Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Atheism and evolutionary racism

2011-05-12T23:34:07Z

StevenTramp: Created page with "Is it not purely opinion that Darwin's writings are "errant and ill founded"? I personally agree that they are, but does such language belong in an encyclopedia? ~~~~"

Is it not purely opinion that Darwin's writings are "errant and ill founded"? I personally agree that they are, but does such language belong in an encyclopedia? [[User:StevenTramp|StevenTramp]] 19:34, 12 May 2011 (EDT)

Suspect

2011-05-12T23:32:04Z

StevenTramp:

A '''suspect''' is someone who is thought to have committed a [[crime]]. There can be many suspects to a crime, both simultaneously and over the course of a [[police]] investigation.

[[Category:Crime]]

Jim Ronca

2011-05-12T23:30:52Z

StevenTramp:

'''Jim Ronca''' is a person who was promoted by the media and left-wing bloggers because he disagrees with [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] and the [[Republican Party]]'s policies. Ronca was originally touted as "a staunch Republican" by Jennifer Hunter of the [[Chicago]] Sun-Times.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11A6E4DCFB040C28&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "GOP Lawyer Sold on Dems" (Preview)]</ref> However when Ronca's history of political donations was uncovered, a much different story was revealed. Going back to 1994, Ronca had made several donations primarily to Democrats.<ref>http://newsbusters.org/node/14151</ref><ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290641,00.html</ref><ref>http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/26841.html</ref> Ronca was quoted as saying, "I'm not only going to vote Democratic, I'm going to financially support the Democrats," and, "The Republicans in Washington are an embarrassment." Hunter herself came under fire for her article, which she blamed on her editor and the headline he wrote for the article,<ref>http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11A7D4089A913560&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM</ref> even though it was Hunter, not her editor, who wrote that Ronca was "a staunch Republican".{{fact}}

== See also ==
*[[Jeb Eddy]]
*[[Jesse Macbeth]]

==References==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT: Ronca, Jim}}
[[Category:Hoaxes]]

Rates (warship)

2011-05-12T23:00:53Z

StevenTramp:

Warships were once classified with a '''rate''' between 1 and 6.

For the last 100 – 130 years of the Age of Sail nearly all the navies of the world adopted a ratings system for their ships. It was first introduced by the [[British]] First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral Lord Anson during 1851 – 1856, however modern historians sometimes give a rating to ships before that date for ease of classification.

The first three rates covered [[ship of the line|ships of the line]], which were those considered powerful enough to join the battle line in a major engagement. Fourth-raters were already becoming obsolete as ships of the line when the system was begun; they were useful in shallower waters, and were considered a capital ship by some of the smaller navies. (The fledging USA commissioned large frigates of 44 or more guns for its first navy.)

Rates four and five were typically given to frigates and other support vessels, and a sixth rating was only given to a vessel commanded by a post-captain – those under commanders and lower were considered [[sloop|sloops]] and did not receive a rating.

The following lists the rates as at 1800. Later the lower gun limits were raised for most classifications to reflect the generally larger ship sizes.

:1st…..Over 2000 tons – 100-130 guns on 3 decks – 850-900 crew.
:2nd….1650-1950 tons – 84-90 guns on 2 or 3 decks -750-850 crew.
:3rd….1200-1600 tons – 64-80 guns on 2 decks – 520-750 crew.
:4th….700-1000 tons – 44-60 guns on 1 or 2 decks – 380-500 crew.
:5th….650-730 tons – 32-40 guns – 200-300 crew.
:6th….400-630 tons - 20-28 guns – 150-200 crew.

A rating also refers to a naval seaman whose rank is known as a rate.

[[Category: Sailing ship types]]
[[Category: Warships]]

Amerigo Vespucci

2011-05-12T22:54:54Z

StevenTramp:

[[Image:Vespucci.gif|left|140px]]
'''Amerigo Vespucci''' (Florence 1451 - Seville 1512) was a [[merchant]]/[[explorer]] who claimed that he had discovered [[America]]. The "New World", America, was named after Vespucci.<ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/vespucci.html</ref> The name "America" was adopted by [[South America]] and gradually expanded to include [[North America]] as well. Amerigo traveled to the New World in 1499 landing in the northeastern portion of South America and voyaged again in 1502. He is credit as being the first person to realize that he was landing on a new continent and not a part of [[Asia]].<ref>http://www.answers.com/main/ntq-method-4-dsid-2222-dekey-Amerigo+Vespucci-gwp-8-curtab-2222_1</ref>

The alternative theory is that America was named after Richard Americk, one of the backers of [[John Cabot]]'s voyage of discovery to the new world.

<blockquote>
While on one of his voyages, Vespucci wrote two letters to a friend in [[Europe]]. He described his travels and was the first to identify the New World of North and South America as separate from Asia. (Columbus thought he had reached Asia to the day he died.)

Amerigo Vespucci also described the culture of the indigenous people, and focused on their diet, their religion, and their sexual, marriage, and childbirth practices. The letters were published in many languages and were distributed across Europe, selling much better than Columbus' diaries. <ref>[http://geography.about.com/cs/historicalgeog/a/amerigo.htm Amerigo Vespucci]</ref>
</blockquote>

== External links ==

*[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569948/amerigo_vespucci.html Amerigo Vespucci]
*[http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/amerigo-vespucci.htm Amerigo Vespucci]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vespucci, Amerigo}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

Amerigo Vespucci

2011-05-12T22:53:20Z

StevenTramp:

[[Image:Vespucci.gif|left|140px]]
'''Amerigo Vespucci''' (Florence 1451 - Seville 1512) was a [[merchant]]/[[explorer]] who claimed that he had discovered [[America]]. The "New World", America, was named after Vespucci.<ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/vespucci.html</ref> The name "America" was adopted by [[South America]] and gradually expanded to include [[North America]] as well. Amerigo traveled to the New World in 1499 landing in the northeastern portion of South America and voyaged again in 1502. He is credit as being the first person to realize that he was landing on a new continent and not a part of [[Asia]].<ref>http://www.answers.com/main/ntq-method-4-dsid-2222-dekey-Amerigo+Vespucci-gwp-8-curtab-2222_1</ref>

The alternative theory is that America was named after Richard Americk, one of the backers of [[John Cabot]]'s voyage of discovery to the new world.

<blockquote>
While on one of his voyages, Vespucci wrote two letters to a friend in [[Europe]]. He described his travels and was the first to identify the New World of North and South America as separate from Asia. (Columbus thought he had reached Asia to the day he died.)

Amerigo Vespucci also described the culture of the indigenous people, and focused on their diet, religion, and what made these letters very popular - their sexual, marriage, and childbirth practices. The letters were published in many languages and were distributed across Europe (they were a much better seller than Columbus' own diaries). <ref>[http://geography.about.com/cs/historicalgeog/a/amerigo.htm Amerigo Vespucci]</ref>
</blockquote>

== External links ==

*[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569948/amerigo_vespucci.html Amerigo Vespucci]
*[http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/amerigo-vespucci.htm Amerigo Vespucci]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vespucci, Amerigo}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

Doctor Who

2011-05-12T22:49:18Z

StevenTramp: /* Political and Social Themes */

'''''Doctor Who''''' is a [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] science fiction television programme originally created in 1963. It centres around a character named The Doctor, who travels around the universe in a [[time machine]] called the TARDIS ("Time and Relative Dimensions in Space"), which resembles a 1950s British Police phone box, but is considerably larger on the inside than it is on the outside.

The programme ran for twenty-six seasons between 1963 and 1989, at which point it was canceled indefinitely. Various forms of the series continued after the cancellation, with popular series of novels published by Target and then BBC Books, along with audio serials and re-releases of past episodes on VHS and DVD. Since 2005, a "new series" has been produced by BBC Wales.

The Doctor has the ability to regenerate his body when mortally weakened, a useful plot device that has allowed the role to be played on TV by eleven different actors so far.

==The Doctors==
===[[William Hartnell]] (1963-66)===
The first actor to play the Doctor portrayed him as a cantankerous old man. Initially a somewhat dark character, he became more grandfatherly in later episodes. Hartnell's era introduced the most well-known of the Doctor's foes, the [[Dalek]]s.

===[[Patrick Troughton]] (1966-1969)===
Troughton's Doctor was an impish figure, whose gimmicks included playing the recorder. In this period, much of which is lost, the program felt the influence of [[Star Trek]] somewhat.

===[[Jon Pertwee]] (1970-1974)===
The third Doctor was Earth-bound for much of his tenure, a move that was partly motivated by budgeting constraints in production. In the stories themselves, this was explained by the Doctor's race - the Time Lords - imposing an exile upon him due to alleged crimes prosecuted in ''The War Games''. During this time, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce ("UNIT") was a key element of plots - the Doctor was officially UNIT's scientific advisor, but he frequently attempts to break free of the Time Lords' imposition of exile.

===[[Tom Baker]] (1974-1981)===
Arguably the most well-known Doctor, Baker, with his seven-foot long scarf and fondness for jelly babies played the role for longer than any other actor. Considered to be an "eccentric" character, he was capable both of representing human attributes and being aloof and of being detached from others around him.

===[[Peter Davison]] (1981-1984)===
The fifth Doctor became something of a vulnerable character, which was a conscious decision by the production team (led by John Nathan-Turner) to remove the aura of invincibility that they had felt was becoming part of the Doctor's characterisation with Tom Baker. Shown to be a keen cricket fan, the Doctor was arguably more human than any of his predecessors and often relied more on his companions to assist throughout his missions.

===[[Colin Baker]] (1984-1986)===
The sixth Doctor was premised around being the antithesis of his predecessor, with his garish and colour-mismatched costume reflecting the vast contrast with the mild-mannered fifth Doctor. In terms of characterisation, the Doctor became something of an unstable character, often violently responding to people and events around him.

===[[Sylvester McCoy]] (1987-1989)===
After the departure of Colin Baker, McCoy's depiction of the Doctor saw the series shift mood considerably. Early stories within the era depicted a somewhat comic and light-hearted Doctor, but over time the Doctor's character became steadily darker - a development that has been commonly described as making the Doctor a manipulating, scheming character who influenced events like a chess game.

===[[Paul McGann]] (1996)===
McGann played the role for a television movie, with the creation of a new series by US producers dependent on the success of the movie. This was never made. The Doctor himself was perhaps more human than any other, with the revelation that he was "half-human" on his mother's side and displaying far greater emotional response than in the past.

===[[Christopher Eccleston]] (2005)===
The first Doctor in the "new series" created by [[Russell T. Davies]], Eccleston's portrayal saw much of the eccentricity of the past integrated into the ninth regeneration of the Doctor. An indefinite amount of time has elapsed since he was last seen on television screens, and it is clear that the events of the Time War have scarred him: he is the last of the Time Lord race. His character reflected a manic unpredictability that saw him capable of both compassion and apathy while maintaining a love-hate relationship with humans.

===[[David Tennant]] (2006-2010)===
The current actor playing the Doctor was also well-known beforehand ([[Casanova]], [[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]). His portrayal is more humorous and vivacious than Eccleston's. Yet, the anger is still there. He destroyed the daleks again in "The Parting of Ways"

===[[Matt Smith]] (2010-)===
Matt Smith has been confirmed to take Tennants place in series 5 of Doctor Who. He is the youngest actor to play the role and is expected to bring radical changes with him.

==Political and Social Themes==
Several stories in the series have been subtly or overtly political in their themes. For instance, ''The Green Death'' (1973) emphasized the dangers of [[pollution]] and big business; while the following year's ''Invasion of the Dinosaurs'' featured a contrasting menace -- pro-environment extremists. Other stories have taken their themes from current news stories of the time, such as the [[United Kingdom]]'s entry into the [[European Union|Common Market]]. Many of these pro-liberal stories came during the period where the show was produced by Barry Letts, whose heavily liberal and [[environmentalist]] views shaped a lot of stories in the early 1970s. Apart from this period, the original series generally did not have a particularly heavily political leaning, and in fact ''The Sun Makers'' (1977) was a conservative story that told of the dangers of heavy [[taxation|taxes]] and overly complex governments.

In a recent episode, the Daleks - Doctor Who's most dangerous enemy, a race of creatures who are physically shriveled and weak, but who are contained within an armored tank-like body - take over Manhattan. They ruthlessly exploit workers engaged in construction and repair on the Empire State Building. This was reported in the British newspaper [[The Independent]] as a metaphor for the rampant abuse of capitalism. The lead writer of Dr. Who, [[Russell T Davies]] is known for aggressively promoting the [[gay agenda]] in his prior show [[Queer as Folk]] and continuing to promote it in Doctor Who (despite the fact that the show is supposed to be geared towards a young audience), with many openly gay or bisexual (or as the show jokes "omnisexual" due to relations with aliens) characters, including the lead of the spin-off [[Torchwood]], [[Captain Jack Harkness]]. Davies' attitude has been contrasted with that of [[John Nathan-Turner]], the final producer of the original series who, while being publicly known as a homosexual, never allowed this to overtly influence the stories written while he produced the show.
The show in short is good, The Doctor, vs evil, his enemies.

==Transmission==
Around the world, Doctor Who can be seen on:
*[[BBC]] One or BBC Three in the UK
*[[Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation|CBC Television]] in Canada
*[[BBC America]] in the US, or via Netflix
*[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] in Australia

Other countries to receive Doctor Who include the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Russia.

[[Category:Television Shows]]

Doctor Who

2011-05-12T22:44:32Z

StevenTramp: /* Political and Social Themes */

'''''Doctor Who''''' is a [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] science fiction television programme originally created in 1963. It centres around a character named The Doctor, who travels around the universe in a [[time machine]] called the TARDIS ("Time and Relative Dimensions in Space"), which resembles a 1950s British Police phone box, but is considerably larger on the inside than it is on the outside.

The programme ran for twenty-six seasons between 1963 and 1989, at which point it was canceled indefinitely. Various forms of the series continued after the cancellation, with popular series of novels published by Target and then BBC Books, along with audio serials and re-releases of past episodes on VHS and DVD. Since 2005, a "new series" has been produced by BBC Wales.

The Doctor has the ability to regenerate his body when mortally weakened, a useful plot device that has allowed the role to be played on TV by eleven different actors so far.

==The Doctors==
===[[William Hartnell]] (1963-66)===
The first actor to play the Doctor portrayed him as a cantankerous old man. Initially a somewhat dark character, he became more grandfatherly in later episodes. Hartnell's era introduced the most well-known of the Doctor's foes, the [[Dalek]]s.

===[[Patrick Troughton]] (1966-1969)===
Troughton's Doctor was an impish figure, whose gimmicks included playing the recorder. In this period, much of which is lost, the program felt the influence of [[Star Trek]] somewhat.

===[[Jon Pertwee]] (1970-1974)===
The third Doctor was Earth-bound for much of his tenure, a move that was partly motivated by budgeting constraints in production. In the stories themselves, this was explained by the Doctor's race - the Time Lords - imposing an exile upon him due to alleged crimes prosecuted in ''The War Games''. During this time, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce ("UNIT") was a key element of plots - the Doctor was officially UNIT's scientific advisor, but he frequently attempts to break free of the Time Lords' imposition of exile.

===[[Tom Baker]] (1974-1981)===
Arguably the most well-known Doctor, Baker, with his seven-foot long scarf and fondness for jelly babies played the role for longer than any other actor. Considered to be an "eccentric" character, he was capable both of representing human attributes and being aloof and of being detached from others around him.

===[[Peter Davison]] (1981-1984)===
The fifth Doctor became something of a vulnerable character, which was a conscious decision by the production team (led by John Nathan-Turner) to remove the aura of invincibility that they had felt was becoming part of the Doctor's characterisation with Tom Baker. Shown to be a keen cricket fan, the Doctor was arguably more human than any of his predecessors and often relied more on his companions to assist throughout his missions.

===[[Colin Baker]] (1984-1986)===
The sixth Doctor was premised around being the antithesis of his predecessor, with his garish and colour-mismatched costume reflecting the vast contrast with the mild-mannered fifth Doctor. In terms of characterisation, the Doctor became something of an unstable character, often violently responding to people and events around him.

===[[Sylvester McCoy]] (1987-1989)===
After the departure of Colin Baker, McCoy's depiction of the Doctor saw the series shift mood considerably. Early stories within the era depicted a somewhat comic and light-hearted Doctor, but over time the Doctor's character became steadily darker - a development that has been commonly described as making the Doctor a manipulating, scheming character who influenced events like a chess game.

===[[Paul McGann]] (1996)===
McGann played the role for a television movie, with the creation of a new series by US producers dependent on the success of the movie. This was never made. The Doctor himself was perhaps more human than any other, with the revelation that he was "half-human" on his mother's side and displaying far greater emotional response than in the past.

===[[Christopher Eccleston]] (2005)===
The first Doctor in the "new series" created by [[Russell T. Davies]], Eccleston's portrayal saw much of the eccentricity of the past integrated into the ninth regeneration of the Doctor. An indefinite amount of time has elapsed since he was last seen on television screens, and it is clear that the events of the Time War have scarred him: he is the last of the Time Lord race. His character reflected a manic unpredictability that saw him capable of both compassion and apathy while maintaining a love-hate relationship with humans.

===[[David Tennant]] (2006-2010)===
The current actor playing the Doctor was also well-known beforehand ([[Casanova]], [[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]). His portrayal is more humorous and vivacious than Eccleston's. Yet, the anger is still there. He destroyed the daleks again in "The Parting of Ways"

===[[Matt Smith]] (2010-)===
Matt Smith has been confirmed to take Tennants place in series 5 of Doctor Who. He is the youngest actor to play the role and is expected to bring radical changes with him.

==Political and Social Themes==
Several stories in the series have been subtly or overtly political in their themes. For instance, ''The Green Death'' (1973) emphasized the dangers of [[pollution]] and big business; while the following year's ''Invasion of the Dinosaurs'' featured a contrasting menace -- pro-environment extremists. Other stories have taken their themes from current news stories of the time, such as the [[United Kingdom]]'s entry into the [[European Union|Common Market]]. Many of these pro-liberal stories came during the period where the show was produced by Barry Letts, whose heavily liberal and [[environmentalist]] views shaped a lot of stories in the early 1970s. Apart from this period, the original series generally did not have a particularly heavily political leaning, and in fact ''The Sun Makers'' (1977) was a conservative story that told of the dangers of heavy [[taxation|taxes]] and overly complex governments.

In a recent episode, the Daleks - Doctor Who's most dangerous enemy, a race of creatures who are physically shriveled and weak, but who are contained within an armored tank-like body - take over Manhattan. They ruthlessly exploit workers engaged in construction and repair on the Empire State Building. This was reported in the British newspaper [[The Independent]] as a metaphor for the rampant abuse of capitalism. The lead writer of Dr. Who, [[Russell T Davies]] is known for aggressively promoting the [[gay agenda]] in his prior show [[Queer as Folk]] and continuing to promote it in Doctor Who (despite the fact that the show is supposed to be geared towards a young audience), with many openly gay or bisexual (or as the show jokes "omnisexual" due to relations with aliens) characters, including the lead of the spin-off [[Torchwood]], [[Captain Jack Harkness]]. Davies' attitude has been contrasted with that of [[John Nathan-Turner]], the final producer of the original series who, while being publicly known as a homosexual, never allowed this to overtly influence the stories written while he produced the show.
The show in short is good, Doctor Who, vs evil, his enemies.

==Transmission==
Around the world, Doctor Who can be seen on:
*[[BBC]] One or BBC Three in the UK
*[[Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation|CBC Television]] in Canada
*[[BBC America]] in the US, or via Netflix
*[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] in Australia

Other countries to receive Doctor Who include the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Russia.

[[Category:Television Shows]]

Talk:Ecuador

2011-05-12T22:34:26Z

StevenTramp: /* Plagarism */ new section

Ecuador socialist government

== Plagarism ==

Large portions of this article are plagarized. The original source(s) is/are difficult to find, as the text is used on many web pages. As I'm kinda new to the site, I'm not sure whether or not I should delete the material or merely notify someone. [[User:StevenTramp|StevenTramp]] 18:34, 12 May 2011 (EDT)

Polycythemia Vera

2011-05-12T22:29:12Z

StevenTramp:

'''Polycythemia Vera''' (POL-e-si-THE-me-ah VE-ra), or PV, is a rare blood disease in which the body manufactures too many red [[blood]] cells. These extra red blood cells make the blood thicker than normal. The thickened blood flows more slowly through the small blood vessels and can form clots, which can cause a [[heart attack]] or [[stroke]].

Blood cells are formed in the [[bone marrow]], which is the soft tissue inside bones. In addition to red blood cells, blood contains two other types of cells: white blood cells to help fight infection and platelets to help the blood clot. In individuals with PV, the bone marrow bone marrow produces too many red blood cells, but it also can make too many white blood cells and platelets.

Red blood cells also are called RBCs or erythrocytes (eh-RITH-ro-sites). Normal red blood cells look like doughnuts but with shallow indents rather than holes in the center and have an average lifespan of 120 days. Red blood cells contain [[hemoglobin]] (HEE-muh-glow-bin), an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen to the body. Red blood cells also remove carbon dioxide, a waste product, from cells and carry it to the lungs to be exhaled.

PV is a rare, chronic disease that can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated. The cause of PV is not known. It develops slowly and may not produce symptoms for many years. Sometimes, symptoms can be vague and nonspecific. Many people find out they have PV from blood t]]ests done for other reasons. It is more common in adult males 60 years or older. It is very rare in people younger than 20 years.

With PV, thickening of the blood slows down the flow of blood to all parts of the body. Clots form more easily, potentially blocking blood flow through arteries or veins. The slower flow of blood means that organs do not receive enough oxygen. The shortage of oxygen can lead to angina, congestive heart failure, and gout. Slower blood flow also deprives the arms, legs, lungs, and eyes of the oxygen they need to perform normally. This can cause headaches, dizziness, itching, and problems with vision, such as blurred or double vision.

PV may also cause stomach ulcers and kidney stones.

A small number of people with PV may develop myelofibrosis (MY-e-lo-fi-BRO-sis), a condition in which the bone marrow is replaced by fibrous (scar) tissue. The abnormal bone marrow cells may begin to grow out of control. This abnormal growth can lead to acute myelogenous (my-e-LOJ-e-nus) leukemia (AML), a disease that worsens very quickly. In AML, too many immature white blood cells are found in the blood and bone marrow.
Outlook

PV is a serious illness that can lead to death if it is not treated.

PV can be controlled with treatment, but no cure exists. Some people with PV need only minimal care. Others will need more intensive treatment. Treatment can control PV and lessen the risk of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke that can result from the disease.

== Sources ==

* [http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Browse/Blood.html NIH Glossary]
[[category:medicine]]

User talk:StevenTramp

2011-05-12T22:23:39Z

StevenTramp:

{{Welcome|sig=--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:38, 10 May 2011 (EDT)}}
Hi Steven, thank for returning. Believe me when I say the block was nothing personal. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:38, 10 May 2011 (EDT)
:Not to out you or anything, but is [http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=100002290304549#!/profile.php?id=100000750414305 this] you? I would have sent it in a private email, but you don't appear to have email enabled. [[User:DMorris|DMorris]] 21:40, 10 May 2011 (EDT)
::Nope, sorry. I don't have a Facebook account, just a (private) e-mail, a Wikipedia account, and this. [[User:StevenTramp|StevenTramp]] 22:10, 10 May 2011 (EDT)
==Good catch==
Great catch on the section spelling type on Guantanamo Bay - I am thoroughly embarrassed - thank goodness you were paying attention cause I obviously could've stood to be more careful.--[[User:Iduan|I]][[User_talk:Iduan|Duan]] 18:10, 12 May 2011 (EDT)
:No problem. I enjoy working on spelling and grammar. :) [[User:StevenTramp|StevenTramp]] 18:23, 12 May 2011 (EDT)

Barack Hussein Obama

2011-05-12T22:17:06Z

StevenTramp: /* Healthcare */

{{Officeholder
|name=Barack Hussein Obama
|image=President Barack Obama.jpg
|party=[[Democrat]]
|spouse=[[Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama]]
|religion=Described in this article
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=44th
|terms=January 20, 2009-Present
|vp=[[Joe Biden]]
|preceded=[[George W. Bush]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Illinois
|terms=January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
|preceded=Peter Fitzgerald
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Roland Burris]]
}}
}}

'''Barack Hussein Obama''' (born August 4, 1961) is the 44th President of the [[United States]] and (controversially) the recipient of the 2009 [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]]. Overcoming a short political career, Obama defeated [[Republican]] nominee [[John McCain]] for the presidency in 2008, campaigning on promises of "change" after an unpopular administration headed by [[George W. Bush]]. In effect, that change has been an embrace of [[Socialism]] and [[liberal]] policies perhaps before unseen by the [[White House]].

Immediately after entering office, Obama was faced with a recession - one of the most severe since the [[Great Depression]]. By and large, his economic policies to combat the recession have, to date, ranged from ineffective to counterproductive.<ref>"The vast majority (73%) of respondents reported the fiscal stimulus enacted in February 2009 has had no impact on employment to date. While 68% also believe a jobs bill, such as the one recently enacted into law, will have no impact on payrolls, 30% do believe it will boost payrolls moderately". ''Industry Survey'', National Association for Business Economics, April 2010, [http://www.nabe.com/press/ind1004.pdf p. 2 pdf].</ref> Also on the domestic front, Obama passed a major [[health care]] bill in 2009 with no [[bipartisan]] support and 44 Democrats dissenting. In foreign policy Obama has escalated the [[Afghanistan War]] while also initiating (via the [[United Nations]]) the [[Libyan uprising 2011|Libyan intervention]] and ending combat operations in the [[War in Iraq]]. On May 1st - as an extension of the War in Afghanistan - he announced that the United States had killed [[September 11th]] mastermind and terrorist [[Osama bin Laden]] in [[Pakistan]], perhaps at the cost of the United States's alliance with Pakistan.

==Early life==
:''Main article : [[Early life and career of Barack Hussein Obama]]''
Obama was born in Hawaii to Stanley Ann Dunham and [[Barack Obama Sr.]] - who had married just six months prior - on August 4, 1961 in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]. The couple divorced in 1964. Barack Obama Sr. was not a citizen of the United States. Dunham remarried Lolo Soetoro, an [[Indonesia]]n student. When Obama was six, Soetoro returned to Indonesia, and Dunham and Obama followed.<ref name="db mother">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-03/a-singular-woman-by-janny-scott-review-by-stacy-schiff/#|work=The Daily Beast|format=HTML|language=English|title=Dreams of His Mother|author=Stacy Schiff}}</ref> He spent four years in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii to be raised by his grandparents, Madelyn and WW2 veteran Stanley Armour Dunham. He would later attend [[Occidental College]], [[Columbia University]] and then [[Harvard University]] for law school, where he would become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

==Illinois State Senate career==
[[File:O-2002-antiwar-rally-davidson.jpg|right|thumb|250px| Obama speaking at the October 2002 rally in Chicago organized by [[Carl Davidson]].<ref>Davidson is a longtime [[Mao]]ist and champion of the ''Thought of Mao Tse Tung.'' Davidson's anti-Trotskyite polemic, [http://www.wengewang.org/read.php?tid=10925 ''Left in Form, Right in Essence''] defends Maoist doctrine. Retrieved from 对当代托洛茨基主义的批判：英文论集百花齐放 - 中国文革研究网, March 15, 2010.</ref> ''"[H]e is a brutal man who butchers his own people,"'' nevertheless Obama opposed ''"dumb wars".'']]

In 1995 Obama openly sought and obtained the endorsement of the [[Marxist]] [[New Party]] in his quest to be elected to the Illinois State Senate.<ref>[http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7434 NEW PARTY (NP)], discoverthenetwork.org.</ref><ref>Rick Moran. [http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/obamas_alliance_with_marxists.html Obama's Alliance with Marxists], ''American Thinker'', June 03, 2008.</ref> He became the [[Democrat]] nominee and ran unopposed to win the election. Obama entered the Illinois Senate promising change to a corrupt system. He mixed often radical votes with more pragmatic agreements. Possibly one of his most radical votes was against requiring medical care for aborted children who survive [[abortion|the procedure]] - in fact the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council ascribed him a 100% rating for his consistently pro-choice votes.<ref name="cbs illinois">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml|title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine For Critics|work=CBS|format=HTML|language=English|last=Clark|first=Amy S.|date=Jan. 17, 2007}}</ref> He was criticized for using the statehouse as a stepping stone for a more illustrious career: Steven J. Rauschenberger, a [[Republican]], said prior to Obama's election as president: “He is a very bright but very ambitious person who has always had his eyes on the prize, and it wasn’t Springfield. If he deserves to be president, it is not because he was a great legislator.”<ref name="nyt illinois">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd|last=Scott|first=Janny|format=HTML|language=English|date=July 30, 2007|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html}}</ref>

The statehouse was majority Republican, so the Senator was sometimes forced to compromise. He formed allegiances across party lines to pass [[campaign finance]] reform that banned most gifts by lobbyists, prohibited spending campaign money for legislators’ personal use and required electronic filing of campaign disclosure reports.<ref name="nyt illinois"/> Obama also helped pass a so-called “driving-while-black bill”, which required the police to collect data on the race of drivers they stopped as a way to monitor [[racial profiling]].<ref name="nyt illinois"/>

Obama established himself as a chief spokesperson in opposition to the [[War on Terror]] during an October 2002 rally at Federal Plaza in Chicago<ref>The rally was organized by Chicagoans Against War in Iraq (CAWI) later renamed Chicagoans Against War and Injustice. [http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?page_id=2 About CAWI] by Carl Davidson, Nov 02 2006. Retrieved from Chicagoans Against War and Injustice, March 15, 2010.</ref> [[community organizing|organized]] by veteran [[Mao]]ist and webmaster of [[Progressives for Obama]],<ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/in/carldavidson Carl Davidson,] LinkedIn.com, retrieved March 13, 2010.</ref> [[Carl Davidson]].

===Radical foundation and connection to William Ayers===
{{main article|Radical roots of Barack Hussein Obama}}
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]]. Dohrn,<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> along with Carl Davidson, are veterans of [[guerrilla warfare]] training in [[Cuba]] prior 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Ayers and Dohrn have taken credit for, and never denied, bombing the [[U.S. Capitol]], the [[Pentagon]] and the [[State Department]].

Ayers and Dohrn used their celebrity status among [[leftist]]s to launch Obama's career. Ayers, Dohrn and [[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> are authors of ''[[Bill_Ayers#Prairie_Fire_Organizing_Committee_and_Maoist_thought|Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-imperialism]],'' the title taken from ''The Sayings of Mao Zedong.''<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/]</ref> The book declares "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> Ayers later publicly admitted to ghostwriting Obama's book, ''Dreams From My Father.''<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/ayers_affirms_he_wrote_dreams.html</ref>

==U.S. Senate career==
:''See also: [[Early_life_and_career_of_Barack_Hussein_Obama#U.S._Senate_.282004-2008.29|Barack Obama:U.S. Senate (2004-2008)]]''
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|left|Senator Barack Obama]]

Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004; he won the seat after [[liberals]] obtained the release of the confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to end his campaign and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]]. Obama spent very little time in the Senate - "frustrated by his lack of influence and what he called the 'glacial pace' ... [he began] running for president even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol’s corridors."<ref name="nyt senate">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times, Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role|author=Kate Zernike and Jeff Zelleny|date=March 9, 2008|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html}}</ref>

Obama frequently used the [[filibuster]] to obstruct the operations of government,<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303801_pf.html</ref> voted against the [[minimum wage]]<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> and debt ceiling increases,<ref>http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/obama-once-opposed-debt-ceiling-hike/237129/</ref> and recieved more than $126,000 in campaign contributions from [[Fannie Mae]]. The ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked him the most liberal senator in 2007.<ref name="ranked">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-502163_162-3775451-502163.html|title=National Journal: Obama Most Liberal Senator In 2007|author=Brian Montopoli|date=January 31, 2008|work=CBS}}</ref>

==Presidential Election==
{{main article|Barack Hussein Obama 2008 Presidential campaign}}
Democrats began calling for an Obama candidacy after liberals lauded his 2004 [[Democratic National Convention]] speech.
===Campaign to be the Democratic nominee===
The race for the Democratic ticket originally seemed [[Hillary Clinton]]'s to lose, but was ultimately a close race between Clinton and Obama. Clinton would take a slim advantage in the popular vote, while Obama would carry significantly more states and territories. Obama's advantage with super-delegates over Clinton was about 2-to-1.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Superdelegate endorsements for Friday 6/6|work=Democratic Convention Watch|url=http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/06/superdelegate-endorsements-for-friday.html}}</ref> Obama was able to attract the support of [[liberals]] by pointing out that he had come out against the [[Iraq War]] "from the beginning" whereas Clinton had voted in favor of the war in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-31-democrats-debate_N.htm|title=Obama, Clinton stress differences on Iraq, issues|author=David Jackson|work=USA Today|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref>
===Campaign for the Presidency===
Obama campaigned against Senator [[John McCain]] in the general election. To the chagrin of Clinton supporters, he selected Senator [[Joe Biden]] to be his running mate, whereas McCain selected [[Governor]] of [[Alaska]] [[Sarah Palin]]. The Obama and Biden ticket would win the election, and Obama would become the nation's first [[African American]] president.

====Jeremiah Wright====
One major dilemma that arose for Obama during his campaign was his connection to his preacher Jeremiah Wright. 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, a chruch that embraced [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering so-called "oppressed groups" against "establishment forces". This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays as ministers.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> Church pastor Jeremiah 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]]."

In April 2008, after 20 years in the church, 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>

==Presidential career==
{{main article|Obama administration}}
[[File:Obama and George H. W. Bush.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President Barack Obama meets with former President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office, Feb. 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).]]
Under Obama's stewardship the United States has suffered the largest [[Federal budget deficit|deficit]]s<ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10708/11-06-mbr.htm</ref><ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/118xx/doc11873/NovemberMBR.pdf</ref> in history and a credit downgrade from the rating agency Standard & Poor.<ref>http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/04/18/the-sp-outlook-and-obama/</ref> [[Poverty]]<ref>http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2009/pov09fig04.pdf</ref> increased to levels not seen in 50 years.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2010-09-16-poverty-rate-income-numbers_N.htm</ref> When his [[economic stimulus]] program was adopted unemployment rose and stagnated in the 10% range, <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439172480870774.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</ref> leaving tens of millions without [[hope]] of finding a job.<ref>[http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS11300000&years_option=specific_years&include_graphs=true&to_month=1&from_month=2 United States Department of Labor], Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data extracted on: July 19, 2010 (4:31:11 PM).</ref>

Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen, writing in the [[Wall Street Journal]], noted, "Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship." The commentators also note Obama's approach to governance has encouraged radical leftists to pursue a similar strategy on his behalf. Mary Frances Berry, former head of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, acknowledged that the [[Obama administration]] has taken to polarizing America around the issue of race as a means of diverting attention from other issues, saying, "Having one's opponent [[race card|rebut charges of racism]] is far better than discussing [[Unemployment|joblessness]]."<ref>http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Mary_Frances_Berry_91E3D9D5-C40D-440C-9D48-1C50CBC60C87.html</ref> Caddell and Schoen, who worked for President Carter and Clinton, respectively, further stated, "Mr. Obama has also cynically [[class warfare|divided the country on class lines]]. He has taken to playing the populist card time and time again. He bashes Wall Street and insurance companies whenever convenient to advance his programs, yet he has been eager to accept campaign contributions and negotiate with these very same banks and [[corporation]]s behind closed doors in order to advance his political agenda... President Obama's divisive approach to governance has weakened us as a people and paralyzed our political culture."<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703700904575391553798363586.html</ref>

===Domestic policy===
====Popular bills====
Obama's first act of office was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - effectively nullifying the [[Supreme Court]] case ''Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'', which ruled that Ledbetter had to have filed a pay [[discrimination]] suit within 180 days of the first time Ledbetter was payed less than her male peers;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/us/politics/30ledbetter-web.html|work=The New York Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation|author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg|date=January 29, 2009}}</ref> the law made corporations subject to suit within 180 days of each time the employee was unfairly paid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090213.html?=features|work=FindLaw|author=Joanna L. Grossman|date=Feb. 13, 2009|format=HTML|language=English|title=The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009}}</ref>

On January 2, 2011, Obama signed the James Zadroga [[9/11]] Healthcare and Compensation Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/02/obama-signs-zadroga-act-law/|publisher=New York Public Radio|title=Obama Signs Zadroga Act into Law|author=Fred Mogul|date=January 02, 2011|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> The act, which afforded 9/11 first responders who were sickened by the dust from the collapse of the [[World Trade Center]] health care and compensation, passed [[Congress]] after its sponsored agreed to scale down the pricing from 7.4 to 4.2 billion dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/dec/22/zadroga-911-bill-passes-senate/|publisher=New York Public Radio|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Congress Approves 9/11 Health Bill|date=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

====Economic plan====
{{see also|Obamunism|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009}}
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>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/daily-intel/2009/07/20/obamunism-inc|work=The Big Money|publisher=WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obamunism, Inc.|author=David Sessions|date=July 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/gerald-celente-6944|author=Jim Blasingame|title=Is the government creating a bailout bubble?}}</ref> Obamunism can also refer to Obama's [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]].<ref name="gerard">{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching|title=Monetary Policy-Not Obama's Stimulus-Is What Needs Watching|author=Gerard Jackson|date=February 16, 2009|work=Seeking Alpha}}</ref><ref name="bam">{{cite web|work=New York Post|date=May 17, 2009|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm|title=BAM'S WISE WORDS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/|title=Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures|work=The Foundry|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|author=Conn Carroll|date=March 24th, 2009}}</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> Proponents of [[free market]] capitalism said Bernanke should not have bailed out failing firms and instead should have allowed free market capitalism to quickly recover as it did in the depression of 1920 without government intervention (free market capitalists assert that government intervention drags out economic recessions and depressions).<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI</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 name="celente1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref name="celente2">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 name="gerard"/><ref name="bam"/><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 name="celente1"/><ref name="celente2"/>

During what the [[White House]] billed as [[Recovery Summer]], one half million workers per week continued losing their jobs. His signature legislative achievement, [[ObamaCare]], the federal courts have found to be [[unconstitutional]]<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html</ref> and is credited as a major cause of uncertainty, high [[unemployment]],<ref>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33220</ref> lagging job creation,<ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/05/it%E2%80%99s-official-medicare%E2%80%99s-finances-shadowed-by-uncertainty/</ref> and risk of a credit default crisis.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032802353.html</ref><ref>http://www.thestreet.com/story/10703361/cramer-obamacare-will-topple-the-market.html</ref>

His 2012 Budget plan has been roundly criticized in the mainstream media and liberal press as not a serious effort to deal with the nation's economic crisis.<ref>[http://republican.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=blogs.view&blog_id=1551d6f5-2ac9-4b8d-97ab-74def354024e Newspapers Call Out White House: ‘What Would That Path Be, Mr. President?’]</ref>

=====Healthcare=====
{{main article|Obamacare}}
On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The act had originated in the House of Representatives and passed September 17, 2009. The act was amended and passed the Senate prior to [[Democrat]] [[Ted Kennedy]]'s passing along party lines - just a filibuster-proof majority at 60-39. In a de facto rejection of the bill, [[Massachusetts]] voters elected a [[Republican]] candidate, [[Scott Brown]], who promised to vote against the bill,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/scott-brown-wins-massachusetts-senate-race.html|work=The Washington Post|author=Chris Cillizza|date=January 19, 2010|title=Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate special election race|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> but another Senate vote would not occur. After Obama made a promise to issue an [[executive order]] that would ultimately prohibit the use of taxpayer subsidies to pay for [[abortion]] services,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/nation/la-na-healthcare-passage22-2010mar22/3|work=The Los Angeles Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes historic healthcare overhaul|date=March 22, 2010|author=Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook}}</ref> the [[House of Representatives]] would pass the bill as it left the Senate 219-212, with 34 Democrats and all other parties dissenting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-21/politics/health.care.main_1_health-care-entire-house-democratic-caucus-pre-existing-conditions?_s=PM:POLITICS|date=March 21, 2010|author=Alan Silverleib|work=CNN|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes health care bill on 219-212 vote}}</ref>

Amongst other things, the act mandates that the population purchase health care coverage or face punitive tax measures, and on this basis has been constitutionally challenged in the federal courts, with mixed results (three courts have upheld the act, two have declared it unconstitutional); thus, the Act is likely destined for [[Supreme Court]] reviewal.

====Gulf oil spill====
{{main article|Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster}}
President Obama authorized offshore oil drilling in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0430/Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill-imperils-Obama-s-offshore-drilling-plan Gulf of Mexico oil spill imperils Obama's offshore drilling plan,] By Mark Clayton, ''Christian Science Monitor'', April 30, 2010.</ref> stating, "oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills"<ref>White House Press Release, [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a-discussion-jobs-and-economy-charlotte-north-carolina Remarks by the President in a Discussion on Jobs and the Economy in Charlotte, North Carolina,] Office of the Press Secretary, April 02, 2010. Retrieved from whitehouse.gov 3 May 2010.</ref> and was widely criticized for his mishandling of the "[[Gulf oil spill disaster|worst environmental disaster]] in US history."<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/x-33986-Political-Spin-Examiner~y2010m4d29-Worst-environmental-disaster-in-US-history-Oil-slick-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-is-set-on-fire Worst environmental disaster in US history,] Maryann Tobin, ''Examiner'', April 29, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/the-oil-spill-is-obamas-fault/?src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman Conscience of a Liberal: The Oil Spill Is Obama’s Fault,] Paul Krugman, ''New York Times'', April 30, 2010.</ref>

====Don't Ask Don't Tell====
{{main article|Don't Ask Don't Tell}}
Candidate Obama promised to repeal a policy that originated in the Clinton era that prohibited inquiries into military personnel's [[sexual orientation]] while also barring "out" [[homosexuals]] from serving in the military. [[Liberals]] expressed anger when time passed and no effort to repeal the law was seen;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/21/obama-to-delay-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/|work=The Washington Times|format=HTML|title=Obama to delay ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal|language=English|author=Rowan Scarborough|date=November 21, 2008}}</ref> in fact, Obama's [[justice department]] filed a brief arguing against the [[Supreme Court]] granting a [[writ of certiorari]] to a gay soldier challenging the law (the writ was not granted). In response, the soldier, James Pietrangelo II, a former Army infantryman and lawyer, said, “[Obama's] a coward, a bigot and a pathological liar. This is a guy who spent more time picking out his dog, Bo, and playing with him on the White House lawn than he has working for equality for gay people."<ref>{{cite web|work=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc.|format=HTML|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y|title=Dismay Over Obama's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Turnabout|author=Mark Thompson|date=Jun. 09, 2009}}</ref>

On December 15th, 2010, a bill was introduced in the [[House of Representatives]] to repeal the law - it passed a day later by a vote of 250-175;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll638.xml|title=FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 638|format=HTML|work=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref> it passed the Senate three days later 65-31.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281|work=The U.S. Senate|title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress - 2nd Session|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 on December 22nd.<ref name="g dadt">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/22/obama-repeals-dont-ask-dont-tell|work=The Guardian|format=HTML|language=English|title='Don't ask, don't tell' repealed as Obama signs landmark law|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>

The [[Pentagon]] itself could not immediately implement the repeal and questioned whether it would hurt combat readiness.<ref name="g dadt"/> Senator [[John McCain]], the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, opposed the bill, saying "It may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner, without further consideration of this report and further study of the issue by Congress – for of all the people we serve, one of our highest responsibilities is to the men and women of our armed services, especially those risking their lives in combat.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/mccain-on-dont-ask-dont-tell-dont-rush/|title=McCain on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: Don’t Rush|date=December 2nd, 2010|format=HTML|author=David M. Herszenhorn|language=English|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
====Commander-in-chief====
=====Iraq=====
{{main article|Operation Iraqi Freedom}}
Obama campaigned on a promise to end the War in Iraq. On August 21, 2010, he ended combat operations, but left 50,000 U.S. troops in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-31/politics/obama.oval.office.address_1_iraq-requests-united-states-and-iraq-troop-surge?_s=PM:POLITICS|work=CNN|title=Obama: 'Time to turn the page' as Iraq combat mission ends|date=August 31, 2010|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref>

=====Afghanistan=====
{{main article|Afghanistan War}}
Obama took over the Afghanistan War and announced that the focus would be more narrowly tuned to disrupting and defeating Al Qaeda while pushing more military personnel into the country.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/themes/strategy.html#ixzz1LhWNImZp|title=Obama's New Strategy (March '09)|author=George Packer, Seth Jones, David Kilcullen, Rory Stewart, Andrew Exum, Col. Andrew Bacevich (Ret.)|work=PBS|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> Adviser to General [[Stanley McChrystal]] David Kilcullen wrote, "One of the big strategic shifts is the use of language now which talks about Pakistan and Afghanistan as the same theater. Now we talked about Af-Pak long before the Obama administration came about, but the public use of that term, and the description of it as the Afghanistan-Pakistan campaign, sends a new message to people about how the administration is going to think about Afghanistan and Pakistan."<ref name="pbs"/> This became evident when, under the orders of Obama, a military SEALs team killed September 11th mastermind [[Osama bin Laden]] in Abottabad, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/05/commander-in-chief.html|title=Commander in Chief|author=Daniel Romano and Daniel Klaidman|date=May 05, 2011|work=Newsweek|publisher=The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref>

=====Libya=====
{{main article|Libyan uprising 2011}}
In February 2011, the political unrest that had spread through the Arab world showed up as protests in Libya. Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi - dictator of Libya for 41 years - responded to the activism with a wave of violence.<ref name="nyt libya">{{cite web|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Libya — Protests and Revolt (2011)}}</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council]] voted unanimously to impose [[sanctions]], and later authorized all members to take action to protect civilians. Obama, acting without approval from Congress and at the beckoning of the [[United Nations]], directed American forces to take out Libya's air defense system.<ref name="nyt libya"/> Obama later said, "[I]f we waited one more day Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world."<ref>{{cite web|author=Barack Obama|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134935452/obamas-speech-on-libya-a-responsibility-to-act|title=Obama's Speech On Libya: 'A Responsibility To Act'|date=March 28, 2011|publisher=National Public Radio ([[NPR]])|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> Alan J. Kuperman - writing an editorial for the [[Boston Globe]] - suggested this statement was false, writing, "[I]ntervention did not prevent genocide, because no such bloodbath was in the offing. To the contrary, by emboldening rebellion, US interference has prolonged Libya’s civil war and the resultant suffering of innocents."<ref name="kuperman">{{cite web|author=Alan J. Kuperman|work=The Boston Globe|url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-14/bostonglobe/29418371_1_rebel-stronghold-civilians-rebel-positions|title=False pretense for war in Libya?|date=April 14, 2011}}</ref> Kuperman, a professor of public affairs at the University of Texas who authored a book called ''The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention'', further stated that the rebels had tricked the world into thinking a bloodbath was at hand and that Obama had lied to the American people in order to act on this theory.<ref name="kuperman"/>

=====Guantanamo Bay=====
{{main article|Guantanamo Bay}}
One of Obama's campaign promises was that he would close the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - detainees would be flown to other countries while the ones awaiting trial would enter the American court system. Two days after taking office he signed an order directing the military to do so.<ref name="salon">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/25/obama_guantanamo_rhetoric|work=Salon|title=The Obama/Gitmo timeline|author=Natasha Lennard|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> But, in November 2009 Obama admitted that his self imposed deadline of January 2010 would be missed, and in March 2011 the president went back on his campaign promise, signing an executive order to create a formal system of indefinite detention for the prisoners.<ref name="salon"/>

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

==See also==
*[[Obama birth certificate controversy]]
*[[Political positions of Barack Obama]]

==External links==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barack Hussein}}
{{USPresidents}}
{{2008 presidential candidates}}

Barack Hussein Obama

2011-05-12T22:08:54Z

StevenTramp: /* Guantanamo Bay */

{{Officeholder
|name=Barack Hussein Obama
|image=President Barack Obama.jpg
|party=[[Democrat]]
|spouse=[[Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama]]
|religion=Described in this article
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=44th
|terms=January 20, 2009-Present
|vp=[[Joe Biden]]
|preceded=[[George W. Bush]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Illinois
|terms=January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
|preceded=Peter Fitzgerald
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Roland Burris]]
}}
}}

'''Barack Hussein Obama''' (born August 4, 1961) is the 44th President of the [[United States]] and (controversially) the recipient of the 2009 [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]]. Overcoming a short political career, Obama defeated [[Republican]] nominee [[John McCain]] for the presidency in 2008, campaigning on promises of "change" after an unpopular administration headed by [[George W. Bush]]. In effect, that change has been an embrace of [[Socialism]] and [[liberal]] policies perhaps before unseen by the [[White House]].

Immediately after entering office, Obama was faced with a recession - one of the most severe since the [[Great Depression]]. By and large, his economic policies to combat the recession have, to date, ranged from ineffective to counterproductive.<ref>"The vast majority (73%) of respondents reported the fiscal stimulus enacted in February 2009 has had no impact on employment to date. While 68% also believe a jobs bill, such as the one recently enacted into law, will have no impact on payrolls, 30% do believe it will boost payrolls moderately". ''Industry Survey'', National Association for Business Economics, April 2010, [http://www.nabe.com/press/ind1004.pdf p. 2 pdf].</ref> Also on the domestic front, Obama passed a major [[health care]] bill in 2009 with no [[bipartisan]] support and 44 Democrats dissenting. In foreign policy Obama has escalated the [[Afghanistan War]] while also initiating (via the [[United Nations]]) the [[Libyan uprising 2011|Libyan intervention]] and ending combat operations in the [[War in Iraq]]. On May 1st - as an extension of the War in Afghanistan - he announced that the United States had killed [[September 11th]] mastermind and terrorist [[Osama bin Laden]] in [[Pakistan]], perhaps at the cost of the United States's alliance with Pakistan.

==Early life==
:''Main article : [[Early life and career of Barack Hussein Obama]]''
Obama was born in Hawaii to Stanley Ann Dunham and [[Barack Obama Sr.]] - who had married just six months prior - on August 4, 1961 in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]. The couple divorced in 1964. Barack Obama Sr. was not a citizen of the United States. Dunham remarried Lolo Soetoro, an [[Indonesia]]n student. When Obama was six, Soetoro returned to Indonesia, and Dunham and Obama followed.<ref name="db mother">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-03/a-singular-woman-by-janny-scott-review-by-stacy-schiff/#|work=The Daily Beast|format=HTML|language=English|title=Dreams of His Mother|author=Stacy Schiff}}</ref> He spent four years in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii to be raised by his grandparents, Madelyn and WW2 veteran Stanley Armour Dunham. He would later attend [[Occidental College]], [[Columbia University]] and then [[Harvard University]] for law school, where he would become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

==Illinois State Senate career==
[[File:O-2002-antiwar-rally-davidson.jpg|right|thumb|250px| Obama speaking at the October 2002 rally in Chicago organized by [[Carl Davidson]].<ref>Davidson is a longtime [[Mao]]ist and champion of the ''Thought of Mao Tse Tung.'' Davidson's anti-Trotskyite polemic, [http://www.wengewang.org/read.php?tid=10925 ''Left in Form, Right in Essence''] defends Maoist doctrine. Retrieved from 对当代托洛茨基主义的批判：英文论集百花齐放 - 中国文革研究网, March 15, 2010.</ref> ''"[H]e is a brutal man who butchers his own people,"'' nevertheless Obama opposed ''"dumb wars".'']]

In 1995 Obama openly sought and obtained the endorsement of the [[Marxist]] [[New Party]] in his quest to be elected to the Illinois State Senate.<ref>[http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7434 NEW PARTY (NP)], discoverthenetwork.org.</ref><ref>Rick Moran. [http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/obamas_alliance_with_marxists.html Obama's Alliance with Marxists], ''American Thinker'', June 03, 2008.</ref> He became the [[Democrat]] nominee and ran unopposed to win the election. Obama entered the Illinois Senate promising change to a corrupt system. He mixed often radical votes with more pragmatic agreements. Possibly one of his most radical votes was against requiring medical care for aborted children who survive [[abortion|the procedure]] - in fact the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council ascribed him a 100% rating for his consistently pro-choice votes.<ref name="cbs illinois">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml|title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine For Critics|work=CBS|format=HTML|language=English|last=Clark|first=Amy S.|date=Jan. 17, 2007}}</ref> He was criticized for using the statehouse as a stepping stone for a more illustrious career: Steven J. Rauschenberger, a [[Republican]], said prior to Obama's election as president: “He is a very bright but very ambitious person who has always had his eyes on the prize, and it wasn’t Springfield. If he deserves to be president, it is not because he was a great legislator.”<ref name="nyt illinois">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd|last=Scott|first=Janny|format=HTML|language=English|date=July 30, 2007|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html}}</ref>

The statehouse was majority Republican, so the Senator was sometimes forced to compromise. He formed allegiances across party lines to pass [[campaign finance]] reform that banned most gifts by lobbyists, prohibited spending campaign money for legislators’ personal use and required electronic filing of campaign disclosure reports.<ref name="nyt illinois"/> Obama also helped pass a so-called “driving-while-black bill”, which required the police to collect data on the race of drivers they stopped as a way to monitor [[racial profiling]].<ref name="nyt illinois"/>

Obama established himself as a chief spokesperson in opposition to the [[War on Terror]] during an October 2002 rally at Federal Plaza in Chicago<ref>The rally was organized by Chicagoans Against War in Iraq (CAWI) later renamed Chicagoans Against War and Injustice. [http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?page_id=2 About CAWI] by Carl Davidson, Nov 02 2006. Retrieved from Chicagoans Against War and Injustice, March 15, 2010.</ref> [[community organizing|organized]] by veteran [[Mao]]ist and webmaster of [[Progressives for Obama]],<ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/in/carldavidson Carl Davidson,] LinkedIn.com, retrieved March 13, 2010.</ref> [[Carl Davidson]].

===Radical foundation and connection to William Ayers===
{{main article|Radical roots of Barack Hussein Obama}}
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]]. Dohrn,<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> along with Carl Davidson, are veterans of [[guerrilla warfare]] training in [[Cuba]] prior 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Ayers and Dohrn have taken credit for, and never denied, bombing the [[U.S. Capitol]], the [[Pentagon]] and the [[State Department]].

Ayers and Dohrn used their celebrity status among [[leftist]]s to launch Obama's career. Ayers, Dohrn and [[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> are authors of ''[[Bill_Ayers#Prairie_Fire_Organizing_Committee_and_Maoist_thought|Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-imperialism]],'' the title taken from ''The Sayings of Mao Zedong.''<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/]</ref> The book declares "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> Ayers later publicly admitted to ghostwriting Obama's book, ''Dreams From My Father.''<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/ayers_affirms_he_wrote_dreams.html</ref>

==U.S. Senate career==
:''See also: [[Early_life_and_career_of_Barack_Hussein_Obama#U.S._Senate_.282004-2008.29|Barack Obama:U.S. Senate (2004-2008)]]''
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|left|Senator Barack Obama]]

Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004; he won the seat after [[liberals]] obtained the release of the confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to end his campaign and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]]. Obama spent very little time in the Senate - "frustrated by his lack of influence and what he called the 'glacial pace' ... [he began] running for president even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol’s corridors."<ref name="nyt senate">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times, Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role|author=Kate Zernike and Jeff Zelleny|date=March 9, 2008|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html}}</ref>

Obama frequently used the [[filibuster]] to obstruct the operations of government,<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303801_pf.html</ref> voted against the [[minimum wage]]<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> and debt ceiling increases,<ref>http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/obama-once-opposed-debt-ceiling-hike/237129/</ref> and recieved more than $126,000 in campaign contributions from [[Fannie Mae]]. The ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked him the most liberal senator in 2007.<ref name="ranked">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-502163_162-3775451-502163.html|title=National Journal: Obama Most Liberal Senator In 2007|author=Brian Montopoli|date=January 31, 2008|work=CBS}}</ref>

==Presidential Election==
{{main article|Barack Hussein Obama 2008 Presidential campaign}}
Democrats began calling for an Obama candidacy after liberals lauded his 2004 [[Democratic National Convention]] speech.
===Campaign to be the Democratic nominee===
The race for the Democratic ticket originally seemed [[Hillary Clinton]]'s to lose, but was ultimately a close race between Clinton and Obama. Clinton would take a slim advantage in the popular vote, while Obama would carry significantly more states and territories. Obama's advantage with super-delegates over Clinton was about 2-to-1.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Superdelegate endorsements for Friday 6/6|work=Democratic Convention Watch|url=http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/06/superdelegate-endorsements-for-friday.html}}</ref> Obama was able to attract the support of [[liberals]] by pointing out that he had come out against the [[Iraq War]] "from the beginning" whereas Clinton had voted in favor of the war in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-31-democrats-debate_N.htm|title=Obama, Clinton stress differences on Iraq, issues|author=David Jackson|work=USA Today|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref>
===Campaign for the Presidency===
Obama campaigned against Senator [[John McCain]] in the general election. To the chagrin of Clinton supporters, he selected Senator [[Joe Biden]] to be his running mate, whereas McCain selected [[Governor]] of [[Alaska]] [[Sarah Palin]]. The Obama and Biden ticket would win the election, and Obama would become the nation's first [[African American]] president.

====Jeremiah Wright====
One major dilemma that arose for Obama during his campaign was his connection to his preacher Jeremiah Wright. 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, a chruch that embraced [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering so-called "oppressed groups" against "establishment forces". This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays as ministers.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> Church pastor Jeremiah 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]]."

In April 2008, after 20 years in the church, 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>

==Presidential career==
{{main article|Obama administration}}
[[File:Obama and George H. W. Bush.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President Barack Obama meets with former President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office, Feb. 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).]]
Under Obama's stewardship the United States has suffered the largest [[Federal budget deficit|deficit]]s<ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10708/11-06-mbr.htm</ref><ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/118xx/doc11873/NovemberMBR.pdf</ref> in history and a credit downgrade from the rating agency Standard & Poor.<ref>http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/04/18/the-sp-outlook-and-obama/</ref> [[Poverty]]<ref>http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2009/pov09fig04.pdf</ref> increased to levels not seen in 50 years.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2010-09-16-poverty-rate-income-numbers_N.htm</ref> When his [[economic stimulus]] program was adopted unemployment rose and stagnated in the 10% range, <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439172480870774.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</ref> leaving tens of millions without [[hope]] of finding a job.<ref>[http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS11300000&years_option=specific_years&include_graphs=true&to_month=1&from_month=2 United States Department of Labor], Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data extracted on: July 19, 2010 (4:31:11 PM).</ref>

Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen, writing in the [[Wall Street Journal]], noted, "Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship." The commentators also note Obama's approach to governance has encouraged radical leftists to pursue a similar strategy on his behalf. Mary Frances Berry, former head of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, acknowledged that the [[Obama administration]] has taken to polarizing America around the issue of race as a means of diverting attention from other issues, saying, "Having one's opponent [[race card|rebut charges of racism]] is far better than discussing [[Unemployment|joblessness]]."<ref>http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Mary_Frances_Berry_91E3D9D5-C40D-440C-9D48-1C50CBC60C87.html</ref> Caddell and Schoen, who worked for President Carter and Clinton, respectively, further stated, "Mr. Obama has also cynically [[class warfare|divided the country on class lines]]. He has taken to playing the populist card time and time again. He bashes Wall Street and insurance companies whenever convenient to advance his programs, yet he has been eager to accept campaign contributions and negotiate with these very same banks and [[corporation]]s behind closed doors in order to advance his political agenda... President Obama's divisive approach to governance has weakened us as a people and paralyzed our political culture."<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703700904575391553798363586.html</ref>

===Domestic policy===
====Popular bills====
Obama's first act of office was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - effectively nullifying the [[Supreme Court]] case ''Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'', which ruled that Ledbetter had to have filed a pay [[discrimination]] suit within 180 days of the first time Ledbetter was payed less than her male peers;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/us/politics/30ledbetter-web.html|work=The New York Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation|author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg|date=January 29, 2009}}</ref> the law made corporations subject to suit within 180 days of each time the employee was unfairly paid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090213.html?=features|work=FindLaw|author=Joanna L. Grossman|date=Feb. 13, 2009|format=HTML|language=English|title=The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009}}</ref>

On January 2, 2011, Obama signed the James Zadroga [[9/11]] Healthcare and Compensation Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/02/obama-signs-zadroga-act-law/|publisher=New York Public Radio|title=Obama Signs Zadroga Act into Law|author=Fred Mogul|date=January 02, 2011|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> The act, which afforded 9/11 first responders who were sickened by the dust from the collapse of the [[World Trade Center]] health care and compensation, passed [[Congress]] after its sponsored agreed to scale down the pricing from 7.4 to 4.2 billion dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/dec/22/zadroga-911-bill-passes-senate/|publisher=New York Public Radio|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Congress Approves 9/11 Health Bill|date=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

====Economic plan====
{{see also|Obamunism|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009}}
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>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/daily-intel/2009/07/20/obamunism-inc|work=The Big Money|publisher=WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obamunism, Inc.|author=David Sessions|date=July 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/gerald-celente-6944|author=Jim Blasingame|title=Is the government creating a bailout bubble?}}</ref> Obamunism can also refer to Obama's [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]].<ref name="gerard">{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching|title=Monetary Policy-Not Obama's Stimulus-Is What Needs Watching|author=Gerard Jackson|date=February 16, 2009|work=Seeking Alpha}}</ref><ref name="bam">{{cite web|work=New York Post|date=May 17, 2009|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm|title=BAM'S WISE WORDS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/|title=Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures|work=The Foundry|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|author=Conn Carroll|date=March 24th, 2009}}</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> Proponents of [[free market]] capitalism said Bernanke should not have bailed out failing firms and instead should have allowed free market capitalism to quickly recover as it did in the depression of 1920 without government intervention (free market capitalists assert that government intervention drags out economic recessions and depressions).<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI</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 name="celente1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref name="celente2">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 name="gerard"/><ref name="bam"/><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 name="celente1"/><ref name="celente2"/>

During what the [[White House]] billed as [[Recovery Summer]], one half million workers per week continued losing their jobs. His signature legislative achievement, [[ObamaCare]], the federal courts have found to be [[unconstitutional]]<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html</ref> and is credited as a major cause of uncertainty, high [[unemployment]],<ref>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33220</ref> lagging job creation,<ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/05/it%E2%80%99s-official-medicare%E2%80%99s-finances-shadowed-by-uncertainty/</ref> and risk of a credit default crisis.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032802353.html</ref><ref>http://www.thestreet.com/story/10703361/cramer-obamacare-will-topple-the-market.html</ref>

His 2012 Budget plan has been roundly criticized in the mainstream media and liberal press as not a serious effort to deal with the nation's economic crisis.<ref>[http://republican.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=blogs.view&blog_id=1551d6f5-2ac9-4b8d-97ab-74def354024e Newspapers Call Out White House: ‘What Would That Path Be, Mr. President?’]</ref>

=====Healthcare=====
{{main article|Obamacare}}
On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The act had originated in the House of Representatives and passed September 17, 2009. The act was amended and passed the Senate prior to [[Democrat]] [[Ted Kennedy]]'s passing along party lines - just a fillibuster-proof majority at 60-39. In a de facto rejection of the bill, [[Massachusetts]] voters elected a [[Republican]] candidate, [[Scott Brown]], who promised to vote against the bill,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/scott-brown-wins-massachusetts-senate-race.html|work=The Washington Post|author=Chris Cillizza|date=January 19, 2010|title=Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate special election race|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> but another Senate vote would not occur. After Obama made a promise to issue an [[executive order]] that would ultimately prohibit the use of taxpayer subsidies to pay for [[abortion]] services,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/nation/la-na-healthcare-passage22-2010mar22/3|work=The Los Angeles Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes historic healthcare overhaul|date=March 22, 2010|author=Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook}}</ref> the [[House of Representatives]] would pass the bill as it left the Senate 219-212, with 34 Democrats and all other parties dissenting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-21/politics/health.care.main_1_health-care-entire-house-democratic-caucus-pre-existing-conditions?_s=PM:POLITICS|date=March 21, 2010|author=Alan Silverleib|work=CNN|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes health care bill on 219-212 vote}}</ref>

Amongst other things, the act mandates that the population purchase health care coverage or face punitive tax measures, and on this basis has been constitutionally challenged in the federal courts, with mixed results (three courts have upheld the act, two have declared it unconstitutional); thus, the Act is likely destined for [[Supreme Court]] reviewal.

====Gulf oil spill====
{{main article|Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster}}
President Obama authorized offshore oil drilling in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0430/Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill-imperils-Obama-s-offshore-drilling-plan Gulf of Mexico oil spill imperils Obama's offshore drilling plan,] By Mark Clayton, ''Christian Science Monitor'', April 30, 2010.</ref> stating, "oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills"<ref>White House Press Release, [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a-discussion-jobs-and-economy-charlotte-north-carolina Remarks by the President in a Discussion on Jobs and the Economy in Charlotte, North Carolina,] Office of the Press Secretary, April 02, 2010. Retrieved from whitehouse.gov 3 May 2010.</ref> and was widely criticized for his mishandling of the "[[Gulf oil spill disaster|worst environmental disaster]] in US history."<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/x-33986-Political-Spin-Examiner~y2010m4d29-Worst-environmental-disaster-in-US-history-Oil-slick-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-is-set-on-fire Worst environmental disaster in US history,] Maryann Tobin, ''Examiner'', April 29, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/the-oil-spill-is-obamas-fault/?src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman Conscience of a Liberal: The Oil Spill Is Obama’s Fault,] Paul Krugman, ''New York Times'', April 30, 2010.</ref>

====Don't Ask Don't Tell====
{{main article|Don't Ask Don't Tell}}
Candidate Obama promised to repeal a policy that originated in the Clinton era that prohibited inquiries into military personnel's [[sexual orientation]] while also barring "out" [[homosexuals]] from serving in the military. [[Liberals]] expressed anger when time passed and no effort to repeal the law was seen;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/21/obama-to-delay-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/|work=The Washington Times|format=HTML|title=Obama to delay ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal|language=English|author=Rowan Scarborough|date=November 21, 2008}}</ref> in fact, Obama's [[justice department]] filed a brief arguing against the [[Supreme Court]] granting a [[writ of certiorari]] to a gay soldier challenging the law (the writ was not granted). In response, the soldier, James Pietrangelo II, a former Army infantryman and lawyer, said, “[Obama's] a coward, a bigot and a pathological liar. This is a guy who spent more time picking out his dog, Bo, and playing with him on the White House lawn than he has working for equality for gay people."<ref>{{cite web|work=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc.|format=HTML|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y|title=Dismay Over Obama's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Turnabout|author=Mark Thompson|date=Jun. 09, 2009}}</ref>

On December 15th, 2010, a bill was introduced in the [[House of Representatives]] to repeal the law - it passed a day later by a vote of 250-175;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll638.xml|title=FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 638|format=HTML|work=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref> it passed the Senate three days later 65-31.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281|work=The U.S. Senate|title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress - 2nd Session|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 on December 22nd.<ref name="g dadt">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/22/obama-repeals-dont-ask-dont-tell|work=The Guardian|format=HTML|language=English|title='Don't ask, don't tell' repealed as Obama signs landmark law|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>

The [[Pentagon]] itself could not immediately implement the repeal and questioned whether it would hurt combat readiness.<ref name="g dadt"/> Senator [[John McCain]], the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, opposed the bill, saying "It may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner, without further consideration of this report and further study of the issue by Congress – for of all the people we serve, one of our highest responsibilities is to the men and women of our armed services, especially those risking their lives in combat.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/mccain-on-dont-ask-dont-tell-dont-rush/|title=McCain on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: Don’t Rush|date=December 2nd, 2010|format=HTML|author=David M. Herszenhorn|language=English|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
====Commander-in-chief====
=====Iraq=====
{{main article|Operation Iraqi Freedom}}
Obama campaigned on a promise to end the War in Iraq. On August 21, 2010, he ended combat operations, but left 50,000 U.S. troops in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-31/politics/obama.oval.office.address_1_iraq-requests-united-states-and-iraq-troop-surge?_s=PM:POLITICS|work=CNN|title=Obama: 'Time to turn the page' as Iraq combat mission ends|date=August 31, 2010|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref>

=====Afghanistan=====
{{main article|Afghanistan War}}
Obama took over the Afghanistan War and announced that the focus would be more narrowly tuned to disrupting and defeating Al Qaeda while pushing more military personnel into the country.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/themes/strategy.html#ixzz1LhWNImZp|title=Obama's New Strategy (March '09)|author=George Packer, Seth Jones, David Kilcullen, Rory Stewart, Andrew Exum, Col. Andrew Bacevich (Ret.)|work=PBS|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> Adviser to General [[Stanley McChrystal]] David Kilcullen wrote, "One of the big strategic shifts is the use of language now which talks about Pakistan and Afghanistan as the same theater. Now we talked about Af-Pak long before the Obama administration came about, but the public use of that term, and the description of it as the Afghanistan-Pakistan campaign, sends a new message to people about how the administration is going to think about Afghanistan and Pakistan."<ref name="pbs"/> This became evident when, under the orders of Obama, a military SEALs team killed September 11th mastermind [[Osama bin Laden]] in Abottabad, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/05/commander-in-chief.html|title=Commander in Chief|author=Daniel Romano and Daniel Klaidman|date=May 05, 2011|work=Newsweek|publisher=The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref>

=====Libya=====
{{main article|Libyan uprising 2011}}
In February 2011, the political unrest that had spread through the Arab world showed up as protests in Libya. Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi - dictator of Libya for 41 years - responded to the activism with a wave of violence.<ref name="nyt libya">{{cite web|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Libya — Protests and Revolt (2011)}}</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council]] voted unanimously to impose [[sanctions]], and later authorized all members to take action to protect civilians. Obama, acting without approval from Congress and at the beckoning of the [[United Nations]], directed American forces to take out Libya's air defense system.<ref name="nyt libya"/> Obama later said, "[I]f we waited one more day Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world."<ref>{{cite web|author=Barack Obama|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134935452/obamas-speech-on-libya-a-responsibility-to-act|title=Obama's Speech On Libya: 'A Responsibility To Act'|date=March 28, 2011|publisher=National Public Radio ([[NPR]])|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> Alan J. Kuperman - writing an editorial for the [[Boston Globe]] - suggested this statement was false, writing, "[I]ntervention did not prevent genocide, because no such bloodbath was in the offing. To the contrary, by emboldening rebellion, US interference has prolonged Libya’s civil war and the resultant suffering of innocents."<ref name="kuperman">{{cite web|author=Alan J. Kuperman|work=The Boston Globe|url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-14/bostonglobe/29418371_1_rebel-stronghold-civilians-rebel-positions|title=False pretense for war in Libya?|date=April 14, 2011}}</ref> Kuperman, a professor of public affairs at the University of Texas who authored a book called ''The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention'', further stated that the rebels had tricked the world into thinking a bloodbath was at hand and that Obama had lied to the American people in order to act on this theory.<ref name="kuperman"/>

=====Guantanamo Bay=====
{{main article|Guantanamo Bay}}
One of Obama's campaign promises was that he would close the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - detainees would be flown to other countries while the ones awaiting trial would enter the American court system. Two days after taking office he signed an order directing the military to do so.<ref name="salon">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/25/obama_guantanamo_rhetoric|work=Salon|title=The Obama/Gitmo timeline|author=Natasha Lennard|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> But, in November 2009 Obama admitted that his self imposed deadline of January 2010 would be missed, and in March 2011 the president went back on his campaign promise, signing an executive order to create a formal system of indefinite detention for the prisoners.<ref name="salon"/>

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

==See also==
*[[Obama birth certificate controversy]]
*[[Political positions of Barack Obama]]

==External links==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barack Hussein}}
{{USPresidents}}
{{2008 presidential candidates}}

Rhodes v. Chapman

2011-05-12T21:00:46Z

StevenTramp:

In '''''Rhodes v. Chapman''''', 452 U.S. 337, 349 (1981), the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that the [[U.S. Constitution]] "does not mandate comfortable prisons" and that deference to the legislature was appropriate in the absence of infliction of needless pain or other [[Eighth Amendment]] violations.

Generally prison officials may not use excessive physical force against prisoners. See ''Hudson v. McMillian'', 503 U.S. 1 (1992). Moreover, prison officials must ensure that inmates receive adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care, and must "take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the inmates." ''Hudson v. Palmer'', 468 U.S. 517, 526-527 (1984).
[[category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
[[category:Eighth Amendment]]

Rhodes v. Chapman

2011-05-12T21:00:27Z

StevenTramp:

In '''''Rhodes v. Chapman''''', 452 U.S. 337, 349 (1981), the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that the [[U.S. Constitution]] "does not mandate comfortable prisons" and that deference to the legislature was appropriate in the absence of infliction of needless pain or other [[Eighth Amendment]] violations.

Generally prison officials may not use excessive physical force against prisoners. See Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1 (1992). Moreover, prison officials must ensure that inmates receive adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care, and must "take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the inmates." ''Hudson v. Palmer'', 468 U.S. 517, 526-527 (1984).
[[category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
[[category:Eighth Amendment]]

Judas Iscariot

2011-05-11T19:08:39Z

StevenTramp:

[[Image:Judas iscariot s.jpg|left]]
'''Judas Iscariot''' was the son of Simon Iscariot and Cyborea ([[Gospel of John|John]] 6:71 and 13:26). The [[Bible]] relates that Judas Iscariot was one of the disciples of [[Jesus Christ]] and betrayed him for 30 "pieces of silver" (most likely Tyrian shekels) to soldiers of the High Priest [[Caiphas]], who then turned Jesus over to [[Pontius Pilate|Pontius Pilate's]] soldiers.

The ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'' says that after Jesus' arrest by the [[Rome|Roman]] authorities (but before his execution), Judas, overtaken by guilt returned the money to the priests that gave it to him and committed [[suicide]] by hanging himself.

According to John 13:29, Judas was the money keeper for Jesus and the [[Twelve Disciples]].

The ''[[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts of the Apostles]]'' states that Judas used the money to buy a field, and that when he was cut down after hanging himself, he burst apart. The field was then named Akeldama, or the Field of [[Blood]]. ''Acts 1'' goes on to describe how his place among the apostles was filled by [[Matthias the Apostle|Matthias]].

A translation of a [[Gnostic]] document known as The [[Gospel of Judas]] has recently been made public, giving rise to much religious and historical discussion, but appears to be dated much later than Judas' death.

== See also ==

*[[The Twelve Apostles]]
*[[Garden of Gethsemane]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.nndb.com/people/843/000101540/ Judas Iscariot]

{{DivineComedy}}
[[category:12 Disciples]]

User:StevenTramp

2011-05-11T18:13:46Z

StevenTramp:

I hope to become a long-term, valuable contributor to this site. Right now, I'm mostly watching and helping with some grammar and spelling.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2011-05-11T18:11:01Z

StevenTramp: Redirect

'''''A Midsummer-Night's Dream''''' is a play by [[William Shakespeare]] and is one of his earlier comedies. It was written in approximately 1595<ref> http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/bibliography/bibliography.htm </ref>. It is well known for its use of [[fairy|fairies]].

==Synopsis==
The play opens with the approach of the wedding of Theseus, victorious Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, subdued Queen of the Amazons. As the wedding approaches, a conflict arises. A courtier named Egeus wants to give his daughter, Hermia, to Demetrius. However, Hermia is in love with Lysander, a man who won her love. Egeus demands the right of fathers by Athenian law to offer her the choice of either marrying Demetrius, becoming a nun or suffering the death penalty. Although Lysander argues that he is better than Demetrius, because Demetrius won the heart of Helena and left her, Theseus sides with the Athenian Law. To escape the law, Lysander and Hermia agree to flee to the woods of Athens at night and travel far away. They tell Helena of her plans and Helena, who is still in love with Demetrius, decides to tell Demetrius, so she can follow him into the wood. Meanwhile, in preparation for the wedding, several craftsmen prepare to enact a tragic play, which they call ''the most lamentable comedy, and cruel death of Pyramus and Thysbe.'' The play is similar in plot to Shakespeare's [[Romeo and Juliet]]. The would-be-actors agree to rehearse in the forest.

In the forest, we are introduced to the fairies and sprites, most notably Puck the mischievous sprite. There is a conflict between the fairy King and Queen, Oberon and Titania, over a changling boy. Titania knew the boy's mother and in duty raises the child, but Oberon wants the child for his train. When she refuses to submit to him, Oberon decides to resort to magic to take the boy by force. He sends Puck to fetch a magic flower that causes whoever is anointed in the eyes to fall in love with whatever living creature it sees next. Oberon intends to make Titania fall in love with some monster and take advantage of her. While he waits for Puck, angry Demetrius and doting Helena pass him. Oberon then decides to send Puck to anoint Demetrius' eyes with the juice. Oberon anoints Titania, but Puck mistakes a sleeping Lysander for Demetrius and anoints him by mistake. Helena accidentally wakes up Lysander and he falls head-over-heels in love with her. Helena flees him thinking he is mocking her.

Meanwhile, the craftsmen of Athens practice near the bed of Titania. The actor playing Pyramus, Nick Bottom, retires into a thicket and Puck decides to transform his head into the head of a donkey! The other craftsman quickly run away, but Titania wakes to hear him sing and falls in love with him. Oberon is pleased and uses the opportunity to take the boy from Titania. However, when he finds Demetrius chasing Hermia, he is angry at Puck. Oberon anoints Demetrius' eyes and very soon Demetrius ''and'' Lysander abandon Hermia for Helena. The lovers quarrel over their situation. Demetrius and Lysander very nearly duel, but Oberon tells Puck to create a fog and separate the lovers from each other. Puck then anoints Lysander's eyes with an herb that removes the spell of love and restores him to Hermia's love.

Oberon also undoes the spell on Titania and Puck removes Nick Bottom's head. Titania wakes to be again in love with Oberon. The fairies depart with the light of day. Theseus and Hippolyta find the lovers asleep on the ground and all agreed. Since Demetrius no longer wishes for Hermia, the couples are free to the monarchs and wed alongside them. After the wedding, the craftsman, including a restored Nick Bottom, perform comically before the wedded couples. After the performance, when the couples go to bed, the fairies dance through the castle. The play closes when Puck reminds the audience that if anyone was offended, they can simply dispel the plot as nothing more than a dream.

==Characters==
'''Theseus''' and '''Hippolyta''' The respectively rulers of Athens and the Amazons, who are planning to marry. Their marriage feast concludes the play.

'''Egeus''' The father of Hermia, who wants Hermia to marry Demetrius.

'''Lysander''' The man, who is in love with Hermia and departs into the forest with her. He falls under the power of the magic flower temporarily, but is restored and marries Hermia.

'''Demetrius''' The former lover of Helena, who abandoned her for Hermia. He chases them into the forest and is the only character to remain under the influence of the magic flower, so that he can remain in love with Helena.

'''Hermia''' The daughter of Egeus, who loves Lysander. She is especially vexed when Lysander falls in love with Helena, but she still marries Lysander in the end.

'''Helena''' The lover of Demetrius, whom both Lysander and Demetrius under the potion of the magic flower love. She thinks she is being mocked, but marries Demetrius at the end of the play.

'''Philostrate''' Theseus' servant.

'''Peter Quince''' A carpenter and the organizer of the craftsmen, who perform the play.

'''Nick Bottom''' A weaver, who enthusiastically takes part in the play. His head temporarily transformed into that of donkey and Titania falls in love with him. However, he is restored and he returns to play Pyramus at the wedding feast.

'''Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout & Snug''' The remaining craftsmen of Athens, who rehearse in the forest and then perform at the wedding.

'''Oberon''' The King of the fairies, who tries to manipulate the events to work everything out. He tricks Titania to get her boy and he eventually gets all the lovers properly matched up.

'''Titania''' The Queen of the fairies, who is altered by the magic flower to temporarily become enamored of a transformed Nick Bottom.

'''Puck (Robin Goodfellow)''' The mischief making sprite, who loves to cause mischief. He mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and transforms Nick Bottom. He gives the epilogue.

<ref> [[Great Books, Shakespeare: Vol. 1]], edited by William George Clarke and William Aldis Wright, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 1952, pp. 352-375. </ref>

==Lines and Quotes==
"Ay me! for aught that I could read, 
Could ever hear by tale or history, 
The course of true love never did run smooth." 
-Lysander, Act I, Scene 1

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; 
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind," 
-Helena, Act I, Scene 1

"The lunatic, the lover and the poet 
Are of imagination all compact" 
-Theseus, Act V, Scene 1

==Film versions==
A Midsummer's Night's Dream has been a popular comedy to put on film. A black and white version was made in 1935, directed by William Dieterle and Max Rheinhardt. It starred Olivia de Havilland as Hermia, Mickey Rooney as Puck and James Cagney as Nick Bottom.

More recently, in 1999 Michael Hoffman directed a version starring Christian Bale as Demetrius, Stanley Tucci as Puck and Kevin Kline as Nick Bottom.
==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
Open Source Shakespeare - A Midsummer-Night's Dream [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=midsummer]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer-Night's Dream, A}}

[[Category:Plays of Shakespeare]]

Third Estate

2011-05-11T18:03:45Z

StevenTramp:

The Third Estate was a social level in pre-revolutionary [[France]]. It consisted of the people who were not part of the clergy, which made up the First Estate, or the aristocracy, who made up the second. For the most part, they were peasants, merchants, and laborers; collectively, commoners. The Third Estate was badly overtaxed in order to pay for several wars. The oppression of the Third Estate by the ruling classes of the other two was a direct cause of the French Revolution.

[[Category:French Revolution]]

Talk:Santa Claus

2011-05-11T17:39:55Z

StevenTramp: /* American */ new section

==The eventual debate==

I know what talk pages are like here, and sooner or later we are going to get into a debate about how acceptable Santa is - does he detract from the celebration of Christ's birth, influence of pagan imagery, undermining future faith in christ by giving children a myth they will have to outgrow, and so on. So, before any of that starts... please, before anyone starts debating, lets at least get the page into a good condition on the non-contriversial bits! Once the history is detailed, the links in, the details done (I want to see a list of Santa movies), then is the time for debate. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 19:40, 23 September 2008 (EDT)

:Santa doesn't exist. --[[User:JESUSCHRIST|JESUSCHRIST]] 20:08, 23 September 2008 (EDT)
::I didn't mean that debate - that's an easy one. I just know that a significent number of Christians have 'issues' with Santa, for various reasons theological. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 19:14, 24 September 2008 (EDT)

== American ==

Is Santa Claus really an American tradition? I know that Americans have a specific take on Santa, but I believe that he is celebrated widely outside of America.

Santa Claus

2011-05-11T17:38:02Z

StevenTramp: /* Features of the Santa Claus Legend */

[[Image:Thomas Nast Santa Claus.JPG|300px|right|thumb|Santa Claus, by Thomas Nast]]
[[Image:Christmas Eve 1862.jpg|thumb|'''Christmas Eve 1862.''' Nast shows the wife and husband thinking of each other on Christmas Eve. The illustrations in the top corners show Santa visiting homes and military camps.]]
: ''This article is about the American legendary secret Christmas gift-giver. For the real man behind this legend, see [[Saint Nicholas]].''

'''Santa Claus''', or simply "Santa", is an [[United States of America|American]] popular cultural icon, probably of [[Holland|Dutch]] origin. He has been a regular staple of the American observance of [[Christmas]] for about two centuries or more, and exported to prominence in much of the world.

== Origins ==
The ultimate basis of Santa Claus is [[Saint Nicholas]], the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop]] of [[Myra]]. In the ninth century AD, coincident with the [[Muslim]] invasion and re-invention of [[Rome|Roman]] [[Asia Minor]] as the [[Ottoman Empire]], the bones of Saint Nicholas were transported to [[Europe]]. The many legends about this bishop--including a persistent legend about the "[[manna]]" coming from his body after his death--fostered the growth of new legends of Saint Nicholas being somehow larger than life.

[[Holland|Dutch]] settlers in [[New Amsterdam]] brought with them the tradition surrounding this new legend of Saint Nicholas, whom they called ''Sinter Klaas'' in their language (and still do today).<ref name=Santa>Anonymous, "[http://www.lnstar.com/mall/main-areas/santafaq.htm Santa Claus Facts, Origins, and Fun Tidbits]," ''Lone Star Internet'', 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2007</ref> With the British takeover of [[New Netherland]] by troops loyal to the then-incumbent [[Duke of York]] (hence the name [[New York]]), this mythical character gained a new name: Santa Claus.
In the early nineteenth century, at least three prominent Americans contributed to the Santa Claus legend we know today:

# [[Washington Irving]]
# [[Clement Moore|Clement C. Moore]], author of ''[[The Night Before Christmas]]''<ref name=TNBC>Clement Clarke Moore, "[http://www.lnstar.com/mall/main-areas/Night_B_Xmas.html The Night Before Christmas (A Visit by St. Nicholas)]," 1823. Retrieved April 16, 2007, from [http://www.lnstar.com/mall/main-areas/santafaq.htm Santa Claus Facts, Origins, and Fun Tidbits]</ref>
# [[Thomas Nast]], the famous [[cartoon]]ist, who, in 1881, drew the classic [[portraits|portrait]] of Santa Claus that survives today. (The image of Santa was progressively elaborated by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a rotund Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s.)

== Features of the Santa Claus Legend ==
[[Image:Santa Claus 2.gif|right]]
The hallmarks of the legend of Santa Claus include:
# A village located at the [[North Pole]], containing a toy factory and other facilities for the production and distribution of toys via a sled driven by flying reindeer.
# An uncanny ability to know whether any child has been "good" or "bad," typically in the form of a list of all children, appropriately catagorised. The means by which this is achieved is rarely elaborated on.
# Rewards for the good, and punishment for the bad. Traditionally, the good children receive toys and the bad lumps of coal. Due to the unfamiliarity of a lump of coal to modern children, some variations substitute other undesirable gifts.
# A requirement for belief: Santa is said to deliver only to those who believe in him. Non-believers get nothing.
# Secret comings and goings to make deliveries, via the chimney. In homes without fireplaces, some flexibility is required.
# Placement of small candies and similar "party favors" in children's stockings. Children are encouraged to leave a gift in return on Christmas eve - tradition dictates a mince pie, a glass of sherry, and one or more carrots for the reindeer.
# Accomplishment of all this order fulfillment and delivery on one night of the year: the night of December 24-25. The date may vary in different cultures.

== External links ==

*[http://www.the-north-pole.com/history/ History of Santa Claus]
*[http://www.moroni10.com/Jesus-santa.html How the Claus Stole Christmas], Kelly Bingham, ''The Signpost'', Nov 30, 2005

[[File:Santa Claus.jpg]]

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Culture]]

User talk:Jpatt

2011-05-11T03:46:10Z

StevenTramp: /* Stubs */ new section

== Archive 2008 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/Subway_Troll Here]

== Archive 2009 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2009]

== Archive 2010 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2010]

== Your block policy ==

I was just wondering; why are you blocking people with the reason that they don't give their name?

People can simply say whatever name they wanted and you wouldn't know if it is true or not.
More importantly the account creation page states that submitting your name is '''optional'''
Can please explain the reasoning behind your block policy?

ps: I'd appreciate you not blocking me merely for asking this question. I just ask out of curiosity ;)

Thanks.

[[User:Philny|Philny]] 18:20, 4 January 2011 (EST)
:Just as it is optional for first name last initial, the block policy is of the administrators discretion. It helps eliminate sock accounts used by [troll]]s and if the user is truly interested in contributing in good faith, they will recreate their username as commanded. Do users/trolls use fake names? absolutely. Are you really Phil? I chose not to recreate your account but I could be wrong about you. Time will tell. Hope this is a sufficient answer. Have a great day! --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:28, 4 January 2011 (EST)

:::Jpatt. In all honesty I don't see how your practice would help eliminate sock accounts. People can simply lie about who they are. Socks are best controlled through an IP range block if you asked me.
::Lastly I would think that good faith would be assumed for new people until they explicitly become trolls/vandals. but hey that's just me.
::I'm still trying to get rid of those liberal Wikipepdia ways. [[User:Philny|Philny]] 19:54, 4 January 2011 (EST)

:::Is it foolproof? No. They are not blocked from contributing just blocked from using that name. So it is of good faith on our part to allow them to recreate a username. I did not create the policy and I was subject to the same policy when I first joined. We'll banish someone when needed and we will ferret out those fake accounts over time. To obey an administrators request is the first step toward recognizing a good faith contributor.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 20:18, 4 January 2011 (EST)

::::Hi. My former name was STramp, but you seem to have decided that that cannot be my real name. I'm not quite sure why?[[User:StevenTramp|StevenTramp]] 21:23, 10 May 2011 (EDT)

== Re:Welcome! ==

Thanks for the welcome! I'll be sure to read the Editor's Guide ;) --[[User:AznBurger|AznBurger]] 21:36, 19 January 2011 (EST)

== Conservative 3737, "everything you say is conservative" ==

...but really not [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Chris_Matthews&curid=10356&diff=846659&oldid=846644 family-friendly.] Thanks for heading him off! [[User:Martyp|Martyp]] 16:32, 5 February 2011 (EST)

:The IP is a school and he didn't actually cuss which would cross the line. I am willing to give a second chance if the rules are followed. BTW, I hope no hard feelings for targeting you in the past. Your edits were excellent.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 16:38, 5 February 2011 (EST)
::Life is too short for hard feelings. Good call on the "second chance" thing. [[User:Martyp|Martyp]] 16:39, 5 February 2011 (EST)

== Hello, there is a reason I don't use my real name ==

I'll write you an email about it if you like, I would have before but you locked the email so I could not. Account creation was also turned off, which makes recreating my account difficult. --[[User:AlaskanEconomy2|AlaskanEconomy2]] 20:43, 8 February 2011 (EST)
:I now feel pretty foolish not having checked this account before creating that one. Thanks/sorry. --[[User:AlaskanEconomy|AlaskanEconomy]] 20:52, 8 February 2011 (EST)

== Thanks ==

Thanks for uploading that image yesterday. With regards to my username, I created it before there was any specific username policy on Conservapedia's Guidelines or Commandments page (even though I've only been contributing recently). If it is important that I have username that contains only my name/initials, I will change it. --[[User:Toadaron|Toadaron]] 17:40, 18 February 2011 (EST)

== New conservative pages for 2011 ==

I noticed you were laying down plans for pages to create. I think you might consider making a page on the pence amendment, the recent 240-185 house vote to amend Title X to remove the family planning grants from organizations that perform abortions (like planned parenthood). While I support the decision the issue is outside of my area of specialization and I am afraid of getting some important facts wrong. --[[User:AlaskanEconomy|AlaskanEconomy]] 20:43, 22 February 2011 (EST)
:Maybe at some future point. It's too early to determine the outcome. You're welcome to start it.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 20:45, 22 February 2011 (EST)

== uploading images ==

How can I upload non-political, non-controversial images that I made myself to Conservapedia? I suppose you or the Conservapedia administration would like to preview images before uploading them? How do I show them for you to preview? [[User:HPadleckas|HPadleckas]] 21:34, 28 February 2011 (EST)

:Send to conservapedia@zoho.com--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:39, 28 February 2011 (EST)

==Celebrity crime==

Hi, Jpatt. I'm wondering how and when we should report (gloat over?) celebrity crime, like a female pop star arrested for being drunk in public, getting a speeding ticket, etc. Are we trying to prove that Hollywood produces (or encourages) self-indulgent behavior, or what? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:53, 2 March 2011 (EST)

:Personally, I don't have a litmus test for inclusion. I simply take celebrities, be it Democrat or Republican, and post their crimes. As role models, they need to be exposed as to why they make headlines. Their behavior is an example of who "not to follow". If you have suggestions, of course I would work with you. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 15:04, 2 March 2011 (EST)

::I had nothing in mind, just trying to stimulate thought here. Carry on, my good man! :-) --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 01:21, 5 March 2011 (EST)

== Delete ==

Hey Jpatt - I manually copy-pasted move a page from [[Frankfurt school]] to [[Essay:Frankfurt school]] - but upon examining the content it appears that the original author - CharlieO - copy pasted that from another site. Could you delete both pages? Thanks!--[[User:Iduan|I]][[User_talk:Iduan|Duan]] 18:50, 26 March 2011 (EDT)
:No problem. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 18:57, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

==Photo upload==
Hi, I would like to upload a photo of myself, I don't have the rights, can you do it for me? Thanks.--[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 20:35, 8 April 2011 (EDT)
Yes, send to conservapedia@zoho.com --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:19, 8 April 2011 (EDT)
Thanks. :)--[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 21:23, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

I just sent it to you. :) --[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 21:32, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

:Done. [http://www.conservapedia.com/images/4/42/Me.jpg]--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:41, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

Thank you. :)--[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 21:44, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

== I need you to check your email ==

K? [[User:DMorris|DMorris]] 23:20, 27 April 2011 (EDT)

== nice reversions! ==

You're fast, sir.--[[User:Iduan|I]][[User_talk:Iduan|Duan]] 19:50, 2 May 2011 (EDT)
:Did you hear? I'm Quick Draw McGraw!--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:54, 2 May 2011 (EDT)

== Thank you ==

Thank you for the helpful links and the welcome. I hope to become a valuable member of the community.

== Editing the Wicca page ==

I would like to formally request that the "murders" section be removed for the reasons stated on the talk page.

This is not a place to smear other people or post inflammatory material. {{unsigned|HarabecW}}

:I digress, this is a place to educate others and to warn them to stay clear of witchcraft. Find another topic to edit. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 22:30, 6 May 2011 (EDT)

::I have looked at some of the disputed links, and while I don't know enough about the sources themselves to question their reliability, for most of the stories no causal relationship is established between the person's religious beliefs and their actions. One might just as well divide any story about crime between those where the perpetrator was male or female and argue that their gender was the causal factor. [[User:WilliamB1|WilliamB1]] 22:41, 6 May 2011 (EDT)

:::A person's beliefs and their actions are always tied together whether you agree or not. If Wiccans start making the news for rape, I will start a new section. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 23:10, 6 May 2011 (EDT)

== Stubs ==

Do we use stub tags here on Conservapedia?-[[User:StevenTramp|StevenTramp]] 23:46, 10 May 2011 (EDT)

Hippie

2011-05-11T03:42:02Z

StevenTramp: /* Christian Alternative */

[[Image:Hippies.jpg|right|thumb|A group of hippies.]]

The '''Hippie''' or '''Counter Culture''' subculture originated in the mid 1960s, in rebellion to modernity and moderation, or as the Hippies put it, to "all repressive hierarchical power structures since these are adverse to the hippie goals of peace, love and freedom." <ref>http://www.hippy.com/hippyway.htm</ref>

Hippies were noted for their [[liberal]] stance, including psychedelic [[music]], sexual freedom, [[drug]] use (particularly [[LSD]]), and rejecting what they saw as the [[materialism|materialistic]] values of the society around them. The non-violent movement was largely in response to the [[Vietnam War]] and used the slogan "[[peace]] and [[love]]" and "make love not [[war]]".

Many of the elements of hippie counterculture, such as an anti-corporate ideology and the [[anarchy|anarchic]], experimental, [[libertarian|libertarian]] strands, have stayed with hippies as they grew up. Many aspects of alternative lifestyles that were shocking in the 1960s have now become somewhat acceptable in [[liberal society]] and amongst those influenced by [[Hollywood values]], such as recreational use of drugs and a loose attitude towards sex. <ref> http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1612717,00.html </ref>

Hippies were preceded by the counter-culture [[beatnik]] movement of the 1950s.

==Christian Alternative==
"[[Jesus Freak]]s" were hippies who were born-again [[Christian]]s and followed Christ's commandments regarding the importance of [[love]] and frequently eschewed the use of drugs. Many hippies experimented with alternative living arrangements such as [[commune]]s, where all work and all possessions were shared.

==Examples in Pop Culture==
In the movie ''[[Easy Rider]]'' the protagonists visit a hippie commune in California. Conservative writer [[Tom Wolfe]]'s account of [[Ken Kesey]]'s [[Merry Pranksters]] in his book ''[[The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test]]'' documented one aspect of the hippie scene.

==Famous Hippies==

===Ken Kesey===
Most famous for writing the novel "[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]," [[Ken Kesey]], though a beatnik, was well known for his attributions to the hippie culture. He famously rode around on top of a technicolor school bus called "Furthur." He had a troupe of hippies with whom he lived and traveled, called the [[Merry Pranksters]]. The adventures of Kesey and the Pranksters are documented in "[[The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test]]," by [[Tom Wolfe]].

===Timothy Leary===
Dr. [[Timothy Leary]] (1920 – 1996) was a Harvard professor of psychology. He researched psychedelic drugs, including LSD--and promoted their use. He is best known for coining the phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

===Harry Hay===
[[Harry Hay]] was founder of the Radical Faeries, a loosely affiliated international group of mostly gay men, hippies, neopagans, environmentalists, and eco-feminists. Hay is a radical who is accredited as the founder of the modern [[gay rights]] movement in the United States. As an octogenarian Hay was still known to dress as a hippie.<ref>http://www.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_01.11.01/columns/pink.php</ref>

==External Links==
*[http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/14_flower_children.htm Flower Children]

==References==
<References/>

[[Category:1960s]]
[[category:culture]]

User:StevenTramp

2011-05-11T03:37:33Z

StevenTramp:

I hope to become a long-term, valuable contributor to this site. Right now, I'm just watching and helping with some grammar and spelling.

User:StevenTramp

2011-05-11T02:53:19Z

StevenTramp: Blanked the page

User talk:StevenTramp

2011-05-11T02:10:36Z

StevenTramp:

User talk:StevenTramp

2011-05-11T02:09:29Z

StevenTramp:

User:StevenTramp

2011-05-11T01:29:42Z

StevenTramp: Created page with "This is my new page, since Jpatt banned me for using his policy. Still looking for knowledge, no longer so sure whether or not this is the place to get it. No offense to Mr. Schl..."

This is my new page, since Jpatt banned me for using his policy. Still looking for knowledge, no longer so sure whether or not this is the place to get it. No offense to Mr. Schlafly, for whom I hold the highest respect.

User talk:Jpatt

2011-05-11T01:23:20Z

StevenTramp: /* Your block policy */

User talk:Jpatt

2011-05-11T01:22:57Z

StevenTramp: /* Your block policy */

== Archive 2008 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/Subway_Troll Here]

== Archive 2009 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2009]

== Archive 2010 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2010]

== Your block policy ==

I was just wondering; why are you blocking people with the reason that they don't give their name?

People can simply say whatever name they wanted and you wouldn't know if it is true or not.
More importantly the account creation page states that submitting your name is '''optional'''
Can please explain the reasoning behind your block policy?

ps: I'd appreciate you not blocking me merely for asking this question. I just ask out of curiosity ;)

Thanks.

[[User:Philny|Philny]] 18:20, 4 January 2011 (EST)
:Just as it is optional for first name last initial, the block policy is of the administrators discretion. It helps eliminate sock accounts used by [troll]]s and if the user is truly interested in contributing in good faith, they will recreate their username as commanded. Do users/trolls use fake names? absolutely. Are you really Phil? I chose not to recreate your account but I could be wrong about you. Time will tell. Hope this is a sufficient answer. Have a great day! --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:28, 4 January 2011 (EST)

:::Jpatt. In all honesty I don't see how your practice would help eliminate sock accounts. People can simply lie about who they are. Socks are best controlled through an IP range block if you asked me.
::Lastly I would think that good faith would be assumed for new people until they explicitly become trolls/vandals. but hey that's just me.
::I'm still trying to get rid of those liberal Wikipepdia ways. [[User:Philny|Philny]] 19:54, 4 January 2011 (EST)

:::Is it foolproof? No. They are not blocked from contributing just blocked from using that name. So it is of good faith on our part to allow them to recreate a username. I did not create the policy and I was subject to the same policy when I first joined. We'll banish someone when needed and we will ferret out those fake accounts over time. To obey an administrators request is the first step toward recognizing a good faith contributor.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 20:18, 4 January 2011 (EST)

::::Hi. My former name was STramp, but you seem to have decided that that cannot be my real name. I'm not quite sure why?

== Re:Welcome! ==

Thanks for the welcome! I'll be sure to read the Editor's Guide ;) --[[User:AznBurger|AznBurger]] 21:36, 19 January 2011 (EST)

== Conservative 3737, "everything you say is conservative" ==

...but really not [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Chris_Matthews&curid=10356&diff=846659&oldid=846644 family-friendly.] Thanks for heading him off! [[User:Martyp|Martyp]] 16:32, 5 February 2011 (EST)

:The IP is a school and he didn't actually cuss which would cross the line. I am willing to give a second chance if the rules are followed. BTW, I hope no hard feelings for targeting you in the past. Your edits were excellent.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 16:38, 5 February 2011 (EST)
::Life is too short for hard feelings. Good call on the "second chance" thing. [[User:Martyp|Martyp]] 16:39, 5 February 2011 (EST)

== Hello, there is a reason I don't use my real name ==

I'll write you an email about it if you like, I would have before but you locked the email so I could not. Account creation was also turned off, which makes recreating my account difficult. --[[User:AlaskanEconomy2|AlaskanEconomy2]] 20:43, 8 February 2011 (EST)
:I now feel pretty foolish not having checked this account before creating that one. Thanks/sorry. --[[User:AlaskanEconomy|AlaskanEconomy]] 20:52, 8 February 2011 (EST)

== Thanks ==

Thanks for uploading that image yesterday. With regards to my username, I created it before there was any specific username policy on Conservapedia's Guidelines or Commandments page (even though I've only been contributing recently). If it is important that I have username that contains only my name/initials, I will change it. --[[User:Toadaron|Toadaron]] 17:40, 18 February 2011 (EST)

== New conservative pages for 2011 ==

I noticed you were laying down plans for pages to create. I think you might consider making a page on the pence amendment, the recent 240-185 house vote to amend Title X to remove the family planning grants from organizations that perform abortions (like planned parenthood). While I support the decision the issue is outside of my area of specialization and I am afraid of getting some important facts wrong. --[[User:AlaskanEconomy|AlaskanEconomy]] 20:43, 22 February 2011 (EST)
:Maybe at some future point. It's too early to determine the outcome. You're welcome to start it.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 20:45, 22 February 2011 (EST)

== uploading images ==

How can I upload non-political, non-controversial images that I made myself to Conservapedia? I suppose you or the Conservapedia administration would like to preview images before uploading them? How do I show them for you to preview? [[User:HPadleckas|HPadleckas]] 21:34, 28 February 2011 (EST)

:Send to conservapedia@zoho.com--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:39, 28 February 2011 (EST)

==Celebrity crime==

Hi, Jpatt. I'm wondering how and when we should report (gloat over?) celebrity crime, like a female pop star arrested for being drunk in public, getting a speeding ticket, etc. Are we trying to prove that Hollywood produces (or encourages) self-indulgent behavior, or what? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:53, 2 March 2011 (EST)

:Personally, I don't have a litmus test for inclusion. I simply take celebrities, be it Democrat or Republican, and post their crimes. As role models, they need to be exposed as to why they make headlines. Their behavior is an example of who "not to follow". If you have suggestions, of course I would work with you. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 15:04, 2 March 2011 (EST)

::I had nothing in mind, just trying to stimulate thought here. Carry on, my good man! :-) --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 01:21, 5 March 2011 (EST)

== Delete ==

Hey Jpatt - I manually copy-pasted move a page from [[Frankfurt school]] to [[Essay:Frankfurt school]] - but upon examining the content it appears that the original author - CharlieO - copy pasted that from another site. Could you delete both pages? Thanks!--[[User:Iduan|I]][[User_talk:Iduan|Duan]] 18:50, 26 March 2011 (EDT)
:No problem. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 18:57, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

==Photo upload==
Hi, I would like to upload a photo of myself, I don't have the rights, can you do it for me? Thanks.--[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 20:35, 8 April 2011 (EDT)
Yes, send to conservapedia@zoho.com --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:19, 8 April 2011 (EDT)
Thanks. :)--[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 21:23, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

I just sent it to you. :) --[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 21:32, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

:Done. [http://www.conservapedia.com/images/4/42/Me.jpg]--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:41, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

Thank you. :)--[[User:SarahWollstone|SarahWollstone]] 21:44, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

== I need you to check your email ==

K? [[User:DMorris|DMorris]] 23:20, 27 April 2011 (EDT)

== nice reversions! ==

You're fast, sir.--[[User:Iduan|I]][[User_talk:Iduan|Duan]] 19:50, 2 May 2011 (EDT)
:Did you hear? I'm Quick Draw McGraw!--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:54, 2 May 2011 (EDT)

== Thank you ==

Thank you for the helpful links and the welcome. I hope to become a valuable member of the community.

== Editing the Wicca page ==

I would like to formally request that the "murders" section be removed for the reasons stated on the talk page.

This is not a place to smear other people or post inflammatory material. {{unsigned|HarabecW}}

:I digress, this is a place to educate others and to warn them to stay clear of witchcraft. Find another topic to edit. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 22:30, 6 May 2011 (EDT)

::I have looked at some of the disputed links, and while I don't know enough about the sources themselves to question their reliability, for most of the stories no causal relationship is established between the person's religious beliefs and their actions. One might just as well divide any story about crime between those where the perpetrator was male or female and argue that their gender was the causal factor. [[User:WilliamB1|WilliamB1]] 22:41, 6 May 2011 (EDT)

:::A person's beliefs and their actions are always tied together whether you agree or not. If Wiccans start making the news for rape, I will start a new section. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 23:10, 6 May 2011 (EDT)