Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Barack Hussein Obama

2010-01-29T06:25:31Z

MichaelJB:

{{PermProtected|TK}}
 
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==Rense==
Jeff Rense may not be a such a good source. The Anti-Defamation League accuses him of promoting anti-Semitic views and 9/11 Conspiracy theories. OTOH, what is wrong with a Pravda article written in the post Soviet-censorship era when democratic Russia hungars to exercise a free press, open discussion and discernment of facts? [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 22:39, 23 January 2010 (EST)

:See my talk page, Rob. I never noticed who added the Pravda cite, so if you say so, it is of course fine with me, and please add it back if you haven't already! I now suspect it was yet another vandal site troll stirring the pot, so feel free to deal with him as well. --<big>[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]</big>/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 17:02, 24 January 2010 (EST)

== Terror Attacks ==
I have an issue with a claim made in the second paragraph. ''Since abandoning the "War on Terror" in Obama's first year, the United States has suffered more terrorist attacks with deadly intent on American soil than in the previous eight years combined.'' Since Obama replaced the 'Global War on Terror' with 'Overseas Contingency Operation', there have been only four domestic terrorist attacks, a far cry from the 19 that took place under Bush's tenure. This sentence should be reworded or removed in its entirety; it only makes the article look embarrassing. --[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 15:46, 25 January 2010 (EST)

:More [[liberal]] poppycock, Michael? Even the New York Times counts more, excluding 9/11, under Obama. Perhaps you should consider sources other than the Kos? --<big>[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]</big>/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 19:29, 25 January 2010 (EST)

::A short time ago you gave me grief for making assumptions, yet here you are doing the same. I didn't get any information from Kos, it all came from legitimate news sources. Do you really believe that more terror attacks occurred on US soil from March 2009 to January 2010 than in the eight years of the Bush administration? I would really like to see all your references for making such a bold claim. And why would you want to exclude the WTC/Pentagon attacks?
::Some people have been making some really stupid claims lately about domestic terror. Dana Perino and Rudy Guiliani both claimed there was not a terror attack on the US when Bush was in office. The fact that these people could make such stupidly partisan claims is incredible. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kpfhGxJbLc] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tYoMoJHNDs] The claim made in this article reeks of the same idiocy of Perino and Guiliani, why not delete the sentence or at least make it factual? --[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 20:23, 25 January 2010 (EST)

:::The facts are undeniable that America was totally unprepared to protect itself from terrorist homeland attacks as Bush entered office, due to the total lack of focus of the Clinton Administration and Congress on the issue. Bush can in no way be blamed for the 9/11 attacks with any real credibility.

:::As I have stated many times before, as Mr. Schlafly has stated many times before, as several other Admins have as well, coming here to argue-without-end against our conservative point of view in all articles you come across, is silly. If you and others cannot bring yourselves to accept alternative points of view, so be it. If you want a place to argue against conservatism in general, make your own site or try the Kos or HuffPo; but CP isn't a debate forum, it is a conservative encyclopedia ''project''. Article talk pages are for suggesting ways to improve articles from a conservative point of view, not a liberal one. Is that a clear enough statement? --<big>[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]</big>/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 21:29, 25 January 2010 (EST)

::::TK: The change you made is completely unacceptable from a moral and ethical standpoint because instead of correcting an error, you are now highlighting a lie. Three terror attacks occurred during Pres. Bush's last year in office. I sent you links to all three events but you are willing to over look such trivial matters as the truth. It's funny that a liberal who has been blocked twice for pointing out errors and outright falsehoods is vilified as a trouble-maker while the conservatives that knowingly mislead and lie are in charge of an alleged 'trustworthy encyclopedia'.
::::I'm trying to make these changes because I don't want Americans to look stupid, even the conservative ones. It's an uphill battle.

::::Gunman killed two people in a church. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-29-church-shooting_N.htm]
::::Suicide bomber attacked a Georgia law firm. [http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ga_law_firm_explodes_causing_multiple_injuries/]
::::Two police officers were killed by a bomb placed in a bank. [http://www.odmp.org/officer/19697-captain-thomas-paul-tennant]
::::--[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 01:25, 29 January 2010 (EST)

Talk:Barack Hussein Obama

2010-01-26T01:23:16Z

MichaelJB:

Talk:Barack Hussein Obama

2010-01-25T20:46:24Z

MichaelJB: Obama/Bush Terror Attacks

Barack Hussein Obama

2010-01-24T02:17:18Z

MichaelJB: Reference: When Barry Became Barack It didn't happen overnight. But in college, the young Barry took to being called by his formal name. What this evolution tells us about him.

{{President
|image=President Barack Obama.jpg
|seq=44
|term_start=January 20, 2009
|term_end=Present
|party=Democrat
|vp=Joe Biden
|previous=George W. Bush
|next=
|birth_date=August 4, 1961
|age={{age|1961|8|4}}
|birth_place=
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=[[Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama]]
|spouse2=
|religion=Described in this entry
}}
'''Barack Hussein Obama II''' aka '''Barry Soetoro'''<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/id/128633/page/1</ref><ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/13056.htm] israelinsider. 14 August 2008. Accessed 23 January 2010.</ref><ref>McGrew, Mark S. [http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/19-01-2009/106972-Barry_Soetoro-0 Barry Soetoro aka Barack Obama vs World Leaders]. ''[[Pravda]].ru. 19 January 2009. Accessed 23 January 2010.</ref><ref>Rense, Jeff. [http://www.rense.com/general86/barry.htm Meet President 'Barry Soetoro']. 24 July 2009. Accessed 23 January 2010.</ref>(allegedly<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=82033]</ref><ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]</ref><ref>[http://www.kitv.com/politics/17860890/detail.html?rss=hon&psp=news KITV Honolulu report]</ref><ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/farber/Obama_birth_certificate/2009/04/06/200320.html]</ref><ref>Obama's [[African]] grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama says Barack was born in her presence in Kenya.[http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2104131/posts Obama Born In Kenya? His Grandmother Says Yes, Israeli News, October 12, 2008][http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78931 Democrat: Obama's grandma confirms Kenyan birth, WND, October 23, 2008][http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b58_1225645143 Audio Conversation Link]</ref> born in [[Honolulu]] Aug. 4, 1961) is the 44th President of the [[United States]], and previously served as a first-term [[Democratic party|Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] (2005-2008). Obama and his running mate [[Senator Joseph Biden]] won the presidential election<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_wins_presidency/2008/11/04/147788.html?utm_medium=RSS]</ref> after 23 months of campaigning that spent over $700 million,<ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00009638</ref> much of it raised from undisclosed or fraudulent donors.<ref>"Obama’s finance team missed quite a few obviously troubling large donations, from such unsavory individuals as Mr. Jfggjjfgj, 'Mong Kong,' 'Test Person,' and 'Jockim Alberton,' who lives at a fictional address on a street that does not exist in Wilmington, Delaware. How many fictional characters might there be among the $220 million that Obama has collected in small, undisclosed contributions? Obama's small donors have all been recorded, and he could easily follow McCain’s lead by disclosing this major source of his campaign’s money."[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTllNTk2MDNmNDk1YmQ0OWEzOTZmMTVmODUwZTQwY2E= "Fake Donors, Phony Pledge, ''National Review'' (Oct. 22, 2008)] Obama did not.</ref> Obama spent far more per vote than McCain did: '''Obama spent $7.39 per vote, while McCain spent only $5.78 per vote'''.<ref>http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_08+00+PR</ref>

As President Obama has pushed for establishing a Palestinian state over the objection of [[Israel]]'s Prime Minister,<ref>http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-is-not-and-will-never-be-at-war-with-islam....-many-americans-have.../444572/</ref> inclusion of [[Turkey]] in the [[European Union]]<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6051268.ece</ref> and holding [[Guantanamo]] detainees indefinitely without trial.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/21/AR2009052104045.html Obama Endorses Indefinite Detention Without Trial for Some], Peter Finn, Washington Post, May 22, 2009. </ref> Since abandoning the "War on Terror" in Obama's first year,<ref> [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/03/25/report-obama-administration-backing-away-global-war-terror/ Obama Scraps 'Global War on Terror'], FOXNews.com March 25, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/24/AR2009032402818.html 'Global War On Terror' Is Given New Name], By Scott Wilson and Al Kamen, ''Washington Post'', March 25, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/03/23/the_end_of_the_global_war_on_t.html The End of the Global War on Terror, By Al Kamen, ''Washington Post'', 3/24/09.</ref> the United States has suffered more terrorist attacks with deadly intent on American soil than in the previous eight years combined.

Obama's budget and stimulus bill advanced his [[Socialism|socialist]] idea of "'''spreading the wealth'''."<ref>"My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." [http://www.nypost.com/seven/10152008/news/politics/obama_fires_a_robin_hood_warning_shot_133685.htm OBAMA FIRES A 'ROBIN HOOD' WARNING SHOT], N.Y. Post </ref>
<ref>John McCain quipped during the campaign, "He's running for Redistributor In Chief, I'm running for Commander In Chief."[http://news.chennaionline.com/newsitem.aspx?NEWSID=9fab8324-a1a1-4ad6-840f-76b04a405a65&CATEGORYNAME=INTER McCain Attacks Obama's Faith in Americans] Fox News, 10-31-2008. The slogan "from each according to their ability to each according to their need" is an idea originally proposed by [[Karl Marx]] and could be the inspiration for the centrally planned economy Obama plans to introduce to the US when he is installed into office.</ref> His [[Socialized Medicine|health care plan]] would force employers to purchase health care or pay a fine and will force many into a poorly run single payer system.<ref>The socialization of health care will force taxpayers to pay for healthcare for those who refuse to or can not afford to purchase it themselves.</ref> To announce his trip to [[Berlin]] in July 2008, Obama used posters which show a marked similarity to posters of [[Lenin]] and [[Che Guevara]].<ref>[http://andrightlyso.com/2008/07/24/obama-lenin-gaffe/ Obama's direct copy of a Lenin poster for his Berlin visit]</ref><ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/31/the-la-times-looks-into-the-obama-che-iconcography-connection/ The LA Times looks into the Obama-Che iconography connection] by Michelle Malkin </ref> During Obama's youth in Hawaii, he developed a strong, almost Father/Son relationship with [[Frank Marshall Davis]], a high level [[Communist Party]] functionary<ref>http://www.aim.org/aim-report/is-barack-obama-a-marxist-mole/ "Is Barack Obama a Marxist Mole?", Accuracy in Media.</ref> while Obama has stated that his favorite professors in school were themselves Marxists.

Obama has stated, "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the [[national security]] objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s Video])

Charles Chaput, the Catholic Archbishop of Denver, the city where Obama was nominated for president, criticized Obama as the "most committed" [[abortion]]-supporting candidate "since the ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' abortion decision in 1973."<ref>http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14088</ref> Obama said "the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."<ref>[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]</ref> It "would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make [[partial-birth abortion]] legal again."<ref>http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008. Indeed, Obama was upset with the decision of the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] not to strike down the law passed by the [[United States Congress]] to prohibit partial-birth abortion, believing that partial-birth abortion is guaranteed right of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] and that there should be no ability to legislate against it.</ref>

The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] observed that Obama used techniques of [[mind control]] in his campaign, as in this speech: "a light will shine down from somewhere, it will light upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will say to yourself, 'I have to vote for Barack.'"<ref name="mind control">http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/0089 . The doctors observe that "Obama's logo is noteworthy. It is always there, a small one in the middle of the podium, providing a point of visual fixation ... [that] resembles a crystal ball, a favorite of hypnotists."</ref>

== ACORN ==
::''Main article : [[ACORN]]''
[[File:1223acorn.jpg|thumb|241px|left|'''Obama was lead attorney for ACORN Housing prior to the subprime mortgage crisis''' and has extensive experience with the groups "community organizing" tactics.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQ20wNhB_M</ref> ACORN has been accused of voter fraud, facilitating tax fraud, human trafficking, and child prostitution.]]

Madeleine Talbot, a leader of the Chicago Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), was arrested along with ACORN members while pursuing direct action against the Chicago City Council. Talbot hired Obama to train her staff in organizing techniques. From 1992 to 2004, Obama ran leadership training sessions.<ref>[http://www.socialpolicy.org/index.php?id=838 Case Study: Chicago-The Barack Obama Campaign], By Toni Foulkes, ''Social Policy'', Winter 2003, Vol. 34, No. 2 Spring 2004, Vol. 34, No. 3.</ref> According to the ''Chicago Daily Herald'', Acorn demonstrators pushed over the metal detector and table used to screen visitors, backed police against the doors to the council chamber, and blocked late-arriving aldermen and city staff from entering the session.<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI=</ref>

In 1994 Obama represented ACORN in the ''Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank'' suit against redlining. ACORN was the driving force<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/barack_obama_and_the_strategy.html</ref> behind a 1995 regulatory revision pushed through by the [[Clinton Administration]] that greatly expanded the [[Community Redevelopment Act]] (CRA). Obama represented ACORN before Clinton administration regulators in this effort. With the new regulations, ACORN used its subsidiary, ACORN Housing, and the threat of lawsuits under fair housing laws, to induce lenders to expand subprime lending, or so-called "toxic assets." A 2007 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis notes 50% of all subprime mortgages were in predominantly minority census tracks.<ref>http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/06/01/ChomPennCross.pdf</ref>
<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2008/200829/200829pap.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.frbsf.org/publications/community/cra/cra_lending_during_subprime_meltdown.pdf</ref>

In the weeks leading up to the [[2008 Presidential election]], [[MSNBC]] reported the [[FBI]] was looking into ACORN voter fraud in several states.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27220798/</ref> Obama's staff worked to delay investigations into Obama's former employer. In this way, hundreds of thousands, if not many more, votes may have been overcounted. [http://www.onenewsnow.com/Election2008/Default.aspx?id=297446]

== Declining popularity==
[[File:Obama_total_approval_january_11_2010.jpg‎|thumb|right|300px|center]]
In the wake of the [[financial collapse of 2008]], Obama initially enjoyed the goodwill and moderate approval ratings of Americans. The growing perception of Obama's [[socialism|far left]] agenda marked a reversal of trends particularly after the "Gates flap."<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073004097.html</ref> [[Harvard]] Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested on [[misdemeanor]] disturbance charges. Prof. Gates told the arresting officer, "Do you know who I am?" Gates was a personal friend of Obama.<ref>http://gretawire.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/07/23/police-and-president-obama/comment-page-2/?action=late-new</ref> When asked about the incident at a press conference, Obama charged the arresting officer with "acting stupidly." Polls shortly after revealed Obama's personal popularity and approval ratings declined significantly across the board, on every major subject and among all demographic groups.<ref>http://people-press.org/report/532/obamas-ratings-slide</ref>

The growing perception of Obama's favoritism toward influential and powerful [[Liberal Elite|elite]]s was revealed in polls, with the greatest declines among poor people, the very group Obama worked hard to court in 2008. The respected Pew Research Center noted "Some of the larger declines are among members of his own party."

An ''[[ABC News]]/[[Washington Post]]'' poll in August 2009 showed public doubt about [[health care reform]] with a rise in views the president's proposals would do more harm than good. Obama's rating on the issue hit at a new low. Fewer than half support the president's agenda with many more "strongly" opposed than "strongly" in favor. Just 36 percent of independents, support the plan, considered the crucial political center.

Obama’s approval rating for handling health care has fallen steadily since April 2009 led by a steep a 17-point slide among independents. Expectations he can accomplish so-called "reform" have dropped further. Americans disapprove of his handling of the [[deficit]] by a record 12-point margin, 53-41 percent. After sharp gains following the 2008 elections, according to the polling report "views of the country’s direction have soured; 55 percent say it’s seriously off on the wrong track." <ref>http://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/1093a3HealthCareReform.pdf</ref>

[[Fidel Castro]] was quoted by ''[[Reuters]]'' as saying, "President Barack Obama is trying to make positive changes." <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSB30869920090825</ref> Castro, who 50 years ago implemented in [[Cuba]] a program of change, universal health care and [[mass murder]],<ref>http://markhumphrys.com/cuba.html#History</ref> recited the [[liberal]] [[mantra]] :
{{Cquote|I was amazed to read the wire services issued during the weekend about the US domestic policy, evidencing a systematic decline in President Barack Obama’s influence... the extreme right hates him for being an Afro-American and opposes anything the President does to improve that country....[and] will do its best to try to wear him out by hindering his program .... I wish I were wrong! <ref>[http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/reflexiones/2009/ing/f240809i.html Reflections by ''I Wish I were Wrong''] Reflections by Comrade Fidel, Fidel Castro Ruz, August 24, 2009.</ref>}}

== Obamunism ==

:''Main article'' : [[Obamunism]]
[[File:4135523219 e140763872 o.jpg|thumbnail|430px|A new study demonstrates Obama currently has dramatically fewer advisors who’ve made their living via the private sector than any other [[America]]n President in the last 108 years — since the turn of the 20th century when the business of America became business.<ref>http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/12/01/obamas-achilles-heel/</ref><ref>http://blog.american.com/?p=7572</ref>]]
Critics of the Obama administration have coined the word "[[Obamunism]]" to describe Barack Obama's [[socialism|socialistic]] and "[[fascism]] light" [[economic planning]] policies ([[Benito Mussolini]] defined fascism as the wedding of state and corporate powers. Accordingly, trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] labels [[Obama administration corporate bailouts|Obama's corporate bailouts]] as being "fascism light" in nature).<ref>http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/daily-intel/2009/07/20/obamunism-inc</ref><ref>http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/gerald-celente-6944</ref> Obamunism can also refer to Obama's [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]].<ref>http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching</ref><ref>http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm</ref><ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/</ref> Under President Obama the American government's share of the national gross domestic product has significantly increased.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kABRyZdQXGw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.breakingnews.com%2Fvideo%2Fdick-morris-obamas-waterloo&feature=player_embedded</ref>

[[Wall Street]] firms and banks that were bailed out were among Obama's biggest campaign supporters.<ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638</ref> Therefore, the Obama administration bailouts of corrupt, unproductive, and reckless Wall Street firms was hardly surprising, although it certainly was not helpful in making the United States economy more productive and prosperous. A 2005 study found that government corporate bailouts are often done for mere political considerations and the economic resources allocated exhibit significantly worse economic performance than resources allocated using purely business considerations.<ref>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=676905</ref>

Top trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] predicts that the corrupt economic policies of the Obama administration will lead to a second [[Great Depression|great depression]] (Celente predicted the 1987 US stock market crash, the dot.com crash, the US 2008/2009 recession, and the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s) and may lead to a "second [[American Revolution]]" (Celente predicted the [[Tea Party Movement|tax protests]] that are now occurring in America).<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9bfw1ebgw&feature=response_watch</ref> Celente also asserts that the costly and inefficient temporary short term methods that the Obama administration is using to alleviate economic problems in the short term (which is causing massive increases in [[Obama administration deficit spending]]) is only making matters worse and will not prevent the worse economic depression in United States history from occurring.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C8K7rWkGGw</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LBffdIW0XA&feature=response_watch</ref>

The Obama administration has been sharply criticized for [[Obama administration deficit spending|its massive deficit spending]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|its reckless monetary policy]] via vast increases in the [[money supply]].<ref>http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching</ref><ref>http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm</ref><ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/</ref> Celente predicts that if a "second American Revolution" occurs in a peaceful and productive manner, it may include a [[Third Party System|third party movement]] of governance that will advocate a more [[free market]] [[capitalism]] approach to the American economy and a more strict interpretation of the [[United States Constitution|United States constitution]] as far as the authors' [[original intent]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9bfw1ebgw&feature=response_watch</ref>
[[Image:LarrySummers.jpg|thumb|right|200px|thumbnail|[[Larry Summers]] ]]
=== Larry Summers - Corrupt and Incompetent Chief Economic Advisor to Obama ===
[[Lawrence Summers]] is the Director of the [[White House]]'s [[National Economic Council]] (NEC) for President Barack Obama. The NEC was established to advise the U.S. President on U.S. and global economic policy.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/nec/</ref> Larry Summers favored the bailouts of Wall Street firms and banks.<ref>http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/02/obama-administr.html</ref>

A government watchdog group reports the following conflicts of interest of Larry Summers:
{{cquote|Larry Summers, the director of the National Economic Council, ...continues to accept large speaking fees from bailed out banks.

"Most of the companies paying Summers' speaking fees are found at top the list of contributors to politicians from both parties, leaving voters to wonder if there is anyone left who isn't in Wall Street's pocket."<ref>http://www.campaignmoney.org/blog/2009/04/06/larry-summers-speaking-fees-targeted-by-watchdogs</ref>}}

The [[Washington Post]] reported:
{{cquote|Lawrence Summers, the chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, collected roughly $5.2 million in compensation from hedge fund D.E. Shaw over the past year and was paid more than $2.7 million in speaking fees from several troubled Wall Street firms and other organizations.<ref>http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/03/summers_raked_in_speaking_fees.html</ref>}}

Even the liberal publication [[The Nation]] declared concerning Obama's chief economic advisor Larry Summers:
{{cquote|In 1988, he was [[Michael Dukakis]]'s chief economic advisor, but when that campaign failed to bring Summers to power, he turned to America's great rival, the former [[Soviet Union]], to try out his economic experiments. In 1990, [[Lithuania]], a restive Soviet republic seeking independence, hired Summers to advise on that country's economic transformation. Poor Lithuania had no idea what it got itself into. This was Summers's first opportunity to tackle a country in economic crisis and put his wunderkind theories into practice. The results were literally suicidal: in 1990, when Summers first arrived, Lithuania's suicide rate was 26.1 per 100,000 and falling. Just five years after Summers got his hands on Lithuania's economy, life became so unbearable under the economic transition that the suicide rate nearly doubled to 45.6 per 100,000, worse than any other ex-Soviet republic in transition. In fact, it was the highest suicide rate in the world, suggesting something particularly harsh and brutal about the economic transition in that country as opposed to the others, where suffering and pain were common. Things got so bad that in 1992, after just two years of Summers-nomics, the traumatized Lithuanians voted the [[communism|communist]] party back into power, the first East European nation to do so--even though just a year earlier Lithuanians actually died on the streets fighting [[communism]].

Fresh off his success in Lithuania, Summers moved to the [[World Bank]], where he was named the chief economist in 1991, the year he issued his famous let's-pollute-Africa memo. It was also the year that Summers, and his [[Harvard]] protégé Andrei Schleifer (who worked with Summers on the Lithuania economic transformation), began their catastrophic "rescue" of Russia's crisis-ridden economy. It's a complicated story involving corruption, cronyism and economic devastation. But by the end of the 1990s, [[Russia]]'s [[GDP]] had collapsed by more than 60 percent, its population was suffering the worst death-to-birth ratio of any industrialized nation in the twentieth century, and the financial markets that Summers and Schleifer helped create had collapsed in what was then the world's biggest debt default ever. The result was the rise of [[Vladimir Putin]] and a national aversion to [[free market]]s and anything associated with Western liberalism.<ref>http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081124/ames</ref>}}

=== Larry Summers and Leftist Economics ===
George Gerald Reisman, Professor Emeritus of Economics at [[Pepperdine University]] and author of Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics, wrote that Summers socialistic ideas on redistributing wealth demonstrate that Summers is a "lightweight leftist" who "fails to understand the nature of the most essential feature of capitalism, namely, private ownership of the means of production and the indispensable role it plays in the standard of living of the average person."<ref>http://blog.mises.org/archives/009031.asp</ref> Reisman also wrote that Summers is a shallow and ignorant man whose knowledge of economics is minimal and whose evil views qualify him to be the economic advisor to [[Hugo Chavez]] of [[Venezuela]] or [[Robert Mugabe]] of [[Zimbabwe]], but do not qualify him to be an economic advisor to the President of the United States.<ref>http://blog.mises.org/archives/009031.asp</ref>

== Obama Administration Health Care Plan and Its Advocacy Methods ==
:''Main article'': [[Obamacare]]
Senior citizens are key Democratic party constituents that could kill [[Socialized medicine|Obama's socialistic health care plan]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsImVGsFlmA</ref> Recently, President Obama falsely claimed that the senior citizen group [[AARP]] endorsed his administration's health care plan when they never made such an endorsement.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zxf5ELaC4Q&feature=channel_page</ref> In addition, Barack Obama's "Disinformation Czar" (whose supposed job was to correct disinformation that others are spreading about the Obama administration's health care plan) was recently caught spreading misleading information.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4HgDfNsH3M&feature=channel_page</ref> Skepticism is mounting concerning Obama's health care plan and Obama himself and the skepticism is growing for valid reasons.<ref>http://www.buffalonews.com/248/story/762324.html</ref> For example, the usually pro-Obama news organization the [[Associated Press]] recently published an article which was critical of Obama that was entitled ''FACT CHECK: Obama's health care claims adrift''?<ref>http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gayIiVSnEX8h2nbrvI2X4a9eo4qQD99K0NP00</ref>

The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] (AAPS) maintains there are no redeeming provisions of Obama's health care plan and offers a number of criticisms.<ref>http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/00377</ref> The AAPS maintains that Obama's plan will significantly increase the overall cost of health care to the United States public plus reduce the quality of care that the system provides.<ref>http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/00377</ref> Political analyst and commentator [[Dick Morris]] has asserted that Obama's health care plan will lead to the significant rationing of senior health care which will decrease the life span of senior citizens.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsImVGsFlmA</ref>
=== Obama Administration Health Care Plan and Liberal Elitism ===
[[File:arrogant_obama.jpg|right|125px|thumbnail|Barack Obama ]]
In 2007, when Obama was running for the office of President of the United States, he promised Americans "health care that is as good as the health care that I have as a member of Congress."<ref>http://www.emaxhealth.com/10/18430.html</ref> However, recently when a newspaper reporter pressed Obama on whether he would commit to Americans having the same health care as congressmen, Obama repeatedly refused to commit to his previous promise of Americans having the same coverage as members of Congress.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzLDb2igKM</ref> President Obama merely claimed Americans would have health care coverage that would "largely match up" with what members of Congress have.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzLDb2igKM</ref> President Obama also stated he is constantly followed around by a personal physician.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzLDb2igKM</ref> The Obama administration's [[Liberal Elite|liberal elitism]] is not unusual when it comes to health care. For example, [[Belinda Stronach]], a former Member of the Canadian Parliament, chose to have a surgical treatment in the United States rather than be treated in Canada for her condition ([[Canada]] has a [[socialized medicine]] system of health care).<ref>http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2007/09/14/canadian-official-refuses-canadian-health-care/</ref>

Congressman [[John Fleming]] has offered a legislative amendment that would require United States congressmen and senators to take the same health care plan they try to force on others (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt). Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his website and sign his petition.<ref>http://fleming.house.gov/index.html</ref>

== Barack Obama and Liberal Elitism ==
Obama has consistently shown himself to be a [[Liberal Elite|liberal elitist]] who looks down on "ordinary" Americans. Asked to explain why small town [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied "it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." When Obama made this remark he was alluding to small town people who had experienced long periods of joblessness. In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama did not recount his statement but instead replied, I "didn't say it as well as I should have."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref> Although many rural counties went for McCain, Obama carried the state with 54.6% of the vote, compared to 44.3% for John McCain.<ref>[http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=28&OfficeID=1]</ref>

In an attempt to counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he "worked his way through college and Harvard Law." This claim is at best an exaggeration, as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html</ref>, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.
===Obama's Charitable Giving===

''For more information please see'': [[Barack Obama and uncharitableness]]

[[File:Poor-woman.jpg|right|thumb|300px|In the years 2000 through 2004, before becoming a United States Senator and being in the public spotlight, Obama gave less than 2% of his earnings to charity even though he made about $250,000 per year (In the years 2000 to 2002, Barack Obama gave less than 1% of his income to charity).<ref>http://patterico.com/2008/10/31/obama-and-bidens-charitable-giving-they-dont-want-to-spread-their-own-wealth-around/</ref><ref>http://atangledweb.squarespace.com/httpatangledwebsquarespace/obamas-charitable-contributions.html</ref> For more information please see: [[Barack Obama and uncharitableness]] ]]
In the years 2000 through 2004, before becoming a United States Senator and being in the public spotlight, Obama gave less than 2% of his earnings to charity even though he made $250,000 per year. Since becoming a national figure, that amount has jumped to about 6%.<ref>http://patterico.com/2008/10/31/obama-and-bidens-charitable-giving-they-dont-want-to-spread-their-own-wealth-around/</ref>

Below is Obama's charitable giving expressed as percentage of his income for the years of 2000 to 2006 when he was earning about $250,000 per year:

*2000: 0.9%
*2001: 0.5%
*2002: 0.4%
*2003: 1.4%
*2004: 1.2%
*2005: 4.7%
*2006: 6.1%<ref>http://atangledweb.squarespace.com/httpatangledwebsquarespace/obamas-charitable-contributions.html</ref>

Obama's charitable giving pattern is not surprising given what we know about United States [[liberal]] politicians and charitable giving and also the charitable giving in the general population of liberals in the United States.<ref>http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c5_1238044128&c=1</ref><ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref>

===Liberal politicians and uncharitableness ===

''For more information please see'': [[Liberal politicians and uncharitableness]]

The political magazine the ''[[American Spectator]]'' declared:
{{cquote|The last two Democratic Party nominees for President have come up short on the charity scale. [[Al Gore]] has been famously stingy when it comes to actually giving his own money to charities. In 1998 he was embarrassed when his tax returns revealed that he gave just $353 to charity...

Senator [[John Kerry]] likewise has a poor record. In 1995 he gave zero to charity, but did spend $500,000 to buy a half stake in a seventeenth century painting. In 1993, he gave $175 to the needy. Later, of course, Kerry married the rich widow Theresa Heinz, and today is active in charitable causes using the Heinz foundation as his vehicle...

[Senator Ted] [[Ted Kennedy|Kennedy]]’s tax returns are obviously a closely guarded secret. But when he chose to run for President in the 1970s, he released some of them. With a net worth of more than $8 million in the early 1970s and an income of $461,444 from a series of family trusts, Senator Robin Hood gave barely 1 percent of his income to charity. The sum is about as much as Kennedy claimed as a write-off on his fifty-foot sailing sloop Curragh.<ref>http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c5_1238044128&c=1</ref>}}

===Liberals and uncharitableness ===

''For more information please see'': [[Liberals and uncharitableness]]

In March of 2008, [[George Will]] cited a study by Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at [[Syracuse University]], which indicated that American liberal households earn more than conservative American households but give less to charity.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref> In addition American conservatives donate more time and given more blood than American liberals.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref>

=== Barack Obama's Brother George Obama and Poverty ===
[[File:Barack Obamas Brother in Bengo-002.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[George Obama]]]]
In August of 2008 the NY Daily News reported the following concerning Obama and his half-brother George Obama:
{{cquote|Barack Obama wants to live in the White House - but his youngest half-brother lives in the poorhouse.

George Obama, one of the candidate's seven living half-siblings, lives on pennies a month in a hut in Africa, the Italian edition of Vanity Fair revealed.

"No one knows who I am," George Obama, 26, told the magazine. "I live like a recluse, no one knows I exist."

He lives on the outskirts of Nairobi in a 65-square-foot shack decorated with posters of the Italian soccer clubs AC Milan and Inter, and a calendar of beaches.

I live here on less than a dollar a month," he said....<ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/08/20/2008-08-20_barack_obamas_povertystricken_halfbrothe.html</ref>

A spokesman for Barack Obama declined repeated requests for comment yesterday.

George Obama said he met his famous brother as a 5-year-old, and again in 2006 when Obama toured East Africa and visited Nairobi.

"It was very brief - we spoke for just a few minutes," he said.<ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/08/20/2008-08-20_barack_obamas_povertystricken_halfbrothe.html</ref>}}

In September of 2008, [[National Review]] featured an article by [[Dinesh D'Souza]] which declared:
{{cquote|George Obama’s shack measures six feet by ten feet, and yet he says that Barack Obama has done nothing to reach out to him or to help him. “I live like a recluse. If anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed.”<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTk1OTc2ZGVlNjg2NmU1YTlkMGJjZjk5OGEzMzIxYjA=</ref>}}

A critic of Barack Obama's uncharitableness towards his brother wrote:
{{cquote|Well, they say charity begins at home, but it hasn't apparently in this case. Hearing about what George is going through, you can't help but wonder why his brother Barack won't send the guy $20? I mean it would double his annual income.<ref>http://www.zimbio.com/George+Hussein+Onyango+Obama/articles/3/George+Obama+Barack+Obama+Brother+Fights+Life</ref>}}

Asked by Harry Smith from CBS about Obama leaving the campaign to visit his ailing grandmother, Obama replied, "Yeah, well, the -- I think most people understand that if you're not caring for your family, then you're probably not the kind of person who's going to be caring for other people." <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2008/10/23/cbs-s-smith-compares-obama-lincoln-obama-attacks-hannity CBS’s Smith Compares Obama to Lincoln; Obama Attacks Hannity] NewsBusters.org, October 23, 2008</ref>
[[File:KenyaSlumR 468x301.jpg|right|200px|thumbnail|[[George Obama]]'s neighborhood]]

=== Barack Obama's Treatment of George Obama and Barack Obama's Inaugural Speech ===

Barack Obama's treatment of George Obama is particularly ironic and hypocritical given Barack Obama's inaugural speech.

Barack Obama declared in his inaugural speech:
{{cquote|To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."<ref>http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/guidesweek/obama-inauguration-speech-world-poverty</ref>}}
[[Image:CharlesDarwin.jpg|thumb|125px|right|[[Charles Darwin]] ]]

=== Barack Obama's Uncharitableness/Liberal Elitism and Social Darwinism ===

''See also'': [[Social effects of the theory of evolution]]

[[Barack Obama and uncharitableness|Barack Obama's recent pattern of charitable giving]] and [[Barack Obama and liberal elitism|Barack Obama's liberal elitism]] is consistent with Obama being a [[Narcissism|narcissist]] which is a charge that has often been made against Barack Obama.<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/obama_oprah_and_the_guru_malig_1.html</ref> However, it is also true that Barack Obama is an [[evolution|evolutionist]]. Barack Obama told the ''York Daily Record'' that "I believe in [[evolution]]...".<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999910/posts</ref> Barack Obama's recent pattern of charitable giving and liberal elitism is also in accordance with someone who has a certain degree of [[Social Darwinism|social darwinistic]] thinking. In addition to [[Liberals and uncharitableness|American liberals giving less to charity]], it also true that [[Theory of evolution and liberalism|American liberals are also more likely to believe in evolution]].

==Michelle Obama and Liberal Elitism==

''For more information please see:'' [[Michelle Obama and liberal elitism]]

=== Michelle Obama and Patient Dumping Allegations ===

[[Michelle Malkin]] and others allege that [[Michelle Obama]] created a [[Patient dumping|patient dumping]] scheme for a Chicago health care facility.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80YK2o3kq0E</ref><ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/03/michelle_obamas_patientdumping_1.html</ref><ref>http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/23/video-did-michelle-obama-start-a-patient-dumping-program/</ref> In March of 2009, the ''[[American Thinker]]'' wrote:
{{cquote|Substantial coverage was given to a recent indictment of the program by the American College of Emergency Physicians. ACEP's president, Dr. Nick Jouriles, released a statement suggesting that the initiative comes "dangerously close to ‘patient dumping,' a practice made illegal by the Emergency Medical Labor and Treatment Act, and reflected an effort to ‘cherry pick' wealthy patients over poor."<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/03/michelle_obamas_patientdumping_1.html</ref>}}

=== Michelle Obama and Food Bank Incident ===
[[Image:Obama_Michelle.jpg|right|thumb|[[Michelle Obama]] is reported to have worn $540 shoes to a food bank.<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/29/michelle-obama-wears-silv_n_193138.html</ref><ref>http://christwire.org/2009/05/michelle-obama-makes-fun-of-homeless-by-wearing-540-shoes-to-a-food-bank/</ref>]]
In May of 2008, the following was reported:
{{cquote|[[Michelle Obama]] continued to flaunt her money recently, as she made fun of homeless people by wearing $540 shoes to a food bank.

What a sick day and age we live in when millionaires endlessly gallivant around the globe in their jets and fancy clothes, but still make sure to remind the poor of just how little they have in pocket.

This is just more proof of how the liberal elite live these extravagant lives and are not in touch with us common people. We do all the hard work of fighting wars and building up this country, while they enjoy the fruits of our labor and control all the wealth.

My stomach churns with disgust because of these types of liberal antics and disregard for human life. For just about $5 a day, you can feed a starving child in Africa. With $540, Michelle Obama could by a struggling American family a month’s worth of groceries.<ref>http://christwire.org/2009/05/michelle-obama-makes-fun-of-homeless-by-wearing-540-shoes-to-a-food-bank/</ref><ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/29/michelle-obama-wears-silv_n_193138.html</ref>}}

[[Powerline]] offers the following criticism of Michelle Obama:
{{cquote|She says that she and Barack were born to parents of modest means, not with "silver spoons" in their mouths. Nobody knows the trouble they've seen. The burden of paying for her undergraduate education at [[Princeton]] and her law school education at [[Harvard]] has scarred her. It remains a motif of her stump speech. No one is accorded a chance to ask her if she thought about attending the University of Illinois, or if she's grateful for any of the financial assistance that facilitated her and her husband's attendance at the finest institutions of higher learning in the United States.<ref>http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/05/020456.php</ref>}}

[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|'''Obama stands with folded hands''' while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]]. [http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Obama_doesnt_put_hand_over_heart_1022.html See Video] ]]
==Presidential Election (2008)==
:''See Main article'' : [[Barack Hussein Obama 2008 Presidential campaign]]

Senator Obama won the 2008 Presidential election, with over 52% of the popular vote. He carried every state that [[John Kerry]] won in 2004, in addition to Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, and Indiana. Of the 127 million votes cast, Obama beat John McCain by 8 million total votes.<ref>http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref> [http://images.newsmax.com/misc/2008_Election_Map.jpg See county breakdown map] <ref>[www.cnn.com/election]</ref>

==Presidency (2009-Present)==

The Obama administration was wracked by [[scandal]]s from its earliest days. See: [[Obama Administration]].

===Obama is likely the first Muslim President===
[[Image:OBAMA MUSULMAN.jpg|left|thumb|'''Then-Senator Obama wearing traditional African garb''', a gift from his hosts while visiting Kenya<ref>[http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-wore-muslim-gear-during-kenya-trip]</ref>]]
The evidence that Obama is a Muslim includes:

*Obama declared in prepared remarks, "The United States has been enriched by '''Muslim Americans'''. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because '''I am one of them'''."<ref>http://middleeast.about.com/b/2009/04/06/obama-in-turkey-at-the-gates-of-islam.htm</ref>
*Obama's wife Michelle does not accompany him to Muslim nations because [[Sharia law]] would apply to her there; on a presidential trip she was with him until France, but then returned home.
*Obama's background, education, and outlook are [[Muslim]], and fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.<ref>http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17736/barack-obama-2</ref><ref>http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm. During the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class, according to the LATimes. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.obama16mar16,0,1634059,print.story?coll=bal_news_nation_promo Campaign downplays his connection during boyhood in Indonesia, Baltimore Sun, March 16, 2007]</ref>
*Obama's middle name (Hussein) references '''Husayn''', who was the grandson of [[Muhammad]],<ref>A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. 2004.</ref><ref>al-Qarashi, Baqir Shareef (2007). The life of Imam Husain. Qum: Ansariyan Publications.</ref> which most Christians would not retain.<ref>Only after Obama became politically ambitious did he declare himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] name "Hussein" with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion. For example, when the Italian journalist Magdi Allam recently converted to Christianity, he took a new name: "Cristiano".[http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=30814] When Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to "Paul"; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Muslim name of [[Muhammad Ali]]. "It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion"[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]</ref>
*Obama mentioned his religion as "[[my Muslim faith]]."<ref>Obama declared, "John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw]</ref>
*He has said that "Islam can be compatible with the modern world."<ref> [http://www.newsweek.com/id/145971 Barack Obama's Christian Journey | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008]</ref>
*Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset," and recited "with a first-class [[Arabic]] accent" the opening lines: Allah is Supreme! ... I witness that there is no god but Allah ...."<ref>http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=78309</ref>
*Obama stated that the autobiography of Malcolm X, a Nation of Islam leader who became a Muslim, inspired him in his youth.<ref>For example, Obama writes in his own autobiography, "Only Malcolm X's autobiography seemed to offer something different. His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me. The blunt poetry of his words, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will. ... [E]ven as I imagine myself following Malcolm's call, one line in the book stayed with me. He spoke of a wish he'd once had, the wish that the white blood that ran through him, there by an act of violence, might somehow be expunged."[http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/does_obama_know_america.html]</ref>
*Obama raised nearly $1 million and campaigned for a [[Kenyan]] presidential candidate who had a written agreement with [[Muslim]] leaders promising to convert Kenya to an Islamic state that bans Christianity.<ref> [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78324] Text of the agreement, as three images: [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78323]</ref>
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.<ref>In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).</ref>
*In the book ''Obama,"Renegade"'' his friends say that "he actually really wasn't much of a churchgoer." <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/06/16/wolffe-president-missed-rev-wright-s-racist-rants-because-he-wasn-t-much- Wolffe: President Missed Rev. Wright’s Racist Rants Because 'He Wasn’t Much of a Churchgoer'] NewsBusters.org, June 16, 2009</ref>
*On the campaign trail, Obama was reading "The Post-American World" by [[Fareed Zakaria]],<ref>http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=fa8cf1bf-2cc8-4d6e-b72d-a07d406e19ff</ref> which is written from a Muslim point-of-view.<ref>http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-08-09/news/the-interpreter/</ref>
*Contrary to [[Christianity]], the Islamic doctrine of [[taqiyya]] encourages adherents to deny they are Muslim if it advances the cause of Islam.
*Obama uses the Muslim Pakistani pronunciation for "Pakistan" rather than the common American one.<ref>Obama repeatedly pronounced "Pakistan" as "Pokiston" in the first presidential debate.</ref>
*Obama was thoroughly exposed to Christianity as an adult in Chicago prior to attending law school, yet no one at law school saw him display any interest in converting. Obama unabashedly explained how he became "churched" in a 2007 speech: "It's around that time [while working as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in Chicago] that some pastors I was working with came around and asked if I was a member of a church. 'If you're organizing churches,' they said, 'it might be helpful if you went to a church once in a while.' And I thought, 'I guess that makes sense.'"<ref>[http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=15363 Obama, ACORN, and the churches] SperoNews, October 7, 2008</ref>
*Obama is mentioned as helping to organize the 1995 million man march led by black [[Muslim]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]] from the [[Nation of Islam]]. <ref>[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9291850 Louis Farrakhan Biography] Biography.com</ref>
*Obama refuses to refer to the United States as "''our country''", "What I think we know separate and apart from this incident -- is that there is a long history '''in this country''' of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."[8]
*Obama has chosen the [[Secret Service]] code name "Renegade". "Renegade" conventionally describes someone who goes against normal conventions of behavior, but its first usage was to describe someone who has turned from their religion. It is a word derived from the [[Spanish]] ''renegado'', meaning "Christian turned Muslim."<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/3452281/Renegade-and-Renaissance-Obama-to-replace-Trailblazer-and-Tempo-Bush-in-the-White-House.html</ref>
*Obama enjoyed a bigger increase in voter support in 2008 (compared to 2004) by Muslims than by any other voting group, including blacks;<ref>http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/2873/</ref> "Muslim turnout in the U.S. elections reached 95 percent, the highest Muslim turnout in U.S. history."<ref>http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/islamsadvance/2008/11/is_obama_the_muslim_worlds_sup.html</ref>
*"President-elect [[Barack Obama]] has yet to attend [Sunday] church services since winning the [[White House]] earlier ..., a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors."<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15902.html</ref><ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-obama-religion26-2008dec26,0,1910913.story</ref>
*Obama used his Muslim middle name when sworn in as President.<ref>http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Cetera/Obama_to_take_oath_using_middle_name_/articleshow/3813120.cms</ref><ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/10/politics/main4660590.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_4660590</ref>
*Obama botched his public oath of office in which he placed his hand on a Bible, then chose not to use the Bible for his real, private oath.
[[Image:Obamabow.jpg|thumb|right|250px|'''President Obama bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia''' - April 2009]]
*'''At the G20 summit in April 2009, Obama bowed deeply to Saudi King Abdullah, a Muslim who is also the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.'''<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEUif1--r38&feature=player_embedded Video of Obama bowing almost to King's waist]</ref> Never before in the history of the U.S. has a president displayed such shocking deference to a foreign official and Obama has not bowed to any other royal leaders. Obama later stated, "We have to change our behavior in showing the Muslim world greater respect."<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/07/barack-takes-a-bow/</ref> Obama's spin doctors and left-wing apologists dismissed the obviousness of the bow. One anonymous aide stated, "It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah."<ref>http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0409/White_House_No_bow_to_Saudi.html</ref> However, in video of the incident, Obama's left hand can clearly be seen staying at his side until after he had finished his bow.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlqW6UCeaY</ref> Additionally, Obama also met with Queen Elizabeth, who is much shorter than King Abdullah, but he did not bow when he shook her hand and neither he nor the queen appeared to have any difficulty.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71N34K9EVLU</ref> (Many liberals and even a handful of conservatives have proposed that President Bush also bowed before King Abdullah.<ref>http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/33289_Bush_Bowed_Too</ref> However, there is a vast, inexorable difference between bending down to receive a medal as Bush did and bowing in deference to a foreign leader as Obama did.)
*Obama required that a religiously affiliated college take the extraordinary action of concealing with wood the monogram "IHS", which represents the name of Jesus, during a speech by Obama there<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/16/georgetown-university-hid-religious-symbols-white-house-request/ Georgetown hides Jesus' name at request of Obama's White House]</ref>

Obama tries to downplay his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a "confirmed [[atheist]]" before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics, or non-religious.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html</ref> There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991, nor of Barack Obama's joining of a Mosque (The Islamic house of worship) at any time in his life. Finally, Obama abruptly left his radical Christian church in Chicago in 2008, when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join. On April 7, 2009, Obama visited a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.<ref>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.c2e3700ab4e271bc32827b0fccfe560b.421&show_article=1</ref>

===Enemies list===
In July 2009 suspicions arose over reports the Obama administration was creating a network<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27655039/</ref> of domestic informants and began compiling an enemies list. In a letter to President Obama, U.S. Sen. [[John Cornyn]], R-Texas, expressed serious concern about the White House's new program requesting Americans to forward email chains and other communications opposing the President's [[health care reform]] policies. Sen. Cornyn asked for assurances that the program was being carried out in a manner consistent with the [[First Amendment]] and America's tradition of [[free speech]] and public discourse.
[[File:Maria-and-Che.jpg|thumb|left|275px|A community organizer poses in front of [[mass murder]]er [[Che Guevara]] poster during the 2008 campaign; [http://patterico.com/2009/08/14/roxana-mayer-invited-to-town-hall-by-obama-organizer-who-sported-che-guevara-poster-at-obama-campaign-office/] the same community organizer [http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4r9wf] falsely represented herself as a physician during a Townhall meeting on [[healthcare reform]] in 2009.
[http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/story/roxana_mayer_im_not_a_doctor_but_i_play_one_at_town/] ]]
Sen. Cornyn's letter also inquired about the collection of names, email addresses, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens that informants report, and raises the specter of a data collection program.
{{Cquote|I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy' or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests. You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of [[free speech]] rights.<ref>http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ForPress.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=ebc2c77d-802a-23ad-4ae4-6ccf4c7a255c</ref>}}
Congressman Darrell Issa also expressed grave concern about the administration blurring the lines between political and official business by collecting data on administration critics.<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8352544</ref>

=== Health care disinformation ===
A webpage at whitehouse.gov entitled "Reality Check" claims that the president's program "would be fully paid for over 10 years, and it would not add one penny to the deficit."<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq</ref> The [[CBO]] is mandated to prepare cost estimates and to show how individual legislative proposals would change spending or revenue levels under current law.<ref>http://www.cbo.gov/aboutcbo/budgetprocess.shtml</ref> A July 15 2009 letter from the CBO made this assessment,
{{Cquote|enacting the proposal would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010-2019 period."<ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/103xx/doc10310/06-15-HealthChoicesAct.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=52306</ref>}}

==Early life and career==

Barack Hussein Obama II claims to have been born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham in 1961, but there is evidence<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/14/the-jihadist-vote/</ref> that he may have actually been born in Kenya. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years. Media scrutiny revealed that the [[secular]] public school he attended was not a [[madrassa]], which teaches Islam. On days off in observance of Islamic holidays he spent praying in a Mosque with his stepfather. <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/pipes_obama_muslim/2008/10/09/138898.html Obama 'Lying' About Muslim Past, Expert Says] NewsMax, October 9, 2008</ref> Stanley Ann Dunham and the young Obama left Indonesia about 1970 for Hawaii where he attended the Punahou School, a leading private preparatory school where he graduated in 1979.
[[File:FrankMarshallDavis2.jpg|right|202px|thumb|'''Frank Marshall Davis, Communist Party Card No. 47544.'''<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Frank_Marshall_Davis_5.pdf FBI file Frank Marshall Davis], v.5 p. 58 pdf.</ref> The [[U.S. Congress]] found the Communist Party an "instrumentality of a [[conspiracy]]...the agency of a hostile foreign power."<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00000841----000-.html Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950], 50 U.S. Code Chapter 23 Subchapter IV Sec. 841</ref> The [[FBI]] placed Davis in its security index, meaning he could be detained in the event of a national emergency.<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Frank_Marshall_Davis_3.pdf FBI File 100-15799 Frank Marshall Davis], v. 3 p. 26.</ref> Davis was an early influence on Obama.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=HRCHJp-V0QUC&pg=PA220&dq=Frank%2Brecognizing+their+struggle+as+my+own#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance''], By Barack Obama, Random House, 2007, pp. 89-91, 96-98, .</ref>]]
''[[Political Affairs]]'' magazine describes itself as "affiliated with the [[Communist Party USA]],"<ref>http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/static/17/1/3/</ref> (CPUSA) published a speech by Prof. Gerald Horne upon receipt of the CPUSA archives at the Tamiment Library at New York University on March 28 2007. Prof. Horne stated,
{{Cquote|an African-American poet and journalist by the name of [[Frank Marshall Davis]]...befriended another family – a Euro-American family – that had migrated to Honolulu...a young woman from this family eventually had a child with a young student from [[Kenya]] ...who retracing the steps of Davis eventually decamped to Chicago. In his bestselling memoir ''Dreams of my Father'', the author speaks warmly of an older black poet...as being a decisive influence in helping him to find his present identity as an African-American... At some point in the future, a teacher will add to her syllabus Barack’s memoir and instruct her students to read it alongside Frank Marshall Davis’ equally affecting memoir...when that day comes...a future student will ...examine critically the Frankenstein monsters that US imperialism created in order to subdue Communist parties..."<ref>[http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/5047/ Rethinking the History and Future of the Communist Party],By Gerald Horne, ''Political Affairs magazine, March 28 2007.</ref>}}

evoking the language in [[Chairman Mao]]'s ''Little Red Book'',
{{Cquote|unite and defeat the U.S. aggressors... Monsters of all kinds shall be destroyed.<ref>''Statement Supporting the People of the Congo (L.) Against U.S. Aggression'' (November 28, 1964), ''People of the World, Unite and Defeat the U.S. Aggressors and All Their Lackeys'', 2nd ed., p. 14. Cited in Quotations from Mao Tse Tung from: 1927 - 1964, Mao Tse Tung, [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch07.htm Chapter 7 Dare to Struggle and Dare to Win], Peking Foreign Languages Press, 1966. Online Version: Mao Tse Tung Internet Archive (marxists.org) 2000.</ref>}}

In the 1995 book, ''Dreams from my Father'', the author wrote Obama learned to respect Davis's struggles, "recognizing them as my own." Obama sought Davis's advise as he left for college.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=HRCHJp-V0QUC&pg=PA97&dq=manipulate+words+so+they+don%27t+mean+anything+anymore#v=onepage&q=manipulate%20words%20so%20they%20don't%20mean%20anything%20anymore&f=false ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance''], By Barack Obama, Random House, 2007, pp. 97, 220.</ref> Initially Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors as a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in [[political science]]. Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.<ref>http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/</ref>

===Birth Certificate Controversy===
:''Main article'' : [[Barack Obama birthplace controversy]]
[[Image:Obamapullup2.JPG|325px|thumb|left|'''Candidate Obama cultivated an image''' of sportsmanship and competition; as President, Obama ridiculed disabled people who compete in the [[Special Olympics]]. The comments "set us back decades," according to the program's director. <ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/mar/20/local/chi-090320obama-special-olympics-react Special Olympics chief responds to Obama gaffe], Stacy St Clair, ''Chicago Tribune'', March 20, 2009]</ref>([http://www.necn.com/Boston/Politics/2009/03/20/Obamas-comment-sets-us-back/1237552251.html Video])
]]
During the democratic primaries the Clinton Campaign led a smear campaign against the validity of Barack Obama's Hawaii Birth certificate, claiming that it was false and that he was ineligible for Presidency. <ref>[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]</ref> After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as
authentic.<ref>[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]</ref> The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.<ref>[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]</ref> However, some analysts claim that the birth certificate is false.<ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]</ref>

On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.<ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]</ref> The site stated, "FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship." In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number. The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. <ref>http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html</ref>

A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls "dual loyalties" due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. The "dual loyalties" which have not been shown to exist do not violate any constitutional or legal precedents and would make Sen. Obama a poor choice for President, not an invalid choice.

Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and paying a number of legal fees and taking several days out of his busy campaigning schedule the Obama campaign had the case dropped on the grounds that it lacked any supporting evidence. <ref>http://neighbors.denverpost.com/viewtopic.php?t=10815605</ref> The fact that Mr. Berg's dual arguments were mutually contradictory may also have contributed.

The state of Hawaii announced that the "Certification of Live Birth" document is legitimate and official. Since the state of Hawaii is the issuing body, they have ultimate authority with regards to the matter.<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html</ref> Critics rightfully point out such documents actually were issued for children not born in the state, and his "Certification of Live Birth" has likewise been dismissed as a forgery. <ref>http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/07/atlas-exclusive.html</ref>

Adding fuel to the fire is Obama's persistent refusal to release documents that could provide answers. While his supporters cite an online version of a "Certification of Live Birth" from Hawaii. <ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92810 Justice, Supremes confirm getting eligibility challenge] WND, March 24, 2009</ref>

[[Bob Schultz]] with the [[We The People Foundation]] said:

"In the end, there is no practical reason why Obama refuses to produce his original birth certificate. He... has a duty to provide evidence that he meets the explicit requirements established by the Constitution."

[[Nancy Salvato]] with [[BasicsProject|BasicsProject.org]] perhaps put it best:

"What perturbs the rest of us is that President Obama has failed to produce a legitimate birth certificate. He has a team of lawyers who are opposing the examination of his sealed records in Hawaii. What he produced was a certificate of live birth... not a birth certificate. The rest of us are appalled at the lack of media examination surrounding the fact that there is no law requiring that a candidate for the highest office in our land produce an authentic birth certificate which proves natural citizenship."

=== Education ===

After working as a "community organizer" in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School. He became a member of the ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&scp=3&sq=Obama%201990&st=cse</ref> He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.

Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics]</ref> He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996. He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004. Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. <ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics]</ref>The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/was_barack_obama_really_a_constitutional_law.html</ref><ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref>
[[Image:Bernardine Dohrn.jpg|right|thumb|250px|'''Bernardine Dohrn formerly of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted''' enjoyed somewhat of a celebrity status among [[radical leftist]]s when she, along with her husband Bill Ayers, hosted a fundraiser for the relatively unknown Barack Obama in 1995; Dohrn issued the Weather Underground terrorist organization's Declaration of War Against the United States ([http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Weather_Underground_Declaration_of_a_State_of_War Full Text]) in 1970.]]
According to the White House website, White House Press Secretary [[Robert Gibbs]] responded to this to this question on April 14 2009,
<blockquote>
Q Why is the President blocking habeas corpus from prisoners at Bagram? I thought he taught constitutional law. And these prisoners have been there -- 

MR. GIBBS: You're incorrect that he taught on constitutional law.<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-White-House-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-4-14-09/ Office of the Press Secretary], April 14, 2009, whitehouse.gov </ref></blockquote>

===Radical activism===
Following law school, Obama linked up with the local communist networks in Chicago<ref>[http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-file-78-smoking-gun-proof-that.html The Jarrett Connection. Proof That Obama’s Hawaii and Chicago Communist Networks Were Linked] Trevor Louden, June 01, 2009.</ref> and continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. Obama states he had been drawn to Chicago by the election of Harold Washington as the city’s first black mayor. <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/us/politics/07community.html</ref> John Bachtell, Illinois CPUSA district organizer, at a special meeting on African American Equality, Building the Communist Party and the Young Communist League on September 30, 2007 said, "The historic election of Washington was the culmination of many years of struggle. It reflected a high degree of unity of the African American community and the alliance with a section of labor, the Latino community and progressive minded whites. This legacy of political independence also endures."<ref>http://www.cpusa.org/article/articleview/858/1/39/</ref>

In 1995, along with other prominent black leaders such as [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Louis Farrakhan]], Obama helped lead the [[Million Man March]] on Washington.[http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/04/wright-obama-helped-organize-march-with.html][http://www1.chicagoreader.com/obama_reader/what_makes_obama_run/?q=012009K]

Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002. In his famous speech delivered in Chicago on October 2, 2002<ref>http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php</ref> Even though Saddam had, in Obama's words, "developed [[weapons of mass destruction|chemical and biological weapons]]" Obama condoned the most hideous [[torture]]<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jackstraw1.html Saddam Hussein's Regime Methods of Torture]</ref> and dismissed Bush administration efforts at democratization and human rights as a "dumb war." A commentator observed, "one would search long and hard for any words from this apostle of hope and change about the palpable benefits that [[democracy]] might bring to the Arabs and Muslims of the Middle East.<ref>[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/obama-s-war-11263 Obama's War], Peter Wehner, ''Commentary'', April 2008.</ref>

===Leads effort to defeat an incumbent Democratic Senator===

In 1992, Obama was instrumental as head of Illinois Project Vote <ref>[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-1993/Vote-of-Confidence/ Vote of Confidence : A huge black turnout in November 1992 altered Chicago's electoral landscape—and raised a new political star: a 31-year-old lawyer named Barack Obama],
By Gretchen Reynolds, ''Chicago Magazine'', January 1993.</ref> in engineering the defeat of [[Democratic Party]] incumbent U.S. Senator Alan Dixon by [[Carol Moseley Braun]].<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-18/news/mn-3844_1_gus-savage Veteran Illinois Senator Dixon Defeated - Congress], By Bob Sector, ''[[L.A. Times]]'', March 18, 1992.</ref> Dixon, in a spirit of bipartisanship and defying his party's leadership, voted across racial lines to place a black man in high office. The [[leftist]] website [[dKosopedia]] claims "Incumbent Democratic senator Al Dixon's vote to confirm [[US Supreme Court]] Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] outraged Braun."<ref>[http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Carol_Moseley_Braun#Political_career Carol Moseley Braun], dkosopedia.com, retrieved October 25, 2009. Some sources state Moseley Braun's "outrage" was directed at the treatment of Anita Hill over her claims of sexual harassment by the nominee, however Moseley Braun voted to acquit President [[William Jefferson Clinton]] of charges stemming from a [[sexual harassment]] suit which Clinton settled by paying the aggrieved party $850,000 out of court to satisfy damage claims.</ref> With [[Communist Party USA]] backing,<ref>http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-file-39-barack-obama-carol.html</ref> Braun defeated Dixon in the Democratic Primary Election, 38% to 35%.

Sandy Newman, the founder of Project Vote! told ''Chicago Magazine'', "I was asking around among community activists in Chicago and around the country, and they kept mentioning him (Obama)... He did one hell of a job." The magazine further reported, "To understand the full implications of Obama's effort, you first need to understand how voter registration often has worked in Chicago. The Regular Democratic Party spearheaded most drives," with Obama at the helm of Chicago's Project Vote!, those conditions had been reversed. "He helped train 700 deputy registrars, out of a total of 11,000 citywide." Joseph Gardner, the director of the steering committee for Project Vote! said, "It was overwhelming."

===Legal career===
Michelle Robinson began employment at the Chicago Law firm of Sidley-Austin in 1988 where disbarred attorney and [[Weather Underground]] [[terrorist]] [[Bernardine Dohrn]] also worked.<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjY4YzdhMDBkZGQ3ZmU2MTUzYjdkMzc5ZjUzYmViZWM=</ref><ref>http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDIxMDJiNzU5M2Q1MTY3ZGI1YTdmOWY5MzkwN2QxYzg=</ref> Sidley-Austin is the legal advisor to [[ACORN]],<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=84434 Michelle Obama's old law firm defends ACORN], ''WorldNetDaily, December 23, 2008.</ref> a group accused of facilitating tax fraud, ballot box stuffing, human trafficking and child prostitution.<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NmIzOTBmNGY3OGEwNzgwZWU1MjMzMjJkNWM4NzVkNmI=</ref> Barack Obama was hired a year later and appears to have misrepresented where he and future First Lady - Michelle Robinson Obama - first met.

In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today. During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education. ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.

=== Religious affiliations ===
[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|left|'''Obama and Jeremiah Wright.''' Despite Wright's rabid and sarcastic anti-American sermons, the Obama's regularly took their two small children to hear him speak. One Obama supporter remarked, "I cannot fathom allowing my children to hear filth from the pulpit."<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/on-my-faith-and-my-church_b_91623.html?show_comment_id=12042024#comment_12042024</ref> ]]
Obama and his wife (raised a Baptist) were members of the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1776246/posts</ref> in Chicago. The church embraces [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]</ref> Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title was inspired by one of Wright's sermons.
After 20 years of being an active member, in April 2008 candidate Obama made public statements poised to set him at odds with the man who conducted his wedding and baptized his children. With the negative publicity persisting, a month later Obama ended the friendship, left Wright's church, and blamed the media.<ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, May 31, 2008</ref> Obama claimed “It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...", and distanced himself from Wright's sermons as "a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in the truth."<ref>USA TODAY, ''Obama breaks with former pastor, Candidate cites rants on U.S. role in terror, AIDS'', by Kathy Kiely and David Jackson [http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080430/1a_offlede30_dom.art.htm]</ref><ref>''Obama Says He Is Outraged By Wright's "Rants"''[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080430.htm]</ref> Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statement "G-d damn America," and in describing the September 11th attacks, "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."<ref>[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]</ref> In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying "We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being [[anti-Semitic]]."

[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the [[Koran]] while attending a Muslim school.<ref>[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim</ref> Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/</ref>

{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside." <ref>Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 </ref>}}

Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.

{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.

And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006</ref>}}

===Political positions of Barack Obama===
:''For the full article see [[Political positions of Barack Obama]]''
Obama's positions have been described as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist".]]<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753197/posts</ref> On numerous occasions Obama community organizers have been found flaunting banners of [[Marxist]]
[[guerrilla]] and [[murder]]er [[Che Guevara]].<ref>[http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2008/02/obama_workers_c.html Obama Workers' Che Guevara Poster Was No Fluke] from Moonbattery</ref> Former presidential candidate [[Alan Keyes]] calls Obama a "radical communist." <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/keyes_obama_destroy_US/2009/02/23/184503.html Alan Keyes: Obama Will Destroy U.S.] NewsMax, February 23, 2009</ref>

==Illinois State Senate (1995-2005)==
[[File:Youngobama2.jpg|320px|thumb|left|'''Dr. Quentin Young (left) is personal physician to Barack Obama (right) and [[Bernardine Dohrn]] (not shown)'''. Dr. Young was reimbursed by the [[KGB]] after he paid rent in advance on a storefront he used to treat injured rioters during the disruptions of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Transcript_May_22_edited_version.pdf ''The Stealth Candidate''], Transcript, Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, May 22 2008, p. 16.</ref><ref>House Committee on Un-American Activities, ''Subversive Involvement in Disruption of 1968 Democratic Party National Convention'', and ''Hearings Before the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities of the United States'' Senate. Ninety-
Fourth Congress. First Session. Volume 6. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1976, Exhibit 68-13., cited in ''Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection'', Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, usasurvival.org</ref> The ringleaders, principally [[Weather Underground]] terrorists, received urban guerilla warfare training in Cuba from the [[DGI]] prior to the attacks.<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Cuban_DGI.pdf Final Talk to the Fourth Contingent, Julian Rizo DGI.]</ref> ]]
In 1995 a cadre of like minded individuals gathered in the home of [[Weather Underground]] (WUO) [[terrorist]]s [[Bernardine Dohrn]] and [[William Ayers|William "Bill" Ayers]]. According to Dr. [[Quentin Young]], "I can remember being one of a small group of people who came to Bill Ayers' house to learn that [[Alice Palmer]] was stepping down from the senate and running for Congress." Dr. Young, a longtime friend of the Ayers' and Obama's, put up the money in 1968 to pay for the office that organized a riot in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. [[Carl Davidson]] of [[Progressives for Obama]] was told by [[Fidel Castro]] in March 1968 that Castro believed the United States was ready for [[revolution]]. Several [[Students for a Democratic Society]] (SDS) and WUO cadre trained in Cuba prior to the insurgency. The FBI summarized the situation:
{{Cquote|Rarely has any city been threatened all at one time with an invasion of 100 to 200 thousand dissidents - plots to [[assassin]]ate [[government]]al dignitaries and prominent individuals; intentions to instigate major riots in varied ways; widespread [[sabotage]] of communication, transportation and electrical systems- proposals to pour [[hallucinogen]]ic [[drugs]] into the water supply; clandestine shipments of [[arms]] and [[ammunition]] into the city for use in sniper activities - and myriad forms of [[guerrilla warfare]].<ref>Declassified U.S. Government intelligence information regarding the communist and foreign connections of the Weather Underground. Presented as evidence, on the agreement of the prosecution and defense counsel, in the trial of W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller, p.10.[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Declassified_docs.pdf ]</ref>}}
One veteran of the guerrilla warfare training in Cuba was Obama's host, [[Bernardine Dohrn]]. Young met with Dohrn after her return,
{{Cquote|Bernardine went down there already influenced by Cuba and in a state of romantic anticipation. She was at the top of her thermometer going down. I talked to her, sort of debriefed her, when she came back."<ref>Georgie Anne Geyer and Keyes Beach "Cuba: School for U.S. Radicals", ''Chicago Daily News/Chicago Sun-Times'' five part series October 1970, excerpted in [http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/weather/weath1c.pdf FBI file Weather Underground Organization (Weatherman),] Part 1c pp. 5-7 pdf (113-115 in original). [http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/clandestine-agents-of-the-cuban-government-ayers-dohrn-myers/]</ref>}}

Dr. Young related Illinois State Senator Alice Palmer was choosing then Chicago city councilman Barack Obama as her successor.<ref>[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html Obama once visited '60s radicals.], Ben Smith, Politico, February 22, 2008.</ref> Palmer once served on the executive board of the [[U.S. Peace Council]], a [[KGB]] front organization<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=_PZy-U7G2EMC&pg=PA111&dq=U.S.+Peace+Council%2Bkgb&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q=%22U.S.%20Peace%20Council%22&f=false The Apocalyptic premise : Nuclear Arms Debated], By Ernest W. Lefever, E. Stephen Hunt, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C., 1982, pp. 127-137.</ref> that actively opposed President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s defense program. Palmer wrote a report on her visit to [[Moscow]] for the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) published by the CPUSA's ''[[People's Daily World]]''. In the twilight of the Soviet regime Palmer wrote, "Like the Reagan administration, the Soviets talk of increasing productivity among workers and curbing waste...but the Soviets' do not link these issues with ruining the living standards of human beings."

[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|'''Obama served on the Board of the Woods Fund of Chicago with [[Weather Underground]] [[terrorist|terrorist group]] co-founder Bill Ayers'''<ref>[http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf FBI file Weather Underground]</ref> '''at the time this photo appeared of Ayers stomping the American flag''' in ''Chicago Magazine'' in 2001. Ayers, Obama's boss at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, contributes to Obama election campaigns and hosted an important fundraiser in Obama's early career to meet and greet Ayers contacts.]]

Ayers and Dohrn took credit, and have never denied responsibility for a series of [[terrorist]] bombings which included the [[U.S. Capitol]], the [[Pentagon]] and the [[State Department]]. The reopening of a [[cold case]] [[homicide]] investigation of a [[San Francisco]] police officer was urged by the San Francisco Police Officer's Association in March 2009.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/12/BATK16DHA4.DTL&hw=ayers&sn=001&sc=1000 S.F. police union accuses Ayers in 1970 bombing], Demian Bulwa, ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' March 12, 2009.</ref> An FBI informant who infiltrated the [[WUO]]<ref>''Bringing down America : an FBI informer with the Weathermen'', by Larry Grathwohl, Frank Reagan, 1976. [http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/810451/used/Bringing%20down%20America%20:%20an%20FBI%20informer%20with%20the%20Weathermen]</ref> and was close to Ayers reported an exchange he had with Ayers about a prospective bombing:
{{QuoteBox|INFORMANT: We'll blow out the Red Barn restaurant. Maybe even kill a few innocent customers — and most of them are black. 

AYERS: We can't protect all the innocent people in the world. Some will get killed. Some of us will get killed. We have to accept that fact.}}
Ayers and Dohrn were not prosecuted because of tainted evidence gathered by the [[FBI]]. Assistant Director of the FBI [[Mark Felt]], also known as “Deep Throat” in the [[Watergate Affair]],<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB156/ Nixon and the FBI: The White House Tapes], National Security Archive, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.</ref> was prosecuted and convicted for civil rights violations of Jennifer Dohrn, Bernardine’s sister, while tracking the terrorist pair. Ayers boasted in his book that he was "guilty as hell, free as a bird," and Felt was pardoned by President [[Ronald Reagan]] who noted Felt followed procedures he believed "essential to keep the Director of the FBI, the [[Attorney General]], and the [[President of the United States]] advised of the activities of hostile foreign powers and their collaborators in this country.<ref>[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1981/41581d.htm Statement on Granting Pardons to W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller], April 15, 1981.</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/01/us/two-top-fbi-officials-cleared.html Two Top F.B.I. Officials Cleared], [[New York Times]], December 1, 1983.</ref>

Ayers, Dohrn and Barack Obama's relationship went back several years and they were lending their notoriety among [[radical]] [[leftist]]s to launch Obama's career as Palmer's successor. Ayers' and Dohrn's first book written with [[Prairie Fire Organizing Committee|Jeff Jones]], the title ''Prairie Fire'' is taken from the sayings of [[Chairman Mao]]'s ''Little Red Book'', [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/] "a single spark can set a prairie fire"," announces, {{cquote|we are communist men and women.<ref>Harvey Klehr, ''Far Left of Center: The American Radical Left Today'' (Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1988), 109.</ref> }}
Co-author and co-Weather Underground founder Jeff Jones<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106653 ''Obama's 'green jobs czar' worked with terror founder] Van Jones served on board of activist group where ex-Weatherman serves as top director'', By Aaron Klein, [[WorldNetDaily]], August 13, 2009.</ref> worked for several years with Obama administration Green Czar [[Van Jones]], another self-described communist arrested in the aftermath of a deadly riot. Like [[Frank Marshall Davis]], there is no indication Ayers, Dohrn, Jeff Jones, Dr. Young, or other close associates of Obama have renounced their faith in what [[Allen Weinstein]] describes as "a murderous and discredited ideology."

Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.

President Obama is the first person having ties to a known former terrorist to gain control over America's nuclear weapons.<ref>http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127</ref><ref>http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/26/obama-associate-bill-ayers-unrepentant-for-acts-of-terror/</ref> Author and blogger Jack Cashill requisitioned a comparison of the writing style of [[Bill Ayers]]' 2001 memoir, ''Fugitive Days'', with Barack Obama's earlier 1995 book, ''Dreams From My Father'', and came to the conclusion that Obama's former boss Ayers may have ghostwritten Dreams.<ref>www.cashill.com, ''Who Wrote “Dreams From My Father"?'', by Jack Cashill, October 9, 2008, retrieved on 10/16/2008 [http://www.cashill.com/natl_general/who_wrote_dreams_from.htm] Cashill states that a computer comparison of Obama's so-called autobiography with that of the terrorist Bill Ayers, supports the theory that Ayers actually wrote parts of Obama's book; also he wrote "None of this, of course, proves Ayers' authorship conclusively, but the evidence makes him a much more likely candidate than Obama to have written the best parts of Dreams". "In assessing the signature of sample passages from Dreams," the experienced analyst found "a very strong match to all of the Ayers samples" that he processed. He did not address the possibility that Ayers had plagiarized from Obama's earlier book. A philosophy professor from England disagreed.[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77815]</ref> Ayers confesses to violent acts, planting bombs, says he has no regrets and feels he "should have done more."<ref>[http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127]</ref>

===New Party===
:''For the full article see '''[[New Party]]'''''
In 1995 Obama accepted the nomination and ran as a candidate of the openly [[Marxist]] New Party.<ref>http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7434</ref><ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/obamas_alliance_with_marxists.html</ref>

==U.S. Senate (2004-2008)==

Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].

===Primary election (2004)===

The ''[[People's Weekly World]]'' which describes itself as "the direct descendant of the ''[[Daily Worker]]'' " that enjoys "a special relationship with the [[Communist Party USA]], founded in 1919," and publishes its news and views,<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/static/320 About the People's Weekly World] pww.org</ref> reported on Obama's 2004 Senate primary campaign:
{{Cquote|Activists from Illinois were immersed in the campaign to elect Barak Obama to the U.S. Senate. Obama won a landslide victory in the March 16 Democratic primary.<ref>''A turning point election'', Joelle Fishman, People's Weekly World, 04/24/04.</ref>}} John Bachtell, Illinois Communist Party district organizer added,
{{Cquote|This was a historic victory. It was a victory for political independence and grassroots, coalition, and issue oriented politics over the machine and money.<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/articleprint/5145/ The CPUSA fires up its members to ‘Dump Bush!’], By Tim Wheeler, Washington correspondent, People's Weekly World , 04/24/04.</ref>}} In June the ''People’s Weekly World'' carried a piece by Dee Myles, chair of the education commission of the Communist Party USA, eulogizing [[Frank Marshall Davis]]'s old colleague, [[Vernon Jarrett]]. Myles said,
{{Cquote|from his hospital bed, [Jarrett] wrote an article appealing to Black Chicago to turn out to vote for [[Barack Obama]] in the Illinois primaries. Obama astounded everyone with an incredible landslide victory as the progressive, Black candidate for the [[Democratic Party]] nomination for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. From his sickbed, Vernon Jarrett issued a clarion call, and the people responded.<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/5331/ Vernon Jarrett: a partisan journalistic giant], Dee Myles, [[People's Weekly World]] Newspaper, Jun 5, 2004.</ref>}}

===Senate career===
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|left|Senator Barack Obama]]

October 2008 crimes against Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson's family highlighted Obama's record against law and order, as he voted against making it a crime in Illinois "for convicts on probation or on bail to have contact with a street gang".<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html]</ref><ref>The person of interest in the murders of Hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew is the estranged husband of Hudson's sister and a convicted felon who had violated his parole conditions.[http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-julian-king-autopsy-1029,0,2752431.story]</ref> "'We've got 75,000 gang members - that's almost six gang members to one police officer,'" in Obama's hometown of Chicago.<ref>"More people have been murdered in Chicago this year than in New York - even though New York's population is three times greater. When Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were killed last month, they pushed the city's homicide total for the year to 436 and counting. New York has had 430 homicides." [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/01/2008-11-01_chicago_buried_in_murders.html]</ref>

A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR <ref>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm</ref>

In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.</ref><ref>[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.</ref>

His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].<ref>[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref> He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref> and 16th most liberal in 2005.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref>

In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published. Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that "racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run .... We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."<ref>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html</ref> The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics. ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]</ref>

Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a "new strategy" in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html</ref> Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.

In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.

Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.<ref>[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008</ref> The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.

As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008</ref> for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).<ref>[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]</ref> A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. <ref>[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&page=NewsArticle&id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']</ref>

According to a Fox News report on October 5th, Obama has taken more than $126,000. in campaign contribution from [[Fannie Mae]] in a little over three years. This ranks him second, only Chris Dodd has received more campaign contribution dollars from Fannie Mae.

=== Bills co-sponsored ===
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].<ref>http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-2433</ref>

Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.<ref> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html</ref>

Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.<ref>http://thomas.loc.gov/</ref> His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:

*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.

*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.

*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.

*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.

*A bill to raise the [[minimum wage]]; Obama voted against the bill when it was later attached to an Iraq war supplemental spending bill.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.</ref><ref>[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.</ref>

=== Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===

Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts. This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.

In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. <ref> http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ </ref>

Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and filed reports indicating money was still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website<obamasenate2010.gov> is now defunct.
[[File:OenEReuters.jpg|left|200px|thumb|In Egypt, June 2009.]]
=== Foreign policy experience ===

In his presidential campaign, Obama stated<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html</ref> that "foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident" and then cited "having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa". He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other children in Africa.

While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.

Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic.

During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.
 

== Books ==

* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama and, allegedly, William Ayers <ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/who_wrote_dreams_from_my_fathe_1.html</ref>) ISBN 0307383415
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama) ISBN 0307455874
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak) ISBN 0786720573
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso) ISBN 1596985666
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi) ISBN 1416598065
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler) ISBN 0936783591
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin) ISBN 0965781240
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary) ISBN 1935071025

==Quotes==
* Early in his campaign for president in 2007, Obama declared in an interview with the [[Chicago Tribune]], "I'm a [[Christian]]. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue ... my religious beliefs say that [[marriage]] is something sanctified between a man and a woman."<ref>http://thehill.com/cheri-jacobus/obama-and-miss-california-2009-04-23.html</ref>

==See also==
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
*[[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)]]
*[[Birthplace of Barack Obama]]
*[[Essay:Born Outside the U.S.A.!]]
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]
*[[Lobbyists ties to the Obama administration]]
*[[New Party]]
*[[Obama birth certificate controversy]]
*[[Obama birth certificate lawsuits]]
*[[Obama doublespeak]]
*[[Obama inauguration]]
*[[Religion of Barack Hussein Obama]]
*[[The Honorable James David Manning]]
*[[Young Communist League]]
*[[ObamaCare]]

==Further reading==
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.
*James Simpson, [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/barack_obama_and_the_strategy.html ''Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis''], American Thinker, September 28, 2008.
*[http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/ ''What Is To Be Done?] Burning Questions of our Movement'', [[Vladimir Ilyich Lenin]], Lenin’s Collected Works, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1961, Moscow, Volume 5, pp. 347-530.

==Sources==

*[http://www.barackobama.com/ Official Obama for President Website]
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]

==References==
{{reflist|3}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.antiobama.net/ Anti Obama.net]
*[http://www.dontvoteobama.net/ Don’t Vote For Obama.net]
*[http://nobamanetwork.com/ Nobama Network]
*[http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/ Audacity Of Hypocrisy]
*[http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/ The Real Barack Obama]
*[http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6130/ The New Cult of Personality]
*[http://www.survivingobamunism.com/index.html Surviving Obamunism T-shirts]
*[http://www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com/ Barack Obama the Anti-Christ ?]
*[http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/06/23/che-obama-and-the-revolutionary-agenda/ Che, Obama, and the Revolutionary Agenda]
*[http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/fashion-shows/ Obama Laundry List of Lies]
*[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/09/americas-first-muslim-president/ GAFFNEY: America's first Muslim president?] Washington Times
*[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-l-esposito/barack-obama-and-islam_b_212519.html Barack Obama and Islam.] by [[John L. Esposito]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barack Hussein}}
{{USPresidents}}
{{2008 presidential candidates}}
{{Liberalism}}
[[Category: Barack Hussein Obama]]
[[Category:Socialists]]
[[Category:Socialism]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Illinois]]

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2010-01-24T02:03:44Z

MichaelJB:

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Apollo 11 launch. The small cloud midway up the rocket is due to the Low Pressure in that region as the Rocket Passes through Max Q, the maximum dynamic pressure exerted on the rocket in the launch.]]
The [[United States]] '''National Aeronautics and Space Administration''' (NASA) was founded in 1958. It was created by legislation for the purpose of creating a government-backed national space program in response to the launch of [[Sputnik|Sputnik I]], the [[Soviet Union]]'s the first man-made satellite. According to the act, NASA was to conduct research on the problems of flight in and out of the atmosphere with and without human pilots, and to cooperate with other nations in the peaceful exploration of space. NASA is responsible for many satellites including [[Landsat]], which was a series of satellites for the collection of information on natural resources, communication satellites and weather satellites. The [[Project Apollo]] program under NASA led to several landings on the [[Moon]] from 1969-1972. It is also the designer and developer of the [[space shuttle]].

Today NASA has four main mission directorates,
*'''Aeronautics''', the work of developing and proving new flight technologies
*'''Exploration Systems''', creating new capabilities and spacecraft for affordable, sustainable human and robotic exploration.
*'''Science''', explores the Earth, and beyond
*'''Space Operations''', the space shuttle, the International Space Station and flight support.

Unfortunately, NASA has also lately been distracted by [[anthropogenic global warming theory]], due to the political machinations of alarmists such [[James E. Hansen]] [http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html]. George Deutsch, an appointee of [[President George W. Bush]], tried to rein in NASA's turn towards environmental radicalism, but this provoked a reaction from the [[liberal media]] [http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1037099/bush-spinner-calls-nasa-site-censorship].

==NASA Manned Missions==

*'''[[Project Mercury]] ''' Initiated in 1958 and completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963, were specific: orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate man's ability to function in space and recover both man and spacecraft safely. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html </ref>

*'''Project Gemini ''' The Gemini Program was a necessary intermediate step between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program and had four objectives: subject astronauts to long duration flights- a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space; develop effective methods of rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space; perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point; gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/index.html </ref>

*'''[[Project Apollo]] ''' On May 25, 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history.

:Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when the lunar module landed in the [[Sea of Tranquility]] and [[Apollo 11]] commander [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon's surface with the words;
{{cquote|That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.}}

:Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced [[Apollo 13]] to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."

:The program also drew inspiration from Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who lost their lives in a fire during a launch pad test in 1967.

:Project Apollo concluded with the Apollo/ Soyuz mission during July1975, part of a series of cooperative space flights between the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) that continues today. The docking in space of the two spacecraft took place at 2:17 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time on 17 July. Two days of joint operations followed. After separation, the Soyuz remained in space for almost two days before landing in the USSR on 21 July. The Apollo spacecraft remained in space for another three days before splashing down near Hawaii on 24 July. The mission was a resounding success for both Americans and Soviets. They achieved their goal of obtaining flight experience for rendezvous and docking of human spacecraft. In addition, they also demonstrated in-flight intervehicular crew transfer, as well as accomplished a series of scientific experiments. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html </ref> <ref> http://history.nasa.gov/30thastp/overview.html </ref>

*'''Skylab''' was America's first space station and orbital science and engineering laboratory. Skylab was launched into Earth orbit by a [[Saturn V]] rocket on May 14, 1973 as part of the Apollo program. Three crews visited the station, with their missions lasting 28, 59 and 84 days. The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. Skylab served as the greatest solar observatory of its time, a microgravity lab, a medical lab, an Earth-observing facility, and, most importantly, a home away from home for its residents. The program also led to new technologies. Special showers, toilets, sleeping bags, exercise equipment and kitchen facilities were designed to function in microgravity. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/f_skylab1.html </ref>

*The '''[[Space shuttle|Space Shuttle]]''' is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that.

:Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s.

:The Shuttle has the most reliable launch record of any rocket now in operation. Since 1981, it has boosted more than 1.36 million kilograms (3 million pounds) of cargo into orbit. More than than 600 crew members have flown on its missions. Although it has been in operation for almost 20 years, the Shuttle has continually evolved and is significantly different today than when it first was launched. NASA has made literally thousands of major and minor modifications to the original design that have made it safer, more reliable and more capable today than ever before.

:In 1992, the U.S. and the new Russian Federation renewed the 1987 space cooperation agreement and issued a "Joint Statement on Cooperation in Space." Subsequent additions to the agreement outline the development of the NASA-Mir program. From February 1994 to June 1998, space shuttles made 11 flights to the Russian space station Mir, and American astronauts spent seven residencies onboard Mir. Space shuttles also conducted crew exchanges and delivered supplies and equipment.<ref> http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle-mir/index.html </ref>

*The '''International Space Station''' is a working laboratory orbiting 240 miles (390 kilometers) above the Earth and is home to an international crew. It is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, involving five space agencies representing 16 nations. Once completed, this new research outpost in space will include contributions from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As a research outpost, the station is a test bed for future technologies and a research laboratory for new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, medical research and much more. On-orbit assembly began in 1998 with the launch of Zarya, and today the station provides crewmembers with 15,000 cubic feet of habitable volume – more room than a conventional three-bedroom house – and weighs 404,000 pounds.

:The station now includes the Russian-built Zarya Module and the Zvezda Service Module, which contain the station’s living quarters and life-support systems; the U.S.-built Unity Connecting Module, providing docking ports for several station components; the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory, which expands the station’s scientific capabilities with experiment compartments that allow nearly continuous scientific research and provide additional life support and robotic capabilities; the U.S.-built Quest Airlock, a doorway to space that supports station-based spacewalks; the Canadian-built Canadarm2, a new-generation robotic arm that gives the station a movable space crane; the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment, which adds additional spacewalking and docking capabilities to the station; and truss segments, which serve as the framework for additional station segments. Japanese and European research laboratories are ready for delivery to expand the station’s research capabilities even more. <ref> http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/index.html </ref>

*NASA plans to continue human space flight with '''Project Constellation''', which consists of the Orion spacecraft (similar to the Project Apollo Command Module, but larger and with up to date flight systems) and the Aries I, a launch vehicle. The Aries is similar to the solid fuel rocket from the current Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), but more powerful, and has a second stage. The first launch is hoped for in 2011 and the first human launch in 2014. Together, these will be used for Lunar and Mars missions. <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html</ref>

==NASA Unmanned Missions==

*'''Explorer 1''' was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. Following the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite using its Jupiter C rocket developed under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the assignment to design, build and operate the artificial satellite that would serve as the rocket's payload. JPL completed this job in less than three months.

:The primary science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Once in space this experiment, provided by Dr. James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, revealed a much lower cosmic ray count than expected. The existence of these radiation belts was confirmed by another U.S. satellite launched two months later, and they became known as the Van Allen Belts in honor of their discoverer. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html </ref>

*The '''Pioneer Venus''' Project's main objective was to investigate the solar wind in the Venusian environment, map the planet's surface through a radar imaging system and study the characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

:Pioneer Venus consisted of two spacecraft: the Orbiter and the Multiprobe. The Orbiter carried an assortment of instruments for investigating plasma in upper Venusian atmosphere, observing reflected sunlight from the cloud layers at a variety of wavelengths, in addition to a surface radar mapper, and was launched on the May 20, 1978. It reached orbit around Venus on Dec. 4, 1978. Although originally intended to operate for one Venusian year, most of the Orbiter's instruments were still operating when the spacecraft entered the atmosphere on Oct. 8, 1992.

:The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, which was launched on Aug. 8, 1978 and reached Venus on Dec. 9, 1978, was made of 5 separate probes: the probe transporter (referred to as the Bus), a large atmospheric entry probe (called Sounder), and three small probes. The Sounder released from the Bus on Nov. 15, 1978. The three smaller probes released on Nov. 19, 1978. The probes sent data to Earth as they descended toward the surface. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/pioneer-venus/index.html </ref>

*The '''Surveyor probes''' (1966 - 1968) were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. The main objectives of the Surveyors were to obtain close-up images of the lunar surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings. Each Surveyor was equipped with a television camera. In addition, Surveyors 3 and 7 each carried a soil mechanics surface sampler scoop which dug trenches and was used for soil mechanics tests and Surveyors 5, 6, and 7 had magnets attached to the footpads and an alpha scattering instrument for chemical analysis of the lunar material. <ref> http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html </ref>

*'''Galileo''' was launched from the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1989. The exciting list of discoveries started even before Galileo got a glimpse of Jupiter. As it crossed the asteroid belt in October 1991, Galileo snapped images of Gaspra, returning the first ever close-up image of an asteroid. In 1994 the spacecraft made the only direct observation of a comet impacting a planet-- comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's collision with Jupiter.
:Galileo's descent probe made the first in-place studies of the planet's clouds and winds, and it furthered scientists' understanding of how Jupiter evolved. The probe also made composition measurements designed to assess the degree of evolution of Jupiter compared to the Sun.
:Galileo extensively investigated the geologic diversity of Jupiter's four largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa. Galileo found that Io's extensive volcanic activity is 100 times greater than that found on Earth. The moon Europa, Galileo unveiled, could be hiding a salty ocean up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) deep underneath its frozen surface containing about twice as much water as all the Earth's oceans. Data also showed Ganymede and Callisto may have a liquid-saltwater layer. The biggest discovery surrounding Ganymede was the presence of a magnetic field. No other moon of any planet is known to have one.
:The prime mission ended six years ago, after two years of orbiting Jupiter. NASA extended the mission three times to continue taking advantage of Galileo's unique capabilities for accomplishing valuable science. <ref> http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/news/release/press030921.html </ref>

*'''TOPEX/Poseidon''', launched in 1992, is a joint venture between CNES and NASA to map ocean surface topography. While a 3-year prime mission was planned, with a 5-year store of expendables, TOPEX/Poseidon has delivered an astonishing 10+ years of data from orbit. It has made the following contributions:

:-Measured sea levels with unprecedented accuracy to better than 5 cm

:-Continuously observed global ocean topography

:-Monitored effects of currents on global climate change and produced the first global views of seasonal changes of currents

:-Monitored large-scale ocean features like Rossby and Kelvin waves and studied such phenomena as El Niño, La Niña, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

:-Mapped basin-wide current variations and provided global data to validate models of ocean circulation

:-Mapped year-to-year changes in heat stored in the upper ocean

:-Produced the most accurate global maps of tides ever

:-Improved our knowledge of Earth's gravity field <ref>http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/topex.html</ref>

*''' Magellan Spacecraft'''
:The Magellan spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, was launched May 4, 1989, and arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990. Magellan's solid rocket motor placed it into a near-polar elliptical orbit around the planet. During the first 8-month mapping cycle around Venus, Magellan collected radar images of 84 percent of the planet's surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera 15 and 16 missions. Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and electrical characteristics.
:During the extended mission, two further mapping cycles from May 15, 1991 to September 14, 1992 brought mapping coverage to 98% of the planet, with a resolution of approximately 100m.
:Precision radio tracking of the spacecraft will measure Venus' gravitational field to show the planet's internal mass distribution and the forces which have created the surface features. Magellan's data will permit the first global geological understanding of Venus, the planet most like Earth in our solar system. <ref>http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/magellan/fact.html</ref>

* '''Viking Project'''
:NASA's Viking Mission to Mars was composed of two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander. The primary mission objectives were to obtain high resolution images of the Martian surface, characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and search for evidence of life.
:Viking 1 was launched on August 20, 1975 and arrived at Mars on June 19, 1976. The first month of orbit was devoted to imaging the surface to find appropriate landing sites for the Viking Landers. On July 20, 1976 the Viking 1 Lander separated from the Orbiter and touched down at Chryse Planitia. Viking 2 was launched September 9, 1975 and entered Mars orbit on August 7, 1976.
:The Viking 2 Lander touched down at Utopia Planitia on September 3, 1976. The Orbiters imaged the entire surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and selected areas at 8 meters. The Viking 2 Orbiter was powered down on July 25, 1978 after 706 orbits, and the Viking 1 Orbiter on August 17, 1980, after over 1400 orbits. <ref>http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/viking.html
</ref>

== National Space Science Data Center ==
The National Space Science Data Center, located in NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is NASA's central archive of images and raw data from its various missions. Among other services, the NSSDC assigned an internationally recognized International Designator, a unique identifier for every rocket probe, vehicle, or stage of such vehicle ever launched. The code begins with the year (AD) of launch, followed by a three-digit launch sequence number and a one-to-three-letter "part code" for the launch. (Failed launches receive an arbitrary code.)

== NASA Langley Science Directorate ==
Atmospheric scientists at NASA Langley Research Center conduct research from the land, sea, air and space to understand the atmospheric effects caused by volcanic eruptions, industrial pollution, changes in the planet’s energy balance and other events. They also support application programs, the worldwide distribution of NASA data and educational outreach activities.

Science research at Langley, specifically in atmospheric science, can trace its beginnings to the Center's aeronautical studies. In the 1960s, scientists began exploring how atmospheric dynamics, density and temperature varied with altitude to understand their effects on aircraft performance. Langley scientists expanded this effort in the 1970s to include atmospheric chemistry research and then shifted their research emphasis to environmental concerns. Rich in aeronautical heritage, Langley's atmospheric science research impacts how all of NASA studies the Earth and other planets. <ref>http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AboutUs.html</ref>

[[Category:Space Exploration]]

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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2010-01-24T01:38:59Z

MichaelJB: Moved Magellan edit

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Apollo 11 launch. The small cloud midway up the rocket is due to the Low Pressure in that region as the Rocket Passes through Max Q, the maximum dynamic pressure exerted on the rocket in the launch.]]
The [[United States]] '''National Aeronautics and Space Administration''' (NASA) was founded in 1958. It was created by legislation for the purpose of creating a government-backed national space program in response to the launch of [[Sputnik|Sputnik I]], the [[Soviet Union]]'s the first man-made satellite. According to the act, NASA was to conduct research on the problems of flight in and out of the atmosphere with and without human pilots, and to cooperate with other nations in the peaceful exploration of space. NASA is responsible for many satellites including [[Landsat]], which was a series of satellites for the collection of information on natural resources, communication satellites and weather satellites. The [[Project Apollo]] program under NASA led to several landings on the [[Moon]] from 1969-1972. It is also the designer and developer of the [[space shuttle]].

Today NASA has four main mission directorates,
*'''Aeronautics''', the work of developing and proving new flight technologies
*'''Exploration Systems''', creating new capabilities and spacecraft for affordable, sustainable human and robotic exploration.
*'''Science''', explores the Earth, and beyond
*'''Space Operations''', the space shuttle, the International Space Station and flight support.

Unfortunately, NASA has also lately been distracted by [[anthropogenic global warming theory]], due to the political machinations of alarmists such [[James E. Hansen]] [http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html]. George Deutsch, an appointee of [[President George W. Bush]], tried to rein in NASA's turn towards environmental radicalism, but this provoked a reaction from the [[liberal media]] [http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1037099/bush-spinner-calls-nasa-site-censorship].

==NASA Manned Missions==

*'''[[Project Mercury]] ''' Initiated in 1958 and completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963, were specific: orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate man's ability to function in space and recover both man and spacecraft safely. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html </ref>

*'''Project Gemini ''' The Gemini Program was a necessary intermediate step between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program and had four objectives: subject astronauts to long duration flights- a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space; develop effective methods of rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space; perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point; gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/index.html </ref>

*'''[[Project Apollo]] ''' On May 25, 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history.

:Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when the lunar module landed in the [[Sea of Tranquility]] and [[Apollo 11]] commander [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon's surface with the words;
{{cquote|That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.}}

:Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced [[Apollo 13]] to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."

:The program also drew inspiration from Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who lost their lives in a fire during a launch pad test in 1967.

:Project Apollo concluded with the Apollo/ Soyuz mission during July1975, part of a series of cooperative space flights between the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) that continues today. The docking in space of the two spacecraft took place at 2:17 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time on 17 July. Two days of joint operations followed. After separation, the Soyuz remained in space for almost two days before landing in the USSR on 21 July. The Apollo spacecraft remained in space for another three days before splashing down near Hawaii on 24 July. The mission was a resounding success for both Americans and Soviets. They achieved their goal of obtaining flight experience for rendezvous and docking of human spacecraft. In addition, they also demonstrated in-flight intervehicular crew transfer, as well as accomplished a series of scientific experiments. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html </ref> <ref> http://history.nasa.gov/30thastp/overview.html </ref>

*'''Skylab''' was America's first space station and orbital science and engineering laboratory. Skylab was launched into Earth orbit by a [[Saturn V]] rocket on May 14, 1973 as part of the Apollo program. Three crews visited the station, with their missions lasting 28, 59 and 84 days. The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. Skylab served as the greatest solar observatory of its time, a microgravity lab, a medical lab, an Earth-observing facility, and, most importantly, a home away from home for its residents. The program also led to new technologies. Special showers, toilets, sleeping bags, exercise equipment and kitchen facilities were designed to function in microgravity. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/f_skylab1.html </ref>

*The '''[[Space shuttle|Space Shuttle]]''' is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that.

:Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s.

:The Shuttle has the most reliable launch record of any rocket now in operation. Since 1981, it has boosted more than 1.36 million kilograms (3 million pounds) of cargo into orbit. More than than 600 crew members have flown on its missions. Although it has been in operation for almost 20 years, the Shuttle has continually evolved and is significantly different today than when it first was launched. NASA has made literally thousands of major and minor modifications to the original design that have made it safer, more reliable and more capable today than ever before.

:In 1992, the U.S. and the new Russian Federation renewed the 1987 space cooperation agreement and issued a "Joint Statement on Cooperation in Space." Subsequent additions to the agreement outline the development of the NASA-Mir program. From February 1994 to June 1998, space shuttles made 11 flights to the Russian space station Mir, and American astronauts spent seven residencies onboard Mir. Space shuttles also conducted crew exchanges and delivered supplies and equipment.<ref> http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle-mir/index.html </ref>

*The '''International Space Station''' is a working laboratory orbiting 240 miles (390 kilometers) above the Earth and is home to an international crew. It is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, involving five space agencies representing 16 nations. Once completed, this new research outpost in space will include contributions from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As a research outpost, the station is a test bed for future technologies and a research laboratory for new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, medical research and much more. On-orbit assembly began in 1998 with the launch of Zarya, and today the station provides crewmembers with 15,000 cubic feet of habitable volume – more room than a conventional three-bedroom house – and weighs 404,000 pounds.

:The station now includes the Russian-built Zarya Module and the Zvezda Service Module, which contain the station’s living quarters and life-support systems; the U.S.-built Unity Connecting Module, providing docking ports for several station components; the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory, which expands the station’s scientific capabilities with experiment compartments that allow nearly continuous scientific research and provide additional life support and robotic capabilities; the U.S.-built Quest Airlock, a doorway to space that supports station-based spacewalks; the Canadian-built Canadarm2, a new-generation robotic arm that gives the station a movable space crane; the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment, which adds additional spacewalking and docking capabilities to the station; and truss segments, which serve as the framework for additional station segments. Japanese and European research laboratories are ready for delivery to expand the station’s research capabilities even more. <ref> http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/index.html </ref>

*NASA plans to continue human space flight with '''Project Constellation''', which consists of the Orion spacecraft (similar to the Project Apollo Command Module, but larger and with up to date flight systems) and the Aries I, a launch vehicle. The Aries is similar to the solid fuel rocket from the current Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), but more powerful, and has a second stage. The first launch is hoped for in 2011 and the first human launch in 2014. Together, these will be used for Lunar and Mars missions. <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html</ref>

==NASA Unmanned Missions==

*'''Explorer 1''' was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. Following the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite using its Jupiter C rocket developed under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the assignment to design, build and operate the artificial satellite that would serve as the rocket's payload. JPL completed this job in less than three months.

:The primary science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Once in space this experiment, provided by Dr. James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, revealed a much lower cosmic ray count than expected. The existence of these radiation belts was confirmed by another U.S. satellite launched two months later, and they became known as the Van Allen Belts in honor of their discoverer. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html </ref>

*The '''Pioneer Venus''' Project's main objective was to investigate the solar wind in the Venusian environment, map the planet's surface through a radar imaging system and study the characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

:Pioneer Venus consisted of two spacecraft: the Orbiter and the Multiprobe. The Orbiter carried an assortment of instruments for investigating plasma in upper Venusian atmosphere, observing reflected sunlight from the cloud layers at a variety of wavelengths, in addition to a surface radar mapper, and was launched on the May 20, 1978. It reached orbit around Venus on Dec. 4, 1978. Although originally intended to operate for one Venusian year, most of the Orbiter's instruments were still operating when the spacecraft entered the atmosphere on Oct. 8, 1992.

:The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, which was launched on Aug. 8, 1978 and reached Venus on Dec. 9, 1978, was made of 5 separate probes: the probe transporter (referred to as the Bus), a large atmospheric entry probe (called Sounder), and three small probes. The Sounder released from the Bus on Nov. 15, 1978. The three smaller probes released on Nov. 19, 1978. The probes sent data to Earth as they descended toward the surface. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/pioneer-venus/index.html </ref>

*The '''Surveyor probes''' (1966 - 1968) were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. The main objectives of the Surveyors were to obtain close-up images of the lunar surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings. Each Surveyor was equipped with a television camera. In addition, Surveyors 3 and 7 each carried a soil mechanics surface sampler scoop which dug trenches and was used for soil mechanics tests and Surveyors 5, 6, and 7 had magnets attached to the footpads and an alpha scattering instrument for chemical analysis of the lunar material. <ref> http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html </ref>

*'''Galileo''' was launched from the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1989. The exciting list of discoveries started even before Galileo got a glimpse of Jupiter. As it crossed the asteroid belt in October 1991, Galileo snapped images of Gaspra, returning the first ever close-up image of an asteroid. In 1994 the spacecraft made the only direct observation of a comet impacting a planet-- comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's collision with Jupiter.
:Galileo's descent probe made the first in-place studies of the planet's clouds and winds, and it furthered scientists' understanding of how Jupiter evolved. The probe also made composition measurements designed to assess the degree of evolution of Jupiter compared to the Sun.
:Galileo extensively investigated the geologic diversity of Jupiter's four largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa. Galileo found that Io's extensive volcanic activity is 100 times greater than that found on Earth. The moon Europa, Galileo unveiled, could be hiding a salty ocean up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) deep underneath its frozen surface containing about twice as much water as all the Earth's oceans. Data also showed Ganymede and Callisto may have a liquid-saltwater layer. The biggest discovery surrounding Ganymede was the presence of a magnetic field. No other moon of any planet is known to have one.
:The prime mission ended six years ago, after two years of orbiting Jupiter. NASA extended the mission three times to continue taking advantage of Galileo's unique capabilities for accomplishing valuable science. <ref> http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/news/release/press030921.html </ref>

*'''TOPEX/Poseidon''', launched in 1992, is a joint venture between CNES and NASA to map ocean surface topography. While a 3-year prime mission was planned, with a 5-year store of expendables, TOPEX/Poseidon has delivered an astonishing 10+ years of data from orbit. It has made the following contributions:

:-Measured sea levels with unprecedented accuracy to better than 5 cm

:-Continuously observed global ocean topography

:-Monitored effects of currents on global climate change and produced the first global views of seasonal changes of currents

:-Monitored large-scale ocean features like Rossby and Kelvin waves and studied such phenomena as El Niño, La Niña, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

:-Mapped basin-wide current variations and provided global data to validate models of ocean circulation

:-Mapped year-to-year changes in heat stored in the upper ocean

:-Produced the most accurate global maps of tides ever

:-Improved our knowledge of Earth's gravity field <ref>http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/topex.html</ref>

*''' Magellan Spacecraft'''
:The Magellan spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, was launched May 4, 1989, and arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990. Magellan's solid rocket motor placed it into a near-polar elliptical orbit around the planet. During the first 8-month mapping cycle around Venus, Magellan collected radar images of 84 percent of the planet's surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera 15 and 16 missions. Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and electrical characteristics.
:During the extended mission, two further mapping cycles from May 15, 1991 to September 14, 1992 brought mapping coverage to 98% of the planet, with a resolution of approximately 100m.
:Precision radio tracking of the spacecraft will measure Venus' gravitational field to show the planet's internal mass distribution and the forces which have created the surface features. Magellan's data will permit the first global geological understanding of Venus, the planet most like Earth in our solar system. <ref>http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/magellan/fact.html</ref>

== National Space Science Data Center ==
The National Space Science Data Center, located in NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is NASA's central archive of images and raw data from its various missions. Among other services, the NSSDC assigned an internationally recognized International Designator, a unique identifier for every rocket probe, vehicle, or stage of such vehicle ever launched. The code begins with the year (AD) of launch, followed by a three-digit launch sequence number and a one-to-three-letter "part code" for the launch. (Failed launches receive an arbitrary code.)

== NASA Langley Science Directorate ==
Atmospheric scientists at NASA Langley Research Center conduct research from the land, sea, air and space to understand the atmospheric effects caused by volcanic eruptions, industrial pollution, changes in the planet’s energy balance and other events. They also support application programs, the worldwide distribution of NASA data and educational outreach activities.

Science research at Langley, specifically in atmospheric science, can trace its beginnings to the Center's aeronautical studies. In the 1960s, scientists began exploring how atmospheric dynamics, density and temperature varied with altitude to understand their effects on aircraft performance. Langley scientists expanded this effort in the 1970s to include atmospheric chemistry research and then shifted their research emphasis to environmental concerns. Rich in aeronautical heritage, Langley's atmospheric science research impacts how all of NASA studies the Earth and other planets. <ref>http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AboutUs.html</ref>

[[Category:Space Exploration]]

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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2010-01-24T01:36:10Z

MichaelJB:

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Apollo 11 launch. The small cloud midway up the rocket is due to the Low Pressure in that region as the Rocket Passes through Max Q, the maximum dynamic pressure exerted on the rocket in the launch.]]
The [[United States]] '''National Aeronautics and Space Administration''' (NASA) was founded in 1958. It was created by legislation for the purpose of creating a government-backed national space program in response to the launch of [[Sputnik|Sputnik I]], the [[Soviet Union]]'s the first man-made satellite. According to the act, NASA was to conduct research on the problems of flight in and out of the atmosphere with and without human pilots, and to cooperate with other nations in the peaceful exploration of space. NASA is responsible for many satellites including [[Landsat]], which was a series of satellites for the collection of information on natural resources, communication satellites and weather satellites. The [[Project Apollo]] program under NASA led to several landings on the [[Moon]] from 1969-1972. It is also the designer and developer of the [[space shuttle]].

Today NASA has four main mission directorates,
*'''Aeronautics''', the work of developing and proving new flight technologies
*'''Exploration Systems''', creating new capabilities and spacecraft for affordable, sustainable human and robotic exploration.
*'''Science''', explores the Earth, and beyond
*'''Space Operations''', the space shuttle, the International Space Station and flight support.

Unfortunately, NASA has also lately been distracted by [[anthropogenic global warming theory]], due to the political machinations of alarmists such [[James E. Hansen]] [http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html]. George Deutsch, an appointee of [[President George W. Bush]], tried to rein in NASA's turn towards environmental radicalism, but this provoked a reaction from the [[liberal media]] [http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1037099/bush-spinner-calls-nasa-site-censorship].

==NASA Manned Missions==

*'''[[Project Mercury]] ''' Initiated in 1958 and completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963, were specific: orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate man's ability to function in space and recover both man and spacecraft safely. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html </ref>

*'''Project Gemini ''' The Gemini Program was a necessary intermediate step between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program and had four objectives: subject astronauts to long duration flights- a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space; develop effective methods of rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space; perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point; gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/index.html </ref>

*'''[[Project Apollo]] ''' On May 25, 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history.

:Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when the lunar module landed in the [[Sea of Tranquility]] and [[Apollo 11]] commander [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon's surface with the words;
{{cquote|That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.}}

:Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced [[Apollo 13]] to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."

:The program also drew inspiration from Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who lost their lives in a fire during a launch pad test in 1967.

:Project Apollo concluded with the Apollo/ Soyuz mission during July1975, part of a series of cooperative space flights between the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) that continues today. The docking in space of the two spacecraft took place at 2:17 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time on 17 July. Two days of joint operations followed. After separation, the Soyuz remained in space for almost two days before landing in the USSR on 21 July. The Apollo spacecraft remained in space for another three days before splashing down near Hawaii on 24 July. The mission was a resounding success for both Americans and Soviets. They achieved their goal of obtaining flight experience for rendezvous and docking of human spacecraft. In addition, they also demonstrated in-flight intervehicular crew transfer, as well as accomplished a series of scientific experiments. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html </ref> <ref> http://history.nasa.gov/30thastp/overview.html </ref>

*'''Skylab''' was America's first space station and orbital science and engineering laboratory. Skylab was launched into Earth orbit by a [[Saturn V]] rocket on May 14, 1973 as part of the Apollo program. Three crews visited the station, with their missions lasting 28, 59 and 84 days. The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. Skylab served as the greatest solar observatory of its time, a microgravity lab, a medical lab, an Earth-observing facility, and, most importantly, a home away from home for its residents. The program also led to new technologies. Special showers, toilets, sleeping bags, exercise equipment and kitchen facilities were designed to function in microgravity. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/f_skylab1.html </ref>

*The '''[[Space shuttle|Space Shuttle]]''' is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that.

:Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s.

:The Shuttle has the most reliable launch record of any rocket now in operation. Since 1981, it has boosted more than 1.36 million kilograms (3 million pounds) of cargo into orbit. More than than 600 crew members have flown on its missions. Although it has been in operation for almost 20 years, the Shuttle has continually evolved and is significantly different today than when it first was launched. NASA has made literally thousands of major and minor modifications to the original design that have made it safer, more reliable and more capable today than ever before.

:In 1992, the U.S. and the new Russian Federation renewed the 1987 space cooperation agreement and issued a "Joint Statement on Cooperation in Space." Subsequent additions to the agreement outline the development of the NASA-Mir program. From February 1994 to June 1998, space shuttles made 11 flights to the Russian space station Mir, and American astronauts spent seven residencies onboard Mir. Space shuttles also conducted crew exchanges and delivered supplies and equipment.<ref> http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle-mir/index.html </ref>

*The '''International Space Station''' is a working laboratory orbiting 240 miles (390 kilometers) above the Earth and is home to an international crew. It is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, involving five space agencies representing 16 nations. Once completed, this new research outpost in space will include contributions from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As a research outpost, the station is a test bed for future technologies and a research laboratory for new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, medical research and much more. On-orbit assembly began in 1998 with the launch of Zarya, and today the station provides crewmembers with 15,000 cubic feet of habitable volume – more room than a conventional three-bedroom house – and weighs 404,000 pounds.

:The station now includes the Russian-built Zarya Module and the Zvezda Service Module, which contain the station’s living quarters and life-support systems; the U.S.-built Unity Connecting Module, providing docking ports for several station components; the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory, which expands the station’s scientific capabilities with experiment compartments that allow nearly continuous scientific research and provide additional life support and robotic capabilities; the U.S.-built Quest Airlock, a doorway to space that supports station-based spacewalks; the Canadian-built Canadarm2, a new-generation robotic arm that gives the station a movable space crane; the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment, which adds additional spacewalking and docking capabilities to the station; and truss segments, which serve as the framework for additional station segments. Japanese and European research laboratories are ready for delivery to expand the station’s research capabilities even more. <ref> http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/index.html </ref>

*NASA plans to continue human space flight with '''Project Constellation''', which consists of the Orion spacecraft (similar to the Project Apollo Command Module, but larger and with up to date flight systems) and the Aries I, a launch vehicle. The Aries is similar to the solid fuel rocket from the current Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), but more powerful, and has a second stage. The first launch is hoped for in 2011 and the first human launch in 2014. Together, these will be used for Lunar and Mars missions. <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html</ref>

==NASA Unmanned Missions==

*'''Explorer 1''' was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. Following the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite using its Jupiter C rocket developed under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the assignment to design, build and operate the artificial satellite that would serve as the rocket's payload. JPL completed this job in less than three months.

:The primary science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Once in space this experiment, provided by Dr. James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, revealed a much lower cosmic ray count than expected. The existence of these radiation belts was confirmed by another U.S. satellite launched two months later, and they became known as the Van Allen Belts in honor of their discoverer. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html </ref>

*The '''Pioneer Venus''' Project's main objective was to investigate the solar wind in the Venusian environment, map the planet's surface through a radar imaging system and study the characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

:Pioneer Venus consisted of two spacecraft: the Orbiter and the Multiprobe. The Orbiter carried an assortment of instruments for investigating plasma in upper Venusian atmosphere, observing reflected sunlight from the cloud layers at a variety of wavelengths, in addition to a surface radar mapper, and was launched on the May 20, 1978. It reached orbit around Venus on Dec. 4, 1978. Although originally intended to operate for one Venusian year, most of the Orbiter's instruments were still operating when the spacecraft entered the atmosphere on Oct. 8, 1992.

:The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, which was launched on Aug. 8, 1978 and reached Venus on Dec. 9, 1978, was made of 5 separate probes: the probe transporter (referred to as the Bus), a large atmospheric entry probe (called Sounder), and three small probes. The Sounder released from the Bus on Nov. 15, 1978. The three smaller probes released on Nov. 19, 1978. The probes sent data to Earth as they descended toward the surface. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/pioneer-venus/index.html </ref>

*The '''Surveyor probes''' (1966 - 1968) were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. The main objectives of the Surveyors were to obtain close-up images of the lunar surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings. Each Surveyor was equipped with a television camera. In addition, Surveyors 3 and 7 each carried a soil mechanics surface sampler scoop which dug trenches and was used for soil mechanics tests and Surveyors 5, 6, and 7 had magnets attached to the footpads and an alpha scattering instrument for chemical analysis of the lunar material. <ref> http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html </ref>

*'''Galileo''' was launched from the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1989. The exciting list of discoveries started even before Galileo got a glimpse of Jupiter. As it crossed the asteroid belt in October 1991, Galileo snapped images of Gaspra, returning the first ever close-up image of an asteroid. In 1994 the spacecraft made the only direct observation of a comet impacting a planet-- comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's collision with Jupiter.
:Galileo's descent probe made the first in-place studies of the planet's clouds and winds, and it furthered scientists' understanding of how Jupiter evolved. The probe also made composition measurements designed to assess the degree of evolution of Jupiter compared to the Sun.
:Galileo extensively investigated the geologic diversity of Jupiter's four largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa. Galileo found that Io's extensive volcanic activity is 100 times greater than that found on Earth. The moon Europa, Galileo unveiled, could be hiding a salty ocean up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) deep underneath its frozen surface containing about twice as much water as all the Earth's oceans. Data also showed Ganymede and Callisto may have a liquid-saltwater layer. The biggest discovery surrounding Ganymede was the presence of a magnetic field. No other moon of any planet is known to have one.
:The prime mission ended six years ago, after two years of orbiting Jupiter. NASA extended the mission three times to continue taking advantage of Galileo's unique capabilities for accomplishing valuable science. <ref> http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/news/release/press030921.html </ref>

*'''TOPEX/Poseidon''', launched in 1992, is a joint venture between CNES and NASA to map ocean surface topography. While a 3-year prime mission was planned, with a 5-year store of expendables, TOPEX/Poseidon has delivered an astonishing 10+ years of data from orbit. It has made the following contributions:

:-Measured sea levels with unprecedented accuracy to better than 5 cm

:-Continuously observed global ocean topography

:-Monitored effects of currents on global climate change and produced the first global views of seasonal changes of currents

:-Monitored large-scale ocean features like Rossby and Kelvin waves and studied such phenomena as El Niño, La Niña, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

:-Mapped basin-wide current variations and provided global data to validate models of ocean circulation

:-Mapped year-to-year changes in heat stored in the upper ocean

:-Produced the most accurate global maps of tides ever

:-Improved our knowledge of Earth's gravity field <ref>http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/topex.html</ref>

== National Space Science Data Center ==
The National Space Science Data Center, located in NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is NASA's central archive of images and raw data from its various missions. Among other services, the NSSDC assigned an internationally recognized International Designator, a unique identifier for every rocket probe, vehicle, or stage of such vehicle ever launched. The code begins with the year (AD) of launch, followed by a three-digit launch sequence number and a one-to-three-letter "part code" for the launch. (Failed launches receive an arbitrary code.)

== NASA Langley Science Directorate ==
Atmospheric scientists at NASA Langley Research Center conduct research from the land, sea, air and space to understand the atmospheric effects caused by volcanic eruptions, industrial pollution, changes in the planet’s energy balance and other events. They also support application programs, the worldwide distribution of NASA data and educational outreach activities.

Science research at Langley, specifically in atmospheric science, can trace its beginnings to the Center's aeronautical studies. In the 1960s, scientists began exploring how atmospheric dynamics, density and temperature varied with altitude to understand their effects on aircraft performance. Langley scientists expanded this effort in the 1970s to include atmospheric chemistry research and then shifted their research emphasis to environmental concerns. Rich in aeronautical heritage, Langley's atmospheric science research impacts how all of NASA studies the Earth and other planets. <ref>http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AboutUs.html</ref>

== Magellan Spacecraft ==
The Magellan spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, was launched May 4, 1989, and arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990. Magellan's solid rocket motor placed it into a near-polar elliptical orbit around the planet. During the first 8-month mapping cycle around Venus, Magellan collected radar images of 84 percent of the planet's surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera 15 and 16 missions. Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and electrical characteristics.
During the extended mission, two further mapping cycles from May 15, 1991 to September 14, 1992 brought mapping coverage to 98% of the planet, with a resolution of approximately 100m.
Precision radio tracking of the spacecraft will measure Venus' gravitational field to show the planet's internal mass distribution and the forces which have created the surface features. Magellan's data will permit the first global geological understanding of Venus, the planet most like Earth in our solar system. <ref>http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/magellan/fact.html</ref>

[[Category:Space Exploration]]

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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2010-01-23T17:57:46Z

MichaelJB:

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Apollo 11 launch. The small cloud midway up the rocket is due to the Low Pressure in that region as the Rocket Passes through Max Q, the maximum dynamic pressure exerted on the rocket in the launch.]]
The [[United States]] '''National Aeronautics and Space Administration''' (NASA) was founded in 1958. It was created by legislation for the purpose of creating a government-backed national space program in response to the launch of [[Sputnik|Sputnik I]], the [[Soviet Union]]'s the first man-made satellite. According to the act, NASA was to conduct research on the problems of flight in and out of the atmosphere with and without human pilots, and to cooperate with other nations in the peaceful exploration of space. NASA is responsible for many satellites including [[Landsat]], which was a series of satellites for the collection of information on natural resources, communication satellites and weather satellites. The [[Project Apollo]] program under NASA led to several landings on the [[Moon]] from 1969-1972. It is also the designer and developer of the [[space shuttle]].

Today NASA has four main mission directorates,
*'''Aeronautics''', the work of developing and proving new flight technologies
*'''Exploration Systems''', creating new capabilities and spacecraft for affordable, sustainable human and robotic exploration.
*'''Science''', explores the Earth, and beyond
*'''Space Operations''', the space shuttle, the International Space Station and flight support.

Unfortunately, NASA has also lately been distracted by [[anthropogenic global warming theory]], due to the political machinations of alarmists such [[James E. Hansen]] [http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html]. George Deutsch, an appointee of [[President George W. Bush]], tried to rein in NASA's turn towards environmental radicalism, but this provoked a reaction from the [[liberal media]] [http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1037099/bush-spinner-calls-nasa-site-censorship].

==NASA Manned Missions==

*'''[[Project Mercury]] ''' Initiated in 1958 and completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963, were specific: orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate man's ability to function in space and recover both man and spacecraft safely. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html </ref>

*'''Project Gemini ''' The Gemini Program was a necessary intermediate step between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program and had four objectives: subject astronauts to long duration flights- a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space; develop effective methods of rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space; perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point; gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/index.html </ref>

*'''[[Project Apollo]] ''' On May 25, 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history.

:Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when the lunar module landed in the [[Sea of Tranquility]] and [[Apollo 11]] commander [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon's surface with the words;
{{cquote|That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.}}

:Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced [[Apollo 13]] to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."

:The program also drew inspiration from Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who lost their lives in a fire during a launch pad test in 1967.

:Project Apollo concluded with the Apollo/ Soyuz mission during July1975, part of a series of cooperative space flights between the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) that continues today. The docking in space of the two spacecraft took place at 2:17 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time on 17 July. Two days of joint operations followed. After separation, the Soyuz remained in space for almost two days before landing in the USSR on 21 July. The Apollo spacecraft remained in space for another three days before splashing down near Hawaii on 24 July. The mission was a resounding success for both Americans and Soviets. They achieved their goal of obtaining flight experience for rendezvous and docking of human spacecraft. In addition, they also demonstrated in-flight intervehicular crew transfer, as well as accomplished a series of scientific experiments. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html </ref> <ref> http://history.nasa.gov/30thastp/overview.html </ref>

*'''Skylab''' was America's first space station and orbital science and engineering laboratory. Skylab was launched into Earth orbit by a [[Saturn V]] rocket on May 14, 1973 as part of the Apollo program. Three crews visited the station, with their missions lasting 28, 59 and 84 days. The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> The mission crews performed a plethora of UV astronomy experiments, eight separate solar experiments and detailed X-ray studies of the Sun. Skylab served as the greatest solar observatory of its time, a microgravity lab, a medical lab, an Earth-observing facility, and, most importantly, a home away from home for its residents. The program also led to new technologies. Special showers, toilets, sleeping bags, exercise equipment and kitchen facilities were designed to function in microgravity. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/index.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/f_skylab1.html </ref>

*The '''[[Space shuttle|Space Shuttle]]''' is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that.

:Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s.

:The Shuttle has the most reliable launch record of any rocket now in operation. Since 1981, it has boosted more than 1.36 million kilograms (3 million pounds) of cargo into orbit. More than than 600 crew members have flown on its missions. Although it has been in operation for almost 20 years, the Shuttle has continually evolved and is significantly different today than when it first was launched. NASA has made literally thousands of major and minor modifications to the original design that have made it safer, more reliable and more capable today than ever before.

:In 1992, the U.S. and the new Russian Federation renewed the 1987 space cooperation agreement and issued a "Joint Statement on Cooperation in Space." Subsequent additions to the agreement outline the development of the NASA-Mir program. From February 1994 to June 1998, space shuttles made 11 flights to the Russian space station Mir, and American astronauts spent seven residencies onboard Mir. Space shuttles also conducted crew exchanges and delivered supplies and equipment.<ref> http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html </ref> <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle-mir/index.html </ref>

*The '''International Space Station''' is a working laboratory orbiting 240 miles (390 kilometers) above the Earth and is home to an international crew. It is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, involving five space agencies representing 16 nations. Once completed, this new research outpost in space will include contributions from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As a research outpost, the station is a test bed for future technologies and a research laboratory for new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, medical research and much more. On-orbit assembly began in 1998 with the launch of Zarya, and today the station provides crewmembers with 15,000 cubic feet of habitable volume – more room than a conventional three-bedroom house – and weighs 404,000 pounds.

:The station now includes the Russian-built Zarya Module and the Zvezda Service Module, which contain the station’s living quarters and life-support systems; the U.S.-built Unity Connecting Module, providing docking ports for several station components; the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory, which expands the station’s scientific capabilities with experiment compartments that allow nearly continuous scientific research and provide additional life support and robotic capabilities; the U.S.-built Quest Airlock, a doorway to space that supports station-based spacewalks; the Canadian-built Canadarm2, a new-generation robotic arm that gives the station a movable space crane; the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment, which adds additional spacewalking and docking capabilities to the station; and truss segments, which serve as the framework for additional station segments. Japanese and European research laboratories are ready for delivery to expand the station’s research capabilities even more. <ref> http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/index.html </ref>

*NASA plans to continue human space flight with '''Project Constellation''', which consists of the Orion spacecraft (similar to the Project Apollo Command Module, but larger and with up to date flight systems) and the Aries I, a launch vehicle. The Aries is similar to the solid fuel rocket from the current Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), but more powerful, and has a second stage. The first launch is hoped for in 2011 and the first human launch in 2014. Together, these will be used for Lunar and Mars missions. <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html</ref>

==NASA Unmanned Missions==

*'''Explorer 1''' was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. Following the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite using its Jupiter C rocket developed under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the assignment to design, build and operate the artificial satellite that would serve as the rocket's payload. JPL completed this job in less than three months.

:The primary science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Once in space this experiment, provided by Dr. James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, revealed a much lower cosmic ray count than expected. The existence of these radiation belts was confirmed by another U.S. satellite launched two months later, and they became known as the Van Allen Belts in honor of their discoverer. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html </ref>

*The '''Pioneer Venus''' Project's main objective was to investigate the solar wind in the Venusian environment, map the planet's surface through a radar imaging system and study the characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

:Pioneer Venus consisted of two spacecraft: the Orbiter and the Multiprobe. The Orbiter carried an assortment of instruments for investigating plasma in upper Venusian atmosphere, observing reflected sunlight from the cloud layers at a variety of wavelengths, in addition to a surface radar mapper, and was launched on the May 20, 1978. It reached orbit around Venus on Dec. 4, 1978. Although originally intended to operate for one Venusian year, most of the Orbiter's instruments were still operating when the spacecraft entered the atmosphere on Oct. 8, 1992.

:The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, which was launched on Aug. 8, 1978 and reached Venus on Dec. 9, 1978, was made of 5 separate probes: the probe transporter (referred to as the Bus), a large atmospheric entry probe (called Sounder), and three small probes. The Sounder released from the Bus on Nov. 15, 1978. The three smaller probes released on Nov. 19, 1978. The probes sent data to Earth as they descended toward the surface. <ref> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/pioneer-venus/index.html </ref>

*The '''Surveyor probes''' (1966 - 1968) were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. The main objectives of the Surveyors were to obtain close-up images of the lunar surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings. Each Surveyor was equipped with a television camera. In addition, Surveyors 3 and 7 each carried a soil mechanics surface sampler scoop which dug trenches and was used for soil mechanics tests and Surveyors 5, 6, and 7 had magnets attached to the footpads and an alpha scattering instrument for chemical analysis of the lunar material. <ref> http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html </ref>

*'''Galileo''' was launched from the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1989. The exciting list of discoveries started even before Galileo got a glimpse of Jupiter. As it crossed the asteroid belt in October 1991, Galileo snapped images of Gaspra, returning the first ever close-up image of an asteroid. In 1994 the spacecraft made the only direct observation of a comet impacting a planet-- comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's collision with Jupiter.
:Galileo's descent probe made the first in-place studies of the planet's clouds and winds, and it furthered scientists' understanding of how Jupiter evolved. The probe also made composition measurements designed to assess the degree of evolution of Jupiter compared to the Sun.
:Galileo extensively investigated the geologic diversity of Jupiter's four largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa. Galileo found that Io's extensive volcanic activity is 100 times greater than that found on Earth. The moon Europa, Galileo unveiled, could be hiding a salty ocean up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) deep underneath its frozen surface containing about twice as much water as all the Earth's oceans. Data also showed Ganymede and Callisto may have a liquid-saltwater layer. The biggest discovery surrounding Ganymede was the presence of a magnetic field. No other moon of any planet is known to have one.
:The prime mission ended six years ago, after two years of orbiting Jupiter. NASA extended the mission three times to continue taking advantage of Galileo's unique capabilities for accomplishing valuable science. <ref> http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/news/release/press030921.html </ref>

*'''TOPEX/Poseidon''', launched in 1992, is a joint venture between CNES and NASA to map ocean surface topography. While a 3-year prime mission was planned, with a 5-year store of expendables, TOPEX/Poseidon has delivered an astonishing 10+ years of data from orbit. It has made the following contributions:

:-Measured sea levels with unprecedented accuracy to better than 5 cm

:-Continuously observed global ocean topography

:-Monitored effects of currents on global climate change and produced the first global views of seasonal changes of currents

:-Monitored large-scale ocean features like Rossby and Kelvin waves and studied such phenomena as El Niño, La Niña, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

:-Mapped basin-wide current variations and provided global data to validate models of ocean circulation

:-Mapped year-to-year changes in heat stored in the upper ocean

:-Produced the most accurate global maps of tides ever

:-Improved our knowledge of Earth's gravity field <ref>http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/topex.html</ref>

== National Space Science Data Center ==
The National Space Science Data Center, located in NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is NASA's central archive of images and raw data from its various missions. Among other services, the NSSDC assigned an internationally recognized International Designator, a unique identifier for every rocket probe, vehicle, or stage of such vehicle ever launched. The code begins with the year (AD) of launch, followed by a three-digit launch sequence number and a one-to-three-letter "part code" for the launch. (Failed launches receive an arbitrary code.)

== NASA Langley Science Directorate ==
Atmospheric scientists at NASA Langley Research Center conduct research from the land, sea, air and space to understand the atmospheric effects caused by volcanic eruptions, industrial pollution, changes in the planet’s energy balance and other events. They also support application programs, the worldwide distribution of NASA data and educational outreach activities.

Science research at Langley, specifically in atmospheric science, can trace its beginnings to the Center's aeronautical studies. In the 1960s, scientists began exploring how atmospheric dynamics, density and temperature varied with altitude to understand their effects on aircraft performance. Langley scientists expanded this effort in the 1970s to include atmospheric chemistry research and then shifted their research emphasis to environmental concerns. Rich in aeronautical heritage, Langley's atmospheric science research impacts how all of NASA studies the Earth and other planets. <ref>http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AboutUs.html</ref>

[[Category:Space Exploration]]

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

User talk:RJJensen

2009-12-19T00:21:16Z

MichaelJB:

[[/Archive 1]]
==Trinity==
You reverted my edits to the Trinity page, with the comment "The Trinity is Christian". I was a bit baffled by this, but then realized that I had used the Torah as a source. The Torah is just the Old Testament, and is part of the Christian Bible. I did not realize that my language would be so confusing (I am used to it, my parents converted from Judaism to Baptist Christians). You will find that much of the Hebrew Bible (The old Testament) supports Christian concepts. This is because Christian concepts are universal truths!

Haha, yeah the rain has been murderous all week long! I had the misfortune of planning to drive into Athens today, only to find all the roads underwater! I didn't realize until you messaged me that my talk page has the info intended for my user page, so thank you for your inadvertant help (also, yes, it appears my grammar died while I was writing it!) Are you from the area as well? Always good to meet a fellow southerner who understands the Obama Crisis. There are so many hayseed liberals down here it makes me sick! Don't worry tho, you won't hear me crying out for a confederate south:) Long live a STRONG CONSERVATIVE UNION, with a surplus export of integrity! [[User:RoyP|RoyP]] 20:33, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
::thanks for the update. I'm actually a Yankee now living in Montana, but I have had a strong interest in the South since I studiesd with C. Vann Woodward some years back.[[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 20:36, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
:::I can forgive a Yank, I used to be one (Mt. Vernon, Washington)! Unfortunately, that town's Conservative fervor lives solely in the words of one Glenn Beck (that man's done for intelligent conservatism what Sean Penn did for photographers dentistry.) [[User:RoyP|RoyP]] 20:45, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
::::Now, what kind of a snide insult is that? Beck is a thoughtful, honest fighter for the conservative cause, and if people are angered at the government by his exposés, all the better for the nation. Both he, and those of us who respect him, are intelligent people. [[User:DouglasA|DouglasA]] 20:59, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
:::::Forgive any intrusion or stamping upon your own loyalties. But surely you must admit that the movement suffers from a lack of Irving Kristol or William Buckley type figures. I long for the days when conservatism nakedly confessed that the intellectuals were the brains of the movement while the power of the people were its fists. OF COURSE a weapon must be weighted properly, with the correct balances, but it is only in retrospect that people might discuss its craftsmanship and the components which constituted it. I would venture to say that anyone slain by Excalibur would comment on anything but the sharpness of its blade, which in this most basic analogy, would comprise the incisive wit of conservatives who have lived and then gone to meet God in heaven. The fires of anger burn with intense heat in the belly of American conservatism, but to stoke these fires, as Beck often does, produces little but flash and smoke. It will be some current or future leader, a Reagan-type, I pray, who shall light his torch with such a flame and bring it to the halls of Congress or to the Obama home and say, "See, this same flame has burned for ages now let it singe you!". God, conservatism, the side of moral right; all are the same, and united they are all consuming. But it must take SOMEONE...a prophet, a politician who does God's work, a priest with God's word in him...someone, SOMEONE must carry that torch. [[User:RoyP|RoyP]] 21:15, 21 September 2009 (EDT)

== Quakerism category ==
Thanks for setting it up! I'll try to contribute a few more new articles to insert. --[[User:MarkGall|MarkGall]] 14:20, 22 September 2009 (EDT)

== "Revert vandalism" on the Chavez article ==

Does [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hugo_Chavez&curid=5224&diff=703420&oldid=703401 this edit] really count as "vandalism"? Or would it be more fair of you to qualify it as a different point of view? A point of view that may be criticized, perhaps, one that may or may not be backed up by whatever evidence is cited--but where is the "vandalism"? [[User:Wayne|Wayne]] 08:44, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
::it's vandalism--it was designed to attack and denigrate and damage a CP article. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 10:10, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
:::Introducing a different point of view--with a citation, no less--is denigrating and damaging to the article? Is the article that fragile? [[User:Wayne|Wayne]] 10:25, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
:::that was his goal. to sabotage the article by making it contradictory. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 10:38, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
::::Would it not add to the credibility of the article and the site as a whole to engage with the ideas that the editor brought to the table on their own merits--or lack thereof-- as opposed to dismissing them as vandalism? [[User:Wayne|Wayne]] 12:16, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
:::::vandals seeking to weaken or ruin articles are not welcome here. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 12:20, 25 September 2009 (EDT)

== speedy delete? ==

[[Nonlineardog]]

== Dear Dr. Jensen, ==

i think your edits are far above the average quality here. I am quite liberal (and not American), so i don't always agree with your opinions, however i enjoy to read your articles, since they are written in a quite concise and interesting manner from the right distance of view and i usually learn something about topics i don't know much about.

Regards, --[[User:Stitch75|Stitch75]] 12:45, 5 October 2009 (EDT)
::thanks! :) [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 13:22, 5 October 2009 (EDT)

Why did you revert my edit calling for a citation? [[User:AZF|AZF]] 17:11, 7 October 2009 (EDT)
::you're making work for other people; if you want to add a citation please do so. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 17:14, 7 October 2009 (EDT)
:::The person who made the initial assertion was making work for other people. [[User:AZF|AZF]] 17:19, 7 October 2009 (EDT)

==Columbia==
In the 1872 painting; are you sure she holds a school book? Might it be the Bible?--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 00:03, 13 October 2009 (EDT)
::my students always ask that--it says "School Book" on it. you can read it at [http://cprr.org/CPRR_Discussion_Group/2005/11/question-american-progress-by-john_11.html larger image] [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 00:07, 13 October 2009 (EDT)
:::Thank you, a beautiful picture btw.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 00:13, 13 October 2009 (EDT)

== Milton/Paradise Lost ==
1st of all, thanks for the encouragement on my talk page. We now seem to be sort of collaborating on the Milton and PL pages. I came across some public-domain images of Blake's watercolors for PL that would be great to add to that page. How do we go about making that happen? [[User:ChrisFV|ChrisFV]] 17:58, 29 October 2009 (EDT)
:yes--it's fun! I can upload files if you gove me URL's or email to me at rjensen@uic.edu [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 18:04, 29 October 2009 (EDT)
::Here is the site: http://www.pitt.edu/~ulin/Paradise/Blake1808.htm [[User:ChrisFV|ChrisFV]] 20:09, 29 October 2009 (EDT)
:::OK which ones do you want to use? 04:45, 30 October 2009 (EDT)
::::So hard to choose! I think "The Expulsion from Eden" (Book XII) is essential for the PL article. If there is room, my next choice would be "The Downfall of the Rebel Angels" (Book VI), and then "The Temptation of Eve" (Book IX). [[User:ChrisFV|ChrisFV]] 11:24, 30 October 2009 (EDT)
::::: done: see File:Blake-xii.jpg File:Blake-vi.jpg and File:Blake-ix.jpg [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 05:19, 31 October 2009 (EDT)

== William, Mary, etc. ==

Hello Richard;

Just noticed you doing some 17th century history - could I ask for a bit of a hand getting William of Orange's article up? He doesn't have one, at the moment, I think, and 'William and Mary' redirects [[College of William and Mary|here]]. Thanks, and nice articles. [[User:AungSein|AungSein]] 14:45, 1 November 2009 (EST)
::look at [[William III]]. :) [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 15:16, 1 November 2009 (EST)
::::Pesky Stadtholder ... ;) [[User:AungSein|AungSein]] 15:22, 1 November 2009 (EST)

== DerekE ==

Just because someone is a "nasty vandal" is no need to erase every sign of his presence from the website. That's a tactic that might have been appropriate for the great Soviet Encyclopedia. I fail to see how it's suitable for an America conservative project. [[User:PeterF|PeterF]] 19:49, 3 November 2009 (EST)
::DerekE -- or someone using his account-- has tried to seriously damage CP (look at the edits a few minutes ago on Obama Administration). That destroys his entire credibility from A to Z, in my opinion. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 19:58, 3 November 2009 (EST)
:::That doesn't answer my question. removing a talk page post--in effect trying to make him a "non-person"--has nothing to do with the situation you describe. We've always been at war with East Asia. [[User:PeterF|PeterF]] 20:02, 3 November 2009 (EST)
::::we don't want saboteurs at CP and we remove their work. It's like a team changing the record book when an illegal player is involved. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 20:17, 3 November 2009 (EST)

==Scotland Revert==

Hello, i noticed you reverted an edit by DWiggins on the scotland article, saying in the edit description that "civilized world seems to cover the reaction pretty well". I've undone your edit as it was biased and misleading, if the "civilized world"(could you specify what the civilized world is?) universally thought it was disgusting, why was there so much controversy? perhaps from an american perspective but outside of the states "disgust" doesnt cover it at all, unless you meant to imply that the civilized world is solely the USA, in which case all credibility of claims about conservapedia being fair or trustworthy are lost. also, please dont ban me, i'm just trying to bring some balance and i dont mean to troll, but as im scottish it annoys me when people try and spin the lockerbie story, thanks. [[User:Euaaan|Euaaan]] 09:13, 4 November 2009 (EST)
::there was very high controversy regarding 1) wisdom of releasing a convicted terrorist and 2) role of the London government in trading convict for diplomatic and trade goals. And yes, worldwide disgust was pretty intense. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 09:23, 4 November 2009 (EST)

== John F. Kennedy ==

I responded to your argument on the John F. Kennedy talk page. You should go check it out. [[User:ChuckR|ChuckR]] 13:31, 5 November 2009 (EST)

== John F. Kennedy (again) ==

I added a new section re: Medicare to our Kennedy discussion on the JFK talk page.

I would really like for you to respond to the slew of points I raised re: Kennedy's liberal positions and traits. I believe they extend far wider and deeper than the article or your arguments suggest they do. In reading what I wrote and responding to it, I would like for us to work together to re-consider and re-write the parts of the article that discuss John F. Kennedy's ideological bend. Certainly, we can together reshape this article to reflect that he both advocated dramatic liberal measures and made conservative stands on certain issues that no modern-day liberal would ever dream of considering. [[User:ChuckR|ChuckR]] 20:02, 8 November 2009 (EST)
::thanks I appreciate the help and i will look at it later tonite. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 20:19, 8 November 2009 (EST)
:::I responded to your arguments. I am still hoping we can re-write this article together, and show that Kennedy was a diverse politician with both liberal and conservative views (and one that is hard to accurately describe as "basically liberal" or "basically conservative"). [[User:ChuckR|ChuckR]] 21:28, 8 November 2009 (EST)
::::the current text says "JFK was middle-of-the-road on domestic issues and conservative on foreign policy" which does seem to sum it up. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 21:37, 8 November 2009 (EST)

==Robeson==
Hi, I'm trying to stay within Conservapedia's guideline but did find the article riddled with povs and language that is unsourced. His own actions speak for themselves and don't need nudging. I tried to emphasis the Communist affiliations and advocacy while referencing to the aspects of his life that were patriotic.
The article is too small for someone of such importance plus there is word that he is going to be given a Presidential medal of freedom posthumously so the facts should be straight.
[[User:AmandaC|AmandaC]] 21:52, 19 November 2009 (EST)
::yes, good work. He's anathema to conservatives and the article needs to explain why. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 01:09, 20 November 2009 (EST)

== large bill ==

No problem, they've always fascinated me. [[User:Geo.plrd|Geoff Plourde]][[User_talk:Geo.plrd|Complain!]] 04:25, 26 November 2009 (EST)

== large bill ==

No problem, they've always fascinated me. [[User:Geo.plrd|Geoff Plourde]][[User_talk:Geo.plrd|Complain!]] 04:25, 26 November 2009 (EST)

== Unlock [[Sedition Act]]? ==

You locked the page nine hours after it was created, it's been locked for almost a month now, and it badly needs some work. Right now, there's little more than a dictionary entry. I'd like to add some information about the history of sedition acts, examples (from other countries than America), why they've been passed, examples of how they've been used and abused, and at least some idea of popular objections to them. If you want to add more, I'd love to see it. I won't add my uncited opinion, which I'm guessing is why you locked it in the first place. (If I'm wrong, please let me know.) If you have another idea of what the page should be, I'd love to talk about that - I'm sure we both agree it'd be best with something more than is there now.

And, by the way, [[Talk:Sedition Act]] is currently a redirect to [[Talk:Sedition_Act_of_1918]]; you might want to fix that and move the current debate.

Thanks. --[[User:EvanW|EvanW]] 21:42, 8 December 2009 (EST)
::Ok I unlocked it. :) [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 23:13, 8 December 2009 (EST)

== Sin ==

What's with the large scale removal from [[Sin]]? Admittedly, it could be made more concise, but dropping sections and removing key redemptive fact like "Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness, can we be saved from sin" seems a bit odd. [[User:DouglasA|DouglasA]] 14:38, 12 December 2009 (EST)
::there was lots of stuff there unrelated to sin as ordinarily understood. The "trusting in Jesus" statement is a sermon and is hanging loose, not tied to any of the many traditions that are covered in the article. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 16:00, 12 December 2009 (EST)

== William Safire ==
Why did you edit the Safire article to say he was a token conservative? The commandments state all information must be true and verifiable. The reference provided does nothing to substanciate your claim that Safire was a token conservative at the NY Times. For this reason your edit should be removed until a reliable source is provided. I have been unable to find one that is suitable. --[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 12:54, 18 December 2009 (EST)
:: 1) I did not make that edit. 2) But what it means is that for many years he was the only conservative voice on op-ed (and the editorial page was very liberal). 3) it's common knowledge of the sort you get by reading the NY Times every day. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 15:20, 18 December 2009 (EST)
:::My apologies. That being said, it shouldn't matter if something is common knowledge or not, the reference provided does not state Safire was the alleged token conservative at the Times. According to the commandments all entries must be true AND verifiable. --[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 19:21, 18 December 2009 (EST)

User talk:RJJensen

2009-12-18T17:54:41Z

MichaelJB:

William Safire

2009-12-18T06:18:12Z

MichaelJB: Reference provided does not state Safire was a 'token conservative'. I am unable to find a credible reference that makes this claim.

'''William Lewis Safire'''(December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009) was a [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning columnist, author, and journalist.

Safire, a member of the [[Republican]] party and a self-described [[conservative]]- [[libertarian]],<ref>http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1926424,00.html</ref> was most widely known as a partisan columnist for the [[New York Times]].<ref>http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/william_safire/index.html</ref>

In 1968 after working in his campaign for President, Safire became a Special Assistant to [[Richard M. Nixon|President Nixon]] and joined a [[White House]] speechwriting team that included [[Patrick J. Buchanan]] and [[Raymond K. Price]]. Mr. Safire wrote many of Nixon's speeches on the economy and Vietnam.

==Awards==
*Pulitzer Prize, 1978 <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,556185,00.html</ref>

*Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2006 <ref>http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/william_safire/index.html</ref>

==Books==
*The Relations Explosion: The Coming Boom and Shakeout in Corporate Relations (1963)
*Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House (1975)
*Full Disclosure (1977, novel)
*Safire's Political Dictionary (1978)
*William Safire on Language (1980)
*Safire's Washington (1980)
*What's the Good Word? (1982)
*I Stand Corrected: More on Language (1984)
*Take My Word for It (1986)
*Freedom: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (1987)
*You Could Look It Up: More on Language from William Safire (1988)
*Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage (1990)
*Language Maven Strikes Again (1990)
*Coming To Terms (1991)
*The First Dissident: The Book of Job In Today's Politics (1992)
*Old Books Have a Future (1993)
*Quoth the Maven: More on Language from William Safire (1993)
*In Love with Norma Loquendi (1994)
*Sleeper Spy: A Novel of Deception (1995, novel)
*Watching My Language: Adventures in the Word Trade (1997)
*Spread the Word (1999)
*Scandalmonger (2000, novel)
*The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time (2004)<ref>http://www.nndb.com/people/317/000023248/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Columnists]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Safire, William}}

Washington Times

2009-12-09T01:21:49Z

MichaelJB:

The '''''Washington Times''''' is a [[conservative]] daily [[newspaper]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] which strives to counterbalance the [[liberal]] slant of the ''[[Washington Post]]''. The paper was founded in 1982 by the Reverend [[Sun Myung Moon]], head of the [[Unification Church]] out of appreciation for, in his words,

{{Cquote|because American-led U.N. forces, in the process of saving my country during the [[Korean War]], liberated me from a [[communist concentration camp]] where I had been imprisoned <ref>[http://www.unification.net/2000/20000202.html Founder's Commemorative Address], The Washington Times Foundation, Washington, DC, February 2, 2000.</ref>}}

[[Max Blumenthal]] wrote, "The Times has served as a major key on the [[conservative movement]]'s Mighty Wurlitzer." <ref>[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061009/washington_times ''The Nation''], October 9, 2006</ref>

[[Newt Gingrich]] said,
:"The arrival of ''The Washington Times'' was for conservatives both a breath of fresh air and a daring challenge to the media establishment. From day one, conservatives on [[Capitol Hill]] and throughout the city looked to The Washington Times for lively, aggressive reporting and bold conservative editorial commentary." <ref> [http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070516-040557-5645r.htm ''The Washington Times''], May 16th, 2007</ref>

The ''Washingtonian'' wrote:
:The Washington Times has served as a reliable voice for [[conservative]] views. Its coverage of the White House blossomed during the Reagan administration, when it became a [[champion]] for conservative causes and points of view. The newspaper’s [[circulation]] has hovered around 100,000, far below that of the dominant Washington Post, which has a daily circulation of just under 700,000. The Times has never been a commercial success.

== Future Changes ==
After over 27 years from its launch and losing over $2 billion dollars, the Washington Times announced on December 2009 that they are laying-off at least 40% of its staff and will shift to mainly free distribution. Billed as a conservative alternative to the Washington Post, the paper's recent circulation was at about 85,000 compared to the Post's 583,000. The Times' main focus will now be on a national audience and local coverage will be deemphasized. <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120203295.html</ref>

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:United States Newspapers|Washington Times]]

Ardipithecus ramidus

2009-10-12T14:34:55Z

MichaelJB:

'''Ardipithecus ramidus''' is an example of the earliest known [[hominin]]s. According to [[secular]] science, members include humans and their ancestors that date to approximately 4.4 million years ago. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref> [[Creation scientist]]s disagree with this dating,<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/does-radiometric-dating-prove</ref> citing the [[Radiometric_dating#Acceptance_and_reliability|unreliability]] of the methods used to arrive at such a figure.<ref>http://creation.com/radioactive-dating-failure</ref>

According to ''Science'' magazine, ''ardipithecus'' is not the oldest putative hominin, but it is by far the most complete of the earliest specimens. The most recent find includes most of the skull and teeth, as well as the pelvis, hands, and feet and reveal an "intermediate" form of upright walking, considered a hallmark of hominins. Paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill of Yale University is quoted as saying, "We thought Lucy was the find of the century but, in retrospect, it isn't." There is not yet a consensus on the validity concerning the ability of Ardipithecus to walk upright as some anthropologists are stating there is only circumstantial evidence for upright walking. Debate about Ardipithecus's locomotion and identity evolves but she provides the first hard evidence about the ancient hominins. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref>

== Lifestyle ==
According to Lovejoy, males pair-bonded or married females, showing traditional marriage is as old as 4 "million" years according to so-called evolutionary science. This finding supports the Biblical definition of marriage as being between a man and a women -- "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her". {{fact}}

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading==
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/ardipithecusramidus.htm

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/pcardipithecus.html

Ardipithecus ramidus

2009-10-03T21:09:11Z

MichaelJB: Added items concerning the debate about locomotion within the scientific community.

'''Ardipithecus ramidus''' is an example of the earliest known [[hominin]]s. According to [[secular]] science, members include humans and their ancestors that date to approximately 4.4 million years ago. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref> [[Creation scientist]]s disagree with this dating,<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/does-radiometric-dating-prove</ref> citing the [[Radiometric_dating#Acceptance_and_reliability|unreliability]] of the methods used to arrive at such a figure.<ref>http://creation.com/radioactive-dating-failure</ref>

According to ''Science'' magazine, ''ardipithecus'' is not the oldest putative hominin, but it is by far the most complete of the earliest specimens. The most recent find includes most of the skull and teeth, as well as the pelvis, hands, and feet and reveal an "intermediate" form of upright walking, considered a hallmark of hominins. Paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill of Yale University is quoted as saying, "We thought Lucy was the find of the century but, in retrospect, it isn't." There is not yet a consensus on the validity concerning the ability of Ardipithecus to walk upright as some anthropologists are stating there is only circumstantial evidence for upright walking. Debate about Ardipithecus's locomotion and identity evolves but she provides the first hard evidence about the ancient hominins. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading==
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/ardipithecusramidus.htm

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/pcardipithecus.html

Talk:Ardipithecus ramidus

2009-10-03T20:56:04Z

MichaelJB:

There's got to be a better way of acknowledging the conflict between [[young earth creationism]] and modern science than a crack like "atheistic science". --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 00:28, 3 October 2009 (EDT)
:well, we have [[Atheistic Style]], [[Atheistic denial]] (which uses the term ""atheistic science"), [[Atheistic Logic]], [[Atheistic tools]] (which is associated with "Darwinian science," according to the article), and [[Atheistic Values]]. Why not "atheistic science" ? [[User:PeterF|PeterF]] 00:38, 3 October 2009 (EDT)
::How about 'secular science'? I will change it to that and add some cites as to why this dating is invalid.[[User:TESvestad|TESvestad]] 01:25, 3 October 2009 (EDT)
:::Saying "secular science" is like saying "religious Christianity". It's redundant. [[User:AngusF|AngusF]] 14:31, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

::: I created this article with the appropriate references so it would be a reliable source of information. I welcome any additional scientific information, not pseudo-science. I also request that all edits be fully referenced. For this reason the addition concerning the claims of creationists needs to be removed unless a reputable scientific source that specifically details why this fossil find is not over 4 million years old can be posted. General statements like, "creations disagree" will not suffice and the reference provided gives no evidence about the inadequacy of radiometric dating methods that show a fossil is millions of years old.
:::Please provide references and justification for any claims of atheism amongst the scientists that are studying this find and why such a claim is relevant. Anything else just detracts from the article. --[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 14:28, 3 October 2009 (EDT)
::::I added that to give balance; without that the article appears to be completely focused on the evolutionist/old earth/naturalistic world-view. As I'm sure you are aware there are other views and theories, and we should not be afraid to open our minds to them. I have added references, including a very well written (if a little technical!) article. However this is your article and if you wish for it to only be from one POV then I will respect that. [[User:TESvestad|TESvestad]] 14:50, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

:::::Balance means nothing in science. Constructive criticism, peer-review, and debate are what keeps scientists honest and encourages further research. Trying to counter honest science with pseudo-science is more than worthless; it is a waste of time. If the article appears to be focused on the alleged 'evolutionist/old earth/naturalistic world-view', then that is just too bad, that is what the evidence says. Unless there is something specifically written in a reputable peer-reviewed source, in my opinion it does not belong in this science article.

:::::Your sources fall far short of being considered reputable. The AIG article uses information from the RATE project that has been refuted many times and the author rejects anything that does not conform with his interpretation of the Bible. The second reference is actually written by a competent geologist, Dr Snelling, who has written many articles in peer-reviewed publications that support the alleged 'evolutionist/old earth/naturalistic world-view'. Why didn't you reference one of those articles? Why use an article written for an organization that only accepts articles that support their statement of faith and rejects all other scientific opinions?

:::::To sum up, I welcome different scientific views in this article. But keep the pseudo-science out. --[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 16:56, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

Talk:Ardipithecus ramidus

2009-10-03T18:28:36Z

MichaelJB:

Ardipithecus ramidus

2009-10-03T04:09:35Z

MichaelJB:

'''Ardipithecus ramidus''' is an example of the earliest known hominins. Members include humans and their ancestors that date to approximately 4.4 million years ago. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref>

According to ''Science'' magazine, ''ardipithecus'' is not the oldest putative hominin, but it is by far the most complete of the earliest specimens. The most recent find includes most of the skull and teeth, as well as the pelvis, hands, and feet and reveal an "intermediate" form of upright walking, considered a hallmark of hominins. Paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill of Yale University is quoted as saying, "We thought Lucy was the find of the century but, in retrospect, it isn't." <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading==
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/ardipithecusramidus.htm

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/pcardipithecus.html

Ardipithecus ramidus

2009-10-03T02:03:36Z

MichaelJB: Created page with ''''Ardipithecus ramidus''' is an example of the earliest known hominins. Members include humans and their ancestors that date to approximately 4.4 million years ago. <ref>http:...'

'''Ardipithecus ramidus''' is an example of the earliest known hominins. Members include humans and their ancestors that date to approximately 4.4 million years ago. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref>

According to ''Science'' magazine, ''ardipithecus'' is not the oldest putative hominin, but it is by far the most complete of the earliest specimens. It includes most of the skull and teeth, as well as the pelvis, hands, and feet and reveal an "intermediate" form of upright walking, considered a hallmark of hominins. Paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill of Yale University is quoted as saying, "We thought Lucy was the find of the century but, in retrospect, it isn't." <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5949/36</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading==
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/ardipithecusramidus.htm

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/pcardipithecus.html

Talk:Essay:Quantifying Openmindedness

2009-10-02T16:47:14Z

MichaelJB:

== Not a suitable criterion ==
I don't think that "a genuine willingness to accept something as possibly being true" is a suitable criterion. It doesn't take into account the difference between the following two scenarios:
* A person who has never considered the evidence. For example, I would be close-minded to say that [[Noah]] could not have fitted all the animals on the ark if I didn't know how big the ark was and how many animals would have qualified.
* A person who has considered the available evidence and has formed a considered opinion. For example, I would be not be close-minded to say that evolution is impossible if I had studied [[information]] theory and knew how it negated the possibility.
A better definition might be "a genuine willingness to consider the evidence before rejecting an idea".

[[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 04:17, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

Excellent! I've made the change. God bless you.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:31, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
:Thanks! I'm glad you appreciated it.
:However, I believe that it now renders your examples tests invalid. You can't test for a willingness to consider the evidence by asking someone if they accept the possibility of something. If they've already considered the possibility and have concluded that it is impossible, they have been open minded on it, but would still "fail" the test.
:[[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 22:45, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

:: We can ask subjects a mixture of new ideas and ones they've already heard. It can be two questions:

1. Have you seriously considered the evidence for this idea?
2. If no, then would you?
3. If yes, then describe what evidence you looked at.

--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:02, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

::: Would saying that something is absolutely the case be just as bad as impossible that something is the case? Are people who believe without equivocation that (say...) trickle down economics works just as close minded those who believe that without equivocation that it does not? I would assert that there are people who are just as close minded about the possibility the examples that you gave as there are people who are close minded about the impossibility of the examples. --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 23:08, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

: But look at the definition of openmindedness, "a genuine willingness to consider the evidence before rejecting an idea." That's the difference.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:47, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

:: You've got the Shroud of Turin as an example. What is your stance on that? What evidence have you considered? If presented with evidence to the contrary, are you willing to change your mind? The last two questions are potentially critical ones. This is not something that someone can eaisly say "your OMQ is such and such based on this test." What about situations where there is not 'evidence' to be considered? There are a multitude of social issues out there that people feel quite strongly upon with very little open mindedness on either side. One extreme difficulty with this test is that the questions can very easily be weighted to one political view or another to make it look like the other side are a bunch of close minded fools. --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 23:59, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

::: No, I think the three questions are simple and straightforward. We can elaborate a bit as follows:

'''Have you seriously considered the evidence for this idea?'''
:1a. If no, then is that because you have never heard of it?
::1aa. If if you have never heard of it, then will you seriously consider the evidence?
::1ab. If you have heard of it, but have never seriously considered the evidence, then on this question you lose a point for lack of openmindedness.
:2b. If yes, then how much time have you spent reviewing the evidence? What evidence did you look at?
::2ba. If less than 1 hour, then you lose a point for lack of openmindedness.
::2bb. If more than 1 hour, then you gain a point for openmindedness.

(the time period may vary depending on the complexity of the topic).--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 00:15, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

:Now that's getting much closer to a suitable test. I'm glad you put that last point in; before I read it, my reaction was, "but one hour may not always be appropriate".
:Another thought that needs developing: There are lots of things that I won't spend the time considering, simply because I don't have the time. But in those cases, I try not to criticise the idea because I haven't properly considered it. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 05:52, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

: Good point. I'll incorporate all these concepts now.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:12, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

: I have a question about your 1ab point. If for example, someone says no, they haven't seriously considered the evidence for the Shroud of Turin, but have heard of it, how does that make them less open minded? What if to that person the topic is just not found to be very interesting, and they prefer to spend time researching topics that are more interesting to them? --[[User:Colest|Colest]] 10:23, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

:: OK, in that case the follow-up question should be whether the person forms an opinion for himself about this topic without looking at the evidence. If the answer is yes, then that is quintessential closemindedness. I'll update the content page based on your excellent point.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:26, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

Something else I think you have to consider with this kind of test is that it is easy to misrepresent yourself on it. I believe "openmindedness" to be a trait which most people would deem to be a good trait. Therefore going into this exam, people will want the outcome to give them a more favorable score so it is heavily reliant on the test takers being 100% accurate in their responses. Whereas with an IQ test, you are asked questions with definitive answers where you either know the answer, or you don't. --[[User:Colest|Colest]] 10:33, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

: Good point, but asking about specific amounts of time spent considering the evidence would seem to minimize the problem you describe. If further precautions are warranted, then follow-up questions about when, where, what, how could be asked concerning reviewing evidence. In fact, I'll add that now.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:52, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

:: Colest, you've done a better job then I could've explaining why I'm dubious (but not shut-off to the idea) about this test. If it is subjective enough that a person can misrepresent himself, are we really quantifying anything with this score? That political compass thing that some CPers advertise their scores from is neat and all, but I'd never try to use the number in any meaningful way.

::If this is just a conversation starter then cool, but from the other endeavors Andy is involved in that sounds a little trivial to me. [[User:Aziraphale|Aziraphale]] 20:32, 2 July 2007 (EDT) ''<- pursuing the trivial...''

== Example Questions and Topics ==

I see a couple of problems with the topics section of this essay. The first concern is a minor one. You have, as an example, “For example, did our subject think that President Ronald Reagan's exhortation, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this [Berlin] wall!" was an impossibility?” But, properly, speaking, it is not a statement that can be examined as a possibility (or impossibility) , since imperatives are neither true nor false. A better way to word this question would be, “When President Regan told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, did you think that it was impossible for the Berlin Wall to be torn down?” Of course, this is not an especially good measure in the present, since, most people will report that they thought it was possible (even if they did not at the time, as people tend to misremember their past, to bring their past in line with there present reality).

The second problem I see is that the questions, as they now stand will clearly skew the results toward Conservatives being more open-minded—questions asking whether conservatives are open to liberal ideas should be included to make sure that the data is not inadvertently slanted. For example, “Did our subject think, or still think, that his/her understanding of the Bible may be wrong?” “Did our subject think, or still think, that evolution is possible?” “Did our subject think, or still think, that human behavior could warm the global climate?” and “Did our subject think, or still think, that homosexuality could be a natural behavior?”--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 11:26, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

: You rewording of the Reagan is longer, but fine. I'll change it per your comment.

: I think we should add liberal-oriented questions. But your examples do not focus on a belief in impossibility, which is the essential element here. Perhaps you'd like to refine some liberal questions that ask about impossibility, for me to add?--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:00, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

::I’ll take a second stab at it:
::“Does our subject think that it is impossible that evolution could have occurred?”
::“Does our subject think that it is impossible that he/she could be mistaken about the truth of the Bible?” (I rather like this one as it cuts both ways, a believer is (implicitly) being asked if he/she thinks that atheism or some other religion could possibly be true, while a non-believer is asked if he/she thinks Christianity could be true.)
::“Does our subject think that it is impossible that homosexuality is a natural behavior?”
::“Does our subject think that it is impossible that the global climate is currently warming as a result of human behavior?”
::How do those look to you? --[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 23:04, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

::: Those questions look fine to me. Some further refinements to limit them to facts might be helpful. But basically they look OK, and I'll add them.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 00:09, 10 May 2007 (EDT)

:::: Couldn't this method of quantifying openmindedness be manipulated to receive any set of desired results? For example, if I was to ask "does our subject think that it is impossible for God to exist", then I could automatically chalk up one closed-mindedness point from anybody who is a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. There are bound to be many questions like this, no? --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 17:43, 13 May 2007 (EDT)

:For all queries for 'do you believe it is imposssible that x' there should be a matching 'do you believe that it is possible that not x'. X then merely has to cover all ideological issue. You could even have some a priori ones as control questions. {{unsigned|Lookamoose}}

== Curious About... ==

So, there's a conversation on the Main Page that directs to this essay; it's an interesting read. However, the poster is asked "By the way, what's your score on Essay:Quantifying Openmindedness?" I thought I'd be better able to follow the conversation if I found out my own score. Am I missing a link or something? I don't see any way that I can derive a score.

I have to admit, at the risk of sounding close-minded, I'm dubious about coming up with a useful measurement. That said, here I am, checking out the source. I'll even give it more than an hour. [[User:Aziraphale|Aziraphale]] 10:41, 2 July 2007 (EDT) ''<-An open mind and a closed parentheses''

: I suspect your real objection is to trying at all. Six questions are posted. What's your score on those six?--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:49, 2 July 2007 (EDT)

:: *blink* Andy, you and I have actually agreed on things on the front page. I know we're not of one mind on a lot of things (and I really do worry about isolating rather than engaging, but I know you'd disagree on that characterization), and I know you're too busy to remember who's who all the time (and I'm a pretty minor poster, I know), but an aggressive stance seems unwarranted.

:: Anyway, here are my answers:

:: 1) No, but to be fair I wasn't particularly engaged in national and world affairs back then so I shouldn't get too much credit for that.

::: Evidence issue - maybe I'm favoring myself, but I choose not to deduct a point for failing to look at the evidence when it wasn't a conscious decision; I barely noticed the event taking place.

:: 2) I never thought it was impossible. I have no advanced scientific knowledge so it would be ludicrous for me to assume that a technology is or is not possible. It actually sounds simple to me, but I've been told that it's harder than it looks.

::: Evidence issue - if I'm reading the essay correctly, I lose a point for having heard of the issue but not investigating the evidence, even though I agree it's possible. Is that correct?

:: 3) Sure it can be authentic. There's a lot stranger things in the world than that.

::: Evidence issue - Same as #2. I accept the possibility but haven't looked into it. Do I lose a point?

:: 4) I don't think the speed of light changing over time is impossible. I also don't know the arguments for or against it.

::: Evidence issue - same as #3.

:: 5) I don't think it's impossible, but of course as I mentioned before I'm dubious. If you're interested in the conversation I'll tell you why, but you haven't asked and I won't assume.

::: Evidence issue - well, I'm working on it right now, so this would be incomplete.

:: 6) Depends on how far you want to split hairs here. If you mean the evolution vs. creation debate, I absolutely accept the possibility that we were Created. If you mean ANY evolution whatsoever... well, I guess I live by "never say never" but we're talking about a very low level of accepting the possibility.

::: Evidence issue - Not to split hairs again, but on the one hand I've clocked in many hours going to church, reading books, and browsing sites like this one. On the other hand, I'm not particularly interested in the evolution debate, so I haven't tried to digest all of the arguments. So... point? No point? Again, I accept the premise, so it seems kind of moot.

:: So, my raw score for accepting the ideas presented is either 5 or 6, depending on how you score #6. Depending on how you adjust for the follow-up questions, my score ranges from 1 to 7 (and possibly 8 depending on how long this goes on).

:: [[User:Aziraphale|Aziraphale]] 11:36, 2 July 2007 (EDT) ''<- my mind is open, but there's a bouncer''

== Definition ==
I see Andy "removed claims that no scientists or significant groups support". Perhaps "openmindness" should be redefined as a genuine willingness to consider the evidence ''for an idea that scientists and significant groups support'' before rejecting the idea. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 21:12, 2 July 2007 (EDT)

: Insert "some" before scientists and "or" rather than "and", which would be consistent with the quote above, and I wouldn't object to that modified definition: a genuine willingness to consider the evidence ''for an idea that some scientists or significant groups support''--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:22, 2 July 2007 (EDT)

:: Define it any way you want. But as it is, your questions don't really match your definition. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 03:01, 3 July 2007 (EDT)

==new question==

We need a question in this essay that asks the user if they believe it is possible that God doesn't exist. This question drives to the heart of open-mindedness. Please do not remove it without legitimate discussion. --[[User:AntnyGonzo|AntnyGonzo]] 19:34, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

:No, Gonzo...YOU will ask the author of the essay first if you can alter it. As far as I'm concerned, you have no authorization to alter an essay of any kind. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 19:36, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

:And why do we need such a question?
:FYI, the question you pose runs entirely counter to the thrust of the essay. An essay is not an ordinary article. It is an original work. As such, it is for the author of that original work to decide whether to include anything or not.
:Publish your question here, by all means--and be prepared to take criticism as to the appropriateness of the question.
:But '''you''' do not unilaterally change the essayist's work. If you are serious about whether being open-minded means deciding that God need not exist, write your own essay. But don't go ruining someone else's.--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]][[User talk:TerryH|Talk]] 19:38, 25 July 2007 (EDT)
::The user has been indef blocked, anyway. [[User:AManInBlack|AManInBlack]] 19:39, 25 July 2007 (EDT)
:::So he has. But I'll let my comment stand anyway, as a warning to anyone who might feel the slightest temptation to repeat his bad example.--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]][[User talk:TerryH|Talk]] 19:41, 25 July 2007 (EDT)
:::Gonzo's demand was we talk about his "alteration" on the talk page only, rather than him bring it up on the talk page, ar ask the author if he could change it first. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 19:43, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

::The essay started with the request ''comments or improvements welcome'' [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Essay:Quantifying_Openmindedness&diff=250174&oldid=146961]. [[User:JohnMalin|JohnMalin]] 19:50, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

:::Yes it did, but since it's an essay, those comments or improvements needed to be posted and disgussed on the talk page. Gonzo was more willing to shoot first and aks questions later. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 19:55, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

Ok, well I'm interested in the discussion that was so poorly started. I don't really care if the question is about the existence of God, since that's probably a lightning rod of argument, but with the possible exception of the last question about the precision of Newtonian gravity, and I don't understand it so I say "possible", all of those questions clearly drive at "ok, lib, you really think you're open-minded?"

I believe that the Essay would benefit from example questions like "Is it possible that President Bush knowingly presented misleading evidence to the nation, rather than by mistake?" or "Do you think that it is impossible that, through mistranslation or any other reason, the age of the Earth is misunderstood by Young Earth Creationists?" [[User:Aziraphale|Aziraphale]] 20:07, 25 July 2007 (EDT) ''<-ponderously...''

: I'm open to adding liberal questions. I deleted an earlier attempt to do this because the questions referred to crackpot theories for which there is neither scientific nor public support, like claiming that humans were populated by UFOs from outer space.

: I don't have any problem with the questions posed by Aziraphale above as part of a test of open-mindedness.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:42, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

== The gravity question ==

I just wanted to point out that this may not be a very good measure of open mindedness. 2 and 2.00001 are arbitrary numbers, yes, but that isn't why there is an inverse square relation ship. The square of the radius in this case comes from a derivation which is a direct result of geometry. That is to say, it isn't that the variable R was saddled with some arbitrarily accurate exponent, it specifically means that the equation holds that the value of R must be multiplied by itself. If I may use a thread of logic common at conservapedia, 1+1=2, not 2.0001. Likewise, r*r=r2 not r2.00001

Open mindedness is all well and good, but I feel this question overreaches a bit, considering the fact that this proportionality holds definitively that the exponent is exactly 2.

: Thanks for your comment, but your remarks serve to illustrate how this question exposes close-mindedness. Gravity is a physical phenomenon. It's observed, not derived. Many people are trained (by atheists) to think that physics ''must'' be a certain way, rather than observing with an open mind what it actually is. Those who insist that physics must conform to mathematical expectations are ... unjustifiably closed-minded.

: Open your mind and you'll never want to go back.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 14:13, 14 February 2009 (EST)

:: Just to clarify, as the above user mentioned, the law of gravity is an inverse square law for a specific geometric reason. If you envision a gravitational field as a series of concentric spheres radiating outward from a body, you will see that as the surface areas of the spheres become progressively larger, the gravitational force must be spread over a greater area, and will therefore be weaker. The fact that the exponent is 2 comes from the fact that the surface area of a sphere varies with the square of the radius, not with the 2.00001th power of the radius.

:: I agree with you that observations do not always agree perfectly with theoretical models, but this is because the universe does not behave in an ideal mathematical way. Other forces (such as the gravitational fields from other planets) require that correction factors be introduced to adjust the result given by a physical equation. This does not mean the equation is wrong, only that it isn't complex enough to account for everything that is at work. Hope this helps. --[[User:Economist|Economist]] 18:29, 14 February 2009 (EST)

::: It does help ... illustrate your closed-mindedness. The "law of gravity" is a physical observation, not a postulate of Euclid. Only the closed-minded would insist that gravity cannot be inversely proportional to r2.00001. Open your mind and you'll agree. Don't and you won't.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]]

::::The essay specifically says "Newtonian gravity", not "the law of gravity" (whatever that might be). In Newtonian gravity the force absolutely has to be inverse square; as was pointed out above it's a direct and simple consequence of the fact that the area of a sphere is proportional to radius squared. The same applies for other classical field theories, such as classical electromagnetism (eg, the Coulomb attraction between two point charges is inverse square). But "Newtonian gravity" is not the same thing as "the way gravity really works" - we have General Relativity after all, and doubtlessly other successful theories of gravity will be developed in future. [[User:BrianW|BrianW]] 07:13, 15 February 2009 (EST)

::::: Your comment misses the point. The phrase "Newtonian gravity" illustrates that we're talking about the law of gravity as being in rough proportion to one over distance squared. If you insist that it must be ''precisely'' r-squared, as you seem to, then your mind is inexplicably closed. Open it, and your only regret will be that you didn't open it sooner.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 08:48, 15 February 2009 (EST)

:::::No Andy, you're the only one missing anything here. The phrase "Newtonian gravity" means something very specific, which is a theoretical framework which leads directly to the consequence that force is inversely proportional to distance squared. Newton didn't just randomly pick 2 as the power because he felt like it; it is an immediate consequence of developing a classical field theory in a 3D space. By definition, if you had a law of gravity that isn't inverse-square (and you will note that I never claimed such a thing was impossible) then it isn't Newtonian gravity. [[User:BrianW|BrianW]] 09:00, 15 February 2009 (EST)

:::::: Brian, it's a fool's errand to argue with a closed-minded person, and I'm not interested in nitpicky semantics to justify it. Are you willing to admit that gravity, an observed phenomenon, could vary with the inverse of r2.00001? Euclidian geometry does not define gravity, and it's close-minded for anyone to imply that it does.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 09:11, 15 February 2009 (EST)

:::::::Yes, I agree it is entirely possible that the way gravity works in our universe is something other than an exact inverse-square law. I was only trying to point out that Newtonian gravity is a specific physical theory and also part of a specific theoretical framework. I don't see how using technical definitions in a precise and well-defined way is nit-picking: "gravity" and "Newtonian gravity" are not the same thing. [[User:BrianW|BrianW]] 09:14, 15 February 2009 (EST)

:::::::: Brian, you haven't admitted that "gravity, an observed phenomenon, could vary with the inverse of r2.00001."

:::::::: I'm not going to waste any more time debating with a closed mind. Please contribute to the encyclopedia, but I'm not optimistic about your ability to add insights. Godspeed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 09:55, 15 February 2009 (EST)

:::::::::I never attempted to claim that mathematics "defines" physics, only that mathematical models are developed to describe physical behavior. Once again, I agree with you that real-world observations necessitate refinements to these models, but this does not invalidate the models themselves. I fail to see why this makes me "close-minded." We must understand gravity fairly well if we can land rovers on Mars! --[[User:Economist|Economist]] 23:56, 15 February 2009 (EST)

==Unclear questions==

Interesting idea, I answered the questions. However there are two questions that are not completely clear:
8, "Do you think that there ''must'' be a material explanation for remarkable homing and migration behavior of birds and butterflies?" ''Material'' is unclear. Of course there is some physical ability that they have that allows them to home, so do you mean "naturalistic" instead, as in shaped without God?

11, "Do you think that it is possible that evolution did not occur?" I take it you mean universal common descent, so perhaps it should read "...that the theory of evolution is false?" Evolution is a vague term and it encompasses speciation and descent with modification, which are accepted by virtually everyone. [[User:AddisonDM|AddisonDM]] 13:23, 29 May 2009 (EDT)

: Your point about question 8 is interesting, but I don't see how use of the term "naturalistic" improves it. Everyone understands what "material explanation" means, but "naturalistic" is far from clear. The question is whether the homing must be guided by something material, such as magnetism, or can it be guided by non-material phenomena, such as intelligent design that might allow for abstract programming features or divine guidance or another mechanism that transcends materialism.

: As to question 11, I think the term "evolution" is widely understood to have the meaning that Darwin used for it. I realize that some have attempted to change its meaning to salvage the concept, such as redefining evolution to be any change, but I'm reluctant to use jargon like "universal common descent" rather than commonly understood terminology. Perhaps a footnote could explain further, which you're welcome to add!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 18:31, 29 May 2009 (EDT)

==Unjustified Edit?==
Regarding Question Two ("# Have you ever admitted that something you accepted for over a decade is, in fact, completely false? "), I reversed the question to "Have you ever realized that something you accepted for over a decade was, in fact, completely false?" and it was reverted as an unjustified edit. I did this because a yes means closed-minded, while accepting and admitting that you have changed your mind on one of your long-term beliefs is more openminded. It´s the same question, but phrased differently so it doesn´t corrupt the taker´s score. [[User:MaryC|MaryC]] 17:43, 12 June 2009 (EDT)

:You're right about the need to reverse the question to avoid corrupting the score. Thank you. I've made that change. But the reason for the reversion is that you conditioned the question on a realization. It is the closed mind that refuses to attain that realization, so that condition had to be reverted.

:Thanks for your insightful edit and comment.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 19:23, 12 June 2009 (EDT)

== Just my answers, for fun! ==

1. No, of course not.
2. A decade ago, I was 13... so, no
3. Who would? I'VE never been to jail, unlike basically every celebrity I can name.
4. What's that town in Montana with MANDATORY gun ownership, and ZERO crime?
5. I was 11 months old.
6. I thought SDI was demonstrated to work - haven't we shot down satellites? Haven't the Chinese, as well?
7. I think it is unlikely, not impossible. I've researched it a bit.
8. I think there must be an explanation, material or not.
9. No, but I think if it was there would be evidence, possibly evidence we have yet to find.
10. You can obviously measure it - take a man like [[Lee Strobel]], compare to [[Richard Dawkins]]... there ya go!
11. It is possible, yes.
12. Actually, yes, I do think this is impossible. Very simply, because the power of 2 wasn't arrived at by experimentation or observation, but by pure hard logic. Additionally, in Newtonian gravity, it is 2 - that is part of what defines Newtonian gravity. If it wasn't 2, then we wouldn't be talking about Newtonian gravity anymore.
13. A lot of what I was taught was definitely false.
14. There may be elements of Catholicism which are false, but on the whole, I'm pretty committed to it.

I just did this for fun, don't go jumping down my throat for anything! [[User:JacobB|JacobB]] 19:40, 1 October 2009 (EDT)

: You're open-minded. Congratulations! (I altered two of the questions since you responded.)

: I do think it is quite possible that the power of 2 in Newtonian gravity is not precisely exact, and that a slight deviation from 2 (such as 2.0000001) is to be expected. The physical world is not a perfect in a mathematical sense.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 23:05, 1 October 2009 (EDT)

:: Hmmm, that's an interesting question. It seems to me that the power of 2 would be forced to be exact if we take two other facts for granted, which seem plausible:
* The universe is a 3-dimensional Euclidean space
* Gravitational fields are divergence-free away from a source. This physically means that there is no contribution to the gravitational field of a mass from any point that's not part of the mass.
::This is basically a consequence of the [[divergence theorem]] (if I'm thinking straight). These are both basic tenets of the Newtonian picture. It's really not possible to do Newtonian mechanics where gravity is an inverse-2.00001 law: it would look to bodies as if gravitational force was being exerted by a body outside the mass in question! Similarly the fact that Coulomb's law is precisely an inverse-square law is a consequence of Gauss's law, which also follows from very basic assumptions. On the other hand, Newtonian physics isn't exact in the first place. I think I have read that gravity seems to be weaker than an inverse square law over extremely large distances (on the astronomical scale). This is because of some non-Newtonian, and perhaps not fully understood, physics. But there's no way to describe gravity in GR by something as simple as an inverse-square law anyway! --[[User:MarkGall|MarkGall]] 23:31, 1 October 2009 (EDT)

That's a great analysis, Mark. Even before the invention of calculus, Newton figured this with basic geometry, on the assumption that the force of gravity caused by a point mass would be the same in any direction, that is, at any other point at some distance from the mass. This logically means the force would be spread out equally over a sphere at a given radius r. Then the strength of the force at a point at radius r would be some "inherent" strength, divided by the area of the sphere. The surface area of a sphere is 4*pi*r^2. That is where the exponent 2 comes from.
That formula for the area is geometric; the exponent couldn't possibly be anything other than 2.
ON THE OTHER HAND, this is all in Newtonian gravity. In GR, a derivation of the exponents works similarly, but the possibility of them being slightly off 2 is equally remote, that is, 0, but even then, GR is not an ultimate formulation of gravity. Who knows how the world really works. [[User:JacobB|JacobB]] 23:53, 1 October 2009 (EDT)

:::::Ah, that's a better way to picture it, no need for calculus. Thanks for sharing. If only I were as smart as Newton! --[[User:MarkGall|MarkGall]] 23:58, 1 October 2009 (EDT)

::: This question is a very interesting one, but I think you'll agree after pondering it further that there is no logical obstacle to observing a gravitational force that proportional to the inverse of, say, 2.0000001. Math is fine for what it does, but mathematical elegance does not dictate physical laws.

::: Invariably math/physics types initially insist that it must be precisely 2 in order to make the integrals work nicely. But physical observation is what counts, and there is no logical obstacle to mathematical inelegance. Thanks for discussing this.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 23:56, 1 October 2009 (EDT)

:::: Mark and Jacob, I encourage you to ponder this question (#12) further. I do think that an insistence on mathematical elegance as dictating physical phenomenon cannot withstand scrutiny.

:::: God and logic define nature, not mathematical elegance. We have to observe first, and then come up with the best math to describe the observations. There is no logical problem to 2.0000001 here. Indeed, I find it implausible to expect that exponent to be precisely 2 for our calculating convenience.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:22, 2 October 2009 (EDT)

::: I am afraid we will have to agree to disagree on this one. Is it '''possible''' that the exponent is slightly more or less than 2? Of course it is, although the difference would be amazingly small for us not to have noticed it by now. Is it likely? Well as I've said, we'll have to agree to disagree. [[User:JacobB|JacobB]] 00:29, 2 October 2009 (EDT)

:::: I think there was a physics paper published about a hundred years ago indicating that an observed anomaly in orbits could be explained by an exponential like 2.000001. But mathematical physicists instinctively oppose the suggestion, just as we've seen here, and moved to relativity theories rather than explore this further. After all, who would expect to win a Nobel Prize for explaining anomalies in orbit with such an inelegant approach!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:33, 2 October 2009 (EDT)
:::::If I understand correctly, it is claimed that relativity accounts for the red shift of light from deep-space objects. Would a variation in the exponent do the same? (Tapering off of gravitational wells at a distance would mean that photons would lose energy approaching us, thus drop in frequency) [[User:DouglasA|DouglasA]] 00:41, 2 October 2009 (EDT)

::::::I don't mean to argue that it's a priori impossible that the exponent isn't exactly 2. My point is that the strength of gravity is something that's closely tied to the geometry of space, it's not just an arbitrary constant. In Newtonian mechanics, space is flat, and there's no escaping an inverse square law. If the exponent weren't exactly 2, this would just mean that space isn't quite flat. That certainly doesn't imply that the theory is wrong: relativity too is just another prediction of how space is curved! DouglasA, I'm not a physicist by any means, but that sounds plausible to me. The effect in either case would really be the same phenomenon: deviations from a flat Newtonian universe.

::::::Mr. Schlafly, I don't know about the paper you cite, but I believe there was another paper just a couple years ago arguing that redshift observations imply that gravity isn't an inverse-square law on very large scales. I'll see if I can't dig it up. --[[User:MarkGall|MarkGall]] 01:01, 2 October 2009 (EDT)

==Test Answers==
1. No. And I don't resist admitting the idea that a liberal, libertarian or etc., education is far more effective than a conservative education.

2. No. I have done this more than once throughout my life with religious and political philosophies.

3. No. Just as any value system has the possibility of harming different people, whether it's Hollywood values, so-called family values, religious values, secular values, etc.

4. No. The crime rate is affected by many variables, and using a simplistic statistic like gun ownership to predict causation for overall crime rates is nonsense. For example, private gun ownership or a lack thereof will not affect tax cheats.

5. No. People and societies have overcome barriers like the Berlin Wall many times before.

6. No. SDI was never impossible, yet much of the technology was not practical at the time. Even today some of the technology is still in the concept or development stage.

7. No. But there is very little evidence that shows the shroud was not painted by an artist. That is why many people accept the Shroud on faith.

8. No. But there is plenty of natural evidence that birds use landmarks and natural direction finding to navigate.

9. No. The speed of light in a vacuum may have been different in the past, for example, just after the Big Bang. But there is no convincing evidence that I know of that demonstrates the speed of light has changed over the past millennia.

10. No. But using a biased simplistic test is not the way to go about it.

11. No. There may be another explanation for life on Earth besides evolution, but the convincing evidence is not there according to 99% of the world's biologists.

12. No. There is a difference between 2 and 2.00000001, but why make things more difficult than what they already are? In other words, my 20 mile trip to work would be 25 thousands of an inch longer or shorter if we used such maddening precision.

13. No. No one person or organization is correct all the time. I have known for years some of what I was taught in class was false and I suspect the teachers knew it was because they were required to teach the material.

According to Conservapedia standards, I am a very open-minded person.
--[[User:MichaelJB|MichaelJB]] 12:47, 2 October 2009 (EDT)

William Safire

2009-09-30T00:21:40Z

MichaelJB: New Article

'''William Lewis Safire'''(December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009) was an [[American]] [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning columnist, author, and journalist.

Safire, a member of the [[Republican]] party and a self-described conservative libertarian,<ref>http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1926424,00.html</ref> was most widely known as a partisan columnist for the New York Times.<ref>http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/william_safire/index.html</ref>

==Awards==
Pulitzer Prize, 1978 <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,556185,00.html</ref>

Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2006 <ref>http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/william_safire/index.html</ref>

==Books==
The Relations Explosion: The Coming Boom and Shakeout in Corporate Relations (1963)
Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House (1975)
Full Disclosure (1977, novel)
Safire's Political Dictionary (1978)
William Safire on Language (1980)
Safire's Washington (1980)
What's the Good Word? (1982)
I Stand Corrected: More on Language (1984)
Take My Word for It (1986)
Freedom: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (1987)
You Could Look It Up: More on Language from William Safire (1988)
Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage (1990)
Language Maven Strikes Again (1990)
Coming To Terms (1991)
The First Dissident: The Book of Job In Today's Politics (1992)
Old Books Have a Future (1993)
Quoth the Maven: More on Language from William Safire (1993)
In Love with Norma Loquendi (1994)
Sleeper Spy: A Novel of Deception (1995, novel)
Watching My Language: Adventures in the Word Trade (1997)
Spread the Word (1999)
Scandalmonger (2000, novel)
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time (2004)<ref>http://www.nndb.com/people/317/000023248/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Climate agenda

2009-09-29T23:36:45Z

MichaelJB: Added reference paragraph

'''Climate change''' is the collective term for the the alleged effects of [[global warming]]. These effects include warming temperatures, changing weather patterns, an increase in sea level and in general any climate event affected by global warming.<ref>http://chaser.env.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~kengo/lec/IPCC_TAR-FRONT.pdf</ref>

'''Climate change''' is one of the top [[Environmental Issues|environmental issues]], with [[liberal]]s and [[conservative]]s evenly divided on whether recent [[global warming]] is more natural or man-made.

Jack M. Hollander wrote:
*The planet has warmed since the mid-1800s, but before that it cooled for more than five centuries. Cycles of warming and cooling have been part of Earth's natural [[climate history]] for millions of years. So what is the [[global warming debate]] about? It's about the proposition that human use of [[fossil fuels]] has contributed significantly to the past century's warming, and that expected future warming may have catastrophic global consequences. But hard evidence for this human contribution simply does not exist; the evidence we have is suggestive at best. Does that mean the human effects are not occurring? Not necessarily. But [[media coverage]] of global warming has been so alarmist that it fails to convey how flimsy the evidence really is. Most people don't realize that many strong statements about a human contribution to global warming are based more on [[politics]] than on [[science]]. Indeed, the climate change issue has become so highly [[Politicization of science|politicized]] that its scientific and political aspects are now almost indistinguishable. <ref>[http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-2875898_ITM Global Warming: Both Sides] </ref>

==Environmentalism and climate change==
The main contention of [[environmentalist]]s like [[Al Gore]] is the argument that:
#The earth's atmosphere warmed one or two degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 Centigrade) during the 20th century.
#Most of this warming is man-made.
#The warming is likely to continue and to be harmful to human, animal and plant life.
#We must all work together to stop it by reducing emission of [[greenhouse gases]].

==Science and climate change==

Jack M. Hollander wrote:

:... climate change remains a fascinating and important scientific subject. Climate dynamics and climate history are extraordinarily complex, and despite intensive study for decades, scientists are not yet able to explain satisfactorily such basic phenomena as extreme weather events ([[hurricane]]s, [[tornado]]es, [[drought]]s), El Nino variations, historical [[climate cycles]], and trends of [[atmospheric temperature]]s. The scientific uncertainties about all these matters are great, and not surprisingly, competent scientists disagree in their interpretations of what is and is not known. [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-2875898_ITM]

William Happer wrote:
:The current debates about global climate change are complicated by our not understanding the physics of the sun or of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans well enough to dismiss them as major causes of climate change on the earth. Dramatic climate changes like the [[medieval warm period]] at the time of the [[Viking]] settlements of [[Iceland]] and [[Greenland]] from about a.d. 900 to 1250, and the subsequent “little ice age,” from about 1250 to 1700, which led to extinction of the Greenland settlements, were certainly not caused by manmade changes in the concentration of [[carbon dioxide]] in the atmosphere. [http://media.hoover.org/documents/0817939326_27.pdf]

==See also==
*[[anthropogenic global warming]]

==Links==
*[http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-2875898_ITM Global warming: both sides]

[[Category:Environmentalism]]

==References==
<references/>