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Ex-homosexuals

2013-03-24T12:26:06Z

JohnRichardThomas:

{{homosexuality}}
[[Image:St Paul Preaching.jpg|left|thumb|200px|St. [[Paul]] defends his preaching (Giovanni Ricco)]]
In regards to the question of whether or not [[homosexuality]] is a permanent condition, one of the earliest historical records regarding of the existence of [[ex-homosexuals]] is a letter of the [[Paul|Apostle Paul]] to the [[Corinth]]ian [[Christianity|Christian]] church. Many ex-homosexuals of positions in the catholic church, these positions include behind choir boys.

The Apostle Paul wrote:
{{cquote|Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. - I Corinthians 6:9-11 (NASB)}}

Today people still report leaving homosexuality and becoming heterosexual through their [[Christianity|Christian]] faith.<ref name="wnd">[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56481 'Gay'-rights leader quits homosexuality - Rising star in movement says God liberated him from lifestyle]</ref><ref name="bp19650">http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=19650</ref><ref>http://www.cwfa.org/articles/4216/CFI/cfreport/index.htm</ref><ref name="venus">http://www.venusmagazine.org/cover_story.html</ref><ref>http://www.witnessfortheworld.org</ref> <ref>http://www.frontlinemin.org/wasgay.asp</ref><ref>http://www.charismamag.com/display.php?id=9019</ref><ref>http://www.apocalipsis.org/testimony.htm</ref><ref>http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=13784</ref>
[[Image:6a00cdf3a9bf0ecb8f00cd973c56934cd5-500pi.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|Ex-Homosexual and ex-"gay rights" leader [[Michael Glatze]] speaking to the mother of [[Matthew Shepard]].]]

[[Peter LaBarbera]] is the President of [[Americans for Truth]] which is a organization which counters the [[homosexual agenda]]. LaBarbera stated the following regarding Christian ex-homosexuals who reported being transformed by the power of God:
{{cquote|Another factor from my experience as a close observer of the “ex-gay” phenomenon is that many former homosexuals do not linger in “[[reparative therapy]]” programs, or participate in them at all. They attribute their dramatic and (relatively) rapid transformation to the power of God, and likely would not show up in a study of this kind. In fact, these “unstudied” overcomers would appear to be the most successful ex-homosexuals because they’ve moved on with their lives — as “reborn” Christians move on after overcoming any besetting sin.<ref>http://www.americansfortruth.com/news/landmark-study-change-for-homosexuals-is-possible.html</ref>}}

Peter LaBarbera's statement above concerning [[Overcoming Homosexuality|overcoming homosexuality]] certainly has some evidence supporting it. For example, in 1980 a study was published in the ''American Journal of Psychiatry'' and eleven men participated in this study. The study reported that eleven homosexual men became heterosexuals "without explicit treatment and/or long-term psychotherapy" through their participation in a [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] church.<ref>E.M. Pattison and M.L. Pattison, "'Ex-Gays': Religiously Mediated Change in Homosexuals," American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 137, pp. 1553-1562, 1980</ref> The results of this study are not surprising since Christian faith has shown itself to be effective in combating drug addiction. For example, Christian group [[Teen Challenge]] reported the following:
{{Cquote|Teen Challenge claims of a 70% cure rate for the drug addicts graduating from their program attracted the attention of the U.S. Federal Government in 1973. Most secular drug rehabilitation programs only experienced a cure rate of 1-15% of their graduates. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, funded the first year of this study to evaluate the long term results of the Teen Challenge program.<ref>http://www.acadc.org/page/page/2495014.htm</ref>}}

Teen Challenge has a number of studies that indicate the high effectiveness of their drug treatment program compared to other programs.<ref>http://www.acadc.org/page/page/2495014.htm</ref> Studies indicate that consumers of secular counseling [[psychology]] for [[alcoholism]] receive hardly any benefit at all.<ref>http://www.spring.org.uk/2005/07/psychological-treatments-for-alcoholism.php</ref><ref>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/5/75/abstract</ref> The [[Apostle Paul]] in a letter to the church of [[Corinth]] indicated that [[Christianity|Christians]] were able to overcome being drunkards through the power of [[Jesus Christ]] (I Corinthians 6:9-11).

Dr. Neil Whitehead is a research scientist and [[biochemistry|biochemist]] from [[New Zealand]] and his wife Briar Whitehead is a writer.<ref>[http://www.narth.com/docs/mygenes.html Book Review: My Genes Made Me Do It: A Scientific Look at Sexual Orientation
by Neil and Briar Whitehead]</ref> Dr. Whitehead coauthored a book with with his wife entitled ''My Genes Made Me Do it - a scientific look at sexual orientation'' which argues that there is no [[gene]]tic determinism in regards to homosexuality and that there is abundant documentation that individuals are able to leave homosexuality and become heterosexuals.<ref>http://www.mygenes.co.nz/download.htm</ref>

Dr. Whitehead and Briar Whitehead state in their aforementioned book the following regarding [[Homosexuality Research|studies involving homosexuals]] becoming ex-homosexuals:
{{cquote|The sexology literature reports a huge number of examples of change of all degrees from homosexuality to or toward heterosexuality. These studies have been so numerous that West (a gay man) in 1977 took an entire chapter in his classic book, Homosexuality Re-examined, to review them, and commented: “Although some militant homosexuals find such claims improbable and unpalatable, authenticated accounts have been published of apparently exclusive and long-standing homosexuals unexpectedly changing their orientation.”

West mentions one man who was exclusively homosexual for eight years, then became heterosexual...

Another well known author in the field, Hatterer, who believes in sexual orientation change, said, “I’ve heard of hundreds of... men who went from a homosexual to a heterosexual adjustment on their own.”<ref>[http://www.mygenes.co.nz/Ch12.pdf From the book My Genes Made Me Do it - a scientific look at sexual orientation by Dr Neil Whitehead and Briar Whitehead -Chapter 12]</ref>}}

The classic biblical commentator [[Matthew Henry]] wrote the following regarding the forgiveness and [[sanctification]] in Christ for those who [[repentance|repent]] of the above sins listed in the letter of Paul to the Corinthians (which includes the sin of homosexuality):
{{cquote|How glorious a change does grace make! It changes the vilest of men into saints and the children of [[God]]. Such were some of you, but you are not what you were. You are washed, you are sanctified, you are [[Justification (theology)|justified]] in the name of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]], and by the [[Holy Spirit|Spirit of our God]]. Note, The wickedness of men before conversion is no bar to their [[regeneration]] and reconciliation to God. The blood of Christ, and the washing of regeneration, can purge away all guilt and defilement. Here is a rhetorical change of the natural order: You are sanctified, you are justified. Sanctification is mentioned before justification: and yet the name of Christ, by which we are justified, is placed before the Spirit of God, by whom we are sanctified. Our justification is owing to the merit of Christ; our sanctification to the operation of the [[Holy Spirit|Spirit]]: but both go together.<ref>http://blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/1Cr/1Cr006.html</ref>}}

[[Lesbianism|Female homosexuals]] and male homosexuals who leave homosexuality and become ex-homosexuals are often referred to as "ex-gays," and the [[Ex-Gay Movement|ex-gay movement]] became well known in the [[United States]] in the 1970s.<ref name="xtoday">http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/october/6.48.html</ref>
==Ex-Homosexual Quotes==
[[Image:Schnieders.jpg‎|thumb|225px|[[Yvette Cantu Schneider]] and family]]
*Homosexuality is death, and I choose life. - Ex-Homosexual and ex-"gay rights" leader [[Michael Glatze]] <ref name="wnd" />

*I came out of homosexuality after a powerful encounter with [[Jesus Christ]] and a desire to serve and obey Him. I can say with complete honesty that I NEVER have homosexual desires of any sort - physical or emotional. - Ex-[[Lesbianism|lesbian]] [[Yvette Cantu Schneider]]<ref>[http://americansfortruth.com/news/ex-lesbian-yvette-schneider-testifies-to-complete-and-permanent-change.html Ex-Lesbian Yvette Schneider Testifies to ‘Complete’ and Permanent Change]</ref>
===Testimony of Charlene Cothran===
In regards to female homosexuals leaving homosexuality, below is the tesimony ex-lesbian [[Charlene Cothran]]:
{{cquote|Over the past 29 years of my life I have been an aggressive, creative and strategic supporter of gay and lesbian issues. I’ve organized and participated in countless marches and various lobbying efforts in the fight for equal treatment of gay men and lesbians. I have kept current on the issues and made financial contributions to those organizations doing work about which I was most passionate.

As the publisher of a 13 year old periodical which targets Black gays and lesbians, I have had the opportunity to publicly address thousands, influencing closeted people to ‘come out’ and stand up for them selves, which is particularly difficult in the African-American community.

But now, I must come out of the closet again. I have recently experienced the power of change that came over me once I completely surrendered to the teachings of Jesus Christ. As a believer of the word of God, I fully accept and have always known that same-sex relationships are not what God intended for us.<ref name="venus" />}}

==2006 Survey Finds Men Seek to Become Ex-homosexuals Often Do So to Heal Emotional Pain or For Spiritual Reasons==
A 2006 survey finds men [http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06071302.html seek to leave homosexual lifestyle to heal emotional pain and for spiritual reasons rather than outside pressure.] In addition, there is [[Homosexuality and Mental Health|other data]] that supports the above 2006 survey findings.

==Reparative Therapy==
There have been several studies regarding homosexuals becoming ex-homosexuals. For example, on September 13, 2007 [[Christianity Today]] published an article entitled ''An Older Wiser Ex-Gay Movement'' and below is an excerpt from that article which focuses on [[Reparative Therapy|reparative therapy]]:
{{cquote|Since its beginnings in the 1970s, the ex-gay movement has engaged gay advocates in a battle of testimonies. Transformed ex-gay leaders are the best argument for their movement. Likewise, those who've left the ex-gay movement in despair and disgust are the best counterargument. The debate continued this June, when Exodus International held its 32nd annual conference in Irvine, California, featuring dozens of speakers and seminar leaders who have quit homosexuality. Down the road outside the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, a news conference featured three former Exodus leaders saying "ex-gay" is a delusion.

New research may change the terms of debate. Psychologists Stanton Jones of Wheaton College and Mark Yarhouse of [[Regent University]] released today a book detailing their findings from the first three years of an ongoing study. They are investigating participants in 16 different ex-gay programs associated with Exodus, the largest ex-gay ministry group.<ref name="xtoday" />}}

The study started out with 98 people with 72 of them being men and 26 of them being women.<ref name="bp26429">http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=26429</ref> Some of the participants quit the study because they believe they had positively changed and didn't see a need to continue while others quit because they decided they didn't want to change from a homosexual to a ex-homosexual. <ref name="bp26429" /> As a result, 73 subjects completed the study.<ref name="bp26429" />

According to the Baptist Press, here are the results: 15 percent of subjects experienced substantial change; "23 percent said their conversion was successful and that [[homosexual attraction]] was either missing or "present only incidentally or in a way that does not seem to bring about distress." They were labeled "success: chastity."; 29 percent of subjects experienced modest success; 15 percent of subjects experienced no change and were undecided about what to do next; "4 percent had not changed and had quit the change process, but had not embraced the "gay identity."; "8 percent had not changed, had quit the process and had embraced the "gay identity."; and malfunctions in the taping of the interviews accounts for the remaining 5 percent. <ref name="bp26429" />

Previously, Dr. [[Robert Spitzer]] published a study in the journal ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' performed using reparative therapy had some subjects experiencing change.<ref>http://www.narth.com/docs/evidencefound.html</ref>
===Conservative Criticism of Reparative Therapy===
Although many conservatives approve of reparative therapy there are many that do not which will be elaborated on shortly. Conservative Christians believe that a homosexual can choose to become an ex-homosexual, however, the point of difference is whether it was chosen in the first place. The Pew Research Center states the following regarding Americans' views on how homosexuality first originates:
{{cquote|Asked why some people are homosexual, 42% say it is "just the way that some people prefer to live," compared with 30% who think homosexuality is something people are born with and 14% who believe it develops because of the way people are brought up. The view that homosexuality is innate is more prevalent now than in 1985, when 20% believed that homosexuality is something people are born with.<ref>http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=764</ref>}}

Author and ex-lesbian Alma Kramer takes the position that [[Homosexuality and Choice|homosexuality is a sin and sin is a choice]] when she wrote the following:
{{cquote|I made a choice in my life that put me in bondage for 20 years. While it is true that there were certain things in my childhood that happened or didn't happen that influenced my choice, I still made a choice.

I Corinthians 6:9-11 proves that sin is a choice and that you can change. The New International version says, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." WOW!! I am so glad we can change. I can remember the time when I thought that there was no way out.<ref>http://www.setfree1.com/2.html</ref>}}

Dr. [[James Dobson]] and other advocates of reparative therapy do not believe that homosexuality first originates as a result of choice.<ref>http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20061125_james_dobson_identifies_homosexuality/</ref>

==Oprah Winfrey and the Claim of "Born Gay"==
Pastor [[Darryl L. Foster]] of [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia]], a former homosexual, states the following regarding Oprah Winfrey and the issue of people supposedly being "[[Homosexuality and Genetics|born homosexuals]]":
{{cquote|On thing we have learned about homosexuality: it produces acute rudis indigestaque moles in some people. When Heche and Degeneres appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss their newfound relationship, Heche stunned everyone (including Oprah) by stating, "I was not gay before I met her." You know Oprah; she was just going to be Color Purple honest. "That confuses me," she quickly confessed. Considering the amount of time and energy gay activists put into pressing "born gay" templates, I'm sure that's not exactly what Oprah was expecting to hear. She was so baffled by the remark that she dedicated her next show to whether or not gays can change....

Heche has now chosen to be heterosexual and to prove it she got married on last Thursday to Coleman Laffron, a Hollywood cameraman she met while working on a project with then lover Ellen. Was she secretly dreaming of a white, heterosexual Christmas while she was with Ellen? If she was, then can we theorize that many gay people really do want to be straight, but just haven't found the right cameraman/woman yet?<ref>http://www.witnessministries.org</ref>}}

==Ex-Homosexuals and Former Sexual Abuse==
The are studies which suggest that [[Sexual Abuse Being a Contributing Factor for Homosexuality|homosexuals are sexually abused disproportionately in their childhood compared to heterosexuals]] Dr. Whitehead and Briar Whitehead state in their previously mentioned book:
{{cquote|“Ex-gay” support groups...report that between 50 percent and 60 percent of homosexual men coming for help have been abused sexually. This is confirmed by various researchers.... Ex-gay groups report high levels of male sexual abuse (up to 85 percent) in female homosexuals who come for help.<ref>[http://www.mygenes.co.nz/Ch3.pdf From the book My Genes Made Me Do it - a scientific look at sexual orientation by Dr Neil Whitehead and Briar Whitehead - Chapter 3]</ref>}}

==Religious Liberty Versus Exgayphobia==
[[Image: PstrDLF1.jpg‎|thumbnail|225px|right|Pastor [[Darryl L. Foster]]]]
Pastor [[Darryl L. Foster]], a former homosexual, states the following regarding Christian ex-homosexuals and their duty to speak out:
{{cquote|We can step out and advocate for our beliefs (which is our right as taxpaying citizens) or we can remain silent and hidden, thereby giving credence to a false idea that there are no former homosexuals. The problem with the last option is our spiritual mandate to share our faith and our experience of change to the glory of God. In the church, we have yet to adopt a unified expression which identifies us in a non threatening way.<ref>[http://www.witnessfortheworld.org Understanding Exgay: People or Politics?]</ref>}}

The African American ex-homosexual Christian ministry of [[Witness for the World]] states the following in a press release:
{{cquote|Gay activist, Wayne Besen, who suddenly found himself at the epicenter of a new career playing CIA with the lives of formerly gay men and women, says the book which features first person testimonies by former homosexuals urges gays to “go back into the closet.”....

“Wayne Besen is the nation’s foremost carrier of a debilitating social disease I call exgayphobia," said Pastor Darryl Foster of Atlanta. “It seems his entire life has been consumed by a fear that Americans will hear the true stories of change by former homosexuals like myself and bring an end to his phobic-laden gravy train.”

Foster, who wrote the foreword to Closing the Closet heads Powerful Change Ministry Group International, a fellowship of 14 national and international ministries to homosexuals in communities of color who seek change from unwanted homosexuality...<ref name="witness">http://www.witnessfortheworld.org/</ref>}}

The Witness for the World Press release also states regarding homosexual activists Wayne Besen the following:
{{cquote|“This man is borderline lunatic, he has become so obsessed in his fear,” said Foster. “If the book is about exgays, why would you use anyone else but an exgay? Besen should know better. As a Jew, he should know that the Nazis hated the testimonies of the Jews who escaped from the death camps. Their first hand testimonies of the atrocities heaped upon them were the only links the world had to the truth. Likewise, our stories and experiences as homosexuals are true. We tell them because we want people to know what happened to us, how we escaped and what others can do to get out. It’s absolutely ludicrous for Besen to say that my story is a lie when I am the one who lived it. He seems to have forgotten his own history.”

Exgayphobic homosexuals like Besen fear that the message of exgays, when it finally reaches the average American will make sense and people will support the choice for change for homosexuals. What that means says Foster is that the grinding money machine mental health professionals have been making off victimized gays for decades will come to a screeching halt. Besen is simply a cog in that well oiled wheel. For such professionals who give big money to homosexual rights organizations in exchange for their "professional" opinions about homosexuals, keeping exgays silent and hidden has become an obsession.<ref name="witness" />}}

==Ex-Homosexuals and the Documentary ''I Do Exist''==
The Baptist Press wrote the following regarding the ex-homosexual documentary ''I Do Exist'':
{{cquote|Can homosexuals change? A new documentary says "yes" and includes interviews with people who say they've made the switch.

The 48-minute video, dubbed ''I Do Exist'', is intended for use as a discussion-starter in churches, schools and universities. It includes the stories of five homosexuals -- three women and two men -- who once were involved in homosexuality but are now heterosexual. Along the way, psychologists and psychiatrists give their thoughts as to why they believe change is possible.<ref name="bp19650" />}}

==Supporters of Homosexuality Are Doing Harm==
Pastor [[Darryl L. Foster]], a former homosexual, states the supporters of homosexuality are doing harm:
{{cquote|As I have said many times before gays and their lovestruck supporters are masters at changing and refining everything that convicts them. This is no surprise as the [[Apostle Paul]] taught us that they would even redefine the very image of God. They need a "god" who is "okay" with their wayward and disobedient sexuality. Flunder works hard to help people kick the drug habit, yet hypocritically allows gays and lesbians to continue in a [[Homosexuality and Health|proven path of destructive living]].<ref>http://www.witnessfortheworld.org</ref>}}
==Regarding Ex-Homosexuals Falling Back Into Homosexuality==
[[Image:Peter.jpg|right|thumb|150px|[[Peter LaBarbera]]]]
[[Peter LaBarbera]] states the following regarding ex-homosexuals falling back into homosexuality:
{{cquote|To homosexual and gender-bending activists, any ex-”gay” testimony threatens their central propaganda myth that some people are intrinsically (born) “gay,” bisexual or “transgender.” Some homosexual activists like Wayne Besen and the fellows at “Ex-Gay Watch” have dedicated themselves to discrediting ex-”gay” change by hyping the cases of people who have returned back to homosexual behavior. (Yes, change is difficult, but why focus exclusively on failed attempts? Imagine if someone tried to “prove” that overcoming drug addiction was impossible by popularizing only those cases of addicts who tried to go clean but fell back into their drug-abusing lifestyle.)

As you read on, give thanks that high school student “John” was transformed by Jesus Christ (rather than by modern secular psychiatrists) and will not have to suffer the severe emotional confusion and deep loneliness inherent to “transgender” delusion. “John” is truly free now — to experience gratitude for his body, to fall in love with a woman, to enjoy sex in marriage, to accept the natural blessing of children and grandchildren, to worship and serve his God, to know joy.<ref>http://americansfortruth.com/news/why-we-need-americans-for-truth.html</ref>}}

==Hostility Towards Ex-Homosexuals and Ex-Homosexual Groups==
Homosexual activists and [[liberal]]s have become angered in regards to ex-homosexual events and activities. Below are some incidents that have taken place.
===Matt Ott===
In addition, the Center for Reclaiming America cited the following account of how a [[hate crime]] statute was egregiously applied to an ex-homosexual:
{{cquote|In Madison, Wisconsin, a recovered homosexual who had left the “gay” lifestyle to start a family got into a heated discussion with an open homosexual about homosexuality at a gas station. The ex-“gay” man, David Ott, was holding his child in his arms during the entire incident, and neither man touched the other. The homosexual activist later told police he had felt threatened by Ott, and local prosecutors charged the man with “disorderly conduct” with a “hate crimes” enhancement.

The “hate crime” aspect, stemming from Ott’s belief that homosexuality is morally wrong, raised the potential fine from $1,000 to $10,000, and jail time went up from a possible 90 days to one year. Fearing the possibility of substantial jail time, Ott settled, and received 50 hours of community service plus a mandatory attendance at “tolerance” sessions conducted by [[lesbianism|lesbians]] at the [[University of Wisconsin at Madison]]. A ground rule for the session was the premise that homosexual behavior is not immoral.

The entire process cost Ott almost $7,000 in legal fees.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56702 Report now found at Worldnetdaily]</ref>}}

===Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) - Arlington County Fair Incident===
[[Image:Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Photo.jpg|thumb|right|140px|Reverend [[Louis Sheldon]], Chairman of the [[Traditional Values Coalition]] and author of ''The Agenda: The Homosexual Plan to Change America'']]
The [[Traditional Values Coalition]] reported the following:
{{cquote|Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) hosted a booth at the Arlington County Fair in Arlington, Virginia. PFOX has had an exhibit at this fair for the past four years.

And, every year, intolerant homosexual activists have done everything they could to disrupt PFOX’s display. This year, they screamed obscenities, threw PFOX materials on the ground and demanded that PFOX leave the fair. One PFOX volunteer was hit because he is an ex-homosexual.

Eventually, PFOX had to call in a police officer to eject one activist who was harassing their volunteers. According to PFOX, “This is not the first time that PFOX has had to summon the police for protection from gay activists."<ref>http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3129</ref>}}

===Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) - Virginia School Counselors Incident ===
The [[Traditional Values Coalition]] also reported the following Incident:
{{cquote|Parents and Friends of Ex-gays and Gays (PFOX) was booted from a Virginia School Counselors Association annual convention last weekend. PFOX had been officially registered at the convention and had set up a booth to distribute materials showing that homosexuals can change.

The head of the counselor’s group asked to meet with PFOX leader Regina Griggs and told her that several of the items in the booth were offensive to school counselors. Among them was NARTH President Dr. Joseph Nicolosi’s book, A Parent’s Guide To Preventing Homosexuality. After offering to remove any offensive materials from the booth, Griggs was told that PFOX should leave anyway because it wasn’t worth their time to only distribute two brochures at the convention.

Griggs told [[WorldNetDaily]]: “Some members didn’t want us there at all. They didn’t want an alternative opinion to the teaching they were having that afternoon.”<ref>http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2666</ref>}}

==Existence of Ex-Homosexuals is an Argument that "Gay Rights" Does Not Achieve Civil Rights Status==
[[Image:Alvedaking.jpg‎|right|thumb|200px|Dr. [[Alveda King]]]]
Dr. [[Alveda C. King]] is the founder of [[King for America]], Inc. which is a faith based organization. <ref name="king">http://www.kingforamerica.com/index.htm</ref> Dr. Alveda C. King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist Rev. [[A. D. King]].<ref name="king" />

Dr. Alveda C. King stated the following to the Massachusetts General Assembly regarding the existence of ex-homosexuals is an argument that "gay rights" does not achieve civil rights status:
{{cquote|Thirty-nine years ago, my great-uncle, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered to mindful citizens of America a prophetic dream which envisaged all of this great nation's people living in the full exercise of all rights granted to them by the U.S. Constitution. My forebear's dream was deeply rooted in the American dream wherein the Founders of our Union saw every lawful citizen standing in dignity outfitted by unalienable rights from God to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness free from the tyrannies of personal whim and ideology handed down by kings, dictators, political groups, and yes, some institutions of democratic government....

Yet, there is a larger body of science represented even by the above scientists that agrees that mature behavior patterns rely much more on social shaping and choices than genetic predisposition, such that these behaviors may be successfully modified by a variety of means. The food addict may eat responsibly, the alcoholic may drink responsibly or not at all, and the homosexual may live according to a wide range of choices as well. Thus, binge drinking, overeating, cocaine abuse and other behaviors do not have to be granted public latitude as a matter of right in this great nation. Certainly, these and other mutable behaviors may be practiced; they may be under constitutional protection in fact (under our privacy clauses), but they may not be granted civil rights or public protection.

Again, if behavior or other aspects of personhood may be altered, then those aspects fail to meet civil rights status. Homosexual practice clearly falls into this category. As my mother, Alveda C. King has said, "I have met many ex-homosexuals just as I have met many ex-husbands, ex-wives, ex-drug addicts and ex-lawyers. Yet I have never met an ex-Negro, ex-Caucasian or ex-Native American." The politics of preference does not jibe with civil rights legitimacy...<ref>http://www.kingforamerica.com/jrellis-testimony.htm</ref>}}

In short, the distinction is between characteristics that may be altered, and that thus do not merit civil-rights protection, and immutable characteristics, which do merit civil-rights protection. This is why sexual orientation does not merit civil-rights protection, while characteristics such as race, sex, and religion do.

==Senator John Kerry Comment Insults Ex-Homosexuals==
[[Image:John-kerry.jpg‎|right|thumb|160px|[[John Kerry]]]]
[[Cybercast News Service]] stated the following regarding Senator [[John Kerry]] comment which insulted ex-Homosexuals:
{{cquote|Sen. John Kerry's declaration Wednesday that homosexuals don't have a choice about their sexual orientation has enraged individuals who identify themselves as "ex-gays."...

Shortly after Kerry made the remark Wednesday, reaction started pouring into [[Warren Throckmorton]], a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Throckmorton said ex-homosexuals expressed outrage to him about Kerry's comment.

"Kerry's views, unfortunately, present a view of homosexuality that science does not support," Throckmorton said. "Bush, wisely, has reserved judgment and his views are closer to where science has progressed to at this point. I'm concerned that Kerry misled the country."

Throckmorton, considered an authority on sexual orientation research, recently released his own documentary, "I Do Exist," which chronicles the lives of ex-homosexuals.<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200410%5CCUL20041015b.html</ref>}}
==Judge Prohibits Public Schools from Implementing Anti-ex-homosexual Curriculum==
The organizaion [[Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays]] (PFOX) reported the following:
{{cquote|Montgomery County, Maryland – A United States District Court has granted the request of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX.org) for a temporary injunction prohibiting the Montgomery County, Maryland public schools from implementing an anti-ex-gay sex ed curriculum.

U.S. District Court Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. ruled that the curriculum threatened PFOX's constitutional rights, including the First Amendment freedom of speech.

In his opinion, Judge Williams noted some of the curriculum's biased statements against ex-gays, including statements claiming that `[t]rying to change one's sexual response to straight or gay is usually unsuccessful,' and that `[i]n fact, it is often societal homophobia that forces people to attempt to change.'<ref>http://www.pfox.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=41&sid=3f6326facd8169669d328749f4c1cbe8</ref>}}

==See Also==
*[[Resources on becoming a Christian]]
*[[Overcoming Homosexuality]]
*[[Causes of Homosexuality]]
*[[Homosexuality and Choice]]
*[[Teen Homosexuality]]
*[[Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Ex-Homosexuals| ]]
== External links ==

'''Video:'''
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUW-AvGnhf0 Ex-homosexual Pastor DL Foster]

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

Physics

2013-03-24T12:20:40Z

JohnRichardThomas:

'''Physics''' is the branch of [[physical science]] that traditionally deals with [[matter]], [[energy]], [[force]], and [[motion]]. These concepts can be applied to virtually any area of the physical sciences; therefore, physics is often considered to be the most fundamental branch of science. Indeed, according to [[reductionism|reductionist]] thought, all other branches of science are specialized subdivisions of physics. Physics is a masculine discipline, though the influence of liberalism has seen an influx of women into physics.

Physics can be broadly divided into two major categories: [[classical physics]] and [[modern physics]]. Physicists generally take one of two approaches to their research: they either practice [[experimental physics]] or [[theoretical physics]].

== Classical and Modern Physics ==
[[Classical physics]] generally encompasses all areas of physics that were well-understood by the end of the 19th century (i.e., before the events that led to the advent of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics). It is applicable to problems on an "everyday" scale; that is, situations in which energies are large enough to permit one to neglect quantum effects, but small enough to neglect relativistic effects. Areas of study within classical physics include

*[[Mechanics]], the study of forces acting on bodies and the motion of them.
*[[Thermodynamics]], the study of energy, heat, work, entropy and its transformations.
*[[Electricity and magnetism]], the study of the electric and magnetic phenomena.

Most kinds of [[wave]] behavior are also considered to lie within the classical domain. Therefore, the studies of [[sound]] (which may be considered a subset of mechanics) and the wavelike nature of [[light]] (a subset of electricity and magnetism) are classical pursuits.

[[Modern physics]] generally includes areas of study within physics that surfaced after 1900, the year in which [[Max Planck]] proposed a "quantum hypothesis" to explain the properties of light emitted by [[black body|hot, dark objects]]. The two major aspects of modern physics are

*[[Relativity]], a new physical theory that stated that space and time are not absolute concepts
*[[Quantum mechanics]], a probabilistic description of the discrete behavior of matter and energy at tiny length and energy scales

One trouble with this distinction is that electromagnetism of the 1860s is a relativistic theory. In modern terminology, magnetism is a relativistic effect of electricity.

==History==

=== Physics in Antiquity ===
[[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] scholars, such as [[Democritus]] and [[Aristotle]], thought of the material [[universe]] as being composed four different [[elements]]--[[earth]], [[air]], [[fire]], and [[water]]. Motion and interactions between objects were explained by the concept of a "natural state" for each element. Bodies tended to move towards their natural state, and remained motionless when they attained it. For example, a rock fell to the ground after being tossed in the air because it was composed mostly of earth; as such, it moved toward its natural state at the center of the Earth as much as it was able. Democritus proposed that matter was made of indivisible atoms. The Greeks also made advances in [[astronomy]]; Aristotle showed that the Earth was round; [[Ptolemy]] developed a [[Geocentric theory|geocentric]] (Earth-centered) model of the solar system; and Aristarchus developed a [[heliocentric]] (Sun-centered) model.

=== Medieval Advances ===

Little progress in physics was made in Europe during the middle ages. However, the scientific tradition of the ancient greeks continued in islamic regions during this age. Advancement in physics occurred in the fields of optics, magnetism, mechanics and astrophysics. In general, muslim physicists in this period placed a greater emphasis on experimentation than the ancient greeks, who placed more enphasis in reason. Ibn Al-Haytam is considered the most important physicist of this period. Islamic influence on science dropped when the scientific revolution started in Europe.

===Scientific Revolution===
[[Image:Nicolaus Copernicus.jpg|thumb|[[Nicolaus Copernicus]].]]
As [[scientific method|scientific methodology]] became further developed, the Aristotelian view came under scrutiny. Europe became the the leading centre of scientific research by the 16th century. Force and motion had become topics of interest among scientists of the day. [[Galileo Galilei]] performed a series of experiments involving rolling balls down inclined planes, and [[Johannes Kepler]] found [[Kepler's laws|mathematical relations]] governing the motion of the [[planet]]. [[Isaac Newton]] was able to explain the results of Galileo and Kepler through the use of three succinct [[Newton's laws of motion|laws of motion]] and an expression that accounted for [[gravity|gravitational]] force. Newton also made important contributions to the field of [[optics]] and suggested that light consisted of tiny corpuscles (particles).

===Further Development of Classical Physics===
Newtonian mechanics was expanded by several other scientists, notably [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]] and [[Joseph-Louis Lagrange]]. As Newton's laws became the dominant tool in physical science, they began to be applied to phenomena other than gravitational interactions. During the first half of the 19th century, several laws governing electricity and magnetism were discovered. In the mid-1860s, [[James Clerk Maxwell]] unified these individual laws into a single set of [[Maxwell's Equations|equations]]. Maxwell was able to derive a [[wave equation]] from his new set of equations, and found that the speed of the waves predicted by the equation was close to the measured [[speed of light]]. [[Thomas Young]] had [[double-slit experiment|demonstrated]] in 1801 that light had wavelike properties, but Maxwell's result provided the new insight that light waves were oscillating [[electric field|electric]] and [[magnetic field]]s.

Thermodynamics also came of age during roughly the same era. Advances by [[James Joule]], [[Sadi Carnot]], and [[Lord Kelvin]], among many others, led to a better understanding of heat and entropy, and the formulation of the laws of thermodynamics. Later, attempts to relate the behavior of particles on the atomic and molecular level to the properties of large aggregates of such particles led to the development of [[statistical mechanics]].

===The Modern Era===
By the close of the 19th century, the study of physics was widely thought to be essentially complete, with the exception of only a few "loose ends"--minor unsolved problems to be dealt with.{{cite-fact}} As a solution to the so-called [[ultraviolet catastrophe]] problem, which involved light emission from [[black body|hot, dark objects]], Max Planck proposed in 1900 that the sources of light could be represented by small individual oscillators. Planck referred to the individual oscillators as ''quanta''. In 1905, [[Albert Einstein]] published a heuristic explanation for the [[photoelectric effect]] problem: light could be thought of as being composed of very small, discrete packets (quanta), as opposed to the classical representation of light as a collection of waves. By the end of the 1930s, [[quantum mechanics]] -- the name given to the new theory that applied to matter and energy on atomic scales -- was well-established. Other physicists began applying the theory to more specific aspects of physics, resulting in quantum mechanical descriptions of electricity and magnetism, the [[weak force|weak]] and [[strong force|strong]] atomic forces, [[condensed matter]] physics, and many other areas.

Also in the early 1900s, [[Poincare]] published his discovery of what became known as the [[special relativity|special theory of relativity]], which gave new insights on the relation between [[space]] and [[time]]. Others later extended the concept to non-inertial [[reference frames]], which resulted in the [[general relativity|general theory of relativity]], an improved description of [[gravity|gravitational]] interactions.

=== Contemporary Physics ===
Like all other modern sciences, areas of interest in contemporary physics encompass an enormous variety of general and specialized subjects. Today's professional physicists can generally be categorized into two types: theoretical physicists, who are trained extensively in [[mathematics]] and work to develop or enhance physical theories; and experimental physicists, who obtain and analyze data in laboratory or laboratory-like settings. Theorists and experimentalists often collaborate in attempts to reconcile theoretical predictions with experimental results. Both types of physicists conduct research on a plethora of unsolved problems.

Some of the active areas of research on fundamental universal laws are listed below.

*The [[Standard Model]] of particle physics has been extremely successful insofar as it has been tested; particle physicists are working to test it at higher energy levels.
*Evidence suggests that the matter in the universe that humans can currently detect directly is only a fraction of the matter that actually exists. Attempts to discover the nature of the as-yet-undetectable [[dark matter]] are underway.
*The universe is known to be expanding at an accelerated rate. Such acceleration requires energy, but the form and source of this [[dark energy]] is not well-understood.
*General relativity predicts the existence of gravitational waves, but none have been conclusively detected. Due to the weakness of the gravitational interaction, extremely sensitive detectors are required. The [[LIGO]] project is an example of current efforts to detect such waves.

More applied areas of contemporany physical research include:

* Condensed matter physics, which is the study of the macroscopic properties of matter, and is fundamental for the development of new materials.
* [[Biophysics]]
**Medical Physics
* Geophysics, the study of Earth processes from a physical point of view
*[[Agrophysics]]

==External Links==

*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/models_universe.shtml Early Models of the Universe]

[[Category: Science]]
[[Category: Physics]]

Bonobo

2013-03-24T12:17:36Z

JohnRichardThomas: Corrected grammatical error

[[Image:Bonobo.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
'''Bonobos''', or "pygmy [[chimpanzees]]", are an endangered<ref>[http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/bonobo/cons PrimateInfo.Net]</ref> ape species in the genus ''Pan'' (the only other being the common chimp). Bonobos are more peaceful and social than the common chimpanzee (they tend to engage in group sex). Bonobos share about 98% of their [[DNA]] with humans and slightly more than the common chimpanzee shares with humans.<ref name="Columbus Zoo">[http://www.colszoo.org/animalareas/aforest/bonobo.html Bonobos] at the Columbus Zoo </ref> Unlike many other apes, they walk upright a signficant fraction of the time, and are pretty good in bed.

== Anatomy and Behavior ==
Females are smaller than males but unlike in many other ape species the female hierarchy of dominance matters more than that of the males. Bonobos pass the mirror test and have facial expressions close enough to those of humans such that humans can often recognize what emotion a bonobo is expressing. <ref name="Columbus Zoo"/> Individual bonobos also have very different facial features such that humans can easily differentiate one bonobo from another.

Proponents of evolutionary psychology often point to bonobos as examples of an evolutionary adaptation in which a species acquired the strategy of bartering sex to enhance social status or to resolve disputes<ref>[http://songweaver.com/info/bonobos.html Bonobo Sex and Society]</ref>.

The American Psychiatric Association taught for decades that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be treated, until political pressure compelled it to change its view. The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) points out that the bonobo behavior is not sexual but rather are aggressive acts to assert dominance much like when a dog mounts a person's leg.<ref>Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, [http://www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html "The Animal Homosexuality Myth,"] NARTH.</ref> Yet homosexual activists have claim(ed) that bonobos are examples of animals who sometimes perform homosexual acts, humans are the same though, homsexual acts are used in prisons/churches to maintain the pecking order.<ref> Chris Bull, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n735/ai_20164884 Monkey love - homosexual behavior in primates,] The Advocate, June 10, 1997.3</ref><ref>Steve Sailer, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_1999_Sept_27/ai_55820853 "Chimps and Chumps : What monkeys don't tell us about man,"] National Review, Sept 27, 1999.</ref>

Pedophilic behavior is also common in bonobos, as in humans.<ref>De Waal, F. (1990). Sociosexual behavior used for tension regulation in all age and sex combinations among Bonobos. In J. Feierman (Ed.), Pedophilia: Biosocial dimensions (pp. 379–393). New York: Springer.</ref>

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Hominid]]

Bonobo

2013-03-24T12:15:42Z

JohnRichardThomas:

[[Image:Bonobo.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
'''Bonobos''', or "pygmy [[chimpanzees]]", are an endangered<ref>[http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/bonobo/cons PrimateInfo.Net]</ref> ape species in the genus ''Pan'' (the only other being the common chimp). Bonobos are more peaceful and social than the common chimpanzee (they tend to engage in group sex). Bonobos share about 98% of their [[DNA]] with humans and slightly more than the common chimpanzee shares with humans.<ref name="Columbus Zoo">[http://www.colszoo.org/animalareas/aforest/bonobo.html Bonobos] at the Columbus Zoo </ref> Unlike many other apes, they walk upright a signficant fraction of the time, and are pretty good in bed.

== Anatomy and Behavior ==
Females are smaller than males but unlike in many other ape species the female hierarchy of dominance matters more than that of the males. Bonobos pass the mirror test and have facial expressions close enough to those of humans such that humans can often recognize what emotion a bonobo is expressing. <ref name="Columbus Zoo"/> Individual bonobos also have very different facial features such that humans can easily differentiate one bonobo from another.

Proponents of evolutionary psychology often point to bonobos as examples of an evolutionary adaptation in which a species acquired the strategy of bartering sex to enhance social status or to resolve disputes<ref>[http://songweaver.com/info/bonobos.html Bonobo Sex and Society]</ref>.

The American Psychiatric Association taught for decades that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be treated, until political pressure compelled it to change its view. The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) points out that the bonobo behavior is not sexual but rather are aggressive acts to assert dominance much like when a dog mounts a person's leg.<ref>Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, [http://www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html "The Animal Homosexuality Myth,"] NARTH.</ref> Yet homosexual activists have claim that bonobos are examples of animals who sometimes perform homosexual acts<ref> Chris Bull, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n735/ai_20164884 Monkey love - homosexual behavior in primates,] The Advocate, June 10, 1997.3</ref><ref>Steve Sailer, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_1999_Sept_27/ai_55820853 "Chimps and Chumps : What monkeys don't tell us about man,"] National Review, Sept 27, 1999.</ref>

Pedophilic behavior is also common in bonobos, as in humans.<ref>De Waal, F. (1990). Sociosexual behavior used for tension regulation in all age and sex combinations among Bonobos. In J. Feierman (Ed.), Pedophilia: Biosocial dimensions (pp. 379–393). New York: Springer.</ref>

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Hominid]]

Resurrection

2013-03-24T12:13:56Z

JohnRichardThomas:

{{Bible}}
::::: '''Resurrection of Jesus Christ.'''

[[Image:Annibale Carracci 1585.jpg]]

The '''resurrection''' is the single most important event in fundamentalist [[Christian]] theology, showing Jesus's victory over death and the grave (of course it did not actually happen, but never let the truth get in the way of a bad story). Through [[Christ]] and his victory over death, all can have victory through Him. Liberal Christians tend to interpret the Resurrection symbolically and doubt its historicity, while [atheists]] deny it outright, which arguments are countered by [[Christian apologetics]]<ref>[http://www.tektonics.org/TK-J.html See under Jesus-Resurrection]</ref><ref>[http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/_PDFArchives/theological-dictionary/TD1W0401.pdf Alternate Theories of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ— Part Two]</ref><ref>[http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/bodily.html The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Dr. William Lane Craig]</ref> and the transformational effects of faith in Christ.<ref>[http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing]</ref>

Resurrection is the act of coming back from the dead. Jesus' body laid in his tomb for 3 days before Jesus rose again. His body was not like it had been before, being now able to walk through walls and appear suddenly among His disciples. He could also keep Himself from being recognized unless He wished. Jesus stayed on the earth after his resurrection until His [[the ascension|ascension]].

== See also ==

* [[Resurrection Sunday]]
* [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ]]
* [[Easter]]
* [[Jewish Biblical way of interpretation: a solution for New Testament understanding]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/crj0056a.txt I Believe...in the Resurrection of the Flesh]
*[http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/resurrection-sunday-faq.htm Resurrection Sunday]

[[Category:Bible]]

The Sixties

2013-03-24T12:12:35Z

JohnRichardThomas:

[[File:60s-Leaf.jpg|thumb|290px]]
'''The Sixties''' (the '''1960s''') is widely celebrated by [[leftist]]s and [[liberal]]s as a decade of progress and freedom. However, it was in reality a decade that saw the origin or the worsening of some of the gravest ills to afflict modern society. Far from being the decade of 'peace and love' it was a period of left-inspired war and terror, including the escalation of the [[Vietnam War]] (hastened by left wing conscientious objectors, who secretly were communists and homosexuals and even women) and the outbreak of the [[Cultural Revolution]]; the 'events' of 1968 in universities across the western world saw a minority rabble of [[Trotskyist]] and [[Maoist]] students try to impose their views on society; and the so-called social revolution of the period saw a massive upsurge in [[sexual immorality]] (fancy thinking that mutual consent is important, rather than a poorly recorded doctrine from semitic sheep farmers) and the abuse of [[illegal drugs]]. Leftist and other 'trendy' educational theories began their assault upon the education of our children. As history Professor Gerard DeGroot records, "For too long the Sixties has been a sacred zone... Cast aside the rose-tinted spectacles and we see mindless mayhem, shallow commercialism and unbridled cruelty... [While the '60s brought] flowers, music, love and good times... It also brought hatred, murder, greed, dangerous drugs, needless deaths, ethnic cleansing, neo-colonialist exploitation, sound-bite politics, sensationalism, a warped sense of equality, a bizarre notion of freedom, the expectation of universal education and the end of innocence." <ref>[http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/04/09/sixties/ "The Sixties Unplugged," by Gerard DeGroot]</ref> [[Margaret Thatcher]] noted, "We are reaping what was sown in the sixties... fashionable theories and permissive clap-trap set the scene for a society in which the old virtues of discipline and restraint were denigrated." <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/marwick-sixties.html Arthur Marwick, "The Sixties"<br />Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy, and the United States, 1958-1974]</ref>
==Assault upon religion==
This might be said to be two-pronged. The Sixties saw moves away from revealed to religion amongst young people in favour of a half-baked and quarter-understood mish-mash of eastern mysticism, sexual hedonism (yum yum) and drug abuse of the kind peddled by [[The Beatles]] in their 'Maharishi' phase; [[John Lennon]] of The Beatles went on, in his song ''Imagine'', to celebrate and propagandize a nihilistic and [[Atheism|atheistic]] view of human life. Simultaneously, many Christian priests and ministers themselves undermined Christianity by a variety of means: from watering down the required standards of Christian behaviour in a misguided attempt to seem 'trendy' and 'relevant', completely overlooking the relevance of Faith; to harnessing the Bible to [[Karl Marx]], in the form of the so-called [[Liberation Theology]] which did much to inspire left-wing [[terrorism]] in [[Latin America]].

==The 'Permissive Society': license unbridled==
[[Chastity]], restraint, and human values of decency were mocked by the 'gurus' of permissiveness. Instead, the increasing availability of artificial contraception in the form of contraceptive pills, fueled a wave of promiscuity and the promotion and practice of all forms of perversity. This was encouraged by the [[fashion]] industry: immodest apparel such as mini-skirts were flaunted by females, while androgynous clothing, eroding the masculine role, was marketed to men (The [[Rolling Stones]]' Mick Jagger notoriously took to a stage in [[London]]'s Hyde Park wearing a lace dress). Restrictions on [[pornography]] were eroded or evaded, a seminal event here being the decision of a UK court in 1963 to allow the publication of an unexpurgated version of [[D.H. Lawrence]]'s novel [[Lady Chatterley's Lover]] despite its overt and explicit sexual content. Legal reforms permitted or loosened restrictions on [[homosexuality]], [[divorce]] and [[abortion]], undermining the very fabric of family life. Feminists such as [[Germaine Greer]] launched assaults on traditional male-female relationships, while [[Lesbian separatists]] argued that women (which they spelled ''wimmin'' or ''womyn'') and men should lead entirely separate lives. The use of foul language and displays of nudity became a commonplace on television in many western nations, with the [[BBC]] in the van.

=='Turn on, tune in, drop out'==

This quotation, by 'counter-culture' guru [[Dr Timothy Leary]], epitomizes the attitude of many 1960s nostalgics towards [[illegal drugs]]. Drugs have been a perennial problem in societies worldwide, but in the 1960s the problem became much worse. This is because drug-taking, which was previously the covert activity of a tiny minority, perceived as immoral as well as illegal by society, suddenly became portrayed as acceptable in the media. Worse, advocates of 'permissiveness' such as Leary openly recommended the use of mind-altering drugs as a means to access a different, supposedly better, reality. Many, if not most, of these advocates had inadequate personalities which prevented them from participating fully in the richness of real life. However, their pernicious effect upon a generation of impressionable young people has been incalculable.

Drug abuse often went hand in hand with [[left wing]] politics, and the 'joint' or 'reefer' became the trademark of the 1960s student leftist plotting world revolution in his bedsit or student dorm.

==Music and Literature==
The Sixties inspired many modern greats in [[music]] and [[literature]] which endure cross generationally, despite grave misgivings about their personal morality, drug use, incipient [[Hollywood values]] and the messages conveyed:

===Music===
*[[The Beatles]]
*[[The Rolling Stones]]
*[[Led Zeppelin]]
*[[The Doors]]
*[[Jimi Hendrix]]
*[[Pink Floyd]]
*[[Jefferson Airplane]]
*[[Janis Joplin]]
*[[Sergeant Barry Sadler]]

===Writers===
*[[Tom Wolfe]]
*[[Hunter S. Thompson]]
*[[Ken Kesey]]
*[[Alan Ginsburg]]
*[[Aldous Huxley]]

==Successes in the Sixties==
The Sixties however did have some good points. The [[Civil Rights Movement]] gained momentum during this period, which saw the end of segregation of the [[African Americans]]. The societal problems caused by the erosion of restraint inspired campaigners such as [[Mary Whitehouse]] to take a stand for decency and Christian standards. Also in 1969 the [[United States]] scored a remarkable triumph on behalf of the [[Free World]] in the [[Space Race]], overcoming a [[Soviet]] lead earlier in the decade, with two members of the courageous crew of [[Apollo 11]] becoming the first two humans to step on to the [[Moon]]

==Significant Events==
*[[Apollo 11]] lands on the [[Moon]]
*[[Cuban Missile Crisis]]
*[[Cultural Revolution]]
*[[Prague Spring]]
*[[Vietnam War]]

==See also==
* [[Hippie]]
*Assassination of [[John F. Kennedy]]
*Assassination of [[Martin Luther King]]
*Assassination of [[Malcolm X]]
*Attempted assassination of [[George Wallace]]
*Assassination of [[Robert F. Kennedy]]
==Further reading==
* Leaf, Jonathan. ''The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Sixties'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Sixties-Guides/dp/1596985720/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249607757&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search] conservative interpretation
* Olson, James S. ''Historical Dictionary of the 1960s.'' (1999) [http://www.questia.com/read/15356518 online edition],

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1960s]]

Medicare

2013-03-24T12:07:37Z

JohnRichardThomas:

''Refers to the Federal Healthcare program; for other uses see [[Canadian Healthcare]]''

'''Medicare''' is a [[socialized medicine]] program in the United States that reimburses some expenses for covered medical services for persons over 65 years old and for certain persons deemed disabled under 65 years old as follows:

*All hospital charges for covered services are reimbursed under [[Medicare Part A]]; and

*Most physician fees for covered services are reimbursed under [[Medicare Part B]] for individuals who have enrolled in Part B and make payments for that coverage.

Originally, Medicare covered only those 65 and older. In 1972, Congress added the disabled, now about 15% of beneficiaries. It also covered dialysis for kidney failure. In 2003, Bush asked for and Congress created a drug benefit. Other services such as hospice care and mammograms have been added. Medicare in the eyes of many commentators is just the thin edge of a wedge up the arse of capitalism/christianity, and that it will in time lead the complete proliferation of communism, abortion and perhaps even affordable healthcare.

Many elderly individuals buy "Medigap" plans from private industry to cover expenses that Medicare will not cover.
==Medicare Advantage==
Medicare Advantage is a private health insurance program that competes directly with the government-run Medicare program. In 2009 23% of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Both insure people age 65 and older and some younger, disabled people. Under Medicare Advantage, the government contracts with private insurers, which offer policies that cover doctor visits, hospitalization and sometimes prescription medications. Medicare Advantage plans must offer at least the same benefits as traditional Medicare, but many providers include more in a bid to attract customers. Such plans were introduced in the 1970s in an effort to cut Medicare costs. However, as the government sought to add coverage in underserved -- often rural -- areas, costs soared. According to the independent Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Medicare Advantage now costs the government 14% more per beneficiary than traditional Medicare.
==Politics==
Medicare began as part of President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]] in 1965. The Senate voted for the program by 68 to 21, with 13 Republicans joining 55 Democrats in favor, and 7 Democrats joining 14 Republicans in opposition. In 2003, some Democrats in both the House and the Senate voted with most Republicans to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.

==Cost==
Medicare accounts for more than one-fifth of all health spending in the U.S.. Its costs per beneficiary, about $12,000 in 2008, rose at an average annual rate of 8.5% a year from 1970 to 2007.

[[Morton Kaplan]] predicted that Medicare would bankrupt the federal government. [http://books.google.com/books?id=1CYNtYgpqEoC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=medicare+bankrupt+morton+kaplan&source=bl&ots=8HUtCMTen7&sig=gFioCnI9z3oQh299uHfYysmVgf4&hl=en&ei=CuAzS9LSFcaMlAex7-WTBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false]

==Medicaid==
Medicare is entirely separate from [[Medicaid]], a federal program that provides health benefits for certain poor people without insurance.
[[category:Health Care]]
[[Category:1960s]]
[[Category:Government Programs]]
[[Category:Welfare State]]

Family values

2013-03-24T12:04:35Z

JohnRichardThomas:

'''''Family values''''' refers to a set of common beliefs held by those who believe the [[family]] is the cornerstone of society. It is a phrase most often associated with [[United States of America|American]] [[conservative]]s.

Family values often overlap with [[conservative]] or [[small town values]] and include:
* Strong emphasis on the sanctity of [[marriage]]
* Opposition to [[homosexual]] indoctrination, support for the stake
* [[Pro-life]] beliefs
* Honour killings are better than abortion or illegitimate children
* Belief in the importance of religion and [[prayer]] in everyday life
* An emphasis on truth and [[humility]], except when it's inconvenient
* An emphasis on hard-work and strong personal character
* An emphasis on personal responsibility
* Belief that parents, and not [[government]], know what is best for their children
* Emphasis on self reliance, as opposed to government handouts
* Respect for historical precedence and longstanding values, regardless of reason

Family values in this context can be understood to mean the dogmatic belief system common among many American young earth fundamentalists. As such the values are based solely on a blinkerd right wing interpretation of the bible, with complete disregard to reason.

Those who do not agree with these family values sometimes mock those who hold them, even going so far as to call values-holders [[racist]] or [[redneck]]s, which are terms of endearment to a true American.

==See also==
*[[Small town values]]

[[Category:Conservative]]
{{Conservatism}}

Capitalism

2013-03-24T11:58:26Z

JohnRichardThomas:

[[Image:Tokyo Stock Exchange.jpg|thumb|Tokyo Stock Exchange]]
'''Capitalism''' is a [[free market]] economic system based on private ownership and entrepreneurship and exploitation of third world countries; it revolves around survival of the strongest most successful, it is in essence social darwinism.. The investment of capital, and production, distribution, income, and prices are determined not by government (as in [[socialism]]) but through the operation of a competitive market where decisions are voluntary and private rather than regulated and mandated by government (see [[law of supply and demand]]).

==Overview==
One self-regulating feature of capitalism is competition, which helps maintain fair market value for goods and services. However, ''unrestrained'' or ''pure'' capitalism may sometimes create a positive feedback loop in which a small number of individual accumulations of capital grow ever larger, eventually becoming so few as to limit effective competition, thus ceasing to strictly be free-market capitalism. In this regard, pure capitalism is unstable. Modern political systems have developed regulation mechanisms in an attempt to render capitalism more stable, including anti-trust regulation, trade tariffs, etc.

Since the fall of [[communism]], and the advent of information technology, capitalism is becoming increasingly widespread.

[[Adam Smith]] described the operation of capital accumulation through the productive powers of labor as such,
{{Cquote|Whatever a person saves from his [[revenue]] he adds to his [[capital]], and either employs it himself in maintaining an additional number of productive hands, or enables some other person to do so, by lending it to him for an interest, that is, for a share of the profits. As the capital of an individual can be increased only by what he saves from his annual revenue or his annual gains, so the capital of a society, which is the same with that of all the individuals who compose it, can be increased only in the same manner. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html Book II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 15,] ''Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Smith goes on to describe how the productive powers of labor employed by the owner of a capital allow laborers to reproduce with a profit the value of their maintenance, over and above their own consumption, which then allows for an additional set of hands to be employed. <ref>Adam Smith, ''Wealth of Nations'', Book II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 22.</ref> Smith observes labor is the original purchase price for all the wealth of the world,
[[Image:Eco Pillars.jpg|right|400px|thumbnail|The [[free enterprise]] system in [[United States of America|America]] before [[liberals]], [[Republican in name only|rinos]], and/or members of the [[progressive movement]], such as President [[Barack Obama]], eroded America's [[economics|economic]] freedom and prosperity. Recently, President Barack Obama [[Obamunism|created massive Federal government debt.]] ]]
{{Cquote|The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What every thing is really worth to the man who has acquired it, and who wants to dispose of it or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people. What is bought with money or with goods is purchased by labour, <sup>2</sup><ref>'Everything in the world is purchased by labour.'—Hume, 'Of Commerce,' in Political Discourses, 1752, p. 12</ref> as much as what we acquire by the toil of our own body. That money or those goods indeed save us this toil. They contain the value of a certain quantity of labour which we exchange for what is supposed at the time to contain the value of an equal quantity. Labour was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased; and its value, to those who possess it, and who want to exchange it for some new productions, is precisely equal to the quantity of labour which it can enable them to purchase or command. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html Book I, Chapter 5, Paragraph 2,] ''Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Real wealth consists not in money, but in the things money will exchange for,
{{Cquote|In order to put industry into motion, three things are requisite; materials to work upon, tools to work with, and the wages or recompense for the sake of which the work is done. Money is neither a material to work upon, nor a tool to work with; and though the wages of the workman are commonly paid to him in money, his real revenue, like that of all other men, consists, not in money, but in the money's worth; not in the metal pieces, but in what can be got for them. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Chapter 2, Paragraph 37,] ''Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society, or of the Expence of Maintaining the National Capital '', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Since wealth does not consist in money, gold, or silver, and labor is the original purchase price, Smith explains how the capitalist system is then put into motion, complete with natural incentives, only Smith does not use the word "capital" here to describe what is needed. Smith explains how a "store of goods", or "stock sufficient to maintain" the original capitalist entrepreneur is necessary;
{{Cquote|When the stock which a man possesses is no more than sufficient to maintain him for a few days or a few weeks, he seldom thinks of deriving any revenue from it. He consumes it as sparingly as he can, and endeavours by his labour to acquire something which may supply its place before it be consumed altogether. His revenue is, in this case, derived from his labour only. This is the state of the greater part of the labouring poor in all countries.

But when he possesses stock sufficient to maintain him for months or years, he naturally endeavours to derive a revenue from the greater part of it; reserving only so much for his immediate consumption as may maintain him till this revenue begins to come in. His whole stock, therefore, is distinguished into two parts. That part which, he expects, is to afford him this revenue, is called his capital. The other is that which supplies his immediate consumption <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Chapter 1, Paragraphs 1 & 2,] ''Of the Division of Stock '', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

The [[division of labor]] is the necessary condition that gives rise to the productive powers of labor that allows for large scale economic growth. By "division of labor", Smith is referring to "specialization of labor", where each worker acquires specific knowledge to apply to a specific task.
{{Cquote|In that rude state of society in which there is no division of labour, in which exchanges are seldom made, and in which every man provides everything for himself, it is not necessary that any stock should be accumulated or stored up beforehand in order to carry on the business of the society. Every man endeavours to supply by his own industry his own occasional wants as they occur. When he is hungry, he goes to the forest to hunt; when his coat is worn out, he clothes himself with the skin of the first large animal he kills: and when his hut begins to go to ruin, he repairs it, as well as he can, with the trees and the turf that are nearest it.

But when the division of labour has once been thoroughly introduced, the produce of a man's own labour can supply but a very small part of his occasional wants. The far greater part of them are supplied by the produce of other men's labour, which he purchases with the produce, or, what is the same thing, with the price of the produce of his own. But this purchase cannot be made till such time as the produce of his own labour has not only been completed, but sold. A stock of goods of different kinds, therefore, must be stored up somewhere sufficient to maintain him, and to supply him with the materials and tools of his work till such time, at least, as both these events can be brought about.

As the accumulation of stock must, in the nature of things, be previous to the division of labour, ...in order to give constant employment to an equal number of workmen, an equal stock of provisions, and a greater stock of materials and tools than what would have been necessary in a ruder state of things, must be accumulated beforehand. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Introduction, Paragraphs 1, 2, & 3] ''Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock,'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
{{Cquote|When the division of labour has been once thoroughly established, it is but a very small part of a man's wants which the produce of his own labour can supply. He supplies the far greater part of them by exchanging that surplus part of the produce of his own labour, which is over and above his own consumption, for such parts of the produce of other men's labour as he has occasion for. Every man thus lives by exchanging, or becomes in some measure a merchant, and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial society. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book I, Chapter 4, Paragraphs 1] ''Of the Origin and Use of Money'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

==Capitalism and Society==
[[Image:Ludwig von Mises.jpg|thumb|100px|Ludwig von Mises]]
Historically, capitalism has fostered freedom and an increase in the standard of living and human rights, and vice versa. Societies that have tried non-capitalist systems inevitably fall into tyranny.

For example, [[Venezuela]], while not a perfect country before [[Hugo Chavez]], had freedom and wealth unprecedented in its history. As Chavez has nationalized industries, he has also centralized power for himself, becoming a dictator.

Capitalist societies also generally have higher standards of living compared to their non-capitalist counterparts in terms of per capita GDP, education, healthcare, and poverty rates. [[China]], for instance, has been growing extremely prosperous since it began opening its economy to capitalism in the 1980s.

However, capitalist societies also have seen progressively larger gaps between the upper and middle classes develop, such as the United States where the top twenty percent owned eighty-seven percent of the financial wealth and eighty percent of the total wealth, despite having the largest GDP in the world.

== Quotes ==

“Historical evidence speaks with a single voice on the relation between political freedom and a free market. I know of no example in time or place of a society that has been marked by a large measure of political freedom, and that has not also used something comparable to a free market to organize the bulk of economic activity.”

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."
--[[Milton Friedman]], Capitalism and Freedom, 1962.

"If an exchange between two parties is voluntary, it will not take place unless both believe they will benefit from it. Most economic fallacies derive from the neglect of this simple insight, from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another."

--[[Milton Friedman]], Free to Choose

“Capitalism is essentially the economic system of poor people. That’s what allowed the people that came from humble origins of the world to have economic rights the way only nobility and the high bourgeoisie had it before. So capitalism is essentially a tool for poor people to prosper.”

--Hernando de Soto, PBS Interview, March 30-31, 2001

(cf: [http://www.americansolutions.com/General/?Page=026a3bda-755c-45d8-84d3-c68eef294612 Values - Free Enterprise])

"The only real cure for poverty is production". [[Henry Hazlitt]], from ''Man vs. the Welfare State''.

"The first condition for the establishment of perpetual peace is the general adoption of the principles of laissez-faire capitalism."

--Ludwig von Mises, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science

"There are two methods, or means, and only two, whereby man's needs and desires can be satisfied. One is the production and exchange of wealth; this is the economic means. The other is the uncompensated appropriation of wealth produced by others; this is the political means."

-- Albert Jay Nock, Our enemy, the State

"Businessmen are the symbol of a free society — the symbol of America."

-- Ayn Rand

== See also ==
*[[Austrian economics]]
*[[Capital]]
*[[Free Enterprise]]
*[[Ludwig von Mises]]
*[[Enterprise]]
*[[Planned economy]]
*[[Socialism]]
*[[Welfare State]]

==External links==
*[http://www.capmag.com Capitalism Magazine]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/capitalism/ What Liberals Say - Category: Capitalism], [[Accuracy In Media]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Libertarianism]]

Intelligence (psychology)

2013-03-24T11:55:56Z

JohnRichardThomas: Added relevant factual information.

'''Intelligence''' is the ability to [[understand]] from [[experience]], acquire and retain knowledge and respond quickly and effectively to new situation. At its basic physiological level intelligence correlates strongly with the speed that electrical impulses are transmitted by nerves. This speed of transmission is thought to form an overarching intelligence factor, often referred to as ''g'' or general mental ability (GMA). It is commonly accepted that there are many sub-types of intelligence which are strongly related to ''g'' but are still somewhat independent (eg., verbal, numerical or computational intelligence). Intelligence, unsurprisingly is something quite scarce in Conservapedia authors.

'''Military intelligence''' is knowledge of enemy forces, conditions in occupied territories, etc. See [[intelligence agency]].

==See Also==
*[[U.S. Intelligence on KAL 007's Intrusion into Soviet Territory and the Shoot down]]

[[Category:Military]]

English language

2013-03-24T11:53:46Z

JohnRichardThomas:

The '''English language''' (originating in [[England]]) is the predominant language of the [[United States of America|United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], and [[Canada]], <ref> http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855611.html </ref> as well as other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to the enormous economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the these nations, English functions as the world's major international language, though few speak it properly, many use American and other degenerate and liberal forms of English.

==History and Development==

English is considered a member of the Germanic language family, one of the oldest surviving Germanic languages within the North-Sea Germanic/Ingvaeonic sub-grouping of this family, with a vocabulary based upon Saxon, Angle, and Jute descent. The language has changed considerably in its existence; predecessors to modern English are highly distinct and are often mistaken for a completely different language, as evident in Old-English and Middle English. [[French]], amongst other Romance languages, has had a large impact on the language as well, due to the conquest of England by the French speaking Normans in 1066 AD. French also had a great impact on the language as it was the Lingua-Franca, considered so up until [[World War II]] (where English itself became the Lingua-Franca), in subjects such as law, science, philosophy, and politics.

Scholars typically identify several key factors in the development of the language in regards to the insurgence of non-native terminology. These times include the influence of French, mentioned above, the commerce England had with Spain, introducing Spanish to the language, and the effect of the [[Renaissance]] and [[Enlightenment]] period, which brought Latin and Greek based words to the language. Based on the history of the English language, it is sometimes compared to a common [[Creole]] language due to the many factors that have helped it develop over hundreds of years.

After World War II, the rise of the United States as a world superpower led to English replacing French as the Lingua-Franca, becoming the world's most used language for diplomacy, commerce, science, and so forth. Because of this, English is considered the world's most important international language by many.<ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4080401.stm </ref>

==Spelling==
English spelling, technically phonetic based on the Latin alphabet, has changed considerably over time. Because England had vast differences in pronunciations and [[dialects]], and because there was no standardized agreement of how to represent each sound nor which Roman letters corresponded to which sound, spelling was quite variable. Standard spellings did not come about until the late seventeenth century. In or around 1828 in the United States, the lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] argued for simplifying some spellings which were no longer phonetic, such as the -our in words such as "colour". Most, though not all, of his proposed changes were adopted, such that US English spelling differs from UK English in some hundreds of instances. UK English spelling is the standard in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and most of the Commonwealth of Nations including Canada and Australia; US English spelling is the standard in the [[United States]] and its territories, however conservatives would be wise to use true English.

The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England, or to describe something from England or with characteristics particular to that place.

==See also==
* [[Official English]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:English language| ]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]

English language

2013-03-24T11:51:23Z

JohnRichardThomas: /* Spelling */

The '''English language''' (originating in [[England]]) is the predominant language of the [[United States of America|United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], and [[Canada]], <ref> http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855611.html </ref> as well as other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to the enormous economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the these nations, English functions as the world's major international language.

==History and Development==

English is considered a member of the Germanic language family, one of the oldest surviving Germanic languages within the North-Sea Germanic/Ingvaeonic sub-grouping of this family, with a vocabulary based upon Saxon, Angle, and Jute descent. The language has changed considerably in its existence; predecessors to modern English are highly distinct and are often mistaken for a completely different language, as evident in Old-English and Middle English. [[French]], amongst other Romance languages, has had a large impact on the language as well, due to the conquest of England by the French speaking Normans in 1066 AD. French also had a great impact on the language as it was the Lingua-Franca, considered so up until [[World War II]] (where English itself became the Lingua-Franca), in subjects such as law, science, philosophy, and politics.

Scholars typically identify several key factors in the development of the language in regards to the insurgence of non-native terminology. These times include the influence of French, mentioned above, the commerce England had with Spain, introducing Spanish to the language, and the effect of the [[Renaissance]] and [[Enlightenment]] period, which brought Latin and Greek based words to the language. Based on the history of the English language, it is sometimes compared to a common [[Creole]] language due to the many factors that have helped it develop over hundreds of years.

After World War II, the rise of the United States as a world superpower led to English replacing French as the Lingua-Franca, becoming the world's most used language for diplomacy, commerce, science, and so forth. Because of this, English is considered the world's most important international language by many.<ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4080401.stm </ref>

==Spelling==
English spelling, technically phonetic based on the Latin alphabet, has changed considerably over time. Because England had vast differences in pronunciations and [[dialects]], and because there was no standardized agreement of how to represent each sound nor which Roman letters corresponded to which sound, spelling was quite variable. Standard spellings did not come about until the late seventeenth century. In or around 1828 in the United States, the lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] argued for simplifying some spellings which were no longer phonetic, such as the -our in words such as "colour". Most, though not all, of his proposed changes were adopted, such that US English spelling differs from UK English in some hundreds of instances. UK English spelling is the standard in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and most of the Commonwealth of Nations including Canada and Australia; US English spelling is the standard in the [[United States]] and its territories, however conservatives would be wise to use true English.

The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England, or to describe something from England or with characteristics particular to that place.

==See also==
* [[Official English]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:English language| ]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]