Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Liberal

2011-05-25T21:29:36Z

WallyRyan: reverting vandalism

[[Image:Liberal Brain.jpg|thumb|470px|top|<center>A [[satire|satirical]] conception of the liberal brain.</center>]]

A '''liberal''' (also '''leftist''') is someone who rejects logical and biblical standards, often for self-centered reasons. There are no coherent liberal standards; often a liberal is merely someone who craves attention, and who uses many words to say nothing.<ref>As one liberal website candidly observes, "Obama is a shallow narcissist, not a believer in any cause higher than himself. Every American president has had a healthy ego, but none has ever been as purely motivated by vanity as the childishly self-loving [[Barack Obama]]."[http://www.opednews.com/articles/Barack-Obama-s-ego-driven-by-Christopher-Calder-091210-804.html]</ref> Liberalism began as a movement for individual liberties, but today is increasingly [[statist]] and, as in Europe, [[socialist]]ic. Liberalism has changed over the years and degenerated into corruption. For example, FDR, one of the few great democratic Presidents, firmly believed in private sector unions, but vehemently opposed and condemned public sector unions, stating that the idea of collective bargaining can't be transferred to the public sector, as that would result in the government being unable to carry out its duties. Yet today, decades later, democrats and liberals are almost in bed with public sector unions, as they "donate" money to the re-election campaign in exchange for more taxpayer money in their wallets and fluffed up pensions.

According to current dictionaries and their own beliefs, a liberal is "a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties" or "a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets".<ref>http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=liberal&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h=00</ref>, or "open-minded or tolerant, especially free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc." or "favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties" <ref>http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal</ref>. In practice, however, liberals are often the most intolerant of people, and frequently are on the side of disorder, chaos, anarchy, and lawbreaking. According to Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - and matched by current observation - liberals are '''"unchecked by a sense of the decorous, the fitting, or the polite...lacking significant moral restraints"''' or '''"...an emancipation from convention, tradition, or dogma that extends from a belief in altering institutions to fit altering conditions to a preference for lawlessness"'''<ref>''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged'', Volume II; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Chicago, 1986. (pg. 1303, column 1)</ref> Polling data over several decades has consistently shown more Americans identifiy themselves as conservative than liberal, by a ratio of 2-1.<ref>http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1042/winds-of-political-change-havent--shifted-publics-ideology-balance</ref>

A liberal generally supports many of the following political positions and practices:

* Taxpayer-funded and/or legalized [[abortion]]
* [[Censorship]] of teacher-lead [[prayer]] in classrooms and school sponsored events
* Support for [[gun control]]
* Support of obscenity, pornography and violence in video games as a [[First Amendment]] right<ref>The [[Warren Court]], led by [[liberal]] Justices [[William O. Douglas]], [[Hugo Black]], [[Abe Fortas]], [[William Brennan]] and Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]] issued 36 decisions granting [[First Amendment]] rights to obscenity and pornography. These decisions remain fully supported by liberals today.</ref>
* [[Income redistribution]], usually through progressive taxation
* Government-rationed medical care, such as [[Universal Health Care]]
* Taxpayer-funded and government-controlled [[public education]]
* The denial of inherent [[gender differences]]
* Insisting that men and women be placed in the same jobs in the [[military]]
* Legalized [[same-sex marriage]]
* Tax and spend
* Trying to impede the freedoms of others
* Implementation of [[affirmative action]]
* [[Political correctness]]
* Support of [[labor union]]s
* Teaching acceptance of promiscuity through sexual "education" rather than teaching [[abstinence]] from sex.<ref> [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286671,00.html Democrats Aim To Kill Abstinence-Only Program Funding], [[Fox News]], Monday, June 25, 2007</ref>
* A "[[living Constitution]]" that is reinterpreted as liberals prefer, rather than how it was intended
* Government programs to [[rehabilitate criminals]]
* Abolition of the death penalty
[[File:Johnwaynegacyrosalynncarter.jpg|right|300px|thumbnail|[[Serial killer]] [[John Wayne Gacy]] was a [[Democratic Party]] activist who had his picture taken with First Lady [[Rosalynn Carter]] in 1978. In an interview where he denied killing any of his victims, John Gacy said he was [[bisexuality|bisexual]] and "very liberal".<ref>http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s151/candypop_02/Serial%20Killers/John%20Wayne%20Gacy/?action=view&current=SERIAL_KILLER_John_Wayne_Gacy_In-1.mp4</ref>]]
* [[Environmentalism]]<ref>[[Greenpeace]], for example.</ref>
* [[Disarmament treaties]]
* [[Globalism]]
* Opposition to the [[Bible]] and God.
* Opposition to full private property rights<ref>For example, the liberal wing of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] issued the 5-4 [[Kelo v. City of New London]] decision authorizing the taking of private property by government in order to give the property to another private entity rather than convert it to a public use.</ref>
* Reinstating the [[Fairness Doctrine]]
* In 2005, it was reported by CBS News that [[Theory of evolution and liberalism|liberals were the most likely supporters of the theory of evolution]]. The theory of [[evolution]] is a key component of [[atheistic]] ideologies in the [[Western World]].
* Opposition to domestic wire-tapping as authorized in the [[Patriot Act]]
* Calling anyone they agree with a "professor" regardless of whether he earned that distinction based on a real peer review of his work (see, e.g., [[Richard Dawkins]] and [[Barack Obama]]).
* Opposition of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], a major part of the [[War on Terrorism]].
* Withholds support to our armed forces fighting overseas to protect their freedoms.
* Promote arrogance through what they consider superior lifestyles.
* Tolerance of wrongheaded ideas and lifestyles.
* "The long romance of Western leftists with some of the bloodiest regimes and political movements in history is a story not told often enough ...."<ref> [http://www.city-journal.org/2009/bc0605bt.html Dupes by Bruce S. Thornton], City Journal - 5 June 2009</ref>
*Support of leftist ideologies such as [[socialism]] and nazism

==Liberals and Uncharitableness==
[[Image:228130875 35181424e3.jpg|thumb|right|175px|[[United States|American]] liberals give less to charity than American conservatives.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref> In addition, [[per capita]] [[atheism|atheists]] and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] in the United States [[Atheism and Uncharitableness|give significantly less to charity than theists even when church giving is not counted for theists]].[http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians][http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/][http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2] ]]
''For more information please see'': [[Liberals and uncharitableness]]

In March of 2008, [[George Will]] wrote at [[RealClearPolitics]] concerning the [[United States]]:
{{cquote|Sixteen months ago, Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at [[Syracuse University]], published "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism." The surprise is that liberals are markedly less charitable than [[conservative]]s....

If many conservatives are liberals who have been mugged by reality, Brooks, a registered independent, is, as a reviewer of his book said, a social scientist who has been mugged by data. They include these findings:

-- Although liberal families' incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

-- Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref>}}
[[Atheism|Atheists]] and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] often reject [[Bible|Biblical]] [[morality]] (and therefore [[conservative Christianity]] ) and hold to [[moral relativism]].<ref>http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=152</ref> Therefore, it is not surprising that [[per capita]] atheists and agnostics in [[United States|America]] [[Atheism and Uncharitableness|give significantly less to charity than theists even when church giving is not counted for theists]].[http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians][http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/][http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2]

== Liberal politicians and uncharitableness ==
The political magazine the [[American Spectator]] featured an article which focused on [[liberal politicians and uncharitableness]] and the article exposed the hypocrisy of the liberal politicians it featured.<ref>http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c5_1238044128&c=1</ref>

In addition, [[Barack Obama]] has been criticized concerning [[Barack Obama and uncharitableness|his charitable giving]].
== Nazism and socialism ==

''For more information please see:'' [[Nazism and socialism]]

[[Image:Hitler.jpg|thumb|250px|right|One of the most well known political parties of the 20th century which was [[socialism|socialistic]] was the [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] (NAZI) which was headed by the [[evolution|evolutionary racist]] [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>http://mises.org/daily/1937</ref><ref>http://creation.com/darwinism-and-the-nazi-race-holocaust</ref><ref>http://www.hourofthetime.com/socialist.htm</ref> ]]
The [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] declares:
{{cquote|The identification of [[Nazi]] [[Germany]] as a [[socialism|socialist]] state was one of the many great contributions of [[Ludwig von Mises]]...

The basis of the claim that Nazi Germany was capitalist was the fact that most industries in Nazi Germany appeared to be left in private hands.

What Mises identified was that private ownership of the means of production existed in name only under the Nazis and that the actual substance of ownership of the means of production resided in the German government. For it was the German government and not the nominal private owners that exercised all of the substantive powers of ownership: it, not the nominal private owners, decided what was to be produced, in what quantity, by what methods, and to whom it was to be distributed, as well as what prices would be charged and what wages would be paid, and what dividends or other income the nominal private owners would be permitted to receive. The position of the alleged private owners, Mises showed, was reduced essentially to that of government pensioners.

De facto government ownership of the means of production, as Mises termed it, was logically implied by such fundamental collectivist principles embraced by the Nazis as that the common good comes before the private good and the individual exists as a means to the ends of the State. If the individual is a means to the ends of the State, so too, of course, is his property. Just as he is owned by the State, his property is also owned by the State.<ref>http://mises.org/daily/1937</ref>}}

== Liberal atheists, pederasty and NAMBLA ==

''see also:'' [[Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA]] and [[Teenage homosexuality]] and [[Homosexuality and pederasty]]

[[Image:Harry Hay.jpg|thumbnail|150px|Many consider [[Harry Hay]] to be the founder of the American [[homosexuality|homosexual]] movement.]]
Some of the well known [[atheism|atheist]] advocates of the [[North American Man-Boy Love Association]] (NAMBLA) are:

1. The atheist, political activist and [[homosexuality|homosexual]] [[David Thorstad]] was a founding member of the North American Man-Boy Love Association.<ref>http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/100822</ref>

2. '''[[Harry Hay]]''' (1912 - 2002) was a liberal atheist advocate of [[statutory rape]] and the widely acknowledged founder and progenitor of the activist [[homosexual agenda]] in the [[United States]].<ref>http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/ss_politics0010_01_07.asp</ref><ref>The American Spectator Special Report, [http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10450 When Nancy Met Harry], Jeffrey Lord, 10/5/2006.</ref><ref>http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/ss_politics0010_01_07.asp</ref> Hay joined the [[Communist Party of the United States]] (CPUSA) in 1934. <ref>''The Boston Phoenix'', [http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/02511115.htm The real Harry Hay], Michael Bronski, October 31 - November 7, 2002. </ref> He was a vociferous advocate of man/boy love. <ref>The American Spectator Special Report, [http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10450 When Nancy Met Harry], Jeffrey Lord, 10/5/2006.</ref><ref>http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/ss_politics0010_01_07.asp</ref> In 1986, Hay marched in a [[homosexual|gay]] parade wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words "[[NAMBLA]] walks with me."<ref>http://www.mega.nu/ampp/baldwin_pedophilia_homosexuality.pdf</ref>

3. The writer [[Samuel R. Delaney]] is an atheist and a [[homosexuality|homosexual]].<ref>Samuel R. Delaney, ''About writing: seven essays, four letters, and five interviews'', page 36</ref><ref>http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/delany-samuel-r</ref> Dalaney has served as a professor at several universities. Delaney said he was a supporter of NAMBLA.<ref>Delany, Samuel R.; Freedman, Carl (2009). Conversations with Samuel R. Delany. Univ. Press of Mississippi, page 143</ref>

=== John Maynard Keynes and pederasty ===

''see also:'' [[John Maynard Keynes and pederasty]] and [[Teenage homosexuality]]

[[John Maynard Keynes]] was the founder of [[Keynesian economics]]. Lytton Strachey, his male bed partner, wrote that Keynes was a “A liberal and a [[homosexuality|sodomite]], An atheist and a statistician.”<ref>http://www.keynesatharvard.org/book/KeynesatHarvard-ch09.html</ref> Keynes and his friends made numerous trips to the resorts surrounding the Mediterranean. At the resorts, little boys were sold by their families to bordellos which catered to homosexuals.<ref>http://www.keynesatharvard.org/book/KeynesatHarvard-ch09.html</ref> Keynes was a [[bisexual]] who married Lydia Lopokova. In his work ''The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life'', William C. Lubenow expresses the opinion that Keynes was an [[agnosticism|agnostic]].<ref>The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life, 1998, Cambridge University Press, page 402</ref>

=== Sam Harris claims atheist is right next to child molester as a designation ===

see also: [[Views on Atheists]]

Dr. [[Sam Harris]] is a founder of the [[New Atheism]] movement. [[Sam Harris]] is quite aware of the stigma surrounding atheism and has even advocated that atheists no longer call themselves atheists.<ref>http://newsinitiative.org/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref> In fact, Dr. Harris has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."<ref>http://newsinitiative.org/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref>

==Liberals and Superstition==
[[Image:2384975035_230a0eac30.jpg‎‎|right|150px]]

The [[Wall Street Journal]] reported: "A comprehensive new study released by Baylor University, shows that [[Conservative Christianity|traditional Christian religion]] greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of [[astrology]]. <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html]</ref>

Also, in September of 2008, the [[Wall Street Journal]] reported:
{{cquote|The reality is that the [[New Atheism|New Atheist]] campaign, by discouraging [[religion]], won't create a new group of intelligent, skeptical, enlightened beings. Far from it: It might actually encourage new levels of mass superstition. And that's not a conclusion to take on faith — it's what the empirical data tell us.

"What Americans Really Believe," a comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that [[Conservative Christianity|traditional Christian religion]] greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of [[astrology]]. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians....

This is not a new finding. In his 1983 book "The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener," skeptic and science writer Martin Gardner cited the decline of traditional religious belief among the better educated as one of the causes for an increase in [[pseudoscience]], cults and superstition. He referenced a 1980 study published in the magazine Skeptical Inquirer that showed irreligious college students to be by far the most likely to embrace paranormal beliefs, while born-again Christian college students were the least likely.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html</ref>}}

== Liberalism in North America Today ==
[[File:Smear merchants.jpg|right|200px]]
[[Democrats]] and most media outlets in the [[U.S.]] are blatantly [[liberal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrc.org/biasbasics/biasbasics1.asp|title=Media Bias basics|publisher=Media Research Center}}</ref> Liberalism in North America today practices three primary tactics to attack the Republican Party, and sometimes to attack American values in general. These three liberal tactics can be pronounced using the following [[acronym]]: ''SIN''. Liberals (1) '''S'''hift the subject, they (2) '''I'''gnore the facts, and they (3) '''N'''ame call.<ref>Scott Baker. [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-herman-cain-give-the-dont-miss-speech-at-cpac/ Did Herman Cain Give the ‘Don’t Miss’ Speech at CPAC?], ''[[The Blaze]], February 12, 2011.</ref><ref>[[YouTube]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N3-j3HM7-A& Herman Cain: "Stupid People Are Ruining America"], February 11, 2011.</ref>

* Liberals typically support a "''mixed''" economy, a policy similar to that of [[fascism]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://fora.tv/2008/01/30/Liberal_Traits_of_Fascism|title=Video discussion about how modern liberalism is actually fascist by author Jonah Goldberg.}}</ref>

* Liberals claimed a monopoly on [[compassion]], [[decency]], and [[social justice]] (as defined by themselves), posing as the sole defenders of [[civic virtue]] against a horde of backwoodsmen, racists, and religious fanatics. [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/the_disgrace_of_liberalism.html]

{{cquote|'''There's another goal, from my point of view, which is to try to lay the groundwork for a radical political force which would conceive of itself as distinctly to the left of moderate, reformist American liberals. And that has two aspects. One is to try to change that liberalism, to transform it by analysis, critique, and activism; the second is to build a radical movement which would be an autonomous force in its own right, which would be distinct from the traditional American liberal consensus. This radical part of the program involves not simply supporting the liberal students against conservative students and conservative professors, but trying to act on them, to push them to the left. It also involves trying to find and support, even trying to help create, networks of radical students in law school and of radical professors around the country — students and teachers who see themselves as wanting to go a lot further than most people want to go. <ref> [http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=liberal+teachers&fr=yfp-t-501&fp_ip=MX&u=duncankennedy.net/documents/Liberal%2520Values%2520in%2520Legal%2520Education.pdf&w=liberal+liberals+teachers+teacher&d=BNZFhPReRjC1&icp=1&.intl=us Liberal Values in Legal Education] Duncan Kennedy (professor at Harvard Law School)</ref>}}

===Liberal Rankings of Congress Members===

The National Journal compiles the votes of each congress member each year and uses the information to create rankings<ref>http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/index.htm</ref> of how liberal each member of the United States [[Congress]] is. In addition to showing the voting records of each member and given an overall all ranking of liberalness, the National Journal also ranks congress members by liberalness in the areas of social, economic, and foreign policy.

==Liberalism in Europe today==

In Europe, on the other hand, parties that call themselves ''liberal'' are moderate in outlook, ranging from centre-left to centre-right, promote typically economic and business freedom. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe<ref>http://www.alde.eu</ref> is a party of the European Parliament that represents most ''liberal'' parties from European countries. Similar policies are promoted by many ''liberal'' parties throughout the world,<ref>http://www.liberal-international.org/</ref> such as the Liberal Party of Australia.<ref>[http://www.liberal.org.au/]</ref>

Trade unions and socialist parties often criticize politicians for promoting lower taxes on business, or more flexible hiring and firing laws, by calling them "liberals" or [[neoliberal|neoliberals]]. Thus, just as in the US, "liberal" may occasionally be used as a term of abuse. But when someone is called "liberal" in Europe, it has an entirely different meaning than in the US. In fact, the US meaning of liberal is more similar to the politics of European [[socialist]] or [[social democracy|social democratic]] parties.<ref>[http://www.pes.org]</ref>

==Historical Liberalism ==
In history, the word "liberal" has meant different things at different times, and was associated with individual liberty in prior centuries. In the postwar period, liberals supported government intervention in the economy and welfare state policies, as well as peaceful coexistence with the communist block, which are not liberal policies in the sense of classical liberalism. After the end of the cold war, with the demise of socialism and communism, many liberals embraced some ideas from economic neo-liberalism, and coined it the "Third Way". In the area of national security and foreign policy liberals in the [[U.S.]] failed to define a consistent stance, even after the events of 9/11 and the beginning of the war in Iraq. Liberals generally support affirmative action, gay marriage, and abortion.<ref>"Political liberals tend, for whatever reason, to be ardent supporters of both gay rights and pro-choice programs." Greenberg and Bailey [http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Greenberg-Bailey/Homosexual%20Eugenics.pdf] </ref>

==Original meaning: Classical Liberalism==
Liberalism is a political philosophy with freedom as its core value. The term was originally applied to supporters of individual liberties and equal rights, but, in America, the term has come to represent a movement of social change that often conflicts with [[conservative]] values such as moral values and tradition.

See [[Classical Liberal|Classical Liberalism]]. Compare [[Libertarianism]].

== Infamous liberals ==

''See also:'' [[Infamous liberals]]

*[[Joseph Stalin]] was an [[atheism|atheist]], [[communism|communist]], and [[evolution|evolutionist]] dictator who was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions.

* [[Mao Tse Tung]] - atheist and communist dictator responsible for the deaths of tens of millions.

* [[Margaret Sanger]]

*[[John Wayne Gacy]] - In an interview where he denied killing any of his victims, [[serial killer]] John Wayne Gacy said he was [[bisexuality|bisexual]] and "very liberal".<ref>http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s151/candypop_02/Serial%20Killers/John%20Wayne%20Gacy/?action=view&current=SERIAL_KILLER_John_Wayne_Gacy_In-1.mp4</ref> Gacy was also a [[Democratic Party]] activist who had his picture taken with [[Rosalynn Carter]].<ref>http://www.digitaljournal.com/image/45527</ref>

==Liberal Organizations ==
*[[AARP|AARP - American Association of Retired People]]
*[[ACLU|ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union]]
*[[ACORN|ACORN - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now]]
*[[AFL-CIO|AFL-CIO - American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations]]
*[[Amnesty International|AI - Amnesty International]]
*[[Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism]]
*[[Democratic National Committee]]
*[[Greenpeace]]
*[[NARAL|NARAL - National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League]]
*[[NAACP|NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]]
*[[National Committee for an Effective Congress]]
*[[National Education Association]]
*[[National Organization of Women]]
*[[Planned Parenthood|Planned Parenthood Federation of America]]
*[[Progressives for Obama]]
*[[Rainbow/PUSH Coalition]]
*[[MoveOn.org]]
*[[A.N.S.W.E.R.]]
*[[U.S. Peace Council]]
Source: [http://www.politixgroup.com/lo.htm The Politix Group]

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

==See Also==

* [[Conservative resources]]
* [[Conservapedia:Articles about liberals|Articles about liberals]]
* [[Classical liberal]]
* [[Drinking Liberally]]
* [[Godless liberal]]
* [[Last wordism]]
* [[Essay:Liberal celebrity obsession|Liberal celebrity obsession]]
* [[Essay:Liberal Behavior on Conservapedia|Liberal Behavior on Conservapedia]]
* [[Liberal Christianity]]
* [[Liberal Democrats]]
* [[Liberal Elite]]
* [[Essay: Liberal Falsehoods|Liberal Falsehoods]]
* [[Liberal Fascism]]
* [[Liberal friendship]]
* [[Liberal Gloss]]
* [[Liberal grading]]
* [[Liberal hypocrisy]]
* [[Essay:Liberal hysteria|Liberal hysteria]]
* [[Essay:Liberal Intellectualism|Liberal Intellectualism]]
* [[Liberalism and art]]
* [[Liberal labels]]
* [[Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right|Liberal Lies About the American Right]]
* [[Liberal logic]]
* [[The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness|Liberal Mind]]
* [[Liberal Party]]
* [[Liberal supremacist]]
* [[Massachusetts liberal]]
* [[Progressives]]
* [[Scientific Illiteracy and Liberals]]

==Further Information==
* [[Best_New_Conservative_Words#New_Liberal_Terms|New Liberal Terms]]
* [[Conservative Links]]

{{liberalism}}

[[Category:Political Ideologies]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category: Liberals]]

Liberal

2011-05-25T21:28:41Z

WallyRyan: Undo revision 871788 by Conservativecaboose (talk)

[[Image:Liberal Brain.jpg|thumb|470px|top|<center>A [[satire|satirical]] conception of the liberal brain.</center>]]

A '''liberal''' (also '''leftist''') is someone who rejects logical and biblical standards, often for self-centered reasons. There are no coherent liberal standards; often a liberal is merely someone who craves attention, and who uses many words to say nothing.<ref>As one liberal website candidly observes, "Obama is a shallow narcissist, not a believer in any cause higher than himself. Every American president has had a healthy ego, but none has ever been as purely motivated by vanity as the childishly self-loving [[Barack Obama]]."[http://www.opednews.com/articles/Barack-Obama-s-ego-driven-by-Christopher-Calder-091210-804.html]</ref> Liberalism began as a movement for individual liberties, but today is increasingly [[statist]] and, as in Europe, [[socialist]]ic. Liberalism has changed over the years and degenerated into corruption. For example, FDR, one of the few great democratic Presidents, firmly believed in private sector unions, but vehemently opposed and condemned public sector unions, stating that the idea of collective bargaining can't be transferred to the public sector, as that would result in the government being unable to carry out its duties. Yet today, decades later, democrats and liberals are almost in bed with public sector unions, as they "donate" money to the re-election campaign in exchange for more taxpayer money in their wallets and fluffed up pensions.

According to current dictionaries and their own beliefs, a liberal is "a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties" or "a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets".<ref>http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=liberal&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h=00</ref>, or "open-minded or tolerant, especially free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc." or "favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties" <ref>http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal</ref>. In practice, however, liberals are often the most intolerant of people, and frequently are on the side of disorder, chaos, anarchy, and lawbreaking. According to Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - and matched by current observation - liberals are '''"unchecked by a sense of the decorous, the fitting, or the polite...lacking significant moral restraints"''' or '''"...an emancipation from convention, tradition, or dogma that extends from a belief in altering institutions to fit altering conditions to a preference for lawlessness"'''<ref>''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged'', Volume II; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Chicago, 1986. (pg. 1303, column 1)</ref> Polling data over several decades has consistently shown more Americans identifiy themselves as conservative than liberal, by a ratio of 2-1.<ref>http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1042/winds-of-political-change-havent--shifted-publics-ideology-balance</ref>

A liberal generally supports many of the following political positions and practices:

* Taxpayer-funded and/or legalized [[abortion]]
* [[Censorship]] of teacher-lead [[prayer]] in classrooms and school sponsored events
* Support for [[gun control]]
* Support of obscenity, pornography and violence in video games as a [[First Amendment]] right<ref>The [[Warren Court]], led by [[liberal]] Justices [[William O. Douglas]], [[Hugo Black]], [[Abe Fortas]], [[William Brennan]] and Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]] issued 36 decisions granting [[First Amendment]] rights to obscenity and pornography. These decisions remain fully supported by liberals today.</ref>
* [[Income redistribution]], usually through progressive taxation
* Government-rationed medical care, such as [[Universal Health Care]]
* Taxpayer-funded and government-controlled [[public education]]
* The denial of inherent [[gender differences]]
* Insisting that men and women be placed in the same jobs in the [[military]]
* Legalized [[same-sex marriage]]
* Tax and spend
* Trying to impede the freedoms of others
* Implementation of [[affirmative action]]
* [[Political correctness]]
* Support of [[labor union]]s
* Teaching acceptance of promiscuity through sexual "education" rather than teaching [[abstinence]] from sex.<ref> [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286671,00.html Democrats Aim To Kill Abstinence-Only Program Funding], [[Fox News]], Monday, June 25, 2007</ref>
* A "[[living Constitution]]" that is reinterpreted as liberals prefer, rather than how it was intended
* Government programs to [[rehabilitate criminals]]
* Abolition of the death penalty
[[File:Johnwaynegacyrosalynncarter.jpg|right|300px|thumbnail|[[Serial killer]] [[John Wayne Gacy]] was a [[Democratic Party]] activist who had his picture taken with First Lady [[Rosalynn Carter]] in 1978. In an interview where he denied killing any of his victims, John Gacy said he was [[bisexuality|bisexual]] and "very liberal".<ref>http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s151/candypop_02/Serial%20Killers/John%20Wayne%20Gacy/?action=view&current=SERIAL_KILLER_John_Wayne_Gacy_In-1.mp4</ref>]]
* [[Environmentalism]]<ref>[[Greenpeace]], for example.</ref>
* [[Disarmament treaties]]
* [[Globalism]]
* Opposition to the [[Bible]] and God.
* Opposition to full private property rights<ref>For example, the liberal wing of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] issued the 5-4 [[Kelo v. City of New London]] decision authorizing the taking of private property by government in order to give the property to another private entity rather than convert it to a public use.</ref>
* Reinstating the [[Fairness Doctrine]]
* In 2005, it was reported by CBS News that [[Theory of evolution and liberalism|liberals were the most likely supporters of the theory of evolution]]. The theory of [[evolution]] is a key component of [[atheistic]] ideologies in the [[Western World]].
* Opposition to domestic wire-tapping as authorized in the [[Patriot Act]]
* Calling anyone they agree with a "professor" regardless of whether he earned that distinction based on a real peer review of his work (see, e.g., [[Richard Dawkins]] and [[Barack Obama]]).
* Opposition of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], a major part of the [[War on Terrorism]].
* Withholds support to our armed forces fighting overseas to protect their freedoms.
* Promote arrogance through what they consider superior lifestyles.
* Tolerance of wrongheaded ideas and lifestyles.
* "The long romance of Western leftists with some of the bloodiest regimes and political movements in history is a story not told often enough ...."<ref> [http://www.city-journal.org/2009/bc0605bt.html Dupes by Bruce S. Thornton], City Journal - 5 June 2009</ref>
*Support of leftist ideologies such as [[socialism]] and nazism

==Liberals and Uncharitableness==
[[Image:228130875 35181424e3.jpg|thumb|right|175px|[[United States|American]] liberals give less to charity than American conservatives.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref> In addition, [[per capita]] [[atheism|atheists]] and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] in the United States [[Atheism and Uncharitableness|give significantly less to charity than theists even when church giving is not counted for theists]].[http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians][http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/][http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2] ]]
''For more information please see'': [[Liberals and uncharitableness]]

In March of 2008, [[George Will]] wrote at [[RealClearPolitics]] concerning the [[United States]]:
{{cquote|Sixteen months ago, Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at [[Syracuse University]], published "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism." The surprise is that liberals are markedly less charitable than [[conservative]]s....

If many conservatives are liberals who have been mugged by reality, Brooks, a registered independent, is, as a reviewer of his book said, a social scientist who has been mugged by data. They include these findings:

-- Although liberal families' incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

-- Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood because their blood is so rich that it comes out as gold.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html</ref>}}
[[Atheism|Atheists]] and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] often reject [[Bible|Biblical]] [[morality]] (and therefore [[conservative Christianity]] ) and hold to [[moral relativism]].<ref>http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=152</ref> Therefore, it is not surprising that [[per capita]] atheists and agnostics in [[United States|America]] [[Atheism and Uncharitableness|give significantly less to charity than theists even when church giving is not counted for theists]].[http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians][http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/][http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2]

== Liberal politicians and uncharitableness ==
The political magazine the [[American Spectator]] featured an article which focused on [[liberal politicians and uncharitableness]] and the article exposed the hypocrisy of the liberal politicians it featured.<ref>http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c5_1238044128&c=1</ref>

In addition, [[Barack Obama]] has been criticized concerning [[Barack Obama and uncharitableness|his charitable giving]].
== Nazism and socialism ==

''For more information please see:'' [[Nazism and socialism]]

[[Image:Hitler.jpg|thumb|250px|right|One of the most well known political parties of the 20th century which was [[socialism|socialistic]] was the [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] (NAZI) which was headed by the [[evolution|evolutionary racist]] [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>http://mises.org/daily/1937</ref><ref>http://creation.com/darwinism-and-the-nazi-race-holocaust</ref><ref>http://www.hourofthetime.com/socialist.htm</ref> ]]
The [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] declares:
{{cquote|The identification of [[Nazi]] [[Germany]] as a [[socialism|socialist]] state was one of the many great contributions of [[Ludwig von Mises]]...

The basis of the claim that Nazi Germany was capitalist was the fact that most industries in Nazi Germany appeared to be left in private hands.

What Mises identified was that private ownership of the means of production existed in name only under the Nazis and that the actual substance of ownership of the means of production resided in the German government. For it was the German government and not the nominal private owners that exercised all of the substantive powers of ownership: it, not the nominal private owners, decided what was to be produced, in what quantity, by what methods, and to whom it was to be distributed, as well as what prices would be charged and what wages would be paid, and what dividends or other income the nominal private owners would be permitted to receive. The position of the alleged private owners, Mises showed, was reduced essentially to that of government pensioners.

De facto government ownership of the means of production, as Mises termed it, was logically implied by such fundamental collectivist principles embraced by the Nazis as that the common good comes before the private good and the individual exists as a means to the ends of the State. If the individual is a means to the ends of the State, so too, of course, is his property. Just as he is owned by the State, his property is also owned by the State.<ref>http://mises.org/daily/1937</ref>}}

== Liberal atheists, pederasty and NAMBLA ==

''see also:'' [[Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA]] and [[Teenage homosexuality]] and [[Homosexuality and pederasty]]

[[Image:Harry Hay.jpg|thumbnail|150px|Many consider [[Harry Hay]] to be the founder of the American [[homosexuality|homosexual]] movement.]]
Some of the well known [[atheism|atheist]] advocates of the [[North American Man-Boy Love Association]] (NAMBLA) are:

1. The atheist, political activist and [[homosexuality|homosexual]] [[David Thorstad]] was a founding member of the North American Man-Boy Love Association.<ref>http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/100822</ref>

2. '''[[Harry Hay]]''' (1912 - 2002) was a liberal atheist advocate of [[statutory rape]] and the widely acknowledged founder and progenitor of the activist [[homosexual agenda]] in the [[United States]].<ref>http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/ss_politics0010_01_07.asp</ref><ref>The American Spectator Special Report, [http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10450 When Nancy Met Harry], Jeffrey Lord, 10/5/2006.</ref><ref>http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/ss_politics0010_01_07.asp</ref> Hay joined the [[Communist Party of the United States]] (CPUSA) in 1934. <ref>''The Boston Phoenix'', [http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/02511115.htm The real Harry Hay], Michael Bronski, October 31 - November 7, 2002. </ref> He was a vociferous advocate of man/boy love. <ref>The American Spectator Special Report, [http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10450 When Nancy Met Harry], Jeffrey Lord, 10/5/2006.</ref><ref>http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/ss_politics0010_01_07.asp</ref> In 1986, Hay marched in a [[homosexual|gay]] parade wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words "[[NAMBLA]] walks with me."<ref>http://www.mega.nu/ampp/baldwin_pedophilia_homosexuality.pdf</ref>

3. The writer [[Samuel R. Delaney]] is an atheist and a [[homosexuality|homosexual]].<ref>Samuel R. Delaney, ''About writing: seven essays, four letters, and five interviews'', page 36</ref><ref>http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/delany-samuel-r</ref> Dalaney has served as a professor at several universities. Delaney said he was a supporter of NAMBLA.<ref>Delany, Samuel R.; Freedman, Carl (2009). Conversations with Samuel R. Delany. Univ. Press of Mississippi, page 143</ref>

=== John Maynard Keynes and pederasty ===

''see also:'' [[John Maynard Keynes and pederasty]] and [[Teenage homosexuality]]

[[John Maynard Keynes]] was the founder of [[Keynesian economics]]. Lytton Strachey, his male bed partner, wrote that Keynes was a “A liberal and a [[homosexuality|sodomite]], An atheist and a statistician.”<ref>http://www.keynesatharvard.org/book/KeynesatHarvard-ch09.html</ref> Keynes and his friends made numerous trips to the resorts surrounding the Mediterranean. At the resorts, little boys were sold by their families to bordellos which catered to homosexuals.<ref>http://www.keynesatharvard.org/book/KeynesatHarvard-ch09.html</ref> Keynes was a [[bisexual]] who married Lydia Lopokova. In his work ''The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life'', William C. Lubenow expresses the opinion that Keynes was an [[agnosticism|agnostic]].<ref>The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life, 1998, Cambridge University Press, page 402</ref>

=== Sam Harris claims atheist is right next to child molester as a designation ===

see also: [[Views on Atheists]]

Dr. [[Sam Harris]] is a founder of the [[New Atheism]] movement. [[Sam Harris]] is quite aware of the stigma surrounding atheism and has even advocated that atheists no longer call themselves atheists.<ref>http://newsinitiative.org/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref> In fact, Dr. Harris has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."<ref>http://newsinitiative.org/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref>

==Liberals and Superstition==
[[Image:2384975035_230a0eac30.jpg‎‎|right|150px]]

The [[Wall Street Journal]] reported: "A comprehensive new study released by Baylor University, shows that [[Conservative Christianity|traditional Christian religion]] greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of [[astrology]]. <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html]</ref>

Also, in September of 2008, the [[Wall Street Journal]] reported:
{{cquote|The reality is that the [[New Atheism|New Atheist]] campaign, by discouraging [[religion]], won't create a new group of intelligent, skeptical, enlightened beings. Far from it: It might actually encourage new levels of mass superstition. And that's not a conclusion to take on faith — it's what the empirical data tell us.

"What Americans Really Believe," a comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that [[Conservative Christianity|traditional Christian religion]] greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of [[astrology]]. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians....

This is not a new finding. In his 1983 book "The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener," skeptic and science writer Martin Gardner cited the decline of traditional religious belief among the better educated as one of the causes for an increase in [[pseudoscience]], cults and superstition. He referenced a 1980 study published in the magazine Skeptical Inquirer that showed irreligious college students to be by far the most likely to embrace paranormal beliefs, while born-again Christian college students were the least likely.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html</ref>}}

== Liberalism in North America Today ==
[[File:Smear merchants.jpg|right|200px]]
[[Democrats]] and most media outlets in the [[U.S.]] are blatantly [[liberal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrc.org/biasbasics/biasbasics1.asp|title=Media Bias basics|publisher=Media Research Center}}</ref> Liberalism in North America today practices three primary tactics to attack the Republican Party, and sometimes to attack American values in general. These three liberal tactics can be pronounced using the following [[acronym]]: ''SIN''. Liberals (1) '''S'''hift the subject, they (2) '''I'''gnore the facts, and they (3) '''N'''ame call.<ref>Scott Baker. [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-herman-cain-give-the-dont-miss-speech-at-cpac/ Did Herman Cain Give the ‘Don’t Miss’ Speech at CPAC?], ''[[The Blaze]], February 12, 2011.</ref><ref>[[YouTube]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N3-j3HM7-A& Herman Cain: "Stupid People Are Ruining America"], February 11, 2011.</ref>

* Liberals typically support a "''mixed''" economy, a policy similar to that of [[fascism]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://fora.tv/2008/01/30/Liberal_Traits_of_Fascism|title=Video discussion about how modern liberalism is actually fascist by author Jonah Goldberg.}}</ref>

* Liberals claimed a monopoly on [[compassion]], [[decency]], and [[social justice]] (as defined by themselves), posing as the sole defenders of [[civic virtue]] against a horde of backwoodsmen, racists, and religious fanatics. [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/the_disgrace_of_liberalism.html]

{{cquote|'''There's another goal, from my point of view, which is to try to lay the groundwork for a radical political force which would conceive of itself as distinctly to the left of moderate, reformist American liberals. And that has two aspects. One is to try to change that liberalism, to transform it by analysis, critique, and activism; the second is to build a radical movement which would be an autonomous force in its own right, which would be distinct from the traditional American liberal consensus. This radical part of the program involves not simply supporting the liberal students against conservative students and conservative professors, but trying to act on them, to push them to the left. It also involves trying to find and support, even trying to help create, networks of radical students in law school and of radical professors around the country — students and teachers who see themselves as wanting to go a lot further than most people want to go. <ref> [http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=liberal+teachers&fr=yfp-t-501&fp_ip=MX&u=duncankennedy.net/documents/Liberal%2520Values%2520in%2520Legal%2520Education.pdf&w=liberal+liberals+teachers+teacher&d=BNZFhPReRjC1&icp=1&.intl=us Liberal Values in Legal Education] Duncan Kennedy (professor at Harvard Law School)</ref>}}

===Liberal Rankings of Congress Members===

The National Journal compiles the votes of each congress member each year and uses the information to create rankings<ref>http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/index.htm</ref> of how liberal each member of the United States [[Congress]] is. In addition to showing the voting records of each member and given an overall all ranking of liberalness, the National Journal also ranks congress members by liberalness in the areas of social, economic, and foreign policy.

==Liberalism in Europe today==

In Europe, on the other hand, parties that call themselves ''liberal'' are moderate in outlook, ranging from centre-left to centre-right, promote typically economic and business freedom. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe<ref>http://www.alde.eu</ref> is a party of the European Parliament that represents most ''liberal'' parties from European countries. Similar policies are promoted by many ''liberal'' parties throughout the world,<ref>http://www.liberal-international.org/</ref> such as the Liberal Party of Australia.<ref>[http://www.liberal.org.au/]</ref>

Trade unions and socialist parties often criticize politicians for promoting lower taxes on business, or more flexible hiring and firing laws, by calling them "liberals" or [[neoliberal|neoliberals]]. Thus, just as in the US, "liberal" may occasionally be used as a term of abuse. But when someone is called "liberal" in Europe, it has an entirely different meaning than in the US. In fact, the US meaning of liberal is more similar to the politics of European [[socialist]] or [[social democracy|social democratic]] parties.<ref>[http://www.pes.org]</ref>

==Historical Liberalism ==
In history, the word "liberal" has meant different things at different times, and was associated with individual liberty in prior centuries. In the postwar period, liberals supported government intervention in the economy and welfare state policies, as well as peaceful coexistence with the communist block, which are not liberal policies in the sense of classical liberalism. After the end of the cold war, with the demise of socialism and communism, many liberals embraced some ideas from economic neo-liberalism, and coined it the "Third Way". In the area of national security and foreign policy liberals in the [[U.S.]] failed to define a consistent stance, even after the events of 9/11 and the beginning of the war in Iraq. Liberals generally support affirmative action, gay marriage, and abortion.<ref>"Political liberals tend, for whatever reason, to be ardent supporters of both gay rights and pro-choice programs." Greenberg and Bailey [http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Greenberg-Bailey/Homosexual%20Eugenics.pdf] </ref>

==Original meaning: Classical Liberalism==
Liberalism is a political philosophy with freedom as its core value. The term was originally applied to supporters of individual liberties and equal rights, but, in America, the term has come to represent a movement of social change that often conflicts with [[conservative]] values such as moral values and tradition.

See [[Classical Liberal|Classical Liberalism]]. Compare [[Libertarianism]].

== Infamous liberals ==

''See also:'' [[Infamous liberals]]

*[[Joseph Stalin]] was an [[atheism|atheist]], [[communism|communist]], and [[evolution|evolutionist]] dictator who was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions.

* [[Mao Tse Tung]] - atheist and communist dictator responsible for the deaths of tens of millions.

* [[Margaret Sanger]]

*[[John Wayne Gacy]] - In an interview where he denied killing any of his victims, [[serial killer]] John Wayne Gacy said he was [[bisexuality|bisexual]] and "very liberal".<ref>http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s151/candypop_02/Serial%20Killers/John%20Wayne%20Gacy/?action=view&current=SERIAL_KILLER_John_Wayne_Gacy_In-1.mp4</ref> Gacy was also a [[Democratic Party]] activist who had his picture taken with [[Rosalynn Carter]].<ref>http://www.digitaljournal.com/image/45527</ref>

==Liberal Organizations ==
*[[AARP|AARP - American Association of Retired People]]
*[[ACLU|ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union]]
*[[ACORN|ACORN - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now]]
*[[AFL-CIO|AFL-CIO - American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations]]
*[[Amnesty International|AI - Amnesty International]]
*[[Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism]]
*[[Democratic National Committee]]
*[[Greenpeace]]
*[[NARAL|NARAL - National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League]]
*[[NAACP|NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]]
*[[National Committee for an Effective Congress]]
*[[National Education Association]]
*[[National Organization of Women]]
*[[Planned Parenthood|Planned Parenthood Federation of America]]
*[[Progressives for Obama]]
*[[Rainbow/PUSH Coalition]]
*[[MoveOn.org]]
*[[A.N.S.W.E.R.]]
*[[U.S. Peace Council]]
Source: [http://www.politixgroup.com/lo.htm The Politix Group]

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

==See Also==

* [[Conservative resources]]
* [[Conservapedia:Articles about liberals|Articles about liberals]]
* [[Classical liberal]]
* [[Drinking Liberally]]
* [[Godless liberal]]
* [[Last wordism]]
* [[Essay:Liberal celebrity obsession|Liberal celebrity obsession]]
* [[Essay:Liberal Behavior on Conservapedia|Liberal Behavior on Conservapedia]]
* [[Liberal Christianity]]
* [[Liberal Democrats]]
* [[Liberal Elite]]
* [[Essay: Liberal Falsehoods|Liberal Falsehoods]]
* [[Liberal Fascism]]
* [[Liberal friendship]]
* [[Liberal Gloss]]
* [[Liberal grading]]
* [[Liberal hypocrisy]]
* [[Essay:Liberal hysteria|Liberal hysteria]]
* [[Essay:Liberal Intellectualism|Liberal Intellectualism]]
* [[Liberalism and art]]
* [[Liberal labels]]
* [[Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right|Liberal Lies About the American Right]]
* [[Liberal logic]]
* [[The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness|Liberal Mind]]
* [[Liberal Party]]
* [[Liberal supremacist]]
* [[Massachusetts liberal]]
* [[Progressives]]
* [[Scientific Illiteracy and Liberals]]

==Further Information==
* [[Best_New_Conservative_Words#New_Liberal_Terms|New Liberal Terms]]
* [[Conservative Links]]

{{liberalism}}

[[Category:Political Ideologies]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category: Liberals]]

Essay:Greatest Conservative TV Shows

2011-05-25T21:09:04Z

WallyRyan:

Here are some of the greatest conservative television shows:
# ''Family Ties'': a [[conservative]] teenager (played by Michael J. Fox) tries to enlighten his [[liberal]], ex-hippie, underachieving<ref>The father would be criticized by the son for working for less money at a public television station, rather than in free enterprise.</ref> parents
# ''The Office'': mockery of liberal [[political correctness]] and corporate [[socialism]] in an office setting. The character of Ryan in particular is a lampoon of [[liberal arrogance]] and immorality.
# ''The Apprentice'': liberals stopped watching when they realized that [[Donald Trump]] might be conservative.
# The ''Six Million Dollar Man'': capitalism at its finest - a government program improving health with technological advances.
# ''The Cosby Show'': promoting good family values
# ''American Idol'': allowing the [[best of the public]] to come to the fore, musically.
# ''24'': Jack Bauer shows us how to beat Islamic terrorists.
# ''Star Trek'': emphasized morality, honor, abiding by a strict code of conduct, and problem solving in a science fiction setting that inspired real world innovations.
# ''The Waltons'': a family struggles in rural America but promotes Christian morality and charity to strangers, and honors military service.
# ''The Lawrence Welk Show'': a clean, family oriented variety show that appealed to Midwestern values.
# ''Chuck'': emphasizes family values, honor, and a respect for our nations servicemen.

(please add to list)
== References ==

<references/>

Essay:Greatest Conservative TV Shows

2011-05-25T21:08:36Z

WallyRyan: Added chuck, edited the office

Here are some of the greatest conservative television shows:
# ''Family Ties'': a [[conservative]] teenager (played by Michael J. Fox) tries to enlighten his [[liberal]], ex-hippie, underachieving<ref>The father would be criticized by the son for working for less money at a public television station, rather than in free enterprise.</ref> parents
# ''The Office'': mockery of liberal [[political correctness]] and corporate [[socialism]] in an office setting. The character of Ryan in particular is a lampoon of [[liberal arrogance]] and immorality.
# ''The Apprentice'': liberals stopped watching when they realized that [[Donald Trump]] might be conservative.
# The ''Six Million Dollar Man'': capitalism at its finest - a government program improving health with technological advances.
# ''The Cosby Show'': promoting good family values
# ''American Idol'': allowing the [[best of the public]] to come to the fore, musically.
# ''24'': Jack Bauer shows us how to beat Islamic terrorists.
# ''Star Trek'': emphasized morality, honor, abiding by a strict code of conduct, and problem solving in a science fiction setting that inspired real world innovations.
# ''The Waltons'': a family struggles in rural America but promotes Christian morality and charity to strangers, and honors military service.
# ''The Lawrence Welk Show'': a clean, family oriented variety show that appealed to Midwestern values.
(please add to list)
# ''Chuck'': emphasizes family values, honor, and a respect for our nations servicemen.

== References ==

<references/>

United States presidential election, 2012

2011-05-23T23:50:46Z

WallyRyan: Abortion isn't a right; it's murder.

The '''Presidential Election 2012''' is on Tuesday, November 6, when the [[United States]] elects a president. Candidates are expected to file formal papers indicating their interest by July 2011; many were quietly lining up support throughout 2010. The key early primaries are [[Iowa]] ([[caucus]]es), [[New Hampshire]], [[Nevada]] ([[caucus]]es), [[South Carolina]].<ref>The order of the early primaries is not yet finally determined as of the end of 2010. For estimated dates, see http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/events.phtml?s=c</ref> [[Barack Obama approval ratings|
Obama's declining popularity]] has made it more difficult for him to win reelection. [[Liberal]] [[Mike Bloomberg]] might run as an independent, splitting votes with [[Obama]].

For the Republican nomination, a sophisticated set of "[[stalking horse]]" candidates and endorsers are being used, as in 2008 when [[Fred Thompson]] and [[Mike Huckabee]] prevented [[Mitt Romney]] from winning. This time Mitt Romney has [[Rick Santorum]], [[Chris Christie]] and probably [[Tim Pawlenty]] on his side ("[[Team Mitt]]"), while [[Newt Gingrich]] likely has on his side [[Mike Huckabee]], [[neoconservatives]], the [[Fox News Channel]], [[WSJ]] and a few pro-life groups ("[[Team Newt]]").
__NOTOC__
== Ranking of Potential Republican Candidates by Likelihood of Winning Nomination ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Candidate
!Pros
!Cons
![[Fox News]] Exposure
|-
|[[Mitt Romney]]
|First runner-up in 2008, business experience, Republican governor of a Democratic state, cut taxes and the deficit, prodigious fundraiser and tireless campaigner, polling at 40% in the key early primary state of [[New Hampshire]], credited for helping [[Scott Brown]] win an upset victory for the seat long held by [[Ted Kennedy]]. Likely to be endorsed by [[Chris Christie]], [[Trent Lott]], [[Rick Santorum]], [[Marsha Blackburn]], [[Jim Talent]], etc. Only 26% of voters said they would '''''never''''' vote for him, which is the lowest negative of any major Republican candidate.<ref name="Quinnipiac">http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1295.xml?ReleaseID=1595</ref>
|Once supported [[abortion]] and [[civil unions]], criticized by the [[Tea Party Express]] chairwoman and others due to his [[ObamaCare]]-like health plan in [[Massachusetts]], which included mandatory insurance and taxpayer-funded abortion; struggles in Iowa and won only 15% in the South Carolina primary in 2008.
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Newt Gingrich]]
|Articulate, credited with 1994 landslide, balanced the federal budget in the Clinton era, leader in fundraising, likely to obtain endorsement of older "right to life" groups against Mitt;<ref name="April%2525202010%252520Fundraising">http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2010/04/19/sarah-palin-lags-in-2012-fundraising-primary.html</ref> has one-sided promotion by the [[Fox News Channel]] and the [[WSJ]], who will likely criticize his opponent [[Mitt Romney]].
|Struggled to win reelections in his own congressional district; voted to establish the federal Department of Education as a freshman Congressman, has previously endorsed [[liberal]] ideas like "[[cap-and-trade]]" ([[global warming]] hoax) and a [[Con Con]]; resigned as Speaker rather than follow through with the impeachment of [[Bill Clinton]]; divorced twice and married three times, most recently to a women 23 years younger than he; has never won statewide office; Sarah Palin is suggesting that she may not pull out and this would prevent Newt from defeating Mitt.
|Promoted almost daily by Fox
|-
|[[Michele Bachmann]]
|A [[movement conservative]] who "knocked the ball out of the park" with her nationally televised response to Obama's [[State of the Union]] address in January 2011, Bachmann is increasingly popular with the [[Tea Party movement]]; she is a strong fundraiser and won a stunning 52-40% landslide in 2010 in a liberal-leaning district in [[Minnesota]]. Did very well at [[CPAC]] in Feb. 2011.
|As with [[Ronald Reagan]], [[liberal bias]] is at its worst against her; she's said she's not running for president this soon<ref name="Bachmann"/> and pulled out of the "Values Voter Summit" ([[Family Research Council]] convention) straw poll in September 2010; has never won statewide office; not picking up strong [[Tea Party]] support, as [[Ron Paul]] did not support her for a House leadership position and did not join her [[Tea Party]] caucus.
|Rarely on Fox anymore, which prefers Newt
|-
|[[Jeb Bush]]
|Bush-adviser [[Dick Cheney]] predicts that a Republican will become president in 2012, which would force Jeb to wait until 2020 if he doesn't run now; Jeb is giving interviews as though he were a candidate and can enter the race late and still win the nomination; [[George W. Bush]]'s book sold far better than expectations, making the name an asset again; Jeb could unite the Republican Party with a late candidacy; Jeb is less likely to wait for 2016 as [[Obama]]'s approval ratings fall and a Republican victory seems likely in 2012; Jeb is more conservative than his brother [[George W. Bush]], and sure to win pivotal [[Florida]]; Jeb has already criticized Palin as a rival candidate might;<ref>In a Newsmax interview in February 2010, Jeb criticized Palin by saying, "my belief is in 2010 and 2012, public leaders need to have intellectual curiosity." [http://www.newser.com/story/81720/jeb-bush-sarah-palin-not-intellectual-enough.html]</ref> Jeb published an editorial on Jan. 3, 2011 taking credit for saving Florida [[public schools]] with vouchers.<ref>http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/jan/03/jeb-bush/jeb-bush-touts-education-gains-wall-street-journal/</ref>
|Polls unusually poorly (54-34%) against [[Barack Obama]];<ref>http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/14/obama-would-beat-jeb-bush-big-says-poll/</ref> Jeb says he does not intend to run in 2012, when he could still be tagged with negatives via George; not liked by many Tea Partiers; might wait to run when Hillary runs.
|Rarely appears on Fox
|-
|[[Sarah Palin]]
|Empathetic, attracts crowds, personally [[pro-life]], fiscal conservative, popular, track record of supporting upset victories in primaries; has a popular television series and book tour that emphasizes the grassroots rather than the "inside the Beltway" mentality.
|It's difficult to take someone who relies so heavily on [[Facebook]] seriously; even [[liberal]] [[Hollywood]] preferred ''The King's Speech'' at the [[Oscars]]. Her taxation policies were somewhat liberal.<ref>http://community.adn.com/node/112712</ref> Appointed a former [[Planned Parenthood]] board member to the [[Alaska]] Supreme Court and inexplicably resigned early as governor; lags in fundraising despite publicity,<ref name="April%2525202010%252520Fundraising"/> came in a disappointing fifth in the [[Values Voter Summit]] in September 2010 and fared badly at [[CPAC]]. Favorability rating is only 22%, compared to a 48% unfavorable rating.<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43265.html</ref> Several of her prominent 2010 candidates (Ken Buck, Joe Miller, Christine O'Donnell) struck out on Nov. 2nd, and recently many Republicans from [[George W. Bush]] to [[Peggy Noonan]] have been critical of her.<ref>http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Election-2010/Vox-News/2010/1106/Republican-establishment-takes-on-Sarah-Palin</ref> 58% of American voters in a May poll said they would '''''never''''' vote for her.<ref name="Quinnipiac"/>
|Promoted heavily by Fox
|-
|[[Marco Rubio]]
|The Republican Party will want this freshman [[U.S. Senator]] in the primary debates, which he's then likely to win because of his charisma, stronger stance on social issues, and [[Tea Party]] appeal; in the general election he would pull [[Florida]] and many Hispanic voters away from the Democrats. Both of his parents were Cuban exiles seeking asylum in the U.S. at the time of his birth in Miami, making him an inspiring, uniquely American success story.
|Could face the liberal [[double standard]] on two fronts: 1) what's OK for Obama (e.g., inexperience) is somehow not OK for a [[conservative]]. 2) Liberals who have been deriding the strict definition of "natural born citizen" which some conservatives have been applying to Obama might also turn around and use the same logic with Rubio, claiming that his non-citizen parents invalidate his natural-born status. Some Republican voters may think he's really running to be selected as Vice President.
|Did not seek Palin endorsement; sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Rand Paul]]
|Could be the next [[Ronald Reagan]]; is the heir-apparent to massive support for [[Ron Paul]]; won the [[U.S. Senate]] seat by a 56-44% landslide in 2010, despite an intense effort by [[liberals]] to smear and defeat him; is 100% [[pro-life]]. Failure of Congress to cut spending enhances likelihood that voters will turn to someone strong on reducing government. Could inherit the support for his father, who could hand off the campaign to Rand.
|Rand, immensely popular after his landslide victory for Senate, will not run for president unless his dad drops his own campaign for the same office. Rand could first campaign for his dad and then become the candidate if voters think he has a better opportunity to win, but time is running out for Rand to assert himself as the candidate in 2012.
|Other stations have him on more than Fox does
|-
|[[Ron Paul]]
|Won the [[CPAC]] poll, terrific on economic issues, is strong in national polls, can raise the money needed to win; people may look to an anti-war Republican
|Voted twice to repeal [[DADT]], which the vast majority of Republican primary voters support; opposed Bachmann for a leadership position; his age (76 in 2012) will be used against him; has never won statewide office.
|Excluded by Fox because he opposes the war
|-
|[[Tim Pawlenty]]
|Young; popular in his home state of [[Minnesota]] (but never won with more than 50% of the vote)
|Still not well known outside of Minnesota; supported the liberal [[cap and trade]]; accepted stimulus funds after arguing against them; lacks a socially conservative base or any appeal that would attract support away from the front-runners; arranged a meeting with a liberal medical society in 2003 in order to cave into the pro-[[abortion]] side by downplaying medical harm caused by abortion,<ref>http://www.lifenews.com/2003/12/30/state-281/</ref> despite hard-fought passage of the Woman's Right to Know Act mandating disclosure; an ex-Catholic and that may not play well with Catholic swing voters.
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Chris Christie]]
|Leads [[Barack Obama]] in Zogby's polling (January 2011), takes on the [[public school]] teachers' unions and is a fiscal reformer who puts liberals in their place, has an unscripted style and appearance that is a refreshing alternative to the Teleprompter President.
|Picked a [[pro-abortion]] running mate when he ran for governor, and has little experience with national issues; repeatedly says he is not running; campaigned for [[RINO]] [[Mike Castle]] in [[Delaware]] who was then defeated; neither added [[New Jersey]] to one of the lawsuits against [[ObamaCare]] nor joined an [[amicus brief]] against it; ''will probably support [[Mitt Romney]]''.
|Promoted heavily by Fox
|-
|[[Herman Cain]]
|Former Godfathers Pizza CEO, conservative radio host, Tea Party favorite, tremendous speaker, triumphed over a health problem, and apparently is running. <ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/06/herman-cain-2012-exploratory-committee-could-come-soon/ Herman Cain: 2012 exploratory committee could come soon, DailyCaller, December 6, 2010]</ref>
|Not well known outside the conservative sphere of influence.
|Rarely on Fox
|-
|[[Rick Perry]]
|Conservative-talking governor who has run [[Texas]] for a decade (since [[George W. Bush]] became president); crushed [[RINO]] [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] in the 2010 primary and then won a landslide in the general election against a popular opponent, carrying others to victory on his strong coattails; has a stellar jobs record in his State and which he can contrast with liberal-run states like [[California]], [[Nevada]], [[Illinois]], and [[New York]]
|More conservative in his rhetoric than his policies; endorsed [[RINO]] [[Rudy Giuliani]] in 2008; tried to force all schoolgirls to receive the [[HPV vaccine]]; raised business taxes while governor; supports exceptions for allowing [[abortion]]; and responded to a reporter's question on Dec. 24, 2010 that he's definitely not running.
|Rarely on Fox
|-
|[[Mike Huckabee]]
|Pro-life in rhetoric, pro-Second Amendment and pro-Bible; strong in polling, particularly among evangelicals
|Announced on May 14th that he's not running; was stuck at 20-30% without any way to gain broader support needed to win; could be a [[stalking horse]] for Newt; also supporter of big government, as governor raised taxes and increased state spending, released man who later killed officers; disliked by [[CPAC]]-types and by [[Club for Growth]]; might decide to sit this one out;<ref>CBS: [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20044329-503544.html Signs mount that Huckabee won't enter 2012 race]</ref> supported the cave-in by the Republican leadership to continue funding [[Planned Parenthood]] (the nation's largest [[abortion]] provider) as part of the budget deal in April 2011. Has ruled himself out of contention.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-05-15-republican-huckabee-president_n.htm</ref>
|Promoted by Fox with his own show
|-
|[[Donald Trump]]
|Tied for number 1 in [[Gallup Poll]];<ref>As of April 22, 2011.</ref> forced Obama's to take seriously voters' concerns over his birth certificate, and is also willing to criticize liberal media; has business savvy and resources as a billionaire; is well-known.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/05/trump-seriously-considering-presidential-bid/?test=latestnews Trump 'Seriously Considering' 2012 Presidential Bid, FOXNews, October 5, 2010]</ref> His unscripted, abrasive and arrogant style may be just what voters want. Not a career politician helps his cause.
|Not running for office. <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/16/trump-declines-run-president/</ref>Criticized for his ego and has never held elected office. Needs to explain his previous support of liberal policies such as socialized medicine, <ref>http://www.slate.com/id/2291263/</ref> and is starting to look one-dimensional. A reliable poll (Quinnipiac) found that 58% of voters said they would '''''never''''' vote for Trump.<ref name="Quinnipiac"/>
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Allen West]]
|'America First' conservative patriot, Lt. Col West knows leadership from experience. He won the Florida [[U.S. House of Representatives]] seat in the [[2010 Midterm Elections]], and kept a high profile ever since. Sports a crew cut, rises above petty [[inside the Beltway]] bickering, and carries a camouflage bag rather than a briefcase
|New to national politics, not well known and maybe a future presidential candidate beyond 2012.
|Rarely on Fox
|-
|[[Steve King]]
|A conservative Iowa congressman who could win the [[Iowa caucuses]]; resonates well with independents; recommended by Bachmann<ref name="Bachmann">http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/app/blogs/politically_speaking/?p=1205</ref>
|Not well known yet; has never won statewide office.
|Excluded by Fox
|-
|[[Rick Santorum]]
|Outspoken supporter of conservative values as a senator, well-received by Iowan evangelicals at campaign-like event in March 2010
|His all-out support of [[RINO]] and now-Democrat [[Arlen Specter]] prevented [[Pat Toomey]] from defeating him in 2002, and Santorum endorsed Romney for President in 2008; could simply be a [[stalking horse]] for Romney
|Promoted on Fox
|-
|[[Ken Cuccinelli]]
|Has won statewide office. Leader in challenging [[ObamaCare]], advancing [[pro-life]] principles, and opposing the [[global warming]] hoax, including investigating Liberal [[University of Virginia]]'s involvement in the [[Climategate]] scandal. Wants to stop the homosexual agenda prevalent at the University of Virginia and other Virginia universities.
|Only 42 years old, he'll probably become governor of Virginia before running for president. Not as frequent a speaker at Tea Party events as others, such as Steve King and Michele Bachmann. Also, Cuccinelli may be more influential on domestic policy in his current position than a president is.
|On Fox because he's been so newsworthy
|-
|[[Jim DeMint]]
|strong support by social conservatives, libertarians,<ref>Jim Demint has the best favorable-unfavorable rating of anyone at CPAC 2010.</ref> Tea Party, and evangelicals; a tenacious advocate willing to criticize Obama
|stated at a conservative conference in July 2010 that he is not running for president, but after [[Mike Pence]] pulled out in Jan. 2011 Jim DeMint is showing interest again, before announcing again in late March that he is not running; as a Southern conservative, he would need to work hard to gain support in Iowa and New Hampshire, the key early primary states<ref>http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/02/the_2012_dark_horse_is.php</ref>
|Often on Fox
|-
|[[Bobby Jindal]]
|Conservative Governor of [[Louisiana]], strong critic of [[Obama]]'s handling of the [[Gulf oil spill]] in the summer of 2010
|Not well known yet; says he's not running for president.
|Promoted somewhat by Fox`
|-
|[[Mitch Daniels]]
|Signed a law that defunds [[Planned Parenthood]], has been an effective [[Rust Belt]] governor and critic of the Obama administration, being promoted heavily by [[neoconservatives]]
|Sided with [[Democrats]] in 2011 in opposing [[right-to-work laws|right-to-work legislation]], unknown nationally, criticized when he tried to downplay significance of social issues, not telegenic, lacks a socially conservative base, and his state budget relies heavily on [[gambling]] revenue
|Promoted by Fox; featured first on its "12 for 2012" series.
|-
|[[Mike Pence]]
|Communicates a very strong conservative message: "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order." Won straw poll held at the [[Values Voter Summit]] in September 2010. On Nov. 3rd, gave up his House leadership position. Has since announced a run for Governor of Indiana in 2012.
|Announced on Jan. 27, 2011 that he's not running for president; previously he unsuccessfully proposed a "comprehensive" immigration plan that was widely criticized by conservatives; lacks legislative achievements; not well-known and has never won statewide office; either he or Huckabee could become a stalking horse for Newt Gingrich with respect to evangelical voters in Iowa
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Todd Akin]]
|A [[movement conservative]] from Missouri, which he serves as a congressman
|Running to win a [[U.S. Senate]] seat from a [[liberal]] instead
|Rarely allowed on Fox`
|-
|[[Bob McDonnell]]
|Won landslide election as [[Virginia]] governor; has Obama's height
|Not widely known yet, but gave Republican response to State of the Union; seemed more conservative as a candidate than as governor
|Rarely allowed on Fox
|-
|[[Gary Johnson]]
|Former [[libertarian]] two-term governor of [[New Mexico]], he has been recommended by [[Ron Paul]] if Dr. Paul does not run for president; Johnson is a strong advocate of less government.
|Like other libertarians but unlike most Republicans, Johnson favors legalizing marijuana, expanding legal [[immigration]] and allowing same-sex unions. Given the likelihood that Ron Paul will run, there is very little potential support for Gary Johnson in this election cycle.
|Excluded by Fox, which opposes libertarians
|-
|[[Rudy Giuliani]]
|Widely respected for his post-9/11 leadership in New York City
|Struck out completely as a candidate in 2008; very weak on important social issues; cross-dressing for comedic purposes when it suited him
|Frequently on Fox
|-
|[[Dick Cheney]]
|Prominent and consistent opposition to Obama
|Of dubious health; has explicitly disavowed interest in running
|Has been on Fox; daughter is a commentator for Fox
|-
|[[John Bolton]]
|Expert on foreign policy and national security issues <ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9I4TTT82&show_article=1 POLITICAL INSIDER: John Bolton weighs a WH run, Breitbart, September 10, 2010]</ref>
|Polarizing figure that Democrats refused to appoint to permanent UN position
|Frequently on Fox; both focus on foreign policy
|-
|[[Jon Huntsman, Jr.]]
|Has foreign policy and executive experience.
|Worked in the Obama administration; Criticised the [[economic stimulus package]] as not being big enough, favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform, supports civil unions, and is a believer in man-made global warming; could simply be a [[Utah]] decoy used by [[Team Newt]] to siphon support from [[Mitt Romney]]
|
|-
|[[Fred Thompson]]
|Former Republican Senator from [[Tennessee]], former presidential candidate, has a loyal following
|Hollywood type, sided with McCain in campaign finance laws that the Supreme Court overturned.
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Scott Brown]]
|Proven ability to appeal to moderate voters even in a blue state
|Inexperience; already voting with the Democrats in the Senate; voted to repeal [[DADT]]
|Has been on Fox
|-
|[[Haley Barbour]]
|Rose in ranking based on the victory of his choice as the new [[RNC]] chairman;<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/14/barbour-defeats-boehner-proxy-battle-control-rnc-s/</ref> has a [[conservative]] record as governor of [[Mississippi]]; was a consummate lobbyist and could raise many tens of millions for a campaign.
|Announced in late April 2011 that he is not running; also, rarely seen at conservative conferences, and a Republican from the [[Deep South]] may have trouble attracting independent voters.
|Rarely on Fox
|-
|[[John Thune]]
|Defeated [[Tom Daschle]], relatively conservative voting record for a senator; also taller than Obama, and enjoys broad support
|Announced on Feb. 22, 2011 that he's not running; may lack an essential "fire in the belly";<ref>http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/assessing-john-thunes-2012-cha.html?referrer=emaillink</ref> voted for TARP financial bailout<ref>http://hoghouseblog.com/2009/09/01/thune-wants-to-end-bailout-he-voted-for/</ref> and McCain-Feingold campaign finance; no-show at some conservative events; hasn't effectively criticized Obama; could simply become a stalking horse candidate for Gingrich
|Rarely on Fox, but featured in a cover story by the ''Weekly Standard''
|-
|[[Jan Brewer]]
|In 2010, stood up to [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]] on issue of [[illegal aliens]]
|Caved in to the [[liberals]] in vetoing legislation requiring a birth certificate to get on the presidential ballot for Arizona in 2012; if Brewer ever was conservative, she seems increasingly less so
|Was often on Fox during 2010 due to Arizona lawsuit
|-
|[[Fred Karger]]
|Wealth of experience in the private sector, much more than Obama ever had. His homosexuality may which may attract some right-leaning liberals.
|Openly gay, which will not play well the majority of the Republican Party. Supports Gay Marriage.
|}

=== The Chess Game for the Republican Party ===

====Short form====

The short-form analysis is that 2012 will be a replay of 2008 with Newt Gingrich trying to play the role of John McCain. Also, Sarah Palin may run along with Mike Huckabee to contest for early primaries before dropping out and endorsing Newt.

The challenge for social conservatives is to run a candidate, such as Marco Rubio, who can capture the large Tea Party and evangelical voting blocs despite the stalking horse candidacies of Palin and Huckabee.

====Long form====
There are three key steps to the Republican nomination: Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. It's a chess game for Mitt and Newt to try to emerge from those three as the leader.

There are four basic components of the Republican Party. '''To win the nomination, a candidate needs to obtain the support of at least two out of four''':<ref>Traditionally commentators have referred to the three legs of the Republican Party: the values voters, the small businessmen, and the national security supporters. While that model still has support, it fails to account for recent shifts (such as the Tea Party Movement) and the impact of new media (such as FoxNews).</ref>

#social conservatives (pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-Republican Party platform)
#libertarians (lower taxes, less government, pro-business, anti-union)
#religious voters (Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, evangelicals, Mormons)
#neoconservatives (foreign intervention, "better" government)

In 2008, John McCain won the nomination by capturing the support of 1 and 4 above. Ron Paul had the support of 2. Mitt Romney enjoyed support by 2 and part of 3. Mike Huckabee had support of 1 and part of 3. The division of 3 by Romney and Huckabee caused them to block each other: Huckabee blocked Romney in Iowa, and Romney returned the favor in New Hampshire. This dynamic prevented either from winning the nomination.

In 2000, George Bush won with the support of 1 and 3. But John McCain enjoyed the support from 2 and 4 and this enabled him to win the New Hampshire and Michigan primaries, giving Bush a close contest. Some felt McCain mishandled his victory in Michigan.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan had the support of 1 and 2.

== Potential Democratic Candidates ==

McClatchy-Marist survey after the [[2010 Midterm elections]] revealed 46% of Democrats and Democratic leaning independent voters said they don't want President Obama to face a Democratic primary challenge, with 45% saying they do want such a challenge to occur. 40% of Democrats and independents who lean towards the Democrats say they prefer a more conservative challenger, while 39% say they want a challenger who is more liberal. The Marist poll says,
{{Cquote|Interestingly, a plurality of Democrats – 42 percent – would like to see a more liberal challenger while half of Democratic leaning independents – 50 percent – would like to see a more conservative one.}}
The McClatchy-Marist poll indicates that 48 percent of registered voters nationwide plan to vote against the president in 2012, with 36 percent saying they'll vote to re-elect Obama.

A Quinnipiac University survey released after the [[2010 Midterm elections]] indicated that a plurality of Americans don't think Obama deserves to be re-elected to a second term, and an Associated Press-GfK survey in the same time span indicates that 54% believe Obama should be voted out of office in 2012.<ref>http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/24/poll-democrats-split-on-2012-obama-primary-challenge/</ref> Former DNC chairman [[Ed Rendell]] suggested on [[MSNBC]], liberal anger over Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan could lead to a primary challenge.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20011923-503544.html</ref>

The ''[[New York Times]]'' reported many [[liberal]]s are so upset over recommendations by the Deficit Reduction Commission which President Obama himself created after the Democratic controlled Congress voted the idea down,<ref>http://peoplesworld.org/senate-defeats-deficit-commission/</ref> "if Mr. Obama were to embrace its major parts, he would invite a primary challenge in 2012."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/us/politics/12fiscal.html</ref> Clarence B. Jones, who was a personal advisor, legal counsel, and close friend of Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], has called for a primary challenge to President Obama.<ref>http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/former-mlk-advisor-calls-primary-chal</ref>

Also Obama's [[Libya#Libyan_uprising_2011|Libyan intervention]] has raised the ire of many prominent leftists who question the [[wisdom]] and [[legal]]ity of the president's actions.<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51595.html</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Candidate
!Pros
!Cons
![[MSNBC]] exposure
|-
|[[Barack Obama]]
|Ability to compromise and act in a spirit of bi-partisanship when his back's against the wall and career on the line; he's not Hillary Clinton, and he receives endearing support from the media.
|He depends on a teleprompter to speak, and has run the nation into the ground. Numerous broken<ref>http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/promise-broken/</ref> and unfulfilled<ref>http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/stalled/</ref> campaign promises, implementation of socialist [[Obamacare]] program. Maybe uphill without help from [[ACORN]].
|Heavily promoted on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Hillary Clinton]]
|Her criticism of Obama's massive deficits hinted at a possible run against him in 2012, and [[Ted Kennedy]] cannot interfere with her nomination this time; moreover, waiting until 2016 is unattractive because she will be 71 then. She has the highest approval ratings of any potential challenger.<ref>[http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/january_2010/58_view_hillary_clinton_favorably 58% View Hillary Clinton Favorably], January 19, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.</ref> Tested the waters with Bill backing a challenger to Obama's Colorado Senate candidate (who then lost), and by Hillary saying she won't serve a second term as Obama's Secretary of State. The chances of Hillary running and winning the nomination increase with every decline in Obama's approval ratings.
|Her [[feminism]] is not wanted and she'd lose the general election as [[Martha Coakley]] did.
|Disfavored on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Russ Feingold]]
|His dedication to [[progressive]] causes rivals that of Obama, Feingold now has the time to run since his defeat in the 2010 midterms.<ref>http://usforruss.com/?p=55</ref>
|Considered a maverick and [[reform]]er within the Democratic party.
|Disfavored on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Howard Dean]]
|Liberal media personality, politician with physicians license and a former Vermont governor. Opposed [[Obamacare]] in its current form, and declared that government cannot force people to buy health insurance.
|Progressive/Socialist/Marxist philosophy combined with numerous public gaffes. Dean ran in the 2004 presidential elections.
|Heavily promoted on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Bernie Sanders]]
|Has pledged to "do whatever I can" to thwart compromise and thinks the President's legislative proposals are "an absolute disaster and an insult to the vast majority of the American people."
|Genuine out-of-the-closet [[Socialist]], will need to formally register as a Democrat.
|Has appeared on MSNBC.<ref>http://www.thestatecolumn.com/blog/2010/12/sen-bernie-sanders-issues-a-challenge-to-president-obama/</ref>
|-
|[[Ralph Nader]]
|An experienced [[community organizer]], Nader has not foreclosed the possibility of a challenge. [http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/132835--nader-i-am-looking-for-someone-to-challenge-obama-in-2012] Accuses Obama of betraying progressive liberals and being "a con man." [http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/09/ralph-nader-predicts-obama-will-face-democratic-primary-challeng/]
|Could mount Third Party challenge if liberals continue to lose ground in the Democratic party.
|Promoted on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Evan Bayh]]
|Democratic base sees Bayh's retirement from the Senate as "a symbol of what's wrong with the party" as moderates are increasingly marginalized. <ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/evan-bayh-for-president-s_n_463202.html?view=screen Evan Bayh For President? Senator May Be Eyeing White House Run,] Ryan Grim, ''Huffington Post'', 02-15-10.</ref>
|Lags behind Obama in fundraising. [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00003762&cycle=2010]
|Has appeared on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Dennis Kucinich]]
|Outspoken critic of Obama's escalation of the War in Afghanistan, sellout of the public option and tax cuts for the rich.
|Perennial favorite of special interests, particularly [[AFSCME]], lacks popular support and a wider appeal.
|Promoted on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Alan Grayson]]
|Could do well to rally the progressive base in the anti-war early primary and caucus states of Iowa and New Hampshire.<ref>[http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/28/an-anti-war-challenge-to-obama-in-2012-the-case-for-alan-grayso/ "An Anti-War Challenge to Obama in 2012: The Case for Alan Grayson"], ''Politics Daily'', 12-28-2010.</ref>
|Ethical concerns over his 2010 failed reelection bid for the House.
|Heavily favored on MSNBC.
|-
|[[Mike Gravel]]
|Former Alaska Senator who attacks his own party.
|Controversial liberal that supports socialist healthcare, gay marriage and called the war in Iraq lost. <ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/09/gravel-considering-obama-primary-challenge-calls-for-new-911-investigation/ Gravel considering Obama primary challenge, calls for new 9/11 investigation, The Daily Caller, December 9, 2010]</ref>
|Has appeared on MSNBC.
|}

== Independent Candidacy by Mike Bloomberg ==

The man who spent $185 per vote to garner 51% of the vote to remain as Mayor of [[New York City]] in 2009, [[Mike Bloomberg]], is increasingly looking like an independent, self-funded candidate for president in 2012.

$185 per vote times 50 million voters equals $9.25 billion, which he can easily afford as one of the richest men in the world! The catch is that 50 million Americans are not as likely to be persuaded by self-funded campaign ads as 51% of New Yorkers were. The more likely result is the he would split the [[pro-abortion]], pro-[[homosexual agenda]] vote with the [[Democratic]] nominee.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==

*[[Gubernatorial elections, 2010]]

[[Category: United States]]
[[Category: United States Presidential Elections]]
[[Category: United States Presidential Election, 2012]]

Barack Hussein Obama

2011-05-16T21:35:29Z

WallyRyan: Various small changes

{{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 the controversial 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 34 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 even in the [[lamestream 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 enacted Obamacare, more formally known as 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==
*[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78931 Democrat: Obama's grandma confirms Kenyan birth.]

{{USPresidents}}
{{2008 presidential candidates}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barack Hussein}}

Placement bias

2011-05-14T20:00:16Z

WallyRyan: Removed material contrary to conservapedian ideals

'''Placement bias''' is the manipulation of the order and placement of information in order to distort the impression left in the reader.

[[Liberal]] methods often use placement bias to obscure important facts unfavorable to their argument, and to promote their claims beyond what is justified. Some examples:

* The [[Wikipedia]] entry on [[Boy Scouts v. Dale]], a case that the [[liberal]]s lost, features a glowing praise of the attorney on their side near the top of the article, an aside which had no relevance to the decision that he lost.<ref name="wikibias">[[Bias in Wikipedia]].</ref>

* [[Liberal]] icon [[Bertrand Russell]] receives glowing adoration on Wikipedia; it is only after about 7,700 words about him that Wikipedia finally mentions Russell's support of the [[communist revolution]] (but pretends that Russell quickly opposed it). <ref name="wikibias" />

It is understood in newspaper editing that the number of people who read a comment is proportional to its proximity to the beginning of the article. Moreover, readers expect the more important information to be first, and place more emphasis on the top part of an article. As an example of how this can be manipulated, Wikipedia's entry on former liberal Vice President [[Al Gore]] contains no mention of the drug charges against his son. But Wikipedia's entry on conservative Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] prominently mentions his adult daughter's sexuality.<ref name="wikibias" /> The same effect can be seen in the [[Jimmy Swaggart]] article; also in disputes on the talk page of Wikipedia's [[Barney Frank]] article concerning what details deserve mention in the introduction.<ref>See http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Barney_Frank&oldid=291734546.</ref>
On [[Wikipedia]], placement bias is taken one step further by downplaying facts unfavorable to [[liberals]] by placing them in entirely different, and less-visited, entries. For example, the drug charges against Albert Gore III were mentioned in the rarely-viewed Wikipedia entry "Al Gore III" -- but that entry has now been deleted.<ref>See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Al_Gore_III_(8th_nomination).</ref>

==References==
<References/>

==See Also==
[[Examples of Bias in Wikipedia]]

[[category:media]]
[[category:Liberal Bias]]

Jim Douglas

2011-05-01T17:59:19Z

WallyRyan: Whoops.

{{Officeholder
|name=Jim Douglas
|image=Gov_douglas.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Dorothy Foster Douglas
|religion=United Church of Christ
|offices=
{{Officeholder/governor
|state=Vermont
|terms=January 9, 2003 - January 6, 2011
|preceded=[[Howard Dean]]
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Peter Shumlin]]
}}
}}

'''James H. "Jim" Douglas''' (born June 21, 1951) is the former [[Governor]] of the state of [[Vermont]] and a member of the [[Republican Party]]. He is known as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. Douglas began his political career in 1972 after getting elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, directly out of college. He went on to become [[House Majority Leader]]. In 1980, Douglas was elected Vermont Secretary of State, and went on the be reelected five times, receiving the nomination of both political parties on three occasions. In 1992, he challenged [[Democrat]] Senator [[Patrick Leahy]], but was defeated by a 54%-43% margin. Douglas was elected State Treasurer in 1994 and served until his election as Governor in 2002. He was easily re-elected in 2004, 2006, and 2008, despite Vermont being a stronghold for Democrats. Douglas is currently chairman of the [[National Governors Association]].

Jim Douglas and the Democratic super-majority in the state legislator have frequently been at odds. Democrats had overridden Governor Douglas' veto of the state budget and overridden his veto of legislation that would allow [[same-sex marriage]]. <ref>http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=4461&MediaType=1&Category=26</ref>

Douglas has announced he will not seek a fifth term as Governor in 2010. <ref>http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11009631</ref> "After 36 years as a public servant, 28 of those years in statewide office, with what will be eight years as governor and through 15 statewide elections, I will have held center stage long enough for any leader." <ref>http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0809/Vermont_governor_Jim_Douglas_retiring.html</ref>

==External Links==
*[http://www.governor.vermont.gov/ Official Governor of Vermont Site]

== References ==

<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas,Jim}}
[[Category:Vermont Governors]]
[[Category:Republican Governors]]

Jim Douglas

2011-05-01T17:56:24Z

WallyRyan:

{{Officeholder
|name=Jim Douglas
|image=Gov_douglas.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Dorothy Foster Douglas
|religion=United Church of Christ
|offices=
{{Officeholder/governor
|state=Vermont
|terms=January 9, 2003 - January 6, 2011
|preceded=[[Howard Dean]]
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Peter Shumlin
}}
}}

'''James H. "Jim" Douglas''' (born June 21, 1951) is the former [[Governor]] of the state of [[Vermont]] and a member of the [[Republican Party]]. He is known as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. Douglas began his political career in 1972 after getting elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, directly out of college. He went on to become [[House Majority Leader]]. In 1980, Douglas was elected Vermont Secretary of State, and went on the be reelected five times, receiving the nomination of both political parties on three occasions. In 1992, he challenged [[Democrat]] Senator [[Patrick Leahy]], but was defeated by a 54%-43% margin. Douglas was elected State Treasurer in 1994 and served until his election as Governor in 2002. He was easily re-elected in 2004, 2006, and 2008, despite Vermont being a stronghold for Democrats. Douglas is currently chairman of the [[National Governors Association]].

Jim Douglas and the Democratic super-majority in the state legislator have frequently been at odds. Democrats had overridden Governor Douglas' veto of the state budget and overridden his veto of legislation that would allow [[same-sex marriage]]. <ref>http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=4461&MediaType=1&Category=26</ref>

Douglas has announced he will not seek a fifth term as Governor in 2010. <ref>http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11009631</ref> "After 36 years as a public servant, 28 of those years in statewide office, with what will be eight years as governor and through 15 statewide elections, I will have held center stage long enough for any leader." <ref>http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0809/Vermont_governor_Jim_Douglas_retiring.html</ref>

==External Links==
*[http://www.governor.vermont.gov/ Official Governor of Vermont Site]

== References ==

<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas,Jim}}
[[Category:Vermont Governors]]
[[Category:Republican Governors]]

United States of America

2011-05-01T17:51:49Z

WallyRyan: /* Judicial Branch */ Amended language to be more constitutional

{{Country
|name =''United States of America''
|map =US map.PNG
|map2 =Loc of United States.png
|established=1776
|flag =50 star flag.png
|arms =United States arms.png
|capital =Washington, D.C.
|government =Constitutional Republic
|language =English
|official =n
|president =Barack Hussein Obama
|area =3,718,695 sq mi
|pop =301,554,000 (2007)
|gdp-year =$13.049 trillion (2007
|gdp-pc =$44,333 (2007)
|currency =United States Dollar (USD)
}}
The '''United States of America''' (''conventional short form'': '''United States'''; ''abbreviation'': '''US''' or '''USA'''; sometimes also referred to as '''the States''' or simply as '''America''') is a [[North America|North American]] nation that consists of a federal union of fifty individual states, along with territories and a capital district. Founded originally as 13 colonies in the [[British Empire]], Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country on July 4, 1776 with the [[Declaration of Independence]].<ref>IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776. [http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America], ushistory.org, (Accessed August 2010).</ref> The new nation became recognized as the United States of America following the [[American Revolutionary War|War of Independence]] in 1783. Shortly thereafter, in 1787, the [[United States Constitution]] was written; grounded on Christian values and [[Republican form of government|republican]] political principles, the constitution remains in effect today. The Americans created the world's first political parties and, since abolishing [[slavery]] in a bloody [[American Civil War|civil war]] (1861-65), instituted a form of government guided by the rule of law rather than the desires of a majority of voters. According to the U.S. Constitution written by America's [[Founding Fathers]], the United States is a [[Constitutional Republic]]. It is not a [[Democracy]].

America's capitalist economy grew rapidly, becoming the largest in the world by the 1870s. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. After defeating Communism in the [[Cold War]], the U.S. emerged as the world's only [[superpower]], boasting the largest economy and most powerful military. It exerts enormous cultural and intellectual influence worldwide, and in return is the target of the enemies of democracy and [[capitalism]].

The capital of the United States of America is [[Washington, DC]].

== People ==
[[File:Php3sfokfPM.jpg|220px|left|At Washington, DC.]]
Population: 310,232,863 (July 2010 est.) Population growth rate: 0.97% (2010 est.) Labor force: 153.9 million (2010 est.).

Ethnic groups: white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic <ref> [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA - The World Factbook.] </ref>

In 2010, around 400,000 [[illegal immigrants]] were deported. The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, estimates 11.5 million to 12 million "unauthorized migrants" live in the US today. <ref> [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0516/p01s02-ussc.html Illegal immigrants in the US: How many are there?] </ref>

==Geography==

[[File:Colorado.jpg|thumb|[[Colorado]].]]
North America, bordering both the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the North [[Pacific Ocean]], is between [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]]. In addition to the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, the United States is otherwise bounded by the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Two of the fifty states, Alaska and Hawaii (an archipelago), are not contiguous with any of the other states. Puerto Rico, which is largely self governing, is part of the U.S., as are several smaller territories in the Pacific Ocean, such as Guam. Each of the 50 states has a large degree of sovereignty, but the boundaries are debated and shift slightly every year.

At over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.6 million km²), the U.S. (including its non-contiguous and overseas states and territories) is the third largest country by total area (after Russia and Canada). It is the world's third most populous nation, with over 350 million people (after China and India).

Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent. <ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA World Factbook], ''North America :: United States'', Updated on February 23, 2011, (Accessed on February 23, 2011).</ref>

==History==

===American Revolution===
{{main|American Revolution}}
[[File:Washington-deleware.jpg|thumb|left|Washington, Chief of the Continental Army, is shown crossing the Delaware River.]]
The American Revolution exploded from fears the British Empire was trying to restrict the historic rights and liberties of Americans. The British victory in the French and Indian War ended the threat that foreign powers might attack the colonies; Britain's protection was no longer needed. At the same time Britain decided to assert its powers by imposing [[taxes]]. The taxes (as on stamps, sugar, and tea) were not large but the principle was simple: Americans insisted their own [[Legislature|legislatures]] could impose taxes but not [[Parliament]], because Americans were not represented there. "No taxation without representation!" and "[[Don't tread on me]]" became common phrases in America by the American people, but the British refused over and over again to accept it. London sent in troops when Boston protested vehemently, and Americans organized shadow governments in every colony.

The Americans were adopting a new political philosophy, called [[republicanism]], which stressed civic virtue, fear of corruption, and disdain for [[aristocracy]] (there were no aristocrats in America apart from occasional British visitors). Republicanism alerted Americans to their constitutional rights as Englishmen – one right was that the people, through their elected officials, set the taxes and upheld law. Constitutionally, to Americans their "elected officials" were not represented in the British Parliament, it meant having their own colonial legislatures. The British replied haughtily toward this desire from the Americans, going so far as to suggest America was "virtually represented" by the British Parliament in some way or form.

====Boston Tea Party====
{{main|Boston Tea Party}}

The British Parliaments idea of representation in America fueled their desire to increase taxes on the Americans. The tax on stamps in 1765 incited near rebellion, as the 13 separate colonies began meeting together and sharing their grievances. The stamp tax was repealed but others followed, especially the tax on tea. In response, Americans boycotted tea and merchants refused to order it, except in Boston. There, a well-organized group of patriots dumped the tea in the harbor, historically known as the [[Boston Tea Party]]. These events infuriated London, so they sent troops to North America and stripped [[Massachusetts]] of its self government and suspended the historic rights the colonists were so proud of.

====Thirteen Colonies====
{{main|Thirteen Colonies}} [[Image:Pop1750.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]

The thirteen original colonies began organizing shadow governments, called "Committees of Correspondence," which prepared the Americans for the day "patriots" (or "Whigs," as they called themselves) could assume all functions of local government. That day came when the British sent troops from Boston to seize gunpowder in attempt to dismantle a potential revolt, and the American patriots gathered there to defend their liberty. These patriots were known as the American "Minute men," a well trained militia, and had planned for this day at Lexington and Concord. When the militia clashed with the elite British troops they soundly defeated them, prompting an historic backlash from Britain. The American Revolution had begun.

The thirteen colonies, organized as the "[[First Continental Congress]]," became a national government as the shadow governments in each colony took control and ousted all royal officials. Congress set up a [[Continental Army]] and gave command to an American hero and Virginia's leader, [[George Washington]]. George Washington took charge in Boston, and he forced the British to leave in the spring of 1776. All 13 colonies were at this point in control of the American Patriots, and they listened as [[Tom Paine]] explained ''Common Sense'' principles, proudly boasting of America's strength and its power as a new nation. America, in its own right as an individual nation no longer needed nor wanted a foreign [[King]]. Congress called on the colonies to become States and to write new State constitutions. On July 4, 1776, Congress unanimously declared the independence of a new nation, the United States of America.

====France in the American Revolutionary War====
[[File:Marquis de Lafayette.jpg|thumb|[[Marquis de Lafayette]].]]
King [[George III]] could not abide the insolent Americans and he sent his small army and large navy to America in attempt to reconquer his lost colonies. They were able to recapture [[New York City]], but the King's failure to spread elsewhere greatly outweighed this small victory. The powerful Royal navy gave the British command of the seas and the ability to land troops anywhere and capture any specific place, but the shortage of British soldiers, and the very long 3000 mile supply line, meant that the British could only hold a few points at any one time. Hiring German soldiers (Hessians) was necessary, but they were not enough, for the Patriots always had more available soldiers. The British expectations that Loyalist would rise up and overthrow the Patriots was a [[chimera]]; the Loyalists did provide some help to British invasion forces, but were never strong enough to operate on their own or control any territory.

[[France]], humiliated by Britain in the 1760s, was stronger in the late 1770's than it was a decade earlier and wanted revenge against the British for their past woes. Thus, the French secretly armed and financed the Americans. Lafayette, a French general in the American Revolutionary War, served in the Continental Army under George Washington. He convinced France to send their first naval and land forces to the Americas and participated in defending Richmond, Virginia from Benedict Arnold and in the battle of Yorktown, Virginia; Lafayette contributed in no slight degree toward the grand result.

In 1777, the British sent a large army to invade [[New York]] and cut off the revolutionary states of [[New England]]. The plan was a disaster as the American militia captured the entire British invasion force at Saratoga. Encouraged by diplomat [[Benjamin Franklin]], the French recognized the United States as an independent nation, signed a treaty of alliance, and entered the war against Britain. Later, the treaty extended to [[Spain]] and the [[Netherlands]] as allies to America; Britain's diplomacy was disjointed that it had no allies at all, and was militarily matched or surpassed by America and its new allies. The British invasion of the South in 1780-81 was designed to bring out Loyalist support, but it failed and the second major British army was captured at the [[Battle of Yorktown]]. The British Parliament revolted at their reckless king and his incompetent government and sued for peace, which was achieved on terms favorable to the U.S. in 1783. About 20% of the Loyalists moved to [[Canada]], but many stayed in America, and the new peaceful nation resumed its rapid growth.

===New Nation===

In 1783, when the Treaty of Paris concluded the war of independence, the American population totalled some three million citizens and slaves living on about one million square miles of land. Tens of thousands of [[Native Americans]] also lived in the [[Northwest Territory]] and the Southwest.

The Thirteen original states are [[Connecticut]], [[Delaware]], [[Georgia]], [[Maryland]], [[Massachusetts]] (including [[maine]]), [[New Hampshire]], [[New Jersey]], [[New York]], [[North Carolina]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Rhode Island]], [[South Carolina]] and [[Virginia]]. In 1790, an agreement between supporters of Jefferson and those of [[Alexander Hamilton]] resulted in the creation of the [[District of Columbia]] from part of [[Maryland]]; it has served as the national capital since 1800. The remainder of the 1783 territory was eventually organized as the states of [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Illinois]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]].

===Expansion===
[[File:U.S. Territorial Acquisitions PD WC.jpg|thumb|left|Territorial acquisitions such as the Thirteen Colonies, the Louisiana Purchase, and British and Spanish Cession.]]
In 1803, [[French]] emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] took advantage of a lull in his war with Great Britain to sell the [[Louisiana Territory]] to the United States, more than doubling the nation's land area. This territory would later be organized as the states of [[Minnesota]], [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], [[Nebraska]], [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], [[Arkansas]], [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Louisiana]] proper. President Jefferson commissioned [[Lewis and Clark]] to explore the new territory from 1802 to 1804.

The U.S. seized, then purchased [[Florida]] from Spain in 1819. [[Texas]] joined the United States in 1845 after winning its revolution against Mexico.
[[File:Map Leading Group by County US.jpg|thumb|Map Leading Group by County, 2000.]]
After victory the [[Mexican American War]] of 1846-48, the U.S. purchased via the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] territory that became the states of [[California]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]]. In 1846 the U.S. and Britain agreed that the 49th Parallel (degree of latitude) would serve as the boundary between the U. S. and [[British Columbia]] (now part of Canada). The American portion became the states of [[Washington]], [[Oregon]] and [[Idaho]].

In 1867, the U.S. purchased [[Alaska]] from [[Russia]]. It became a state in 1959.

Hawaii became an independent republic in 1894 and voluntarily joined the U.S. in 1898, becoming a state in 1960.

As a result of the [[Spanish-American War]], the United States took control of the [[Philippines]] and annexed [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Guam]]. The Philippines became independent in 1946, after the U.S. reconquered the islands from Japan in World War II. [[Puerto Rico]] has occasionally held referendum that ratified its continuing unique "Commonwealth" status as part of the United States. The residents of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Guam continues as a U.S. owned territory with full citizenship for its inhabitants. The people of Puerto Rico and Guam have a vote in presidential primaries and a voice, but not a vote, in Congress.

==The Constitution and Politics in the United States==

[[Image:76485685i79.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The drafting committee presenting the [[Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Continental Congress]], painted by John Trumbull 1817–1819.]]

Between 1776 and 1788, the United States was governed according to the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The Founding Fathers formally established the current structure of the United States by ratification of the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1788. Since 1789, that constitution has been the basic governing document. America's Founding Fathers understood that a democracy is always in flux and given to “mob rule,”<ref>[[Michelle Malkin]]. [http://michellemalkin.com/2009/03/27/the-coming-g20-riots-the-spread-of-mob-rule/comment-page-1/ The coming G20 riots & the spread of mob rule], ''Michelle Malkin'', March 27, 2009.</ref> while a republic is fixed and stable, resting on “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Because of the uncertainty of democracy, [[Benjamin Rush]] — a signer of the Declaration of Independence — wrote: “A simple democracy is one of the greatest of evils.”<ref>AWR Hawkins. [http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/america-a-republic-not-a-democracy/ America: A Republic, Not a Democracy], ''Pajamas Media'', September 03, 2009.</ref>

Sovereignty in America comes from the citizenry, and the basic political values are called "[[republicanism]]," (not to be confused with the [[Republican Party]],) especially the commitment to civic virtue and civic duty, and opposition to corruption and aristocracy. Popular political parties emerged in the United States in the 1790s; currently the two major political parties are the [[Democratic Party]], and the [[Republican Party]]. Minor parties are of little importance overall but can be useful in pushing certain topics to the public eye.

=== The Role of Religion in Government ===
{{main|Religion and U.S. Government}}

==Government==
{{main|United States Federal Government}}

[[Image:56eugyjnm.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[White House]], the official home and workplace of the [[President of the United States]] of America.]]

===Executive Branch===

*Chief of state: The [[President of the United States]] is both the chief of state and head of government
*Head of government: President of the United States; [[Vice President of the United States]]
*Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval
*Elections: The president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term)

===Legislative Branch===

The United States legislative branch of government is a [[bicameral]] Congress, which consists of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third are elected every two years) and the [[House of Representatives]] (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms).

===Judicial Branch===
{{main|Supreme Court of the United States}}

The United States [[Supreme Court]] consists of nine justices, nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed to serve for life; the judicial branch extends to the United States Courts of Appeal, the United States District Courts, and State and County Courts. The primary role of the nine justices of the Supreme Court is to assure the United States government does not attempt to surrender, sell or transfer the people's unalienable rights, as endowed by their [[God|Creator]]. The Supreme Court has the power to consider the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress.

== Economy ==

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts for about 60% of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $840 billion in 2008 before shrinking to $506 billion in 2009, and ramping back up to $630 billion in 2010. The global economic downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and other industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. Approximately two-thirds of these funds were injected into the economy by the end of 2010. In March 2010, President OBAMA signed a health insurance reform bill into law that will extend coverage to an additional 32 million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. In July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a bill designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight. In November 2010, in an attempt to keep interest rates from rising and snuffing out the nascent recovery, the US Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) announced that it would purchase $600 billion worth of US Government bonds by June 2011.

Leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; [[petroleum]], [[steel]], motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, [[electronics]], food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining.
<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA - The world Factbook]</ref>

==2010 Federal Holidays==
The table below lists public holidays for U.S. Federal employees for 2010.<ref>[http://www.opm.gov/Operating_Status_Schedules/fedhol/2010.asp 2010 Federal Holidays], OPM.gov, Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103).</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Holiday
|-
|Friday, Dec. 24*** || [[Christmas|Christmas Day]]
|-
|}

==Flag Description==
[[Image:50 star flag.png|left|thumb|150px|The [[Flag of the United States of America]]]]
{{main|Flag of the United States of America}}

Thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including [[Chile]], [[Liberia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Puerto Rico]].

{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== See also==
[[File:Lawrence The Migration of the Negro.jpg|thumb|The Migration of the Negro by [[Jacob Lawrence]], 1940-1941.]]
*[[Pledge of Allegiance]]
*[[Famous American artists]]
*[[List of 50 states]]
*[[Americas]]
*[[America (continent)]]
*[[Columbia]]
*[[Gallery of American Masterpieces]]

==External links==
*[[CIA]] - [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html The World FactBook]
*[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States United States.]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/america.htm America]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/flags_of_us_states.htm Flags of the U.S. States]
*[http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf Interactive map test of the 50 U.S. states]
*[http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h445.html U.S. History]
{{USstates}}

[[Category:North American Countries]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Chuck

2011-04-25T19:46:07Z

WallyRyan: added category

'''Chuck''' is an action-comedy TV show airing on NBC. Centered around geek-turned-spy Chuck Bartowski, the titular character, Chuck is a rarity in industry for its espousing of [[conservative]] values. Indeed, the lead actor, Zachary Levi, is a devout [[Christian]], the show promotes the nuclear family and [[marriage]], and noted conservative [[Adam Baldwin]] is a member of the cast.

[[Category:Television Shows]]

Spice

2011-04-25T01:41:58Z

WallyRyan: correcting grammar

[[Image:DriedPeppercorns.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Peppercorns, a common spice]]
'''Spice''' is an edible substance of plant origin. Small amounts of spice are often used as a seasoning to [[flavor]] foods, while cooking, or after preparation, and also in some beverages. Spices often have distinct aromatic smells that can be used to identify them.

Some common spices used in cooking: pepper, clove, [[nutmeg]], [[cinnamon]], [[paprika]].

Eggnog is an example of a beverage prepared with spice (nutmeg).

Spices are also used in fragrances, perfumes, and oils, and for medicinal purposes.

They have a long history of use and are mentioned in the [[Bible]]. The three wise men carried gifts including frankincense and myrrh, and [[Moses]] was commanded by the Lord to make a perfume of sweet spices, including cinnamon.

Spices were used in the middle ages to cover the flavor of rotting food.

== References ==
*http://www.perfumes.com/eng/history.htm
*http://www.preparingforeternity.com/br/br89.htm
*http://bible.cc/revelation/18-13.htm
*http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol5/E4/e4_nt.html
*http://www.spiceadvice.com/history/history.html

[[Category: Food and Drink]]
[[Category: Spices]]

Talk:Huffington Post

2011-04-21T04:21:15Z

WallyRyan:

Hmm...Conservapedia accuses The Huffington Post of delivering "one sided news". Isn't Conservapedia kind of one sided?
{{unsigned|Acwellman}}

:Well, do you know what point of view Conservapedia stands for? Nothing in the title of the Huffinpuffin Post tells me they are liberal. Maybe it's because of deceit that they hide behind objectivity when in fact liberal.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 12:00, 5 June 2010 (EDT)

::At least Conservapedia admits its POV, proudly proclaims it, Acwellman. We don't offer ours under the cloud of deceit that the HuffPo uses. --<big>[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]</big>/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 12:42, 6 June 2010 (EDT)

I'm not a big fan of The Huffington Post, of course, but isn't saying that it's "often referred to as a hate site" a little much without any citation to back it up? It's liberal claptrap and essentially a media organ of the democrat party, to be sure, but I wouldn't deem it a hate site. [[User:WallyRyan|WallyRyan]] 17:19, 20 April 2011 (EDT)
:Well, the external links section calls Huffington a hate site so that seems like a good citation to me. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:40, 20 April 2011 (EDT)

Thanks, I missed that. They're both blogs, but it seems to me that blogs are a better medium of the people than the mainstream media, so its valid. Ironic, though, considering that the Huffington Post prides itself partly on its blogs... [[User:WallyRyan|WallyRyan]] 00:21, 21 April 2011 (EDT)

Talk:Huffington Post

2011-04-21T04:21:04Z

WallyRyan:

Barack Obama birthplace controversy

2011-04-20T21:25:08Z

WallyRyan: Undo revision 862662 by Paine1776 (talk)

[[File:UndocumentedWorker.jpg|right|300px]]
[[Barack Obama]] claims to have been born at the ''Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children'' in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]],<ref name="maraniss">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/23/AR2008082301620_pf.html |title=Though Obama Had to Leave to Find Himself, It Is Hawaii That Made His Rise Possible|author=Maraniss, David|publisher=''The Washington Post''|date=2008-08-22|accessdate=2008-10-27}}</ref> to Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, [[Kenya]], and Ann Dunham, a US citizen <ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[FactCheck]]|url=http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html|title=Born in the U.S.A.|date=August 21, 2008|accessmonthday=October 24 |accessyear=2008}}</ref> of mainly [[English]], [[Irish]] and smaller amounts of [[Germany|German]] descent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269836,00.html |title=FOXNews.com - Report: Obama's Irish Roots Unearthed - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum |publisher=Foxnews.com |date=May 3, 2007 |accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/blogs/john-farrell/2008/10/30/barack-obamas-irish-heritage.html |title=Barack Obama's Irish Heritage - John A. Farrell (usnews.com) |publisher=Usnews.com |date= |accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201551.html |title=Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own - washingtonpost.com |publisher=Washingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref> However, requests, including lawsuits, asking he make his official birth certificate public have gone unanswered.

The [[Constitution of the United States|US Constitution]] [[United_States_Constitution:Article_II|Article II]], Section 1 is quoted as requiring the following for any persons to be eligible to be [[President of the United States]]:
{{Cquote|'''''No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.'''''}}
Thus, according the Constitution, for all persons who were born in another country, even if they are US citizens, they are prohibited from legitimately becoming President. However, Barack Obama was born to an American citizen, which makes him a citizen by birth regardless of his birthplace.

In total, there are at least 6 lawsuits in the effort to compel President-elect Obama to prove his birthplace and US Citizenship. The lawsuits include those by [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] former-Assistant Attorney General of [[Pennsylvania]] [[Philip Berg]][http://www.obamacrimes.com/attachments/058_Berg%20v%20Obama%20Petition%20for%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari.pdf], American Independent Party founder and former-[[Republican Party]] Presidential Primary candidate [[Alan Keyes]][http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/elections/presheadlines/34587804.html], and independent author [[Andy Martin]].[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80928]

Philip Berg explains his lawsuit in this linked video [http://www.americanpatrol.com/MISCNEWS/2006-UP/ELECTIONS/2008/OBAMA/OctSurpriseVideo081012.html?v=gA6_k3NtXZs]

The Obama campaign released a "Certification of Live Birth" from the State of Hawaii claiming this is proof Obama was born in Hawaii.<ref>[http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate Obama Campaign; Fight The Smears Website]</ref> However, the ''Department of Hawaiian Home Lands'', an official government agency of the [[Hawaii|State of Hawaii]] rejects this document as proof of Hawaiian birth. They require instead a "Certificate of Live Birth" (1st word different). The department states:
{{Cquote|'''''In order to process your application, DHHL utilizes information that is found only on the original Certificate of Live Birth, which is either black or green. This is a more complete record of your birth than the Certification of Live Birth (a computer-generated printout). Submitting the original Certificate of Live Birth will save you time and money since the computer-generated Certification requires additional verification by DHHL.'''''<ref>[http://hawaii.gov/dhhl/applicants/appforms/applyhhl Forms; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands]</ref>}}

Bloggers note that the "Certification of Live Birth" records Obama's father's race as "AFRICAN" versus "Negro" and that the document contains the word "LASER" in the lower left hand corner identifying the form type. They claim both words are incompatible with a document generated in 1961. They also note the certification number is blacked out.<ref>[http://conservativepolitics.today.com/2008/06/25/proven-barack-obama-presented-forged-certificate-of-live-birth/ Conservative Politics Today Website]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Birthplace of Barack Obama]]
*[[Obama birth certificate controversy]]
*[[Obama birth certificate lawsuits]]
*[[Essay:Born Outside the U.S.A.!]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Outside Links ==

'''Sources favoring the Courts' compelling Obama to prove his birthplace and citizenship:'''

* [http://www.obamacrimes.com Philip Berg's Website]

'''Sources opposed to the Courts' compelling Obama to prove his birthplace and citizenship:'''

* [http://www.stopthesmears.com Anti-Barack Obama Campaign Website]

[[Category:Barack Hussein Obama]]

Talk:Huffington Post

2011-04-20T21:19:38Z

WallyRyan:

The Huffington Post

2011-04-20T21:15:12Z

WallyRyan: created redirect

#REDIRECT [[Huffington Post]]

Chuck

2011-04-20T21:13:31Z

WallyRyan: Created page with "'''Chuck''' is an action-comedy TV show airing on NBC. Centered around geek-turned-spy Chuck Bartowski, the titular character, Chuck is a rarity in industry for its espousing of ..."

Louis Brandeis

2011-04-14T22:54:58Z

WallyRyan:

{{Officeholder
|name=Louis Brandeis
|image=LouisBrandeis.jpg
|party=
|spouse=Alice Goldmark
|religion=[[Jewish]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/Supreme Court Justice
|role=Associate
|nominator=[[Woodrow Wilson]]
|terms=June 1, 1916 – February 13, 1939
|preceded=[[Joseph Lamar]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[William O. Douglas]]
}}
}}
'''Louis Dembitz Brandeis''' (1856-1941) was a highly influential American lawyer and theorist of [[Antitrust]] during the [[Progressive Era]]. As an advisor to President [[Woodrow Wilson]], he was a driving force in the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the law establishing the Federal Trade Commission. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1916, he was the leading liberal on the Court (1916-1939), a proponent of small business and an enemy of bigness, and a leader of the [[Zionism|Zionist]] movement to build up Israel.

He was a strong advocate of [[Natural Rights]] and freedom of speech. He graduating from Harvard Law School in 1877, were he co-wrote the famous article "The Right to Privacy," in 1890. <ref>http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Brandeis-Louis.html</ref> As a leading lawyer in [[Boston]] he supported the union movement, women's rights and an increase in the minimum wage; he fought monopolistic railroads. In 1916 he was appointed to the [[United States]] Supreme Court, and was confirmed despite strong conservative opposition. He served until 1939. Although a supporter of government intervention and some of [[Franklin Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] he opposed bigness and argued that the National Recovery Administration was unconstitutional. He is most famous for opposing big business and defining the right to privacy. Brandeis is also the namesake of [[Brandeis University]].

==Early career==
Brandeis was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 13, 1856, the son of German-Jewish intellectuals who fled Prague following the abortive revolutions of 1848. The family was active in Republican politics. His parents were secular and Brandeis was not active in religious affairs. After schooling both in the United States and in Germany, Brandeis entered [[Harvard Law School]] in 1875, where he entered into the dialectics of the new case system of instruction, inaugurated by Professor Christopher C. Langdell. After graduation in 1877 and an additional postgraduate year, Brandeis started practice in St. Louis, then moved to Boston to partner with classmate Samuel D. Warren; Warren & Brandeis opened in 1879. Within a few years their legal craftsmanship and social connections made the firm one of the most successful in New England. Brandeis offered his clients not only a brilliant legal mind, but sound and effective business advice, and by 1890, when the average income for lawyers was only $3,000 a year, Brandeis earned $50,000.
===Privacy===
Brandeis defined modern notions of the individual right to privacy in a path-breaking article he published with his partner, Warren, in the ''Harvard Law Review'' of Dec. 15, 1890, on "The Right to Privacy." Stimulated by anger at offensive publicity concerning the social activities of Warren's family, it adumbrated a new legal concept that has had lasting influence. Building on diverse analogies in the law of defamation, of literary property, and of eavesdropping, Brandeis argued that the central, if unarticulated, interest protected in these fields was an interest in personal integrity, "the right to be let alone," that ought to be secured against invasion except for some compelling reason of public welfare.

==Progressive==
His social conscience made Brandeis a leader of the [[Progressive Era|Progressive Movement]]. From 1897 to 1916, he was in the thick of multiple reform crusades. He fought in Boston to secure honest traction franchises and in 1907 launched a six-year fight to prevent banker [[J. P. Morgan]] from monopolizing New England's railroads. After an expose of insurance fraud in 1906, he devised the Massachusetts plan to protect small wage-earners through savings bank life insurance. He supported the conservation movement and in 1910 emerged as the chief figure in the Pinchot-Ballinger investigation.
===Brandeis Brief===
During this flurry of reform, two central themes emerged in Brandeis' social philosophy. First, the law had to be responsive to changing social conditions and, while protecting individual and corporate rights, had to be flexible enough to permit governments to devise measures for the welfare and safety of their citizens.

Widely known as "the people's attorney," Brandeis pioneered pro bono work and was a true reformer. Brandeis was also the first to cite law reviews both in his briefs before the court and in his opinions as a justice. In 1907, he introduced a new type of legal document, the '''"Brandeis brief,"''', consisted of three pages of legal citations and over one hundred pages of citations to articles, government reports, and other references. It was packed full of social research and data to support a ten-hour limitation on women's working hours. [[Muller v. Oregon]] was the first decision by the Supreme Court admitting the need to examine the social conditions as well as the legal facts involved in a case. The second theme emphasized the need to regulate the economy so as to prevent the domination of both society and economy by enormous corporations. It was this idea that brought Brandeis to the attention of Democratic presidential nominee [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1912, and together the two men developed the political program known as the "New Freedom."
===Monopolies===
Brandeis believed that big monopolies not only dominated industry, but undermined a democratic society. Political liberty demanded economic freedom, and each individual deserved the opportunity to make his mark in the world. To achieve this, big businesses had to be broken up, and rules enforced to guarantee fair competition. His book ''Other People's Money'' (1914) was a brilliant analysis of the influence of moneyed interests on the life of the average American. In 1913 and 1914, Brandeis was a key adviser to President Wilson in drafting and enacting the [[Federal Reserve Act]], The [[Clayton Antitrust Act]], and the [[Federal Trade Commission Act]].
===Zionism===
Brandeis was never religious, but after mediating strikes involving Jewish garment workers he became profoundly identified with his Jewish ethnic heritage and became committed to Zionism (that is, the creation of a national home in Palestine for all Jews from around the world). Brandeis, as of 1905, believed in total [[assimilation]] of Jews into American society, a position subsequently used by his opponents within the American Zionist movement to attack him personally. Brandeis moved 180 degrees from this position, believing by 1914 there was something separate and unique to the Jewish race, which was one of the reasons he wanted them to be relocated to The Promised Land, which was Palestine. He concluded that:
:"Assimilation is national suicide". There must be a land "where the Jewish life may be naturally led, the Hebrew language spoken, and the Jewish spirit prevail," and that land was "our fathers' land" -- Palestine.<ref> Speech of November 8, 1914, before the Menorah Society of Columbia University, cited in Mason (1946) p 447</ref>

With the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914, Brandeis turned his attention to [[Jewish Question|the Jewish question]]. The headquarters of the World Zionist Organization was moved to the United States, and Brandeis became chairman of the operating committee and the central figure in the group. While favoring creation of a Jewish homeland, he also recognized that Jews had found freedom and opportunity in the United States and therefore urged that Palestine be considered a homeland only for those Jews who wanted to go there. Nonetheless, American Jews, because of their safety and prosperity, should help secure and build that homeland. From 1914 to 1919, Brandeis was instrumental in raising millions of dollars for relief of war-afflicted Jews. He secured President Wilson's support for the 1917 British [[Balfour Declaration]], which promised a Jewish homeland (eventually Israel). In 1919 he broke on issues of structural organization and financial planning with [[Chaim Weizmann]], the leader of European Zionism. Weizmann defeated Brandeis for power and in 1921 Brandeis resigned from the Zionist Organization of America, along with his closest associates Rabbi [[Stephen S. Wise]], Judge Julian W. Mack and [[Felix Frankfurter]]. He remained active in [[philanthropy]] directed at Jews in Palestine. In the late 1930s he endorsed illegal immigration to Palestine in an effort to help European Jews escape genocide when Britain denied entry to more Jews.

==Supreme Court nomination, 1916==
Brandeis' friendship with Wilson had almost brought him into the cabinet in 1913 as Attorney General or Secretary of Commerce, but objections from conservative businessmen prevented that appointment. Brandeis was never a socialist but he had a reputation of favoring small business over big business, and cooperatives over small business. In January 1916, in a surprise move, Wilson nominated Brandeis to the Supreme Court. There was a national uproar over the appointment, with conservatives denouncing the move and a small group of anti-Semites bitterly predicting the end of the republic. One opponent explained that Brandeis "is of the material that makes good advocates, reformers and crusaders, but not good or safe judges."<ref> Senator John D. Works, quoted in Levy and Murphy (1980) 78:1253</ref> Brandeis accepted the nomination as vindication of his progressive views and Zionist beliefs, for which he had been sharply criticized. Brandeis saw the appointment as an opportunity to bring law into line with modern life. Senate hearings dragged on for four months; Brandeis said nothing, but quietly mobilized a battery of friends who refuted the numerous but ill-founded allegations against him. Even so, his confirmation was in doubt until Wilson finally saw the issue as one that pitted the president against Congress for control of the voice of the people. The president threw himself into the contest, appealing to public opinion by telling the nation:
:I have known him. I have tested him by seeking his advice upon some of the most difficult and perplexing public questions about which it was necessary for me to form a judgment. I have dealt with him in matters where nice questions of honor and fair play, as well as large questions of justice and public benefit, were involved. In every matter in which I have made test of his judgment and point of view I have received from him counsel singularly enlightening, singularly clear-sighted and judicial, and, above all, full of moral stimulation. He is a friend of all just men and a lover of the right; and he knows more than how to talk about the right—he knows how to set it forward in the face of his enemies.<ref>Mason, (1946) p. 499</ref>

Wilson did not speak to judicial philosophy. More to the point, Wilson counted votes and found out what it would take to turn around every Democratic senator, one by one. The strategy worked; all but one of the Democrats stood solid and Wilson gained three Progressive Republicans, so that Brandeis was confirmed 47-22 on June 1, 1916.
==Supreme Court service, 1916-1939==
Wilson continued to think of Brandeis as his personal advisor, and asked him to head a major diplomatic mission. Chief Justice Edward White vetoed the idea, saying the Court was too busy to allow such diversions. By 1918 Brandeis had become friends with Taft, and when Taft became chief justice in 1921, the firebrand liberal and traditional conservative managed to work well together.

Brandeis remained a friend of labor on the Court, but he proved much less radical than his opponents had feared. He upheld convictions for sedition during World War I, supported prohibition, and was best known for long, complex minority opinions that somewhat resembled his famous sociological briefs.

In his 23 years on the bench, Brandeis fought to protect individual liberties from encroachment by the state and to give states the right to protect the safety and welfare of their citizens. Although frequently in a minority, his dissenting opinions were later cited as correct interpretations.

Brandeis often teamed with [[Oliver Wendell Holmes]] to argue that in a democracy the right to criticize the government or to expound unpopular views could not be abridged. In Whitney v. California, he opposed state laws directed against socialist philosophies and reminded his colleagues that the founding fathers had not been afraid of new ideas. Like Holmes, Brandeis personally did not share the ideas of the radicals whose cases came before the Court, but to him democracy meant that all ideas, no matter how repugnant, could enjoy freedom of expression.

During the [[Great Depression]], when the Court, dominated by economic conservatives dubbed the "Four Horsemen", time and again declared innovative government measures unconstitutional, Brandeis urged his colleagues to lay aside what he regarded as their prejudices. Brandeis returned to the political arena during the New Deal years, when, behind the scenes, he orchestrated the small-business ideology of supporters like Felix Frankfurter. He kept his own values intact and generally supported the New Deal, voting against it only three times, most notably overthrowing the [[National Recovery Administration|NRA]], which violated Brandeis' hatred of what he called the "curse of bigness."<ref> Brandeis also wrote the opinion holding unconstitutional the Frazier-Lemke Act for the relief of farm debtors. Mason (1946) 619</ref>

Behind the scenes Brandeis was a major advisor to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and a group of [[New Deal|New Dealers]], led by his protegé [[Felix Frankfurter]], who had a specific reform agenda, such as opposition to big business, support for wages and hours legislation, and support for labor unions. He helped design the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]], which remains one of the two most important surviving New Deal agencies in the 21st century. Whenever a possible conflict of interest arose, Brandeis would recuse himself from a Court decision.

Brandeis was one of the greatest legal craftsman ever to sit on the Court. One of his enduring contributions was the view that cases must be decided on the basis not only of legal precedents but also of social needs.

Brandeis retired from the Court on Feb. 13, 1939, and died in Washington on Oct. 5, 1941.

==Notes==
<references/>

==References==
* Baker, Leonard. ''Brandeis and Frankfurter: A Dual Biography'' (1984)
* Levy, David W. and Bruce Allen Murphy. "Preserving the Progressive Spirit in a Conservative Time: The Joint Reform Efforts of Justice Brandeis and Professor Frankfurter, 1916-1933," ''Michigan Law Review'' Vol. 78, No. 8 (Aug., 1980), pp. 1252-1304 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-2234%28198008%2978%3A8%3C1252%3APTPSIA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 in JSTOR]
* Mason, Alpheus T. ''Brandeis: A Free Man's Life'' (1946), is the authorized biography. [http://www.questia.com/read/8572577 online edition]
* Mason, Alpheus T. "Louis D. Brandeis" in Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, eds. ''The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Volume: 3.'' (1997), pp 1019-36 [http://www.questia.com/read/98824298# online edition]
* Strum, Philippa. ''Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People'' (1989)
* Strum, Philippa, ed. ''Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism'' (1995), selected letters, speeches, opinions of Brandeis [http://www.amazon.com/Brandeis-Beyond-Progressivism-Modern-Studies/dp/0700606874/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207954416&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]
* Urofsky, Melvin I. ''Louis D. Brandeis: A Life'' (2009), full-scale scholarly biography
* Urofsky, Melvin I. ''Louis D. Brandeis and the Progressive Tradition'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/14451090 online edition], short biography
* Urofsky, Melvin I. "Louis D. Brandeis: Advocate Before and on the Bench." ''Journal of Supreme Court History'' (2005) 30(1): 31-46. Issn: 1059-4329 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]

===Primary sources===
* Brandeis, Louis D. ''Brandeis on Zionism: A Collection of Addresses and Statements'' (1942). [http://www.questia.com/read/62016869 online edition]
* Brandeis, Louis D. ''The Curse of Bigness: Miscellaneous Papers'' edited by Osmond K. Fraenkel, (1934);
* Brandeis, Louis D ''Letters of Louis D. Brandeis,'' edited by Melvin I. Urofsky and David W. Levy (5 vol, 1971-1978).
* Brandeis, Louis D. ''Business--A Profession'' (1914) [http://books.google.com/books?id=7sMtAAAAMAAJ&dq=inauthor:brandeis&num=30&as_brr=1 full text online]
* Brandeis, Louis D. ''Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It'' (1914)
* Lief, Alfred, ed. ''The Social and Economic Views of Mr. Justice Brandeis'' (1930)
* Strum, Philippa, ed. ''Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Brandeis-Beyond-Progressivism-Modern-Studies/dp/0700606874/ref=sr_1_9/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194654748&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]

{{Supreme Court|white=y|taft=y|hughes=y}}

[[Category:United States Supreme Court Justices]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Progressive Era]]
[[Category:Zionism]]
[[Category:1920s]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandeis, Louis}}

Brandeis University

2011-04-14T22:53:19Z

WallyRyan: edit to show that it is nonsectarian

{{University
|name=Brandeis University
|image=BrandeisSeal.jpg
|text=rgb(0,71,168)
|background=
|type=Private
|size=3,216
|city=Waltham, Massachusetts
|sports=baseball, basketball, cross country, fencing, indoor track, outdoor track, sailing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball<ref>{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=Varsity Teams|url=http://my.brandeis.edu/athletics/teams|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref>
|degrees=Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral<ref>{{cite web|work=College Board|format=HTML|language=English|accessdate=May 28, 2010|title=College Search - Brandeis University - At a Glance|url=http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3745}}</ref>
|colors=blue and white
|mascot=Ollie the Owl (Judges)
|website=http://www.brandeis.edu/
}}
'''Brandeis University''' is a [[Massachusetts]] [[Judaism|Jewish]], nonsectarian <ref name="defining">{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=Defining Brandeis|url=http://www.brandeis.edu/about/defining.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> [[private schools|private]] [[university]] founded in 1948.<ref name="overview">{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=Overview|url=http://www.brandeis.edu/about/facts/index.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> The school describes itself as a "Private [[research university]] with a [[liberal arts]] focus."<ref name="overview"/> The university's notable graduates include a [[Nobel laureate]], a [[Pulitzer Prize]] winner, school presidents, a Prime Minister and an [[Emmy]] winner, amongst others.<ref name="noble">{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=Noble Alumni|url=http://www.brandeis.edu/about/alumni.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> The school ranked #31 in US News's 2008 "National Universities: Top Schools" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php|title=National Universities: Top Schools|work=US News|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref>
==History==
The school is named for former [[Supreme Court]] justice [[Louis Dembitz Brandeis]] - the first Jewish justice.<ref>{{cite web|work=infoplease|title=Supreme Court Facts|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0875894.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref><ref name="history">{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=Historical Overview|url=http://www.brandeis.edu/about/history.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref><ref name="defining"/> In 1985, Brandeis was elected to membership in the Association of American Universities, which represents the 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.<ref name="history"/>
==Athletics==
The school's mascot, Ollie the Owl,<ref>{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=2007-2008 Facts|url=http://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/started/facts.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> is named after Louis Brandeis's colleague, Oliver Wendell Holmes.<ref>{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=Ollie the Owl|url=http://alumni.brandeis.edu/web/clubs/ollie_history.html|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> Brandeis competes in the University Athletic Association (UAA), a unique Division III affiliation.<ref>{{cite web|work=Brandeis University|title=About|url=http://my.brandeis.edu/athletics/about|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External Links==
*[http://my.brandeis.edu/athletics/index Official Athletic Site]
{{Nb_US_universities|Massachusetts}}

Neil Simon

2011-04-13T22:26:27Z

WallyRyan: added cat

'''Neal Simon''' (b. July 4, 1927) is an American playwright. He is the author of dozens of stage plays and screenplays. Some of his most notable works include ''The Odd Couple'' (1965), ''Plaza Suite'' (1968), ''The Sunshine Boys'' (1972), and ''Barefoot in the Park'' (1963). Simon has received four Academy Award nominations for his screenplays. In 1991 he received a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his stage play ''Lost in Yonkers''.

[[Category:Playwrights]]

Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies

2011-04-13T02:54:01Z

WallyRyan: possible edit?

[[Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies/archive1|Archive 1]]
 [[Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies/archive2|Archive 2]]

== Public Discussion Here ==

(post comments here by clicking "Edit this page")

== Brokeback Mountain ==

I was thinking about this topic earlier and had an interesting thought about a seemingly non-conservative movie that, in a way, is actually quite so. I'm going to throw this out there for some (hopefully productive and civil) debate and see what people think.

The movie is Brokeback Mountain. Now hold on to your outrage, people. I have justifications for my point. Please hear me out. (Oh, and spoilers, just in case you planned to see/read it and hadn't)

As you probably know, the movie (and the novella on which its based) is about two men who fall into a homosexual lifestyle. But what struck me as conservative about this film is that it doesn't glorify the lifestyle; the two mens' choice to indulge in homosexuality is a disastrous choice that ends up ruining both their lives. One man's marriage is destroyed and his relationship with his child is forever tainted. The other man's choice actually leads to his violent death (Incidentally, I'm not saying that killing someone for being gay is a conservative value. But the point is that this movie is actually very up-front about acknowledging the catastrophic consequences of a homosexual lifestyle).

Considering all that, my next though was whether this movie might be unintentionally conservative, in which case it certainly doesn't belong on this list. But I don't think it is (haven't seen it since it first came out though, so I could be wrong).

So, there's my point. I would appreciate some discussion. I imagine some CPers will think I'm trolling or just trying to start an argument. Not so. I feel like it's a valid point but that there are probably strong arguments for and against, and I'd really like to hear what other people think. [[User:EMorris|EMorris]] 17:11, 25 June 2010 (EDT)

== U-571 ==

I deleted U-571 from this list. It portrays the capture of an Enigma machine from a German U-boat by US forces. As pretty much everyone with any interest in WW2 knows, the naval Enigma machine was stolen by Polish forces and decoded by British code-breakers at Bletchley. My Brit friends think U-571 is a joke because it minimises the role of the British ("you arrogant Yankees"). Poles are offended because it cuts out the Polish involvement altogether - including the very brave men who risked their lives to steal an Enigma machine and hand it over to British Intelligence. (BTW, Britain and Poland were allies of ours in WW2 and still are now.) Deceit isn't a conservative virtue - so I crossed U-571 off the list. [[User:BenjyB|BenjyB]] 16:51, 20 September 2010 (EDT)

: I'd say it's very questionable whether there's any deceit involved. The movie makes an on-screen written acknowledgment that the the first (and the majority) of enigmas were captured by British sailors. The whole movie is so over-the-top that nobody with a lick of intelligence would believe it's true. American sailors did capture an enigma machine during the war too, so this movie is obviously "inspired by a true story" even if it's not especially true. Most of the movie-going public knows that Hollywood "true" stories are highly fictionalized. [[User:EMorris|EMorris]] 13:13, 21 September 2010 (EDT)

==The Lives of Others==

Where on earth is The Lives of Others? it is, surely, the best recent critique of Communism and, for that matter, one of the best films ''of any type'' released in the past five years. It certainly deserves a place ahead of, for example, the obscure Dark Matter. --[[User:Jdixon|Jdixon]] 12:13, 28 November 2010 (EST)

: It's in German, right, and about the former [[East Germany]]? I'll add it on your recommendation, but I can't agree it ranks higher than the English-language Dark Matter, which speaks to today and not just the past.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 12:41, 28 November 2010 (EST)

::Fair enough, Andy. Though I don't quite understand the argument against foreign-language films. If the issue is obscurity, The Lives of Others was seen by far more people in the US than Dark Matter. A glance at Box-Office Mojo confirms that Dark Matter took in a staggeringly tiny $30,591 on its domestic run. The Lives of Others took in $11,286,112 in the US (plus another $66 million in the rest of the world). I am, however, content to abide by your criteria. --[[User:Jdixon|Jdixon]] 15:40, 28 November 2010 (EST)

:::Oprah Winfrey's daytime talk show rakes in far higher revenues than both, but I'm not sure what that proves. Dark Matter was apparently victimized and downplayed by liberals who finally figured out its conservative message, after it won first place in one of the Sundance Film Festival categories. The liberal backlash against Dark Matter is particularly surprising given that Meryl Streep starred in it.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 18:48, 28 November 2010 (EST)

::::P.S. Your suggestion of "The Lives of Others" is a fine addition. Thanks.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 19:02, 28 November 2010 (EST)
http://www.conservapedia.com/skins/common/images/button_sig.png
::::No problem. Keep up the good work. --[[User:Jdixon|Jdixon]] 20:47, 28 November 2010 (EST)

== Fiddler on the Roof? ==

A film celebrating the value of community, tradition, family, and faith, all against the historical context of the harm done by the rise of Communism in Russia...worthy of a spot on the list? --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 18:30, 6 January 2011 (EST)

:Sounds good to me ... please add it as you think best!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 18:48, 6 January 2011 (EST)

== Gattaca ==

A condemnation of genetic experiments on humans, and a wonderful triumph of individualism in an extremely controlled society. No matter how much scientists play to be God, and try to improve the human race by using genetics, there will always be an individual, based on original God design, who, despite his health shortcomings, will triumph over this genetically modified, supposedly perfect human beings.

I don’t immediately put it on the list because the movie is a bit atheist. In the final scene, the hero finally managed to travel to space and cites the phrase: “They say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. So, maybe I'm not leaving, maybe I'm going home."

So, I’ll say that the movie has a conservative message, unfortunately diluted with atheist overtones. I’ll wait for someone else opinion before posting this. --[[User:AlejandroH|AlejandroH]] 23:03, 10 March 2011 (EST)

:Feel free to post this with the caveat you mention. Thanks for explaining it.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:33, 25 March 2011 (EDT)
::We talked about this movie at my fellowship a few months ago - pure hokum about a guy who might have been alright on his own but for a disgusting patriarchy forcing human engineering. I'll write this if AlejandroJ doesn't. [[User:NKeaton|Nate]] 00:51, 25 March 2011 (EDT)
:::Thanks, I posted it. --[[User:AlejandroH|AlejandroH]] 15:31, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

== Disney cartoons ==

Most, and perhaps all, of the Disney cartoons for the past 15 or so years have pushed the [[feminist]] ideology. I welcome any counterexamples, but doubt there are any. Hence the reversion of the "Princess and the Frog (2009)" addition.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:31, 25 March 2011 (EDT)
:''The Lion King'', a 1994 Disney movie, is definitely conservative. A main message of the movie is honoring thy father, and the power-hungry main antagonist, once he becomes ruler, favors big government, pushes [[liberal values]] and destroys their territory. I'll add it with your approval. [[User:DennyW66|DennyW66]] 15:45, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

::Sounds like a good choice. Please add and if anyone has a different view of the movie, then he can let us know.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 16:26, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

:::Added. [[User:DennyW66|DennyW66]] 16:41, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

Mr Schlafly I would agree with your reversion of my contribution of the Princess and the Frog if that movie were feminist-ideology-promoting (like, for instance Mulan (1998)) but frankly, it is not a feminist movie. I am not a woman, nor a feminist - I am staunchly conservative. The Princess and the Frog promotes monogamous marriage (which feminism does not) as well as the other conservative values I listed (such as saving money, hard work, free enterprise etc). In fact, the main character is so pro-marriage that she changes her licentious friend's behavior from debauchery (which feminism promotes) to monogamy. It is possibly the most conservative-value-laden animated movie I have ever seen.

''The Lion King'' on the other hand promotes re-incarnation with its "Circle of Life" song. Jack, the hero of ''Titanic'' commits fornication and mocks a man reciting the 23rd Psalm; Cal, the main antagonist is depicted as a church-service-attending hypocrite.

You are doubtless correct about the feminist ideology pushed by many Disney animations, but this is not one of them. I respectfully request that you consider returning my contribution of 'The Princess and the Frog'. [[User:Spotsbunch|Spotsbunch]] 23:17, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

:I have to disagree with you about The Lion King. As far as I can interpret, "The Circle of Life" is either about the bond all humans share or the journey from life to death and the afterlife, not reincarnation. [[User:DennyW66|DennyW66]] 00:36, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

::Spotsbunch, I think you have a valid point about the Lion King, but from what I've heard about the "Princess and the Frog," it's feminist claptrap with the woman wearing the pants and doing everything except having children and homeschooling her kids. It's more Disney tripe about a successful businesswoman towing along an inept man, which is hardly typical in the real world.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:56, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

:::Arguably, any movie where people turn into frogs, or where in Beauty and the Beast, people have transmogrified into furniture is not "real world". Fantasies they may be, (like many movies listed here) but they are still conservative. I (finally) put it to your kind consideration that if you would watch the Princess and the Frog, you would find it contains less feminism and more conservativism than Beauty and the Beast. Whatever your judgment, I respect your decision and will refrain from further debate, even though I (thus far) disagree. Kindest regards [[User:Spotsbunch|Spotsbunch]] 08:43, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

::::[[Feminism]] is unmistakable: it has women acting like men and vice-versa, contrary to reality. Disney cartoons have been ''heavily'' feminist for at least 15 years. ''Beauty and the Beast'', made 20 years ago, was not feminist in any way. But having a "Princess" act like a businessman and aspire to run a restaurant is feminist. What's next - Cinderella aspires to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company???--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 10:10, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

:::::Is there any reason a woman can't run a restaurant or a fortune 500 company? No really, Andy, I want to know. Why is it feminist to portray a woman doing anything but cooking, cleaning, and rearing children? [[User:TerryB|TerryB]] 13:40, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

::::::Who said anything about cooking and cleaning? And, no, there isn't a reason why a woman can't aspire to any field, such as plumbers (almost no women plumbers), gas station attendants (ditto), or professional football players (ditto). The fact is that the vast majority of women ''do not aspire'' to do such activities (or running a restaurant or a Fortune 500 company), and it's false for feminists or feminist movies to repeatedly pretend otherwise.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 13:48, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

:::::::I apologize for my abrasiveness, it just seemed that you were implying that's all they're supposed to do. I can see where you're coming from. While a woman can do what she wants, feminists are wrong for telling woman that they should only aspire to do things traditionally done by men. Men normally aren't beauty consultants, clothing designers, or nail salon technicians, so why don't we see any men urging more men to do these things? [[User:TerryB|TerryB]] 14:00, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

::::::::[[Feminism]] repeatedly tries to persuade women not to have children and raise them, pretending that aspiring to work in a job is somehow better. I can't think of a single Disney movie in the last 15 years that has been realistic about the homemaker role that most women prefer.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 15:00, 26 March 2011 (EDT)
::::::::::Up. A key part of the story is that the old man's wife had given up her dreams of being an explorer as real life concerns around the home took precedence. [[User:Martyp|Martyp]] 15:03, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

:::::::::::As promised, I will make my petition no further. However, as others have continued this debate, I will contribute to that. The Bible, our ultimate authority, disagrees (as I read it) that "a woman aspiring to run a business" (restaurant or otherwise) is feminist. Proverbs 31:10-31 describes at length "the wife of noble character" to be involved in business by working with eager hands; importing food from merchant ships; providing food for her family; purchasing property for farming; trading profitably; making and selling expensive cloth and having enough money left over to give to the poor. Anyone with a definition of feminism which includes activities like these, who also respects the Bible as God's authoritative Word should reconsider his definition. Respectfully and with kindest regards, [[User:Spotsbunch|Spotsbunch]] 19:15, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

::::::::::::Not surprisingly, you left out the verse saying "her children wake up, and call her 'blessed,' so does her husband" ([[CBP]] version), as well as several other verses that feminist movies do not include.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:06, 27 March 2011 (EDT)

:::::::::::::Then would it be acceptable to put the Princess and the Frog in the "Debatable Whether Conservative" section of this page? [[User:Spotsbunch|Spotsbunch]] 15:44, 30 March 2011 (EDT)

::::::::::::::There are high quality movies in the "Debatable" section. The [[feminist]] "Princess and the Frog" doesn't even come close to that level of quality and arguably conservatism.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 17:46, 30 March 2011 (EDT)

== Titanic ==

The movie ''Titanic'' also shows the rich and privileged getting on the half-empty life boats while the poor and lower class passengers are locked below (which is actually historical). Should it truly be included in this list? [[User:SharonW|SharonW]] 16:50, 6 April 2011 (EDT)

:No, I disagree. The movie accurately portrays the wealthiest men on the boat (Guggenheim, Astor, etc.) giving up their lives so that poorer women and children could be saved.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 21:53, 6 April 2011 (EDT)

::While I'm ''not'' denying there were individual acts of chivalry and that Guggenheim et al declined seats (although there is historical conflicting testimony about Astor) on the lifeboats (of which there were too few given the number of people on the ship), the numbers show a definite declining survival rate by class. This was also a theme in the movie and not one that should be ignored.

::The movie showed the lower class passengers being locked in the bowels of the ship, blocking escape. There is historical conflicting testimony on this subject as well: several people reported gates between decks being locked and armed guards blocking passageways while one steerage passenger testified that the gates were not locked. Another passenger stated that not only did the staff ''not'' sound an alarm in third class, but that steerage passengers who came up on deck were told to return to their rooms because there was no danger.

::'''First Class''' Women - 4/141 died (97% survival rate)1; Children: 1/7 died2 (86% survival rate); Men - 104/171 died (39% survival rate); Totals: 109/319 died (66% overall survival rate)

::12 of the 4 first class female passengers who died chose to remain with their husbands. *corrected mistype.

::2Lorraine Allison remained on board with her family because they had been separated from her infant brother, who was on a lifeboat with his nurse. The entire family died, with the exception of the baby.

::'''Second Class''' Women: 13/92 died (86% survival rate); Children: 0/25 died (100% survival rate); Men: 135/152 died (11% survival rate); Totals: 148/269 died (45% overall survival rate)

::'''Third Class''' Women: 91/179 died (49% survival rate); Children: 55/80 died (31% survival rate); Men: 381/440 died (13% survival rate); Totals: 527/699 died (25% overall survival rate)

::'''Staff and crew''' Female: 2/22 died (91% survival rate); Male: 701/896 died (22% survival rate); Overall: 703/918 died (23% overall survival rate)

::There are some servants left out of these numbers due to confusion

::Sorry for the over-long reply, but the ''Titanic'' has been a subject of fascination to me since my teenage years (about a century ago!) so I'm rather verbose about it. 8^) I don't agree with you on the subject, but I won't remove the movie from the list. [[User:SharonW|SharonW]] 11:51, 7 April 2011 (EDT)
==Move The Dark Knight To the Debatable category?==
I'm wondering whether of not The Dark Knight should be truly considered conservative-while it does have the message of not giving in to terrorist, it also includes themes of everyone being corruptible and having their limits (like the good public defendant, Harvey Dent, turning into a villain, Two Face) and seems fascinated with darkness and chaos ("Madness is like gravity all you need is a little push"). Given this all, and the fact that Patrick Leahy had a cameo in it, I think this might well be reconsidered. Thoughts?
Armond White, who generally sees through liberal bias and is a more conservative viewer, wrote this about it: [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fTJ_tj1IKooJ:www.nypress.com/article-18545-knight-to-remember.html+armond+white+the+dark+knightr&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.com]

Homosexual attraction

2011-04-13T01:40:57Z

WallyRyan:

'''Homosexual attraction''' is a phenomenon, relating to the attraction between members of the same sex, that is not well understood by modern [[psychology]] or [[sociology]]. The study of it has been somewhat taboo since the mid-1970s, but it raises important questions about the nature of [[homosexuality]]. Considering genes aren't the source of this attraction, what accounts for this unnatural desire?
* Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, a West Conshohocken psychiatrist and principal contributor to the Catholic Medical Association's book Homosexuality and Hope, identifies the major causes of [[same-sex attraction disorder]] (SSAD) in men and women. [http://www.narth.com/docs/fitz2.html]
* "[[Gender identity disorder]] in children regularly leads to same-sex attraction in adolescence," writes Dr. Fitzgibbons. "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of the American Psychiatric Association defined Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in children as a strong persistent cross-gender identification, a discomfort with one's own sex, and a preference for cross-sex roles in play or in fantasies." [ibid]

{{homosexualityb}}
[[Category:Homosexuality]]

Homosexual attraction

2011-04-13T01:40:25Z

WallyRyan: reword, omitted plagiarized sentance

'''Homosexual attraction''' is a phenomenon, relating to the attraction between members of the same sex, that is not well understood by modern [[psychology]] or [[sociology]]. The study of it has been somewhat taboo since the mid-1970s, but it raises important questions about the nature of [[homosexuality]]- considering genes aren't the source of this attraction, what accounts for this unnatural desire?
* Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, a West Conshohocken psychiatrist and principal contributor to the Catholic Medical Association's book Homosexuality and Hope, identifies the major causes of [[same-sex attraction disorder]] (SSAD) in men and women. [http://www.narth.com/docs/fitz2.html]
* "[[Gender identity disorder]] in children regularly leads to same-sex attraction in adolescence," writes Dr. Fitzgibbons. "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of the American Psychiatric Association defined Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in children as a strong persistent cross-gender identification, a discomfort with one's own sex, and a preference for cross-sex roles in play or in fantasies." [ibid]

{{homosexualityb}}
[[Category:Homosexuality]]

Sin denial

2011-04-10T22:03:02Z

WallyRyan: Correcting a spelling error

'''Sin denial''' is a claim made (typically within [[Christianity]]) that a given behavior or action is not sinful, despite the [[Bible]] establishing that it is so.

Sin denial is particularly widespread among [[Liberal Christianity|liberal Christians]] and indicative of [[cafeteria Christianity]], and includes enabling [[homosexuality]], [[abortion]], premarital cohabitation and sex, and countless other forms of [[moral relativism]]. It is closely linked to the claims that [[Hell]] does not exist and God will not punish unbelievers and the unfaithful.

Sin denial can also lead to a dysfunctional [[conscience]], which can eventually induce [[sociopathy]].

[[Category:Christianity]]
[[Category:Liberal Traits]]

Liberal hyperbole

2011-04-10T21:45:43Z

WallyRyan: Created page with "'''Liberal Hyperbole''' generally refers to the characteristic of liberals to exaggerate and outright distort facts and information to further their cause. Examples of libera..."

'''Liberal Hyperbole''' generally refers to the characteristic of [[liberals]] to exaggerate and outright distort facts and information to further their cause. Examples of liberal hyperbole include:
* Exaggerating the dangers of a [[government shutdown]]
* Inflating the purported benefits of social security and other big-government programs
* Overstating the importance of intervention in [[Libya]]

Liberal hyperbole is entrenched in the liberal worldview. For example, President [[Obama]]'s erroneous assertion that 10,000 people died in a Kansas tornado when in actuality only 12 died can be attributed to his endemic inclination towards hyperbole.

{{Liberalism}}

William Daley

2011-04-09T20:32:30Z

WallyRyan:

'''William Michael Daley''' (born August 9, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American attorney and the current White House Chief of Staff under the [[Obama administration]]. He served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President [[Bill Clinton]] from 1997 until 2000.
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daley, William}}

Obama Administration

2011-04-09T20:30:33Z

WallyRyan: /* Important Officials */ Amended to reflect change in cabinet

The '''Obama Administration''' is the Executive Department portion of the U.S. government controlled by the [[progressive]] liberal, [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Presidents of the United States|President]] [[Barack Hussein Obama]]; it began on January 20, 2009 for a term of four years. [[File:Obama-poll.jpg|thumb|330px|Excitement for Obama was very high before people understood his plans; enthusiasm has plunged as criticism becomes sharper and strong opponents grow more numerous than strong supporters]] Shortly after taking office President Obama's popularity sagged, his party weakened and opportunities for celebrating achievements dissipated. Contentious town-hall meetings criticized the injustice of his health care proposals, [[Barack Obama and United States Unemployment|unemployment grew]], the stimulus did not stimulate, Democrats bickered more than usual, grim forecasts of failure came from his generals in Afghanistan. Accused of [[socialism]], he was branded in Congress as a liar. He was criticized first for not making his case, and then for overexposure, as he deliberately put into the shadows everyone in his cabinet. Obama’s inexperience in domestic and foreign affairs worsened his troubles. Nothing worked right--he was embarrassed by winning the Nobel Peace Prize before any of his goals had been accomplished.

By the end of President Obama's first year a majority (54%) of voters believed the nation was on the wrong track. Included among that 54% are nearly all Republicans (91%), a majority of Independents (61%) and one-in-five Democrats (18%). Only 13% of Americans say Obama has done better than they expected, including just 27% of Democrats.<ref> See [http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1800 Zogby poll Jan. 20. 2010]</ref>

A Republican revival took form as the party won gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, and the Democrats continued in disarray in New York, Texas and California. Even more dramatic was the win by Republican [[Scott Brown]] of the Senate seat held by the late [[Edward M. Kennedy]] in Massachusetts, which was widely interpreted as a referendum on Obama's policies.

Obama's "[[Recovery Summer]]" of 2010 provided further economic disappointment for Americans with rising unemployment numbers, [[GDP]] growth estimates revised downward and a further decline in Obama's job approval numbers. However Obama was able to maintain a steady schedule of [[List of Obama First Family Vacations|vacations]], parties and weekend get-aways at [[Camp David]].

==Economic Policy==
The Obama administration initially followed what fiscal conservatives and libertarians call [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]].
[[File:Varvel-11-19-09.jpg|thumb|330px|left|Gary Varvel pokes fun at VP Biden's outlandish claims]]
===Historical backdrop===
Following the [[Recession of 2008]] Obama declared failure to pass his [[Economic stimulus]] would turn a "crisis into a catastrophe," and promised [[Unemployment]] would not rise above 7.8%.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1910208,00.html Obama's Stimulus Plan: Failing by Its Own Measure,] Stephen Gandel, ''TIME'', July 14, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31165217/ Obama promises economic relief this summer], AP, 6/8/2009.</ref> The House on Jan. 28 passed a stimulus package‎ of $819 billion in new spending and tax increases, despite unanimous Republican opposition. A revised bill passed the Senate with three Republican votes. A compromise bill known as the "[[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]" was passed, providing for $789 billion in new spending.

Detroit spread gloom on Feb. 17 as GM starkly warned of impending bankruptcy unless it gets more aid. By August, both Chrysler and GM had entered bankruptcy, and come out again in much smaller size, as they closed a fourth of their dealerships, slashed wage rates, and paid off bondholders with 29 cents on the dollar. Chrysler was given away free to Fiat of Italy, which acquired ownership without investing any money. Meanwhile the parts makers, which employ more workers than the Big Three automakers, verged on disaster and begged for federal billions. The "[[cash for clunkers]]" proved to be a temporary stopgap, bringing people back to deserted dealerships at a cost of $3 billion.

===2010 Budget===
Congress by party line votes in late April passed the budget Obama had proposed in late February. It calls for $3.4 trillion in new spending, not counting the $787 billion in stimulus spending approved in February, nor the trillions in loan guarantees to banks. The new budget allocates $1.2 trillion for defense, and an additional $130 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nondefense spending will increase by 8% or $40 billion. The budget will allow the Obama health plan--which has not been written--to move through Congress on a fast track without risk of filibuster. The Bush tax cuts are extended, and some new cuts added for lower income Americans. However the federal income tax on individuals over $200,000 will rise from 35% to 39.6%.

The Tax Foundation says that 44% of all tax filers will have no tax liability and most of those will get a check from the government, especially from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)<ref> EITC is a conservative idea first proposed by Milton Friedman, enacted under Republican presidents Ford and Reagan.</ref> and credits for college tuition and child care. The ''Wall Street Journal'' noted about Obama's plan that, "Once upon a time we called this 'welfare'". <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385651698727257.html</ref>

The Budget assumes a federal deficit of $1.75 trillion for 2009, or 12.3% of GDP--the highest deficit in percentage terms since World War II. By 2013, the hypothetical deficit will drop to $533 billion but then will begin to climb again. The budget includes an additional $250 billion for more rescues of the financial markets by purchasing toxic assets on the banking sector's books.

The budget reorders national priorities to provide national health care and raise the federal spending on schools.

[[Image:Budget-cbo.jpg|thumb|250px|left]] The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the Obama plans will raise the national debt far more than Obama says. The CBO says the Obama plan will cause total deficits over the next ten years of $9.3 trillion, compared to Obama's estimate of "only" 7 trillion. That is in addition to the current national debt of $11.2 trillion and rising. The annual GDP by contrast is about $15 trillion and falling.<ref> Jackie Calmes, "New Deficit Forecast Casts Shadow on Obama Agenda," [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/washington/21deficit.html?th&emc=th ''New York Times'' Mar. 20, 2009]</ref> Senator Jedd Gregg says that Obama's budget will double the national debt in five years and triple it in ten. <ref>http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/mar/25/judd-gregg/judd-gregg-says-obamas-budget-doubles-national-deb/</ref>

To reverse global warming, Obama has proposed a carbon [[cap and trade]] system, which will raise energy prices for families and businesses, with rebates to most families. It will cost an extra $645 billion between 2012 and 2019, which will result in higher prices. Rep. John Boehner said, "Let's just be honest and call it a carbon tax that will increase taxes on all Americans who drive a car, who have a job, who turn on a light switch, pure and simple."<ref>see [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123566843777484625.html comment from conservative newspaper]</ref>

The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is conservative Democrat [[Kent Conrad]] of [[North Dakota]], a deficit hawk who said he is "very uncomfortable with the build-up of debt" and urged Obama to make good on his promise to overhaul federal retirement and health-care programs. Conrad called for "more discipline on the spending side."<ref> [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/28/AR2009022801960.html?hpid=topnews ''Washington Post'' Mar. 1, 2009]</ref>

===Optimism or Pessimism?===
The Obama Administration is basing its domestic policies on the assumption of a rapid economic recovery, that will generate the tax revenue needed to fund permanent new spending program in areas such as health care and greening the economy. It assumes that the rich will recover enough of their investments to pay new taxes--right now tax collections are falling sharply as investments turn sour. Administration forecasts are more optimistic than private sector forecasts, which see a 25% chance of a '''Second Great Depression'''. Both parties agree that stimulus spending is needed to deal with the recession but Congress is unlikely to approve permanent new spending programs unless the economy improves, since a large number of conservative Democrats have been recently elected who may vote with Republicans to keep down spending and deficits.<ref> Peter S. Goodman, "Sharper Downturn Clouds Obama Spending Plans," [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/business/economy/28recession.html?_r=1&th&emc=th ''Washington Post'' Feb. 27, 2009]</ref>

===Obama's policies problematic, say economists and public===
In the view of 51 mostly conservative economists polled by the ''Wall Street Journal'' in July 2009, the Obama administration's economic performance is problematic. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner both got an average grade of 70 out of 100 for their handling of the financial crisis, but those grades varied widely.<ref>Obama scored 59 in March 2009, Geithner 51, and Bernanke 71. See Phil Izzo, "Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123671107124286261.html ''Wall Street Journal'' March 11, 2009]</ref> Former President Bush and ex-Treasury chief Paulson received average grades of 50 and 60, respectively, when economists were asked how they handled the crisis while in office. By contrast, Fed chairman Bernanke scores much better, with an average grade of 85; in addition 93% of respondents said he should be reappointed by Obama when Bernanke's term expires early next year.<ref>Phil Izzo, "Few Economists Favor More Stimulus," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708099206913393.html ''Wall Street Journal'' July 10, 2009] </ref>
[[Image:Stim1.jpg|thumb|380px|Cartoonist Chuck Asay summarizes the debate]]

The economists are pessimistic about the economy, predicting it will shed another 2.8 million jobs over the next 12 months as the unemployment rate climbed to 9.5% in June 2009, then hit 10,2% in October, as the GDP fell at an alarming -6.4% annual rate in the first quarter of 2009. Economists see a one-in-six chance that the U.S. will fall into a depression, defined as a decline in per-person GDP or consumption by 10% or more. They give equally poor marks to the efforts of other countries to end the recession.

The economists, however, were broadly supportive of the Federal Reserve. Over 85% agreed that its proliferating lending programs are well-designed, well-executed and helping the economy.

In June 2009 public opinion was favorable toward Obama personally, but increasingly dubious about his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay. But with a positive job approval rating of 63% , Mr. Obama has the backing of Democrats and independents alike, even as Republicans turn negative, with only 23% supporting him. Support for Obama's foreign policies and terrorism policies remains high at 57-59%. Meanwhile the GOP weaknesses were glaring: the June poll found that the Republican Party is viewed favorably by only 28% of Americans, the lowest rating ever in a New York Times/CBS News poll. In contrast, 57% said that they had a favorable view of the Democratic Party.<ref> [Jeff Zeleny and Dalia Sussman, "Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/us/politics/18poll.html?th&emc=th ''New York Times'' June 17, 2009]</ref>
Billionaire [[Warren Buffett]], former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, and former Clinton Treasury Secretary [[Robert Rubin]] constituted Obama's transition team of Economic Advisers.<ref>[ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aSzNv81CYh0c Obama to Meet With Buffett, Daley, Economic Advisers], Bloomberg, Nov. 6 2008.</ref> Rubin has been sharply criticized for his role in the collapse of [[Citigroup]] which has taken $45 billion in federal [[bailout]] money.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0930738020090109 Robert Rubin quits Citigroup amid criticism], Reuters, Jan 9, 2009</ref> Buffett has since the inauguration been an outspoken critic of the administration's declared objective of not allowing "a crisis to go to waste" [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/03/buffett_hits_obama_congress_on.html] and Obama's massive tax increase on the needy and those least able to afford it. [http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/buffett-cap-and-trade-is-a-regressive-tax/]

===Bailout Crisis ===
After spending over a trillion dollars in cash and guarantees (by Bush and Obama combined), the [[bailout]] of the financial system by October 2009 seems to have saved the banks but failed thus far to stimulate economic recovery. Obama started to decline in the polls, as independents and Republicans became increasingly critical. A firestorm of outrage swept the nation in March when it was learned that AIG insurance company, now 80% government owned, was paying $165 million in bonuses to the traders that had caused $60 billion in losses. Geithner was appointed to the Treasury largely on the basis of his work at the New York Fed, where his most important action was to design the bailout of AIG. Under Geithner's leadership it received $170 billion from the government.
[[Image:Toxic-assets.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Geithner plans to sell toxic assets to Wall Street]]
With major banks on the verge of failure, Treasury Secretary [[Timothy Geithner]] unveiled yet another massive bailout program in mid-February. Trillions would be spent to move toxic assets out of the banks, but few details were provided. The widespread reaction was very negative, and Geithner lost more of his credibility as a problem solver. Geithner finally came back with a plan on March 23 that will not need additional funding or approval by Congress. The Treasury will use $100 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as well as new capital from private investors, in order to generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy toxic loans and assets. The program could potentially expand to $1 trillion over time. In June many of the major banks started to repay their federal loans, as anxiety eased about their future.

[[Image:Jobs09q1.jpg|thumb|250px]] [[Image:Job-loss-09.jpg|thumb|250px|US job losses January 1-March 31, 2009]]

The Federal Reserve in June said conditions remained weak and even deteriorated in many regions of the country, with commercial real estate and labor markets in deep trouble. The Fed is not expecting a significant boost in economic activity in 2009. Despite costly federal efforts to restart credit markets, it remains very difficult for consumers and businesses to obtain loans.

===Health Care===
:''Main article : '''[[ObamaCare]]'''''
Congress is moving quickly to create a government insurance program that would compete with the private sector. Obama will attempt to pay for it with "$634 billion in new taxes on wealthy Americans". <ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health-care26-2009feb26,0,1056744.story</ref> He claimed that "The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds", an argument conservatives dispute because people who are very sick lose their jobs and income which in turn causes the bankruptcy.<ref>http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2009/03/medical-bankrup.html</ref> One such [[health care reform]] proposal would mandate private citizens to purchase health insurance under the threat of legal sanctions for failure to comply.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/02/senate-democrats-trim-cost-health-care/</ref> Critics have dubbed the proposal [[Gestapo care]].

Obama, however, has been unconvincing. Very few Americans see much advantage in his proposals, and everyone sees the high costs. He has partly dodged organized criticism by cutting deals with hospitals and drug companies, but he has not cut the deal with the public. Polls show his support on the health issue has slipped to 49% in mid-July, with 44% opposed. (By contrast, he had 57% approval on health issues in April).<ref> ''Washington Post'' July 20, 2009</ref> Conservative Democrats in Congress--who call themselves "[[Blue Dog Democrats]]"---have been reluctant to sign on to any proposal costing a trillion dollars over the next decade. The controversy has lowered Obama's overall approval rating to 59% in July, down six points in one month.
===Education===
[[File:Obama-6th-grade-teleprompter.jpg|Right|250px|thumb|Obama speaks to a sixth grade class utilizing two teleprompters]]
The major education issues have yet to be addressed, but to the angst of liberal supporters, the administration's first proposals for school reform rely heavily on Bush-era ingredients and adds others that make unions gag. The y include standardized testing, school accountability, performance pay, and charter schools -- all of which are integral to the President's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" grant competition to spur innovation. Liberals dislike all these new ideas. "It looks like the only strategies they have are charter schools and measurement," protested Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. "That's Bush III."<ref> See [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/24/AR2009092403197.html Nick Anderson, "Unions Criticize Obama's School Proposals as 'Bush III'", ''Washington Post'' Sept. 25, 2009]</ref>

===Internet Regulation===
Before the Obama administration did all it could to force its [[big government]] agenda into all areas of the economy, the [[Internet]] was as open and adaptive as it was because it had been free of government regulation.<ref>Conn Carroll. [http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/27/if-the-fcc-had-regulated-the-internet/ If the FCC Had Regulated the Internet], blog.heritage.org, December 27, 2010.</ref> A ''[[Rasmussen Reports]]'' national telephone survey found that only 21 percent (21%) of likely U.S. Voters would want the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) to regulate the Internet as it does [[radio]] and [[television]]. Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters said they believe that the FCC would use its regulatory authority to promote a political agenda.<ref>The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters nationwide was conducted on December 23, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/december_2010/just_21_want_fcc_to_regulate_internet_most_fear_regulation_would_promote_political_agenda Just 21% Want FCC to Regulate Internet, Most Fear Regulation Would Promote Political Agenda], ''[[Rasmussen Reports]]'', December 28, 2010/</ref> But [[President Obama|President Obama's]] appointed FCC Chairman [[Julius Genachowski]], along with three other Democrats on the commission, helped craft a plan to impose so-called "[[net neutrality]]" rules on [[Internet service providers]], by taking an unprecedented step to expand government's reach into the Internet by attempting to regulate its inner workings.<ref>James Gattuso, “FCC’s Christmas Gift for the Internet: Net Neutrality Regulation,” The Foundry, December 1, 2010, at [http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/01/fcc%e2%80%99s-christmas-gift-for-the-internet-net-neutrality-regulation http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/01/fcc%e2%80%99s-christmas-gift-for-the-internet-net-neutrality-regulation].</ref><ref>'[[Net neutrality]]' sounds nice, but the [[World Wide Web|Web]] is working fine now. The new rules will inhibit investment, deter innovation and create a billable-hours bonanza for lawyers. [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703395204576023452250748540.html The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom], ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', By Robert M. McDowell, December 19, 2010.</ref><ref>The Federal Communications Commission approved a plan to regulate the [[Internet]] despite warnings that it could strangle industry investment and damage an economy that is still struggling to recover. [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/21/fcc-poised-pass-network-neutrality-rules/ FCC Approves Plan to Regulate Internet], [[Fox News|FoxNew.com]], Published December 21, 2010.</ref> In doing so, the agency will circumvent [[Congress]] and disregard a federal court ruling; a federal appeals court in [[Washington D.C.]] previously ruled that the [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]] did not authorize the FCC to regulate Internet use, and therefore that the FCC had no statutory authority to do so.<ref>Lachlan Markay. [http://newsbusters.org/blogs/lachlan-markay/2010/12/21/opponents-fccs-new-internet-regulations-vow-swift-recourse Opponents of FCC's New Internet Regulations Vow Swift Recourse], ''[[NewsBusters]]'', December 21, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://blogs.findlaw.com/courtside/2010/04/fcc-and-net-neutrality-supporters-lose-case-against-comcast.html F.C.C. (and Net Neutrality Supporters) Lose Case Against Comcast], By Joel Zand on April 6, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/12/Red-Tape-Under-the-Tree-FCC-Plans-Internet-Regulation-for-Christmas Red Tape Under the Tree: FCC Plans Internet Regulation for Christmas], heritage.org, Published on December 17, 2010 by James Gattuso.
*WebMemo On [http://www.heritage.org/Issues/Regulation Regulation], ''[[The Heritage Foundation]]''.</ref>

As the Obama administration moves to implement big government policies by regulating use of the Internet, President Obama is putting plans in motion to give the [[Commerce Department]] authority to create an Internet ID for all [[Americans]]. The Obama administration plans to create a national "Internet ID" card to expand its goal of a government-controlled system.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/08/report-obama-administration-plans-create-internet-id-americans/ Obama Administration Reportedly Plans to Create Internet ID for All Americans], [[Fox News|FoxNews.com]], Published January 08, 2011.</ref>

==Foreign Policy==

===Guantanamo Bay===

On January 22, 2009 a press release claimed Barack Obama ordered the closing of the [[Guantanamo Bay]] detention camp within the year 2009. <ref>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=barack+obama+guantanamo+bay&aq=4&oq=Barack+Obama+g&aqi=g10</ref> The camp has yet to be closed.

===Libya===
[[File:Obama Nobel Peace Prize winner.jpg|thumb|right|'''Nobel Peace Prize winner'''. An Arab depiction after Obama attacked Libya.]]
The Congressional Research Service reports that the legality of President Obama's Libyan no-fly zone may depend, at a minimum, on both authorization for the operation and the extent to which the manner of execution of the operation comports with relevant international law. The Charter of the United Nations, in Article 2(4), prohibits the “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence” of a member state under most circumstances, and many practitioners and observers have wondered whether President Obama's establishment of a no-fly zone would constitute a violation of this prohibition.<ref>''No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress,'' Congressional Research Service, March 18, 2011, p. 6-8 pdf.</ref> In addition to international authorization, the [[War Powers Resolution]] of 1973 states that the President’s powers as Commander in Chief to introduce U.S. forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities can only be exercised pursuant to (1) a declaration of war; (2) specific statutory authorization; or (3) a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or its forces. It requires the President in every possible instance to consult with Congress before introducing American Armed Forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities unless there has been a declaration of war or other specific congressional authorization. The War Powers Act also requires the President to report to Congress any introduction of forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities, Section 4(a)(1); into foreign territory while equipped for combat, Section 4(a)(2); or in numbers which substantially enlarge U.S. forces equipped for combat already in a foreign nation, Section 4(a)(3). Once a report is submitted “or required to be submitted” under Section 4(a)(1), Congress must authorize the use of force within 60 to 90 days or the forces must be withdrawn.<ref>Ibid, p. 9 pdf.</ref>

[[Democrat]]ic Representatives Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Donna Edwards (Md.), Mike Capuano (Mass.), [[Dennis Kucinich]] (Ohio), [[Maxine Waters]] (Calif.), Rob Andrews (N.J.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), [[Barbara Lee]] (Calif.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) “all strongly raised objections to the constitutionality of the president’s actions” during a Democratic Caucus meeting.<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51595.html</ref> Senator [[Rand Paul]] (Ky.) alleged the actions show "contempt" for Congress, and along with Sen [[Mike Lee]] (Utah) introduced a resolution quoting candidate Obama’s own words when the he told the ''[[Boston Globe]]''
{{cquote|The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/gop-senators-obama-s-libya-bombing-showe</ref>}}

===Afghanistan War===
The [[Afghanistan War]] is the NATO operation in [[Afghanistan]], 2001 to the present, to destroy the [[Taliban]] and prevent the formation of a base for Islamic militants to attack American interests. President Obama has declared it to be the central front in the war on terrorism and has ordered a buildup of American troops to fight a stubborn insurgency led by the Taliban. He has doubled American forces and is supported by most Republicans, but is opposed by many liberal Democrats, who fear another quagmire like Vietnam. [[File:Af-UStroops.jpg|thumb|left|350px]]

Conditions have turned much worse in late summer, as the much heralded national election was marked by widespread fraud and pessimism is spreading. Increasingly the main justification for the war, now 8 years old, is to prop up the shaky regime in neighboring [[Pakistan]]. NATO commander [[Stanley McChrystal]] has requested 30,000-40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan. Obama, unused to such responsibility, dithered for three months before approving the urgent request. By early 2010 the US will have over 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, triple the number when Obama took office. Conservatives have applauded the buildup.

American policy was increasing set by Defense Secretary [[Robert Gates]], originally appointed by President Bush in 2006 and reappointed by Obama in 2009. Gates fired the commander General David McKiernan in May, 2009, replacing him with McChrystal. Gates insisted on dropping the old strategy of hunting down insurgents and instead adopting a '''counterinsurgency''' strategy that focused on protecting local civilians and training Afghan soldiers and police to take over the job. Gates convinced Obama, who ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in Dec. 2009, with a deadline of 18 months, at which time a transition to Afghan responsibility would begin. Liberals thought Obama and Gates were making a big mistake--heading into another quagmire like Vietnam. However liberal Democrats in Congress will not try to block Obama's proposals, at least at this point.

Democrats are split not in two but in three: a small number of hawks who agree with his decision; a large number of doves who oppose it; and a sizable group that is uneasy with the Obama surge but willing to loyally support his decision. Most conservatives, on the other hand, see victory in Afghanistan as a vital national goal and approve the new strategy, while voicing objections to the 18 month deadline. Polls in mid-December show Republicans overwhelmingly supported the war, with 71% saying the country was doing the right thing compared to 21% who said it was not. By contrast, Democrats were evenly split, with 47% supporting the war and 46% opposing it.

Each 1000 American soldiers in Afghanistan cost a billion dollars a year; Speaker Pelosi has indicated that there will be no tax surcharge to pay for the operation.

===Iran===
During the 2008 campaign Obama promised direct talks [[Iran]]ian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], a staunch enemy of the United States, who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," <ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20070927213903/http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=200247</ref> and dismissed the [[Holocaust]] as a "myth." <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4529198.stm</ref> President Obama has supported Iran's nuclear program, which some argue is being used to develop weapons-grade material. <ref>http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_ok_iran_nukes/2009/04/06/200157.html</ref>

In 2009 Ahmadinejad was reelected to a second term after a controversial and disputed election. Charges of alleged voter fraud from the government resulted in massive protests in Iran and around the world. The government responded by violently suppressing the protesters, killing over 250 of them.<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/25/opposition-alters-tactics-to-avoid-protest-deaths/</ref> Conservatives criticized Obama for failing to provide more vocal support for the pro-democracy protesters.

===Iraq===

On February 27, 2009 President Obama announced a deadline to withdrawal combat troops from [[Iraq]] by August 2010. However, 35,000 to 50,000 troops known as a "transitional force" to defend "civilian intersts" will remain. In June 2009, U.S. troops began to pull out of Iraq's major cities.<ref>http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKrTBxDcg3RzbLdAkUnob12YI4WwD9959L780</ref> Conservatives are generally pleased that Obama has continued the successful Bush policies.

===Mexico===

In May 2012, President Obama promised Mexican President [[Felipe Calderon]] that his administration would assist Mexico in curbing drug cartel violence, which has led to 30,000 deaths in Mexico. "President Calderon and I . . . stand together against the drug cartels that have unleashed horrific violence in so many communities," Obama said on May 19. "Mexico can count on the United States as a full partner in this effort.

The ''[[Washington Post]]'' has reported however that White House officials stopped a requirement for gun dealers to report bulk sales of high-powered [[semiautomatic rifle]]s commonly used by illegal drug cartels. [[Justice Department]] officials had asked for White House approval to require thousands of gun dealers along the border to report the purchases to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives. ATF investigators expected to get leads on suspected arms traffickers. Senior law enforcement sources said the proposal from the ATF was held up by White House chief of staff [[Rahm Emanuel]].<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/17/AR2010121706598.html</ref> Gun dealers have been required for decades to report the sales of multiple handguns to the ATF.

==Environmental policy==
[[File:Slide 6569 89213 small.jpg|right|300px|thumb|President Obama waited nine days before his first response and photo-op in the Gulf oil spill disaster.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/opinion/01sat1.html</ref>]]
:''Main article : '''''[[Gulf oil spill disaster]]'''

The ''[[New York Times]]'' has reported since January 2009 the [[Obama]] administration has approved at least three huge oil and gas lease sales, 103 seismic blasting projects and 346 oil drilling plans.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14agency.html?partner=rss&emc=rss U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits,] Ian Urbina, ''New York Times'', 13 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.</ref> Documents from the [[Department of Interior]]'s [[Mineral Management Service]] (MMS) show that permission for those projects and plans was granted without getting the permits required under federal law.<ref>''NYT'', ibid.</ref> Federal records show one of the permits issued was for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on 20 April 2010, killing 11 workers<ref>''NYT,'' ibid.</ref> and resulting in nearly 30 million barrels of [[crude oil]] dumped into the [[Gulf of Mexico]], contaminating shorelines and killing wildlife, and by far the largest environmental disaster in the history of the [[United States]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28flow.html Estimates Suggest Spill Is Biggest in U.S. History,] Tom Zeller, Jr., ''New York Times, 27 May 2010.</ref><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://www.truthdig.com/report/item/law_order_corporate_crime_unit_20100518/</ref>

President Obama personally approved 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> and was widely criticized for his slow reaction to the drilling disaster. While authorizing offshore drilling<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> the president stated, "oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills. They are technologically very advanced."<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><ref>''[http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/greenpeaceusa_blog/2010/04/30/president_obama_committed_to_endangering President Obama must reinstate moratorium on offshore drilling,]'' [[Greenpeace]] USA blogs, 30 Apr 2010.</ref><ref>http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/04/28/obama-katrina-spill/</ref>

BP's exploration plan received in the Obama administration's MMS field office on 23 March 2009 states "no mitigation measures other than those required by regulation and BP policy will be employed to avoid, diminish or eliminate potential impacts on environmental resources." It declared any spill would have only "sub-lethal" effects on fish and marine [[mammal]]s but it was "unlikely that an accidental oil spill would occur from the proposed activities."<ref>http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/documents/initial_exploration_plan050410.pdf</ref> BP was granted a “categorical exclusion” by the Obama administration from a detailed environmental impact statement required under [[law]]<ref>[http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.]</ref> according to reports in the ''[[Washington Post]].''<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050404118.html U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study,] Juliet Eilperin, ''Washington Post,'' 5 May 2010.</ref>

BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was inspected by the Obama administration's [[Minerals Management Service]] (MMS) only two weeks before it exploded<ref>White House Press Office, [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/press-briefing-bp-oil-spill-gulf-coast Press Briefing on the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast,] 29 April 2010. Retrieved from whitehouse.gov 12 May 2010.</ref> killing 11 people and dumping 30 million barrels of oil in the Gulf. The rig had been awarded the ''Safety Award for Excellence'' in 2009 by the Obama MMS.<ref>[http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=66303 Democratic Leader Hoyer Doesn’t Know Whether Obama Administration was Prepared for Oil Spill,] Matt Cover, CNSNews.com, May 20, 2010.</ref><ref>MMS Thought Deepwater Horizon was Award-Winningly SAFE, The Project on Government Oversight, Exposing Government Corruption, 29 April 2010.</ref>

The Obama [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) gave BP the green light to apply its dispersant, Corexit as cosmetic relief to the spill.<ref>[http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/epa-bp-dispersants Why Is the EPA Letting BP Use Dirty Dispersants?], Kate Sheppard, ''Mother Jones'', 19 May 19 2010.</ref> Corexit was found to be 10 to 20 times more [[toxic]] to human and wild life than a dozen other dispersants approved by the EPA.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/business/energy-environment/13greenwire-less-toxic-dispersants-lose-out-in-bp-oil-spil-81183.html Less Toxic Dispersants Lose Out in BP Oil Spill Cleanup,]
Paul Quinlan, ''Greenwire'', May 13, 2010. Retrieved from nytimes.com 25 May 2010.</ref> Corexit is manufactured by Nalco of Naperville, Illinois, a company's whose current leadership includes several executives from BP. "It's a chemical that the oil industry makes to sell to itself, basically," said Richard Charter, a senior policy adviser for Defenders of Wildlife.<ref>''Greenwire'', ibid.</ref> At Congressional hearings investigating the Gulf oil spill disaster, [[Democratic]] Representative Jerrold Nadler of [[New York]] raised the prospect of "thousands and thousands of people getting sick or dying" as a result of the Obama administration's sanctioned use of the dispersant.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/science/earth/28workers.html Worry About Dispersant Rises as Men in Work Crew Complain of Health Problems,] Leslie Kaufman and Elizabeth Rosenthal, ''New York Times'', 27 May 2010.</ref>

===Cozy relationship with oil industry===

As Senator, and while running for president, [[Barack Obama]] has received more money from BP's [[Political Action Committee]] and individuals connected with BP than any other candidate over the past two decades, according to [[Federal Election Commission]] disclosure records.<ref>[http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0505/obama-biggest-recipient-bp-political-action-money-20-years Obama is biggest recipient of BP’s political action cash in the last 20 years,] John Byrne, 5 May 2010. Retrieved from rawstory.com 9 May 2010.</ref><ref>Jake Tapper, Political Punch, [[ABC News]], 5 May 2010. [http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/05/white-house-idea-that-bp-given-special-exemption-because-of-campaign-cash-to-obama-silly-and-ridiculous.html?cid=6a00d8341c4df253ef0134807669a3970c]</ref><ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/04/on-thursday-oil-giant-bp.html</ref>

==Gay Rights==
Gays have complained that Obama has taken no action thus far. His supporters argue he will act when the time is right. A proclamation signed June 1st states <ref>[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/potus-honors-lgbt-pride-month-by-not-supporting-same-sex-marriage-while-cheney-disagrees.html POTUS Honors LGBT Pride Month by Not Supporting Same Sex Marriage, While Cheney Disagrees]</ref>

:Mentioning his administration’s international efforts to decriminalize homosexuality, the President said he would continue to
:''“support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans” -- enhancing hate crimes laws,''
:''supporting [[civil unions]], outlawing :discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing''
:''"[[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]" policy for [[gays]] and [[lesbians]] in the armed services.''''

{{cquote|
“proud to be the first President to appoint openly [[LGBT]] candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration,”}}
-Barack Obama

==Senior Staff==
Bill Daley replaced [[Rahm Emanuel]] as chief of staff in early 2011; Emanuel retired under a cloud to run for Mayor of Chicago after allegations that favors were promised to Rep. [[Joe Sestak]] in the [[Jobsgate]] scandal; [[Robert Gibbs]] was ousted as press secretary in the wake of the disasterous [[2010 Midterm elections]]; Gregory Craig was dispatched in less than one year as White House counsel after the botched handling of the Guantanamo closing and was replaced by Robert Bauer;<ref>http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1940537,00.html</ref> old Chicago friends [[Valerie Jarrett]] remained while [[David Axelrod]] fell victim the midterm White Hoiuse shake up and returned to Chicago to head up fundraising for Obama's 2012 election bid.

In private White House strategy sessions Dana Milbank of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' reported Emanuel was bitterly opposed the effort to close the Guantanamo Bay prison early, arguing that it wasn't politically feasible. Obama overruled Emanuel. Emanuel fought against the plan to send [[Khalid Sheik Mohammed]] to New York for a trial. Emanuel lost. On health care Emanuel argued for a smaller bill with popular items that could win [[Republican]] support and opposed the public option as a needless distraction. Obama disregarded that strategy and sided with Congressional liberals who hoped to ram a larger, less popular bill through Congress with Democratic votes only. Milbank writes,
{{Cquote|Obama's first year fell apart in large part because he didn't follow his chief of staff's advice on crucial matters...Obama's problem is that his other confidants -- particularly Valerie Jarrett and Robert Gibbs, and, to a lesser extent, David Axelrod -- are part of the Cult of Obama. In love with the president, they believe he is a transformational figure who needn't dirty his hands in politics.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021904298_pf.html</ref><ref>[http://video.foxnews.com/v/4080748/obamas-right-hand-man/?playlist_id=87249]</ref>}}

[[Anita Dunn]] was the White House Communications Office Director until she her [[Maoist]] sympathies became public and was replaced by [[Dan Pfeiffer]].<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_fox_dunn_beck/2009/11/10/284292.html Obama Aide Who Slammed Fox News Resigns, NewsMax.com, November 10, 2009]; [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CypgH32gGVo&feature=related Video of Obama Communications Director Claiming Mao One of Her Favorite Political Philosophers']</ref>

===Jobsgate===
:''Main article:'' [[Jobsgate]]
Jobsgate refers to the scandal where former President [[Bill Clinton]] was asked by someone in the [[White House]] to offer Congressman [[Joe Sestak]] a federal job in exchange for his withdrawal from the [[Democratic]] primary election against incumbent U.S. [[Senator]] [[Arlen Specter]].<ref>Jeffrey Lord. [http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/16/specter-opens-door-on-white-ho Specter Opens Door on White House Felonies], ''The American Spectator'', March 16, 2010.</ref><ref>Tim Shoemaker. [http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=33660 Jobsgate: Obama's Watergate?], ''Campaign For Liberty'', March 18, 2010.</ref> Under [[America|American]] [[law]], it is a federal crime to offer someone a federal position in exchange for favors.<ref name=stonewall>Jeffrey Lord. [http://spectator.org/blog/2010/03/17/gibbs-jobsgate-stonewall-day-2 Gibbs' Jobsgate Stonewall: Day 23], ''The American Spectator'', March 18, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://vlex.com/vid/acceptance-solicitation-obtain-appointive-19190192 Watergate to Jobsgate], ''VOX'', March 17, 2010.</ref> Joe Sestak's allegation that President Clinton carried the message from the White House for a job if he were to drop out of the [[Pennsylvania]] [[2010_Midterm_Elections#Democratic_incumbents|Senate primary]] race against Arlen Specter may be an impeachable crime.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/25/congressman-white-house-job-offer-sestak-impeachable-offense/ Congressman: White House Job Offer to Sestak May Be an 'Impeachable' Offense], FOXNews.com, May 25, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,593482,00.html Rove on Sestak-White House 'Job Offer': Somebody Broke the Law], ''[[Fox News]]'', May 25, 2010.</ref>

==Cabinet==
Obama proceeded rapidly with cabinet choices. Obama has drawn heavily on [[Clinton Administration]] leaders to fill his Cabinet, along with Bush appointees Gates, Jones and Geithner. His national security team (Biden, Clinton, Gates, Jones) all supported the Iraq war, although Obama made opposition to the war central to his campaign. So far no leaders of the left-wing of the Democratic party have been appointed to any major position, which has stunned antiwar and left elements.

A growing failure of leadership emerged in the Treasury department in March, as it proved difficult to assemble a leadership team. Dozens of senior Treasury jobs are empty; apart from the Secretary, the first 3 names were sent to the Senate for confirmation on March 8 and two other top nominees withdrew their names. Secretary Geithner is overwhelmed with multiple major responsibilities without any senior officials in place. He does have about 50 informal aides. The result was poorly thought out proposals that won no support, and lengthy delays in responding to the increasingly serious financial crisis. Analysts debated whether the display of incompetence was due more to Geithner or the White House.

With a worldwide [[swine flu]] epidemic threatening, the Administration finally filled the job of Secretary of Health and Human Services on April 28. The flu epidemic petered out but policy initiative has been lagging because of the long delays in filling top posts. The confusion caused by weak leadership was underscored in November when runaway advisory boards recommended cutting back on health programs for women, such as mammograms, at a time conservatives were warning that medical care would be rationed under the proposed plans.
===Cabinet Scandals===
[[Image:Cabinet09.jpg|thumb|300px]]
Scandal has already tainted the cabinet. [[Bill Richardson]] was nominated for Secretary of Commerce but had to withdraw when he became a party to a criminal investigation. The nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, [[Timothy Geithner]], was confirmed after a humiliating televised session in which he admitted not paying $34,000 in federal income taxes. [[Tom Daschle]] withdrew his nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services because he had avoided $140,000 in federal taxes over a period of years, and paid them only after he had been named to the cabinet.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/us/politics/31daschle.html?ref=us Robert Pear, "Use of Free Car Lands Tom Daschle in Tax Trouble," ''New York Times,'' Jan. 30, 2009] </ref>

Scandal also ruined the career of Nancy Killefer, nominated by President Obama to be the federal government's first chief performance officer. She too had evaded paying her taxes.

It was not a scandal but an embarrassment for Obama on Feb. 12, when New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg, who had agreed to join the cabinet as Secretary of Commerce, dropped out. Gregg cited irreconcilable differences, and observers pointed out that Obama's staff planned to take the 2010 Census out of the Commerce Department's jurisdiction, weakening the secretary and politicizing the census.

In July, [[Steven Rattner]], the czar for the auto industry who lead the Presidential task force that restructured General Motors and Chrysler, was forced to quit when he came under investigation for paying million-dollar bribes to get state business in his previous job. Rattner was to pay $6.2 million in a settlement with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] for his involvement in a New York State Pension Fund pay-to-play scandal.<ref>http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/101118/business/business_rattner_settles_sec</ref>

===Senate Scandals===

Even more damaging to liberal Democrats were scandals involving the Senate seats of Clinton and Obama himself. In New York Gov. [[David Paterson]] came to office in 2008 after a sex scandal forced the resignation of his predecessor. Paterson damaged himself and his Democratic party by dangling an appointment to Caroline Kennedy, who was unable to make up her mind. He finally rejected her and turned to the most conservative Democrat in the entire Northeast, Rep. [[Kirsten Gillibrand]]. She is a [[Blue Dog Democrat]] known for her defense of gun rights and opposition to the Obama stimulus package.

It was much worse in Illinois, after Gov. [[Rod Blagojevich]] (a Democrat) sought to sell the Obama seat. Obama refused to bargain, so Blagojevich tried to auction it off, and was caught in FBI wiretaps. He was arrested and will face criminal trial in federal court, and was promptly impeached by the state legislature, with all the conservatives and Republicans there unanimous in calling for his ouster. Before he was forced out, Blagojevich named a light-weight replacement, [[Roland Burris]]. Democrats in Washington at first promised they would keep Burris out because of his tainting by the governor's maneuvers; they relented and were forced to seat Burris.

Burris admitted in February that he lied under oath to the Illinois legislature about his contacts with Blagojevich. Calls have been made for a perjury investigation that may lead to Burris's expulsion from the Senate..<ref>Natasha Korecki and Dave McKinney, "Illinois lawmakers mull Burris perjury probe," [http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/02/illinois_lawmakers_mull_burris.html ''Chicago Sun-Times'' Feb. 14, 2009] </ref>

===Important Officials===
{|class=wikitable
!colspan=3|Important Officials
|-
|[[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]]||[[Joseph Biden]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Chief of Staff]]||[[William Daley]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of State]]||[[Hillary Clinton]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of the Treasury]]||[[Timothy Geithner]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of Energy]]||[[Steven Chu]]|||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of Defense]]||[[Robert Gates]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]]||[[Eric Holder]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of the Interior]]||[[Ken Salazar]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of Commerce]]||[[Gary Locke]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of Health and Human Services]]||[[Kathleen Sebelius]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of Veterans Affairs]]||[[Eric Shinseki]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Secretary of Homeland Security]]||[[Janet Napolitano]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Office of Management and Budget|Budget Director]]||[[Peter Orszag]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[Council of Economic Advisers]]||[[Christina Romer]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[National Economic Council]]||[[Lawrence H. Summers]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[National Security Advisor]]||[[James Jones]]||Confirmed
|-
|[[CIA Director]]||[[Leon Panetta]]|||Confirmed
|}

===Supreme Court===
[[File:Sotomeyr2.jpg|thumb|250px|Sotomayor's parents came from Puerto Rico; her mother was a WAC in the US Army in World War II]]

Obama got an early pick for the Supreme Court when liberal Justice David Souter retired. He quickly names Court of Appeals Judge [[Sonia Sotomayor]] in May 2009. She was born to a poor family of migrants from Puerto Rico, and after attending Princeton and Yale Law School made it to the top through very hard work. She is the first American of Puerto Rican descent named to a high office on the mainland and her nomination marked a watershed in the national recognition and acceptance of all Latinos.

==Czars==
The Obama administrations has more than 30 czars, who will oversee combined budgets totaling more than $1.7 trillion. <ref>[http://glennbeck.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/09/rise-of-the-czars/ Rise of the Czars], The Glenn Beck Blog, ''Fox News.com'', June 9th, 2009</ref> <ref>[http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/cavuto-czars-helm-suckers/ Czars at the Helm and We're the Suckers], Neil Cavuto, ''Fox Business.com'', June 05, 2009</ref> <ref>[http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/29391/ List of Obama's Czars], GlennBeck.com, August 21, 2009.</ref>

Glenn Beck warns Obama's 'shadow government' is growing in size, power. [http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=011008&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=5861557&referralPlaylistId=playlist] Glenn Beck has a discussion on Obama circumventing constitutional checks and balances. [http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=011008&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=5862590&referralPlaylistId=f909db77f0ad31bbfd35cb7e6a04f50204809c04]

[[Van Jones]], a longtime radical organizer, resigned in September 2009 as Green Czar when it was revealed he had endorsed a 9-11 conspiracy theory that claimed, " people within the current (Bush) administration may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war."

{|class=wikitable
!colspan=2|Czars
|-
|[[Border Czar]]||[[Alan Bersin]]
|-
|[[Car Czar]]||[[Ron Bloom]]
|-
|[[Cyber Czar]]||[[TBA]]
|-
|[[Drug Czar]]||[[Gil Kerlikowske]]
|-
|[[Economic Czar]]||[[Paul A. Volcker]]
|-
|[[Energy and Environment Czar]]||[[Carol Browner]]<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/12/obama-climate-czar-has-socialist-ties/</ref>
|-
|[[Government Performance Czar]]||[[Jeffrey Zients]]
|-
|[[Great Lakes Czar]]||[[Cameron Davis]]
|-
|[[Green Czar]]||vacant|-
|-
|[[Health Czar]]||[[Nancy-Ann DeParle]]
|-
|[[Homeland Security Czar]]||[[John Brennan]]
|-
|[[Intelligence Czar]]||[[Dennis Blair]]
|-
|[[Manufacturing Czar]]||[[Ron Bloom]]
|-
|[[Pay Czar]]||[[Kenneth R. Feinberg]]
|-
|[[Regulatory Czar]]||[[Cass R. Sunstein]]
|-
|[[Science Czar]]||[[John Holdren]]
|-
|[[Technology Czar]]||[[Vivek Kundra]]
|-
|[[Urban Affairs Czar]]||[[Adolfo Carrion, Jr.]]
|-
|[[WMD Policy Czar]]||[[Gary Samore]]
|}

==Presidential Actions==
Presidential Actions (Executive Orders, Presidential Memoranda and Proclamations) are listed on the White House website, on the [http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/PresidentialActions/ Presidential Actions] page.

*[[Executive order|Executive Orders]] are listed [[Obama Administration/Executive Orders|here]].
*Presidential Memoranda are listed [[Obama Administration/Presidential Memoranda|here]].
*Proclamations are listed [[Obama Administration/Proclamations|here]].

==Also See==
*[[Barack Hussein Obama]]
*[[Essay: Blow The Nomination]]
*[[Lobbyists ties to the Obama administration]]
*[[Muslim agenda of the Obama administration]]
*[[Obama doublespeak]]
*[[Barack Obama's unlawful acts]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/01/obama-unveils-national-security-team/ Obama Unveils His National Security Team], Fox News, December 1, 2008

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category: Barack Hussein Obama]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:United States Government]]
[[Category:Liberalism]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
[[Category:Afghanistan War]]

Political parties

2011-04-09T17:37:56Z

WallyRyan: reference didn't link; showed up as error code

'''Political parties''' are associations of politicians and voters who have similar stances on political issues. Examples of political parties in the [[United States]] are the [[Democratic Party]] and the [[Republican Party]], the two parties which presently dominate national politics. Voters belong to political parties in much higher percentages in the [[United States]] than in any other country in the world; one reason for this may be that there are membership dues for party membership in most countries, while in the [[United States]] membership is free.

Throughout its history, the United States has seen the rise and fall of many parties, including:

*[[Federalist Party]]
*[[Antifederalist Party]]
*[[Democratic-Republican Party]]
*[[Whig Party]]
*[[Anti-Masonic Party]]
*[[Know Nothing Party]]
*[[Liberty Party]]
*[[Free Soil Party]]

Canadian parties include the [[Liberal Party of Canada]], the [[Conservative Party of Canada]], the [[Bloc Quebecois]], and the [[NDP]]. Historically, there have been dozens of "joke" parties, particularly in [[Canada]]. These include the Canadian [[Rhino Party]], and its successor Quebec party, the [[Parti Citron]].[http://www.particitron.vze.com/]

[[Category:Political Parties]]

User:WallyRyan

2011-04-09T15:01:51Z

WallyRyan: Created page with "Hi all. I'm just a conservative from New England, where we are occasionally hard to come by. I'll be updating this as I grow more accustomed to editing and maneuvering around her..."

Hi all. I'm just a conservative from New England, where we are occasionally hard to come by. I'll be updating this as I grow more accustomed to editing and maneuvering around here; I'm pretty new to this all.

Linus Torvalds

2011-04-09T14:57:00Z

WallyRyan: cleaning up, changing to be more encyclopedic

'''Linus Torvalds''' is a [[software]] engineer from [[Finland]] whose best-known accomplishment is the initiation of the development of the [[open source]] [[operating system]] [[Linux]], starting in 1991. He remains the lead coordinator of the project and self-styled "benevolent dictator of Planet Linux". Torvalds has remained a prolific contributor to the project, and as of 2006, had written fully 2% of the code in the kernel. He is also noted for initiating the Git project for version control.

Torvalds has a more pragmatic view of the [[open source]] model than other prominent developers, including [[Richard Stallman]]. Though an advocate of the open source development model, Torvalds insists that he uses the "best tool for the job", and has been known to use certain proprietary software in the past.

== Allegations of being a communist==
Some people have suggested, after reading some of Torvald's blog posts and examining his website, that he is a hardline [[communist]] and is also from a former communist country. Torvalds is also friends with admitted communists.

==Religion==
Tarvald's rejects [[God]] and is an [[atheist]]. <ref>http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3655</ref>

==Linux==
Torvalds is the primary developer of [[Linux]]-a free, albeit incomplete, operating system notorious for its difficulty of use.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Computers]]

Paula Zahn

2011-04-09T14:49:58Z

WallyRyan: typo

Paula Ann Zahn (born February 24, 1956) is a [[liberal]], [[secular]], [[American]] journalist and newscaster, who formerly worked as a news anchor on ABC News, CBS News, [[Fox News]], and CNN at different points in her career. On July 24, 2007, she announced her resignation from CNN.

Paula Zahn

2011-04-09T14:49:33Z

WallyRyan: Cleaned up a bit

Paula Ann Zahn (born February 24, 1956) is a [[liberal]], [[secular]], [[American]] journalist and newscaster, who formerly worked as a news anchor on ABC News, CBS News, [[Fox News]], and CNN at different point in her career. On July 24, 2007, she announced her resignation from CNN.

Partial government shutdown

2011-04-09T14:26:26Z

WallyRyan: Rewrite to account for the resolution of the debate

A '''"government shutdown"''' is a suspension of non-essential United States federal government services, including all [[NASA]] Centers and [[National Park]]s, the [[Smithsonian]] Museum and several [[Washington, D.C.]] services, among others.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/government-shutdown-potential-furloughs-for-800000-federal-workers-disruption-of-dc-services/2011/04/06/AFRItOqC_story.html/ Government shutdown: Potential furloughs for 800k federal workers, disruption of D.C. services, Washington Post, April 8, 2011]</ref>. The military, government-owned hospitals, Congress, [[Social Security]] checks and all other essential services continue without interruption, although employees (including some military troops) may end up not receiving pay until funding is restored.<ref>[http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/04/06/administration-paints-picture-possible-government-shutdown Administration Paints Picture of Possible Government Shutdown, Fox News, April 8, 2011]</ref>

==History of Government Shutdowns==
Since 1981, the U.S. government has been shutdown five times<ref>[http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/federalbudgetprocess/a/Government-Shutdowns.htm Government Shutdowns, About.com, April 8,2011]</ref>:

*In 1981, President [[Ronald Reagan]] vetoed a continuing resolution which shutdown the government for the remainder of the day. Several hours after the veto, Reagan signed a new resolution and workers returned the next day.
*In 1984, workers were sent home for the remainder of the day until an emergency spending bill brought them back the next day.
*In 1990, the government was shut down over the [[Columbus Day]] weekend. Most workers had the days off, and were not adversely affected. President [[George H.W. Bush]] signed an emergency spending bill over the weekend and federal workers were back to work on Tuesday.
*In 1995-1996, the federal government was shut down twice; once on November 14 and again in late December.

==2011 U.S. Government Budget Debate==
In 2011, the U.S. Government was once again on the verge of a shutdown, as big-government [[liberals]] refuse to enact common sense, deficit-reducing legislation previously passed by the Republican House. Despite claims of a shutdown adversely affecting the American public, as propagated by the [[liberal media]], liberals, and some [[RINO]]s, the only real effect a shutdown would have had is that there would have been less government spending occurring; no significant harm would have been incurred. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/08/government-shutdown-shutdowny/ Government Shutdown Not So Shutdowny After All, Fox News, April 8, 2011]</ref> Liberal hyperbole aside, there's no reason that the government needs to be working all year round; the [[Constitution]] only mandates that Congress meet once a year. The budget debate was resolved at the eleventh hour on April 8, 2011, when one last stopgap resolution was agreed upon and a plan to enact $38.5 billion in budget cuts. Though this was largely seen as a political victory for the GOP Speaker of the House, [[John Boehner]]<ref>http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/04/09/who-won-shutdown-showdown-it-wasnt-even-close</ref>, it should be noted that riders for defunding abortion provider [[Planned Parenthood]] were defeated. <ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/08/MNQN1ITB0O.DTL</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States Politics]]
[[Category:Government finance]]

Partial government shutdown

2011-04-08T20:52:35Z

WallyRyan:

A '''"government shutdown"''' is a suspension of non-essential government services, such as the administration of national parks, issuing of passports, processing of mailed IRS returns, etc. Despite the scary-sounding verbiage, the military and all other essential services continue without interruption.

==History of Government Shutdowns==
Since 1981, the U.S. government has been shutdown five times<ref>[http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/federalbudgetprocess/a/Government-Shutdowns.htm Government Shutdowns, About.com, April 8,2011]</ref>:

*In 1981, President [[Ronald Reagan]] vetoed a continuing resolution which shutdown the government for the remainder of the day. Several hours after the veto, Reagan signed a new resolution and workers returned the next day.
*In 1984, workers were sent home for the remainder of the day until an emergency spending bill brought them back the next day.
*In 1990, the government was shut down over the [[Columbus Day]] weekend. Most workers had the days off, and were not adversely affected. President [[George H.W. Bush]] signed an emergency spending bill over the weekend and federal workers were back to work on Tuesday.
*In 1995-1996, the federal government was shut down twice; once on November 14 and again in late December.

==Potential 2011 U.S. Government Shutdown==
As of April 6, 2011, the U.S. Government is once again on the verge of a shutdown, as big-government [[liberals]] refuse to enact common sense, deficit-reducing legislation previously passed by the Republican House. Despite claims of a shutdown adversely affecting the American public, as propagated by the [[liberal media]], liberals, and some [[RINO]]s, the only real effect a shutdown will have is there will be less government spending occurring-there will be no true damage done. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/08/government-shutdown-shutdowny/ Government Shutdown Not So Shutdowny After All, Fox News, April 8, 2011]</ref> Liberal hyperbole aside, there's no reason that the government needs to be working all year round; the [[Constitution]] only mandates that Congress meet once a year.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States Politics]]
[[Category:Government finance]]

Partial government shutdown

2011-04-08T20:19:22Z

WallyRyan: (Found a good citation)

A '''"government shutdown"''' is a suspension of non-essential government services, such as the administration of national parks, issuing of passports, processing of mailed IRS returns, etc. Despite the scary-sounding verbiage, the military and all other essential services continue without interruption.

==History of Government Shutdowns==
Since 1981, the U.S. government has been shutdown five times<ref>[http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/federalbudgetprocess/a/Government-Shutdowns.htm Government Shutdowns, About.com, April 8,2011]</ref>:

*In 1981, President [[Ronald Reagan]] vetoed a continuing resolution which shutdown the government for the remainder of the day. Several hours after the veto, Reagan signed a new resolution and workers returned the next day.
*In 1984, workers were sent home for the remainder of the day until an emergency spending bill brought them back the next day.
*In 1990, the government was shut down over the [[Columbus Day]] weekend. Most workers had the days off, and were not adversely affected. President [[George H.W. Bush]] signed an emergency spending bill over the weekend and federal workers were back to work on Tuesday.
*In 1995-1996, the federal government was shut down twice; once on November 14 and again in late December.

==Potential 2011 U.S. Government Shutdown==
As of April 6, 2011, the U.S. Government is once again on the verge of a shutdown, as big-government [[liberals]] refuse to enact common sense, deficit-reducing legislation previously passed by the Republican House. Despite claims of a shutdown adversely affecting the American public, as propagated by the [[liberal media]], liberals, and some [[RINO]]s, the only real effect a shutdown will have is there will be less government spending occurring-there will be no true damage done <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/08/government-shutdown-shutdowny/</ref> Liberal hyperbole aside, there's no reason that the government needs to be working all year round; the [[Constitution]] only mandates that Congress meet once a year.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States Politics]]
[[Category:Government finance]]

LG

2011-04-08T20:08:13Z

WallyRyan: Whoops. Correcting a typo.

LG Electronics, also known as LG, is a South Korean company which sells and develops consumer electronics, including mobile phones, televisions, home appliances, and more. Founded in 1958, LG has been a leading player in the electronics business, and frequently competes with companies such as [[Sony]], [[Sharp]], and fellow South-Korean based company [[Samsung]].[http://www.lg.com/global/about-lg/corporate-information/at-a-glance/history.jsp]

LG

2011-04-08T20:07:43Z

WallyRyan:

LG Electronic, also known as LG, is a South Korean company which sells and develops consumer electronics, including mobile phones, televisions, home appliances, and more. Founded in 1958, LG has been a leading player in the electronics business, and frequently competes with companies such as [[Sony]], [[Sharp]], and fellow South-Korean based company [[Samsung]].[http://www.lg.com/global/about-lg/corporate-information/at-a-glance/history.jsp]

LG

2011-04-08T20:05:58Z

WallyRyan: Created page with "LG Electronic, also known as LG, is a South Korean company which sells and develops consumer electronics, including mobile phones, televisions, home appliances, and more. Founded..."

LG Electronic, also known as LG, is a South Korean company which sells and develops consumer electronics, including mobile phones, televisions, home appliances, and more. Founded in 1958, LG has been a leading player in the electronics business, and frequently competes with companies such as [[Sony]], [[Sharp]], and fellow South-Korean based company [[Samsung]].<ref>http://www.lg.com/global/about-lg/corporate-information/at-a-glance/history.jsp</ref>

Dexter

2011-04-07T20:44:33Z

WallyRyan: Created page with "Dexter is a TV series on CBS, about a crime detective who moonlights as a serial killer. Due to the show's disturbing premise-presenting the titular character, Morgan Dexter,..."

Dexter is a TV series on [[CBS]], about a crime detective who moonlights as a serial killer. Due to the show's disturbing premise-presenting the titular character, Morgan Dexter, in a sympathetic light- it is clearly obvious that, much like its distributor CBS, Dexter is a [[liberal]] show-only liberals subscribe to the faulty notion that we should blame society and empathize with criminals.

Template talk:Nb sl mlb american

2011-04-07T20:39:25Z

WallyRyan: /* Talk */

==Talk==
This is really a minor thing, but if a person with editing rights could go in and change the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" to the "Tampa Bay Rays", that'd be great-their name has since changed, but it hasn't been updated here. Thanks!

American League

2011-04-07T20:37:43Z

WallyRyan:

[[Image:3g02776r Library of Congress.jpg|right|250px]]
The '''American League,''' along with the [[National League]] is one of two leagues that play [[Major League Baseball]].

In 2007, the 78th All-Star Game was won by the American League, who extended their dominance of the mid-summer classic. [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070710&content_id=2079841&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb ASG 2007]
Through the 2006 season, American League has won 60 of the 102 [[World Series]] played.

==Current teams==
===West division===
* [[Los Angeles Angels]]
* [[Oakland Athletics]]
* [[Seattle Mariners]]
* [[Texas Rangers (baseball team)|Texas Rangers]]

===Central division===
* [[Chicago White Sox]]
* [[Cleveland Indians]]
* [[Detroit Tigers]]
* [[Kansas City Royals]]
* [[Minnesota Twins]]

===East division===
* [[Baltimore Orioles]]
* [[Boston Red Sox]]
* [[New York Yankees]]
* [[Tampa Bay Rays]]
* [[Toronto Blue Jays]]

== External links ==
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp American League Standing]
*[http://www.topix.net/mlb/al American League News]

[[Category:Sports leagues]]
{{Nb_sl_mlb_american}}

New York Yankees

2011-04-07T20:36:17Z

WallyRyan:

{{MLBTeam
|name=New York Yankees
|logo=
|text=#cdcdce
|background=#132448
|location=New York, New York
|year=1901
|colors=Blue, gray, gold
|mascot=None
|champs=27
|website=http://yankees.mlb.com/
}}
[[Image:Yankee.jpg|right|Yankee Stadium]]
The '''New York Yankees''' are a [[Major League Baseball]] team located in the [[Bronx]] borough of [[New York City]], [[New York]]. They play in the [[American League]], East Division.

The Yankees are considered to be one of the most successful teams in baseball history because they have won 27 championships<ref>http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/championships.jsp</ref>.

The Yankees are also one of the wealthiest teams in all baseball<ref>http://www.onestopbaseball.com/TeamPayroll.asp</ref>, a fact that critics have criticized and fans have lauded. Their payroll has been the league's highest for many years. As of 2008, they have handed out four of the five highest contracts in MLB history. However, it should be noted that this is just indicative of the Yankees adhering to [[conservative]], capitalistic principles. This is evidenced by the fact that the owners of the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, are prominent conservatives. George Steinbrenner, the teams principle owner up until his passing in 2010, was a major contributoer to President [[Nixon]]'s campaigns, and was pardoned by the greatest President of the 20th century, [[Ronald Reagan]].

'''Stadium''': [[Yankee Stadium]]

'''World Series Titles:''' 27 (1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009)

==Famous players==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|-
!Position!!Player !! Accomplishments !! Years with Yankees
|-
| [[Outfielder|OF]] || [[Babe Ruth]] || 714 Home runs, 7 World Series rings || 1920-1934
|-
| [[First Base|1B]] || [[Lou Gehrig]] || 493 Home runs, 7 World Series rings || 1925-1939
|-
| [[Outfielder|CF]] || [[Mickey Mantle]] || 16-time All Star, 3-time AL MVP (1956, 1957, 1962), 7 World Series rings, Triple Crown (1956) || 1951-1968
|-
| [[Outfielder|CF]] || [[Joe DiMaggio]] || 361 Home runs, 9 World Series rings || 1936-1951
|-
| [[Outfielder|RF]] || [[Roger Maris]] || 61 Home runs in 1961, 2 World Series rings || 1960-1966
|-
| [[Catcher|C]] || [[Yogi Berra]] || Yankee-record 10 World Series rings, 1951, 1954, 1955 AL MVP || 1946-1963
|-
| [[Catcher|C]] || [[Thurman Munson]] || 1976 AL MVP, 2 World Series rings || 1969-1979
|-
| [[Second Base|2B]] || [[Billy Martin]] || || 1950-1957<nowiki>*</nowiki>
|-
| [[Outfielder|RF]] || [[Reggie Jackson]] || || 1977-1981
|-
| [[Pitcher (baseball)|RHP]] || [[Roger Clemens]] || 2001 AL Cy Young || 1999-2003, 2007
|-
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Does not include years as manager

==Roster==
<nowiki>*Not on active roster</nowiki> 
<nowiki>**Not on 40 man roster</nowiki>

===Pitchers===
*91 - Alfredo Aceves
*34 - A.J. Burnett
*62 - Joba Chamberlain
*65 - Phil Hughes
*43 - Damaso Marte
*45 - Sergio Mitre
*61 - Chan Ho Park
*46 - Andy Pettitte
*42 - Mariano Rivera
*30 - David Robertson
*52 - CC Sabathia
*28 - Josh Towers
*31 - Javier Vazquez

===Catchers===
*64 - Francisco Cervelli
*20 - [[Jorge Posada]]

===Infielders===
*24 - Robinson Cano
*2 - Derek Jeter
*26 - Nick Johnson
*19 - Ramiro Pena
*13 - Alex Rodriguez
*25 - Mark Teixeira

===Outfielders===
*28 - Shelley Duncan
*11 - Brett Gardner
*14 - Curtis Granderson
*33 - Nick Swisher
*38 - Marcus Thames
*22 - Randy Winn

==Minor League Affiliates==
The minor league affiliates of the Yankees are:
*AAA - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
*AA - Trenton Thunder
*A Adv. - Tampa Yankees
*A - Charleston RiverDogs
*SS - Staten Island Yankees
==Further reading==
* Jackson, Kenneth, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' (1995), [http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-New-York-City/dp/0300055366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240594479&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

[[Category:Baseball]]
[[Category:New York City]]
==References==
<References/>

{{Nb_sl_mlb_american}}

Baseball (ball)

2011-04-07T20:30:44Z

WallyRyan:

[[Image:Baseball.jpg|left|150px]]
''' Baseball ball ''': A baseball is the type of ball the game of [[Baseball]] is played with, and named after. The baseball’s core is made of rubber and cork. Yarn is wound around the rubber and cork centre. Then 2 strips of white cowhide are sewn around the ball. Official baseballs must weigh 5 to 5 1/4 ounces and be 9 to 9 1/4 inches around.
 
 
 
== References ==
*[http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/beginners/glossary.html Baseball Glossary] WETA.
*[http://www.nocryinginbaseball.com/glossary/glossary.html Baseball Glossary OF TERMS]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/pitch_glossary.shtml Pitching Glossary]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_glossary.shtml Batting Glossary]
== External links ==
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp The Official Site of Major League Baseball]
*[http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp Minor League Baseball]
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/article.jsp?article=history BASEBALL HISTORY] Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/stats.jsp Stats]
*[http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp Hall of Fame] National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.
== See also ==
*[[Baseball]]
*[[Major League Baseball]]
*[[Baseball (disambiguation)]]
{{baseball}}

Baseball (ball)

2011-04-07T20:29:32Z

WallyRyan:

[[Image:Baseball.jpg|left|150px]]
''' Baseball ball ''': A baseball is the type of ball the game of [[Baseball]] is played with, and named after. The baseball’s core is made of rubber and cork. Yarn is wound around the rubber and cork centre. Then 2 strips of white cowhide are sewn around the ball. Official baseballs must weigh 5 to 5 1/4 ounces and be 9 to 9 1/4 inches around
 
 
 
== References ==
*[http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/beginners/glossary.html Baseball Glossary] WETA.
*[http://www.nocryinginbaseball.com/glossary/glossary.html Baseball Glossary OF TERMS]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/pitch_glossary.shtml Pitching Glossary]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_glossary.shtml Batting Glossary]
== External links ==
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp The Official Site of Major League Baseball]
*[http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp Minor League Baseball]
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/article.jsp?article=history BASEBALL HISTORY] Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/stats.jsp Stats]
*[http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp Hall of Fame] National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.
== See also ==
*[[Baseball]]
*[[Major League Baseball]]
*[[Baseball (disambiguation)]]
{{baseball}}

Home plate

2011-04-07T20:27:23Z

WallyRyan:

[[Image:Baseball Ball bw.jpg|left|120px]]
In [[baseball]], the '''home plate''' is the base over which an offensive player bats, and to which he must return after touching all three bases in order to score a run. The plate is pentagonal, unlike the other three bases, which are square.

{{clear}}
== References ==
*[http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/beginners/glossary.html Baseball Glossary] WETA.
*[http://www.nocryinginbaseball.com/glossary/glossary.html Baseball Glossary OF TERMS]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/pitch_glossary.shtml Pitching Glossary]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_glossary.shtml Batting Glossary]
== See also ==
*[[Baseball]]
*[[Major League Baseball]]

== External links ==
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp The Official Site of Major League Baseball]
*[http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp Minor League Baseball]
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/article.jsp?article=history BASEBALL HISTORY] Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/stats.jsp Stats]
*[http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp Hall of Fame] National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.
{{baseball}}

Home plate

2011-04-07T20:27:07Z

WallyRyan:

[[Image:Baseball Ball bw.jpg|left|120px]]
In [[baseball]], the '''home plate''' is the base over which an offensive player bats, and to which he must return after touching all three bases in order to score a run. The plate is pentagonal, unlike the other three bases which are square.

{{clear}}
== References ==
*[http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/beginners/glossary.html Baseball Glossary] WETA.
*[http://www.nocryinginbaseball.com/glossary/glossary.html Baseball Glossary OF TERMS]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/pitch_glossary.shtml Pitching Glossary]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_glossary.shtml Batting Glossary]
== See also ==
*[[Baseball]]
*[[Major League Baseball]]

== External links ==
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp The Official Site of Major League Baseball]
*[http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp Minor League Baseball]
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/article.jsp?article=history BASEBALL HISTORY] Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
*[http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/features/alumni/stats.jsp Stats]
*[http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp Hall of Fame] National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.
{{baseball}}

Partial government shutdown

2011-04-06T21:13:35Z

WallyRyan:

A '''"government shutdown"''' is a suspension of non-essential government services, such as the administration of national parks, lotteries, etc. Despite the scary-sounding verbiage, the military and all other essential services continue without interruption. In late 1995 and early 1996 the US government shut down non-essential services during a partisan budget crisis.

As of April 6, 2011, the US Government is also on the verge of a shutdown, as big-government [[liberals]] refuse to enact common sense, deficit-reducing legislation previously passed by the Republican House. Despite claims of a shutdown adversely affecting the American public, as propagated by the [[liberal media]], liberals, and some [[RINO]]s, the only real effect a shutdown will have is there will be less government spending occurring. Liberal hyperbole aside, there's no reason that the government needs to be working all year round-the [[Constitution]] only mandates that congress meet once a year.

Partial government shutdown

2011-04-06T21:12:38Z

WallyRyan:

A '''"government shutdown"''' is a suspension of non-essential government services, such as the administration of national parks, lotteries, etc. Despite the scary-sounding verbiage, the military and all other essential services continue without interruption. In late 1995 and early 1996 the US government shut down non-essential services during a partisan budget crisis.

As of April 6, 2011, the US Government is also on the verge of a shutdown, as big-government [[liberals]] refuse to enact common sense, deficit-reducing legislation previously passed by the Republican House. Despite claims of a shutdown adversely affecting the American public, as propagated by the [[liberal media]]<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20051318-503544.html</ref>, liberals, and some [[RINO]]s, the only real effect a shutdown will have is there will be less government spending occurring. Liberal hyperbole aside, there's no reason that the government needs to be working all year round-the [[Constitution]] only mandates that congress meet once a year.

Social conservatism

2011-04-03T03:20:34Z

WallyRyan:

Social conservatism refers to [[conservative]] values on non-fiscal matters, such as the promoting defense of marriage, opposition to [[abortion]], opposition to [[homosexuality]], and promoting common sense [[christian]] values. Social conservatives and religious conservatives often overlap one another. Social conservatism can be contrasted with the marriage-destroying, homosexual-agenda pushing, [[atheistic]], baby-murdering social liberalism that the [[Democrat]] party is so fond of.