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United States of America

2010-08-03T00:36:52Z

ILOVEUSA: Replaced content with '{{Country |name =''United States of America'' |map =US map.PNG |map2 Category:United States History Category:Featured articles'

{{Country
|name =''United States of America''
|map =US map.PNG
|map2
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Banana

2010-08-03T00:36:20Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]]
A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[plant]] of the genus ''musa''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Magnoliophyta,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales'' come on

The banana was first found in [[Malaysia]], and by way of curious travelers made it to [[India]], [[China]] and [[Africa]]. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the [[Canary Islands]] with their first banana plantations. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast [[Asia]] were not the eight-to-twelve-[[inch]] giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the [[Declaration of Independence]].

Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods.
[[Category:Fruits]]

Thomas Sowell

2010-08-03T00:35:51Z

ILOVEUSA:

'''Thomas Sowell''' (born June 30, 1930) is [[America]]'s most famous black [[conservative]] author. His book ''A Conflict of Visions'' contrasts the political beliefs of the modern left and right.<ref> [http://www.conservativemonitor.com/top-ten/conflict-of-visions.shtml A Conflict of Visions, by Thomas Sowell] </ref> Sowell has a Ph.D in [[Economics]] from [[Harvard University]], and is currently a Senior Fellow at [[Stanford University]]'s Hoover Institution. <ref>http://www.tsowell.com/cv.html</ref>

Sowell, who cites [[George Will]] as a personal influence, prefers writing for popular audiences over writing for more "academic" setting, saying that "writing for the general public enables him to address the heart of issues without the smoke and mirrors that so often accompany academic writing". <ref>http://www.capmag.com/author.asp?name=3</ref>

Sowell wrote a well-researched book criticizing "[[black redneck culture]]"<ref> [http://www.tsowell.com/Rednecks.htm Black Rednecks & White Liberals]</ref> in which he points out that, "some blacks resent anything that suggests anything negative about themselves."<ref> [http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4296 Black Rednecks and White Liberals: Who's a Redneck?]</ref> how are you?

==Quotes==
*Too much of what is called "education" is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.<ref> [http://www.boycottliberalism.com/Thomas-Sowell-quotes.htm Conservative Quotes and Messages]</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==Writings==
*[http://www.tsowell.com/About_Writing.html Some Thoughts about Writing]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowell,Thomas}}

[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Conservative Commentators]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]

Banana

2010-08-03T00:35:15Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]]
A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[plant]] of the genus ''musa''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Magnoliophyta,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales''

The banana was first found in [[Malaysia]], and by way of curious travelers made it to [[India]], [[China]] and [[Africa]]. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the [[Canary Islands]] with their first banana plantations. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast [[Asia]] were not the eight-to-twelve-[[inch]] giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. An edit-war?

Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods.
[[Category:Fruits]]

New York

2010-08-03T00:34:47Z

ILOVEUSA:

{{USState
|name=New York
|flag=Newyorkflag.gif
|motto="Excelsior"
|nick=The Empire State
|capital=Albany
|language=None
|governor=David A. Paterson
|gparty=Democrat
|senator1=Kirsten Gillibrand
|s1party=Democrat
|s1phone=(202) 224-4451
|s1email=no contact info
|senator2=Charles Schumer
|s2party=Democrat
|s2phone=(202) 224-6542
|s2email=http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm Contact
|population=
|date=July 26, 1788 (11th)
}}
'''New York''' state, one of the original [[Colonial America|13 colonies]], became a state in 1776 and was the 11th state to ratify the Constitution on July 26, 1788. In common use, "New York" most often refers to [[New York City]], the financial, news and cultural capital of the U.S.
==Politics==
With the $133 billion state budget in the red by $17.7 billion, Governor [[David A. Paterson]] came into conflict with public service unions who rejected his call for sacrifice. Polls in show his popularity has plunged. Democrats do not believe he can be reelected and the White House has asked him to drop out of the 2010 race.

Polls show State Attorney General [[Andrew Cuomo]], a Democrat, leads potential GOP candidates Rick Lazio 65% to 26% and [[Rudy Giuliani]] 58% to 37%. Cuomo has a wide lead 61% to 27% in a Democratic Primary match-up with Paterson.

==History==
see [[History of New York State]]
nice city
==Facts==
[[File:Liberty2.jpg|thumb|Statue of Liberty.]]
* Nickname: The Empire State.
* State Capital: [[Albany]].
* Total area: 54,471.144 square miles (47,223.839 land and 7,247.305 inland water).
* Population: Based on the 2000 census – 18,976,457; 3rd most populous US state after California and Texas. Much of this population lives in New York City. "Upstate" New York has most of the land area in the state.
* State Song: "I Love New York"
* [[State flower|State Flower]]: [[Rose]]
*There are four mountain ranges in New York State: Adirondack, Catskill, Shawangunk and Taconic.
*The highest point in New York State is Mount Marcy in Essex County in the Adirondacks - 5,344 feet above sea level.
*The State has 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, 9,767 miles of shoreline which includes 8,778 miles of lake shoreline.

==Major Cities==
* [[Albany]]
* [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]
* [[New York City]]
* [[Rochester]]
* [[Schenectady]]
* [[Syracuse]]

==Politics==
New York City is the center of American liberalism. "Upstate" is much more conservative and the suburbs are split.

In 1980 the state elected 17 Republicans to the House; in 2008 it elected only three.

==Miscellaneous==
New York is the home and birthplace of four American presidents, [[Martin Van Buren]], [[Millard Filmore]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Franklin Roosevelt]].

==External Links==
*[http://www.iloveny.com/ Official New York State Tourism Web Site]
*[http://www.ny.gov/governor/ New York State]

==Further reading==
* Blond, Becca, and China Williams. ''Lonely Planet New York State'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-New-York-State/dp/1741041252/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189477988&sr=1-8 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com], a guide book.
* Eisenstadt, Peter, Laura-Eve Moss, and Carole F. Huxley, eds. ''The Encyclopedia Of New York State'' (2005) 1900 pages of articles by experts. The best starting point.
* Jackson, Kenneth, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' (1995), [http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-New-York-City/dp/0300055366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240594479&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

{{USstates}}
[[Category:States of the United States]]
[[Category:New York]]

Pennsylvania

2010-08-03T00:34:25Z

ILOVEUSA:

{{USState
|name=Pennsylvania
|flag=Pennsylvania_State_Flag.gif
|motto="Virtue, Liberty, and Independence"
|nick=The Keystone State
|capital=Harrisburg
|language=None
|governor=Ed Rendell
|gparty=Democrat
|senator1=Bob Casey, Jr.
|s1party=Democrat
|s1phone=(202) 224-6324
|s1email=http://casey.senate.gov/contact/ Contact
|senator2=Arlen Specter
|s2party=Democrat
|s2phone=(202) 224-4254
|s2email=http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm Contact
|population=
|date=December 12, 1787 (2nd)
}}
'''Pennsylvania''' was one of the original thirteen colonies. It is now a US state. Its capital is [[Harrisburg]] and it borders [[Ohio]], [[Maryland]], [[New York]], [[New Jersey]], [[Delaware]], and [[West Virginia]].
==History==
When Europeans settlers arrived in the early 17th century the area was inhabited by about 15,000 Indians; they belonged to three main tribal groups, the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Shawnee. The English, Dutch, and Swedes all sought to occupy the land, but the English won the wars and took control. Dutch trading posts were established first; in 1637 Swedes built Fort Christina, and in 1643, began the first permanent settlement, located at the mouth of the Schuylkill River. The Dutch seized New Sweden in 1655, only to lose it to the English in 1664. King Charles II gave it to William Penn to pay off debts; the Penn family were the proprietors (owners) until 1776, when they were overthrown by the patriots as part of the American Revolution.
===Religious tolerance===
The colony was founded and owned by [[William Penn]], an English Quaker who wanted a place where [[Quaker]]s and other denominations could worship freely without persecution. The first Colonial Legislative Act, the Great Law of Pennsylvania, December 7, 1682, mandated: <blockquote>"That no person ... who shall confess and acknowledge one Almighty God
to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the World ... shall in any case be molested or prejudiced for his, or her Conscientious persuasion or practice." <ref>http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/constitutiontrans.asp</ref></blockquote>

[[Benjamin Franklin]] helped write Pennsylvania's 1776 Constitution. In Frame of Government, Chapter 2, Section 10, it states: "Each member of the legislature, before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration: 'I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, the Rewarder of the good and Punisher of the wicked, and I do acknowledge the Scripcomming throughtures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.'"

===18th century===
Quakers came to the Philadelphia area, where many became successful merchants, handling the long-distance trade to London and other parts of the British Empire. Pennsylvania attracted large numbers of Germans, including Lutherans and many smaller sects. They were farmers in the southeast. Scots-Irish (mostly Presbyterians) settled the frontier regions.
Pennsylvania was the third largest colony by 1775, with 275,000 people (including a few thousand black slaves who worked mostly as house servants.
[[File:Col-pa.jpg|thumb|300px|Philadelphia]]

[[Philadelphia]] grew quickly into the largest city in colonial America and with 35,000 people in 1776 was the second largest city in the British Empire. The city's economy was based on growing agricultural wealth from prosperous inland farms which sent their surplus grains, cattle and horses for export. Entrepreneurs set up prosperous shipbuilding works on the Delaware River, and opened an iron industry. The Quaker merchants favored education and civic culture, creating a rich cultural and intellectual life that gave Philadelphia the nickname, "the Athens of America."

The [[Continental Congress]] met in Philadelphia from 1774 to 1783, with an interruption when the British occupied the city in 1777 and the government moved to Lancaster and York. The [[Declaration of Independence]] was signed there in 1776, the [[Liberty Bell]] is there, and the [[Continental Army]] spent the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge outside Philadelphia, where they suffered severe hardships for want of supplies.

===Early national period===
The [[Constitution of the United States|American Constitution]] was written in [[Philadelphia]] in 1787. Pennsylvania was the 2nd State to join [[United States of America|the Union]] on December 12, 1787 and the city was the national capital from 1790 to 1800. In 1790 the state adopted a more conservative state constitution; state capital was relocated in 1800 to Lancaster, and then to Harrisburg in 1812.

The population grew with high birth rates, and low death rates, but little immigration. Scotch Irish filled out the frontier. A strong sense of commitment to [[Jeffersonian Democracy]] and [[Jacksonian Democracy]] gave the Jeffersonian Republicans and (after 1830) the Democratsa strong position. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 saw western farmers angrily protest the federal tax on their most portable product. President Washington personally led an army against it, and the rebels immediately gave in. A new and more democratic state constitution was adopted in 1838.
===Civil War Era===
The antislavery movement flourished after Quaker originated the anti-slavery cause and freed their own slaves.

The need for Philadelphia to maintain access to the expanding interior and the West, both as markets and as sources of materials, such as coal and iron, to be sold and manufactured, led to aggressive state programs to improve the transportation system. The Philadelphia-Lancaster Turnpike, first in the nation, was completed in 1794; the state built hundreds of miles of canals; mules pulled boats loaded with commerce and passengers. The canal system was linked by the Allegheny Portage Railroad over the Allegheny mountains in 1835. Private enterprise built railroads that opened up the anthracitge coal region, which became the premier energy source for America by 1850. Philadelphia became an industrial city, famous for textiles, iron and steel, and railroad equipment along with commerce and shipbuilding. The world's first major oil wells were drilled near Titusville in 1859 and the northwestern part of the state became the center for [[Standard Oil]] and other companies.

Pennsylvania's only president, [[James Buchanan]], proved a failure in allowing seven southern states to break away under his watch. During the war Gettysburg was the scene of the war's most decisive battle, July 1-3, 1863--and Pennsylvania furnished men and leaders, including generals George B. McClellan, Winfield S. Hancock, and George Meade and Adm. David D. Porter, for the Union army and navy. Philadelphia banker, Jay Cooke was the leading financier of the Civil War; he invented a sytstem of savings bonds that allowed ordinary people to help finance the war. Philadelphia continued as a financial leader in the nation until after 1870, when it was far overshadowed by New York.

==Major cities==
*[[Allentown]]
*[[Erie]]
*[[Harrisburg]]
*[[Philadelphia]]
*[[Pittsburgh]]
*[[Scranton]]

==Miscellaneous==

Pennsylvania is known as the "Keystone State".

Pennsylvania is the birthplace and home of President [[James Buchanan]].

Pennsylvania was the only one of the 13 original colonies to be completely landlocked, in that it did not border an ocean.

==Sports==

Pennsylvania is home to the [[NBA]]'s Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL's [[Philadelphia Flyers]] and [[Pittsburgh Penguins]], Major League Baseball's [[Philadelphia Phillies]] and [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], and the [[NFL]]'s [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and [[Philadelphia Eagles]]. Additionally, Pennsylvania State University is a traditional college football powerhouse, and Villanova University and the University of Pittsburgh have had great success in college basketball as of late.

==Name==
Pennsylvania was named by the king after William Penn's father (Penn himself did not want the name used.)<ref>
He wrote, "This day, my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a name the King would give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being as this, a pretty, hilly country, but Penn being Welsh for head as in Penmanmoire, in Wales, and Penrith, in Cumberland, and Penn, in Buckinghamshire . . . called this Pennsylvania, which is the high or head woodlands; for I proposed, when the secretary, a Welshman, refused to have it called New Wales, Sylvania and they added Penn to it, and though I opposed it and went to the King to have it struck out and altered he said it was past . . nor could twenty guineas move the under-secretary to vary the name" See [http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts1.html#americaname source]</ref> The name means "Penn's woods".
==Further reading==
* Miller, Randall M. and William A. Pencak, eds. ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth'' (2002), detailed scholarly history
* Beers, Paul B. ''Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday'' (1980), government textbook
* Klein, Philip S and Ari Hoogenboom. ''A History of Pennsylvania'' (1973), solid college textbook
* Weigley, Russell. ''Philadelphia: A 300-Year History'' (1982)
* WPA Federal Writers' Project. ''Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State,'' 1940.
== References ==
<References/>

{{USstates}}
[[Category:States of the United States]]

Bully

2010-08-03T00:33:59Z

ILOVEUSA:

A '''bully''' is someone who uses tasty.... [[intimidation]] and [[coercion]], rather than [[reason]], to impose his will on others. The act of being a bully is known as [[bullying]].

Name-calling is a technique characteristic of a bully.
[[Category:Psychology]]

Banana

2010-08-03T00:33:28Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]]
A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[plant]] of the genus ''musa''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Magnoliophyta,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales''

The banana was first found in [[Malaysia]], and by way of curious travelers made it to [[India]], [[China]] and [[Africa]]. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the [[Canary Islands]] with their first banana plantations. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast [[Asia]] were not the eight-to-twelve-[[inch]] giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. they are very tasty!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods.
[[Category:Fruits]]

Virginia

2010-08-03T00:32:59Z

ILOVEUSA:

{{USState
|name=Virginia
|flag=11121.gif
|motto="Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Thus Always to Tyrants)
|nick=The Old Dominion State
|capital=Richmond
|language=English
|governor=Bob McDonnell
|gparty=Republican
|senator2=Mark Warner
|s2party=Democrat
|s2phone=(202) 224-2023
|s2email=http://warner.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm Contact
|senator1=Jim Webb
|s1party=Democrat
|s1phone=(202) 224-4024
|s1email=http://webb.senate.gov/contact/ Contact
|population=
|date=June 25, 1788 (10th)
}}

'''Virginia''' (Officially '''''The Commonwealth of Virginia''''') is one of the fifty [[United States]]. Named in honor of [[Queen Elizabeth I]] of [[England]], Virginia was also nicknamed the ''Old Dominion'' by King Charles II because it remained loyal to the crown during the [[English Civil War]] and throughout [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s years. Virginia was one of the first colonies in [[Colonial America]] in the 1600s and was a leader in the [[American Revolution]].

==Politics==
In partisan terms, the two parties compete furiously for the legislature and the governorship. In presidential elections Virginia was reliably Republican from 1968 until 2004, but in 2008 Obama won, thanks to the growing liberal strength in the Washington suburbs.

[[File:Va-gov.jpg|thumb|330px]]

The 2009 election for gov i like you ernor was a referendum on the Obama administration. Republican [[Bob McDonnell]], Virginia's former attorney general, defeated Democrat State Senator [[Creigh Deeds]]. Since 1977, the political party that has won the presidency has, in every case, lost the Virginia governorship in the next election.

McDonnell explained that, "The business community was the first to recoil" from policies such as "card check" -- legislation to allow union organization by signing cards instead of by a secret ballot -- and cap-and-trade environmental policies. "But health care now dwarfs previous concerns -- handing over the best medical system in the world to the federal government. It affects everyone." Conservatives, he contends, are more activated than at any time since 1993. A young McDonnell campaign worker exuded confidence, boasting, "We have the enthusiasm Obama's people had last time."<ref>Michael Gerson, "A Virginia Model For a GOP Comeback?" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082703256.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 '"Washington Post'' Aug. 28, 2009] </ref>

==Geological Regions of Virginia==
Virginia is commonly divided into five geological regions, Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge and the Appalachia Plateau. There are no formal lines marking these regions and any political boundaries, such as county or city boundaries are coincidental. However, these regions have identifiable geology which differentiates them.

===Fall Line===
The ''Fall Line'' is so named because it marks a line where many waterfalls occur in Virginia Rivers. Below the Fall Line most rivers, such as the James and Potomac and Rappahannok, are broad, deep and gentle, but above the Fall Line the rivers are rockier and swifter. Below the Fall Line rivers are navigable by ocean-going vessels. Above the Fall Line canoes and flat boats are the only means to navigate most rivers.

Because of this the C&O Canal (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal) was constructed above the Fall Line. The goal was to unite the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River system the way the Erie Canal had opened up the Great Lakes below Niagara. Many important Virginia cities such as Alexandria, Richmond and Petersburg are just below the Fall Line.

===Tidewater===
The Tidewater or "Coastal Plain" of Virginia is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the ''Fall Line''.

The Tidewater Region was the first region of Virginia to be settled by Europeans, and is home to many of the oldest English settlements in North America, such as [[Jamestown]]. The dominant geographical feature of the region is the [[Chesapeake_Bay | Chesapeake Bay]]. Rivers in the region rise and fall with the tides because they flow into the Chesapeake or other salt-water bays. Major ports such as [[Norfolk]] or Newport News are found in the region as are historical port cities such as the tobacco ports of Alexandria and Yorktown are found on the Coastal Plain. The British surrender at Yorktown was considered a tipping point in the [[Revolutionary War]].

====Eastern Shore====
The Eastern Shore of Virginia is that part of Virginia situated on the Delmarva Peninsula between the [[Chesapeake Bay]] and the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The region is fairly undeveloped due to the remoteness imposed by the bay and ocean, but many fishers, farmers and chicken farms are found here. These region is geographically part of the Tidewater region and its connected to the mainland by way of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. <ref>http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761554210/Delmarva_Peninsula.html</ref>

===Piedmont===
Above the Fall Line are the foothills of the Appalachian and the region whose name means "foot mountain". The Piedmont is rockier and higher than the coastal plain of the Tidewater. The Piedmont was settled by English pioneers in the earliest days of colonial America and later by African slaves who worked the plantations of the region. Tobacco and corn are still an important part of the Piedmont economy. Scenic and historic cities such as Charlottesville and Lynchburg are two important Piedmont cities. The famed Appomattox courthouse is in the Piedmont.

===Blue Ridge===
The Blue Ridge is a range of mountains rise up above the Piedmont and mark the point where the Appalachian Mountains rise up above the Piedmont. The [[Shenandoah National Park]] and the Skyline Drive are Blue Ridge tourist destinations. Apples orchards are common in this region, but the industry is not as vibrant as it was historically. [http://www.whitehousefoods.com/ White House Foods], a major apple juicer and product packager, draws many of its apples from this region. Cities are uncommon, perhaps unknown in this region, but "mountain people" inhabited much of the highlands before they were converted to parks. Mountain people, sometimes called ''hillbillies, rednecks, or or other liberal slurs for reverse discrimination'', had a unique culture devoted to life in the highland. <ref>Memories of a Lewis Mountain Man by John W. Stoneberger published by Potomac Appalachian Trail Club</ref><ref>http://www.patc.net/store/PC320.htm</ref>

===Valley and Ridge===
Beyond the Blue Ridge is the ''Valley and Ridge Region''. Perhaps the most famous part of the Valley and Ridge Region west of the Blue Ridge is the Shenandoah Valley. Stonewall Jackson's Valley campaign was fought throughout this region. Cities in this region developed in proximity to the early railroad system, and this figured into the strategy of the [[American Civil War | War Between the States]]. Manassas, Harrisonburg and Roanoke are important cities in this region.

===Appalachian Plateau===
The southwest corner of Virginia between [[West Virginia]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Tennessee]] makes up Virginia's Appalachian Plateau. The region is similar geographically to West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky with rugged terrain not well-suited to the development of large cities like the westernmost metropolitan area, Roanoke, though some parts of the region, such as the Grundy area, have major educational facilities which attracts many out of state residents (Eg., the Appalachian School of Law). The [[Coal]] industry is an important industry and way of life in this part of Virginia. Also, this region is one of the leading producers of natural gas due to large methane deposits found within deep (underground) mines. The region is also known for its ntional parks (Eg. the Breaks Interstate Park, which is on the VA/KY border.)

==Regions, Counties and Cities==
Virginia has evolved into several different cultural regions which have very divergent economic interests, lifestyle goals and ways of life. Northern Virginia is one of the wealthiest, best educated and most developed parts of the United States and thus the entire world. Traffic congestion is a common problem and the Metro (subway system) aids commuters into and out of Washington D.C., [[Arlington, Virginia|Arlington]] and Alexandria. High technology industries and U.S. government jobs are leading employers in this region. Southwestern Virginia is mountainous with coal mining and few other industries. The Virginia Beach/Norfolk Region is home to several major military installations and [[ship]]-building foundries. Central Virginia is dominated by mid-sized cities with disproportionate political strength such as [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. The [[Chesapeake Bay]] separates the Eastern Shore of Virgina from the rest of Virgina. The Eastern Shore is the Virginia portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and is sparsely populated, flat, and sandy.

Virginia is organized into a system of [[county|counties]] and [[independent city|independent cities]]. Towns are incorporated in counties, and towns have the power to levy taxes in addition to those imposed by the county. Arlington is organized as a county, but it is completely urbanized, and there are no towns in the county limits, so for all practical purposes, Arlington is a city.

===Cities & Towns===
* Alexandria
* Abingdon
* Bedford
* Bridgewater
* Chesapeake
* Fairfax City
* Falls Church
* Fredericksburg
* Galax
* Grundy
* Hampton
* Hampton Roads Region
* Lebanon
* Manassas
* Petersburg
* Richmond
* Roanoke
* Staunton
* Tangiers Island
* Williamsburg
* Winchester

===Counties===
*Accomack
*Albemarle
*Alleghany
*Amelia
*Amherst
*Appomattox
*Arlington
*Augusta
*Bath
*Bedford
*Bland
*Botetourt
*Brunswick
*Buchanan
*Buckingham
*Campbell
*Caroline
*Carroll
*Charles City
*Charlotte
*Chesterfield
*Clarke
*Craig
*Culpeper
*Cumberland
*Dickenson
*Dinwiddie
*Essex
*Fairfax
*Fauquier
*Floyd
*Fluvanna
*Franklin
*Frederick
*Giles
*Gloucester
*Goochland
*Grayson
*Greene
*Greensville
*Halifax
*Hanover
*Henrico
*Henry
*Highland
*Isle of Wight
*James City
*King and Queen
*King George
*King William
*Lancaster
*Lee
*Loudoun
*Louisa
*Lunenburg
*Madison
*Mathews
*Mecklenburg
*Middlesex
*Montgomery
*Nelson
*New Kent
*Northampton
*Northumberland
*Nottoway
*Orange
*Page
*Patrick
*Pittsylvania
*Powhatan
*Prince Edward
*Prince George
*Prince William
*Pulaski
*Rappahannock
*Richmond
*Roanoke
*Rockbridge
*Rockingham
*Russell
*Scott
*Shenandoah
*Smyth
*Southampton
*Spotsylvania
*Stafford
*Surry
*Sussex
*Tazewell
*Warren
*Washington
*Westmoreland
*Wise
*Wythe
*York

* Information obtained from VA state site.

==Flag, Seal and Official Symbols & Emblems==
The unofficial motto and tourist marketing slogan of the Commonwealth is ''Virginia is for Lovers'' but the official State Motto is ''Sic Semper Tyrannis'', a Latin phrase meaning "Thus Always to Tyrants". <ref>http://www.state.va.us/cmsportal2/facts_and_history_4096/facts_4104/trivia_facts.html</ref>

The front of the Great Seal of Virginia (called the obverse) features the Roman goddess Virtus standing over a defeated opponent. Virtus wears a blue tunic exposing her left breast. One arm rests on a spear, the other carries a sheathed sword. This goddess stands in a triumphant victor's with one foot on the chest of a fallen tyrant, whose crown lies at Virtus' feet. ''Sic Semper Tyrannis'' arches at the bottom the image and "Virginia" symmetrically arches above Virtus. <ref>http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/va_seal.htm</ref> The reverse (or back side) of the Seal features the Latin word ''Perseverando'' (Persevering) and a depiction of three robed Roman goddesses figures who represent Libertas, Ceres and Aeternitas. Ceres the goddess of agriculture holds a horn of plenty with other symbols of agricultural bounty. In the center of the reverse, Libertas, the goddess of liberty, holds a wand at the top of the wand hangs a Phrygian Cap, also known as a Liberty Cap. To the right of Libertas is Aeternitas or "Eternity" holding a orb representing Virginia's authority.
<ref>http://legis.state.va.us/cap_class/4-5/4_5_emb_symb.html#Emblems</ref>

Virginia's flag features the Great Seal of the Commonwealth on white center over a field of royal blue. Many web images depict a light blue flag, but the actual flag is a rich purplish blue. The General Assembly adopted an official flag salute in 1954:

::''I salute the flag of Virginia, with reverence and patriotic devotion to the ‘Mother of States and Statesmen,’ which it represents—the ‘Old Dominion,’ where liberty and independence were born.''<ref>http://legis.state.va.us/cap_class/4-5/4_5_emb_symb.html#Emblems</ref>

The cardinal and the dogwood petal are among Virginia's most well-known emblems, but Virginia's has many emblems:

* State Bat: Virginia Big Eared [[Bat]] (an endangered species)
* State Beverage: [[Milk]]
* State Bird: Northern [[cardinal]]
* State Boat: Chesapeake Bay Deadrise
* State Dog: American Foxhound
* State Dance: Square Dance (Virginia Reel)
* State Fish: Brook [[Trout]]
* State Flower (and tree): American Dogwood
* State Fossil: Chesapeten Jeffersonius
* State Insect: Tiger Swallowtail [[Butterfly]]
* State Shell: Oyster Shell <ref>http://legis.state.va.us/cap_class/4-5/4_5_emb_symb.html#Emblems</ref>

==Transportation==
Virginia is well served by the [[Interstate Highway System including at least two of the busiest highways on the Eastern Coast of the US, I-81 and I-95. Interstate 81, which moves through the city of Bristol, TN/VA is popular with tractor-trailers and some travelers, while 95 is a popular tourist highway. The famed [[Beltway]] (I-495) surrounds Washington DC by looping through Northern Virginia. Richmond is served by I-95 and a beltway looping off I-64. Rail lines are not as busy as they were historically, but important coal lines still make their way through the Valley and Ridge Region of Virginia. [[Amtrak]] lines Richmond and Alexandria to the cities in the Eastern US. Dulles International is one of the busiest airports in the US and the Northern Virginia area is also served by Ronald Reagan National Airport. Norfolk Virginia is one of the largest ports on the East Coast. The Virginia Inland Port in Front Royal Virginia is linked by rail line to Norfolk.

==History==
See [[History of Virginia]]

The '''History of Virginia''' began with the settlement of the geographic region now known as the Commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S. thousands of years ago by Native Americans. Permanent European settlement began with English settlers at Jamestown in 1607. Tobacco emerged as a profitable export crop, and the Virginia Colony became the richest and largest British colonies in North America. The year 2007 marked the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown.

As one of the original 13 United States which won their independence from Great Britain during the [[American Revolution]], Virginia produced more national leaders than any state, including four of the first five presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe). The new state gave up its western lands to form Kentucky and Ohio. During the first half of the 19th century, Virginia grew less rapidly than industrial states to the north, or cotton states to the south. The state exported young people and slaves to form plantations and farms to the west and south.

Virginia was a slave state but refused to join the cotton states in the new Confederacy until Lincoln called for troops to invade the Confederacy. Then it seceded and Richmond became the new Confederate capital. After many decades of sectional hostility in 1861 West Virginia broke away as a separate state and joined the Union.

With the Yankees intent on capturing Richmond, Virginia became the main battlefield of the war, which it lost in 1865 as its greatest general, Robert E. Lee, surrendered.

Reconstruction brought the liberation of the state's slaves, and proved less contentious than elsewhere in the South. Virginia was poor after 1865, though the new popularity of cigarettes boosted its tobacco industry. After 1940, prosperity returned. [[World War II]] gave the state a major naval and industrial economic base. Desegregation of schools and the integration of African Americans in many other aspects of the society were major issues from the 1950s to the 1970s and the changes did not come without considerable efforts. However, in 1989 [[Douglas Wilder]] became the first elected black governor anywhere in the country. By the 1980s the suburban fringes of Washington D.C. known as Northern Virginia saw the greatest growth and prosperity, a trend which was also seen in the [[Hampton Roads]] region.

Politically, the state was a stronghold of conservative Democrats for most of the 20th century, with a new strength shown by conservative Republicans in the final decade. In the early 21st century, funding for transportation needs emerged as the most controversial single issue.

In partisan terms, the two parties compete furiously for the legislature and the governorship. In presidential elections Virginia was reliably Republican from 1968 until 2004, but in 2008 Obama won, thanks to the growing liberal strength in the Washington suburbs.

===Mother of Presidents===
Virginia is often called the ''Mother of Presidents'' or ''Birthplace of Presidents'' because eight U.S. Presidents have been born in there. Four of the first five presidents, [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[James Madison]], and [[James Monroe]], were Virginians. The remaining Presidents from Virginia are [[William Henry Harrison]], [[John Tyler]], [[Zachary Taylor]], and [[Woodrow Wilson]]. Many of their Virginia homes such as Jefferson's [[Monticello]] and Washington's Mount Vernon are popular tourist destinations.<ref>http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureID=94</ref>

== See also ==

*[[State Governors]]

==References==
<references/>

{{USstates}}
[[Category:States of the United States]]
[[Category:Virginia| ]]
[[Category:The South]]
http://www.virginia.gov/cmsportal3/

Joe Arpaio

2010-08-03T00:32:14Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[File:SheriffJoeArpaio-252x350.jpg|right|150px]]
'''Joe Arpaio''' is the current [[conservative]] [[sheriff]] of Maricopa County, [[Arizona]]. He is famous for stupid h on crime and illegal immigration. He has been attacked by the [[ACLU]] and the [[SPLC]] viciously because of his strong anti-illegal immigration stance. Arpaio became Sheriff of Maricopa County in 1992, and has been re-elected five times. In August, 1993, he started the nation’s largest "tent city" for convicted inmates. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in a canvas incarceration compound. <ref>[http://www.mcso.org/index.php?a=GetModule&mn=sheriff_bio - Maricopa County Sheriff's Office]</ref>

== Official Biography ==
"You probably know him as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” a name given to him years ago by the media. It’s a name he certainly has earned as head of the nation’s third largest Sheriff’s Office which employs over 3000 people. But even before he became Sheriff in 1993, Joe Arpaio was one tough lawman. After serving in the [[U.S. Army]] from 1950 to 1953, and as a [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Las Vegas]], NV, police officer for almost five years, Arpaio went on to build a federal law enforcement career and a reputation for fighting crime and drug trafficking around the world.

He began his career as a federal narcotics agent, establishing a stellar record in infiltrating drug organizations from Turkey to the Middle East to Mexico, Central, and South America to cities around the U.S. His expertise and success led him to top management positions around the world with the U.S. [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA). He concluded his remarkable 32-year federal career as head of the DEA for Arizona.

In 1992 Arpaio successfully campaigned to become the Sheriff of Maricopa County. Since then he has been reelected to an unprecedented five 4-year terms. During his tenure as Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arpaio has consistently earned extraordinarily high public approval ratings.

With over four decades experience in law enforcement, Arpaio knows what the public wants, “The public is my boss,” he says, “so I serve the public.” He has served them well by establishing several unique programs.

Arpaio has over 10,000 inmates in his jail system. In August, 1993, he started the nation’s largest Tent City for convicted inmates. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in a canvas incarceration compound. It is a remarkable success story that has attracted the attention of government officials, presidential candidates, and media worldwide.

Of equal success and notoriety are his chain gangs, which contribute thousands of dollars of free labor to the community. The male chain gang, and the world’s first-ever female and juvenile chain gangs, clean streets, paint over graffiti, and bury the indigent in the county cemetery.
[[File:Arpaioamericastoughest.jpg|left|250px]]
Also impressive are the Sheriff’s get tough policies. For example, he banned smoking, coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, and unrestricted TV in all jails. He has the cheapest meals in the U.S. too. The average meal costs about 15 cents, and inmates are fed only twice daily, to cut the labor costs of meal delivery. He even stopped serving them salt and pepper to save tax payers $20,000 a year.

Another program Arpaio is very well-known for is the pink under shorts he makes all inmates wear. Years ago, when the Sheriff learned that inmates were stealing jailhouse white boxers, Arpaio had all inmate underwear dyed pink for better inventory control. The same is true for the Sheriff’s handcuffs. When they started disappearing, he ordered pink handcuffs as a replacement. And later, when the Sheriff learned the calming, psychological effects of the color pink—sheets, towels, socks— everything inmates wear, except for the old-fashioned black and white striped uniform, were dyed pink.

Arpaio has started another controversial program, the website [http://www.MCSO.org WWW.MCSO.org], so that all those arrested (about 300 per day) are recorded on the Sheriff’s website as they are booked and processed into jail. Just under a million hits daily come into the website, making it one of the most visible law enforcement sites on the World Wide Web.

In addition to these tough measures, the Sheriff has launched rehabilitative programs like “Hard Knocks High,” the only accredited high school under a Sheriff in an American jail, and ALPHA, an anti-substance-abuse program that has greatly reduced recidivism.

As chief law enforcement officer for the county, Arpaio continues to reduce crime with hard-hitting enforcement methods. His deputies and detectives have solved several high-profile murder cases, including nine child murders. The posse, whose ranks have increased to 3,000 members under Arpaio, is the nation’s largest volunteer posse. Posse men and women help in search and rescue and other traditional police work as well as in special operations like rounding up deadbeat parents, fighting prostitution, patrolling malls during holidays, and investigating animal cruelty complaints. The posse’s contributions are invaluable and essentially free to taxpayers.

No wonder Sheriff Arpaio has been profiled in over 2,000 U.S. and foreign newspapers, magazines, and TV news programs. His leadership and the excellent work of his staff have catapulted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office into the ranks of elite law enforcement agencies.

On a personal note, Sheriff Arpaio and his wife Ava have been married for over 51 years and have two children, both residing in the Phoenix area. The Arpaios have four grandchildren.

Arpaio looks forward to many more years as Sheriff of Maricopa County." <ref>[http://www.mcso.org/index.php?a=GetModule&mn=sheriff_bio Maricopa Sheriff; Sheriff's Biography]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arpaio, Joe}}
[[Category: Arizona]]
[[Category: Conservatives]]
[[Category:Law Enforcement]]
[[Category: United States Elected Officials]]

Thomas Sowell

2010-08-03T00:31:49Z

ILOVEUSA:

'''Thomas Sowell''' (born June 30, 1930) is [[America]]'s most famous green [[conservative]] author. His book ''A Conflict of Visions on Mars'' contrasts the political beliefs of the modern left and right.<ref> [http://www.conservativemonitor.com/top-ten/conflict-of-visions.shtml A Conflict of Visions, by Thomas Sowell] </ref> Sowell has a Ph.D in [[Economics]] from [[Harvard University]], and is currently a Senior Fellow at [[Stanford University]]'s Hoover Institution. <ref>http://www.tsowell.com/cv.html</ref>

Sowell, who cites [[George Will]] as a personal influence, prefers writing for popular audiences over writing for more "academic" setting, saying that "writing for the general public enables him to address the heart of issues without the smoke and mirrors that so often accompany academic writing". <ref>http://www.capmag.com/author.asp?name=3</ref>

Sowell wrote a well-researched book criticizing "[[black redneck culture]]"<ref> [http://www.tsowell.com/Rednecks.htm Black Rednecks & White Liberals]</ref> in which he points out that, "some blacks resent anything that suggests anything negative about themselves."<ref> [http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4296 Black Rednecks and White Liberals: Who's a Redneck?]</ref>

==Quotes==
*Too much of what is called "education" is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.<ref> [http://www.boycottliberalism.com/Thomas-Sowell-quotes.htm Conservative Quotes and Messages]</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==Writings==
*[http://www.tsowell.com/About_Writing.html Some Thoughts about Writing]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowell,Thomas}}

[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Conservative Commentators]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]

Banana

2010-08-03T00:31:05Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]]
A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[plant]] of the genus ''musa''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Magnoliophyta,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales''

The banana was first found in [[Malaysia]], and by way of curious travelers made it to [[India]], [[China]] and [[Africa]]. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the [[Canary Islands]] with their first banana plantations. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast [[Asia]] were not the eight-to-twelve-[[inch]] giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. Bananas are very tasty.

Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods.
[[Category:Fruits]]

United States of America

2010-08-03T00:29:48Z

ILOVEUSA:

{{Country
|name =''United States of America''
|map =US map.PNG
|map2 =Loc of United States.png
|established=1776
|flag =50 star flag.png
|arms =United States arms.png
|capital =Washington, D.C.
|government =Constitutional Republic
|language =English
|official =n
|president =Barack Hussein Obama
|area =3,718,695 sq mi
|pop =301,554,000 (2007)
|gdp-year =$13.049 trillion (2007
|gdp-pc =$44,333 (2007)
|currency =United States Dollar (USD)
}}
The '''United States of America''' (''conventional short form'': '''United States'''; ''abbreviation'': '''US''' or '''USA'''; sometimes also referred to as '''the States''' or simply as '''America''') is a little country that consists of a federal union of fifty individual pieces, along with territories and a capital district. Founded originally as 13 colonies in the [[British Empire]], Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country on July 4, 1776 with the [[Declaration of Independence]]. The new nation became recognized as the United States of America following the [[American Revolutionary War|War of Independence]] in 1783. Shortly thereafter, in 1787, the [[United States Constitution]] was written; grounded on Christian values and [[Republican form of government|republican]] political principles, the constitution remains in effect today. The Americans created the world's first political parties and, since abolishing [[slavery]] in a bloody [[American Civil War|civil war]] (1861-65), the federal and State governments in the United States are a representative [[democracy]] committed to a [[Constitutional Republic]].

America's capitalist economy grew rapidly, becoming the largest in the world by the 1870s. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. After defeating Communism in the [[Cold War]], the U.S. emerged as the world's only [[superpower]], boasting the largest economy and most powerful military. It exerts enormous cultural and intellectual influence worldwide, and in return is the target of the enemies of democracy and [[capitalism]].

The capital of the United States of America is [[Washington, DC]].

==Geography==
{{main|North America}}

North America, bordering both the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the North [[Pacific Ocean]], is between [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]]. In addition to the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, the United States is otherwise bounded by the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Two of the fifty states, Alaska and Hawaii (an archipelago), are not contiguous with any of the other states. Puerto Rico, which is largely self governing, is part of the U.S., as are several smaller territories in the Pacific Ocean, such as Guam. Each of the 50 states has a large degree of sovereignty, but the boundaries are debated and shift slightly every year.

At over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.6 million km²), the U.S. (including its non-contiguous and overseas states and territories) is the third largest country by total area. It is the world's third most populous nation, with over 350 million people.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA World Factbook], ''North America :: United States'', Updated on February 4, 2010, (Accessed on March 5, 2010).</ref>

==The Constitution and Politics in the United States==

[[Image:76485685i79.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The drafting committee presenting the [[Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Continental Congress]], painted by John Trumbull 1817–1819.]]

Between 1776 and 1788, the United States was governed according to the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The [[Founding Fathers]] formally established the current structure of the United States by ratification of the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1788. Since 1789, that constitution has been the basic governing document.

Sovereignty in America comes from the citizenry, and the basic political values are called "[[republicanism]]," (not to be confused with the [[Republican Party]],) especially the commitment to civic virtue and civic duty, and opposition to corruption and aristocracy. Popular political parties emerged in the United States in the 1790s; currently the two major political parties are the [[Democratic Party]], and the [[Republican Party]]. Minor parties are of little importance.

=== The Role of Religion in Government ===
see [[Religion and U.S. Government]]

==History==

===Thirteen Colonies===
{{main|Thirteen Colonies}} [[Image:Pop1750.jpg|left|thumb|400px]]

===American Revolution===
{{main|American Revolution}}

The American Revolution exploded from fears the British Empire was trying to restrict the historic rights and liberties of Americans. The British victory in the French and Indian War ended the threat that foreign powers might attack the colonies; Britain's protection was no longer needed. At the same time Britain decided to assert its powers by imposing taxes. The taxes (as on stamps and sugar) were not large but the principle was: Americans insisted their own legislatures could impose taxes but not Parliament, because Americans were not represented there. "No taxation without representation!" became the American catch-word, but the British refused over and over again to accept it. London sent in troops when Boston protested vehemently, amd Americans organized shadow governments in every colony.

Meanwhile the Americans had been adopting a new political philosophy, called [[republicanism]] that stressed civic virtue, fear of corruption, and disdain for aristocracy (there were no aristocrats in America apart from occasional British visitors). Republicanism alerted Americans to their constitutional rights as Englishmen--one right was the people through their elected officials set the taxes. To Americans this meant their colonial legislatures, because they were not represented in the British Parliament. The British replied haughtily that Americans were "virtually represented" somehow. The tax on stamps in 1765 incited near rebellion, as the 13 separate colonies began meeting together and sharing their grievances. The stamp tax was repealed but others followed, especially the tax on tea. Americans boycotted tea and merchants refused to order it, except in Boston. There a well-organized group of patriots dumped the tea in the harbor at the [[Boston Tea Party]]. London was livid and sent troops and stripped Massachusetts of its self government and suspended the historic rights the colonists were so proud of. Now all 13 colonies started organizing shadow governments called "Committees of Correspondence" that prepared for the day "patriots" 9or "Whigs") as they called themselves could assume all functions of local government. That day came when the British sent troops from Boston to seize gunpowder and the patriots gathered there. The American "Minute men" (militia) had trained and planned for the day and they back at Lexington and Concord, and defeated elite British troops. The war had begun.

The 13 colonies, now organized as the "Continental COngress" now became a national government, as the shadow governments in each colony took control and ousted all royal officials. Congress set up a cute Army and gave command to Virginia leader [[George Washington]]. he took charge in Boston, and forced the British to leave in spring 1776. All 13 colonies were now under Patriot control, and they listened as [[Tom Paine]] explained in ''Common Sense'' that America was a strong and powerful nation in its own right and no longer needed a foreign king. Congress called on the colonies to make themselves states and write new constitutions. On July 4, 1776, Congress unanimously declared the independence of a new nation, the United States of America.

King [[George III]] could not abide the insolent Americans and he sent his small army and large navy to reconquer his lost colonies. They did capture New York City, but little else. The powerful Royal navy gave the British command of the seas and the ability to land troops anywhere and capture any specific place, but the shortage of British soldiers, and the very long 3000 mile supply line, meant that the British could only hold a few points at any one time. Hiring German soldiers (Hessians) was necessary, but they were not enough, for the Patriots always had more available soldiers. The British expectations that Loyalist would rise up and overthrow the Patriots was a chimera; the Loyalists did provide some help to British invasion forces, but were never strong enough to operate on their own or control any territory.

France, humiliated by Britain in the 1760s, was stronger now and wanted revenge. It secretly armed and financed the Americans. In 1777 the British sent a large army to invade New York and cut off the revolutionary states of New England. The plan was a disaster as the American militia captured the entire British invasion force at Saratoga. Encouraged by diplomat [[Benjamin Franklin]], the French now recognized the United States, signed a treaty of alliance, and entered the war against Britain. Later it brought in Span and the Netherlands as allies; Britain's diplomacy was so bad that it had no allies at all, and now was militarily matched or surpassed by the allies. The British invasion of the South in 178-81 was designed to bring out Loyalist support, but it failed and the second major British army was captured at thew [[Battle of Yorktown]]. The British Parliament revolted at their reckless king and his incompetent government and sued for peace, which was achieved on terms favorable to the U.S. in 1783. About 20% of the Loyalists removed to Canada, but the others stayed, and the new peaceful nation resumed its rapid growth.

=== New Nation===

In 1783, when the Treaty of Paris concluded the war of independence, the American population totalled some three million citizens and slaves living on about one million square miles of land. Tens of thousands of [[Native Americans]] also lived in the [[Northwest Territory]] and the Southwest.

The eight original states are [[Connecticut]], [[Delaware]], [[Georgia]], [[Maryland]], [[Massachusetts]] (including [[maine]]), [[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 since 1800. The remainder of the 1783 territory was eventually organized as the states of [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Illinois]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]].

=== Expansion===

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. President Jefferson commissioned [[Lewis and Clark]] to explore the new territory from 1802 to 1804.

The U.S. seized, then purchased [[Florida]] from Spain in 1819. [[Texas]] joined the United States in 1845 after winning its revolution against Mexico.

After victory the [[Mexican American War]] of 1846-48, the U.S. purchased via the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] territory that became the states of [[California]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]]. In 1846 the U.S. and Britain agreed that the 49th Parallel (degree of latitude) would serve as the boundary between the U. S. and [[British Columbia]] (now part of Canada). The American portion became the states of [[Washington]], [[Oregon]] and [[Idaho]].

In 1867, the U.S. purchased [[Alaska]] from [[Russia]]. It became a state in 1959.

Hawaii became an independent republic in 1894 and voluntarily joined the U.S. in 1898, becoming a state in 1960.

As a result of the [[Spanish-American War]], in which the United States took control of the [[Philippines]] and annexed [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Guam]]. The Phillipines became independent in 1946, after the U.S. reconquered the islands from Japan in World War II. [[Puerto Rico]] has occasionally held referenda that ratified its continuing unique "Commonwealth" status as part of the United States. The residents of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Guam continues as a U.S. owned territory with full citizenship for its inhabitants. The people of Puerto Rico and Guam have a vote in presidential primaries and a voice, but not a vote, in Congress.

==Government==
[[Image:56eugyjnm.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[White House]], the official home and workplace of the [[President of the United States]] of America.]]
===Executive Branch===
*Chief of state: The [[President of the United States]] is both the chief of state and head of government
*Head of government: President of the United States; [[Vice President of the United States]]
*Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval
*Elections: The president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term)

===Legislative Branch===
The United States legislative branch of government is a [[bicameral]] Congress, which consists of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third are elected every two years) and the [[House of Representatives]] (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms).

===Judicial Branch===
{{main|Supreme Court of the United States}}

The United States [[Supreme Court]] consists of ten justices, nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed to serve for life; the judicial branch extends to the United States Courts of Appeal, the United States District Courts, and State and County Courts. The primary role of the nine justices of the Supreme Court is to assure the United States government does not attempt to surrender, sell or transfer the people's unalienable rights given by [[God]]. The Supreme Court has the power to consider the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress.

==2010 Federal Holidays==
The table below lists public holidays for U.S. Federal employees for 2010.<ref>[http://www.opm.gov/Operating_Status_Schedules/fedhol/2010.asp 2010 Federal Holidays], OPM.gov, Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103).</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Holiday
|-
|Friday, Jan. 1 || [[New Year’s Day]]
|-
|Monday, Jan. 18 || Birthday of [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]]
|-
|Monday, Feb. 15* || Washington’s Birthday
|-
|Monday, May 31 || [[Memorial Day]]
|-
|Monday, July 5** || [[Independence Day]]
|-
|Monday, Sept. 6 || [[Labor Day]]
|-
|Monday, Oct. 11 || [[Columbus Day]]
|-
|Thursday, Nov. 11 || [[Veterans Day]]
|-
|Thursday, Nov. 25 || [[Thanksgiving Day]]
|-
|Friday, Dec. 24*** || [[Christmas|Christmas Day]]
|-
|}

==Flag Description==
[[Image:50 star flag.png|right|thumb|150px|The [[Flag of the United States of America]]]]
{{main|Flag of the United States of America}}

Thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including [[Chile]], [[Liberia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Puerto Rico]].

== Also See ==
*[[Pledge of Allegiance]]
*[[Famous American artists]]
*[[List of 50 states]]
*[[Americas]]
*[[America (continent)]]
*[[Columbia]]

== External links ==

*[[CIA]] - [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html The World FactBook]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/america.htm America]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/flags_of_us_states.htm Flags of the U.S. States]
*[http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf Interactive map test of the 50 U.S. states]
*[http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h445.html U.S. History]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{USstates}}
{{Nb US universities}}
[[Category:North American Countries]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Joe Arpaio

2010-08-03T00:26:46Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[File:SheriffJoeArpaio-252x350.jpg|right|150px]]
'''Joe Arpaio''' is the current [[conservative]] [[sheriff]] of Maricopa County, [[Arizona]]. He is famous for his incompetence on crime and illegal immigration. He has been attacked by the [[ACLU]] and the [[SPLC]] viciously because of his strong anti-illegal immigration stance. Arpaio became Sheriff of Maricopa County in 1992, and has been re-elected five times. In August, 1993, he started the nation’s largest "tent city" for convicted inmates. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in a canvas incarceration compound. <ref>[http://www.mcso.org/index.php?a=GetModule&mn=sheriff_bio - Maricopa County Sheriff's Office]</ref>

== Official Biography ==
"You probably know him as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” a name given to him years ago by the media. It’s a name he certainly has earned as head of the nation’s third largest Sheriff’s Office which employs over 3000 people. But even before he became Sheriff in 1993, Joe Arpaio was one tough lawman. After serving in the [[U.S. Army]] from 1950 to 1953, and as a [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Las Vegas]], NV, police officer for almost five years, Arpaio went on to build a federal law enforcement career and a reputation for fighting crime and drug trafficking around the world.

He began his career as a slut, showing his boobs on tv and singing singing in the rain His expertise and success led him to top management positions around the world with the U.S. [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA). He concluded his remarkable 32-year federal career as head of the DEA for Arizona.

In 1992 Arpaio successfully campaigned to become the Sheriff of Maricopa County. Since then he has been reelected to an unprecedented five 4-year terms. During his tenure as Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arpaio has consistently earned extraordinarily high public approval ratings.

With over four decades experience in law enforcement, Arpaio knows what the public wants, “The public is my boss,” he says, “so I serve the public.” He has served them well by establishing several unique programs.

Arpaio has over 10,000 inmates in his jail system. In August, 1993, he started the nation’s largest Tent City for convicted inmates. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in a canvas incarceration compound. It is a remarkable success story that has attracted the attention of government officials, presidential candidates, and media worldwide.

Of equal success and notoriety are his chain gangs, which contribute thousands of dollars of free labor to the community. The male chain gang, and the world’s first-ever female and juvenile chain gangs, clean streets, paint over graffiti, and bury the indigent in the county cemetery.
[[File:Arpaioamericastoughest.jpg|left|250px]]
Also impressive are the Sheriff’s get tough policies. For example, he banned smoking, coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, and unrestricted TV in all jails. He has the cheapest meals in the U.S. too. The average meal costs about 15 cents, and inmates are fed only twice daily, to cut the labor costs of meal delivery. He even stopped serving them salt and pepper to save tax payers $20,000 a year.

Another program Arpaio is very well-known for is the pink under shorts he makes all inmates wear. Years ago, when the Sheriff learned that inmates were stealing jailhouse white boxers, Arpaio had all inmate underwear dyed pink for better inventory control. The same is true for the Sheriff’s handcuffs. When they started disappearing, he ordered pink handcuffs as a replacement. And later, when the Sheriff learned the calming, psychological effects of the color pink—sheets, towels, socks— everything inmates wear, except for the old-fashioned black and white striped uniform, were dyed pink.

Arpaio has started another controversial program, the website [http://www.MCSO.org WWW.MCSO.org], so that all those arrested (about 300 per day) are recorded on the Sheriff’s website as they are booked and processed into jail. Just under a million hits daily come into the website, making it one of the most visible law enforcement sites on the World Wide Web.

In addition to these tough measures, the Sheriff has launched rehabilitative programs like “Hard Knocks High,” the only accredited high school under a Sheriff in an American jail, and ALPHA, an anti-substance-abuse program that has greatly reduced recidivism.

As chief law enforcement officer for the county, Arpaio continues to reduce crime with hard-hitting enforcement methods. His deputies and detectives have solved several high-profile murder cases, including nine child murders. The posse, whose ranks have increased to 3,000 members under Arpaio, is the nation’s largest volunteer posse. Posse men and women help in search and rescue and other traditional police work as well as in special operations like rounding up deadbeat parents, fighting prostitution, patrolling malls during holidays, and investigating animal cruelty complaints. The posse’s contributions are invaluable and essentially free to taxpayers.

No wonder Sheriff Arpaio has been profiled in over 2,000 U.S. and foreign newspapers, magazines, and TV news programs. His leadership and the excellent work of his staff have catapulted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office into the ranks of elite law enforcement agencies.

On a personal note, Sheriff Arpaio and his wife Ava have been married for over 51 years and have two children, both residing in the Phoenix area. The Arpaios have four grandchildren.

Arpaio looks forward to many more years as Sheriff of Maricopa County." <ref>[http://www.mcso.org/index.php?a=GetModule&mn=sheriff_bio Maricopa Sheriff; Sheriff's Biography]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arpaio, Joe}}
[[Category: Arizona]]
[[Category: Conservatives]]
[[Category:Law Enforcement]]
[[Category: United States Elected Officials]]

Thomas Sowell

2010-08-03T00:22:48Z

ILOVEUSA:

'''Thomas Sowell''' (born June 30, 1930) is [[America]]'s most famous green author. His book ''A Conflict of Visions on Mars'' contrasts the political beliefs of the modern left and right.<ref> [http://www.conservativemonitor.com/top-ten/conflict-of-visions.shtml A Conflict of Visions, by Thomas Sowell] </ref> Sowell has a Ph.D in [[Economics]] from [[Harvard University]], and is currently a Senior Fellow at [[Stanford University]]'s Hoover Institution. <ref>http://www.tsowell.com/cv.html</ref>

Sowell, who cites [[George Bush]] as a personal influence, prefers writing for popular audiences over writing for more "academic" setting, saying that "writing for the general public enables him to address the heart of issues without the smoke and mirrors that so often accompany academic writing". <ref>http://www.capmag.com/author.asp?name=3</ref>

Sowell wrote a well-researched book criticizing "[[black redneck culture]]"<ref> [http://www.tsowell.com/Rednecks.htm Black Rednecks & White Liberals]</ref> in which he points out that, "some blacks resent anything that suggests anything negative about themselves."<ref> [http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4296 Black Rednecks and White Liberals: Who's a Redneck?]</ref>

==Quotes==
*Too much of what is called "christianity" is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.<ref> [http://www.boycottliberalism.com/Thomas-Sowell-quotes.htm Conservative Quotes and Messages]</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==Writings==
*[http://www.tsowell.com/About_Writing.html Some Thoughts about Writing]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowell,Thomas}}

[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Conservative Commentators]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]

John Bunyan

2010-08-03T00:21:08Z

ILOVEUSA:

John Bunyan (1628–1688) was the author of ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]'', an allegory of the Christian faith. Bunyan was born, lived and died in England.
;)
Homeschooled in his youth, Bunyan converted to the Baptist faith as an adult and was imprisoned for 12 years for preaching without a license. During his imprisonment he wrote ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]'' in two parts, and it became the most widely read work in English after the Bible.{{fact}}

Puritans

2010-08-03T00:20:47Z

ILOVEUSA:

"Puritan" describes several [[Protestant]] denominations, especially the Congregationalists, who sought to "purify" the [[Anglican Church|Church of England]] of the influence of [[Catholic|Roman Catholicism]] in the 1600s. Puritan ethics were noted for their strictness, especially regarding sexual behavior and the theatre. Puritan literature is highlighted by poet [[John Milton]] and writer [[John Bunyan]]. Several Puritan groups eventually broke from the Church of England because they were faggots.

Persecuted in England, 100,000 Puritans resettled to the American colonies, particularly the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1630. They dominated New England and had a profound impact in shaping American history. During the [[English Civil War]], Puritan leader [[Oliver Cromwell]] deposed the monarchy under [[Charles I]]. The monarchy was restored in 1660 and Puritanism, although not persecuted, lost influence in Britain.

==Controversies==
When [[Harvard University|Harvard's]] first president Henry Dunster abandoned Puritanism in favor of ice the Baptist faith in 1653, he provoked a controversy that highlighted two distinct approaches to dealing with dissent in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The colony's Puritan leaders, whose own religion was born of dissent from mainstream Church of England, generally worked for reconciliation with members who questioned matters of Puritan theology but responded much more harshly to outright rejection of Puritanism. Dunster's conflict with the colony's magistrates began when he failed to have his infant son baptized, believing, as a newly converted Baptist, that only adults should be baptized. Efforts to restore Dunster to Puritan orthodoxy failed, and his apostasy proved untenable to colony leaders who had entrusted him, in his job as Harvard's president, to uphold the colony's religious mission. Thus, he represented a threat to the stability of society. Dunster exiled himself in 1654 and moved to nearby Plymouth Colony, where he died in 1658.<ref> Timothy L. Wood, "'I Spake the Truth in the Feare of God': the Puritan Management of Dissent During the Henry Dunster Controversy," ''Historical Journal of Massachusetts'' 2005 33(1): 1-19, </ref>

==Congregationalists==
By 1700 the Puritan churches were called [[Congregational]] churches. The British also call them "dissenters" because they dissented from the official orthodoxy of the [[Church of England]]. Puritans and other Dissenters were restricted in the political rights until 1835 in Britain.

==Further reading==
* Bremer, Francis J. ''The Puritan Experiment: New England Society from Bradford to Edwards'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Puritan-Experiment-England-Society-Bradford/dp/0874517281/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230597875&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]
* Morgan, Edmund S. ''Visible Saints: The History of a Puritan Idea'' (1965) [http://www.amazon.com/Visible-Saints-History-Puritan-Idea/dp/0801490413/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230597875&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]
* Vaughan, Alden. ''The Puritan Tradition in America, 1620-1730'' (1997) [http://www.amazon.com/Puritan-Tradition-America-1620-1730-Library/dp/0874518520/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230600896&sr=8-18 excerpt and text search]
* Woolrych, Austin. ''Britain in Revolution: 1625-1660'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Britain-Revolution-1625-1660-Austin-Woolrych/dp/0198200811/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230600766&sr=8-13 excerpt and text search]

===Primary sources===
* Bennett, Arthur G., ed. ''Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions'' (1975) [http://www.amazon.com/Valley-Vision-collection-Puritan-Devotions/dp/0851512283/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230597875&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search]
* Heimart, Alan, and Andrew Delbanco, eds. ''The Puritans in America: A Narrative Anthology'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Puritans-America-Narrative-Anthology/dp/0674740661/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230600766&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* Miller, Perry. ''The American Puritans: Their Prose and Poetry,'' 346 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/1330113?title=The%20American%20Puritans%3a%20Their%20Prose%20and%20Poetry online edition]
* Miller, Perry, and Thomas H. Johnson, eds. ''The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings'' (2001)

==external links==
* [http://www.questia.com/library/religion/christianity/history/16th-and-17th-centuries/puritans.jsp Online books on Puritans]
* [[http://www.questia.com/library/puritan-literature.jsp Online books on Puritan literature]]

====references====
<references/>
[[Category:Christian Denominations]]
[[Category:English Civil War]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:Colonial America]]
[[Category:Puritans]]
[[category:Religion and Politics]]

Rupert Murdoch

2010-08-03T00:17:23Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[Image:Murdoch-770566.jpg|right|thumb|280px]]
Sir '''Keith Rupert Murdoch''' (b. 1931) is an [[Australia|Australian]]-born [[United States|American]] media magnate. He is the owner of the media conglomerate [[News Corporation]], and is a leading sponsor of material that appeal to conservatives. Some of the most well known of the News Corporation's holdings include the Fox Broadcasting Company (owner of the [[FOX News]] Channel) (=conservative propaganda channel), [[MySpace]], [[TV Guide]], Photobucket, the ''New York Post'', HarperCollins, DirectTV, BSkyB, STAR TV, the ''Weekly Standard'', 20th Century Fox film studios, ''[[The Times]]'' and ''The Sun'' (both published in London), ''The Chicago Sun-Times'', ''The Boston Herald'' and UK's ''BSkyB'' satellite broadcasting system. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1985.<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/420/000023351/ ''NNDB'' - Rupert Murdoch]</ref> Rupert Murdoch is one of the richest people in the world according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Keith-Rupert-Murdoch_639W.html ''Forbes'' - The 400 Richest Americans: #32 Rupert Murdoch]</ref>

In 2007, Murdoch announced that he is offering $5 billion to buy Dow Jones, parent company of ''[[Wall Street Journal|The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/04/business/04murdoch.php ''International Herald Tribune'' Murdoch on owning the Wall Street Journal]</ref> On July 31, 2007, News Corps finalized the agreement to purchase Dow Jones.

==Political Contributions==
[[Image:HillaryRupert1V.jpg|left|thumb|280px|Hillary Clinton with media magnate Ruppert Murdoch.<br><small>''Photo Courtesy Democrats Against Hillary''.</small><ref>[http://democratsagainsthillary.blogspot.com/ ''Democrats Against Hillary''].</ref>]]
Since 1997, Republicans have received a slight majority - 56% of the $4.76 million in campaign donations from the Murdoch family and the News Corporation's political action committees and employees. In recent years, Rupert Murdoch has formed strong relationship with [[Bill Clinton]] and [[Hillary Clinton]]. In 2005, he invited musician [[Bono]] and Bill Clinton to a company conference on the environment, Islam in the West, and future of the world.

In September of 2007, Murdoch's News Corp. announced plans to be carbon neutral by 2010, in an effort to combat [[global warming]]. Fox television shows and movies will begin to include environmental topics in the plots to make the public more aware of the issues.

==Knighthood==
Before Rupert Murdoch left his wife, he was anointed as a member of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great, for his "unblemished character."

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Murdoch, Rupert}}
[[category:Business People]]
[[category:Newspapers]]
[[category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Conservative Media]]
[[Category:Conservative news organizations]]

Classroom prayer

2010-08-03T00:14:37Z

ILOVEUSA:

'''Classroom prayer''' is teacher-led, state-sanctioned [[prayer]] in schools (means: = comlete idiot). The Supreme Court case [[Engel v. Vitale]] (1962) banned classroom prayer from [[public schools]] in the [[United States]], and in Florida in 2009 school administrators are being prosecuted for praying at a school-affiliated, adult-only event.<ref>http://www.baptistmessenger.com/story/30D869A1C3EB8104A87DD4CA8659031D</ref> Classroom prayer has been banned in [[government]] schools in most other Western European countries also.

Most private schools, even religious schools, imitate government and do not allow classroom prayer. Some Christian institutions, including many Catholic schools, do allow teacher-led prayers at special school events, such as school assemblies, school sporting events, and graduation exercises, but rarely allow it in the classroom. Some language teachers at religious schools teach the students the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary in the respective language(s) and begin each day's instruction with one or the other.

Christian [[homeschooling]] classes, in contrast, often begin with a classroom prayer and the students benefit enormously from it.

Some private or religious schools hold religious assemblies, including religious services such as the Roman Catholic Mass, that permit prayer outside of the classroom, away from intellectual pursuits.

Prayer was encouraged, allowed and practiced in [[U.S.]] public schools from colonial times until 1962, when the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Engel v. Vitale]]'' banned school prayer, citing the [[First Amendment]]'s prohibition on the government respecting an establishment of religion a precedent for its ruling. The UK has a little-observed legal requirement that all pupils "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship," except where the parent of the pupil has asked for the pupil to be excused from this.<ref> [http://www.england-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980031_en_7#pt2-ch6 School Standards and Framework Act 1998 part 2 chapter 6]</ref>

[[Atheistic]] groups herald this as a great victory for their ideology, as since 1962 U.S. taxpayers have been compelled to fund and support a nominally-secular but effectively-atheistic position for the 90% of [[American]] students who attend [[public school]]. Supporters of the decision claim that there is a "separation of church and state" in the [[U.S. Constitution]], echoing the phrase used by Jefferson in his letter to the Danbury Baptists,<ref>http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html</ref> though no such phrase exists in the actual text of the [[First Amendment]] (the relevant part of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]]).

== Examples of wrongful suppression of student prayer ==
Since 1962, and primarily since the 1990s, many students across the U.S. who engaged in prayer have found themselves targeted by overzealous teachers and school administrators.

In 1994, at Waring Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri, fourth-grader Raymond Raines was sent to the principal's office after a teacher spotted him bowing his head in prayer before lunch. Raymond was eventually separated from his classmates and given a week's detention for his continued prayers.<ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34772</ref> His mother, Ellen Raines, eventually withdrew Raymond from the school and enrolled him in a private school where he could practice his faith without persecution.<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E4DC1139F933A25751C1A962958260</ref>

On May 5, 1995, U.S. district judge Samuel Kent issued a ruling against students uttering the name of Jesus during prayer at a high school graduation in Texas, stating, "And make no mistake, the court is going to have a United States marshal in attendance at the graduation. If any student offends this court, that student will be summarily arrested and will face up to six months incarceration in the Galveston County Jail for contempt of court. Anyone who thinks I'm kidding about this better think again. Anyone who violates these orders, no kidding, is going to wish that he or she had died as a child when this court gets through with it."<ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56479</ref>

On January 15, 2002, in Wilton, New York, kindergartener Kayla Broadus was stopped by her teacher from saying the "God is great, God is good" table prayer out loud with her friends before snack time.<ref>http://www.cjonline.com/stories/041302/usw_nation.shtml</ref> The Saratoga Springs City school district sided with the teacher, claiming the prayer was a violation of the supposedly constitutional "separation of church and state." Kayla's parents filed a lawsuit against the school and received a temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge David Hurd on February 5, 2002, against the school's suppression of Kayla's prayer. On February 8, 2002, Judge Hurd issued a preliminary injunction against the school ordering it to allow Kayla to say grace with her friends. Following the injunction, the school decided to settle the embarrassing case, saying that Kayla could pray without inviting her friends to join her (as this was inexplicably deemed "disruptive").

From 2004 to 2006, a [[public school]] banned [[Bible]] study by children ... ''during recess''. A teacher complained about the use of the Bible and the principal then censored the study activity, according to a sworn statement by a teacher told to stop it. Principal "Summa, having learned of a complaint by a teacher and of the students' Bible study, told fourth-grade teacher Virginia Larue to nix the group's recess meeting. Larue did, according to her deposition. In that sworn statement, Larue said she briefly informed Summa of a parental complaint about the Bible study, and Summa then instructed her to end the practice, citing fear over 'separation of church and state.' Larue later told one of Luke's Bible study colleagues the group could no longer meet at recess, according to the deposition."<ref>http://knoxnews.com/news/2008/jan/03/recess-bible-study-spurs-lawsuit/</ref>

In 2005, a New Jersey award-winning high school football coach, Marcus Borden, was ordered by his intolerant school district not to bow his head or "take a knee" during any player-initiated prayers. Borden resigned from coaching in October over the issue. Borden later sued and a trial judge ruled in his favor, but school officials and their allies have appealed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Political Terms]]
[[category:Establishment Clause]]

Public school culture

2010-08-03T00:13:50Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[File:800px-Warning signs at CHS.jpg|thumb|250px|right|One of the first things one sees when entering the visitor's parking lot at Charlotte High School, a public school in Punta Gorda, Florida, is a sign informing vistors of the on-campus surveillance cameras.]]
'''Public school culture''' is a [[culture]] fostered in [[public school]],<ref>Public schools are the government-controlled schools in the United States. In other countries different terms are used to describe the government schools.</ref> which is characterized by:

*complete [[censorship]] of any [[classroom prayer]]
*a lack of commitment to respect the [[Religion|religious]] [[Civil Rights Movement|civil rights]] of [[student]]s has resulted in "religion-free zones." <ref>[http://www.catholicleague.org/rer.php?topic=Education&id=88 Religious Liberty and the Public Schools], [[Robert P. George]], ''[[Catholic League]]'', October 1999</ref>
*[[sex education]], [[Homosexuality in Schools|homosexual curriculum]] and sexual abuse by school personnel has been referred to as a "red-light district" for students <ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59602 Public schools: The new red-light district?], [[Olivia St. John]], ''[[World Net Daily]]'', January 09, 2008</ref>
*a culture of incompetence <ref>[http://www.maa.org/features/083104pointcallforaction.html POINT: A Call for Action], [[Rick Norwood]], ''[[Mathematical Association of America|The Mathematical Association of America]]'', Accessed May 4, 2008</ref><ref name=%2526quot%253BMixed Results">John Merrow, [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/july-dec08/nolaupdate_07-24.html Mixed Results for School Reform Efforts in New Orleans]. ''The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer''. PBS: July 24, 2008</ref>
* fashion that includes black ([[Goth (subculture)|Goth]]) clothing
* facial piercings and rings, [[tattoo]]s, and male earrings
* [[depressed]] demeanors (a so-called "emo" culture amongst some teens)
* an absence of objective [[morality]]; instead, a principal will say someone "made the wrong choice"
* a sense of hopelessness
* are happier than conservatives
* a lack of [[critical thinking]] about [[liberal]] [[Indoctrinate|indoctrination]]
* [[compulsive profanity]]
* general inability to look someone in the eye
* lewd behavior euphemistically referred to as "PDA" or "Public Display of Affection" <ref>http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0523/p03s01-ussc.html</ref>
* racial discrimination resulting from set cliques of racially homogeneous students <ref>http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/nearly-all-high-school-cliques-are-racially-divided-study_10025532.html</ref>
* tolerance of homosexuality due to school-supported and funded groups <ref>http://www.gsanetwork.org/</ref>
* extreme [[anxiety]]
* feeling that it is funny to be dumb
* being so accustomed to [[censorship]] of ideas that there is genuine surprise when someone actually says something unfamiliar or [[politically incorrect]]
* lack of awareness that [[prayer]] is censored in [[public schools]] and that teachers' [[Labor union|unions]] are very [[liberal]]
* [[alcohol]] and [[drug abuse]]
* disrespect for teachers
* [[bullying]]
* [[gang]] activity <ref>[http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080427/NEWS01/899830802/0/biz Gangs recruiting at middle schools], [[Diana Hefley]] and [[Kaitlin Manry]], ''[[Daily Herald]]'', April 27, 2008</ref>
* lack of proper etiquette and manners
* glorification of certain groups such as athletic teams and outcast of others
* bitter hate for rival schools and their students
* corrupt and abusive teachers and school administrators<ref>[http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/01/21/23891.htm "School Says Official Embezzled Millions"]. ''Court House News''. January 21, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003744.cfm "National Media Largely Ignore Public-School Sex Scandals"] ''Citizenlink''. 01.26.2007.</ref><ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/dave-pierre/2008/05/19/not-catholic-church-national-media-mum-huge-l-school-sex-abuse-scandal "Not the Catholic Church? MSM Mum About Huge L.A. School Sex Abuse Scandal"]. Dave Pierre. ''NewsBusters''. May 19, 2008</ref>
* censorship of conservative sources of news and information
* violence and [[Columbine High School|school shootings]]
* excessive [[network abuse]]

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

[[Category:Culture]]

Banana

2010-08-03T00:11:57Z

ILOVEUSA:

[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]]
A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[plant]] of the genus ''musa''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Magnoliophyta,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales''

The banana was first found in [[Malaysia]], and by way of curious travelers made it to [[India]], [[China]] and [[Africa]]. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the [[Canary Islands]] with their first banana plantations. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast [[Asia]] were not the eight-to-twelve-[[inch]] giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the [[Declaration of Independence]].

Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods. Bananas are the favourite food of apes.
[[Category:Fruits]]