Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:James J. LeBar

2007-10-28T19:35:53Z

Darius:

I categorized this page, but I have my doubts as to whether exorcisms are family friendly. Do we want young children reading Conservapedia to be exposed to the arcane, in any of its forms?-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 15:05, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

: I don't see anything in the entry that would offend any families. Godspeed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 15:11, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

Great thanks for looking into it though!-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 15:35, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

Talk:James J. LeBar

2007-10-28T19:05:49Z

Darius: New page: I categorized this page, but I have my doubts as to whether exorcisms are family friendly. Do we want young children reading Conservapedia to be exposed to the arcane, in any of its forms...

James J. LeBar

2007-10-28T19:04:57Z

Darius: categorize

'''James J. LeBar''' (born 1936) is a [[Roman Catholic]] [[priest]] who was the chief [[exorcist]] of the Archdiocese of [[New York]] in the [[United States]].

Father LeBar was ordained in 1962. In the 1970s LeBar was asked to become part of the Office of Communications of the Archdiocese of New York which at the time was dealing with the rise of cults and [[occult]] activity. He performed his first exorcisms in 1988 and 1989. He also published his book, entitled ''Cults, Sects, and the [[New Age]]'' in 1989. He has counseled many former cult members and is a frequent speaker on this subject.

He first came to prominence in 1991 when he took part in an exorcism in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], which was broadcast on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television program [[20/20]]. He was appointed the chief exorcist of New York in 1992, by the late [[John Cardinal O'Connor]]. On June 25, 1995 Father LeBar was one of the guests on the [[Geraldo Rivera]] television program exploring satanic ritual abuse.

Father LeBar has performed about forty exorcisms. On people he has exorcised he has personally witnessed people who spoke in foreign tongues, the hatred and [[evil]] of the [[devil]], and super strength.

When asked during an interview if he ever witnessed [[levitation]] during an exorcism he said, "I myself, have never seen a major levitation in the course of an exorcism. However, in one case in the preliminary investigation, I had a person who rose up above the pews of the church and was suspended there for a few minutes."

He told ''Spirit Daily'' at the time of the 25th anniversary release of the film ''[[The Exorcist]]'' that it, "is about the most accurate portrayal of what can happen at an exorcism that I have ever seen."

Actress [[Winona Ryder]] spoke with Father LeBar about exorcisms in 1999 in order to prepare for her film role in the movie ''[[Lost Souls]]'' in which LeBar was one of the consultants. He even allowed her to view some videotapes of exorcisms he had performed.

In July 2002 Father LeBar addressed a conference of Roman Catholic exorcists in [[Rome]]. He lives and works in New York State and is presently assigned as Chaplain of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center in [[Poughkeepsie, New York|Poughkeepsie]], a post he has held for almost twenty years.

== External links ==
* [http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_profile/lebar_james.asp James LeBar Profile at ICSA]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1753617/ Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.courttv.com/talk/chat_transcripts/101800exorcist.html October 18, 2000 Interview]
* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/42/story_4270_1.html Exorcism: To Hell, and Back]
* [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1497645/posts Interview with an Exorcist]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4DE1538F936A35757C0A967958260 The Rite of Exorcism On 20/20 New York Times, Walter Goodman, April 5, 1991]

[[Category:Christianity]]

Alexis de Tocqueville

2007-10-28T19:03:35Z

Darius: cquot-template-ing quotes

[[Image:Alexis de tocqueville.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Alexis Clérel de Tocqueville''' (Paris 1805 - Cannes 1859) was a [[French]] historian and politician who published an insightful review of the [[United States]] entitled ''Democracy in America'' (1835),<ref>http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EHyper/DETOC/toc_indx.html</ref> based on a nine month tour of the young country.<ref>Initially de Tocqueville came to America to study her penal (criminal justice) system, but then expanded the scope of his study.</ref> It remains the most comprehensive treatise of early American society to this day.

==Tocqueville on Christianity==
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote:<ref>http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-04-16&view=View</ref>

{{cquote|Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention .... In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united.}}

De Tocqueville further wrote:

{{cquote|The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other .... They brought with them into the New World a form of Christianity which I cannot better describe than by styling it a democratic and republican religion.}}

He published a second volume of ''Democracy in America'' in 1840, in which he described:

{{cquote|Christianity has therefore retained a strong hold on the public mind in America ... In the United States ... Christianity itself is a fact so irresistibly established, that no one undertakes either to attack or to defend it.}}

Tocqueville asserted that, at that time, America was a [[democracy]] — indeed, where the fundamental principle of government was “the sovereignty of the people.” He also asserted that most rich American men were thought to have been born poor (see [[upward mobility]]); the American society was a very fluid one, marked by the rapid rise and fall of personal wealth.

In another book, ''The Old Regime and the Revolution'' (1856), Tocqueville gave a great meditation on the origins and meanings of the [[French Revolution]].

He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1839 and was foreign minister for a few months in 1849. He died in Cannes on April 16, 1859.

== Some paragraphs ==

{{cquote|It has often been remarked that in Europe a certain degree of contempt lurks even in the flattery which men lavish upon women: although a European frequently affects to be the slave of woman, it may be seen that he never sincerely thinks her his equal. In the United States men seldom compliment women, but they daily show how much they esteem them. They constantly display an entire confidence in the understanding of a wife, and a profound respect for her freedom; they have decided that her mind is just as fitted as that of a man to discover the plain truth, and her heart as firm to embrace it ... <ref>http://lamar.colostate.edu/~grjan/sexequality.html</ref>

Americans do not think that man and woman have either the duty or the right to perform the same offices, but they show an equal regard for both their respective parts; and though their lot is different, they consider both of them as beings of equal value.

I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked, now that I am drawing to the close of this work, in which I have spoken of so many important things done by the Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply - to the superiority of their women.}}

(In French)

''LIVRE PREMIER''

''CHAPITRE II''
''Que l'objet fondamental et final de la Révolution n'était pas, comme on l'a cru, de détruire le pouvoir religieux et d'énerver le pouvoir politique.''

''LIVRE II''

''CHAPITRE X''
''Comment la destruction de la liberté politique et la séparation des classes ont causé presque toutes les maladies dont l'ancien régime est mort.''

The Old Regime and the Revolution.

== Writings ==

*Democracy in America (1835)
*Souvenirs (1848)
*The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856)

== See also ==

*[[American Revolution]]
*[[Enlightenment]]

== References ==

:*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-597857/Alexis-de-Tocqueville Tocqueville at Britannica]

<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Toqueville, Alexis De}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Historians]]

Democracy

2007-10-28T19:01:10Z

Darius:

[[Image:Elekcja Wola.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The free election of Augustus II at Wola, outside Warsaw, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1697, painted by Bernardo Bellotto.]]
'''Democracy''' is a form of government. The origin of the term is [[Greek]], from the words ''demos'' (people) and ''kratos'' (strength). Although many forms of government fall under this broad classification, the defining characteristic of a democracy is that the citizenry of a nation decides upon their form of government (usually by voting upon the ratification of a [[constitution]] at long intervals), and at more regular intervals, upon the persons who will make up that government.

The United States of America is an example of a [[democratic republic]], in which the populace elects ''representatives'', who are charged with the protection of ''liberties'', such as the right to free assembly, free speech and equality before the law.

Although a number of societies have practiced some form of democracy, the concept as it is understood today was invented in ancient [[Athens]], where citizens (not women or slaves) were allowed to vote in the Assembly which made the laws of the city-state. But however certain [[tribe]]s and most [[band societies]] such as the [[bushmen]] organised themselves using different forms of participatory democracy or consensus democracy. [http://law.cua.edu/ComparativeLaw/Iroquois/]

== Debate over the merits of democracy ==

While a [[direct democracy]] in the manner of the Athenians is probably infeasible in a modern [[nation-state]] comprised of millions of [[citizens]], there continues to be debate among conservatives as to whether [[representative democracy]] is a desirable system. [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], who could be considered the father of both modern democracy and [[totalitarianism]], believed that in a democracy the government should be guided only by what he called the [[General Will]]. Other thinkers of the [[French]] [[Enlightenment]] described a [[republic]] as a system in which the law applies equally to the government and the people, a concept abbreviated in the [[21st century]] by the phrase [[rule of law]]. Most contemporary thinkers would identify [[universal suffrage]] and the right of any citizen to argue for a change in existing law as desirable features of democracy; but there is some question as to whether the rule of law can be indefinitely sustained in a system with these features. [[Thomas Jefferson]] believed that it could so long as the people were educated, and thus devoted his post-presidency to founding the [[University of Virginia]]. Nonetheless, property continued to be a proxy for education throughout the [[antebellum period]] and Jefferson's home state of [[Virginia]] only abolished [[property qualifications for voting]] in 1851, years after any other state. Another famous American said that a republic could last until "the people find out they have the right to vote themselves funds from the public treasury," an explicit criticism of the [[welfare state]], which most conservatives feel is an abuse of the [[U. S. Constitution]]'s [[Necessary and Proper Clause]].

Democracy may have its problems; an uneducated populace, for example, is the bane of any democracy, since unless people know what they need, they can not properly elect people to serve these needs. Other problems emerge from a capricious electorate, which caused [[Winston Churchill]] to remark that, "Democracy is the worst form of government... except for all the other forms that have been tried," a quote which eloquently notes that, despite its problems, democracy almost universally provides for peace and prosperity.

== Evolution of Anglo-American democracy ==
In the [[United States]], the current system of representative democracy evolved as a result of six major reforms:

# The [[American Revolution]] which severed ties with the King of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].
# The [[U. S. Constitution]]'s creation of the [[House of Representatives]], a Federal government entity elected directly by the people, and retention of [[federalism]], the right of individual [[states]] to govern themselves and make their own laws.
# The abolition of property qualifications for white male voters. This process, which was accomplished at the state level, took between 1820 and 1851 and is also known as [[Jacksonian Democracy]].
# The [[Fifteenth Amendment]], which extended the [[franchise]] to former [[slaves]].
# The [[Seventeenth Amendment]], which caused [[Senator|Senators]] to be elected directly by the people (they retained their six-year terms).
# The [[Nineteenth Amendment]], which extended the franchise to [[women]].

Of the six, the one which inspires the most opposition today is probably the Seventeenth Amendment, as the [[Founders]] explicitly intended [[state]] [[legislatures]] to choose U. S. Senators. Historically, however, the Fifteenth Amendment inspired the most opposition. Indeed, every state of the former [[Confederacy]] circumvented the Fifteenth Amendment between the end of [[Reconstruction]] and the passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], considered the ultimate guarantee of that Amendment. One of the principal means whereby it was circumvented was the creation of [[educational qualifications for voting]], which the 1965 act outlawed, according to interpretations of the [[Supreme Court]]. The other principal means was the [[poll tax]], which was outlawed in 1964 by the [[Twenty-Fourth Amendment]].

In the [[United Kingdom]] during the same period of time, there were also six major reforms in the direction of democracy:

# The [[1832 Reform Act]], which gave representation to the new [[industrial]] cities for the first time.
# The [[1867 Reform Act]].
# The [[1884 Reform Act]].
# The [[1911 Parliament Act]], which ended the ability of the [[House of Lords]] to rein in spending by the [[Commons]].
# The [[1918 Reform Act]], which made suffrage universal among males and extended it to women 30 years of age or older.
# The [[1928 Reform Act]], which equalized voting ages for male and female at 21.

It is noteworthy that it took the British 84 years to complete the process of abolishing property qualifications for voting (the first three Acts lowered the threshold incrementally) and that they only began to do so after Jacksonian Democracy emerged in the United States.

While none of these Acts has sustained a serious movement for repeal, historically the one which inspired the strongest opposition was the 1911 Parliament Act. Not surprisingly, this opposition came from the House of Lords, the last body of unelected people to retain any legislative power in the British system. Ultimately, the bill passed only after King [[George V]] promised to create an unlimited number of new [[peers]] in order to pass it.

The United States, United Kingdom, and other [[common law countries]] mostly utilize a [[first past the post system]] for elections. This limits the number of [[political parties]] and helps to stabilize the system, in contrast to democracies which use [[proportional representation]] such as [[Italy]], [[Germany]], [[France]], and [[Israel]], which have at times had over 10 parties represented in their [[legislatures]]. The latter system tends to increase the power of the [[political left]], although the [[Labour Party]] in Britain was able to edge out the [[centrist]] [[Liberal Party]] as the chief opposition to the [[Conservative Party]] as a result of the first five of the reforms listed above, without discarding the traditional system of elections.

==
[[Category:types of government]]

Alexis de Tocqueville

2007-10-28T18:55:17Z

Darius: caveat

[[Image:Alexis de tocqueville.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Alexis Clérel de Tocqueville''' (Paris 1805 - Cannes 1859) was a [[French]] historian and politician who published an insightful review of the [[United States]] entitled ''Democracy in America'' (1835),<ref>http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EHyper/DETOC/toc_indx.html</ref> based on a nine month tour of the young country.<ref>Initially de Tocqueville came to America to study her penal (criminal justice) system, but then expanded the scope of his study.</ref> It remains the most comprehensive treatise of early American society to this day.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote:<ref>http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-04-16&view=View</ref>

:''Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention .... In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united.''

De Tocqueville further wrote:

:''The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other .... They brought with them into the New World a form of Christianity which I cannot better describe than by styling it a democratic and republican religion.''

He published a second volume of ''Democracy in America'' in 1840, in which he described:

:''Christianity has therefore retained a strong hold on the public mind in America ... In the United States ... Christianity itself is a fact so irresistibly established, that no one undertakes either to attack or to defend it.''

Tocqueville asserted that, at that time, America was a [[democracy]] — indeed, where the fundamental principle of government was “the sovereignty of the people.” He also asserted that most rich American men were thought to have been born poor (see [[Upward mobility]]); the American society was a very fluid one, marked by the rapid rise and fall of personal wealth.

In another book, ''The Old Regime and the Revolution'' (1856), Tocqueville gave a great meditation on the origins and meanings of the [[French Revolution]].

He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1839 and was foreign minister for a few months in 1849. He died in Cannes on April 16, 1859.

== Some paragraphs ==

It has often been remarked that in Europe a certain degree of contempt lurks even in the flattery which men lavish upon women: although a European frequently affects to be the slave of woman, it may be seen that he never sincerely thinks her his equal. In the United States men seldom compliment women, but they daily show how much they esteem them. They constantly display an entire confidence in the understanding of a wife, and a profound respect for her freedom; they have decided that her mind is just as fitted as that of a man to discover the plain truth, and her heart as firm to embrace it ... [http://lamar.colostate.edu/~grjan/sexequality.html]

Americans do not think that man and woman have either the duty or the right to perform the same offices, but they show an equal regard for both their respective parts; and though their lot is different, they consider both of them as beings of equal value.

I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked, now that I am drawing to the close of this work, in which I have spoken of so many important things done by the Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply - to the superiority of their women.

(In French)

''LIVRE PREMIER''

''CHAPITRE II''
''Que l'objet fondamental et final de la Révolution n'était pas, comme on l'a cru, de détruire le pouvoir religieux et d'énerver le pouvoir politique.''

''LIVRE II''

''CHAPITRE X''
''Comment la destruction de la liberté politique et la séparation des classes ont causé presque toutes les maladies dont l'ancien régime est mort.''

The Old Regime and the Revolution.

== Writings ==

*Democracy in America (1835)
*Souvenirs (1848)
*The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856)

== See also ==

*[[American Revolution]]
*[[Enlightenment]]

== References ==

:*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-597857/Alexis-de-Tocqueville Tocqueville at Britannica]

<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Toqueville, Alexis De}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Historians]]

User talk:Darius

2007-10-28T18:53:26Z

Darius: Thanks HelpJazz. Woudl you like to help/collaborate?

{{welcome|sig=[[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 13:34, 28 October 2007 (EDT)}}
:Please read the above links. If you want to say something is slander you need to do more than just add a category. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 13:34, 28 October 2007 (EDT)
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped right in. Do you see what I'm saying, though? If you look at the page that I created for category:Liberal Slander, I think I make a good argument. Do you think I should more clearly develop what I'm trying to say?-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 13:46, 28 October 2007 (EDT)
:You need to take a look at what slander means. You say on [[Talk:Pastafarianism]] that you think it is satire -- satire is not slander; slander is a very serious charge. (And as a technical matter, "slander" is for spoken word, and "libel" is for written word.) [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 14:04, 28 October 2007 (EDT)
Thank you for correcting me, HJ. Sorry if I went a little overboard: nothing wrong with zealous advocacy, though, right :-) ? I had just gathered from articles like [[liberal deceit]] and [[Liberal Hysteria]] that I could be free and call a spade a spade... but I agree, there should be boundaries, so I'll be more careful. As for slander/libel, I was aware of the distinction, and my choice to use "slander" was (1) to circumvent alliteration ("liberal libel" sounds too cutesy) and (2) to invoke Coulter's book. Could you help me think of some people who might fall under "liberal slander"? Thank you again.-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 14:53, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

User talk:Darius

2007-10-28T18:52:30Z

Darius:

{{welcome|sig=[[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 13:34, 28 October 2007 (EDT)}}
:Please read the above links. If you want to say something is slander you need to do more than just add a category. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 13:34, 28 October 2007 (EDT)
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped right in. Do you see what I'm saying, though? If you look at the page that I created for category:Liberal Slander, I think I make a good argument. Do you think I should more clearly develop what I'm trying to say?-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 13:46, 28 October 2007 (EDT)
:You need to take a look at what slander means. You say on [[Talk:Pastafarianism]] that you think it is satire -- satire is not slander; slander is a very serious charge. (And as a technical matter, "slander" is for spoken word, and "libel" is for written word.) [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 14:04, 28 October 2007 (EDT)
Thank you for correcting me, HJ. Sorry if I went a little overboard: nothing wrong with zealous advocacy, though, right :-) ? I had just gathered from articles like [[liberal deceit]] and [[liberal hysteria]] that I could be free and call a spade a spade... but I agree, there should be boundaries, so I'll be more careful. As for slander/libel, I was aware of the distinction, and my choice to use "slander" was (1) to circumvent alliteration ("liberal libel" sounds too cutesy) and (2) to invoke Coulter's book. Could you help me think of some people who might fall under "liberal slander"?

User talk:Darius

2007-10-28T17:46:00Z

Darius:

Category talk:Liberal Slander

2007-10-28T17:27:07Z

Darius: New page: I have other suggestions for people who belong in this category: *Stephen Colbert *Richard Dawkins Can anyone think of more?-~~~~

I have other suggestions for people who belong in this category:
*Stephen Colbert
*Richard Dawkins

Can anyone think of more?-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 13:27, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

Pastafarian

2007-10-28T17:16:49Z

Darius: changing to cat:liberal slander, a group which I'll help to develop

'''Pastafarianism''' is a parody [[religion]] created by an [[evolution]]ist who claims to believe that a deity known as the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" created the universe. This belief system was brought into the public eye by Bobby Henderson when he wrote to the Kansas School Board when they were requiring equal time for evolution and intelligent design, and demanded that all forms of [[Intelligent Design]] be taught.

==External Links==
*[http://www.venganza.org/ Official Website]

[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Liberal Slander]]

Talk:Pastafarian

2007-10-28T17:16:09Z

Darius:

== Liberal Deceit ==

Could someone explain how this category demarcation is appropriate? I can grant you the "liberal" part (though I personally think that there's nothing actually liberal about it), but there just is no evidence of [[deceit]]. Using the word deceit implies that they are hiding their motives; they say they are a parody religion and they say precisely what their motives are. Maybe a link to the site would help, so you can see for yourself? [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 10:53, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

I believe that they are deceitful because they are really atheists and rather than saying they want God out of the classroom, they make this ridiculous parody that mocks religion and God. That seems like deceit to me --[[User:Konservativekanadian|Konservativekanadian]] 12:41, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

:It's fine if you believe it, but this is an encyclopedia not an op ed section. The [[Conservapedia:Commandments|Comandments]] state "Everything you post must be true and verifiable" and "Always cite and give credit to your sources" and "Do not post personal opinion on an encyclopedia entry."
:If we take a look at the official site, we find the following statement:
::Q: Are you an atheist / heathen / what?
::A: I don’t have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. Teach Creationism in school, fine, but don’t teach it in a science classroom...."
:So if you want to make the claim that he is flat out lying, you need some way to back that up, other than just a gut instinct. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 13:10, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

Seems more like liberal satire to me. A lot of liberals use satire and snark to make conservatives sound dumb. In fact, you might want to create a new category, "liberal slander," or something like that, and this article might be better suited for that then deceit.-[[User:Darius|Darius]] 13:16, 28 October 2007 (EDT)

User:Darius

2007-10-28T17:12:13Z

Darius: New page: New user.

New user.