Illegal Immigration

I once entered in speech and debate. The subject for debate was Illegal Immigration. Now, I must admit, I had some fun thinking about ways to stop illegal immigrants (my poor victims were Juan and Maria) from coming over the border (i.e. landmines, pits filled with spikes, and other such unrealistic things). But, I imagine the best way to do this is make this country even worse than the one they are coming from. So, with the Obama administration running the US economy into the ground, I guess it's all an anti-illegal immigration policy?


But now, Arizona has passed a law (that really was already valid in over 20 states and matches current federal law) that police had the right to ask for identification from suspects. And already people are calling them Nazi's or racists or saying that it is color-oriented. But, in reality, the only way the police can ask for identification is if the suspect has already been noted for suspicious activity (for example, the back of their car dragging the ground because of the four people stuffed in the trunk. Real story.) So, no. Police aren't harassing poor Latinos on the way to get some ice cream (to quote Senor Obama). The only way they can ask for said papers is if the Latino has done something worthy of suspicion. That doesn't sound much like Nazi's to me.


As a matter of fact, this brings to mind yet another of my pet peeves. Everyone pities the Native Americans and villifies the settlement of Europeans in North America. Now, don't get me wrong, some of the things the U.S. did to the Indians was wrong (for example, the Trail of Tears). But I get sick at all the things our founders were accused of. For example, there is a rock at Plymouth Rock, erected to a day of mourning for the Indians for the landing of the pilgrims. Isn't that a little over the edge? Well, I guess they had a right to be mad about the illegal immigrants who came into their land (sound familiar?). Those darn white people. They took everything from the Indians. The Indians were here first. Well, what about the Mexicans scrambling over the border illegally by the bucket load? We were here first and we have deeds to the property. And some of those same people are taking our money and smuggling it back to Mexico. Not to mention the fact that they are bringing in drugs by the millions.


And another thing. Because these pilgrims came to America, they introduced technology unknown to the Indians. Without us, it would have taken the Indians much longer to discover these things. So, what I propose to do to the Indians is give them back their lands. Yes, give their lands back EXACTLY the way they were when we got here. Take their iPods out of their ears, restrict their computers and phones, and give them back their Teepee's and animal skins. See how well they can hunt for their own food with a crummy bow and dull arrows. When you put it that way, life with the whites ain't so bad.


Now I'm not being racist here. I actually have a smattering of Indian descent in me. I just get sick of all these people complaining about their lands being taken away. Well, let's just think about all the people who got their lands taken away by insurgents. Romans. They allowed barbarians into their lands as sanctuary and then the barbarians killed them, slaughtering millions of Romans. Yet I don't see any day of mourning for those poor Romans. Not even a stupid rock commemorated to mourning the day the barbarians got in. We just view it as history.


Now, some might say that, "Well, the barbarians weren't racist! The Americans fought the Indians just because of the color of their skin. If the Indians had been white, the Americans would have just accepted them into their culture." Well, yes, but you know what? The Americans tried that. But the Indians didn't want any of the whites culture. All they wanted was some guns, a few of those cool jingle bells (I wrote about this in a Trailblogger post) and that's it. Besides that, the main issue with the indians was land. If the indians had been white, I'm pretty darn sre we would have fought them anyway. They were standing on land that we wanted and they weren't about to just hand it over. Now, say we had lost the Indian war. Would we be mourned? I really doubt it. I think we would have been written down in history as losers, and that would be that. Couldn't that just be the way everything was done?


Coragon, signing off.

Mount and Blade: Warband

As promised, here is a game reveiw on Mount and Blade: Warband.

Rating: T

The first Mount and Blade game stood out due to it's in-depth RPG style gameplay with RTS style battles. However, Warband has excelled above and beyond the first version. The first thing you do upon starting the game is create a character. You can choose gender, color, strengths, weaknesses, even your life (such as who your father was, what his career was). Your choices can make the game harder or easier. If you choose, say, that your father was an impoverished noble, you will start the game with a banner and more men will follow you. However, you will be attacked more often (due to the fact that you will be more likely to be ransomed). If you choose for your father to have been a thief, you will have a lot of trouble gaining a reputation, but you will also have a few skills which you did not posses as a nobleman's son (such as archery, tracking, and bandits will be less likely to attack you). Then, after picking your lineage, you choose your early life (such as, steppe child, street urchin, or paige, etc.) and then your more recent lifestyle (shopkeeper's apprentice, game poacher, or university student, etc.). These effect the game most of all, as these establish your traits. For example, choosing the game poacher option makes you an excellent archer, or university student will increase your engineering skills, which makes it easier to manage villages, castles, etc. Then, you choose the country you start out in. This does not effect the outcome of the game as much, but different factions have different advantages. Some are more powerful, but it will be harder to make a name for yourself. Then the smaller ones are harder to maintain late-game, but it is easier in early game to rise to power. Then, finally, you start your adventure. First off, you get attacked (go figure). After you easily defeat this assailant, the Merchant of whatever city you are in runs up to help (AFTER you've already defeated the bandit). He then takes you to his house, where he offers you a mission: to save his brother from the bandits. You can accept this quest or not, but accepting gives you a good tutorial of the game. After your first quest, you are pretty much free to pursue your dreams. You can build a warband by recruiting men from villages or from taverns. You can also add characters to your party to add some story to the game (and some of them are pretty good warriors, as well). Then, once you have got a good feel for the lay of the land, you can offer yourself as a mercenary to one of the factions. This will open up the rest of the game. Castles, battles, looting, diplomacy, and (*spit, spit*) romance. Sound like fun? It is.



Now, being a mercenary opens up the opportunity to become a vassal, which means you will be able to mange your own fief. Then, the king may grant to the ownership of a castle. This is really fun, but it is also a lot of responsibility. If you don't garrison, you can bet that your castle is going to be attacked and taken. Then it will be a long time before you are granted another (even if you take a bunch more. This is one of the frustrating aspects of the game. The king is a jerk. If you take a castle and lose a whole lot of men, he may still give the castle to one of his buddies and give you some minuscule sum to quote, "Pay for expenses.") But, along with good things, being a vassal also has it's downturns. Being a baron means you are much more likely to be attacked by other barons. This presents a problem, as most barons have 80-200 men in their party. This means that you'll have to use some strategy.



Strategy in Mount and Blade is one of the best aspects of the game. Of course, you can just let your men run around like idiots and get themselves killed, but if you want to save your men, you will have to use some of the battlefield commands. For example, if you want the cavalry to hold back, you have to hit 3, and F1, and select hold this area. Then, you could probably tell you archers to hold their fire until the enemy gets a little closer to get better shots and conserve arrows. But then, of course, you have to be able to fight a little bit yourself. As a matter of fact, you make up the majority of the casualties. Without you, quite frankly, your men stink. So, you have to pick your four items (for example, my character had a bow, arrows, a scimitar, and a shield) and ride out into battle (or walk. But I prefer a horse).



Also, unfortunately you can engage in courting one of the ladies of the court. After a few feeble tries (for the sake of the review. You guys owe me big.) I resolved to be a bachelor in this game. The majority of the women of the court are snobs. You have to actually PAY to learn some poetry, but there is a chance that they will not like it. They never liked any of the stuff that I bought. That is, if they even talk to you. The only way to enter a courtship is to talk to them and say, "I must admit I am your most ardent admirer." Now, they will either respond with, "I LOVE YOU TOO!!!" or "Um...ok... oh, look at the time, I gtg bye!" I have decided that it is definitely not worth the effort.



Now all your tactics (such as what towns to loot, how to take castles, how to engage in diplomacy, etc.) you have to learn through trial and error. This means that you will probably have to restart your game many times before you finally get the hang of how to play it through. But once you figure it out, this game is extremely fun to play. The lack of storyline does kind of leave you running around chasing random bandits in boredom sometimes, but when you figure out what you want to do (quests help some early game, but eventually you will be powerful enough to do whatever you want to) this game is extremely fun.

I would give this game a 4 out of 5 stars.

Current Events catchup

Wow. It's been awhile since I did a current events post. You guys must be heartbroken, huh? *cricket's chirp randomly* ...but, anyway.

It seems that Obama has contradicted himself yet again. He, along with many others, criticized Bush for golfing during the War in Iraq (and, as a matter of fact, he stopped golfing because it takes too much time away from his work). Yet, Obama is doing the exact same thing and none of those people are getting upset. In fact, Triple Bogey Obama golfed more times in a year than Bush ever did during his whole time in office (32 times in 1 year to 28 times in 8). So, if a regular game of golf takes an average of 3 hours (without any water hazards or golf cart malfunctions), then Barack has spent about 96 hours on golf alone this year. He also chooses to golf while Poland is mourning the deaths of several of their leaders in that awful plane crash. "Well, hey, I AM sad and all about your president getting blown up, but uh... let me be clear. Since I uh...can't be there at the moment because of this volcano eruption, I'm just going to golf to pass the time."

Speaking of the volcano, I don't see a reason why everyone in Europe has to close their airports. I can understand that planes can't go North and West, but why not South and West? If the volcano is in Iceland, why can't someone take an indirect route to America through Africa or Italy?

Also on foreign countries, I am really confused about Russia closing all adoptions based on this one incidence. I mean, just because one crazy lady sends a kid back doesn't mean that you can't let anyone else have a kid that has already passed all the tests. It's an isolated insodent! There's no reason to stop all adoptions based on one peson's actions.

Upcoming movie reviews. I will DEFINITELY be seeing Iron Man 2, so be expecting a review soon after it comes out. And, I will also be doing a game review on Mount and Blade: Warband (new game, but I haven't played it enough to do a full review. I'm not QUITE an expert gamer. Just close.)

Once again, my idea for becoming president has come up. I was interviewed by Fox News a few days ago at the Tea Party in Boston (yes, yes, hold the applause. It was pretty much only because I said I was from Texas. It seems that to most people, Texas=Cowboys and they needed a good old cowboy hick to get a good angle.) and when she asked me how I felt about things, I told her that basically the Government should listen to what the majority of the American people want because the Government is elected by the people (in other words, A=A). Then the reporter remarked that what I said was very well spoken and that quote, "We might be talking to a future president here!"

So, who'll vote for me? (answer the poll)

Coragon, signing off.

Tips for surviving a trip to Washington D.C.

1. Prioritize. Know what you want to see, and do those first. Crowds get worse as the day goes on. Though they probably won't be as bad as they were in the middle of both spring break and cherry blossom season, they will still be there.

2. If you are unlucky enough to intercept a field trip (usually 90-150 kids), RUN to wherever you want to go first. Nothing is very enjoyable with over a hundred kids crowding around you. With a party of four, you can usually avoid them by going to wherever they aren't. We were able to avoid them most of the time, but on some of the guided events there was no way around it.

3. Take the metro. Yes, it is kind of expensive, but so is the bus. The metro is a lot faster and a little less crowded. If you want to save some pennies, ride the metro to the nearest stop to your location, then walk (no bus) the rest of the way. Exercise + saving money= good. I would also recommend getting the metro pass. It saves money, as you only have to add more money when you want to. It is five dollars to buy the card, and then you decide how much more to add. There's no daily, weekly, or monthly agreement or anything. You use it when you need it. Also, a few tips for riding the metro: Try to wait at the ends of the track. People usually group around the middle. If you can make it to the end of the train, those cars tend to be less crowded. Also, when you board, try to snag the chairs closest to the door. People are less likely to stick an armpit in your face if you are away from the standing poles.

4.I do have a few recommendations for things to see and do: Lincoln Memorial,Washington Monument, Jefferson Monument, US Capitol, Smithsonian Museums (specifically the Air and Space and American History), the National Archives, Spy Museum, Iwo Jima, and the Vietnam Memorial:All of these can get a little crowded, so either make reservations or arrive early. Some of these are less popular than others. For example, the Jefferson memorial is not as crowded as the Smithsonian museums, so see the Smithsonian first, then the Jefferson, then whatever else you want to see. I would also highly recommend taking the night bus tour to get your bearings and learn about want you want to see most. It also is a nice way to see the city after dark and still be safe.

Gettysburg

Now, finally, we have seen the biggest battle of the Civil War. I realize I am skipping some events of our journey, but if you would like to know more you can see some of my parent's posts (and some written by me, as well) on their blog.


First thing we did upon arrival was go to the bookstore and buy an audio tour. We have found that these offer a very helpful and educational tour of the battlefield. This case was no exception. The tour was very informative and interesting. I would highly recommend buying these to anyone looking for a short but in-depth look at the battlefield.


First we visited McPherson Ridge, the first skirmish of the three-day battle. We would eventually take a long drive throughout the entire battlefield. Here is a short summary of the story of everything we saw:


First, the Confederates under Lee attacked a division of Federal cavalry. The Union under Meade won that confrontation, but that was the only positive side to the day for the Union. After heavy fighting on both McPherson and Oak ridge, the Union forces received reinforcements and retreated to a fishhook position all along a ridge from Little Round Top to Spangler's spring. With this fishhook formation in place, Meade could send reserves to any point that required them. This strategy is still viewed as one of the most effective military strategies ever. When Longstreet tried to thrust through the Federal lines at Little Round Top and the Wheat field on the second day, he was repulsed. Also, coincidentally, those were also the bloodiest skirmishes of the battle. Lee also ordered attacks to commence on both flanks. These also failed. This made up the main events of the second day.

On the third day, Lee realized he was going to have to break the Union defenses or retreat. He tried both, and only succeeded in one. He decided that the Union center seemed to be the least defended, so he ordered a mass charge to strike the Union center covered by an artillery barrage. This is the famous Pickett's Charge. This strategy would have worked if the artillery had come through. But after the first barrage, the smoke from the guns was so thick that the gunners couldn't see what they were hitting. To save ammunition, they stopped firing. Also, the Union soldiers were expecting the charge and set up a terrible volley of gunfire. Cannons loaded with canister shot unloaded into the enemy ranks. Volley after volley poured from the Union's muskets. Then, once the confederates reached the walls, they were faced by more than twice their number in bayonets. But, once they realized that they were overcome, the Confederate forces ran back down the hill, once again peppered by the Union guns. Of 15,000 that charged up the hill, only 5,000 would make it back down. Lee watched his men slowly trickle back to the safety of the Confederate lines. Lee then made the decision to retreat.

With this, the Union was safe, and the Confederacy broken. Lee would never again try for a campaign into Union territory. Most historians consider this to be the turning point of the war.

When I saw the number of casualties inflicted during this battle (51,000 on both sides), I thought about how unstoppable these two forces could be if they were united. As it was, thousands of Americans died fighting other Americans. Not to say that the Civil War was not necessary, however. The war eventually unified all the states, not just North or South, but all of America. However, it is just a pity that so many had to die to that end.

I have to say, Gettysburg is probably the most well-preserved battlefield. Unlike some of the other battlefields we have seen, Gettysburg is the only place where I have been able to visualize where each regiment was and their role in the battle. This is probably due to the hundreds of monuments erected to each regiment and general that played a part in this battle. Here are a few of these:

Above is the Valley of Death. The name is rather self-explanatory. The name is the result of a Confederate charge up Little Round top that was intercepted by a Union regiment. The Confederates were taken completely by surprise and were decimated.
Above is a picture of Devil's Den, an odd arrangement of big rocks that were fought for almost through the entire battle. The formation served as a command post for the failed taking of Little Round top.

Above and below are monuments to the 22nd Maine, which saved the Union line under Joshua Laurence Chamberlain, who rushed to Little Round Top when he was informed of it's possible taking by the Confederates. He successfully held them back and routed them with a bayonet charge. This decisive action probably saved the Union line.
Below is a statue of the man himself, Joshua Laurence Chamberlain:








Below is a monument to the Confederate Major General Lee, where he was positioned during the famous Pickett's charge. Below is a monument to the Confederate (North Carolina) troops who participated in Pickett's charge, sculpted by none other then the same man who carved Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum. And finally, here is a picture of the Eternal Peace memorial, erected in memory of the entire Civil war, in hopes that such a war may never happen again.

Virginia

So now we are in Virginia, one of my favorite states. Why? Because, number one, it is one of the first colonies established in America, two, the landscape is amazing, and three….they have good ham. But, really, there are a lot of cool things to see here, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and others. The first one we saw was Williamsburg.

If any of you have been to a renaissance festival, just imagine that, but colonial times. Colonial Williamsburg is exactly that, with costumed re-enactors, shops, and even merchandise, just as it was back in Revolutionary War times. First, of course, you have to buy your tickets. But once you do, if not for all the field trip groups, you feel like you are back in 1774. You can either walk to the village or take the bus. We took the bus, because we wanted to spend as much time as possible in the village itself . When we arrived, we immediately started to look around. There are plenty of things to see, for anything you might want. There is of course the Governor's Palace, which is very impressive. Inside are hundreds of swords, guns, and other weapons lining the walls as decorations. The size is not overall very large, but it makes up for the lack of size by having lots of windows and mirrors. Once iside, it makes you feel like you are in a very large house. Yet, in every room, there is the royal seal, always above you, to remind you that the king is always more important than you are. There are shops for shoes, clothes, kitchen tools (such as silverware, dishes, etc.), and furniture. Then there are also educational places such as the shoemakers, blacksmith, magazine (no, not Life magazine, it's a weapons armory), and more. I liked the blacksmith shop, and the shoemaker, but my favorite was probably the book maker. If you don't already know, I am somewhat of a book fanatic. So anything that has to do with books is something I'm interested in. The book makers don't print the books, they make the bindings, probably the most important part. Back then, a book was a significant investment, so you wanted your book to last. Thus, the bindings were important. The bookmaker showed us how he makes the bindings, and designs the cover. Then, after we had finished looking at all the shops, we headed over to the main street for the re-enactment. The re-enactment is where they illustrate what the people felt like and did at the time of the Revolutionary war. It was very interesting, the only problem was that it was held wherever that event took place in the village. So when one act was finished, we would all get up and follow the actors to the next place. So we decided to skip a few of the performances we weren't really interested in (for example, some of the things that sounded like a soap opera, "Can their love withstand this trial? Or will they be split…forever?" I half expected someone to be handing out Reader's Digest, "Someone. Will. DIE. Who will it be this time?") but overall it was a very good and educational show.

Then we went to Jamestown. Jamestown is reputed to be the oldest English settlement in the original 13 colonies. First, we looked around the museum until it was time for the movie. The movie was very interesting, explaining the reason the English took interest in establishing colonies in the Americas. Then we headed to the fort, where they demonstrated the hardships the English colonists went through. I got to try on some armor (photo) and we also watched a matchlock rifle firing (photo). Then we headed to the ships, where we saw where the colonists traveled and lived for months (with no shower and almost no living space, by the way). But on our way out we heard about an exhibit called military through the ages, where volunteers demonstrate the weapons and tactics used from Medieval times through the Vietnam war. So, the next day, Dad and I went back. I felt like I was in heaven. There were weapons, armor, and guns galore (photos). But then, after all our fun, we had to leave. I had to be dragged away from the flails and maces, but such things must be.

Then, finally, there was Yorktown. Yorktown was the final battle of the Revolutionary War. George Washington and Lafayette's armies engaged Cornwallace at Yorktown, trying to trap him against the French fleet. Cornwallace placed half his men across the river, serving as cover in case he lost and had to retreat. He did lose, but he couldn't retreat. The French fleet had blockaded the river, preventing either side from meeting and making a defense. Cornwallace surrendered, ending the Revolutionary war.

The first thing we did was go to the museum. At the museum, they have interactive exhibits that tell you the stories of all the people during the Revolution. They also have a very good movie that tells you the stories of the American soldier living in the trenches at Yorktown. Then, we looked at the exhibits some more, which included an actual printed copy of the Decleration of Independance, an in-depth look at all the battles of the war. And, finally, there was a cannon firing demonstration. I was just in the middle of telling Mom how they should allow people who demonstrate knowledge of how to fire a gun to do so (being myself one of these people), when they called for volunteers. I was selected for Primer, the man who primes the powder hole and pours the powder. Now, unfortunately they did not give me real powder. But the package that I had to open with my teeth sure tasted like black powder (sputter cough hack wheeze). Then, after we were done with our non-powder demonstration, they fired the gun for real. Then we headed to the surgeon's tent. A nice place to be. That's where they tell you exactly why and how they amputate limbs (seeing as that was the response to a lot of things, "Hey, where are you injured?" "Oh. I got a cut on my leg." "Where's my saw?"). But, no, really they were surprisingly well-equiped for some things. In fact, some of the medicines that they used we still use today, even though they were unaware of the existance of bacteria.

After we were done, we headed out of Virginia. The climate is agreable, the people are relatively nice (there are always a few meanies), and the landscape is beautiful. There are also many historical places to see, along with those I just mentioned. I would highly recommend a trip to this state.