Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Knife

2009-06-09T23:30:45Z

BrianConway:

[[Image:Knives.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Several types of kitchen knives]]
A '''knife''' consists of a sharpened blade attached to a handle that can be used either as a tool or a weapon. The blade of a knife can be made from many different types of materials such as [[metal]], [[plastic]], [[stone]], [[bone]], [[wood]], or [[ceramic]].

== History ==
Knives have been in use throughout human history. The earliest knives were made of [[flint]] and used for tasks such as killing and butchering prey, ritual sacrifice, and also for defensive and aggressive combat purposes.

Over the years, countless types of knives have been designed. Some examples include the bread knife, boning knife, carving knife, Bowie knife, pocket knife, scalpel, utility knife, and the razor.

Knives are now part of a librul conspiracy to get deny us their use. Fight the power!
[[Category:Cutlery]]

Hillary Rodham Clinton

2009-06-09T23:30:37Z

BrianConway:

[[Image:Hillary-6.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Hillary Rodham Clinton]]
'''Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton''' (b. 1947) is the [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State of the United States]]. From 2001 to 2008 she was [[United States Senate|Senator]] from [[New York]], and from 1993 to 2001 was [[First Lady]] of the United States of America during the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton Administration]].

In 2000, Clinton ran for the New York Senate seat vacated by the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]]. Backed by the White House, she obtained the Democratic nomination for this Senate seat, and then won easily against [[Republican Party|Republican]] Rick Lazio (who entered the race when [[Rudy Giuliani]] withdrew). She ran for the [[United States Presidential Election, 2008 - Primaries|2008 Democratic Presidential Candidacy]], winning more primaries than any female politician in American history. On June 7th, 2008 she conceded defeat to [[Barack Obama]] after a closely challenged campaign, although she did not release her delegates until the convention itself.

It was an exemplary show of her lack of Christian morals when she barely raised an eyebrow upon learning of her husband's affair with another woman. She later admitted that she approved of the affair since her own vagina had long since dried up.

==Presidential Campaign 1992==

===Raising taxes on foreign corporations===
In the final 72 hour election crunch of the [[1992 Presidential election]] at Hillary Clinton's behest, the issues were framed as "raising taxes on foreign corporations." Hillary Clinton alleged that the Bush/Quayle ticket, the [[Republican Party]], and the Reagan coalition wanted to grant foreign [[corporation]]s doing business in the [[United States]] massive tax cuts. The Clinton campaign promised to thwart these efforts and grant the American taxpayers a [[tax cut]].<ref>''The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House'', Bob Woodward, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994. [http://www.mediaresearch.org/mediawatch/1994/watch19940801.asp]</ref>

The result in the first 100 days after Clinton Administration won a plurality was a massive tax cut for foreign corporations through [[NAFTA]] and a [[tax increase]] on the American people.<ref>[http://www.clintonmemoriallibrary.com/clint_econ.html William Jefferson Clinton Memorial Library]. On Aug. 10, 1993, the largest tax increase in history was signed into law, raising taxes by almost $280 billion over five years. "Instead of middle-class tax relief, President Clinton chose to include in his $241 billion tax plan higher federal gasoline taxes, tax hikes on Social Security recipients, and steep income tax hikes on small business owners. The President even tried unsuccessfully to institute a brand new $71 billion [[BTU energy tax]] that would have cost the typical family nearly $500 per year." ''The President's Forgotten Middle Class,'' Joint Economic Committee, Majority Staff, 3/22/96.</ref>

===Domestic Spying===

''The Hill'' magazine reported Hillary Clinton may have been involved in [[civil right]]s violations by monitoring [[illegal wiretap]]s and [[domestic spying]] on political opponents during the 1992 camapaign.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-targeting-clinton-on-phone-call-snooping-2007-10-16.html GOP targeting Clinton on phone-call snooping], By Alexander Bolton, ''The Hill'', October 16, 2007.</ref> After the revelations came to light in a book entitled, ''Her Way'' [http://www.amazon.com/Her-Way-Ambitions-Hillary-Clinton/dp/0316017426] by Don Van Natta Jr., an investigative reporter at the ''[[New York Times]]'', and Jeff Gerth, who spent 30 years as an investigative reporter at the paper, a [[Republican]] official remarked,
{{Cquote|it is rather unbelievable that [Hillary] Clinton would listen in to conversations being conducted by political opponents, but refuse to allow our intelligence agencies to listen in to conversations being conducted by [[terrorist]]s as they plot and plan to kill us.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-targeting-clinton-on-phone-call-snooping-2007-10-16.html GOP targeting Clinton on phone-call snooping], By Alexander Bolton, ''The Hill'', October 16, 2007.</ref> }}

== Record as First Lady ==

During [[Bill Clinton]]'s presidency Hillary Clinton initially played an important role. Immediately after his [[inauguration]] in 1993, Hillary Clinton embarked on a [[radical]] program to create a national health care system. She headed a Health Care Task Force which submitted controversial and [[extremism|extreme]] proposals to revamp this health care, which constitutes about one sixth of the U.S. economy. She was sued by the [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] for violations of the [[Federal Advisory Committee Act]], and the trial judge ruled against her and the Clinton Administration. An appellate court reversed this ruling but remanded it for further proceedings, which ultimately resulted in disclosures to comply with the law.

Hillary Clinton's friend [[Vincent Foster]] supervised the defense of the litigation, but died under mysterious circumstances at the height of the controversy; the death was officially ruled a suicide. The extreme proposals were overwhelmingly rejected by [[United States Congress|Congress]]. Subsequently, the Republicans won a landslide victory in 1994, taking over both Houses of Congress.

The remainder of Hillary Clinton's tenure as First Lady was largely devoted to combating what she perceived as conspiracies. The Clinton [[White House]], wracked by multiple scandals, abruptly fired longtime members of the White House Travel Office, leading [[Congress]] to vote for a restoration of their benefits. At one point confidential tax records of Republican opponents were discovered in the White House, and no legitimate explanation was ever provided.

===Accusations of improper recruiting for Health Care Task Force ===
:''Main article: [[Clinton health care plan]]''
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requires every panel that includes non-government employees to have open meetings.
In January 1993, the ''[[Washington Times]]'' reported the problems with Hillary Clinton's closed door [[Healthcare Task Force]] meeting and the former Watergate crusader ignoring a post-Watergate reform. Rep. Bill Clinger (R-Pa.) demanded that the closed meetings stop. In February the [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] (AAPS) sued. In March, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled the task force violated the FACA. The ''Washington Times'' revealed that many task-force members Clinton claimed as federal employees were not. When a list of 511 names was released, the Times noted the list "did not meet the [GAO] request for dates of employment, salaries and detailed backgrounds." <ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_8_18/ai_83699629 ''Enron vs. Hillary care: media double standard is at work''], Brent L. Bozell III, Insight on the News, March 4, 2002.</ref>

===Conspiracy Theories and Enemies List===
:''Main article: [[Vast right wing conspiracy theory]]
In 1995 there were approximately 1 million computers connected to the Internet. By the end of 1998, there were 50 million. In perspective, after the invention of television, it took more than 10 years before there were 50 million sets in the world. The same rise on the Internet took less than three years.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14676 Hillary Clinton, conspiracy theorist], Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com, February 11, 1999.</ref> This [[economic growth]] of the Internet Hillary Clinton branded as "a [[vast right-wing conspiracy]]." White House staffers were directed to write a report, at taxpayer expense, which included an enemies list of persons and organizations who subsequently endured IRS audits and harassment.<ref>Larry Klayman, WorldNetDaily 7/9/99. [http://www.alamo-girl.com/0311.htm]</ref>

In 2005, Clinton revived her campaign of Internet censorship under the guise of a vast right-wing conspiracy theory.{{fact}}

===Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction===

[[Hillary Clinton]] speaking on [[Saddam Hussein]]'s possession of [[Weapons of mass destruction]] said,
{{Cquote|I have to say that this is something that I have followed for a decade. If he [Saddam] were serious about disarming, he would have been much more forthcoming. There may be progress, we may be destroying his missiles, there is no accounting for the [[Weapons of mass destruction|chemical and biological stocks]].<ref>[http://www.archive.org/details/HillaryClintonsviewsongoingtowarSaddamandWMDs Hillary Clinton's views on going to war, Saddam, and WMD]</ref>}}

Hillary Clinton further described the situation after weapons inspectors we're expelled during the time when America had two in the position of presidential leadership, "for the price of one."<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2007/11/02/two_for_the_price_of_one Two For the Price of One], By Charles Krauthammer, November 2, 2007.</ref>
{{Cquote|In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his [[nuclear]] program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to [[terrorist]]s, including [[al Qaeda]] members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.<ref>[http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=6390 Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), October 10, 2002]. Retrieved from Zmag.org December 4, 2007.</ref>}}

===Reaction to Monica Lewinsky scandal===

[[Dick Morris]] and [[Eileen McGann]]
said that Clinton "loudly defended Bill and arranged for attacks on [[Monica Lewinsky]] when she knew the complete and sordid truth." <ref>http://www.newsmax.com/morris/Hillary_Unmasked_morris/2008/02/29/76871.html</ref> As the full extent of the scandal became known, however, Clinton forgave her husband, and the two appear to once again have a trusting, love-filled relationship. <ref>[http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/06/09/tem_monlede09.html]</ref>

== Record as U.S. Senator ==

In 2001, one of Hillary Clinton's first acts as U.S. Senator was to introduce a bill to abolish the [[Electoral College]]. This received insufficient support. No major legislation has been credited to Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton was reported to be the biggest spender of any freshman senator in history.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_7_54/ai_84454903 Hillary Clinton's spending of taxpayer money], ''[[National Review]], April 22, 2002.</ref>
[[Image:070917graveconcern-x.gif|right|thumb|400px]]
Her current plans are reintroduce an [[extremism|extreme]] proposal again to [[socialism|socialize]] the health care system, this time by converting medical records into electronic form that can be easily monitored. She also pushes for universal health coverage, considered to be a step towards a [[Single Payer]], government-controlled system.

Since joining the Senate, Clinton has belonged to a conservative prayer group with the expressed purpose of "bringing Jesus back to Capitol Hill."<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html</ref> A few of her collaborators in the group include Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan) and Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa).

===FEC fined campaign for failing to accurately report $721,895 in contributions===

In January 2006 Hillary Clinton's New York Senate 2000 campaign was fined $35,000 for failing to accurately report $721,895 in contributions. <ref>[http://www.fec.gov/press/press2006/20060126mur.html Federal Elections Commission] Press Release, January 26, 2006. </ref>

===Smoking gun videotape===

WorldNetDaily reports Hillary Clinton may face a felony conviction that carries with it a five year sentence for violations of Title 2 section 437 of the U.S. federal code, which states: "Any person who knowingly and willfully commits a violation of any provision of this act which involves the making, receiving, or reporting of any contribution, donation, or expenditure aggregating $25,000 or more during a calendar year shall be fined under Title 18, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both." Peter Paul, a former friend and contributor to the Clintons, claims he donated $1.9 million to her Senate Campaign, which Hillary Clinton knew of and accepted, in violation of a $2000 limit on individual donations.<ref>[http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55320 'Smoking gun' tape indicts Hillary] Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, April 21, 2007.</ref> Mr. Paul will present a "smoking gun" videotape <ref>[http://www.hillcap.org/default.php?page_id=2]</ref> of the event as evidence in an ongoing lawsuit involving the Hillary Clinton's fundraising activities in California.<ref>[http://www.hillcap.org/060817_second_amended_complaint.swf]</ref>

===Failure to reform earmark process===

The noted newspaper which covers legislative affairs, ''The Hill'', reported Hillary Clinton received more [[earmark]]s for Congressional [[pork barrel]] projects than only one other United States Senator. Reforming the earmark process had been among the Democrats top priorities in the [[110th Congress]], up until the time Democrats voted to rescind the rules aimed at reform that were passed in the first 100 hours of the new Congress in January. Ethics reform and the earmark process is widely attributed as the cause why Republicans lost control of both Houses of Congress after several members had been caught up in ethical scandals. ''The Hill'' reported Sen. Clinton received 26 earmarks worth about $148.4 million total, much going to [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] contractors. <ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/clinton-can-boast-wealth-of-earmarks-2007-06-13.html Clinton can boast wealth of earmarks], By Roxana Tiron and Ilan Wurman, ''The Hill'', June 13, 2007.</ref>

===Voted against raising the minimum wage===

After voting to send troops to Iraq Hillary Clinton voted against funding the troops in Iraq. In May of 2007 Clinton voted against raising the minimum wage. <ref>[http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=12952&can_id=55463 Senate Concurrence on HR 2206] Title 8 Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, Record Vote Number 181, 05/24/2007. [http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=12952]</ref>

== Presidential campaign 2008 ==

===Alleged embellishment of career events===

{{quotebox|What is Mrs. Clinton doing? She is having the worst case of [[cognitive dissonance]] in the history of modern politics. She cannot come up with a credible, realistic path to the nomination. ... But she is a scrapper, a fighter, and she's doing what she knows how to do: scrap and fight. Only harder. So that she ups the ante every day. She helped Ireland achieve peace. She tried to stop NAFTA. She's been a leader for 35 years. She landed in Bosnia under siege and bravely dodged bullets. It was as if she'd watched the movie "[[Wag the Dog]]," with its fake footage of a terrified refugee woman running frantically from mortar fire, and found it not a cautionary tale about manipulation and politics, but an inspiration. - [[Peggy Noonan]] <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html</ref>}}

=== Hillary and Nixon ===

Hillary Clinton has often been compared to [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/nixon_1968_clinton_2008.html
Nixon 1968, Clinton 2008], By John Ellis, RealClearpolitics.com, November 21, 2007.</ref> Columnist Robert Novak reported in November 2007 that a Clinton agent was spreading the word that the Clinton campaign had [[scandal]]ous information about Senator [[Barack Obama]] but was not using it for purposes of party harmony. The nature of the alleged scandal was not revealed to the source of the item, a well known Democrat, who said he thought Clinton wanted to avoid a Clinton-Obama clash that would benefit a third candidate, presumably former Democratic Vice Presidential nominee and Senator [[John Edwards]].<ref>Hillary's Nixonian TacticsAgainst Obama], by Robert Novak and Timothy P. Carney, ''Human Event'', 11/21/2007.</ref>

===Failure to condemn smear campaign===
Hillary Clinton failed to vote to condemn an unpopular smear campaign conducted by the [[radical]] [[leftist]] group [[MoveOn.org]].<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-09-20-senate-condemn_N.htm</ref> The [[U.S. Senate]] voted 72-25 to condemn<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297498,00.html Senate Votes to Condemn MoveOn for Ad Attacking General Petraeus], [[FOX News]], September 20, 2007.</ref> the unmitigated attack upon a respected career soldier. The [[U.S. House of Representatives]] one week later by an overwhelming [[bipartisan]] consensus of 341-79 expressed popular discontent with the groups tactics.<ref>http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/26/national/w095848D93.DTL</ref> A poll showed 58% of the American people expressed disapproval, with only 23% supporting<ref>http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/23_approve_of_moveon_org_petraeus_ad_58_disapprove</ref> debasement of the political dialog over a vitally important issue of national concern. Hillary Clinton was criticized by President [[George W. Bush]] for failing to take a stand against radical extremism in civic debate.

===No criminal background checks on donors or advisers===

On September 12, 2007, the ''[[L.A. Times]]'' reported Hillary Clinton's decision to begin [[criminal]] background checks on major donors in wake of the [[Norman Hsu]] scandal. Hsu contributed more than $1 million for Hillary Clinton’s New York Senatorial race and faces charges dating back 15 years that he fleeced investors out of $1 million. <ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-hsu12sep12,1,2928455.story?coll=la-politics-campaign&ctrack=1&cset=true Campaigns feel the effects of Hsu case], By Dan Morain and Tom Hamburger, ''Los Angeles Times'', September 12, 2007.</ref> Less than one week earlier it was reported by [[MSNBC]], that Hillary Clinton was being advised by convicted criminal [[Sandy Berger]]<ref>[http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/April/05_crm_155.htm Former National Security Advisor Samuel Berger Pleads Guilty to Knowingly Removing Classified Information from the National Archives], United States Department of Justice Press Release, April 1, 2005.</ref> who plead guilty to [[theft]] of [[classified information]] from the [[National Archives]] in connection with requests for documents made by the National Commission investigating the [[September 11 terrorist attacks]] upon the [[United States]] (the [[9/11 Commission]]).
[[Image:Melting-Md.jpg‎|right|thumb|250px|Image depicting Clinton's concerns about her electability in the Presidential race.<ref>http://www.iowapresidentialwatch.com/cartoonarc/Melting.htm</ref>]]

===Electability===
A big concern in the Hillary Clinton camp was whether or not she was electable. An Electability Poll undertaken in June of 2007, in which the participants are asked in no certain order, a list of candidates from both parties, whether they would vote for candidate X or prefer someone else. Recent polling has revealed, of all major presidential candidates from both parties, Hillary Clinton is the only candidate to whom a majority of 52% would not vote for, or would prefer someone else. <ref>[http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/28/248165.aspx Poll: Is Hillary Electable?], by Mark Murray, ''NBC News'', June 28, 2007. Retrieved from MSNBC.com June 29, 2007.</ref> The poll results show majorities would consider voting for all other major presidential candidates, or possible candidates, to avoid voting for her.

===Promises Made, Promises Broken===

In late August 2007 Senator [[Bill Nelson]] and other members of Florida's Congressional delegation protested the Democratic National Committee's scheme<ref>[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_DEMOCRATIC_PRIMARY_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME Fla. Democrats warn of voting rights probe if state sanctioned], By Rasha Madkour, Associated Press, Aug 23, 2007. Retrieved from ''St. Petersburg Times'' August 24, 2007.</ref> to deprive Floridians of equal voting rights protection<ref>[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_DEMOCRATIC_PRIMARY_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME Fla. Democrats warn of voting rights probe if state sanctioned], By Rasha Madkour, Associated Press, Aug 23, 2007. Retrieved from ''St. Petersburg Times'' August 24, 2007.</ref> in selection of delegates to the 2008 DNC Presidential nominating convention. A letter sent to DNC Chairman [[Howard Dean]], threatened legal action "to determine whether this could violate any state or [[federal law]]s governing and protecting individual [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights]].... It always has been a priority of our party to protect the rights of every eligible American to vote...We would hope the DNC will continue to honor this right."<ref>[http://www.nelsonforsenate.com/feature/dean/ Letter from Florida Congressional Democrats to DNC Chairman Howard Dean], August 22, 2007. Retrieved from nelsonforsenate.com/feature/dean/ September 13, 2007.</ref> The move prompted Hillary Clinton to pledge not to campaign in Florida.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/us/politics/02dems.html?ex=1346472000&en=d7f7216c6188da2e&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Clinton, Obama and Edwards Join Pledge to Avoid Defiant States], By Jeff Zeeleny, ''New York Times'', September 2, 2007.</ref> A week later she was campaigning in Florida.<ref>[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/09/11/news/iowa/c07662f8adc84f9a8625735300091c7f.txt Candidates have events in Florida despite pledge], By Charlotte Eby, ''Sioux City Journal'', September 11, 2007.</ref>

===The Nuclear Option===
[[Barbara Olson]] in her 1990 book ''Hell to Pay'' <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0895262746/102-6782111-3076127?SubscriptionId=11NRD61HE570TCSR99R2]</ref> made a convincing case that the former Goldwater girl, raised in a Republican home, while working for the staff of the House Judiciary Committee preparing impeachment Articles against [[President Nixon]], studied Nixon very closely. Olson and others have now commented how Hillary Clinton built her political career by learning to think and act as Nixon did, and modeling herself after him. These writers cite instance after instance of such behavior. <ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45138 Hillary's Secret War], The plan to silence Internet journalists, Joseph Farah, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', July 6, 2005.</ref> When Democratic competitor [[Barack Obama]] made a public statement vowing not to use [[nuclear weapons]], Hillary Clinton shot back,
{{Cquote|I don't believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons}}reflecting Nixon's thoughts in ''The Real War'' :
{{Cquote|[[Eisenhower]] said... "You should never let the enemy know what you will do, but it's more important that you never let the enemy know what you will not do." }}
Nixon referred to it as "the [[Madman theory]],"
{{Cquote|... statements that appear to rule out the use of force, while perhaps meant to be unprovocative, will in fact provoke an antagonist to push for more. ...we should not make statements that we will never launch a preemptive strike. Whether or not we would ever exercise that option, we should always leave open the possibility that in extreme circumstances we might. <ref>[http://nobsnews.blogspot.com/1996/10/real-war.html#hole_card ''The Real War''], Richard Nixon, Warner Books, May 1980, pgs. 253 - 260.</ref>}}

===Health Concerns===
Analyst [[Bay Buchanan]] suggests that
Hillary Clinton may suffer from a psychological condition and
that this should raise questions about her fitness for office. <ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=20699 Analysis of Hillary Reveals 'Clinical Narcissism',] by Ericka Andersen, ''Human Events'', 05/14/2007.</ref> A recent book entitled ''The Extreme Makeover of Hillary Rodham Clinton'' <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Makeover-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton/dp/1596985070]</ref> examines the Senator's instability, incoherent speeches as both student and First Lady, casual disregard for the law, and ever-changing opinion on the [[Iraq war]]. <ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=20699 Analysis of Hillary Reveals 'Clinical Narcissism',] by Ericka Andersen, ''Human Events'', 05/14/2007.</ref>

These [[character flaw]]s, Buchanan writes, make Hillary overly dependent on [[guru]]s and outside experts, with no internal compass to guide her, displaying all the classic symptoms of “clinical narcissism.” The American Psychiatric Association describes this condition to include feelings of superiority, self-importance and “fantasies of unlimited success, fame or power.” The author further states, “We are not talking about self-infatuation, we are talking about a clinical condition that could make her dangerously ill-suited to become President and Commander in Chief.”

===Abuse of Mother Teresa===

Hillary Clinton was chastised by a [[Catholic]] Advocacy group for using an image of [[Mother Teresa]] in a campaign ad. Clinton continues to support abortion. <ref>[http://www.fidelis.org/gw3/articles-news/articles.php?CMSArticleID=1456&CMSCategoryID=10 Fidelis Covered by Catholic News Agency on Mother Teresa Video Controversy], ''Catholic News Agency,'' 05-18-2007.</ref> The U.S. Catholic-based advocacy group Fidelis, an organization working with people of faith to defend the [[sanctity of life]], [[traditional marriage]], and [[religious liberty]] rights, called for Hillary Clinton to remove the image of Mother Teresa from their campaign video. In a press release the group declared the video, narrated by her Bill Clinton,
{{Cquote|is wholly inappropriate, disrespectful and disturbing ...using an image of blessed Mother Teresa as a political tool, especially given their radically different views on abortion...Mother Teresa tirelessly fought to protect unborn children, while Hillary Clinton staunchly supports [[abortion]] on demand in all nine months of pregnancy, including [[partial birth abortion]] and [[taxpayer funding of abortion]]}}

When the image of Hillary and Mother Teresa appears in the video the former president is heard saying “Hillary, in effect, was the face of America … in India;” the video then cuts to a clip of the former first lady addressing the 1995 Beijing Conference where an effort was made to declare abortion a fundamental “human right.”

===Skipping "Flyover Country"===

Hillary's strategists felt they could win the nomination by skipping Iowa as flyover country. <ref>[http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070524/NEWS09/705240387/1001&lead=1 Aide advises Clinton: Skip Iowa,] Thomas Beaumont, ''Des Moines Register'', May 24, 2007. </ref> Hillary Clinton's once close friend, political pundit Dick Morris, declared that she will campaign on the "Mom Strategy." Morris says this "gives her a credible way to tack to the left on the war." <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238117,00.html Hillary's New Strategy]: Dick Morris and Eileen McGann.</ref> Hillary Clinton did exactly that on the ABC television show ''The View'' in early 2007. She was asked if being a mom gives "a would-be President kind of an edge up on, say, a male rival?" Hillary replied, "Well, you know, nobody's ever been in a position to ask that question, 'cause we've never had a mother who ever ran for or held that position." Hillary's claim was false. Ellen McCormack, mother of three daughters and one son, and also a grandmother, ran for President in 1976 on a platform that included opposition to abortion.<ref>http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/html/cw12_12310.html</ref>

===PolitiFact Awards===
Hillary received a "Pants on Fire" award from [[PolitiFact]] for saying Obama "basically threatened to bomb Pakistan."<ref> http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/375/ Et tu, Clinton?</ref>

Hillary received a second "Pants on Fire" award from [[PolitiFact]] for this false statement to a Washington, D.C. crowd on March 17th, 2008. <ref> http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/411/ Video shows tarmac welcome, no snipers</ref> {{cquote| I remember landing under sniper fire.}}

==Arkansas==
During the 1970s and '80s, the Clintons invested in the [[Whitewater Development Corporation]] which later became the subject of a federal investigation, [[prosecution]]s and [[conviction]]s. Jim and Susan McDougal, and then-Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker were convicted of multiple counts of financial [[fraud]], even though President Clinton testified for four hours for the defense.<ref>Once upon a Time in Arkansas, [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/arkansas/docs/clintondepo.html Transcript of Clinton's Sworn Deposition], PBS.</ref>

On the evening Bill Clinton lost his bid for a Congressional seat in 1974, Hillary is reported to have shouted in a rage at Clinton's campaign manager Paul Fray, calling him a "Jew bastard". The incident was reported in a book published by Harper Collins in 2000 entitled, ''State of a Union: Inside the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton''. <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/State-Union-Complex-Marriage-Hillary/dp/0060193921]</ref> The author, Jerry Oppenheimer, cites three witnesses to the incident. <ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_200007/ai_n8910772 Did Hillary commit a hate crime?], Human Events, July 28, 2000. </ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/US_election_race/Story/0,,344475,00.html Hillary faces voters' wrath for alleged ethnic slur], Michael Ellison, London Guardian, July 18, 2000.</ref><ref>[http://www.sobran.com/columns/1999-2001/000718.shtml Hillary’s Manners], Joseph Sobran, July 18, 2000.</ref><ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15015 I agree with Clinton!], Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily, July 20, 2000.</ref>

==Legal Services Corporation==
Hillary Clinton was appointed by President [[Jimmy Carter]] to head the controversial [[Legal Services Corporation]] (LSC) in 1978 and remained on the Board til 1983. <ref>[http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=225 Thwarting the Will of Congress: How the Legal Services Corporation Evaded, Diluted, and Ignored Reform], Testimony of Kenneth F. Boehm before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, House Judiciary Committee, February 28, 2002. </ref>
Under Hillary Clinton's leadership, the LSC began moving away from its legislated task of providing poor people with free lawyers and began an [[activist]] agenda to influence [[public policy]] through [[class action lawsuit]]s. One case involved bringing lawsuits to force New York's Transit Authority to hire [[heroin]] addicts. The LSC also violated its own rules by organizing political campaigns against a state referendum and against Ronald Reagan. <ref>Michael Barone , [http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michael/barone070899.asp ''Taking Hillary seriously], ''Jewish World Review'', July 8, 1999. </ref>

Hillary Clinton failed the District of Columbia [[Bar Exam]] in the 1970s.<ref>[http://mediamatters.org/items/200706010006 On Today, Bernstein omitted key fact in purported disclosure of Clinton's D.C. bar exam failure: It's not news], ''[[MediaMatters]]'' June 1, 2007. Retrieved from MediaMatters.org October 4, 2007.</ref>

==Accusations of Stolen Gifts==
When the Clintons left the White House, they were accused of taking furniture that belonged not to them, but to the White House. It was explained that the movers "inadvertently' packed the wrong items. Most of the articles were quietly returned. <ref>"Clinton Shipped Furniture Year Ago," Washington Post, February 10, 2001.</ref>

==Goldwater Girl==

Speaking at [[Selma]], Alabama's First Baptist Church on the 42nd anniversary of the "bloody Sunday" freedom march Hillary Clinton declared: "As a young girl I had the great privilege of hearing [[Martin Luther King|Dr. King]] speak in Chicago. The year was 1963....[Dr. King] called on us, he challenged us that evening to stay awake during the great revolution that the [[civil rights]] pioneers were waging on behalf of a more perfect union." In her memoirs Hillary Clinton described herself in 1964 as "an active Young Republican" and "a [[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater]] girl, right down to my cowgirl outfit." Columnist [[Robert Novak]] observed, "As a politically attuned honor student, she must have known that Goldwater was one of only six Republican senators who joined [[Solid South|Southern Democratic]] [[segregation]]ists opposing the historic [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights act of 1964]] inspired by King."<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2007/03/12/hillary,_king_and_goldwater Hillary, King and Goldwater], by Robert D. Novak, [[Townhall.com]], March 12, 2007.</ref>

==After the 2008 Election==
After [[Barack Obama]] won the election, Hillary was widely speculated to be offered a role in the upcoming Obama Administration. On 1 December 2008 Obama announced that he was nominating Hilary to become his [[Secretary of State]], succeeding [[Condoleezza Rice]] in January 2009.

==See Also==
*[[Freedom of Choice Act]]
*[[Hillary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee]]
*[[Previous Breaking News/Hillary Clinton|Articles about '''Hillary Clinton''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.thenation.com/doc/19990809/kaminer Hillary's No Liberal], Wendy Kaminer, ''The Nation'', July 22, 1999 (August 9, 1999 issue).

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

{{Liberalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Hillary Rodham}}

[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category: United States Appointed Officials]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:First Ladies]]
[[Category:2008 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]

Islam

2009-06-09T23:30:14Z

BrianConway: DURPA DURP

'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]], a seventh century [[Arab]] religious and [[politics|political]] figure. The word "Islam" means "submission [to Allah]" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]].

A follower of Islam is called a Muslim or Moslem, a term which means "one who submits (to God)". The older term [[Mohammedan]] means "follower of Muhammad", and has been used for centuries. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. State University of New York Press, 1992.</ref>. Muslims follow the teaching of Muhammad, whom they believe to be [[God]]'s last and greatest [[prophet]]. The faith teaches that the [[Archangel]] [[Gabriel]] appeared to him.

Muslims believe that God ("Allah", '''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) revealed the [[Qur'an]] (or Koran) to Muhammad and, despite his illiteracy, caused him to transcribe it <ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an is considered to be the pure and [[holy]] word of God. Like [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], Islam originated in the [[Middle East]]. Islam claims to trace its roots back to [[Abraham]]. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets, which had been corrupted and/or misinterpreted over time. Based upon this belief, [[the Bible]], [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]], is believed to have become corrupted as well.

[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]
Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over 1.5 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to high birth rates, in both Muslim-majority and other countries . Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Many believe that Islam is, with [[Atheism]], currently the greatest threat to [[Christianity]] and [[Christian values]], <ref>[http://christianblogs.christianet.com/1134840164.htm Is Islam a Threat to Christianity?]</ref><ref>[http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/5/8/183305.shtml Islam's Threat to the West]</ref><ref>[http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/stock/050413 Why Islam Hates Christianity]</ref> and the overwhelming majority of modern [[terrorist|terrorists]] are Muslims. It should be noted that only a small extremist sect of Muslims participate in this activity, using the concept of "Jihad" (Holy War), to justify their actions.

==Historical Background==
According to Islamic belief, in 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], in the Arabian desert (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] to "recite" the message of [[Allah]] (Arabic for God). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgement day. The message to Muhammad was to be God's last; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muhammad's forces starting attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632. It is believed that Muhammed is the last Prophet.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]
Tribal elders elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through the sword into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

==Divisions Within Islam==
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name apparently taken from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Religious Guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. Some utterances that Mohammed was unsure about, dubbed the Satanic verses, would later be incorporated in a novel in modern times by [[Salmon Rushdie]] who would then be subject to a death degree from the leader of Iran for his writing.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

====Clergy====
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims.

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

===Five Pillars of Islam===
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam.

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]].

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]].

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.

==Other Aspects of Islam==
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]
====Jihad====
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.

====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Muslims who believe as bin Laden does is growing, and others go further to suggest that all "fundamentalist" Muslims are enemies of the West. But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow bin Laden or other terrorists. These observers suggest that the fundamentalists disagree with bin Laden as much as do Westerners. It is hard to know the truth. Many westerners are still haunted by the images of cheering crowds dancing in the streets when the 9/11 attacks were announced and were disappointed at the lack of prominent condemnation of the attack from Islamic circles worldwide.

====People of the Book====
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

====Women in Islam====
For the most part, the Qur'an treats men and [[woman|women]] equally, applies the same injunctions and prohibitions to men and women, and grants many of the same privileges and benefits. But women are treated separately in certain instances. For example, women are required to "... draw their outer garments around them ... that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not annoyed (by men)." (Qur'an 33:59) Covering the head and body in public (hijab) is viewed by many Muslim women as a protection of their modesty, a way to discourage men's covetous eyes. The principle of hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and regular "street clothes" may be voluntary and acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. The treatment of women may depend upon rural or urban settings, educational level, society norms, tradition, or other factors. As of 2008, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are the only two Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of modest garb.

Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education.

Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of the criminal law of the country, and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, Turkey has a majority Muslim population yet still grants women rights near-equal to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, and point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, and point to past Christian-dominated cultures such as medieval Europe as examples that other religions can be distorted to justify oppression.

Muslim women's status is controversial. Some critics claim that Muslim men oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities. Defenders of some practices suggest that many of them, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect, not constrict, women, or that many Muslim women adopt the life style of the veil voluntarily. There are Muslim women who agree and disagree with the critics.

====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the Dome of the Rock mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

====Restrictions====
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims are proscribed from drinking alcoholic beverages. Observant Muslims do not collect interest.

====Non-Muslim Practices====
Some practices have been associated with Islam because they occur in Islamic countries, but actually are not a part of Islam. For example, female circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" but not obligatory condition. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, notably in Eritrea, Yemen, and Egypt. Another example of a practice that has been associated incorrectly with Islam is honor killing, in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that dishonored the family through unmarried pregnancy or promiscuous behavior. The "honor killing" is more ancient and possibly tribalistic pagan in origin.

==Islam and Christianity==
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the resurrection, they consider him and his mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Qur'an states that Christians will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified:

"Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."

Qur'an 5:73-75

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in [[Arabic]]) as a founding prophet.

==Islam and Paganism==

Although Muslims profess belief in a single [[God]], some believe Islam has its roots in an earlier polytheistic system.<ref>[http://www.chick.com/information/religions/islam/]</ref> By this thinking God is linked to an earlier moon deity, although it should be brought up that there is no mention of this in the Qur'an, where Allah is cited as the God of [[Abraham]].<ref>The Qur'an, Sura 37 [http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Quran-Allamah-Nooruddin/dp/0963206702]</ref><ref>Abramahov, "Islamic Theology". Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1988. [http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Theology-Binyamin-Abrahamov/dp/0748611029/sr=8-4/qid=1172042917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref>

==Sharia==
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]].]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Some Islamic scholars accept Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established before the 19th century, while other scholars view Sharia as a changing body, and include Islamic legal theory from the contemporary period.{{fact}}

Sharia law is used in many modern Islamic theocracies and prescribes very harsh treatments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death.<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref>

==Ex-Muslims==
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref>

----
''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]

==Prominent Muslims==
*[[Muhammad]]
*[[Muhammad Ali]]
*[[Ahmed Deedat]]
*[[Yusef Islam]]
*[[Prince Naseem Hamed]]
*[[Rezazadeh Hossein]]
*[[Ayatollah Khomeini]]
*[[Ayatollah Khamenei]]
*[[Mohammad Khatami]]
*[[Osama Bin Laden]]
*President [[Barack Hussein Obama]] (suspected)
*All libruls are secret moslems! this makes us all in danger of SJS!!!!!!!!
== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Ramadan]]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Worldviews]]

Sudden Jihad Syndrome

2009-06-09T23:30:07Z

BrianConway:

'''Sudden Jihad Syndrome''' is a term coined by [[Daniel Pipes]] to describe [[Muslims]] that suddenly or unexpectedly turn against civilized, Western society and engage in acts of terror. <ref>http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=29080</ref>. Pipes has argued that due to this phenomenon all Muslims must be considered potential terrorists. <ref>http://www.city-journal.org/html/11_4_fighting_militant.html</ref>

Examples include:
* [[John Allen Muhammad]] and [[Lee Malvo]], the so-called Washington snipers. John Allen Muhammad was a Muslim converst, but some people allege that his motivations may not have been religious. <ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/10/24/muhammad.profile/index.html</ref> <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/01/sprj.dcsp.malvo.trial/index.html</ref>
* [[Ali Hassan Abu Kamal]], a [[Palestinian]] school teacher who engaged in a shooting rampage on top of the [[Empire State Building]]. He killed one and wounded six before taking his own life.<ref>http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/02-97/02-25-97/a05wn036.htm</ref>
*[[Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar]], an American Muslim born in Tehran who ran over students at the [[University of North Carolina]] to punish the United States. Taheri-azar was the first terrorist to be explicitly called an example of Sudden Jihad Syndrome by Daniel Pipes.<ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={730A921C-1FED-4DCD-9949-D28A3390317D}</ref>
* [[Mujtaba Rabbani Jabbar]] who shot up a movie theater in [[Baltimore]].<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061700725.html</ref>, * [[Rashid Baz]], a Lebanese can driver living in [[New York City]] who shot at a van full of [[Orthodox Jew|Orthodox Jews]]. <ref name="Meforum>http://www.meforum.org/article/77" </ref>. In a burst of [[political correctness]], the [[FBI]] initially refused to label this act a terrorist act.<ref name="Meforum/>"
* [[Sulejman Talovic]], a [[Bosnian]] Muslim, opened fire in a [[Salte Lake City]] mall, killing five poeple before being shot dead by police.<ref> http://www.thecourier.com/opinion/editoral/ar_ED_021607.asp</ref>

In another [[Examples of Bias in Wikipedia|Example of Bias in Wikipedia]], [[Wikipedia]] has refused to allow any article on this topic<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Miscellany_for_deletion/User:CltFn/Sudden_Jihad_Syndrome</ref><ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Sudden_jihad_syndrome</ref> and even refused to let an editor work on a draft for a rewrite of the article.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Miscellany_for_deletion/User:CltFn/Sudden_Jihad_Syndrome</ref> This could be due to the fact that it's absurdly bigoted, and we're not positive if it's parody or not. Due to Poe's Law, nobody can tell the difference.

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Islam]]

Atlas Shrugged

2009-06-09T00:31:40Z

BrianConway: Undo revision 671944 by LaxmanGurung (Talk)

[[Image:Ghfut674.jpg|right|175px]]

'''''Atlas Shrugged''''' is a [[novel]] by [[Ayn Rand]], first published in 1957 in the [[United States of America|United States]]. It was partially an allegory to promote the author's philosophy of [[Objectivism]], and initially intended to suggest that pure reason ought to be rated superior to emotion. The plot concerns the crumbling of the United States economy due to [[collectivism]] and [[altruism]], which Rand considered detrimental to society, and the identity of [[John Galt]], the mysterious protagonist of the story, a man whose name is spoken chiefly in slang.

== History and development ==
Ayn Rand would later say that she had in mind to write a novel on the theme of the tension between the mind and the heart, and the inherent superiority of reason to emotion.<ref name="history>"History" of Atlas Shrugged," The Ayn Rand Institute, n.d. Accessed May 5, 2009. <http://atlasshrugged.com/book/history.html></ref> In 1943, while she was considering how she could develop this theme, she had a conversation with her friend Isobel Paterson.<ref name="BBranden>Branden" B, ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'', ca. 1985</ref> Paterson suggested that Ayn Rand ought to write a non-fiction expository book on her philosophy, a thing that Rand did not wish to write. Paterson then said that her readers "needed" such a work. Rand became incensed at this mode of expression, and replied:{{cquote|Oh, they do? What if I went on strike? What if all the creative minds of the world went on strike? That would make a good novel.}}

Rand finished her conversation with Paterson. And then her husband, Frank O'Connor, who had been listening to her side of the conversation, said to her, "You know, it ''would'' make a good novel."<ref name="BBranden/>

This" was only the beginning, of course, for now Rand turned her full attention to the thing that she would later describe as the novel's primary theme: ''the role of the mind in man's existence.'' She asked herself what would happen to any society if "the creative minds of the world went on [[strike]]," which is to say, withdrew their talents from the world.<ref name="history/>" She then asked herself what would ''drive'' them to call such a strike. This process carried through to the development of all the various [[Literary type#Hero|heroes]], [[Literary type#Villain|villains]], and [[Literary type#Anti-villain|anti-villains]] in the story.

The Ayn Rand Institute suggests that the two heroes of the novel were [[Dagny Taggart]] and [[John Galt]].<ref name="history/>" This is not actually in accord with literary convention. Dagny Taggart certainly is the novel's heroine, but the other hero is [[Henry Rearden]]. They are heroes precisely because each must make a life-altering re-evaluation and decision in order to serve the causes that motivate them, a thing that John Galt does not do.

John Galt is actually an anti-villain: one who pursues the cause of justice with the same single-mindedness of purpose with which a classical villain might pursue his own greed or an insane desire for vengeance. His major decision to call the great strike is a decision he makes ''before'', not during, the time frame of the novel's action.

{{spoiler}}

== Characters ==
* The [[Taggart Transcontinental Railroad]]
** '''[[James Taggart]]''', President
** '''[[Dagny Taggart]]''', his sister, Vice-President in Charge of Operations
*** Edward "Eddie" Willers, Miss Taggart's special assistant
** A track walker in the [[New York City]] terminal, unidentified until near the end
** Clifton Locey, a temporary VP-Operations
** David Mitchum, superintendent, Ohio Division
** William "Bill" Brent, a dispatcher
** Various conductors, brakemen, track walkers, etc.

* Rearden Steel
** '''[[Henry Rearden|Henry "Hank" Rearden]]''', founder and President
** Lillian Rearden, his wife
** Philip Rearden, his ne'er-do-well brother
** Henry Rearden's mother
** The Wet Nurse, aka "Non-Absolute," a government bureaucrat who has a change of heart and dies trying to protect Rearden from a staged riot at the mill

* Associated Steel
** [[Orren Boyle]], President

* [[Twentieth-Century Motor Company]]
** Gerald "Jed" Starnes, President (deceased)
** His children:
*** Gerald Starnes, Jr.
*** Eric Starnes
*** Ivy Starnes
** William Hastings, former chief design engineer (deceased)
** Jeff Allen, former shop foreman

* Amalgamated Labor of America
** [[Fred Kinnan]], President

* The United States government
** Executive Branch
*** [[Mr. Thompson]], [[President of the United States]]
*** [[Cuffy Meigs]], Director of Unification (Railroad Unification Plan)
*** Charles "Chick" Morrison, a senior administration official
*** "Tinky" Holloway, another senior administration official
** The [[United States Congress]]
*** Kip Chalmers, a Representative
**** Emma Chalmers, his mother, who conceives her own government program after her son dies
** Bureau of Economic Planning and Natural Resources
*** [[Wesley Mouch]], Senior Co-ordinator (formerly the Washington lobbyist for Rearden Steel)
** [[State Science Institute]]
*** [[Robert Stadler]], PhD, Director (formerly Chairman, Department of Physics, Patrick Henry University)
*** [[Floyd Ferris]], PhD, Associate Director

* Various "vanished" or "vanishing" persons:
** [[Hugh Akston]], PhD, former Chairman, Department of Philosophy, Patrick Henry University
** [[Kenneth Dannager]], President, Dannager Coal Company
** [[Richard Halley]], composer
** Lawrence Hammond, President, Hammond Car Company
** Owen Kellogg, former railroad executive in Dagny Taggart's department
** Kay Ludlow, a stage actress
** [[Midas Mulligan|Michael "Midas" Mulligan]], a banker
** [[Judge Narragansett]]
** Andrew Stockton, a foundry operator and maker of coal furnaces
** [[Ellis Wyatt]], President, Wyatt Oil Company
** [[Quentin Daniels]], an engineer who tries to reverse-engineer an electrostatic motor from a ruined prototype

* Two notorious men to watch:
** '''[[Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia]]''', current head of D'Anconia Copper SA of the Republic (later "People's State") of [[Argentina]], who has developed a reputation as a playboy
** '''[[Ragnar Danneskjold]]''', a [[privateer]], i.e. a "[[pirate]]."

* The man behind the apparent economic collapse and raft of "vanishings":
** '''[[John Galt]]''', known only by the appearance of his name in a question—"Who is John Galt?"—asked sometimes in cynicism, sometimes in fear.

== Plot ==
=== Non-contradiction ===
Dagny Taggart is an unusual woman. Though she is named after the wife of the founder of the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad (Nathanial Taggart, whose statue still stands in the New York Terminal), her brother once said that she reminded people more of Nat Taggart than of his wife—a comparison that she has always taken as a compliment. Her brother is the current president of the railroad, but Dagny, as Vice-President of Operations, is the one who keeps the trains running, and they both know it.

Henry Rearden is more than the head of the most successful steelmaker in America. He has invented a new [[alloy]] that, like [[steel]], contains [[iron]], but also contains [[copper]]. This metal is so much stronger (yet lighter) than steel that it actually has its own name: Rearden Metal.

But for all his success, Henry Rearden is unhappy at home. His wife does not begin to appreciate the significance of his work, and neither does anyone else in his immediate family.

Henry Rearden and Dagny Taggart meet when Dagny has embarked on a great project: to reclaim a railroad line that has fallen into shocking disrepair, and to lay rail made of the new Rearden Metal. While James Taggart prefers to use political lobbying to further the interests of the railroad, Dagny is determined to lay rail and make trains run the old-fashioned way. She and Rearden both face political obtacles—Dagny must overcome the rumors that Rearden Metal is not as claimed, and Henry Rearden finds his business hampered by legislation. But Dagny also faces another obstacle: nearly every good businessman to whom she sends a request-for-proposal suddenly quits business and vanishes, leaving no forwarding address or even any practical trace.

While this is happening, Dagny reduces service and moves rolling stock out of a line that extends into [[Mexico]], because she anticipates that the Mexican government, or "People's State," will [[nationalization|nationalize]] it. As she predicted, Mexico does nationalize the line, and the [[copper]] mines that it was intended to serve—but then the Mexicans discover that they have nationalized a worthless mine. What shocks Dagny more is that the mines were a project of an old childhood friend of hers: [[Francisco d'Anconia]], head of D'Anconia Copper SA of [[Argentina]]. Dagny goes to see Francisco and demand an explanation. He offers none beyond this cryptic clue: that "contradictions do not exist," and that if she finds his behavior strange, she should "check [her] premises."

Despite all the obstacles, Dagny and Henry complete their project, and together they ride in the first locomotive to make a run on the new line (which also contains a new bridge made entirely of Rearden Metal). After that, they begin an often tempestuous romance.

Shortly after that, they drive together to a deserted factory town in [[Wisconsin]], to see a factory that had once had a branch line from Taggart Transcontinental, until Dagny had ordered it discontinued. There Dagny finds the remains of a prototype of an [[John Galt#The electrostatic motor|electrostatic motor]], one that runs on static electricity from the atmosphere. Together Dagny and Rearden try to track down the engineer who built this motor, but no one seems to remember anything about the motor. They remember much, however, about the Twentieth Century Motor Company and its decline. Dagny interviews several people, including two of the surviving children of Gerald "Jed" Starnes, the founder of the Twentieth Century, and Hugh Akston, once a philosophy professor and now a short-order cook.

Then Congress passes a set of new laws that will make doing business next to impossible for some of the customers on the refurbished railroad line. Those laws prompt most of those companies to join the ever-swelling ranks of businessmen who have quit and vanished. One of them—Ellis Wyatt, who extracts oil from shale in the mountains of [[Colorado]]—not only quits and vanishes, but also burns his oil fields and leaves a sign on the border of his property:{{cquote|I am leaving it as I found it. Take over. It's yours.}}

The fire that he lights, thereafter known as Wyatt's Torch, will not be extinguished until long after the action in the novel is finished.

=== Either-or ===
The United States government is doing more than pass bad laws. [[Robert Stadler]], director of the [[State Science Institute]], tries to call his associate director on the carpet with regard to a book that tells its readers that they ought to stop thinking or even believe that they are thinking. Stadler also wants to know about a mysterious "[[Project X]]" that has a large budget but no apparent accountability. The associate refuses to answer, and one gathers very quickly that Dr. Stadler is a mere figurehead, chosen for his reputation, and that Dr. [[Floyd Ferris]], the nominal associate, is the real director.

Meanwhile, Dagny and Rearden each continue as best as he or she can. Rearden must accept a low-level bureaucrat, or "Deputy Director for Distribution," to ensure that he never delivers more than anyone's "fair share" of Rearden Metal to any one customer—except those who can wangle special exceptions from Washington. The workers at the plant call this man the Wet Nurse; Rearden takes to calling him Non-Absolute because his favorite thing to say seems to be that "there are no absolutes." Dagny, for her part, hires a consulting engineer, one Quentin Daniels, to attempt to reverse-engineer the mysterious electrostatic motor that she discovered at the Twentieth Century plant. Ironically, Daniels comes recommended by Robert Stadler, though Stadler said that a mind that could produce a working electrostatic motor belonged in "pure," that is to say abstract, research and not on something as "mundane" as motors.

Politics aside, Dagny is now convinced that some person or persons unknown is/are deliberately destroying the American economy by encouraging its most talented movers to quit and vanish. When [[Ken Dannager]] abruptly retires from the [[coal]] business, after being indicted for exceeding his "fair share" of Rearden Metal, he lets slip that he had had a visitor who was that very "destroyer." Dannager gives her one clue: that his visitor had told him that he had a right to exist. He also predicts that Dagny will someday join him.

Rearden goes to trial for his part in the fair-share violation. He defiantly tells the court that he will not honor the proceedings, nor recognize the court's authority. The court imposes a $5000 fine and then suspends the sentence, a spectacle that provokes laughter among the spectators.

The political situation continues to worsen. The apparent culmination is [[Directive 10-289]], an attempt to "freeze" the economy in place and forbid people to quit or change their jobs. In response, Dagny announces her resignation and retires to a summer home in the Berkshire Mountains. Francisco d'Anconia visits her there. And now he reveals that the "playboy" persona that he has cultivated over the last twelve years has been a careful disguise for his real activity: to destroy his old family firm, so that when the Argentine government nationalizes it, as he predicts that they inevitably will, they will have nothing to work with.

Their conversation is interrupted by a shocking report: a catastrophic explosion involving the Taggart Comet (the premiere coast-to-coast express) and a special ammunition train has collapsed the eight-mile [[Taggart Tunnel]] through the Rocky Mountains. Against Francisco d'Anconia's fervent protests, Dagny returns to work.

Dagny Taggart is not Francisco d'Anconia's only target. He has been trying to cultivate a relationship with Henry Rearden, not knowing that he and Rearden are in essence pursuing the same woman, i.e. Dagny. When the two men discover their mutual interest in her, Rearden strikes d'Anconia, but d'Anconia refuses to strike back. In fact, d'Anconia's interest in Rearden is far more important than any such consideration: he is trying to induce Rearden to quit his business and vanish, by reminding Rearden that he is no longer his own master and is serving the interests of those who must ultimately destroy him.

Rearden has his own crisis with Directive 10-289. Among its provisions is one that sets aside all intellectual property law and forces everyone to release all inventions, writings, etc. into the [[public domain]]. Rearden is forced to release Rearden Metal into the public domain by a threat of blackmail in connection with the driving trip that he and Dagny took to Wisconsin. But the first company to attempt to make Rearden Metal without Rearden's help (Orren Boyle's Associated Steel company) has its blast furnaces shelled to bits by long-range naval guns, after a voice identifying itself as that of Ragnar Danneskjold warns all the workers to evacuate. Ragnar Danneskjold is now the most notorious pirate of the high seas, seizing "humanitarian" cargoes and destroying other cargoes, i.e. the copper cargoes of D'Anconia Copper. As Rearden walks home one evening, brooding on his political reverses, Ragnar Danneskjold actually confronts him on the road and hands him an ingot of [[gold]], which he describes as "a small payment on a very large debt" which is "the money that was taken from you by force."

Shortly afterward, Dagny Taggart travels westward in her private railcar, attached to the Taggart Comet which must now cross a new line through a previously abandoned mountain pass. She is trying to reach Quentin Daniels, because his last communication indicated that he might be ripe for quitting and vanishing. When a conductor finds a stowaway (Jeff Allen) on board, Dagny abruptly invites him to stay with her. She learns that he was once a skilled lathe operator who once worked for twenty years at the Twentieth Century Motor Company, until "the owner of the plant died, and the heirs that took it over, ran it into the ground." From him she obtains a description of the way the heirs destroyed the company: by introducing an explicitly [[Karl Marx|Marxian]] system of compensation, or "distribution of alms." Then he provides the first clue she has had in a long time to the raft of vanishings of gifted individuals: that on the day of the inauguration of that plan, a young engineer had stood up and announced his intention to "stop the motor of the world." The engineer's name was John Galt—a name she is used to hearing as a slang phrase, but a name that for the first time she realizes belongs to a real person.

That night the train stops. It has become a "frozen train," whose conductor, trainmen, and crew have simply stopped and abandoned. Dagny appoints the former lathe operator to take charge of the restive passengers while she walks forward to try to get another crew out to move the train. Then she travels on her own, eventually renting a private plane to continue her search for Quentin Daniels.

When she discovers that Quentin Daniels has climbed into another aircraft that has only recently taken off, Dagny takes off in pursuit. As she follows the fleeing craft, that craft suddenly vanishes into thin air over a valley that looks entirely rocky. Not believing that a plane could simply disappear, she starts to descend. Then a bright flash of light blinds her, and when she recovers her eyesight, she realizes that her plane's engine has stopped and that she is almost in free fall. Defiant to the end, she fights to regain some semblance of control before she crashes.

=== A is A ===
The first person she sees on awakening is the face of a smiling man, a man of commanding presence. He shocks her by telling her his name: John Galt. Gently he picks her up from the green grass onto which she has fallen, and she barely perceives the wreck of her plane (badly damaged, but still reparable) before he carries her into the center of a town bustling with activity. She is surprised to see several men whom she knows from her list of the "vanished ones," including Michael "Midas" Mulligan, famous for vanishing and orchestrating a "controlled run" on his own bank. Those men speak to Mr. Galt in a curious code, using the word ''[[scab]]'' to describe her.

She is also told the secret of the seclusion of the valley: a screen of "refractor rays" that create a mirror in the sky for any passing aircraft, at an altitude of 8700 feet (700 feet above the altitude of the valley). Dagny Taggart is the first pilot brave (or foolhardy) enough to descend to that altitude, and the rays destroyed the electronic systems and shut down the aircraft's motor, causing the crash.

John Galt takes her to his house, and gives her a room he describes as "the room I never meant for you to occupy." The wall of that room is filled with short messages of encouragement, signed by the vanished ones, including Ellis Wyatt, Ken Danneger, and others. Later that evening, [[Francisco d'Anconia]] comes calling on her, and that only deepens the mystery.

She receives an even greater shock the next day when the notorious [[Ragnar Danneskjold]] comes calling and describes the true intent of his privateering activities: to seize government "humanitarian" cargoes, sell the goods for gold, deposit the gold with Midas Mulligan's bank, and have the gold credited to various accounts in the names of the vanished ones and of prospects like Dagny herself, and Henry Rearden. Simply put, Danneskjold proposes to refund all income taxes paid by the vanished ones over the previous twelve years—the length of time that people have been vanishing.

She remains in the secluded town—a town known as "Mulligan's Valley" to Galt and "[[Galt's Gulch]]" to every other inhabitant—for a month, working as Galt's cook and housemaid in order to earn her room and board. During that time she observes a copper mine that Francisco has started in the side of one of the mountains. She at first proposes to build a railroad to carry the copper to the valley, but then despairs of laying such a short line and "abandon[ing] a transcontinental system." At the end of a month, she is not prepared to give up that system, and John Galt reluctantly takes her out of the valley and leaves her at the nearest airport.

When she returns, she finds that [[James Taggart]] has brokered a cynical deal called the "Railroad Unification Plan," under which all the railroads "pool" their resources and receive revenue according to the track they own (productive or not). She comments drily that that situation cannot last, but throws herself into the apparent mystery of frequent train wrecks.

One event that she has not witnessed is the actual demonstration of "[[Project X]]," which turns out to be a sonic weapon that can flatten any desired target within a very long range. [[Robert Stadler]] does attend the demonstration, and [[Floyd Ferris]] actually hands him a speech to deliver on that occasion.

Dagny is asked to speak at a special radio show to celebrate the "generosity" shown by Rearden when he signed the release of Rearden Metal into the public domain. (Signature or no, no one else dares attempt to make Rearden Metal without Rearden, for fear that Ragnar Danneskjold will blow up their furnaces as he did Orren Boyle's furnaces.) Dagny shocks her audience and the engineers by telling them the real reason for Rearden's action: that she had been his mistress, and that the governmental authorities had used that fact as blackmail. Rearden, noting her use of the pluperfect tense, acknowledges that he has lost her affections to another man, and is astonished to find that that other man is the mysterious John Galt.

Toward the end of summer, the Argentine government announces its intention to nationalize the D'Anconia Copper company. The legislative session for passing the nationalization act is set for September 2. But as the speaker of the Argentine parliament strikes his gavel, an explosion destroys the D'Anconia docks. The Argentines later find that they have nationalized a pile of junk, because Francisco d'Anconia blew everything up on the last second that he actually owned it. To boast of his act, Francisco alters the message on the scrolling calendar display in New York City, to read:{{cquote|Brother, you asked for it!}} That message is signed by all his names in full.

A month later, the government attempt to persuade Rearden to sign on to the Steel Unification Plan, similar to the Railroad Unification Plan. Rearden refuses and returns to his mills. There he finds a riot in progress, and a dying man tells him that the riot is staged and is being carried out by infiltrators who were never really Rearden's employees. Rearden's regular workers, led by the recently hired furnace foreman, beat back the rioters and stop some of them from killing Rearden. The furnace forman is in fact Francisco d'Anconia, who now persuades Rearden to quit business. When he quits, several other regulars quit with him.

Dagny is then asked to participate in another radio program in which President Thompson will deliver "a report on the world crisis." But when the appointed hour falls, the government engineers have lost control of the airwaves and are off the air.

Then a voice begins to speak:{{cquote|Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Thompson will not be speaking to you tonight. His time is up. I have taken it over. You were to hear a report on the world crisis. That is exactly what you are going to hear.}}
Three people recognize the voice at once: Dagny, Dr. Robert Stadler, and Dagny's assistant, Edward "Eddie" Willers. The voice in fact belongs to John Galt, and identifies itself as such. But Robert Stadler remembers John Galt as one of three students who once majored both in physics and philosophy at his old university—and the other two were Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjold. Eddie Willers remembers the voice as belonging to an anonymous track walker whom he used to tell his troubles to over lunch in the Terminal. What becomes clear now is that John Galt was spying on Dagny Taggart for twelve years, and sometimes when Eddie Willers would foolishly drop a name to Galt (whom he never identified until this occasion), the owner of that name would "vanish."

For three hours, John Galt expounds on his actions: that he and the vanished ones are "on strike" and will settle for nothing less than a system in which the government never interferes with anyone.

Dagny then does a foolish thing: she tracks down John Galt to his apartment in New York. The federal authorities have her watched, and thus are able to arrest John Galt. For about a week they attempt to persuade John Galt to become the "Economic Dictator" of the country, but he refuses, after demonstrating that no person in any such position could possibly make the broken-down system work. Nevertheless the authorities insist on announcing the "John Galt Plan for renewed prosperity" and even try to have Galt address the nation—at the point of a gun. In reply, Galt waits until the last second, and then says, {{cquote|Get...out of my way.}}

Robert Stadler has known all along that Galt would never cooperate, so he rushes to the site of [[Project X]], intending to seize control of it for himself. But another government operative named Cuffy Meigs has beaten him to it. The two men then struggle over the controls of the so-called Xylophone, and when Meigs pulls one lever too many, the weapon destroys the complex and everything within a hundred miles, including the one remaining railroad bridge across the [[Mississippi River]].

Dagny watches as Galt is led away, and is now determined to quit the world herself, before anyone suspects her true feelings for Galt. She packs very light, and receives with indifference the report that the Taggart Bridge has been destroyed by sound rays from Project X and that the two halves of the country are now cut off. She leaves her headquarters for the last time and meets Francisco d'Anconia, to whom she finally swears the oath that John Galt wrote twelve years before:{{cquote|I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.}}

In the final scenes, Floyd Ferris, Wesley Mouch (Coordinator of Economic Planning and Natural Resources), and James Taggart take Galt to the secret laboratory of the State Science Institute and try to torture Galt into cooperating. When the torture machine malfunctions and only John Galt knows how to repair it, the technician flees the scene, Wesley Mouch loses his nerve, and James Taggart goes insane with the realization that all he has ever wanted to do was to make better men than he suffer. Shortly afterward, Dagny, Francisco, Hank Rearden, and Ragnar all descend on the secret laboratory, kill most of its personnel, and rescue Galt. As the rescue plane heads west, the entire eastern seaboard is plunged into darkness.

Eddie Willers, who has traveled westward to negotiate a settlement with a radical faction who has seized power in California and imposed a "departure tax" on trains, is aboard the Comet when it breaks down for the last time. No one is able to start the train again, and Eddie finds himself left alone with the abandoned train as a wagon train takes all the passengers and crew off.

Eventually, the people of Mulligan's Valley realize that the American economy, the last of the world's economies, has collapsed totally and that the federal government essentially has nothing to govern anymore. John Galt declares that "the road is clear" and that his people will emerge from their valley and rebuild the economy on their own terms.
{{endspoiler}}

== Historical parallels ==
* When [[Richard Nixon]] began his "four-phase program" of economic controls, beginning with his ninety-day wage-and-price freeze, Miss Rand commented tartly that she had anticipated that very sort of program in her work.
* Miss Rand chose November 22 for the date of the "report on the world crisis." On that very date, six years after the publication of the novel, [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] shot and killed [[John F. Kennedy]].
* When the [[Northeast Blackout of 1965]] occurred, many students of Objectivism remembered tuning in their radios and half expecting someone to say, "This is John Galt speaking...."

==Time setting==
The novel gives no clue to its setting in time. Current plans for the film adaptation (see below) call for it to be set during the middle of the 1920s.<ref name="imdb>"Entry" for ''Atlas Shrugged''," Internet Movie Database, accessed April 21, 2009. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/></ref>

The novel provides these clues to deciding what were the most likely years during which the action takes place:

# The novel depicts the first use of [[Diesel]]-electric [[locomotive]]s in [[railroad]]ing. This is the clue that the International Movie Database mentions.<ref name="imdb/>
#" Railroads are the primary mode of overland transport.
# [[Airline]] service is still a projected service of the novel's future, and [[monoplane]]s are something new.
# [[Telephone]] service was well-established in this era, but had not achieved universal penetration. In one key scene, a low-level foreman complains to Dagny Taggart that most of the men whom she orders him to contact do not have telephone service where they live.
# [[Radio]] was the ubiquitous mass medium of the day. [[Television]] was something new and exotic, and had not achieved anything remotely approaching universal penetration. If this seems an anachronism, it was not: some inventors had actually experimented with television prior to the [[Great Depression]], but obviously could not sell something as new and expensive as television when the country was, quite simply, "broke."
# [[Telegraph]]y, being much cheaper than full-duplex long-distance telephony, was still a prominent method of communication.
# The [[United States Navy]] is definitely not the powerful presence on the high seas that it is today, because the combined forces of the Navy are powerless to stop a single [[privateer]] from hijacking every government-ordered relief cargo sent to various "People's States."
# Every nation in the world, except the United States of America, is called "People's State of" whatever.
# The great "strike of the men of the mind" begins with a single engineer at a plant whose new owners abruptly decide to manage it according to the principles, such as they are, set forth in [[The Communist Manifesto]].
# The government develops a [[weapon of mass destruction]] ("[[Project X]]", "Project Xylophone", "The Thompson Harmonizer"), intended to assert its authority by main force. This weapon is not nuclear, nor chemical, nor biological, but apparently is ultrasonic in nature.
# No such thing as [[gun control]] exists, or if it is attempted, it fails. The spontaneous strikers who take their inspiration from John Galt's speech set up armed camps in various forest regions.

The most likely span of the years of the great strike is 1917-1929, with the novel's major action taking place in the last three years of this period. This novel, then, qualifies as an [[alternate history]] of the United States of America, and of the civilized world. In this version of history, the United States did not intervene in the War of the Reds and the Whites in [[Russia]], and probably did not participate in the [[First World War]]. That War probably ended with every country on earth, except America, becoming a [[Communist]] state. In addition, [[prohibition]] cannot have occurred, because [[alcoholic drinks]] flow freely in many settings.

Politically, the United States would have been in the hands of the proponents of [[Progressivism]], which was in fact a potent-enough force in the election of 1912 to field a [[third party]] candidate for President ([[Theodore Roosevelt]]) who actually out-polled the losing major-party candidate in that race, [[William Howard Taft]]. In this version, perhaps, [[Woodrow Wilson]] does not have his stroke, or if he does, the [[Republican Party]] does not succeed in having a man as President for more than a single term, and their un-named incumbent loses to [[Mr. Thompson]], who is still serving as President when the "looters' system" fails. (Mr. Thompson does not appear to be a parody of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] or any other known American political or other historical figure; he is merely a type and in fact is described as almost deliberately nondescript.)

[[Tax]]ation during this period consisted primarily of the [[income tax]], which in actual fact had recently been ratified as a valid [[Constitution of the United States|Constitutional]] option. Though the confiscatory (up to 94%) tax rates of the Great Depression era would await the administration of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], they could easily have been enacted into law earlier, during the hypothetical Thompson administration. Many other taxes, some of them completely ''ad hoc'', are applied at one time or another in the course of the novel.

==Criticism==
: ''Main Article: [[Atlas Shrugged (criticism)]]''
''Atlas Shrugged'' has never been a critical favorite. Indeed, [[Barbara Branden]], as quoted by Harold Leiendecker,<ref name="Leiendecker>Leiendecker" H, "Atlas Shrugged," ASPEC Writers' Workshop, n.d. Accessed May 5, 2009. <http://www.eckerd.edu/aspec/writers/atlas_shrugged.htm></ref> summed up the criticism thus:{{cquote|The reviews of ''[[We the Living]]'' had been bad. The reviews of ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' has been worse. The reviews of ''Atlas Shrugged'' were savage.}}

Not all the reviews were savage, but most of them were. Even some [[conservative]] reviewers spoke scathingly of it. The most infamous of these reviews came from [[Whittaker Chambers]], who said of the novel in ''[[National Review]]'' that every page screams, "To a gas chamber—go!"<ref name="chambers>Chambers" W, "Big Sister Is Watching You," ''National Review'', December 28, 1957. Hosted at National Review Online, published January 5, 2005. Accessed May 1, 2009. <http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp></ref> [[Nathaniel Branden]] said of it, among other things, that it taught emotional repression as a virtue.<ref name="branden>Branden" N, "The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand," audio presentation, 1984. Transcript hosted at <http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/articles_essays/benefits_and_hazards.html>.</ref>

Leiendecker, however, reminds us that many of the nefarious laws and "directives" that the novel mentions have in fact come to pass. His chief criticism was that the dialog (and in [[John Galt]]'s memorable case, monolog) of the heroes and anti-villains of the work often sounds "stilted," while the words of the villains ring true to their respective real-life anti-types.<ref name="Leiendecker/>

As" might be expected, the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and its various organs found fault with the explicit [[atheism]] of the novel, and especially John Galt's specific rejection of the notion of original sin, and Francisco d'Anconia's statement that a rational man does not "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," because "he permits no Caesars."<ref name="history/>

==Film" Adaptation==
Almost since the initial publication of the novel, the most avid followers of Ayn Rand, who called themselves "students of Objectivism," have wished to see the novel adapted as a [[motion picture]]. To date only one of Ayn Rand's novels has been adapted for film: ''[[The Fountainhead]]''. Ayn Rand herself wrote the screenplay for that film, in which [[Gary Cooper]] portrayed the leading protagonist, Howard Roark.

The major difficulties with adapting ''Atlas Shrugged'' to film were twofold. One, the story was simply too long for any one film to do it justice. Two, [[Hollywood values]] were already beginning to diverge from American values, and the prospect of a film that would be remotely faithful, either to the novel or to Ayn Rand's original motivation for writing it, always seemed rather remote.

Yet different producers have attempted a film adaptation for a long time. At one point, according to the trade paper ''Variety'', Alfred S. Ruddy attempted for several years to do his own adaptation. Among the names of actors and actresses that were mentioned in connection with Ruddy's efforts were those of [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Robert Redford]], and [[Faye Dunaway]].<ref name="imdb/>

Now" an independent film company, Baldwin Entertainment, is now trying to produce an adaptation, currently rumored to release in 2011.<ref name="imdb/>" Writer Randall Wallace has been hired to write the script. For years, persistent rumor had it that [[Angelina Jolie]] would appear as Dagny Taggart, but today multiple actresses' names are in circulation, including [[Charlize Theron]], [[Julia Roberts]], and [[Anne Hathaway]]—though some fans of the novel insist that [[Cate Blanchett]] would be the best actress to interpret that role. Karen Baldwin, the head of Baldwin Entertainment, is quoted as saying that the novel is more timely than ever, though she would not elaborate on the reasons for that assessment. Current budget estimates run as high as $50 million US.<ref name="brevet>Brevet," Brad, "Will Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ Finally See the Big Screen? And Who Will Star?", RopeofSilicon.com, 1 April 2009. Accessed 21 April 2009. <http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/will-ayn-rands-atlas-shrugged-finally-see-the-big-screen-and-who-will-star></ref><ref name="risky>Zeitchik," Steven. "With 'Atlas Shrugged,' Hollywood may have its first anti-bailout movie." ''The Hollywood Reporter'', April 1, 2009. Accessed April 26, 2009. <http://www.riskybusinessblog.com/2009/03/with-atlas-shrugged-hollywood-may-have-its-first-antibailout-movie.html></ref>

As might be expected, several minor characters in the novel will not appear. They include Robert Stadler, the nominal head of the State Science Institute, and Cheryl Taggart, an impressionable young woman who marries James Taggart and then commits suicide on the strength of her realization of what sort of man she married.<ref name="imdb/>

==Recent" popular mention==
[[File:AtlasshrugsatMorristown.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Protest sign at [[TEA Party]], Morristown, [[New Jersey]], April 15, 2009]]
In the context of the massive taxation and spending policies proposed by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Barack Obama]] and the [[United States Congress]], ''Atlas Shrugged'' has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Activists have mentioned the name of the novel, and of its primary [[Literary type#anti-villain|anti-villain]], in commentaries and on placards. Many [[liberal]] commentators in fact have asked scathingly whether certain persons allegedly threatening to "go Galt" mean what they say, and from the tone of their remarks, they seem quite prepared to bid such people "good riddance."

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://atlasshrugged.com/ Atlas Shrugged] Official site designed and published by [http://aynrand.org/ The Ayn Rand Institute]
* [http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/atlasshrugged/ Atlas Shrugged] Student's notes by SparkNotes.
* [http://www.atlasthefilm.com/ Atlas Shrugged Movie News] Clearinghouse of fact and rumor concerning a planned motion-picture adaptation of the novel.

{{nb Atlas}}
[[category:Novels]]

Strike

2009-06-09T00:30:44Z

BrianConway: Undo revision 671945 by LaxmanGurung (Talk)

To '''strike''' (''v.'') something is to hit it with force. A strike (''n.'') is the act or condition of being hit, such as an air-strike where a military target is hit with bombs or missiles from the air.

A '''strike''' may also be a workers' action to stop working until their demands are satisfied by their employer. The workers usually form picket lines to prevent replacement workers, whom they call "scabs" in order to insult them and make violence against them more palatable.

While most strikes are non violent and resolve themselves peacefully, a number of strikes have escalated to verbal and even physical attacks, requiring business owner to call police to protect the safety of workers and property

[[Labor union]]s frequently threaten to hold strikes as a way of bargaining with employers for special benefits for workers.

==See also==
* [[American Federation of Labor]]
* [[Samuel Gompers]]
[[category:Business]]
[[Category:Labor Unions]]

Novel

2009-06-09T00:30:15Z

BrianConway: Undo revision 671943 by LaxmanGurung (Talk)

A '''novel''' is a long, fictional [[book]], almost always divided into smaller units, or chapters.

A very short novel is sometimes called a Novella.

[[category:literature]]

John Galt

2009-06-09T00:29:03Z

BrianConway: Undo revision 671954 by LaxmanGurung (Talk)

'''John Galt''' is the mysterious [[protagonist]], or more accurately [[anti-villain]], in [[Ayn Rand|Ayn Rand's]] novel ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. For much of the novel he is merely a name without a face, about whom people ask, "Who is John Galt?" without knowing what or whom they're talking about. Eventually John Galt answers them directly, in a manifesto for individualism and [[capitalism]]. More to the point, he is an inventor, a philosopher, and a political movement leader, though not a politician in the usual sense, because he functions neither as legislator nor as administrator.

{{spoiler}}
== Back story ==
John Galt came to the [[Patrick Henry]] University (not to be confused with the actual [[Patrick Henry College]] set up by [[James Falwell]]) "parentless, penniless, and tie-less," according to the account given by [[Hugh Akston]], professor and chairman of philosophy. He came determined to pursue a double major: [[physics]] and [[philosophy]], the science of the world and the science of the mind. While at PHU, he met two other students who entered when he did, each of whom had a background radically different from his. One was [[Francisco d'Anconia|Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia]], the current descendant of a famous Spaniard who established the family fortune by digging for copper in the [[Andes Mountains]] of [[Chile]]. The other was [[Ragnar Danneskjold]], a Scandinavian aristocrat. (His specific nation of origin is never specified.)

Remarkably, ''all three'' pursued the double major in physics and philosophy. The three men also became fast friends. But not a man among the three suspected how closely they would be working together after they graduated.

== Stop the motor ==
John Galt took his degree and signed on as a junior engineer with the Twentieth Century Motor Company, Starnesville, [[Wisconsin]]. There he conceived the idea that he could extract static electricity from the atmosphere and use it as an almost limitless source of energy. He actually completed a prototypical electrostatic motor and prepared to demonstrate it to his employer, Gerald "Jed" Starnes.

Then disaster struck. Gerald Starnes died, and his three children—two brothers, Gerald Jr. and Eric, and their sister Ivy—proposed a radical change in management for the factory. Under this system, people would work according to their ability, but be paid according to their needs.

The employees actually voted in favor of this plan, with no conception of what it would mean. This vote took place in the main assembly bay of the factory. After this vote, Gerald Starnes, Jr. stood up to announce the results. According to the skilled lathe-operator and shop foreman who witnessed it, Mr. Starnes said the following: "This is a great moment in the history of our country! Remember that none of you may leave this place, for you are all bound here by the moral code which we all accept!"

"I don't," said John Galt, who quietly stood up in his place. Every eye sank when it beheld him, because "he stood like a man who knows that he is right."

Galt went on, "I will put an end to this once and for all." Then he turned to walk out of the bay.

Gerald Starnes called after him, "How?"

Galt turned and said, "I will stop the motor of the world."

To understand what John Galt meant by that provocative statement, one needs to understand what ''is'' the motor of the world. Ayn Rand's point was that man's mind is the motor of the world—and if you punish a man for using his mind, then sooner or later the mind will refuse to move the world. Thus John Galt proposed not only to quit the factory (which he did, after deliberately wrecking his prototype and removing most of his notes, leaving only enough notes to remind people of what might have been) but also to quit a system that, even ''beyond'' one factory with three misguided heirs running it, rewarded failure and punished success.

John Galt's plan was simple: he would approach men when they were most vulnerable, when the world socialistic system had meted out one insult too many, or one injury too many, and then he would tell them, "Why put up with this? Go on strike." This, then, was the essence of how John Galt planned to stop the motor of the world: tell men of the mind, like himself, to ''go on strike'' against the collectivistic system that thanklessly exploited them.

At first, the strike rules were as simple as the plan itself. Anyone having savings to retire on, retired. Any other man would take the lowest job that he could find, a job bringing in just enough to put food on the table.

The first two men whom he recruited to join him in this strike of the men of the mind were his two former fellow students, Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjold. Francisco was devastated. He could not argue with his old friend's logic. But for him personally, the logical endpoint was that stepping down as head of D'Anconia Copper SA would not be enough. He must ''deliberately destroy'' the family enterprise. As he would later say to [[Dagny Taggart]], the last holdout among the people of the mind, "I am not merely leaving it as I found it; I am leaving it as Sebastian d'Anconia found it. And let the world try to get along without him or me!" As cover for his activities, Francisco d'Anconia cultivated a reputation as a typical "millionnaire playboy," or what is sometimes called a "trust fund kiddy." Thus people regarded his actions as irresponsible. No one would suspect, until far too late, that his actions were in fact deliberate and calculated.

Ragnar Danneskjold followed his own chain of logic, but also was driven by towering wrath and indignation. Like Francisco d'Anconia, he did not believe that merely quitting the world was sufficient. He proposed to go to active war with it. The world system robbed men of the mind; he, therefore, would take back from that world and give back to them whom the world had robbed. Thus he became a [[privateer]], and for the next twelve years he built a reputation as the scourge of the high seas. John Galt did not ask him to do this, but John Galt did not actively oppose him, either—for if anything, Ragnar Danneskjold was an even more competent philosopher than Galt was.

== Galt's Gulch ==
John Galt continued his recruitment. He persuaded [[Professor]] Akston to join him, and labored for a year to persuade William Hastings, his former immediate superior at the [[Twentieth Century Motor Company]] to join the strike. Next he recruited a [[composer]] named [[Richard Halley]].

Then he met a banker named Michael "Midas" Mulligan. His defection changed the John Galt strike plan radically. [[Midas Mulligan]] became embroiled in a lawsuit after he refused a business loan to one Lee Hunsacker, who had bought the old Twentieth Century Motor Company in a fire sale after the Starnes heirs finally ran that company completely into the ground. Hunsacker sued Mulligan. The original trial judge ([[Judge Narragansett]]) found for Mulligan, but that judgment was reversed on appeal. Naturally, John Galt approached Midas ''and'' Judge Narragansett and encouraged them to go on strike.

Mulligan's answer was to liquidate his bank totally, though he made sure that no depositor lost any money in the liquidation. He then took the proceeds and bought a secluded valley in the [[Rocky Mountains]]. There he built a home and stocked it with supplies sufficient to let him retire there for life. Judge Narragansett then asked Midas whether he would be willing to rent some land to him, and Midas agreed.

Apparently, John Galt built a much larger version of his electrostatic motor and used it to drive a [[dynamo]] to provide the valley with electric power. Now Midas asked Galt to advertise leaseholds in his valley to other strikers. Galt did, and then the strikers began to populate the valley and even turn it into a functioning society and economy. Midas received rents from everyone and even reopened his bank. John Galt became the ''de facto'' mayor of what he called Mulligan's Valley (because Midas Mulligan actually owned the land) and the other strikers called [[Galt's Gulch]] (because John Galt was still their spiritual and political leader, and because John Galt's electrostatic motor gave the valley an actual source of physical power). In addition to acting as mayor, John Galt was also the chief utility provider—because his electrostatic motor was now the main power plant of the valley, which he housed in a building guarded by a sound lock that would respond only to a repetition of the Oath of the Men of the Mind that he had coined:{{cquote|I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.}}
The judicial power rested with Judge Narragansett, and legislation was by the rough equivalent of a [[New England]] [[town meeting]].

So now, joining John Galt's strike meant leaving a punitive political and economic system, and joining a true [[republic]] in which [[capitalism]] and property rights were paramount.

Yet John Galt did not spend all his time in the valley. He spend eleven months out of the year as a track walker in the [[New York City]] terminal of the [[Taggart Transcontinental Railroad]]. His purpose was twofold. On one hand, he functioned, quite simply, as a spy, and cultivated a relationship with a junior executive ([[Eddie Willers]]) who would talk freely. On the other hand, he was spying on a particular executive with whom he had fallen in love: [[Dagny Taggart]], the President's sister, who served as Vice President in Charge of Operations.

== The last three years ==
John Galt's last three years were his busiest. In those years he accomplished his most numerous and most consequential recruitments. The consequences were, quite simply, devastating for the world system. As the [[United States]] government added outrage after outrage (with names like "Equalization of Opportunity Act" and "[[Directive 10-289]]," both of which presaged [[Richard Nixon]]'s wage and price controls and [[Barack Obama]]'s present program), John Galt found recruitment that much easier.

Yet his two most important prospects continued to elude him, and to resist the efforts by his friend Francisco d'Anconia to recruit them. One was Dagny Taggart, with whom he was now fully in love, a state that he might have feared would cloud his judgment. The other was [[Henry Rearden]], the owner of a [[steel]] company who had developed his own new version of [[steel]] that included [[copper]] as well as [[iron]]. (The government had in fact confiscated the formula for "Rearden Metal," but the only steelmaker to try to copy the formula had to abandon the attempt after Ragnar Danneskjold shelled his factory to ruins by an offshore bombardment.)

== The scab ==
In July of the last year of the strike, Eddie Willers let slip to Galt that an engineer named Quentin Daniels was attempting to reverse-engineer his electrostatic motor. Galt also discovered that Daniels had abruptly refused to accept any remuneration for any continued work, because any remuneration he received would merely be subject to [[tax]], and he had no wish to support "the looters" by paying any more taxes. Galt traveled across country to recruit Daniels in ernest, perhaps not quite realizing that Dagny Taggart had also headed westward to persuade Daniels not to quit. As Galt and Daniels took off for Mulligan's Valley, Galt realized that another aircraft was on his "six-o'clock." He took no showy evasive action (perhaps his aircraft was not built for aerobatics), but simply flew to the valley and ducked behind the refractor-ray screen that he had installed, at an altitude of 700 feet above ground level (8700 feet above sea level), to create a mirror in the sky and make the valley look rocky instead of green and lush. To his horror, the pursuing aircraft followed him down, and impinged upon the screen. The rays struck the aircraft with a bright flash and instantly shut down its engine, causing it to spiral down. The pilot made one last desperate control input before crash-landing in the grass near the Valley airstrip. To Galt's further horror, Dagny Taggart was the pilot. To his immense relief, she survived with nothing more serious than a broken ankle.

Having little choice, John Galt hand-carried Dagny into the center of the little town and introduced her to the members of his community. He did not delude himself into thinking that she would join his strike immediately, and so he introduced her as "the [[scab]]." In actual fact, he allowed the townspeople to speak for him. Each one told her why he or she had quit the world, and also showed her some of what they had invented in the valley.

One of the more brief visitors was Ragnar Danneskjold. Galt would not allow Ragnar to speak, in front of Dagny, about his meeting with Henry Rearden after the passage of Directive 10-289. (Galt had learned from one of his conversations with Eddie Willers that Dagny Taggart and Henry Rearden had been having an affair.) Ragnar did speak of his privateering operations and his proposal to refund the [[income tax]]es of all the strikers. Dagny indignantly refused to accept any of Danneskjold's money and asked John Galt to hire her as his cook and housemaid, so that she could earn her room and board. Galt, beside himself with mirth, accepted the proposal.

The valley dwellers had one occasion to be alarmed about two weeks into Dagny's stay: ''another'' aircraft dipped into the upper reaches of the cone that formed the valley, in an obvious search for Dagny's aircraft. Dagny gave a start of recognition, but denied it to Galt. Whether Galt was fooled by this, the story does not make clear—but in any case he would obviously learn later that the pilot of this search aircraft was Henry Rearden.

Galt entertained a small hope that Dagny would change her mind after he and Francisco d'Anconia invited her to see "D'Anconia Copper No. 1," a copper mine that Francisco had dug into the side of one of the mountains that formed the valley wall. Dagny pointed out that Francisco was wasting time he couldn't afford to waste by transporting the copper ore on [[mule]]back to the valley floor. She quickly sketched a plan to lay rail from the mine to the valley. But at the last minute, she bewailed that she could not bear to lay only a mile or two of track and abandon a transcontinental system.

In the end, Dagny Taggart did not consent to remain in the valley. So John Galt took her out to the nearest airport—blindfolded, so that she would not be able to find the valley again.

== The last recruits ==
On September 2 of that year, the parliament of the People's State of [[Argentina]] prepared to nationalize the D'Anconia Copper Company. But in synchrony with the striking of the speaker's gavel to call the parliament to order, Francisco d'Anconia blew up the last of his facilities.

Francisco then went to work at the Rearden Steel Company, under an assumed name, as a furnace foreman. In October, a staged riot broke out at Rearden Steel, and Francisco led a contingent of regular workers to defeat the rioters, who were in fact government infiltrators. Henry Rearden was injured in the incident, and Francisco rescued him. Francisco talked to Rearden after he regained consciousness and finally persuaded him to join the strike. With Rearden came virtually his entire regular workforce.

Now only Dagny Taggart remained in the larger world. John Galt was determined to recruit her. So now John Galt took his greatest risk.

== The great speech ==
The [[President of the United States]] proposed to make a "report on the world crisis" on every [[radio]] and [[television]] channel, on November 22. On that day, John Galt simply jammed the airwaves with his own signal that overrode all the others. Then, promptly at 8:00 p.m., John Galt delivered his message: on voice only, but clear, distinct, and, depending on the listener, either inspiring, infuriating, or terrifying. In three hours, John Galt expounded on the strike of the men of the mind and his reasons for calling it. He made no demands. Instead he made a simple suggestion to any man of the mind still left in the world to go on strike himself, each in his own way.

=== The abridged text ===
''Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Thompson will not be speaking to you tonight. His time is up. I have taken it over. You were to hear a report on the world crisis. That is exactly what you are going to hear.''

''For twelve years you've been asking "Who is John Galt?" This is John Galt speaking. I am the man who has taken away your victims and thus destroyed your world. You've heard it said that this is an age of moral crisis and that Man's sins are destroying the world. But your chief virtue has been sacrifice, and you've demanded more sacrifices at every disaster. You've sacrificed justice to mercy and happiness to duty. So why should you be afraid of the world around you?''

''Your world is only the product of your sacrifices. While you were dragging the men who made your happiness possible to your sacrificial altars, I beat you to it. I reached them first and told them about the game you were playing and where it would take them. I explained the consequences of your 'brother-love' morality, which they had been too innocently generous to understand. You won't find them now, when you need them more than ever.''

''We're on strike against your creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. If you want to know how I made them quit, I told them exactly what I'm telling you tonight. I taught them the morality of Reason -- that it was right to pursue one's own happiness as one's principal goal in life. I don't consider the pleasure of others my goal in life, nor do I consider my pleasure the goal of anyone else's life.''

''I am a trader. I earn what I get in trade for what I produce. I ask for nothing more or nothing less than what I earn. That is justice. I don't force anyone to trade with me; I only trade for mutual benefit. Force is the great evil that has no place in a rational world. One may never force another human to act against his/her judgment. If you deny a man's right to Reason, you must also deny your right to your own judgment. Yet you have allowed your world to be run by means of force, by men who claim that fear and joy are equal incentives, but that fear and force are more practical.''

''You've allowed such men to occupy positions of power in your world by preaching that all men are evil from the moment they're born. When men believe this, they see nothing wrong in acting in any way they please. The name of this absurdity is 'original sin'. That's impossible. That which is outside the possibility of choice is also outside the province of morality. To call sin that which is outside man's choice is a mockery of justice. To say that men are born with a free will but with a tendency toward evil is ridiculous. If the tendency is one of choice, it doesn't come at birth. If it is not a tendency of choice, then man's will is not free.''

''And then there's your 'brother-love' morality. Why is it moral to serve others, but not yourself? If enjoyment is a value, why is it moral when experienced by others, but not by you? Why is it immoral to produce something of value and keep it for yourself, when it is moral for others who haven't earned it to accept it? If it's virtuous to give, isn't it then selfish to take?''

''Your acceptance of the code of selflessness has made you fear the man who has a dollar less than you because it makes you feel that that dollar is rightfully his. You hate the man with a dollar more than you because the dollar he's keeping is rightfully yours. Your code has made it impossible to know when to give and when to grab.''

''You know that you can't give away everything and starve yourself. You've forced yourselves to live with undeserved, irrational guilt. Is it ever proper to help another man? No, if he demands it as his right or as a duty that you owe him. Yes, if it's your own free choice based on your judgment of the value of that person and his struggle. This country wasn't built by men who sought handouts. In its brilliant youth, this country showed the rest of the world what greatness was possible to Man and what happiness is possible on Earth.''

''Then it began apologizing for its greatness and began giving away its wealth, feeling guilty for having produced more than ikts neighbors. Twelve years ago, I saw what was wrong with the world and where the battle for Life had to be fought. I saw that the enemy was an inverted morality and that my acceptance of that morality was its only power. I was the first of the men who refused to give up the pursuit of his own happiness in order to serve others.''

''To those of you who retain some remnant of dignity and the will to live your lives for yourselves, you have the chance to make the same choice. Examine your values and understand that you must choose one side or the other. Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.''

''If you've understood what I've said, stop supporting your destroyers. Don't accept their philosophy. Your destroyers hold you by means of your endurance, your generosity, your innocence, and your love. Don't exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you now. In the name of the best within you, don't sacrifice the world to those who will take away your happiness for it.''

''The world will change when you are ready to pronounce the oath that I took at the start of my battle:''

''I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.''

== The unraveling ==
Thousands of listeners took John Galt's advice. They could not contact him, so they could not come to Mulligan's Valley. But many of them set up their own versions of Mulligan's Valley, chiefly armed camps in various forests and other "wilderness" regions.

John Galt now made his almost-fatal mistake. He remained in New York City long enough for Dagny Taggart to come to him. But, unknown to her, she had the [[FBI]] on her tail, and in consequence, John Galt was arrested, as he knew he would be.

The authorities could not charge him with anything. Instead, President [[Mr. Thompson|Thompson]] tried to urge him to take the post of "Economic Dictator" of the country, a suggestion that Galt found laughable. To illustrate the absurdity of the proposition, Galt said that his first order would be to abolish all income taxes and fire all government employees. Naturally, Thompson rejected those proposals.

A number of senior administration officials then tried to plead with Galt, all to no avail. [[Floyd Ferris]] of the [[State Science Institute]] did not plead; he threatened. Specifically he threatened to institute a program of executions of "unproductive citizens," a program he said would be necessary if Galt did not cooperate. [[Mr. Thompson]] was horrified and said that Ferris was not serious. Galt was having none of that. He said, {{cquote|Oh yes, he did mean it. Tell that [illegitimate son] to look at me, and then look in the mirror, and ask himself whether I could ever think that ''my'' moral stature was at the mercy of ''his'' actions.}}

The last person to see Galt, and this at Galt's seemingly incongruous request, was his former chairman of [[physics]] at PHU, Dr. [[Robert Stadler]], now the (nominal) Director of the State Science Institute. Galt said nothing; he merely allowed Stadler to babble at him about how much he wanted a laboratory and what he could have done with it. But Stadler talked too much, and revealed his conclusion that Galt was now the man who had to be destroyed. Stadler tried to take that back, but Galt said to him, {{cquote|You have said everything that I wanted to say to you.}}

Finally, the authorities put on a television show and announced a new "John Galt Plan for Peace and Prosperity," and ordered Galt (at the point of a gun) to dress for the occasion and appear on camera. Galt cooperated until at last the time came for him to speak. And then, moving swiftly enough that the viewers could not miss the gun aimed at him, he rushed to the on-stage podium and said, {{cquote|Get...out of my way.}}

The authorities stopped the show immediately and then took Galt to the headquarters of the State Science Institute. They then tried to examine him under torture by electric shock—but Galt was prepared for it, and knew in advance that they would not dare deliver to him a lethal shock.

Then the electroshock generator broke down, and the operator could not repair it. John Galt himself gave the diagnosis of the trouble and suggested a repair, and the rich irony of the situation caused the operator to flee in terror. The three interrogators also fled, after one of them ([[James Taggart]]) cried out that he wanted "to make him scream," and then screamed himself, now that he realized exactly what sort of man he had become.

Not long afterward, Francisco d'Anconia, Dagny Taggart, Henry Rearden, and Ragnar Danneskjold staged a commando raid on the laboratory, killed several security guards, and rescued John Galt. As their escape plane overflew the Eastern seaboard, the entire ground fell dark in an instant. The collapse of the world system was now complete.

Galt returned to Mulligan's Valley and spent his first winter there. In the next spring, John Galt would declare that the world couldn't threaten them anymore, and it was time to come back.
{{endspoiler}}

== Analogous situations ==
The [[Northeast Blackout of 1965]] is especially memorable to anyone who called himself a student of [[Objectivism]] at the time. Nearly everyone with a passing familiarity with Ayn Rand's work spoke only half-jokingly of trying to tune in their radio to see whether they could catch someone saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. [[Lyndon Johnson|Johnson]] will not be speaking to you tonight. His time is up. I, John Galt, have taken it over."

== Present day ==
With the election of [[Ronald Reagan]], any thought of replicating the John Galt Strike was abandoned. The Objectivists had only one quarrel with Reagan, and that concerned the issue of [[abortion]]. On every other point, they agreed with his stated principles.

Today, the Ayn Rand Institute has enjoyed frequent citations on the [[Fox News Channel]] and especially by commentator [[Glenn Beck]], who has interviewed its current head several times on his program.

More to the point, "to go Galt" has now become a catch phrase for quitting a system that now begins to look like the extremely collectivistic system that Ayn Rand projected in her novel. Regardless of multiple accusations in the [[liberal]] media, no one has—yet—proposed to "go Danneskjold", i.e. turn privateer and make an active, not merely a passive, war.

== Feasibility ==
=== The electrostatic motor ===
Electrostatic motors do exist, chiefly as tutorial demonstration projects. However, in 1997, William J. Beaty published to the [[World Wide Web]] a short essay discussing the feasibility of electrostatic motors, especially for applications in the vacuous conditions of outer [[space]]. Beaty also suspects that the power of an electrostatic motor might vary with the length and [[inductance]] of its collecting coil. Beaty reports that one researcher managed to achieve 1/16 horsepower with his motor, using a lightning-rod-like collector carried aloft by a weather balloon.<ref name="Beaty>Beaty" WJ, "[http://amasci.com/emotor/emotwhy.txt Electrostatic Motor: What Is It Used For]?" ''[http://amasci.com/ The Science Hobbyist],'' 1997. Accessed May 2, 2009.</ref> (When Dagny Taggart first sees John Galt's wrecked prototype, she spots the collecting coil and realizes its significance at once.)

According to Beaty, the recently discussed "micromotors" created on silicon chips are actually electrostatic motors. Furthermore, he suggests that electrostatic motors would be much lighter in weight and thus much easier to deploy in space. He also asserts that bacterial [[flagellum|flagella]] and cellular [[cilium|cilia]] run on rotary electrostatic motors, and that all [[muscle]]s are in fact linear electrostatic motors.<ref name="Beaty/>

From" the above, an electrostatic motor, as used in ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', might have been feasible. At least one anonymous source, writing in Wikipedia, suggests that an electrostatic motor would require a recharge every half hour.<ref name="wikipedia>"Static" electricity." ''Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia''. 2 May 2009, 02:14 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Static_electricity&oldid=287371163>.</ref> However, the collecting coil would be a source of continuous charge, so that becomes a moot point. The chief limitation would be on the size and inductance of the collecting coil.

The novel specifically states that John Galt built an electrostatic [[dynamo]] to provide electric power for all of Mulligan's Valley, and also built a much smaller version to provide electric power for the laboratory that he maintained in his apartment in [[New York City]]. It further states that when the strike was over, John Galt proposed building [[locomotive]]s that would be powered by his invention. That [[Ragnar Danneskjold]] would try to retrofit his vessel to run on an electrostatic powerplant is only logical to suppose.

Ayn Rand is not the only author to propose that an electrostatic motor would have such widespread application. [[Jules Verne]] initially proposed that the [[submarine]] called ''[[Nautilus]]'', in ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]],'' would have an electrostatic powerplant. (The [[motion picture]] adaptation of that novel assumed that the ''Nautilus'' would be a [[nuclear]]-powered submarine, and indeed the very first nuclear-powered submarine in the [[United States Navy]] was named ''Nautilus'' in Verne's honor.) In the [[motion picture]] ''Master of the World'', the helicopter airship ''Albatross'' also had an electrostatic powerplant.

However, no engineer has yet proposed to build an electrostatic motor that would be nearly as powerful as Ayn Rand suggested.

=== The strike as a political movement ===
History has seen examples of men defecting from their countries of origin in order to live in other countries that have far more lenient [[tax]]ation and other policies. The history of the United States also has examples of some States drawing population and sometimes jobs from other States on account of differential tax, regulatory, and other policy. Still, the prospect of a total defection from organized society, and a retreat to a secluded mountain valley, provoked derision from reviewer [[Whittaker Chambers]]<ref name="chambers>Chambers" W, "Big Sister Is Watching You," ''National Review'', December 28, 1957. Hosted at National Review Online, published January 5, 2005. Accessed May 1, 2009.<http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp></ref> and others, and few persons have proposed such a thing and actually expected people to take them seriously. But few indeed have been the instances in history in which the provocations were as great as ''Atlas Shrugged'' describes. Some suggest that the current policies of [[Barack Obama]] and the [[United States Congress]] now under the complete control of the [[Democratic Party]] might indeed provide just such provocation.

Nor would "going on strike" necessarily require building anything as elaborate as [[Galt's Gulch]]. The spontaneous organization, after John Galt's speech, of the "miniature Mulligan's Valleys" in various forest and similar regions is a far more likely scenario.

=== Defensibility ===
The chief defenses of the John Galt strike are the seclusion of Mulligan's Valley and the utter incompetence of those who remain in governmental power. Whittaker Chambers simply did not believe that anyone in authority would ever show the kind of abject incompetence that leaves the "looter society" vulnerable to privateering activities (by a single ship!) and, at the last, a raid on a guarded installation.<ref name="chambers/>" But some observers suggest that Barack Obama and some other officials have been conducting themselves in just such an incompetent fashion as ''Atlas Shrugged'' depicts on the part of its villains. Perhaps, then, a modern-day John Galt, perhaps having a command of [[cold fusion]] technology instead of something as problematic as an electrostatic motor, could indeed lead a movement of the magnitude of the strike of the men of the mind, and even lead such a movement to political victory by default.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{nb Atlas}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galt, John}}
[[category:Literary Figures]]