Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

The New York Times

2007-07-26T02:28:54Z

Agoodrun:

The '''New York Times''' is a daily newspaper that is published in New York, New York and distributed to readers worldwide. It is the third most widely circulated newspaper in the United States behind ''USA Today'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'' <ref>http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0004420.html</ref>.

The New York Times is published by 3rd generation NYT publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. The NYT publishes 15 other newspapers, including the ''International Herald Tribune'' (based in Paris) and the ''Boston Globe.''

The Times (or the NYT, as it is commonly known) is often considered to have a liberal bias and tends to levy unwarranted amounts of criticism at President George W Bush. This is likely due to homosexual tendencies by NYT staffers.

==Controversies==
*[[Michelle Malkin]] says the NYT has violated the ground rules for [[journalist]]s covering [[war|war casualties]]. <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/02/01/the-nytimes-unspeakable-violation/ The NYTimes’ unspeakable violation]</ref>

==References==
<references/>
[[category:US Newspapers|New York Times]]

Adolf Eichmann

2007-07-26T02:26:57Z

Agoodrun:

'''Adolf Eichmann''' (1906-1962) was an Obersturmbannfuhrer [[SS]] who organised the logistics of deportation of Jews during the Nazi [[Final Solution]] (''Endlosung'') following the [[Wannsee Conference]] of 1942. He was considered an expert of the 'Jewish Question' by the Nazis having attempted to organise mass Jewish emigration to Palestine in 1937, and having in 1938 formed the 'Central Office for Jewish Emigration'. He was Secretary at the [[Wannsee Conference]] where the decision to kill all Jews in Nazi-controlled territories was made. He subsequently organised the deportation of Polish Jews to the [[death camps]], and in 1944-45 organised the deportation of Hungarian Jews to the camps. In 1945 he was captured by Allied forces but passed himself off under a false identity; in 1946 he escaped and made his way to [[Argentina]]. There on 11 May 1960 he was captured by a team of [[Mossad]] (Israeli secret service) operatives and smuggled to Israel. He was tried for [[war crimes]] in [[Jerusalem]], sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on 1 June 1962. His body was cremated and the ashes deposited in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].

Eichmann is the only person to have been judicially executed in the history of the State of Israel, and one of only two to have been sentenced to death (the other being the supposed former SS camp guard 'Ivan the Terrible', [[John Demjanjuk]], in 1988.

It is almost certain that many of Eichmann's acts were due to his Atheism and, as such, lack of moral guidance.
[[Category:World War II|Eichmann, Adolf]]
[[Category:Nazis|Eichmann, Adolf]]

George Washington

2007-07-26T02:26:04Z

Agoodrun:

{{President
|image=George washington 3.jpg
|seq=1
|party=None
|term_start=1789
|term_end=1797
|vp=John Adams
|previous=
|next=John Adams
|birth_date=February 22, 1732
|birth_place=Westmoreland County, Virginia,
|death_date=December 14, 1799
|death_place=Mount Vernon, Virginia,
|spouse=Martha Dandridge Custis Washington
|spouse2=
|religion=Anglican/Episcopalian
}}

'''George Washington''' '''(February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799)''' was the unanimously elected 1st President of the [[United States of America]] and the Commander-in-Chief in the [[Revolutionary War]].<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html</ref> He was also a devout [[Christian]], with his adopted daughter once stating that "if you question Washington's faith, you may as well question whether or not he was a patriot."<ref>http://www.christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g011.html</ref>

Washington endeared himself to generations of Americans by first refusing to become a military dictator or king and then by voluntarily stepping aside as the leader of a prosperous nation. His precedent was voluntarily followed for 140 years. Towards that end, he sought to emulate the model of the citizen-soldier set by the Roman leader [[Cincinnatus]], a comparison that is truly testament to Washington's greatness, and one that drew worldwide attention and acclaim, even in England, the nation he defeated.<ref>For Lord Byron's poem on the subject, hailing Washington as "the first, the last, the best, the Cincinnatus of the West," see http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/2001/byron0101.html.</ref> The archetype of Washington as the citizen-soldier has become part of America's collective idealization of citizenship, and is immortalized in [[New York city| New York city's]] [[Washington Square Arch]], which depicts Washington the soldier on the left, and Washington the statesman on the right.<ref>For photographic images, see http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV046WashingtonSquareArch.htm</ref>

He was born on February 22, 1732 to Augustine and Mary Washington. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, George Washington]], Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1986. </ref>

[[Image:washington-deleware.jpg|300px|left|thumb|''Washington Crossing the Delaware''<br>
painted by Emmanuel Leutze in 1850]]Washington bravely led the colonists in revolt against the unjust British government, and in its place established a new government. Fighting against the vastly more powerful British army, Washington lost nearly every battle in the American Revolution until winning at Trenton and Princeton, and then lost most battles afterwards until ultimately prevailing at Yorktown with the help of a new contingent of French troops.

Washington frequently invoked Christianity in his work. As General, he commanded that chaplains be included in every regiment: "The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavor so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier, defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country."<ref>http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-02-22&view=View</ref>

Washington declared in his Inaugural Address: "It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency." Comments such as this one have led many modern scholars to conclude that Washington was in fact a deist rather than a Christian.<ref>''Id.''</ref>
Washington declared in his Farewell Address: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." <ref>[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r106:4:./temp/~r1068i99iE:e2427: Reading of Washington's Farewell Address -- (Senate - February 22, 2000)]</ref>

On November 4, 1752, Washington was initiated into Freemasonry at Fredricksburg Lodge, Fredricksburg, Virginia. He was passed and raised at the same lodge, becoming a Master Mason on August 4, 1753. He later served as Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia. Upon his death in 1799, he was given a Masonic funeral at his wife's request.<ref>http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/washington_g/washington_g.html</ref>

==Parson Weems And The Cherry Tree Story==
In 1809, Mason Locke Weems (1756-1825), usually referred to as "Parson Weems," published a book entitled ''History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington.'' This book contained many fanciful stories and half-truths, intended to present Washington as a larger-than-life figure. Perhaps the most famous passage in it is Weems' recounting of a story which he attributed to an unnamed "aged lady, who was a distant relative [of Washington], and, when a girl, spent much of her time in the [Washington] family:"

:"When George," said she, "was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was immoderately fond, and was constantly going about chopping everything that came in his way. One day, in the garden, where he often amused himself hacking his mother's pea-sticks, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry-tree, which he barked so terribly, that I don't believe the tree ever got the better of it. The next morning the old gentleman, finding out what had befallen his tree, which, by the by, was a great favorite, came into the house; and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author, declaring at the same time, that he would not have taken five guineas for his tree. Nobody could tell him anything about it. Presently George and his hatchet made their appearance. "George," said his father," do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden?" This was a tough question; and George staggered under it for a moment; but quickly recovered himself: and looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out, "I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet."—"Run to my arms, you dearest boy," cried his father in transports, "run to my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold."<ref>British spellings are as they appear in the original text.</ref><ref>Weems, George Mason (1918), ''History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington.'' [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/gw/chap2.html Chapter 2: Birth and Education], online at University of Virginia]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC22316477&id=6tc56rgYE1YC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=mason+locke+weems&as_brr=1#PPP13,M1 The Life of George Washington] with Curious Anecdotes Equally Honorable to Himself, and Exemplary to his Young Countrymen. 1837, facsimile page images at Google Books</ref>

(Notice that Weems did not represent Washington as calling it "my ''little'' hatchet;" that appears to be a "familiar misquotation.")

In a October 2000 survey of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science, President Washington was grouped in the "Great" group, ranked 1st, with a mean score of 4.92 out of 5.00. <ref>Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (New York, Wall Street Journal Book, 2004)</ref>

==George Washington's expenses==
Washington was magnanimous enough to lead the Revolutionary Forces against Great Britain for free, saying:

<blockquote>''Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire.''</blockquote>

However over eight years his expenses came to nearly $500,000 – well over $4 million in today's money. He also gave loans to his friends that were never repaid, he bought limes by the crateload (400 at one point), and he treated himself to every "sundry" good available. From July 21-22 1775, he bought a pig, an unreadable number of ducks, "1 dozen pigeons, veal, 1 dozen squash, 2 dozen eggs, hurtleberries, biscuit and a cork cask."

From September 1775 to March 1776, Washington spent over six thousand dollars on alcohol.

Once President, Washington made the same offer to exchange a salary for an expense account. He was politely rebuffed and given a modest $25,000-a-year salary. <ref>http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/washington/</ref>

Other well known acts of Washington included his much-publicized disdain for homosexuals and his lust for killing Communists.

==Quotes from George Washington==

*The freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter. (To THE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY, Head Quarters, Newburgh, March 15, 1783, from ''The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, '' ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, (Washington: U.S. GPO, 1931-1944)26: 224

*Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. ("FAREWELL ADDRESS" in ''Writings,'' 35:229.)

*There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily. (To THE SECRETARY OF STATE in ''Writings,''34:266.)

----

==Notes & References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, George}}
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:American Revolutionary War]]

Gregor Mendel

2007-07-26T02:25:02Z

Agoodrun:

Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk born in 1822. He studied math and science at the University of Vienna after beoming a priest. Then he worked as a high school teacher in a monastery, and tended the monastery garden.

He is most well known for his experiments with peas. Mendel cross-polinated pea plants of different characteristics and recorded the characteristics of their offspring. Through recording the traits of several generations, Mendel came up with his principals of gentics[[http://www.conservapedia.com/Mendel%27s_principles_of_genetics]].

Gregor Mendel is almost certainly going to burn in eternal Hellfire for his work in Genetics, laying the foundation for evil Evolutionism.

== Internal Links ==

1. http://www.conservapedia.com/Mendel%27s_principles_of_genetics

== References ==

Miller, Kenneth, et. al. ''Biology''. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2006.

[[Category:Genetics]]

Hillary Clinton 2008 Exploratory Committee

2007-07-26T02:22:12Z

Agoodrun:

The '''Hillary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee''' is the organization Senator [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]'s has set up to begin [[fundraising]] and preparation for a bid for the 2008 [[Democratic party]] Presidential nomination.

==Infighting==

According to the ''New York Post'', "serious tensions" exist between Hillary Clinton's Washington-based presidential campaign staff and her organization in New York. "Her New York crew is fighting like hell with her D.C. folks, and it's worse than the normal stuff, real serious tensions...The New York folks are the ones who got her elected to begin with. They've done it and know what to do. The D.C. folks are the 'geniuses' who do 'national elections' and think everyone here is a rube." <ref>[http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/05282007/news/columnists/new_york_d_c__feud_rattles_clinton_campaign_columnists_fredric_u__dicker.htm Feud Rattles Clinton Campaign], Fredric U. Dicker, ''New York Post'', 28 May 2007.</ref>

According to ''Newsmax'' in June 2007, Hillary Clinton appointed [[Alcee Hastings]], a former U.S. District Court judge who was removed from the bench, as co-chair of the Committee. Hastings was U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of Florida from 1979 to 1989, until he was impeached and removed from office for corruption and perjury. He was only the sixth federal judge to be impeached and removed from office in American history. He ran successfully for the U.S. House in 1992.
<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/6/10/115916.shtml?s=al&promo_code=353D-1 Hillary Names Impeached Judge as Co-Chair], ''NewsMax.com'', June 10, 2007.</ref> Confusion has arisen over the Clinton Campaigns claim to have received endorsements from influential congressional members who have the refuted the idea. The ''Miami Herald'', citing “sources close to the campaigns” reported that Rep. [[Kendrick Meek]] of Florida had endorsed Clinton. Meek, who represents a district with the highest concentration of black voters in Florida, fired off a quick letter to Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton’s campaign manager, stating that he had not endorsed Clinton and that therefore “the Hillary for President Campaign is not authorized to use my name, image or this incorrect news report in any of your campaign literature.” <ref>[http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/confusion-arises-over-clintons-florida-supporters-2007-06-11.html Confusion arises over Clinton’s Florida supporters], By Alexander Bolton, ''The Hill'', June 11, 2007.</ref>

==Unelectable polls==

A concern in the Hillary camp are polling numbers that state Hillary Clinton is unelectable; a poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found that 52 percent of Americans will not consider voting for Clinton. <ref>[http://www.contracostatimes.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?articleId=6260144&siteId=571 More than half of Americans won't vote for Clinton], By William Douglas, Contra Costa Times. Retrieved 11 July 2007.</ref> An Electability Poll in which the participants are asked in no certain order, a list of candidates from both parties, whether they would vote for candidate X or prefer someone else. Recent polling has revealed, of all major presidential candidates from both parties, Hillary Clinton is the only candidate to whom a majority of 52% would not vote for, or would prefer someone else. <ref>[http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/28/248165.aspx Poll: Is Hillary Electable?], by Mark Murray, ''NBC News'', June 28, 2007. Retrieved from MSNBC.com June 29, 2007.</ref>

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

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

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

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

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

[[Image:Obamaflyer.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The flyer attacks Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama over the accusation he “voted to give criminal sexual abusers early release from prison” and claims that he “is a threat to our safety and security.”]]

==Accusations of using Willie Horton tactics==
A flyer circulating in South Carolina just prior to the Democratic presidential debate in July 2007 attacking presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over the accusation that he “voted to give criminal sexual abusers early release from prison,” <ref>[http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2007/07/24/dems-play-dirty-in-charleston/ Dems play dirty in Charleston], July 24, 2007.</ref> has been attributed to the Hillary Clinton campaign. In the flyer, Obama is compared to former Mass. Gov. Michael Dukakis - who came under fire during his 1988 presidential run for his release of convicted murderer William Horton who later committed rape and assault - and claims that the Illinois Senator “is a threat to our safety and security.”

At the bottom of the leaflet is the statement “Mike Dukakis, Willie Horton, Barack Obama, wrong for South Carolina, wrong for America.”

Hillary Clinton is also renowned for being a raging bulldyke who wants to promote homosexuality among True American children.

==References==
<references/>

==External link==
*[http://judicialwatch.org/hillarywatch.shtml Judicial Watch Monitors Hillary Clinton's Campaign for Election]
*[http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_06+S0NY00188 FEC Summary Report on Hillary Clinton]
[[Category:politics]]

GNU/Linux

2007-07-26T02:19:10Z

Agoodrun:

[[Image:Tuxie.jpg|thumb|right|"Tux", the Linux mascot|90px]]
'''Linux''' is a [[UNIX]]-like operating system. It incorporates the Linux "[[kernel]]" developed by Finnish grad student [[Linus Torvalds]].

The [[source code]] is distributed freely under the [[open source]] ''[[General Public License]]'' (''GPL'').

Originally the term "Linux" was used to refer to just the [[kernel]] developed by Torvalds, but today it is used interchangeably to refer to both the kernel and a complete operating system which includes the kernel, graphical user interface, file system and other software, collectively known as a ''distribution''. Major Linux distributions include [http://www.redhat.com/ Red Hat], [http://www.novell.com/linux/ Suse] and [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu].

Linux is a unix style operating system. It is known to run 6 or more of the world's top supercomputers.{{fact}} It has legendary reliability.{{who says}} Linux servers can run without reboot for years.{{fact}} It is worth mentioning that there are other free operating systems not based on the Linux kernel that Linux borrow from and has been a source of inspiration to: namely freebsd, openBSD, netBSD, and dragonflyBSD, and the more recent Minix 3 and openSolaris. Free operating systems allow a great deal of new ideas to be tried and collaboration made possible by the Internet makes teams easy to form. NetBSD is famous for running on almost any hardware{{fact}}, OpenBSD is perhaps the most secure operating system in the world{{fact}}, and freeBSD has been powering computers for free since before Linux became popular{{fact}}. Opensolaris is a free version of SUN microsystems proprietary Solaris OS.

Newer distributions of Linux continually raise the bar for usability and creativity. Archlinux, Gentoo, and Gobolinux are 3 interesting distributions.

Owing to the nature of open source software, many variants of a Linux distribution may be created by using the original code and making changes to it to suit a particular need. For example, there is also a Ubuntu [[Christian]] Edition.<ref>[http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html Ubuntu Christian Edition]</ref>

Mark Shuttleworth, who is the founder of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, said about the Satanic version of Kubuntu: "Ubuntu is a broad church! We manage to keep both [[GNOME Desktop|GNOME]] and [[KDE]] folks happy and collaborating constructively, so this should be no trouble at all. Our guiding rules are enshrined in the Ubuntu Code of Conduct<ref>[http://www.ubuntu.com/community/conduct]</ref>, and as long as all sides are following that, there’s no problem with derivatives that are focused on such diverse user bases."<ref>http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS2432715660.html</ref>
[[Image:Gnomesword large.png|right|thumb|250px|Screenshot of Ubuntu Christian Edition.]]
Linux has become one the most commonly adopted operating systems in the world{{fact}}. While personal computers still overwhelmingly use [[Microsoft]] operating systems such as Windows XP, Linux is a common choice for web servers, file servers and embedded platforms, thanks to its perceived reliability, low/no cost, and the fact that modifications to the source code can readily be made by anyone.

As an example, in March of 2007 the server hosting the the Conservapedia web site was running the Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref>

Only liberal nerds run linux at home, though. True god-fearing Americans run Windows.

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.kernel.org/ The Linux Kernel Archives]
*[http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Main_Page The Linux Foundation]

[[Category:Information technology]]

Democratic Party

2007-07-26T02:11:50Z

Agoodrun:

[[Image:democraticpartyusalogo.png|right|thumb|200px|Official logo of the Democratic Party.]]

The '''Democratic Party''' is one of the two major political [[parties]] in the [[United States of America]]. It is generally seen as being politically between center and [[leftist | left]] of center, while the rival [[Republican Party]] is positioned to the [[rightist | right]] of center (see [[political spectrum theory]]). Members and supporters of the Democratic Party are known as Democrats.

The Democrats currently control the [[110th United States Congress]] together with the majority of State governorships and legislatures.<ref>[http://www.multistate.com/Site.nsf/Elections2006PostMaps?OpenPage Multistate.com] Post-Election 2006 Maps</ref> According to a Pew Research Center poll, 50 percent of Americans identify themselves with the Democratic Party as opposed to 35 percent for the Republican Party.<ref>[http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=312 Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007] Pew Research Center, 22 March 2007</ref> However, Democrats have served out only three of the last ten presidential terms. Democrats in the US Congress currently have a 66.0% disapproval and only a 25.0% approval rating -- the lowest in ten years since the [[Impeachment#Bill_Clinton|Impeachment]] trial of [[President Clinton]] -- according to the RealClearPolitics Average of several dozens of Congressional Job Approval polls conducted 06/11 - 07/11. <ref>[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/archive/?poll_id=18 RealClearPolitics Congressional Job Approval Poll], 06/11 - 07/11.</ref> ''Investor's Business Daily'' remarked, "For all the promises of its new Democratic leaders, Congress seems truly interested in doing only one thing: surrendering in [[Iraq]]. No wonder its public approval ratings have sunk below the president's." <ref>[http://ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=264123134498383&kw=For,all,the,promises The Do-One-Thing Congress], ''Investor's Business Daily, May 15, 2007.</ref>

Like the Republicans, the Democrats are currently selecting their candidate for the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 presidential election]]; the front-runners in the contest are Senator [[Hillary Clinton]] of [[New York]] and Senator [[Barack Obama]] of [[Illinois]]. The most recent president who was a Democrat was [[Bill Clinton]], who served from 1993 to 2001.

==History==
The Democratic Party was founded in 1792 by [[Thomas Jefferson]] as a congressional caucus to fight for the [[Bill of Rights]] and to oppose the elitist [[Federalist Party]] led by [[Alexander Hamilton]], which fought for the [[Constitution]].

In 1798 , the party was officially named the "Democratic-Republican Party", and in 1800 Jefferson was elected as the first Democratic [[President of the United States]]. Jefferson, a member of the landed gentry and a slave owner, served two terms as president with distinction, and was succeeded by another Democrat, [[James Madison]], in 1808 . During Madison's tenure, the United States fought the [[United Kingdom]] and lost terribly during the [[War of 1812]]. Forces from Canada beat back Madison's militias and even managed to burn the White House down. James Monroe, another Democratic-Republican, was elected president in 1816 and led the nation through a time commonly known as "The Era of Good Feelings". In this period, the party dominated American politics with little opposition. Monroe was followed by John Quincy Adams who won the hotly contested election of 1824, becoming the first son of a former president to be elected president.

[[Andrew Jackson]], defeated Adams in the 1828 election and signed into law the [[Indian Removal Act of 1830]] <ref>[http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/UHS/APUSH/1st%20Sem/Articles%20Semester%201/Artiles%20Semester%201/Remini.htm Andrew Jackson and Indian Removal], by Robert Remini.</ref> according to the Democratic National Committee's website is "considered — along with Jefferson — one of the founding fathers of the Democratic Party." <ref>[http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/06/our_history.php Democratic National Committee, ''Our History''], retrieved 25 March 2007.</ref> Annual Jefferson-Jackson Day celebrations nationwide by local chapters of the Democratic Party commemorate the two founders of the Democratic Party. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001949.html String of Successes Enlivens Democratic Party], Michael D. Shear, ''The Washington Post'', 22 February 2007.</ref> The Indian Removal Act, enforced through a series of dishonest dealings with native people such as the Treaty of Dancing Rabitt Creek and the Treaty of New Echota, resulted in the wholesale deportation of Native Americans from the Southeastern states to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). <http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/>

The Jacksonian period also saw the expansion of the voting franchise as most states did away with, or decreased property requirements for voting. The beneficiaries of the expansion of the franchise however, were nearly all white males. Annual Jefferson-Jackson Day celebrations nationwide by local chapters of the Democratic Party commemorate the two founders of the Democratic Party. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001949.html String of Successes Enlivens Democratic Party], Michael D. Shear, ''The Washington Post'', 22 February 2007.</ref>

Democrat [[Franklin Roosevelt]], who served as President from 1933 to 1945, led the United States during the [[Great Depression]] and throughout most of the [[Second World War]]. Due to his popularity and courageous leadership during the war, he remains the only President elected to three terms. Under his successor, [[Harry Truman]] the United States emerged a victor from World War II and articulated the Doctrine of [[Containment]] which committed the U.S. to stop the spread of global [[Communism]]. Truman ordered the Berlin airlift in 1948 and sent U.S. troops to Korea in 1950.

==Policies and criticism==

In June 2005, while Democrats held a mock impeachment inquiry in President's Bush's foreign policy, [[anti-Semitic]] materials were distributed at the Democratic Party National headquarters. The literature claimed that an Israeli company had warning of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], and an "insider trading scam" on Wall Street had occurred simultaneously. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/16/AR2005061601570.html Democrats Play House To Rally Against the War], Dana Milbank, ''Washington Post'', June 17, 2005.</ref>

The views of individual Democrats sometimes diverge from the party's official stance as expressed in its national platform, however unlike the Republican party, the Democratic National Committee has not allowed dissenting opinions to share the podium on matters such as abortion at National Conventions.

R. Emmetrt Tyrell has been highly critical of the currect Democratic leadership, stating, "Can anything embarrass [[Speaker Pelosi]] and the rest of the Democratic leadership? Frankly I doubt it. They are all neatly shut off from the world in their fantasy of moral and intellectual superiority." <ref>[http://www.nysun.com/article/54321 Vietnam All Over Again] By R. Emmett Tyrell Jr., ''The New York Sun'', May 11, 2007.</ref>

===Economic policy===
In the field of economic policy, Democrats favor high progressive taxes, higher government spending and increasing the minimum wage.'{{fact}}

The Democratic Party has historically had ties to [[union|organized labor]]. The [[National Education Association]],<ref>[http://www.nea.org/index.html National Education Association homepage]</ref> the largest union of public school teachers, is a backbone of the party, supplying the largest number of delegates to its national conventions.{{fact}}

In addition to the Democratic party's alleged stance to "tax the rich," Democrats have proposed a 50 cent per gallon tax increase on gasoline which would disproportionately hurt those least able to absorb the cost at a time when worldwide gas prices are at historic highs. <ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dingell-to-propose-50-cent-gasoline-tax-increase-2007-07-07.html Dingell to propose 50 cent gasoline tax increase], By Chris Good, ''The Hill'', July 07, 2007.</ref>

===Foreign and military policy===
According to its platform, the Democratic Party has the objective of strengthening America. Democratic national leadership has been accused of being ambivalent about terrorism<ref>[http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=22045 "Democrats, ACLU Outraged Over Traveler Terrorism Screening Program"] C. Johnson, Associated Press</ref> and insufficiently patriotic. <ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0112/01/smn.19.html CNN Saturday Morning News]Transcript: December 1, 2001 </ref>

===Education===
An organization affiliated with the [[Democratic Leadership Council]] called the [[Progressive Policy Institute]] which claims a long standing opposition to school vouchers <ref>21st Century Schools Project Bulletin: Special Edition [http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=110&subsecID=900001&contentID=250630 ''Putting Vouchers in Perspective''], PPI E-newsletter 2 July 2002</ref> reported Jonathan Alter of ''Newsweek'' saying,
:"Can wealthy white liberals - many of whom send their kids to private school - really say to poor parents: 'We can have choices, but you must not?'...This is a glaring hypocrisy sitting at the heart of the liberal opposition to targeted vouchers… Right now, Democrats are in a highly compromised position on education." <ref>[http://www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=newsLetter&sectionID=29&NLissueID=4&articleID=11&altCol=2 Center For Education Reform, Monthly Letter to Friends No. 75], Back to School 2002.</ref>

===Views on America===
There is a marked trend among members of the Democratic Party (liberals) to hate American ideals. They express this hatred in several ways. The first is through burning the flag. While this practice is defended by the liberals claiming that the Constitution protects it, they fail to realize that free speech refers to words, not burning an American symbol. Another way is through the attempted sissification of American children by exposure to feminist ideals, as well as through promotion of the homosexual lifestyle. Finally, pacifists who are afraid to fight for their country promote peace at all costs and giving in to foreign countries who threaten our nation (Iraq, Iran, et. al.) Fags.

===Environment vs Labor===
Two other important coalition groups also find themselves in direct conflict with each other within the Democratic party coalition--[[Environmentalist]]s and Labor Unions.{{fact}} While environmentalists support efforts like clean air and alternative fuels, for example, this creates tension with the workers of American automobile manufactures whose jobs are threatened by environmental policies such as increasing regulations and high costs. Such policies can lead to cutbacks and layoffs. Balancing these issues is difficult because some sacrifices of interests must be made by both sides.

===Healthcare===
The Democrat fondness for heavy government intervention into the marketplace{{fact}} and social engineering{{fact}} means that a significant proportion of their base and of their candidates for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election ideologically favor introducing a system of [[socialized healthcare]]{{fact}}; regardless of the crippling tax burden this would require to sustain itself and the low standard of care achieved by socialized health programs in other countries compared to the United States. However, many first world nations such as France and Britain do have socialized healthcare systems, and are ranked 1 and 18 by the [[World Health Organization]]<ref>http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html</ref>, respectively, compared to the United States' rank of 37. Therefore, many argue that there may be some advantages to a universal health care system. Democrats generally regard [[universal healthcare]] to be a priority because of the appeal to nearly 50 million voters{{fact-political}} without any kind of [[health insurance]]. Among the leading proponents for this idea include [[Barack Obama|Sen. Barack Obama]] and [[John Edwards|Sen. John Edwards]]; the latter formerly being the running mate to [[John Kerry|Sen. John Kerry]] in the [[2004 Presidential Election]].

===Homosexual Agenda===
Democrat lawmakers and opinion-formers consistently favor measures such as the establishment of [[same-sex civil union]]s, [[gay marriage]] and [[gay adoption]] of children over defense of the [[traditional family]]. Likewise they are vigorous in attempting to amend "[[hate crime]]" laws, which experts maintain would make criticism of the [[homosexual lifestyle]] illegal;<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54535 Christian belief a 'hate crime' under plan], WorldNetDaily, March 3, 2007. </ref> while at the same time supporting efforts to disseminate favorable opinions regarding [[homosexuality]] through channels such as the mainstream media and even the educational system in the face of opposition from churches and religious authorities, a broad coalition of [[Republican Party|Republican]] and Independent politicians and a clear majority of the American public{{fact}}. Democrats reject the idea of a [[Homosexual agenda]] preferring to speak in terms of [[Gay rights|"gay rights"]] when this issue is raised; the Democratic Party is the recipient and beneficiary of funding from homosexual lobbying groups and can be seen by their positions as the United States' largest and most powerful ''de facto'' supporter of the Homosexual Agenda. <ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000158 Human Rights Campaign], opensecrets.org </ref>

===Other Policies===
Democrats frequently support the minimum wage, workplace protections, the right of women to choose to have an [[abortion]], [[gun control]], gay marriage, and the separation of church and state.

==Religion==
In the United States, there is some correlation between religious and political affiliation, though people of all faiths and denominations can be found among the supporters of each of the main parties.

Both historically and today, [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] voters have had a tendency to identify with the Democratic Party {{fact}}, and a number of Democratic office-holders, such as Speaker of the House [[Nancy Pelosi]], are Catholics. However, several general ideals of the Democratic Party's platform - most notably, the party's overall support for the legality of [[abortion]] - are contrary to the position of the [[Catholic Church]].{{fact}}

With regard to [[Protestant]] Christians, members of [[Evangelical]] churches in particular are associated with the [[Republican Party]]. However, the large majority of Democratic Party members are Protestants. {{fact}} One unusual feature of the Democratic Party, however, is that it draws substantial support both from committed African-American Protestant Christians and from secular and atheist white voters.{{fact}} The strong opposition to [[homosexuality]] found among many Black Protestant Christians (and, indeed, among orthodox Catholics) contrasts strikingly with the support frequently shown by other Democrats for the [[homosexual agenda]].{{fact}} One reason for this contrast could be the Democrats' strong support for minority rights.

Democrats also generally believe that religion should be separate from public life, and as such are typically supported by the ACLU. For example, in 1999 the Congress took up a bill to protect the display of the [[Ten Commandments]]. In the House of Representatives, over 3/4ths of the Democratic party members voted to remove the display. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/06/18/gun.rollcall/ten.commandments.html</ref>. The measure did not pass the Legislature, and as a result when Justice [[Roy Moore]] posted a [[Ten Commandments]] display in his courthouse, the ACLU was able to have the display removed.

==Democratic Presidents==
* [[Andrew Jackson]]
* [[Martin Van Buren]]
* [[James K. Polk]]
* [[Franklin Pierce]]
* [[James Buchanan]]
* [[Grover Cleveland]]
* [[Woodrow Wilson]]
* [[Franklin Roosevelt]]
* [[Harry S Truman]]
* [[John F. Kennedy]]
* [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
* [[Jimmy Carter]]
* [[Bill Clinton]]

==See also==
*[[Phonemarks]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.democrats.org/ Democratic Party Official Site]
*[http://www.therealdemocratstory.com/ The Real Democrat Story], Open the File on the Freshmen Democrats.

[[Category:American Political Parties]] [[category:political parties]]