... that saying that a speech, any speech, is "just words" is taking away the power of words themselves. At the time of Lincoln's speech, brothers were killing brothers, and entire families were torn asunder by a war which had threatened the very fabric of our nation. At the Battle of Gettysburg alone, more than 51,000 were killed. After the battle, the wounded and dying were everywhere, crowded into any building that would hold ... , the Battle of Gettysburg is often spoken of as the turning point. Lincoln's speech made people think about the true meaning and effect of a Civil War, and whet...

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• Grade Level: High School

... war when pundits and politicians, scared of the body bags stacking up under Grant's command begged Lincoln to fire U.S. Grant, Lincoln's answer was "I cannot spare this man. He fights!" In the end, Lincoln and Grant split the credit when they won the war, neither of them having likely seen the white of an enemy's eyes in battle. To say Grant "fought" was to say that men fought for him ... , men that knew full well the costs that might be incurred, who knew well the general's penchant for creating bloodbaths in battle. Still, they fought. They fought, not for the chain of command, but for...

• Word Count: 401
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... With all the literary devices used, simile, metaphor, and tone, the horror of war is conveyed in a way that reaches to the audience on a deep level and shows none of the nostalgia and nationalism that many war stories and poems utilize. The speaker of the poem, serves as the expert on war, as a veteran of it. But, unlike poems that may convey the bravery and courage of battle, this soldier ... and speaker focuses on the negative and pervasive state of battle. He brings the battle to light, so to ... from rational, lucid thought. The narrator in lines 5 and 6 uses both the nightmare al...

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A dispute that began as a mere request for clemency escalated into a heated, public racial battle when a five-member board confirmed that Troy Davis will indeed be executed by lethal injection on September 20th. Twenty-two years ago, Davis was tried and convicted of murdering a police officer who was attempting to break up a fight in a fast food parking lot. According to witnesses, Davis shot Mark ... . once preached, members of the N.A.A.C.P. and Amnesty International met to discuss the next proceedings in fighting for Davis' stay of execution and plead to the Georgia State Board of Pardons a...

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... drive them to market. Over time, the family fortune turns to orange groves (gold growing on trees), a common, if not cliché theme among Florida's oldest families. What makes the novel work is not so much its straight forward plot. It is the realism involved in what the family faced through the years, the common struggles of those who lived through the pioneering days of Florida's rich history. Floridians especially ... can easily relate to stories of malaria and mosquito swarms. They can relate to hurricanes, heat and crop ... ...

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The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physician of the late Michael Jackson, took a turn for the worse after the 911 call was played to jurors on September 29th. Murray chose not to call for an ambulance for nearly thirty minutes after he first realized that Jackson needed medical attention - a ... fact that prosecutors are calling an attempt at a cover-up (Los Angeles Times). Jackson's security guard, Alberto Alvarez, took the stand ... while Jackson was lying on his mattress, a soft surface. Murray then asked, "Does anybody know CPR?" although he was the doctor on hand. Murray then ...

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... our air. While that is good news for plants since they breathe in carbon dioxide, it's bad news for our children who are being deprived of oxygen. Plants, especially the weedier plants, are thriving and producing pollen out of proportion to their growth. Our children's respiratory systems, already struggling to take in oxygen are being forced to filter pollen heavy air as well ... . Perhaps it's no wonder that 250,000 asthma related deaths are reported to the World Health Organization each year. Urbanization is another culprit of the pollen flood. The baking effect of the concrete used i...

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... Lincoln looks to define that it is divine destiny for the Untied States to move through the tumultuous, painful period that the thousands of dead soldiers, both from the Confederate and Union sides, and be the stronger for it. The purpose of his travel to Gettysburg was to dedicate a new cemetery for the Union soldiers killed during the battle of Gettysburg. He gave the speech on November 19, 1863 to approximately fifteen to ... twenty thousand who had gathered to hear his convocation of the cemetery. Lincoln realized that the nation ... ...

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... already hooked with heroin and their lives are ruined. History of Heroin The heroin comes from morphine which is a natural substance extracted from seedpod of opium poppy. The opium poppy was discovered and cultivated in Mesopotamia about 3400BC. It was until the 19th century that the chemical analysis of opium was revealed. Most of its content could be ascribed to two ingredients, codeine and morphine ... . An English chemist named C.R. Alder Wright was the first person who processed the heroin in 1874. He made an experiment mixing morphine with different acids. However, ... ". Bayer i...

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• Grade Level: High School

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was recently in America this week for the UN General Assembly being held in New York City. The problem with this is, that puts her right in the fire, so to speak. She and her country have defaulted on billions in debt owed to U.S. creditors. President Kirchner has repeatedly ignored the U.S. federal court system and supposedly removed any of her country's assets to outside the U.S. and away from collectors. With her being in New York this week for the UN talks, U.S. bondholders' have become more upset due this obvious slap in the face to the U.S. Justice s...

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... in Iraq on December 15th - nine years after US forces stepped foot on the foreign ground. US troops initially staged a war to rid Iraq of the weapons of mass destruction that they were thought to possess, but after almost a decade in the hostile country, no such weapons were found. Instead, the nine-year invasion revamped American politics and provided Muslims with a solid foundation for their ... hatred towards Americans. With American troops absent from the country, Iraq has a long and arduous road ... seek to divide, by economic and social issues, by the demands of democracy itself...

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... absolute living hell," Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr., and Jason Baldwin were released from prison, where they were currently serving out their sentences for the murder of three second-graders in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Steven Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore were found dead in a ditch with their bodies mutilated and hog-tied by their ... that they were driven by satanic ritual, regardless of the extreme lack of evidence that they had to indict the boys. Echols and Baldwin entered an Alford plea on three counts of first degree murder, while Misskelley entered...

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... girlfriend. "I love you," he told her. "By the time you get this, I will be gone" (Bailey). The Department of Defense has yet to confirm his death because of a policy of a 72-hour waiting period after notifying family members (Grondahl). Jones' death falls close to the one-year anniversary of the death of Staff Sergeant Amy Seyboth Tirador. Tirador was shot in the back of the head while walking to her evening shift ... on a US military base Camp Caldwell. After investigating, the Army closed the case as a suicide, although her mother is still working hard to challenge this. "I'd gently ...

• Word Count: 539
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We are a gadget-loving society. And with the recent launch of the iPhone onto the market, our addiction has only gotten worse. For true believers, the iPhone is much more than "just" a phone, however. This product is changing the way the world - or much of it - lives. The new 3G iPhone even has those non-techies among us are abuzz about this new toy, thanks to its user-friendly platform ... to cut and paste data from one place to another. Apple acknowledges that the need to be able to cut and paste is important to iPhone users, and they claim the feature is on their to-do list for future inca...

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... people now own a cell phone, and that number is growing larger every day. The impact of cell phones on society has become huge. One reason that the cell phone has made such an impact on society today is because of the advances they have made with them through modern technology. When the cell phone first debuted, its only function was to make calls. That is not ... to watch live television no matter where you are. Some offer a GPS navigational system to help you find driving directions. Of course, many people would be lost without the option to text their friends and family, as well. Cel...

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... market and mortgage lender meltdowns, two-paycheck families are busting the budget on necessities. Even conservative spenders are growing weary. During a recent small group discussion, a mother of three held back tears as she described the effects of the dollar's weakening buying power. She and her husband both work and have been steadily employed for the last twenty years. Three years ago, they felt financially secure ... . They could afford to eat out occasionally or shop at the mall. They bought into a timeshare in Florida. Now ... her husband looking for part-time work because he dri...

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... little different was a visit by Brig. General Peter J. Talleri to Camp Taji. Talleri is the commander of the Defense Distribution Center and is stationed in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. While in the area, he also visited the Iraqi Army's General Truck Regiment. He met with Iraqi Colonel Muhammad and was given updates of their progress and discussed future improvements. "We are working together, in a partnership, to ... "By utilizing our subject matter experts we are able to establish an effective system together with them that is working well." The Iraqi military are gaining good knowle...

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... of the 1950s or the 1980s. When we hear the term "Nehru Jacket" we think of the 60s. The term "Bell Bottoms" conjures up memories of the 1970s. Izod, polo, leg warmers, Ug boots, parachute pants, and short shorts make us think of the 1980s. Flannel shirts, worn out loose fitting jeans induce memories of the 1990s. Low rise jeans, and layered camisoles have been popular over most of the first decade of the ... new millennium, but unlike decades gone by, for the first time in the history of ... modern fashion, all worlds have collided to create the hodgepodge that is fashion in ... ...

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... every opportunity to pursue higher education. He saw us all driving fuel efficient or hybrid cars, or taking the new high speed rails that would be the base of the mass transit system he was in favor of. He saw the rich no longer lining their pockets off of the misery of the middle class. He saw an equitable tax system, and a health care system where no one would ever ... economic plan. Now, when we need the money most of all is the best time to enact these changes. These are ways Obama can raise the needed money. 1. Stick by his plan to end subsidies to the oil companies. Why we are su...

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... a necessity. Wind power is not reliable enough to provide all your electric needs. Still, adding $10 to $30 thousand dollars to the price of building a home is cost prohibitive for most of us. If you know a little bit about electricity, are good at building simple structures, and can follow simple instructions, there are sites ... not going to be as high as a professionally built and installed system, it is possible to have solar power for about a tenth of the cost of a professionally installed solar system. Even one cell can reduce your electric bill considerably. If building your own s...

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... bananas in May, California strawberries in January, and Mexican avocados any time of the year. But at what cost? The average distance a grocery store's produce has to travel before it gets on your plate is 1,500 miles. That travel could be by container ship, by truck or by train. Regardless of the mode of transport, carbon emissions are created to get that food to you. Eating ... locally reduces those carbon emissions. If a farmer drives 30 miles into the city to sell his turnips at the local farmer's market, less fossil fuels are used than if those turnips were shipped from ... Mexico...

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... . Often more noble in theory than practical in application, breakthroughs may soon lead to alternative energy sources. Solar energy in particular will become a physical reality instead of just an eco-friendly dream. Amazing Potential The problem with solar energy has often been its practicality or lack thereof. It is expensive and not all that durable in real life conditions. This is a large ... impressive strides. To Benefit A Nation President Bush spoke of these advances as he referred to the progress made in the field of solar energy. Its use has increased in recent years, and he stat...

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... -risk population, such as men who have sex with men and injection drug users. The recommendations sent out by the CDC, for the first time, come with guidelines for managing chronically infected patients of hepatitis B. "Chronic hepatitis B affects the lives of more than one million Americans, many of whom do not even know they are infected. These new recommendations are critical to identifying people who are living ... with the disease without the benefits of medical attention," said John W. Ward, M.D., director of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis. "Testing is the first step to identify...

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... crisis with high fuel prices and banking woes, there is something positive that may come out of it. As many have realized, food prices at grocery stores across the country are increasing out of control. This is due to increased shipping costs from the higher fuel prices. Because of this, many have returned to buying certain things locally. Food grown in a person's home town doesn ... 't have the added shipping fees, and 'produce' is one of the main commodities benefiting in the economy. Local farmers have always struggled due ... not confined to one area, so they incur large shipping fe...

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... , NC seems to be no exception. In the lower part of central North Carolina, Charlotte has grown over the years into a sprawling city. The banking industry has brought in people from all over the country. With the crowds of decent upstanding people that have migrated to the area, another element has moved in as well. The criminal element has grown as the city has grown, and with it has come ... obvious not to see. Reports on the news cover it daily. Gang 'tags' as they are called, or markings, are everywhere. It has gotten out of control. Among the gangs in the Charlotte area are the Bloo...

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