In Memory of George W. Bush essays

In Memory of George W. Bush essays Do you remember? It was only three months ago, this nation was in a political frenzy attempting to decide on the future of its very divided country. Do you remember the coverage, debates, factors, television specials, and high concerns for every single political matter? Three months later, it is seemingly diminished. Now that we've taken off the "Vote or Die" T-shirts and expressed our political views vehemently, we now must look to the future of our country. And whether we like it or not, it is in the caring hands of President George W. Bush, again. Collectively, we have many memories of our current leader and his legacy on America in the past four years. Despite how we feel about him, his legacy is about to continue. As President Bush enters his second-term, his agenda to transform the outlook of this world is in full gear. Bush plans to make changes in social security, the strengthening of high schools, amnesty for illegal aliens, and making college affordable. However, one of his largest goals is the continuation of the occupation of Iraq. It's obvious that Bush is looking to create his legacy as a hero, but once again there are early reviews on his evolving legacy that are as different as the nation is politically divided. "Bush's legacy to me is a world left in sorrow, poverty, and war." says FDU junior Candace States. "The economy is in a recession and we are fighting a war beyond our means." However, FDU sophomore and New York native Francesca Lysias believes that "Bush has been negatively viewed by so many for so long." "The reality of it is that he has done much good for the country...with Bush still in office, the ends will justify the means." The legacy of Bush is aimed upon winning the war on terrorism, and to be revered as the administrator who brought peace and democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq. He wants to be the one who changed the outlook of the troubled and war-torn Middle East. Within America, Bush wa ...

Four Criteria for Identifying a Rock

Four Criteria for Identifying a Rock What is a rock, exactly? After some thought and discussion, most people will agree that rocks are more or less hard solids, of natural origin and made of minerals. But to geologists, all of those criteria have exceptions. Are All Rocks Hard? Not necessarily. Some common rocks can be scratched with your fingernails such as shale, soapstone, gypsum rock, and peat. Others may be soft in the ground, but they harden once they spend time in the air (and vice versa). And there is an imperceptible gradation between consolidated rocks and unconsolidated sediments. Indeed, geologists name and map many formations that dont consist of rock at all. This is why geologists refer to work with igneous and metamorphic rocks as hard-rock geology, opposed to sedimentary petrology. Are All Rocks Solid? Some rocks are far from completely solid. Many rocks include water in their pore spaces. Many geodes   hollow objects found in limestone country hold water inside them like coconuts. Two rocks that are barely solids include fine lava threads known as  Peles hair  and the fine open meshwork of exploded lava reticulite. Then theres the matter of temperature. Mercury is a liquid metal at room temperature (and down to -40 F), and petroleum is a fluid unless its asphalt erupted into cold ocean water. And good old ice meets all the criteria of rock-hood too...in permafrost and in glaciers. Are All Rocks Natural? Not entirely. The longer humans stay on this planet, the more that concrete accumulates. Concrete is a mixture of sand and pebbles (aggregate) and a mineral glue (cement) of calcium silicate compounds. It is a synthetic conglomerate, and it acts just like the natural rock, turning up in riverbeds and on beaches. Some of it has entered the rock cycle to be discovered by future geologists. Brick, too, is an artificial rock in this case, an artificial form of massive slate. Another human product that closely resembles rock is slag, the byproduct of metal smelting. Slag is a complex mixture of oxides that has many uses including road-building and concrete aggregate. It has found its way into sedimentary rocks already. Are All Rocks Made of Minerals? Many are not. Minerals are inorganic compounds with chemical formulas and mineral names such as quartz or pyrite. Coal is made of organic material, not minerals. The various types of stuff in coal are instead called macerals. Similarly, what about coquina...a rock made entirely of seashells? Shells are made of mineral matter, but they arent minerals any more than teeth are. Finally, we have the exception of obsidian. Obsidian is a rock glass, in which little or none of its material has gathered into crystals. It is an undifferentiated mass of geological material, rather like slag but not as colorful. While obsidian has no minerals in it per se, it is unquestionably a rock.