Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Charles Ives

2011-05-05T23:47:45Z

STramp: /* List of Works */

'''Charles Ives''', born Danbury, CT 20 Oct, 1874, died [[New York]], 19 May, 1954, was an [[American]] composer of classical [[music]] whose music is impossible to categorize. While some early songs and his First Symphony are relatively traditional in style and content, he is better-known for his pieces which defy the musical convention. There is no single systematic style. Pieces range from the completely atonal to almost conventional nationalistic, to ragtime, to music that utilizes two keys and two rhythms at once. He even suggested that the orchestra improvise. Perhaps the single thread that connects much of his music is his emphasis on America. Descriptive pieces abound with titles like: “Central Park in the Dark”, “Three Places in New England”, “Concord” piano sonata and others. His setting of “America” (“My country, ‘tis of thee”), whilst written for organ, is well known in its orchestral setting.

Ives worked in insurance. Until ill health forced him to retire in his late forties he worked on his music at the weekend and he considered much of his music to have little chance of public performance. He only received general appreciation late in his life.

==List of Works==

*''Concord Sonata'' for piano
*''Three Places in New England''
*''Washington's Birthday''
*''The Unanswered Question'' (tone poem)
*Four finished symphonies
*Five Sonatas for violin and piano
*Over 200 songs

==Sources==

"Ives, Charles Edward." The New College Encyclopedia of Music. 1976.
Groves Dictionary of Music

{{DEFAULTSORT: Ives, Charles}}
[[Category: Composers]]

Charles Ives

2011-05-05T23:47:02Z

STramp:

'''Charles Ives''', born Danbury, CT 20 Oct, 1874, died [[New York]], 19 May, 1954, was an [[American]] composer of classical [[music]] whose music is impossible to categorize. While some early songs and his First Symphony are relatively traditional in style and content, he is better-known for his pieces which defy the musical convention. There is no single systematic style. Pieces range from the completely atonal to almost conventional nationalistic, to ragtime, to music that utilizes two keys and two rhythms at once. He even suggested that the orchestra improvise. Perhaps the single thread that connects much of his music is his emphasis on America. Descriptive pieces abound with titles like: “Central Park in the Dark”, “Three Places in New England”, “Concord” piano sonata and others. His setting of “America” (“My country, ‘tis of thee”), whilst written for organ, is well known in its orchestral setting.

Ives worked in insurance. Until ill health forced him to retire in his late forties he worked on his music at the weekend and he considered much of his music to have little chance of public performance. He only received general appreciation late in his life.

==List of Works==

*''Concord Sonata'' for piano
*''Three Places in New England''
*''Washington's Birthday''
*''The Unanswered Question'' (tone poem)
*Four finished Symphonies
*Five Sonatas for Violin and Piano
*Over 200 Songs

==Sources==

"Ives, Charles Edward." The New College Encyclopedia of Music. 1976.
Groves Dictionary of Music

{{DEFAULTSORT: Ives, Charles}}
[[Category: Composers]]

Certified

2011-05-05T23:42:18Z

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The term “'''certified'''” implies that the [[USDA]]’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Agriculture Marketing Service have officially evaluated a meat product for class, grade, or other quality characteristics (e.g., “Certified Angus Beef”). When used under other circumstances, the term must be closely associated with the name of the organization responsible for the “certification” process, e.g., “XYZ Company’s Certified Beef.”

"Certified" is also a slang term used to state that something is legitimate or accepted by the group in power.
==References==
[http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Help/A-Z_Index/index.asp USDA Index]

[[Category:Food Terms]]

Hepatitis B vaccine

2011-05-05T23:24:51Z

STramp: /* Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine and the risk of multiple sclerosis */

The '''Hepatitis B vaccine''' is a vaccine which is effective in preventing Hepatitis B in both pre and post exposure cases 80 - 95% of the time. Most states require that children be administered this vaccine before they are admitted to [[public school|public]] [[school]]. One study has proposed that the vaccine may increase the risk of [[multiple sclerosis]], though additional studies have not found any correlation, and neither the World Health Organization nor Centers for Disease Control regard the vaccine as unsafe, both of which recommend that all school children receive it.

France has opened a criminal investigation for manslaughter against managers in companies that promoted the Hepatitis B vaccine in that country, for allegedly concealing the adverse effects.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSL0173467120080201</ref>

==Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine and the risk of multiple sclerosis==
A 2004 study<ref>http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/63/5/838</ref> examined cases of 163 cases of MS and 1,604 controls. The OR of MS for vaccination within 3 years before the index date compared to no vaccination was 3.1 (95% CI 1.5, 6.3). No increased risk of MS was associated with tetanus and influenza vaccinations. The study concluded that the findings were consistent with the hypothesis that immunization with the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine is associated with an increased risk of MS, and challenged the idea that the relation between hepatitis B vaccination and risk of MS is well understood. However, seven separate studies of much larger sample sizes conducted between 1999 and 2001 found that any correlation between the hepatitis B vaccination and multiple sclerosis was statistically insignificant.<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/archive/multiplesclerosis_and_hep_b.htm</ref>

==References==
<references/>

== See also ==

[http://www.neurologyreviews.com/oct04/nr_oct04_newsroundup.html Neurology Reviews]

[[Category:Vaccines]]

Hepatitis B vaccine

2011-05-05T23:19:35Z

STramp:

The '''Hepatitis B vaccine''' is a vaccine which is effective in preventing Hepatitis B in both pre and post exposure cases 80 - 95% of the time. Most states require that children be administered this vaccine before they are admitted to [[public school|public]] [[school]]. One study has proposed that the vaccine may increase the risk of [[multiple sclerosis]], though additional studies have not found any correlation, and neither the World Health Organization nor Centers for Disease Control regard the vaccine as unsafe, both of which recommend that all school children receive it.

France has opened a criminal investigation for manslaughter against managers in companies that promoted the Hepatitis B vaccine in that country, for allegedly concealing the adverse effects.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSL0173467120080201</ref>

==Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine and the risk of multiple sclerosis==
A 2004 study<ref>http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/63/5/838</ref> examined cases of 163 cases of MS and 1,604 controls. The OR of MS for vaccination within 3 years before the index date compared to no vaccination was 3.1 (95% CI 1.5, 6.3). No increased risk of MS was associated with tetanus and influenza vaccinations. The study concluded that the findings were consistent with the hypothesis that immunization with the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine is associated with an increased risk of MS, and challenged the idea that the relation between hepatitis B vaccination and risk of MS is well understood. However, seven separate studies of much larger sample sizes conducted between 1999 and 2001 found that any correlation between Hepatitis B vaccination and multiple sclerosis was statistically insignificant.<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/archive/multiplesclerosis_and_hep_b.htm</ref>

==References==
<references/>

== See also ==

[http://www.neurologyreviews.com/oct04/nr_oct04_newsroundup.html Neurology Reviews]

[[Category:Vaccines]]

T.S. Eliot

2011-05-05T23:09:35Z

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[[Image:T S Eliot.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
'''Thomas Stearns Eliot''' (1888-1965) was an [[United States of America|American]]-born British poet, playwright, and literary critic. He was a dominant force in the English and American literary scene during the middle third of the twentieth century, and presented a powerful conservative voice. His poems include "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), "The Waste Land" (1922), and "The Journey of the Magi" (1927); his plays include "Murder in the Cathedral" (1935). His light verse book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" (1939), was later made into the hit musical "Cats" (1981). He studied at Oxford, Paris, and Harvard. He won the Nobel Prize for literature.

T. S. Eliot was born and grew up in St. Louis, [[Missouri]], and came from a prominent intellectual family of Yankee origins. In 1914 he moved to England.

In 1927 Eliot was baptized into the Church of England, became a subject of the king, began publishing essays by conservative thinkers, and proclaimed himself a "classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and anglo-catholic in religion." He became deeply involved in Church affairs and wrote a historical play about the Church, "Murder in the Cathedral," which was first performed in the chapter house of Canterbury Cathedral in June 1935.

Eliot's religious views are most notably contained in the poem ''Ash Wednesday'', which he wrote in 1927 after his conversion, as well as in the ''Four Quartets,'' which were four related poems published separately between 1935 and 1942, and republished in one volume in 1943. Their titles are ''Burnt Norton'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/norton.html</ref> ''East Coker'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/coker.html</ref> ''The Dry Salvages'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/salvages.html</ref> and ''Little Gidding''.<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/gidding.html</ref>

Eliot considered ''Four Quartets'' to be his masterpiece. It draws upon his three-decade-long study of mysticism and philosophy. Christian imagery and symbolism is abundant in the poems.

Notable plays include ''The Cocktail Party'', which concerns a group of contemporary people talking about their marital and other problems, and who are counseled by a mysterious character, ostensibly a psychiatrist, and ''Murder in the Cathedral'', which is about the death of [[Thomas Becket]].

== Excerpts ==

Some famous lines from T. S. Eliot that are often alluded to or quoted include:

:Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? 
:I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach 
:I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. 
:I do not think that they will sing to me. 
::(from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")<ref>http://www.artofeurope.com/eliot/eli1.htm</ref>

:This is the way the world ends 
:Not with a bang but a whimper. 
::(from "The Hollow Men")<ref>http://www.artofeurope.com/eliot/eli2.htm</ref>

:April is the cruellest month, breeding 
:Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing 
:Memory and desire, stirring 
:Dull roots with spring rain. 
::(from ''The Waste Land'')<ref>http://www.artofeurope.com/eliot/eli3.htm</ref>

:The whole earth is our hospital 
:Endowed by the ruined millionaire, 
:Wherein, if we do well, we shall 
:Die of the absolute paternal care 
:That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere. 
::(from ''East Coker'', ''Four Quartets'')<ref>http://www.ubriaco.com/fq.html</ref>
==Bibliography==
* Ackroyd, Peter. ''T.S. Eliot'' (1984), excellent scholarly biography
* Brand, Clinton A. "The Voice of This Calling: The Enduring Legacy of T. S. Eliot," ''Modern Age'' Volume 45, Number 4; Fall 2003 [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/45_04/brand.pdf online edition], conservative perspective
* Bush, Ronald. "Eliot, Thomas Stearns (1888–1965)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Sept 2004; online edn, May 2007; very good summary
* Calder, Angus. ''T.S. Eliot'' (1987), 184pp; short interpretive biography [http://www.questia.com/read/85871115?title=T.S.%20Eliot online edition]
* Gordon, Lyndall. ''T.S. Eliot: An Imperfect Life'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/T-S-Eliot-Imperfect-Lyndall-Gordon/dp/0393320936/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228759309&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Kenner, Hugh. ''The Invisible Poet'' (1960). by conservative critic
* Kimball, Roger. "A Craving for Reality: T.S. Eliot Today," ''New Criterion,'' Vol. 18, October 1999 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001820050?title=A%20Craving%20for%20Reality%3a%20T.S.%20Eliot%20Today online edition], by conservative critic
* Moody, A. David, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Eliot-Companions-Literature/dp/0521421276/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228759309&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* Tate, Allen, ed. ''T. S. Eliot: the man and his work'' (1967), by conservative critic
* Williamson, George. ''A Reader's Guide to T.S. Eliot: A Poem-By-Poem Analysis'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Guide-Eliot-Poem-Poem/dp/0815605005/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]

===Primary sources===
* Eliot, T.S. ''Collected Poems, 1909-1962'' (The Centenary Edition) (1991) [http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-1909-1962-Centenary-Eliot/dp/0151189781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228759309&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Eliot, T.S. ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Illustrated Edition'' (1982) [http://www.amazon.com/Possums-Book-Practical-Cats-Illustrated/dp/0151686564/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]
* Eliot, T.S. '' Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot'' ed. by Frank Kermode (1975) [http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Prose-T-S-Eliot-T/dp/0156806541/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]
* Eliot, T.S. '' The Waste Land'' (Norton Critical Editions) ed. by Michael North (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Waste-Land-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393974995/ref=pd_bbs_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* Eliot, T.S. '' Selected essays'' (1932); enlarged (1960)
* Eliot, T.S. ''The letters of T. S. Eliot,'' ed. Valerie Eliot, vol 1 (1988)

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.bartleby.com/198/1.html The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock]
*[http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html The Waste Land]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, Thomas Stearns}}
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Literature]]
[[category:Poets]]
[[category:Conservatives]]

Whooping crane

2011-05-05T23:01:53Z

STramp: grammar

{{Taxonomy
|name=Whooping crane
|image=Whooping crane.jpg
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Animalia
|subkingdom=Bilateria
|branch=Deuterostomia
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrata
|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=Tetrapoda
|class=Aves
|subclass=Neornithes
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|order=Gruiformes
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|family=Gruidae
|subfamily=Gruinae
|supertribe=
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|genus=Grus
|subgenus=
|species=G. americana
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|regionimg=WhoopingCraneRange.png
|pop=535 total birds, wild and captive (2010 est.)<ref>http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=B003</ref><ref>http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/143782/0</ref>
|conservation=Endangered
}}
The '''whooping crane''' (''Grus americana'') is a species of crane found only in North America. While they were never a common [[bird]], whooping cranes are currently extremely rare; the 500+ birds alive today - the subject of several intense, yet slow, breeding and management programs - are descendants of what was once a population of only 15 cranes which were found wintering in [[Texas]] in 1941.

==Description==
The whooping crane is the tallest North American bird. Males, which may approach 5 feet in height, are larger than females. Adults are snowy white except for black primary feathers on the wings and a bare red face and crown. The bill is a dark olive-gray, and becomes lighter during the breeding season. The eyes are yellow and the legs and feet are gray-black. Immature cranes are a reddish cinnamon color that results in a mottled appearance as the white feather bases extend. The juvenile plumage is gradually replaced through the winter months and becomes predominantly white by the following spring as the dark red crown and face appear. Yearlings achieve the typical adult appearance by late in their second summer or fall. The life span is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild. The common name "whooping crane" probably originated from the loud, single-note vocalization given repeatedly by the birds when they are alarmed.

==Range==
The whooping crane is a bi-annual migrant, traveling between its summer habitat in central Canada, and its wintering grounds on the Texas coast, across the Great Plains of the U.S. in the spring and fall of each year. The migratory corridor runs in an approximately straight line from the Canadian Prairie Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan through the Great Plains states of eastern Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The complete corridor is approximately 2,400 miles long by 220 miles wide, a zone that encompasses 95% of known sightings of whooping cranes. Autumn migration normally begins in mid-September, with most birds arriving on the Texas wintering grounds between late October and mid-November. Whooping cranes migrate south as singles, pairs, in family groups, or as small flocks of 3 to 5 birds. They are diurnal migrants and stop daily to feed and rest. Local weather conditions influence distance and direction of travel, but whooping cranes generally are capable of reaching the autumn staging grounds in the north central portion of the Saskatchewan agricultural area on the second day of migration, where they remain for 2 – 4 weeks. The remainder of the migration from Saskatchewan to the wintering grounds is usually rapid, probably weather-induced, and may be completed in a week. Whooping cranes occupy winter areas for almost half a year. Although close association with other whooping cranes is tolerated at times on the wintering grounds, pairs and family groups typically occupy and defend relatively discrete territories. As spring approaches, “dancing” behavior (running, leaping and bowing, unison calling, and flying) increases in frequency, and is indicative of pre-migratory restlessness. Spring migration departure dates are normally between March 25 and April 15, with the last birds usually leaving by May 1.

==Habitat==
The nesting area in Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada) is a poorly drained region interspersed with numerous potholes. Bulrush is the dominant emergent in the potholes used for nesting. On the wintering grounds at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, whooping cranes use the salt marshes that are dominated by salt grass, saltwort, smooth cordgrass, glasswort, and sea ox-eye. They also forage in the interior portions of the refuge, which are gently rolling, sandy, and are characterized by oak brush, grassland, swales, and ponds. Typical plants include live oak, redbay, Bermuda grass, and bluestem. The non-migratory, Florida release site at Kissimmee Prairie includes flat, open palmetto prairie interspersed with shallow wetlands and lakes. The primary release site has shallow wetlands characterized by pickerel weed, nupher, and maiden cane. Other habitats include dry prairie and flatwoods with saw palmetto, various grasses, scattered slash pine, and scattered strands of cypress. Areas selected for the proposed eastern migratory experimental population closely mimic habitat of the naturally occurring wild population in Canada and Texas.

==Diet==
Whooping cranes are omnivorous feeders. They feed on [[insects]], frogs, rodents, small birds, minnows, and berries in the summer. In the winter, they focus on predominantly animal foods, especially blue crabs and clams. They also, forage for acorns, snails, crayfish and insects in upland areas.

==Reproduction==
Whooping cranes are monogamous and form life-long pair bonds but will remate following the death of a mate. Whooping cranes return to the same breeding territory in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, in April and nest in the same general area each year. They construct nests of bulrush and lay one to three eggs, (usually two) in late April and early May. The incubation period is about 29 to 31 days. Whooping cranes will renest if the first clutch is lost or destroyed before mid-incubation. Both sexes share incubation and brood-rearing duties. Despite the fact that most pairs lay two eggs, seldom does more than one chick reach fledging. Autumn migration begins in mid-September, and most birds arrive on the wintering grounds of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast by late-October to mid-November. Whooping cranes migrate singly, in pairs, in family groups or in small flocks, and are sometimes accompanied by sandhill cranes. They are diurnal migrants, stopping regularly to rest and feed, and use traditional migration staging areas. On the wintering grounds, pairs and family groups occupy and defend territories. Subadults and unpaired adult whooping cranes form separate flocks that use the same habitat but remain outside occupied territories. Subadults tend to winter in the area where they were raised their first year, and paired cranes often locate their first winter territories near their parents' winter territory. Spring migration is preceded by dancing, unison calling, and frequent flying. Family groups and pairs are the first to leave the refuge in late-March to mid-April.

Juveniles and subadults return to summer in the vicinity of their natal area, but are chased away by the adults during migration or shortly after arrival on the breeding grounds. Only one out of four hatched chicks survive to reach the wintering grounds. Whooping cranes generally do not produce fertile eggs until age 4.

==Current status==
The whooping crane population, estimated at 500 to 700 individuals in 1870 declined to only 16 individuals in the migratory population by 1941 as a consequence of hunting and specimen collection, human disturbance, and conversion of the primary nesting habitat to hay, pasture land, and grain production. The main threat to whooping cranes in the wild is the potential of a hurricane or contaminant spill destroying their wintering habitat on the Texas coast. Collisions with power lines and fences are known hazards to wild whooping cranes. The primary threats to captive birds are disease and parasites. Bobcat predation has been the main cause of mortality in the Florida experimental population.

Rewards are being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction for the killer of three whooping cranes found dead from gunshot wounds near Albany, Georgia in December, 2010.<ref>http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2011/jan/13/fws-offers-reward-info-about-whooping-crane-killer-ar-1337588/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

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!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #F08080; color: black; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #F08080; color:black;"|License:
|style=" background-color: #F08080;"| Some of this work is in the '''Public Domain''' because it is a work of an agency under the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #F08080; color:black;"|Source:
|style="background-color: #F08080;border-top: 2px #DC143C"| File available from {{{1|[http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=B003][http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/aransas/whoopingcranes.html] }}}.
|}
[[Category:Birds]]

Gan Ning

2011-05-05T22:41:11Z

STramp:

'''Gan Ning''' ([[Simplified Chinese|Simplified]]: 甘柠; [[Traditional Chinese|Traditional]]: 甘檸; [[Hanyu Pinyin]]: Gān Níng) was an officer of the Eastern Wu during the [[Three Kingdoms]] period of [[China]].

Little is known about Gan Ning prior to his service under [[Sun Quan]]. He was initially assigned to protect [[Zhou Yu]] and his family. In 208, he was present when Zhou Yu and [[Zhuge Liang]] planned the fire attack on [[Cao Cao|Cao Cao's]] fleet. Gan Ning offered to lead one of the fire ships in the attack. Sun Quan accepted his offer, and Gan Ning was placed under [[Xing Ba]] in the fire ship unit. He was successful, but he did not survive the attack. He was either killed in the impact or drowned in the river during the chaos.

To commemorate his sacrifice, Sun Quan gave Gan Ning the posthumous title of Marquis.

[[Category:Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]

Iran-Contra affair

2011-05-05T22:38:38Z

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The '''Iran-Contra Affair''' (also sometimes called '''Iran-gate''') was the result of an arms deal between the [[United States]], [[Iran]] and the Nicaraguan [[Contras]], an anti-communist guerilla group operating against the [[Marxist]] government of [[Nicaragua]]. Essentially, arms were sold to Iran against an international embargo which was spearheaded just years earlier by the United States. The proceeds from this arms sale were then used to purchase additional arms for the Contras operating in the mountains of Nicaragua.

The scandal was first discovered by an assistant to Attorney General Ed Meese, who found a memorandum written by Lieutenant Colonel [[Oliver North]], which documented the diversion of funds to the Contras. After the discovery of the memorandum, President [[Ronald Reagan]] met with both houses of Congress to disclose their findings; he then asked for the appointment of an independent counsel<ref>''An American Life, The Autobiography of Ronald Reagan, pg. 530''</ref>.

In the opinion of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, who investigated the affair, under the Arms Export Control Act <ref> http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sup_01_22_10_39_20_II.html </ref> such sales to foreign powers not deemed under the term of the act friendly are illegal. <ref> http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm </ref> Payments to the Contras from the proceeds of private sales, while not illegal, in the opinion of critics were considered highly unethical. Later such arrangements were made explicitly illegal by the [[Boland amendment]] to the Federal Appropriation Bill. The independent counsel concluded that the Reagan administration misled congressional investigators and withheld documents: "large volumes of highly relevant, contemporaneously created documents were systematically and willfully withheld from investigators by several Reagan Administration officials" and "following the revelation of these operations in October and November 1986, Reagan Administration officials deliberately deceived the Congress and the public about the level and extent of official knowledge of and support for these operations."<ref>http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm</ref>

The week after the story was blown open by media outlets in the wake of midterm congressional elections after [[Democrats]] retook the Senate in November 1986, President Reagan returned to the airwaves to affirm that weapons were transferred to Iran, but he claimed they were not part of an exchange for hostages. In a speech in March of 1987, he acknowledged that the arms were in fact exchanged for hostages, saying that "what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages." <ref>http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/historicspeeches/reagan/irancontra.html</ref> The Reagan administration cooperated with the investigation, and no wrongdoing was ever proven. Reagan later stated in his autobiography that, "until Ed Meese uncovered North's memorandum, I had not heard a whisper about funds being channeled from the Iranian arms shipments to the Contras, and I would have not approved of it if anyone had suggested it to me....Yes, I believed in helping the Contras; ''but no one, including the President, is above the law''." <ref>''An American Life, The Autobiography of Ronald Reagan, pg. 542''</ref>

[[Michael Ledeen]] was an early player in the affair, and eventually arranged for arms sales to Iran though the Iranian arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. John Poindexter later resigned, but returned to work under [[George W. Bush]]'s administration. Oliver North was also a major player in the affair and was called upon to testify before Congress and was questioned for a number of days. His strong answers in the face of Congressional grilling led him to become a type of folk hero at Congress's expense. [[Caspar Weinberger]] was indicted, and pardoned by [[George H.W. Bush]].

==Sources==
*[http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9712/ch04p2.htm The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions], December 1997

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Iran]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:United States Political Scandals]]

User:STramp

2011-05-05T22:27:24Z

STramp: Created page with "Hi! I'm currently running short on knowledge, but I'm eager to learn."

Hi! I'm currently running short on knowledge, but I'm eager to learn.