the shadows all my
life.”
“And now you want to come out in the light?”
“Yes. I’m prepared to name names”
“Kap? Kap?”
The heat was relentless.
“Old Kap. Let me ask you a question. This is more than
redemption
isn’t it? Am I correct?”
Yes it was.
The interviewer continued. “Old Kap. Tell me- do you think this
confession will save you soul?”
Finally! The water arrived!! Kap felt like he had been abandoned
in the desert; he needed this water that badly. Hands trembling, he
put the glass to his lips with a speed he thought he no longer
possessed in his old age.
And then the diner heard the scream.
“AGGHHHHHHHH” yelled Kap! The water was BOILING! BOILING HOT!!
His tongue and side of his cheek were BURNED!! “IT’S BOILING HOT!” he
screamed.
And then the diner laughed at him. The family of four in the
corner? Laughing. The Bus Boy in the kitchen? Laughing. The cook?
Laughing. The truck driver? Laughing.
And of course the waitress.
“How was your water, Mr. Kaplan?”
An avalanche of laughter.
And now the young man in front of Kap.
Laughing.
The young man turned off the tape recorder.
“Mr. Kaplan?” he cackled. The interview has come to an
unanticipated
end”
An end?
I’m afraid I’ve got some very very bad news for you.”
The stunned old man reeled back in his booth in horror. He never
noticed the signs. All the tables were red. All the staff wore red
uniforms. The waitress. The laughter. The uncontrollable heat.
“Old Kap?”
“It’s about to get hotter”

[o]

Dear proffesor the computer that I did the other half of this essay
on
crashed, but I was able to rewright the short story.I know that you
dont except late work so I am going to send you the unedited version
of it later in the day.

Shenell W
Saturday 9am-12pm
Fall 2008
Short Story
My name is J.R Crow I am one of the dead soldiers that Frank Lucas
used to transport drugs from south Asia to the United States. Long
before I was used to smuggle drugs in I had a life .Here is my
story. I was born July 12th 1940 to a heroin addicted mother who
loved
me and sometimes hated me I could swear that every time she looked
into my eyes she could see every mistake and regret she had ever had.
My father was a man and that’s all I know about him. I convinced
myself that he never knew about me, it’s just easier to deal with
then
to think that he knew about me and just did not care. My mom was an
addict so that made it almost impossible for her to keep a job are
apartment for to long .Now that I look back on it we must have had
about thirty different homes. When were between living places we
would stay with relatives. I hated staying with relatives we had the
kind of family that would treat you like you were not worthy of life
if you needed their help, and because f this I made myself a promise,
at a very young age I swore to myself that I would die before I asked
anyone in my family for help.
We moved a round so much my mom and I thought that it would
be a
good idea for me to get on home studies so that way not have o change
schools every time we moved .After I finished school. I had a plan to
find a job move into my own place and then go to college little did I
know what life really had in store for me. September 3 1958 my mother
past away, of course she overdosed. It was so strange I never felt
sad
about her death but more relieved than any thing, she was gone, free
from her miserable existence. In away I have always envied the dead,
I
felt like they are the people that god wants close to them and the
only thing I can do is wait my turn. The family pulled together for
her funeral, but it was so strange to me that people were really
acting as if they care about her, now I know that they had a certain
amount of love for her because she was their family but these people
were acting as if her life meant so much to them as if they had done
every thing in their power to help her. I hated the fakeness, the
tear, sobbing, weeping I hated all of it, it made me sick. It was as
if there was this big pink elephant in the room and no one wanted to
point it out.
Lucky for me mom past away right after she had paid the rent
for the
month, so I had about 25 days to figure out what I was going to do
with myself since living with family was out of the question I really
had no idea on what to do. For some strange reason when you have know
idea what you are going to do with you time, time does one of two
things it ether slows down until you are so board you would volunteer
build Noah’s arc or it speeds up like you are on a rollercoaster, in
my case time was a rollercoaster and before I new it I had five days
to be out of the apartment. We did not have a lot of furniture so the
only thing that I had to get reed of was a TV, mattress and my
mother’s clothes. I found some guy to give me 25 bucks for the TV but
I was forced to giveaway all of my mothers cloths. The mattress was
the hardest to move since I was alone I could not figure out why my
mother even hung on to it, it was so lumpy most nights I would find
my
self sleeping on the floor just to avoid those lumps. So when I go to
stand the mattress up there was this big slit in it I thought for
sure
that it was my mom’s emergency stash of drugs or some thing like
that.
To my surprise there were no drugs, but it was a lot of my baby
pictures that I had always assumed that she had lost and a whole lot
of my baby clothes .I think that she held on to all of that stuff so
that she could remember a time in her life that I was truly happy and
care free with life.
The first few nights that I moved out of the apartment I lived
on the
streets I ate when I could and slept when I could. Then I started to
realize that I was going to have to make a plan, since my money was
running really low. I need some were with house and board my first
thought was prison. My second thought was my family but then I
remembered the promise that I made to myself when I was younger. Then
I remembered this ad I saw for the U.S army and it read “Want to be
an American hero ,then fight for your country” I know that I did not
want to fight for this country but if it would get me off the
streets
then why not.
The first few nights there were not as bad as I had thought it
would
be I mean we did have to wake up at five am every morning and train
from night to day, but it was my home and their was a big part of me
that loved that I new that when I left in the morning that I would
come back to the same place at night which is something that I was
never sure of when I was with my mother. I was good at it, at being I
weapon, at doing what I was told. I had been in the army for about
two
years then the war started .I can’t say I was afraid to fight .but
more like I was exited to die. I think that is what made me such a
great soldier I had nothing to lose.
The day I died, It was cold out, we had been fighting all week
there
was no sleep for any one any ware. I had know idea where we were then
it started, the booming it came out of know where It reminded me of
when I was a kind and I would walk past a door that my mom was behind
and she would jump out and scare me and then we would laugh . As soon
as I heard the Balms I new I was dead but there was know fear in my
heart but there was this very big part of me that was happy. I
thought
that god wanted me home with him. Now that I am dead my body is being
used to transport drugs for Frank Lucas. I just think that it’s kind
of ironic that with all my effort not to have any thing to do with
drugs I still end up in that world, I seriously think my mom had
something to do with it.

SW:
bring the edited draft of the essay half with my notes, and I can
give
you credit for that much
o'c

[o]

kenya p
section 0459
essay 2
Cullen Murphy wrongly claims in his third chapter of Are We Rome?
that Rome and the United States of America are alike because of “a
self-centeredness that deforms attitudes toward and perceptions of
the
rest of the world” according to Drehers July 30, 2007 review. This
means that because America has become so powerful, because we now
have
this perception of ourselves as being all great and mighty, we have
changed. Americans attitudes have changed because of the recently
gained power. We are all thinking that we are superior to every other
country that our attitudes have changed and enveloped more of a cocky
“I’m better and I know it” attitude. Also because we have such a high
confidence and because we now have a mew perception of ourselves, we
have a new perception of others as well. We see them as inferior and
not important. As the United States slowly but surely gains power,
the
people in the U.S. take this new found power to their heads. Americas
and Americans attitudes and actions are good and caring.
The 110th Congress Senate Bills from the U.S. Government Printing
Office states that there is a memorial that is trying to get a
memorial for the lost members of the holocaust made. If our country
is
as self-centered, vain and egotistical as Murphy believes, then there
would be no reason for anyone in the United States to want to make a
memorial of the holocaust. However, people in this country do care
for
something then than themselves; they care for the feelings of others
even if they don’t live in our country or have any actual ties to our
countries economy or ranking. Because people of the United States
care
for something other than themselves and their future, they propose
the
memorial. We have sorrow and sympathy in our hearts for the deceased
people of the holocaust and their families. If the Americans are so
self-centered, then they would have no reason to make a memorial for
the holocaust people and families. Americans are truly not as
disgusting and malicious as Murphy believes. They are caring,
considerate, compassionate, and thoughtful. The only reason that
Murphy believes that Americans are no good is because people are only
seen for the bad that they do. All that he sees is the bad that
people
do, but he doesn’t see the good. He doesn’t see, or chooses not to
see, the many good things that are done by Americans. Not many
people
notice the good because the bad is more scandalous and exciting and
it
brings more attention. For example, Britney Spears, she has had many
rough patches in her life that have been publicized to the media.
Everybody sees her as a troubled, terrible, even crazy person, but
nobody sees the good she has done. They see the fact that she’s an
alcoholic, but they don’t see the fact that she’s trying to recover.
They see the fact that she’s spending money on so much clothing and
accessories that she will probably never use, but according to an
article in People by Ken Lee, she donated $10,000 to a charity after
selling an autographed picture of her on eBay. Most see what they
believe to be “good media” but just because it can attract a person’s
attention more doesn’t mean it’s important. Americans aren’t all bad
people, it’s just that some make bad choices but Murphy shouldn’t
penalize all Americans for those actions. A lot of Americans are very
caring and its proved by the holocaust memorial and the donations
made
by Britney Spears, yet these are only some examples. Americans are
not
bad people, they are understanding people.
In truth, Americans aren’t the heinous careless people that
Murphy
plays them out to be. Americans have good attitudes and he is wrong.
Americans care for things other than themselves and aren’t these vain
characters that everyone believes us to be. Americans actions and
attitudes against their world, and the one around them, are good.
Their actions and attitudes are good and not horrific like Murphy
believes. America and Americans are good.


kenya p
section 0459
essay 2 short story
It is a bright early September day when a child wakes up at 6 in the
morning. "BUZZZZ" goes his alarm. Hearing it just makes him more
affricated. THUMP. The alarm falls to the floor after a mighty swing
at it with a pillow. Getting dressed, eating breakfast and already
dreading the day yet to come, the child begins to leave the house.
He
thinks his first day in school will be terrible, especially because
he’s a foreign child that can barely speak English. “I love you mom”,
he yells in his native language, not waiting for a response, he grabs
his lunch and leaves. Once on the bus, he sits in the last seat in
the
last row, blasting his iPod on the heaviest music available and on
the
highest level, he just sits there. He ignores anything and everything
around him and ultimately envelopes himself in a cocoon of silence.
He
does nothing and speaks to nobody.
Homeroom is a drag. Once in there he tried to sit in the back
but alphabetical order puts him in the middle of the class. First
period passes extremely quickly, but mostly because a whole 3o
minutes
were wasted by him because he was lost in the school, and because of
the language barrier between him and everyone around him, he didn’t
want to ask for help. He sits in the back and while every child
converses, he sits and waits patiently for the bell to ring.
Nutrition, one of the best subjects to him. He goes to get a snack
from his locker, but now has no place to go, so he just sits there.
Embraced of the cultural food his mother made him, he throws the
snack
away. He goes to second period now. Finding it was easier than
thought; a large part of this has to do with the fact that it’s his
homeroom. Here, once again, he sits in the back reading a book.
Everyone stares and just whispers not understanding his lonesome
feelings. Now his favorite subject, lunch. Still not having met a
single soul, he goes to spend his lunch time in the bathrooms. He
eats
there then washes his hands and waits for the bell to ring. Now fifth
period. It was surprisingly quick and painless. Then on to 6th
period,
and the physical education teachers are mean. These teachers scream
at
the highest levels that their voices can go and scream for complete
randomness. That class is over and now to the bus. He gets on in the
same fusion as when he got on in the morning. IPod is on and nobody
is
sitting next to him. Once the bus starts moving he notices a boy
sitting next to him. He ignores him, but the boy and he start to
talk.
They are both new students and got along very well. The foreign
child
explains to the other boy that tin his country, children were shunned
if they were different in any way, but finds it comforting to be able
to come to America and make friends who won’t judge you for where you
come from or by what u eat as a snack or by what you wear. They just
care for all and try not to be too vain. He explains that nobody
talked to him all day and he’s happy that he could find a real friend.

[o]

Leilani C
English 101/ Class#0459/ O’Connell/ Essay 2
Cullen Murphy’s, (2007) Are we Rome? presents a compelling
question for all concerned Americans. After Murphy drew his six
comparisons in his book that led to the fall of the Roman Empire and
the possibility of America’s decline to power, he asks if we can
alter
the course to avoid having the same fate. Chapter 2, the legions, is
about America’s military system; its overstretched budget and huge
expenditure to maintain the U.S. foreign bases, deliver war supplies
to foreign allies in conflict, rebuild infrastructures destroyed by
war, and train military professionals for sophistication in
technology. According to Murphy, no comparison involving Rome and
America receives more attention or is more frequently involved than
the military comparison. I strongly agree with Murphy because
America
has been involved in wars from colonial times to the present. I
think
that from the colonial times to World War II, having engaged in those
wars were necessary because America was in the process of fortifying
the nation and establishing a stronghold to the rest of the world.
For the wars that followed (from the Korean War to the Invasion of
Iraq), I think that were wasteful because they have continuously
exhausted America’s resources and have gradually changed America’s
image to the world as the symbol of democracy to
bureaucracy.
Joseph S. Nye, Jr. (2003) believes that America should shift
from using hard power by imperial overstretching to the use of soft
power thru openness with the rest of the world because the global
demand for military intervention is too overwhelming for America to
be
handling alone and the huge expenditures are draining the economy.
President Dwight Eisenhower, in his farewell speech in 1961, stated
that America should learn to settle differences by peaceful means and
not by arms which could cost many lives and hurt the economy because
wars produce more debts and taxes. President Jimmy Carter (2005),
Our
Endangered Values: America’s moral crisis, wrote that the Bush
administration used force and distorted claims after 9/11 and the
attack in Iraq with almost no global support is wasteful and
demoralized America’s prestige.
Congressional bills passed by Kucinich’s (06/10/2008),
Impeaching of George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high
crimes and misdemeanor for creating a false case against Iraq,
violating the U.N. Charter and International Criminal Law for
invading
Iraq, misspending funds, and other offenses related with the attack
on
Iraq. Lofgren’s (05/08/2008) states that any person who served the
Armed forces honorably shall be eligible for naturalization.
I was one of the millions of Americans who listened every
night to Sen. Obama’s and Sen. McCain’s campaigns for presidency.
One
the night of the election, Nov. 4, 2008, Sen. Obama was declared the
44th President of the United States and although his acceptance
speech
was strong, I also applauded for Sen. McCain for his humbleness and
his willingness to cooperate with the new president in rebuilding the
nation from the financial crisis. I think that nationalism shall
prevail in America for the coming years. This generation shall make
a
mark in American history and the nation shall live up once again to
its name as the United States of America.
References:
Nye, Joseph S. 2003, Apr. Why the world’s only superpower can’t go
it
alone. The paradox of American power.
Eisenhower, Pres. D. 1961. Military-industrial complex speech.
Public papers of the president, Dwight d. Eisenhower, 1960, p.
1035-1040.
Carter, Pres. J. 2005, Nov. America’s moral crisis. Our endangered
values.
Kucinich, Rep. D. 2008, Jun. 10. H.RES.1258: Impeaching President
George W. Bush of war deception to invade Iraq.
Lofgren, Rep. Z. 2008, May 8. H.R.6020: To amend the immigration
and
Nationality Act to protect the well-being of soldiers and their
families, and for other purposes.
http://americanhistory.about.com/lbrary/timelines/bltimelineuswars.htm.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl135;_ylt=AhYoCDdnHi3HOoV1NP49Bw...
Carly, Christian. 2007, Jul. All about us. Washington Monthly.
Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi m1316.

The U.S. naval station Sangley Point, southwest of Manila,
Philippines, occupied the northern portion of Cavite City. It was
built in 1898 as a major ship-repair and supply facility of the U.S.
Navy. It was the headquarters of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, and the
station was used extensively during the Vietnam War. The base was
turned over to the Philippine government in 1975, but the U.S.
continued the operation of the other naval base, Subic Bay in
Olonggapo City, northwest of Manila. During the time when these
bases
existed in the country, Filipinos had a very high regard for the
Americans, and it was a great blessing to any family for their sons
to
join the U.S. military.
The year was 1958, when a 21-year-old 3rd year male college
student named Conrado, decided to pursue his American dream by
joining
the U.S. Navy. His family was affluent, but the green money was more
attractive and prestigious for him. He was also a very bright
medicine student from one of the best Universities in Manila but he
thought that joining the U.S. Navy was the easiest and fastest way to
get to America to pursue his career. There were thousands of young
males like him recruited every year at the two U.S. Naval bases in
the
country, and they only had one common purpose – to be identified with
the Americans. At that same year, he enlisted as a ship steward and
sailed with the U.S. Navy fleet to the West Pacific Coast, carrying
his American dream and his family honor.
The first two years of his navy life was fruitful and
honorable. His monthly remittance to his family was his mother’s
pride. He became one of the thousands young eligible Filipino
bachelors most families would have liked their young daughters to
marry. He was able to purchase himself some properties, and he was
the envy of all the other young native men.
In 1959, the Vietnam War broke out (1959-1975) involving the
North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front against the United
States forces and the South Vietnamese army. America began sending
its troops to Vietnam and Conrado was among the first foreign
recruits
dispatched to the country. War and American troops were not new to
him because he was born before World War II broke out in the Pacific
which included the Philippines. When the United States and Japan
fought in the Philippines during World War II, at that time, he was
very young and he barely understood what was happening. His family
also had other properties outside the battlegrounds where they had
escaped and stayed until the war was over. He never had been to war
nor had he ever experienced having fear from it, and it was far from
his mind because he was, after all, in the navy and not in the air
force or marine. What he didn’t know was he would be stuck in the
ship for months docked at the enemy water territory with no guarantee
of immunity from attacks. He barely slept nor ate and had no means
to contact his family. Some men on board broke down in tears while
others would fight out of desperation, but Conrado, being naturally
quiet, kept all his thoughts and feelings to himself. Nobody
recalled
the last time he spoke a word to anyone, but they only knew they
found
him one day staring at the sea with his uniform tied with a rope,
tossed to the water, and being tugged along by the ship. He had
finally overcome his fear but he had also lost his mind. He was
honorably dismissed from military service and he finally went home
with a broken dream and a trouble mind. He was, however, awarded a
hundred percent compensation every month for the rest of his life by
the U.S. Veterans. He is still alive up to this time, collecting his
monthly pension from the U.S. government and so are the few thousands
of Filipino like him who went to some useless wars with United
States.
I have often wondered what America has been getting out of
these wars? My answer would be nothing at all but wasteful military
budgets that are being pocketed by few bureaucrats who have become
wealthier from financing war supplies and from rebuilding
infrastructures in these war-torn countries. The nation’s heavy
borrowing to keep up with its expenses has left ordinary citizens
with
huge taxes from the U.S. government. America should stop from
feeding
its superego as the world’s defender and should concentrate more on
its national affairs. The nation needs to reform its international
policies and set priorities with its internal needs. The new leaders
of the country especially newly elected President Obama are working
on
these needed changes. I think America has a greater chance now of
recovering from its financial difficulties.