Showing results by author "Ryan Webb" in All Categories

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.

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.

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.

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 . . . ...

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 ...

Out of the ashes of World War I a phoenix arose. In the next two decades, the Turks created in Anatolia a nation unique to the Middle East. This phoenix, the Republic of Turkey, replaced the moribund Ottoman Empire, which succumbed to internal disorder as well as British and Arab forces in Arabia. At the conclusion of World War I, Great Britain, France, Greece, Italy, the Kurds, and Armenians all hoped to gain land or influence in Anatolia. However, a popular Ottoman general, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, resigned from the army, united the Turkish Nationalist forces, and pushed back the invading ...

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, ...

It was early afternoon on October 26, 1881. In the mining town of Tombstone, Arizona, the well-armed lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, along with their friend Doc Holliday, wore long, dark coats as they strode to an alley near the O.K. Corral. Here, the four of them found five cattle rustlers who had threatened them repeatedly. The unarmed Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne were allowed to leave. The remaining three, Billy Clanton, and Frank and Tom McLaury, were shot dead while Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were all injured. In the following months, the feud continued. Virgil was ...

This paper explores President Truman’s decision to intervene in the Korean War and then cross the 38th parallel and invade North Korea. An analysis of Truman’s foreign policy reveals that intervention in the Korean War was part of a new global offensive against the spread of communism. Domestically, Truman believed that a Korean offensive across the 38th parallel would quiet his critics and allow him to mobilize the economy for a long-term Cold War. Militarily, Truman’s advisors overwhelmingly supported the invasion of North Korea. They concluded that Korea could be unified after ...

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.

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?

Because of the monumental destructive force of nuclear weapons, no theory of international relations is more important than that which guides US nuclear policy. During the Cold War, the views of Thomas Schelling and Herman Kahn dominated the debate. Overall, both theorists had confidence in deterrence, felt it was predictable, and based their reasoning on a rational opponent. Still, they each drew different conclusions, with the United States adopting Kahn’s recommendation for a strong offense, while siding with Schelling’s view that defense was not needed. While Cold War deterrence ...

On 25 October 1973, United Nations forces intervened in the Yom Kippur War to implement a ceasefire between Israel, Egypt, and Syria. The Egyptian Second and Third Armies, after penetrating ten to fifteen kilometers into the Sinai, occupied territory held by Israel prior to the war. At the same time, Israeli forces, after crossing the Suez Canal, nearly encircled the Egyptian Third Army, which carried only four days supply of food and water. On the Syrian front, Israeli forces advanced to within thirty-five kilometers of Damascus and seemed poised for even greater gains. At this critical ...

As a young man growing up in Virginia and Georgia in the late 18th century, Meriwether Lewis displayed the courage that would be so valuable to him later in life. When he was eight or nine years old, a bull charged him. He coolly raised his rifle and shot it dead. A year later, during a nighttime Indian attack on his family, he had the presence of mind to extinguish the campfire so as to hide his party. At eighteen, Lewis was the head of his family’s plantation. Despite such promise, Stephen Ambrose, in "Undaunted Courage," portrays Meriwether Lewis as both a hero and a flawed man. Indeed...

In the aftermath of World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the British and French moved in to carve up the Middle East in pursuit of their national interests. At the same time, local leaders within the region sought to acquire greater power themselves, following the ousting of the sultan in Istanbul. Prominent leaders such as Ibn Saud and Sharif Hussein attempted to exert greater influence and called for Arab unity in an effort to unite the region. However, neither of these leaders had a legitimate following outside of their localities. In fact, the loose structure of the ...

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,...

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 ...

Through a study of military history, Jomini discovered timeless principles of war that can guide a commander’s decision-making. Jomini’s work also provided common terminology that facilitates the discussion of war. His doctrinal rules, along with many of his terms, have influenced past and present military leaders, as well as current U.S. Army doctrine.

In the Greco-Roman world, the Stoics practiced a school of philosophy which held that a wise man should be free from passion and submissive to natural law. In Encheiridion, Epictetus articulated this view and offered advice on life. His ideas can be categorized into the areas of practical advice, inhuman advice, and thoughts that emulate Christian morality.