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Democratic Party

2007-03-21T23:08:57Z

Henry V:

The Democratic Party, also occasionally called the "Democrat Party" by George W. Bush[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061030-4.html] and some other conservatives, is one of the two major political [[parties]] in the [[United States of America]]. It is generally seen as being on the political left of center, while the rival [[Republican Party]] is positioned to the right of center.

Like the Republicans, the Democrats are currently selecting their candidate for the 2008 AD presidential election; the front-runners in the contest are Senator [[Hillary Clinton]] of [[New York]] and Senator [[Barack Obama]] of [[Illinois]]. The most recent president that was a Democrat was [[Bill Clinton]], who served from 1993 to 2001. In his second term te was impeached by a Republican controlled House of Representatives for lying under oath in a civil case that was ultimately dismissed in court, however a senate vote failed

==History==
The Democratic Party was founded in 1792 AD by [[Thomas Jefferson]] as a congressional caucus to fight for the [[Bill of Rights]] and to oppose the elitist [[Federalist Party]]. Ironically in view of the party's image as the "party of the common man", Jefferson was a member of the landed gentry and a slave owner.

In 1798 AD, the party was officially named the "Democratic-Republican Party", and in 1800 AD Jefferson was elected as the first Democrat [[President of the United States]]. Jefferson served two terms as president with distinction, and was succeeded by another Democrat, [[James Madison]], in 1808 AD. Madison strengthened America's armed forces and helped to reaffirm American independence by defeating the [[United Kingdom]] in the [[War of 1812]]. James Monroe, another Democratic-Republican, was elected president in 1816 ADand led the nation through a time commonly known as "The Era of Good Feeling". In this period, the party dominated American politics with little opposition.

[[Franklin Roosevelt]], president during the Great Depression and [[Second World War]], was a Democrat, as was his successor, [[Harry Truman]].

==Policies and criticism==

It should be noted that the views of individual Democrats sometimes diverge from the party's official stance as expressed in its national platform. Naturally, the same is true of individual Republicans.

===Economic policy===
In the field of economic policy, Democrats tend to favor higher taxes, higher government spending and a relatively high minimum wage. While they defend these policies as compassionate and socially responsible, people in favor of liberal economics reply that they depress economic growth and stifle enterprise and job creation. It should be noted, however, that the last known national budgetary surplus occurred during the administration of a Democrat president.

The Democratic Party has historically had ties to [[union|organized labor]]. The [[National Education Association]],<ref>http://www.nea.org/index.html</ref> the largest union of public school teachers, is a backbone of the party, supplying the largest number of delegates to its national conventions.{{fact}}

===Foreign and military policy===
According to its platform, the Democratic Party has the objective of strengthening America. Conservatives, however, argue that the Democrats' policies have the effect of giving comfort to the enemies of the United States and of weakening its position in the [[War on Terror]]. Highly partisan conservatives have claimed that the Democratic national leadership tends to be ambivalent about terrorism<ref>http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=22045</ref> and insufficiently patriotic.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0112/01/smn.19.html</ref>

===Other Policies===
Democrats frequently support [[a woman's right to choose]], [[gun control]], [[homosexual civil rights|homosexual marriage]] and the seperation of church and state. The Democratic party also supports the environment which leads to reduction of pollution and a benefit to wildlife.

==Religion==
[[Evangelical]] Christians tend to be associated with the Republican Party. However, both historically and at the present day, [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] voters have had a tendency to identify with the Democratic Party, and a number of Democrat office-holders, such as Senator [[Jim Webb]] of Virginia, are Catholics. On the other hand, several gereral ideals of the Democratic Party's platform - most notably, the party's overall support for the legality of [[abortion]] - are contrary to the position of the [[Catholic Church]].

==References==
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==Reference==

<references/> {{fact}}

[[Category:Politics]]

Alger Hiss

2007-03-21T23:08:22Z

Henry V:

'''Alger Hiss''' (1904-1996) was a US State department official and an alleged [[communist]] spy in the United States government during the 1940s. He denied he knew [[Whittaker Chambers]], a former American [[Communist]] who claimed that Hiss had been passing him [[State Department]] secrets for years. Congressman Richard Nixon was convinced that Hiss was lying and questioned him when he appeared before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] during the [[Cold War]] in 1948.

Both Hiss and Chambers testified before the House Committee, contradicting each other. When Chambers ultimately produced typed documents of State Department information and claimed they came from Hiss, a federal prosecutor in [[Manhattan]] indicted Hiss for perjury in the early 1950s.

The character witnesses for the defense included two U. S. Supreme Court justices, a former Solicitor General, a former Democratic presidential candidate ([[John W. Davis]]) and a future one ([[Adlai Stevenson]]).

Hiss did well on the witness stand in his defense, and his defense counsel was scathing in his attack on the prosecution's star witness, Chambers himself, who admitted that he worked for the liberal and communist cause in America.

The jury could not agree on a verdict, splitting with eight in favor of conviction and four against it. Despite testimony that the unlawfully leaked documents were typed on Hiss' typewriter, the four were not convinced beyond reasonable doubt.

The government then brought the case for retrial. During this trial the judge allowed a broader range of questioning. New defense counsel was weaker, conceding that the leaked documents were typed by the typewriter found in Hiss' possession, but disputing that he typed them. Inexplicably, Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter did not testify for Hiss in the second case.

The defense relied heavily on testimony by a expert witness who was a psychiatrist, who painted Chambers as a pathological liar. But the prosecutor destroyed the witness in one of the most famous cross-examinations in American legal history.

Hiss maintained his innocence until he died, and there is still some uncertainty as to whether or not he was a Soviet spy. Evidence retrieved as a result of the freedom of information act in 1975 revealed that the FBI knowingly comitted perjury when ascerting that certain documents could not have been forged, and that the FBI had illegally withheld evidence from the Defense concerning an inconsistency between a typewriter used as evidence's alleged manufacture date and its serial number. In the early 90's Russian authorities stated that they had found no evidence that Hiss ever worked as a Soviet agent, however Hungarian records from the 1950's may suggest otherwise. The existance of decoded telegrams from the late 40's and early 50's suggest that Hiss is likely to have been an operative code-named "ALES," however this has never been conclusively prooven.

The Alger Hiss espionage case played a major role in American politics during the Cold War era and affected the careers of many of those involved. The case helped propel Nixon to the Vice Presidency in 1952, [[Barry Goldwater]] to the Republican nomination for president in 1964, Nixon to the White House in 1968, and ultimately [[Ronald Reagan]] to the White House in 1980, where he awarded Chambers a posthumous Medal of Freedom.

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:History]]

United States of America

2007-03-19T06:49:13Z

Henry V:

The '''United States of America''' (commonly referred to as The United States) was founded in on July 4, 1776 with the signing of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. It is currently considered the most powerfull nation on earth. [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], and other [[Founding Fathers]] formally established the United States by the ratification of the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1788 A.D. Since the presidency of [[John Quincy Adams]] the United States has been governed by one of two [[political parties]] in a [[republic]] increasingly tending towards [[democracy]] as the [[franchise]] has expanded. The younger of the two existing major parties, the [[Republican Party]], was created in 1854. Between independence in 1776 and ratification of the [[Constitution]] in 1788, the United States' governing documents included the [[Articles of Confederation]] and the [[Declaration of Independence]] itself.

The Declaration of Independence acknowledges the existence of a [[God]] when it refers to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and says all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," though the latter statement was made by [[Thomas Jefferson]], whose religious who's religious beliefs had far more in common with Unitarianism then traditional christianity. Some Christians argued that since many of the Founding Fathers were Christians (although the majority of them could actually be qualified as Diests) and that, explicitly or not, the United States was founded upon the principles and ideals of Christianity. However, the freedom of religion (stating that the government cannot interfere in the conduct of religious groups) is a fundamental aspect of the [[First Amendment]] to the Constitution, which is the primary justification for the speration of church and state. This speration is a continueing source of conflict in American society. This [[Free Exercise Clause]] of the Amendment began increasingly to be tested and interpreted by the [[judiciary]] in the late 19th century as a result of the increasing population of religious [[minorities]] in the United States.

==History&Geography==

In 1783, when the [[Peace of Paris]] concluded hostilities against [[Great Britain]], the former [[colonial power]], the United States' population totaled some three million [[citizens]] and [[slaves]] living on slightly less than one million square miles of land. An unknown number of [[Native Americans]] also lived in the western part of the United States, which was then bordered on the west by the [[Mississippi River]], on the north by [[Lake Superior]], [[Lake Huron]], [[Lake Erie]] and [[Lake Ontario]], on the east by the [[Atlantic Ocean]], and on the south by [[Florida]], then controlled by [[Spain]]. The land border with [[Canada]] was not clarified until the [[Rush-Bagot Agreement]] of 1816.

The majority of the taxable population lived in the thirteen original [[states]]. In alphabetical order they are [[Connecticut]], [[Delaware]], [[Georgia]], [[Maryland]], [[Massachusetts]], [[New Hampshire]], [[New Jersey]], [[New York]], [[North Carolina]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Rhode Island]], [[South Carolina]] and [[Virginia]]. In 1790, an agreement between supporters of Jefferson and those of [[Alexander Hamilton]] resulted in the creation of the [[District of Columbia]] from part of [[Maryland]]; it has served as the national capital from 1800 on. The remainder of the 1783 territory was eventually organized as the states of [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Illinois]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]]. Two additional states were added during the first fifty years by [[secession]] from existing states: [[Vermont]] from New York, and [[Maine]] from Massachusetts. After that, the legality of [[secession]] became an issue.

In 1803, [[French]] emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] took advantage of a lull in his war with Great Britain to sell the [[Louisiana Territory]] to the United States, more than doubling the nation's land area. This territory would later be organized as the states of [[Minnesota]], [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], [[Nebraska]], [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], [[Arkansas]], [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Louisiana]] proper.

[[Florida]] and [[Texas]] joined the United States as a result of [[revolutions]] by settlers from the United States against their central governments. Florida's was fought in 1810, while the much better remembered [[Texas Revolution]] was fought in 1836. While Spain was willing to cut its losses in Florida and relinquished any claims on the state in the [[Adams-Oniz Agreement]] of 1819, one of the successors to its empire in the Americas, [[Mexico]], was considerably more attached to Texas and fought the [[Mexican War]] between 1846 and 1848 to reverse its annexation by the United States. Losing badly, Mexico was forced to cede the sparsely populated northern portion of itself under the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]]. This territory eventually became the states of [[California]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]]. At approximately the same time, [[President]] [[James K. Polk]] had agreed with the British that the 49th Parallel (degree of latitude) would serve as the boundary between the U. S. and Canada from [[Lake of the Woods]] (partially in Minnesota) to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. This territory was later organized as the states of [[Washington]], [[Oregon]] and [[Idaho]].

In 1867, [[Secretary of State]] [[William Seward]] purchased [[Alaska]] from [[Russia]]. Alaska is the westernmost extremity of [[North America]] bounded on the east by Canada, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the [[Bering Strait]] and on the north by the [[Arctic Ocean]]. At $7,000,000, Alaska cost the United States considerably less per acre than the [[Mexican Cession]] and slightly less than the Louisiana Territory. Of course, [[inflation]] was less of a factor at this time due to the world [[economy]] still being principally [[agrarian]]. Although at the time it was considered a foolish bargain, Alaska would later become a large source of economic prosperity due to large gold, oil, and other natural resources. Alaska would not be admitted as a state until 1959.

The 50th and so far final state, [[Hawaii]], was admitted in 1960, 67 years after other American settlers deposed the last native [[queen]] of the archipelago and 62 years after annexation had become politically feasible as a result of the [[Spanish-American War]], in which the United States also annexed [[Puerto Rico]], [[Guam]] and [[Wake Island]]. The last three islands are not states, although [[Puerto Rico]] has occasionally held non-binding [[referenda]] to express its desired status within the United States.

The United States has occasionally relinquished territory. The most significant example of this was certainly the granting of independence in 1946 to the [[Phillipines]] as part of the general [[decolonization]] of [[Asia]] and [[Africa]] following [[World War II]]. Under both [[autocratic]] and [[democratic]] governments, the Phillipines have subsequently remained a strong American ally, and today contribute more troops to the U. S. [[military]] than some states. Other Pacific territories such as the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] and [[Palau]] have also become independent in the postwar era with little objection from opinion leaders on the mainland. More controversial was the 1977 agreement between President [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[General]] [[Omar Torrijos]] to return the [[Panama Canal Zone]], which had been part of the United States since 1914, to [[Panama]] in the year 2000. Ultimately the United States lived up to this agreement despite the worst fears of both [[liberals]] (who decried [[Operation Just Cause]], the 1989 invasion of Panama) and [[conservatives]] (who feared the management of the [[Panama Canal]] by [[Chinese]] interests).

[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:United States History]]

Talk:Physics

2007-03-19T05:39:37Z

Henry V:

:''Physics is the study of nature, and is the science of studying the laws of God's universe''

God in this context is completely irrelevant. If this is the case, we should also have God's Ball, God's incline,God's Scientists, God's Galileo. Having "the" instead of "God's" universe is less biased (aren't we trying to reduce bias). --[[User:Sm355|Sm355]] 21:11, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

:No, it's implied through the rest of the article. It's not irrelevant because God created it, He deserves the the credit. We are privileged to be able to study and figure out different aspects of His creation. That's what science is, the study of God's creation. --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 21:14, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

::Sigh. It is still not proven that God did create the Universe (The Bible does not count as proof). Its just as likely and provable that Xenu, Min, Ra, Thor, Mars, Vishnu or any other God you would care to think of created the Universe. So in an article about rocks for example, should we include the statement "God's Rocks" at the start of the article.--[[User:Sm355|Sm355]] 21:20, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

:::Even if they did, this is a Christian site, so one wouldn't put those anyways. --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 21:23, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

::::I have to agree with Sm355 about this. The articles whould be factual in every possible way to make this site a credible source for information. Because it is still unproven that the Christian god created the universe, the word "the" fits much better into the article. Also, for a good portion of the purposes this article might be used for, the word "God's" would be an unacceptable term(I'm talking about schools, etc.).[[User:NSmyth|NSmyth]]21:28, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

:::::I disagree, obviously. The Bible does count as proof. Take the ''Messianic prophesies of Christ'' as just one example. That right there proves that God spoke to us humans through the Bible, and that the Bible is an accurate account of history. That would also imply that the Christian God created everything, and thus He deserves the credit. "the" couldn't fit less with the article. --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 21:35, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

::::::Shouldn't the definition have a source, anyways? Here's a good list of possible sources for definitions: [http://www.onelook.com/?w=physics&ls=a]. I'll leave it up to y'all to find the one best suited. I am no physicist. [[User:Myk|Myk]] 01:13, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

:::::::Good idea. Genesis 1:1. --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 01:16, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

Whether or not you believe it is "God's universe" or not has NO effect whatsover on the actual science of physics. Which, btw, is almost completely lacking from this article. And the Book of Genesis does not count as a reference for a scientific statement.

Physics

2007-03-19T05:22:56Z

Henry V:

{{stub}}
'''Physics''' is the study of nature, and is the science of studying the laws of the universe. [[Galileo]] was the first to discover and propose some of the fundamental laws of physics that we still realize today. He began by studying how a ball will roll down and incline and showed that it's speed would be proportional to the hight it started at. A scientist that studies ''physics'' is called a [[physicist]].

[[Category:Physics| ]]

Media bias

2007-03-19T05:22:34Z

Henry V:

Media bias is a natural result of the differing opinions of persons involved in the media, specifically news-media, which may show through to various degree's in program content or focus. Most journalism schools attempt to eliminate bias as much as possible, although efforts are not always successfull. Left wing media bias has become a rallying cry for certain right wing groups, in the United States in particular, who view it as a symptom of the degeneration of traditional values and and possibly even a cohesive conspiracy to corrupt America's values.

These people are generally considered to be bat-shit insane.