Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Elephant

2007-11-21T17:12:44Z

TBCratos: /* Trivia */

[[Image:elephant.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Image from http://www.sxc.hu/]]
The '''elephants''' are three species of very large mammals belonging to the family Elephantidae - the only extant family belonging to the order Proboscidea. The three elephant species currently recognized by scientists are the African [[Bush]] Elephant, the African [[Forest]] Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant).

Elephants are the largest land animals alive today. Apart from their massive size their most striking features are a long trunk, or proboscis, a flexible nose strong enough to lift objects, their huge [[ivory]] tusks, and their large flapping ears, used to keep them cool.

Bull elephants, when inclined to mate, enter a frenzied state called ''musth''; they fight with each other for possession of the cow elephants, and become a menace to everything in their path; many humans are killed at this time. Elephants' gestation period, at 22 months, is the longest of any land mammal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kg (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer.

The largest elephant ever recorded (the Fenykovi elephant, now in the [[Smithsonian Institution]]) was shot in [[Angola]] in 1954. It was male and weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2m, a meter taller than the average male African elephant.

==Uses of Elephants==
[[Image:Elephant2.jpg|left]]
Elephants (today generally Indian, but historically African elephants also) have been used as beasts of burden and draught animals, as mounts in processions and in war (notably by [[Hannibal]]), playing [[polo]], and as [[circus]] performers.

==Similar species==

Molecular and morphological evidence point to [[hyrax|hyraxes]] and [[Sirenia|sirenians]] (sea cows and manatees) as the most similar living creatured to elephants<ref>Hidenori Nishihara et al. A Retroposon Analysis of Afrotherian Phylogeny. ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'' '''22''': 1823-1833,</ref>, and these groups are hypothesized by evolutionists to have shared a common ancestor approximately 50 million years ago. The three extant species of elephant are sole survivors of a much more diverse Proboscidian fauna with some 170 described [[fossil]] species and including species of [[mammoth]] from [[North America]] and the massive ''Deinotherium'', the second largest land mammal that ever lived, which sported two downward facing tusks.

==Trivia==

*A ''white elephant'' (from the historical veneration of such animals in Southeast Asia) is the term for a possession whose upkeep cost exceeds its expense, making it an overall liability.
*An elephant is the symbol of America's [[Republican Party]].
*Elephants are said to never forget and uphold resolutions relating to genocide.
*Elephants are said to be afraid of [[mouse|mice]].
*Elephants traveled of the raft with with Kangaroos, but then cut the raft in two and went to Africa instead of Australia because of racial intollerance.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Mammals]]
[[Category:Dangerous animals]]

Elephant

2007-11-21T17:11:53Z

TBCratos: /* Trivia */

[[Image:elephant.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Image from http://www.sxc.hu/]]
The '''elephants''' are three species of very large mammals belonging to the family Elephantidae - the only extant family belonging to the order Proboscidea. The three elephant species currently recognized by scientists are the African [[Bush]] Elephant, the African [[Forest]] Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant).

Elephants are the largest land animals alive today. Apart from their massive size their most striking features are a long trunk, or proboscis, a flexible nose strong enough to lift objects, their huge [[ivory]] tusks, and their large flapping ears, used to keep them cool.

Bull elephants, when inclined to mate, enter a frenzied state called ''musth''; they fight with each other for possession of the cow elephants, and become a menace to everything in their path; many humans are killed at this time. Elephants' gestation period, at 22 months, is the longest of any land mammal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kg (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer.

The largest elephant ever recorded (the Fenykovi elephant, now in the [[Smithsonian Institution]]) was shot in [[Angola]] in 1954. It was male and weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2m, a meter taller than the average male African elephant.

==Uses of Elephants==
[[Image:Elephant2.jpg|left]]
Elephants (today generally Indian, but historically African elephants also) have been used as beasts of burden and draught animals, as mounts in processions and in war (notably by [[Hannibal]]), playing [[polo]], and as [[circus]] performers.

==Similar species==

Molecular and morphological evidence point to [[hyrax|hyraxes]] and [[Sirenia|sirenians]] (sea cows and manatees) as the most similar living creatured to elephants<ref>Hidenori Nishihara et al. A Retroposon Analysis of Afrotherian Phylogeny. ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'' '''22''': 1823-1833,</ref>, and these groups are hypothesized by evolutionists to have shared a common ancestor approximately 50 million years ago. The three extant species of elephant are sole survivors of a much more diverse Proboscidian fauna with some 170 described [[fossil]] species and including species of [[mammoth]] from [[North America]] and the massive ''Deinotherium'', the second largest land mammal that ever lived, which sported two downward facing tusks.

==Trivia==

*A ''white elephant'' (from the historical veneration of such animals in Southeast Asia) is the term for a possession whose upkeep cost exceeds its expense, making it an overall liability.
*An elephant is the symbol of America's [[Republican Party]].
*Elephants are said to never forget.
*Elephants are said to be afraid of [[mouse|mice]].
*Elephants traveled of the raft with with Kangaroos, but then cut the raft in two and went to Africa instead of Australia because of racial intollerance.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Mammals]]
[[Category:Dangerous animals]]

Golden Rule

2007-11-21T16:58:54Z

TBCratos: /* Unrelated uses */

The phrase '''Golden rule''' is established in English as the name for a Biblical teaching<ref>"Golden rule, n. The biblical teaching that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself." [http://www.bartleby.com/61/25/G0182500.html American Heritage dictionary]</ref> often phrased as "do unto others as you would have others do unto you." In this form it qualifies as a "familiar misquotation." It is expressed twice in the Gospels as the words Jesus:
:"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." {{bible ref|book=Matthew|chap=7|verses=12|version=KJV}}
:"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." {{bible ref|book=Luke|chap=10|verses=27|version=KJV}}
By referring to "the law and the prophets," Jesus is saying that the principle is not original with him, but is his expression of a principle of Judaic law, a supercession of the original [[Lex Talionis]].

Jesus also stated it to be the second most important commandment in Christianity, after the [[Shema]]<ref>http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%2012:28-34;&version=64;</ref><ref>http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2022:37-40;&version=64;</ref>.

==Historical Formulations==

The principle is found throughout religious history as a guiding principle in the treatment of others.

* "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." — [[Torah]] (ca. 1200-1500 BC) {{bible ref|book=Leviticus|chap=19|verses=18|version=}}

* "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." — [[Torah]] (ca. 1200-1500 BC) {{bible ref|book=Leviticus|chap=19|verses=33-34|version=}}

* "What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." — [[Confucius]] (ca. 551–479 BC)

* "Since to others, to each one for himself, the self is dear, therefore let him who desires his own advantage not to harm another" [[Pali Canon|Udana - Varqua]], (ca. 470 BC)

* "This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you." — ''Mahabharata'' (5:15:17) (c. 500 BC)

* "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." — Hillel the Elder (ca. 50 BC-10 AD)

* "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." — [[Jesus]] (ca. 5 BC—33 AD) in the [[Gospels]], {{bible ref|book=Luke|chap=10|verses=27|version=KJV}}

* "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." — [[Muhammad]] (c. 571 – 632 AD) in a [[Hadith]].

==Humor and Parody==

[[George Bernard Shaw]], in a preface to his play ''Man and Superman,'' includes a collection of witty "Maxims for Revolutionists" which include
*Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
*The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.

There is also a cynical play on the wording and the sentiment behind the rule:
* "He who has the gold, rules." — [[William Sahlman]], among others

==Unrelated uses==
*A small town named Golden Rule existed in Texas for some time around the early 1900s.<ref>[http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/GG/hrg65.html Golden Rule, Texas]. Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association: "Golden Rule, also known as Greer's Neighborhood, was four miles east of Mineola on what later became Farm Road 49 in southern Wood County. The community's name was probably changed to Golden Rule by 1890.... In 1905 the Golden Rule school reported thirty white and fifty-six black students.... Golden Rule was not named on the 1936 county highway map.</ref>
*The ''Golden Rule Insurance Company'' is best known for its intense and ultimately successful lobbying for the creation of "health savings accounts," an alternative to traditional health insurance.
*The mathematical golden rule states that, for any fraction, both numerator and denominator may be multiplied by the same number without changing the fraction's value. <ref>http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoldenRule.html</ref>

==Notes and references==
<references/>

[[category:philosophy]]
[[category:religion]]
[[category:Jesus]]

United States Presidential Election, 2008

2007-10-31T16:10:01Z

TBCratos: /* Third parties */

[[Image:56eugyjnm.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The [[White House]], the official home and workplace of the [[President of the United States]] of America.]] The '''2008 United States Presidential Election''' is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, 2008.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/calendar/</ref> The primary season for both the [[Republican Party]] and the [[Democratic Party]] officially begins on January 14, 2008 with the [[Iowa Caucus]]es and (as of March 16, 2007) ends on March 4, 2008.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/calendar/</ref> The 2008 election cycle has seen a major shift to the primary election calendar, frontloading many primaries into early February.<ref>http://www.miamiherald.com/515/story/43160.html</ref>

==First election without incumbents since 1928==
The President of the United States often runs for reelection. If not, the Vice-President of the United States runs after he leaves office. 2008 may mark the first time since the 1928 election in which there is neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice-president running for his party's presidential nomination and thus not running in the presidential election (unless former Vice President [[Al Gore]] runs.) In the [[United States presidential election of 1952]], the race was between Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower and Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson. Vice President Alben Barkley sought but failed to win the Democratic nomination. Current Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] has repeatedly stated he will not run for President. "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say... If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve," Cheney said on Fox News Sunday.

== Battleground States ==
The United States has become so regionally polarized that even though the 2004 presidential election was close nationwide, only nine states had outcomes having less than 4% margin between the candidates:

State, margin of victory, party that won the state in 2004

#Wisconsin, 0.38% (Dem)
#Iowa, 0.67% (Repub)
#New Mexico, 0.79% (Repub)
#New Hampshire, 1.37% (Dem)
#Ohio, 2.11% (Repub)
#Pennsylvania, 2.50% (Dem)
#Nevada, 2.59% (Repub)
#Michigan, 3.42% (Dem)
#Minnesota, 3.48% (Dem)

== Republican Strategy ==
The Republican presidential nominee must win Wisconsin or Minnesota, and hold Iowa. The outcome in New Mexico, which has only 5 electoral votes, is irrelevant. Minnesota's margin of victory for the Democrats in 2004 probably places it out of reach for Republicans in 2008.

The inescapable conclusion is that the Republican nominee must win Wisconsin and hold Iowa in order to win the general election.{{fact}}

===Declared Republican Party Candidates===
[[John H. Cox]]

Former Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani|Rudolph Giuliani]], [[New York City]]

Former Governor [[Mike Huckabee]], [[Arkansas]]

Representative [[Duncan Hunter]], [[California]] 52nd

UN Ambassador [[Alan Keyes]]

Senator [[John McCain]], [[Arizona]]

Representative [[Ron Paul]], [[Texas]] 14th

Former Governor [[Mitt Romney]], [[Massachusetts]]

Representative [[Tom Tancredo]], [[Colorado]] 6th

Former Senator [[Fred Thompson]], [[Tennessee]]

===Withdrawn Republican Party Candidates===
Senator [[Sam Brownback]], [[Kansas]], withdrew October 19, 2007, citing a lack of funding.<ref>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ifK7vLWH4aU4urzB-4bSX1u4QF9QD8SC0EI00</ref> Brownback also had done poorly at key conservative milestones, such as the [[Value Voters Debate]].<ref>http://www.valuesvoterdebate.com/pollresults.cfm, Brownback lost sizably to [[Mike Huckabee]].</ref>

Former Governor [[Jim Gilmore]], [[Virginia]], withdrew July 14, 2007

Former Governor and HS Secretary [[Tommy Thompson]], withdrew August 12, 2007

== Democratic Strategy ==
As usual, the best strategy for Democrats is a hot topic for debate among members of that party and independent [[pundits]]. [[Daily Kos]] can occasionally provide arguments on the strategy that should be pursued by Democrats, although most posts there are simply rants against the Republicans or Democrats deemed insufficiently [[liberal]], which led [[Barack Obama]] to say in 2006 that he found the site "predictable." A majority of Democrats are confident that the cratering popularity of [[President]] [[George W. Bush]] and particularly [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]] puts them in a highly favorable position for 2008, to the extent it may even be their race to lose.

However, evaluating the race in [[Electoral College]] terms forces caution upon the Democrats. Between the [[United States presidential election, 2000]] and the [[United States Presidential election, 2004]], only three states budged from one party to the other: New Mexico (from Democratic to Republican), Iowa (from Democratic to Republican) and New Hampshire (from Republican to Democratic). The American people would seem to be not only strongly divided, but in the vast majority of states, faithful over a period of years to their chosen parties. Not even the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] could persuade the people of New York to vote Republican, for example, and it is highly unlikely that the depopulation of [[New Orleans]] will be considered a good reason for the majority of voters in Louisiana to become Democrats. The phrase [[Second Coming Republicans]] (or Democrats) takes on new meaning in light of the relative lack of party-switching in response to these events.

Had all three of the above [[swing states]] voted Democratic in 2000, and everything else remained the same, [[Al Gore]] would have become President in 2001, so this is the result Democrats should especially aim for. This does not necessarily mean they can let their guard down in the states that voted their way in both of the last two elections -- particularly if the Republicans nominate [[Rudy Giuliani]], [[Mitt Romney]], or another candidate associated with one of those states.

Evaluating the race by historic analogy, the last Senator elected President and the last Northern Democrat elected President were the same person: [[John F. Kennedy]], in the [[United States presidential election, 1960]]. If this pattern continues to hold true this cycle, the candidate best positioned this year is [[Bill Richardson]], who is cast somewhat against type as a member of the [[National Rifle Association]] and also has the distinction of being from one of the three [[swing states]] cited above. In strong second place would probably be [[John Edwards]], but it needs to be said that the Democrat who can carry Edwards' home state of [[North Carolina]] in a Presidential election probably hasn't been born yet. [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] was the last person to do so, just after writing off most of the South for the Democratic Party by passing the [[1964 Civil Rights Act]]. Still, the Democrats, as pointed out above, feel for the most part that this is their race to lose and may "let it all hang out" in the belief that any of their first-tier candidates (though probably not Gravel or Kucinich) will handily defeat a [[generic]] Republican candidate.

===Declared Democratic Party Candidates===
Senator [[Joseph Biden]], [[Delaware]]

Senator [[Hillary Clinton]], [[New York]]

Senator [[Chris Dodd]], [[Connecticut]]

Former Senator [[John Edwards]], [[North Carolina]]

Former Senator [[Mike Gravel]], [[Alaska]]

Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]], [[Ohio]] 10th

Senator [[Barack Obama]], [[Illinois]]

Governor [[Bill Richardson]], [[New Mexico]]

=== Possible Democratic Party Candidates ===
VP [[Al Gore]], [[Tennessee]]

==Third parties==
New York City Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] has been frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the 2008 presidential election and fueled that speculation when he left the Republican Party in June 2007. If he runs, he could put in over one billion dollars of his own money into the race.

Former Congresswoman [[Cynthia McKinney]], who was defeated for voting against the [[Iraq War]] and arrested on battery charges after striking a Capitol Hill police officer, is considering bid on the [[environmentalist]] [[Green Party]] ticket. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,62891,00.html]

[[Michael C. Smith]] is a [[Libertarian]] candidate.

Comedian and Actor [[Steven Colbert]] has announced himself as a candidate for both the Democratic and Republican parties. He claims to be running as a "favorite son" of South Carolina. He currently is only registered to run in the South Carolina primaries.

==Opinion polling==
A big concern in the Hillary Clinton camp is whether or not she is electable. An Electability Poll in which the participants are asked in no certain order, a list of candidates from both parties, whether they would vote for candidate X or prefer someone else. Recent polling has revealed, of all major presidential candidates from both parties, Hillary Clinton is the only candidate to whom a majority of 52% would not vote for, or would prefer someone else. <ref>[http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/28/248165.aspx Poll: Is Hillary Electable?], by Mark Murray, ''NBC News'', June 28, 2007. Retrieved from MSNBC.com June 29, 2007.</ref>

The poll results show majorities would consider voting for all other major presidential candidates or possible candidates:

{| style="background:white; color:blue" border="1" class="wikitable"
|+ Electability Poll
|''Who would you vote for, the <br>candidate or somebody else?''
|-
! Candidate
! Results
|-
| Rudy Giuliani
| 64% - 36%
|-
| Fred Thompson
| 62% - 38%
|-
| Michael Bloomberg
| 61% - 39%
|-
| Barak Obama
| 60% - 40%
|-
| John Edwards
| 59% - 41%
|-
| John McCain
| 58% - 42%
|-
| Joseph Biden
| 57% - 43%
|-
| Bill Richardson
| 57% - 43%
|-
| Mike Huckabee
| 56% - 44%
|-
| Mitt Romney
| 54% - 46%
|-
| Hillary Clinton
| 48% - 52%
|}

The poll also revealed that Hillary Clinton is the only candidate to whom more voters view her unfavorably than favorably. 39% say they recognize Clinton favorably, while a larger number of 42% say they recognize her unfavorably. By contrast, every other candidate has a net-positive favorable rating:

{| style="background:white; color:blue" border="1" class="wikitable"
|+ Favorability Poll
|''Do you view the candidate <br>favorably or unfavorably?''
|-
! Candidate
! Results
|-
| Rudy Giuliani
| 43% - 17%
|-
| Barak Obama
| 36% - 21%
|-
| John McCain
| 33% - 28%
|-
| John Edwards
| 32% - 28%
|-
| Fred Thompson
| 25% - 12%
|-
| Mitt Romney
| 24% - 20%
|-
| Joseph Biden
| 21% - 20%
|-
| Michael Bloomberg
| 20% - 18%
|-
| Bill Richardson
| 19% - 15%
|-
| Mike Huckabee
| 16% - 12%
|-
| Hillary Clinton
| 39% - 42%
|}

The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4%.

==See Also==
[[Previous Breaking News/2008 Presidential Election|Articles about the '''2008 Presidential Election''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

== References ==
<small><references/></small>

{{2008 presidential candidates}}
[[Category: United States]]