Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Liberal

2010-06-29T02:35:18Z

ElizDo:

[[Image:Liberal Brain.jpg|thumb|450px|top|<center>A satirical conception of the liberal brain.</center>]]

Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.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.

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 and pornography 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]]
* 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
* [[Environmentalism]]<ref>[[Greenpeace]], for example.</ref>
* [[Disarmament treaties]]
* [[Globalism]]
* Opposition to the [[Bible]].
* Opposition to an interventionalist American foreign policy <ref>Stefaan Walgrave and Joris Verhulst, [http://nicomedia.math.upatras.gr/conf/CAWM2003/Papers/Verhulst.pdf The February 15 Worldwide Protests against a War in Iraq: An Empirical Test of Transnational Opportunities. Outline of a Research Programme](PDF).</ref>
* 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]].
* "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>

==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]].

==Liberals and Superstition==
[[Image:2384975035_230a0eac30.jpg‎‎|thumb|right|150px|The [[Wall Street Journal]] reported: "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]]. <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html</ref>]]
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 ==
[[Democrats]] and many media outlets in the [[U.S.]] are often [[liberal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrc.org/biasbasics/biasbasics1.asp|title=Media Bias basics|publisher=Media Research Center}}</ref>
*Some argue that liberals typically support economic 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]

<blockquote>
''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>
</blockquote>

===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]].

==Alternative meanings of 'liberal'==

One definition of liberal is anything that is not conservative. For example, the American Heritage Dictionary includes this definition of "liberal":<ref>Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal</ref>
* Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas ...

==Liberal Organizations ==
*[[AARP|AARP - American Association of Retired People]]
*[[ACLU|ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union]]
*[[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==

* [[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]]
* [[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]]

==Further Information==

* [[Conservative Links]]

{{liberalism}}

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

United States presidential election, 2012

2010-06-29T02:34:59Z

ElizDo:

Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.The '''2012 United States Presidential Election''' when America is scheduled to pick a new president will take place on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will occur at the same time as elections to all seats in the [[House of Representatives]] and to one-third of seats in the [[Senate]]. Incumbent Democratic president [[Barack Obama]] is presumed to be seeking re-election in this election, although [[liberal]] President Lyndon Johnson did voluntarily decline to run for reelection after his poor showing the New Hampshire primary in 1968. A Republican candidate is expected to be elected.

As yet, no Republicans or Democratic challengers have declared their candidacy. The current GOP front-runners, however, are former governors [[Sarah Palin]], [[Mitt Romney]] and [[Mike Huckabee]], Governors [[Bobby Jindal]] and [[Tim Pawlenty]], and former Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]]. With Obama's declining popularity among independents, liberals, and moderates, [[Hillary Clinton]]'s public approval ratings have gained.<ref>Peter Roff, [http://www.usnews.com/blogs/peter-roff/2010/01/27/a-hillary-clinton-primary-challenge-to-obama-in-2012.html A Hillary Clinton Primary Challenge to Obama in 2012?], ''USNews and World Report'', January 27, 2010. </ref>

Beginning in January 2011, candidates will signal publicly their intentions to run. Mitt Romney, for example, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 3, 2007, in order to seek election as president in 2008. His early commitment is credited for his ability to far out-raise the other candidates, and to earn endorsements from conservatives such as [[Rick Santorum]] and [[Marsha Blackburn]]. Of course, intentions to run are communicated privately much earlier than the public filings, so many will be lining up support and potential endorsements throughout 2010 for the 2012 presidential election.

The key early primaries are Iowa (caucuses), New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina.

== Four Segments of the Republican Party ==

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 either 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 Republican Candidates for 2012 ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Candidate
!Pros
!Cons
![[Fox News]] Exposure
|-
|[[Mitt Romney]]
|First runner-up in 2008, business experience, Republican governor of a Democratic state, prodigious fundraiser
|Once supported [[abortion]] and [[civil unions]]; his costly [[health care]] plan included mandatory insurance and became the model for ObamaCare; won only 15% in the South Carolina primary in 2008
|Occasionally on Fox
|-
|[[Newt Gingrich]]
|Articulate, credited with 1994 landslide, balanced the federal budget in the Clinton era, leader in fundraising<ref name="April 2010 Fundraising">http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2010/04/19/sarah-palin-lags-in-2012-fundraising-primary.html</ref>
|Takes not-so-conservative positions today, such as promoting a [[Con Con]]
|Promoted by Fox
|-
|[[Marco Rubio]]
|A rising young star in Florida, a key swing state; an electrifying speaker
|Will face liberal [[double standard]]: what's OK for Obama (e.g., inexperience) is somehow not OK for a [[conservative]]
|On Fox in connection with Senate bid
|-
|[[Rand Paul]]
|heir-apparent to massive support for [[Ron Paul]]
|needs to win the Kentucky U.S. Senate seat first
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[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
|a Southern conservative who will 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>
|Rarely appears on Fox
|-
|[[Sarah Palin]]
|Empathetic, attracts crowds, [[pro-life]], popular
|Doubts whether she is a [[movement conservative]]; resigned early as governor; could be a [[stalking horse]] for [[Newt Gingrich]]; lags in fundraising despite publicity<ref name="April 2010 Fundraising"/>
|Promoted by Fox
|-
|[[Michele Bachmann]]
|A [[movement conservative]] who is popular in a Democratic region and with the [[Tea Party movement]]
|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"/>
|On Fox as she's in the news
|-
|[[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
|Rarely allowed on Fox
|-
|[[Ken Cuccinelli]]
|Has won statewide office
|Effective critic of Obama
|On Fox because he's been so newsworthy
|-
|[[Jeb Bush]]
|More conservative than his brother [[George W. Bush]], and popular in pivotal [[Florida]]; 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>
|Could be tagged with negatives via George, and may not attract Tea Party support; why not wait and defeat Hillary in 2016 or 2020?
|Rarely appears on Fox
|-
|[[Todd Akin]]
|A [[movement conservative]] from Missouri, which he serves as a congressman
|Not well known yet
|Rarely allowed on Fox`
|-
|[[John Thune]]
|Defeated [[Tom Daschle]], relatively conservative voting record for a senator; also taller than Obama
|Lacks 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
|Rarely allowed on Fox
|-
|[[Mike Huckabee]]
|Pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and pro-Bible
|Supported bigger government, released man who then killed officers
|Promoted by 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
|Rarely allowed on Fox
|-
|[[Tim Pawlenty]]
|Young; popular in his home state of [[Minnesota]]
|Still not well known outside of Minnesota; accepted stimulus funds after arguing against them
|Sometimes on Fox
|-
|[[Scott Brown]]
|Proven ability to appeal to moderate voters even in blue states
|Inexperience; already voting with the Democrats in the Senate
|Has been on 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
|-
|[[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
|-
|[[Mitch Daniels]]
|Rust Belt Governor, effective critic of the Obama administration
|Unknown nationally
|Rarely allowed on Fox
|-
|[[Chris Christie]]
|True fiscal reformer, puts liberals in their place, rising star
|His social conservative stance is unknown, often ridiculed for his weight,
|Promoted heavily by Fox
|-
|[[Jan Brewer]]
|Stands up to [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]] on issue of [[illegal aliens]]
|May be too busy as Governor of Arizona to run for president
|Rupert Murdoch, owner of [[Fox News]], has embraced [[amnesty]]
|}

== Potential Democratic Candidates ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Candidate
!Pros
!Cons
![[MSNBC]] exposure
|-
|[[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
|-
|[[Hillary Clinton]]
|Kennedy and Reid can't stop her now, and she would be 71 if she waited until 2016; 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>
|Her [[feminism]] is not wanted and she'd lose as [[Martha Coakley]] did
|Disfavored on MSNBC
|-
|[[Barack Obama]]
|He's not Hillary Clinton, and he receives biased support from the media
|He depends on a teleprompter to speak, and has run the nation into the ground
|Heavily promoted on MSNBC
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==

*[[Gubernatorial elections, 2010]]

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

Russia

2010-06-29T02:33:29Z

ElizDo:

{{Country
|name =''Российская Федерация Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''
|map =Russia rel94.jpg
|map2 =Russia location.png
|flag =Flag of Russia.png
|arms =Arms of the Russian Federation.png
|capital =Moscow
|capital-raw =
|government =Semi-Presidential Federal republic
|government-raw =
|language =Russian
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Dmitry Medvedev
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Vladimir Putin
|pm-raw =
|area =6,592,800 sq mi
|pop =141,400,000 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$2.3 trillion (2009)
|gdp-pc =$15,100 (2009 est.) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html
|currency =ruble
|idd =
|tld =
}}
Ваша статья - хуйня. Вы ничего не понимаете в русских.

'''Russia''' (formally the '''Russian Federation''' (Russian: Российская Федерация, ''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''), is the largest country by area (17,075,200 square kilometers) and has the sixth largest population. Its history stretches back over a thousand years, with rule by the Czars until 1917, and by the Communists, 1918-1991 under the name of the [[Soviet Union]]. Russia had an extensive empire built up over hundreds of years, almost all of which broke away in 1991. The capital is [[Moscow]].

Russia is theoretically a federation of constituent governments. In reality, it has a highly centralized government, largely due to former President (now Prime Minister) [[Vladimir Putin]]. Putin has nationalized the nation's oil and gas companies, seized foreign investments, imprisoned top businessmen, and brought an autocratic, anti-democratic style that resembles--in milder form--the czars and Soviets. Thanks to oil revenue, it has the money to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, which is mildly hostile to the United States and to [[NATO]].
==Geography==
*Area: 17 million sq. km. (6.5 million sq. mi.); about 1.8 times the size of the United States.
*Cities: Capital--Moscow (pop. 8.3 million). Other cities--St. Petersburg (4.6 million), Novosibirsk (1.4 million), Nizhniy Novgorod (1.3 million). Numerous other cities over 1 million inhabitants.
*Terrain: Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains (Caucasus range) along southern borders.
*Climate: Huge variation from humid sub-tropical in Krasnodar krai, to desert/semi-desert in the Altai republic, and arctic tundra in north eastern Siberia, which is one of the coldest areas on the planet.

==Religion==
In practice, only a minority of citizens actively participated in any religion. Many who identified themselves as members of a religious group participated in religious life rarely or not at all. There is no one set of reliable statistics that breaks down the population by denomination, and the statistics below are compiled from government, polling, and religious group sources.<ref> According to [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108468.htm U.S. State Department, "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref>

Approximately 100 million citizens are Russian Orthodox. Muslims, with a population estimated between 14 million and 23 million, form the largest religious minority. The majority of Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region and the North Caucasus, although Moscow, St. Petersburg, and parts of Siberia also have sizable Muslim populations. There are an estimated one million Buddhists, the majority of whom live in the traditionally Buddhist regions of Buryatiya, Tuva, and Kalmykiya. According to the NGO Slavic Center for Law and Justice, Protestants make up the second largest group of Christian believers, with 3,500 registered organizations and more than 2 million followers. The Roman Catholic Church estimated that there are 600,000 Catholics, most of whom are not ethnic Russians. There are an estimated 250,000 Jews, the majority of whom live in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In some areas, such as Yakutiya and Chukotka, pantheistic and nature-based religions are practiced independently or alongside other religions.

According to the annual report from the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Ministry of Justice had registered 21,963 religious organizations as of January 1, 2008, 993 fewer than January 2006. The registered religious groups (with the number of registered organizations) include Russian Orthodox (12,586), Muslim (3,815), Protestant (several denominations totaling 3,410), Jehovah's Witnesses (402), Jewish (286), Orthodox Old Believers (283), Roman Catholic (240), Buddhist (200), and other denominations.

===Religion in schools===
The federal Government does not require religious instruction in schools, but it continues to allow public use of school buildings after hours for the ROC to provide religious instruction on a voluntary basis. Several regions offer a course on Orthodox Christianity in public schools, and five oblasts or regions (Kaluga, Tver, Bryansk, Smolensk, and Voronezh) have a mandatory class on the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture." Students may avoid the Belgorod Oblast voluntary course only if their parents provide and pay for an alternative course. The course is offered as an elective in several other regions. In regions where the class is not mandatory, in practice students may be compelled to take it where schools do not provide alternatives.

Some regions offer a class on "History of Religion," a proposal that the Minister of Education had suggested but did not introduce nationally. Although the Ministry of Education rejected continued publication and dissemination of a controversial textbook that detailed Orthodox Christianity's contribution to the country's culture, some schools continued to use the text. The textbook contained descriptions of some religious groups that members of those groups found objectionable. The Congress of Religious Associations in the Tyumen region appealed to the Governor and regional department of education to allow input from other religious groups into the religious culture curriculum, claiming that the course currently contains only the viewpoint of the ROC.

Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
===Discrimination===
The regions of Kabardino-Balkariya and Dagestan have laws banning extremist Islamic "Wahhabism," but there were no reports that authorities invoked these laws to deny registration to Muslim groups. The former president of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic ordered the closure of six of seven mosques in Nalchik, the region's capital, in 2004. One was reopened in 2007, while the others remained closed and were suffering from disrepair and vandalism.

The 2002 Law on Extremism, amended in July 2006, can affect religious groups, particularly Muslim groups, by criminalizing a broad spectrum of speech and activities.

Many nontraditional denominations frequently complained that they were unable to obtain venues for worship. Because they were small and often newly established, they typically lacked the necessary resources to buy or rent facilities on the open market and must rely on government assistance. Because they are nontraditional, they frequently met opposition from the traditional communities and often were unable to find government officials who were willing to assist them in renting state-owned property. There were multiple reports of religious organizations who were not allowed to renew leases on public or private buildings. Increased competition for space in a growing economy and increasing real estate prices led many owners (public and private) to lease property to higher paying tenants, and in some cases, religious groups were refused outright at any price. Representatives of numerous Protestant groups spoke about increasing difficulty in extending existing leases or signing new leases for worship premises, the majority of which are still state-controlled. Some religious groups, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses, but also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Pentecostal congregations, and the Evangelical Christian Missionary Union, reported that local authorities in recent years denied them permission to acquire land on which to construct places of worship. Authorities continued to deny construction permits to several groups.

The Word of Life Christian Church in Kaluga region continued to face great difficulties trying to build its church. In June 2007 a court ruled in favor of the church and invalidated the Kaluga's mayoral decree to confiscate the church's property. In October 2007 the court denied the city's appeal. Local authorities, however, continued to harass the church. On July 4, 2007, the police seized a computer and documents, reportedly to find information on the church's secondary school. After seizing a list of the church's members, the police called the members and summoned them to the prosecutor's office for questioning about the school.

The Sochi mayor's office continued to deny the Muslim community authorization to build a new mosque; the current premises are inadequate to accommodate the membership. Officials allotted land several times but never transferred it to the Muslim community. According to the regional government, authorities can allocate land for a mosque only after a public opinion survey indicates that the proposed location would not cause conflict.

Religious news sources claimed that authorities acting under the influence of the ROC sometimes prevented Orthodox churches not belonging to the ROC, including the True Orthodox, from obtaining or maintaining buildings for worship.

After the 1997 Law changed the visa regime for religious and other foreign workers, nontraditional religious groups reported problems receiving long-term visas. In October 2007 the Government introduced new visa rules that allow foreigners (including religious workers) with business or humanitarian visas to spend only 90 of every 180 days in the country. According to religious experts, these rules were not aimed at religious workers, but the effect has been to severely restrict religious groups that rely upon foreign religious workers. The Roman Catholic Church, which relies almost exclusively on priests from outside the country, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with more than four hundred foreign missionaries, have been particularly hard hit by this provision. While foreign religious workers seem able to acquire visas with few problems, the 90-day limit on their stay in the country limits their ability to work and significantly increases their expenses. Although registered religious organizations have the option to sponsor foreign workers and missionaries on work visas (which do not have 90-day or 180-day limits), this is a complicated process that places significant financial and administrative burdens on the organizations.

Many religious groups were unable to regain property confiscated in the Soviet era and acquire new property. The Moscow-based SOVA Center said the property restitution problem was most prevalent among Muslim and Protestant groups.

==Demography==
In a major [[demography|demographic]] catastrophe, population indicators in Russia dramatically worsened after 1990: the number of [[death]]s exceeds the number of [[birth]]s, [[life expectancy]] is drastically decreasing, the number of [[suicide]]s has increased, and there are 240 abortions per 100 live births. Every year since 1992 the country has lost 400,000 to 650,000 population and the current total of 142 million is [[projection|projected]] to fall to 100 million by 2050.

In the 1990s, life expectancy in Russia fell an astonishing six years. [[Statistical analysis]] indicates that one-quarter of the increase in [[mortality]] was due to an increase in [[alcohol consumption]] and one-quarter was a consequence of [[stress]] due to economic uncertainty.<ref>Elizabeth Brainerd, and David M. Cutler, "Autopsy On An Empire: Understanding Mortality in Russia and the Former Soviet Union." ''Journal Of Economic Perspectives'' 2005 19(1): 107-130. Issn: 0895-3309 Fulltext: in Ebsco </ref>

Russia's population of 141.4 million (2007) is falling. Lower birth rates and higher death rates have reduced Russia's population at a nearly 0.5% annual rate since the early 1990s. Russia is one of few countries with a declining population (although birth rates in many developed countries have dropped below the long-term population replacement). Population decline is particularly drastic in Russia due to higher death rates, especially among working-age males. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, traffic injuries, suicide, alcohol poisoning, and violence are major causes of death. In a June 2006 speech to the Russian National Security Council, President Putin declared that Russia is facing a demographic crisis and called for measures to improve birth and mortality rates and increase population through immigration, primarily the return of Russian-speaking foreigners.

====HIV/AIDS====
Russia and Ukraine are said to have the highest growth rates of HIV infection in the world. In Russia HIV seems to be transmitted mostly by intravenous drug users sharing needles, although data is very uncertain. Data from the Federal AIDS Center shows that the number of registered cases is doubling every 12 months and is currently at 300,000 persons. When projections are made which allow for people in high-risk groups who have not been tested for the disease, estimates of the actual number of HIV-infected persons are approximately 3 million. The high growth rate of AIDS cases, if unchecked, will have negative economic consequences. Investment will suffer from the diversion of private and government funds to AIDS treatment. The effect on the labor force may be acute since about 80% of infected individuals in Russia are under 30 years of age.

===Ethnicity===
Most of the roughly 141 million Russians derive from the Eastern Slavic family of peoples, whose original homeland was probably present-day Poland. Russian is the official language of Russia and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the language of such giants of world literature as [[Pushkin]], [[Tolstoy]], [[Dostoevsky]], [[Chekhov]], [[Pasternak]], and [[Solzhenitsyn]].
===Education===
Russia's educational system has produced nearly 100% literacy. About 3 million students attend Russia's 519 institutions of higher education and 48 universities, but continued reform is critical to producing students with skills to adapt to a market economy. Because great emphasis is placed on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is still generally of a high order. The number of doctors in relation to the population is high by American standards, although medical care in Russia, even in major cities, is generally far below Western standards. The unraveling of the Soviet state in its last decades and the physical and psychological traumas of transition during the 1990s resulted in a steady decline in the health of the Russian people. Currently Russia faces a demographic crisis as births lag far behind deaths. While its population is aging, skyrocketing deaths of working-age males due to cardiovascular disease is a major cause of Russia's demographic woes. A rapid increase in HIV/AIDS infections and tuberculosis compounds the problem. In 2007, life expectancy at birth was 59 for men and 73 for women. The large annual excess of deaths over births is expected to cut Russia's population by 30% over the next 50 years.
[[Image:Russian band in Pushkin.jpg|thumb|240px|Russian band in Pushkin.]]
===Labor force===
The Russian labor force is undergoing tremendous changes. Although well educated and skilled, it is largely mismatched to the rapidly changing needs of the Russian economy. Official unemployment has shrunken in recent years to 6.9%, and labor shortages have started to appear in some high-skilled job markets. Nonetheless, pockets of high unemployment remain and many Russian workers are underemployed. Unemployment is highest among women and young people. Following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic dislocation it engendered, the standard of living fell dramatically. However, real disposable incomes have doubled since 1999, and experts estimate that the middle class ranges from one-fifth to one-third of the population. In 2006, 15.8% of the population lived below the subsistence level, in contrast to 38.1% in 1998.

===Statistics===
*Population (2007 est.): 141.4 million.
*Annual growth rate (2007 est.): -0.484% (population declining).
*Ethnic groups: Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, other 14.4%.
*Religion: Russian Orthodox, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestant, Buddhist, other.
*Language: Russian (official); more than 140 other languages and dialects.
*Education (total pop.): Literacy--99.4%.
*Health: Life expectancy (2007 est.)--59.12 yrs. men, 73.03 yrs. women.
*Work force (73.88 million) (2006 est.): Production and economic services--84%; government--16%.
==Cities==
Moscow is Russia's capital and largest city (population 8.3 million). Moscow is also increasingly important as an economic and business center; it has become Russia's principal magnet for foreign investment and business presence. Its cultural tradition is rich, and there are many museums devoted to art, literature, music, dance, history, and science, as well as hundreds of churches and dozens of notable cathedrals.

The second-largest city in Russia is [[St. Petersburg]] (formerly '''leningrad'''), which was established by Tsar [[Peter the Great]] in 1703 to be the capital of the Russian Empire as part of his Western-looking reforms. The city was called Petrograd during World War I and Leningrad after 1924. In 1991, as the result of a city referendum, it was renamed St. Petersburg. Under the tsars, the city was Russia's cultural, intellectual, commercial, financial, and industrial center. After Lenin moved the capital back to Moscow in 1918, the city's political significance declined, but it remained a cultural, scientific, and military-industrial center. The Hermitage, formerly the Winter Palace of the tsars, is one of the world's great fine arts museums.

Russia has an area of about 17 million square kilometers (6.5 million sq. mi.); in geographic terms, this makes Russia the largest country in the world by more than 2.5 million square miles. But with a population density of about 22 persons per square mile (9 per sq. km.), it is sparsely populated, and most of its residents live in urban areas.

[[Image:Traffic in Moscow.jpg|thumb|Traffic in Moscow.]]

==Government and Political Conditions==
In the political system established by the 1993 [[constitution]], the [[president]] wields considerable executive power. There is no vice president, and the legislative branch is far weaker than the executive. The bicameral legislature consists of the lower house (State Duma) and the upper house (the Federation Council). The president nominates the highest state officials, including the [[prime minister]], who must be approved by the Duma. The [[president]] can pass decrees without consent from the [[Duma]]. He also is head of the armed forces and of the Security Council.

Duma elections were held most recently on December 7, 2003, and presidential elections on March 14, 2004. The pro-government party, United Russia, won close to half of the seats in the Duma. Combined with its allies, United Russia commands a two-thirds majority. The OSCE judged the Duma elections as failing to meet international standards for fairness, due largely to extensive slanted media bias in the campaign. [[Vladimir Putin]] was re-elected to a second four-year term with 71% of the vote in March 2004. The Russian constitution does not allow presidents to serve more than two consecutive terms. Next elections for the Duma occur in December 2007, and for President in March 2008.

Russia is a federation, but the precise distribution of powers between the central government and the regional and local authorities is still evolving. The Russian Federation consists of 89 regional administrative units, including two federal cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The constitution explicitly defines the federal government's exclusive powers, but it also describes most key regional issues as the joint responsibility of the federal government and the regional administrative units. In 2000, President Putin grouped the regions into seven federal districts, with presidential appointees established in Moscow and six provincial capitals. In March 2004, the Constitution was amended to permit the merger of some regional administrative units. A law enacted in December 2004 eliminated the direct election of the country's regional leaders. Governors are now nominated by the president and subject to confirmation by regional legislatures.

===Judicial System===
The Russian [[judicial system]] consists of the Constitutional Court, courts of [[general jurisdiction]], military courts, and arbitrage courts (which hear commercial disputes). The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a court of limited subject matter jurisdiction. The 1993 constitution empowers the Constitutional Court to arbitrate disputes between the executive and legislative branches and between Moscow and the regional and local governments. The court also is authorized to rule on violations of constitutional rights, to examine appeals from various bodies, and to participate in impeachment proceedings against the president. The July 1994 Law on the Constitutional Court prohibits the court from examining cases on its own initiative and limits the scope of issues the court can hear. The system of general jurisdiction courts includes the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, regional level courts, district level courts and justices of the peace.

The Duma passed a Criminal Procedure Code and other judicial reforms during its 2001 session. These reforms help make the Russian judicial system more compatible with its Western counterparts and are seen by most as an accomplishment in human rights. The reforms have reintroduced jury [[trials]] in certain [[criminal]] cases and created a more adversarial system of criminal trials that protect the rights of defendants more adequately. In 2002, the introduction of the new code led to significant reductions in time spent in detention for new detainees, and the number of suspects placed in pretrial detention declined by 30%. Another significant advance in the new Code is the transfer from the Procuracy to the courts of the authority to issue search and arrest warrants. There are rising concerns, however, that prosecutors have selectively targeted individuals for political reasons, as in the prosecution of Yukos Oil CEO Mikhail Khodorkovskiy.

In spite of the general tendency to increase judicial [[independence]] (for example, by recent considerable salary raise to judges), many judges still see their role not as of impartial and independent arbiters, but as of government officials protecting state interests. See below for more information on the commercial court/business law.

===Human Rights===
Russia is no longer Communist, but it is increasingly an authoritarian state where democracy is weak. It has an increasingly centralized political system, with power concentrated in the hands of [[Vladimir Putin]] and his choices for top offices. International observers concluded that the December 2007 State Duma election (for parliament) was not fair, and neither was the March 2, 2008, election for president.

[[Human rights]] problems and abuses continued in 2008, though at a far lower level than the days of Communism (which ended in 1991). Putin's human rights record remained poor in the North Caucasus, where governments in Ingushetiya and Dagestan faced increased opposition from disaffected social groups and insurgencies, and the Chechen government forcibly reined in the Islamist insurgency that replaced the separatist insurgency as the main source of conflict. Russian security forces engaged in killings, torture, abuse, violence, and other brutal or humiliating treatment.

Russia's [[human rights]] record remains uneven and has worsened in some areas in recent years. Despite significant improvements in conditions following the end of the Soviet Union, problem areas remain. In particular, the Russian Government's policy in Chechnya has been a cause for international concern. Although the government has made progress in recognizing the legitimacy of international human rights standards, the institutionalization of procedures to safeguard these rights has lagged. There are, however, some indications that the law is becoming an increasingly important tool for those seeking to protect [[human]] rights.

Some specific areas of human rights violations of the Soviet era continued on into the late 1990's and even have been reported up to 2002.
These involved experimentation on humans and the use of imported foreign forced labor, particularly from North Korea, to work in forestry in gulag type camps of Siberia (for Russian and other newspaper accounts, see [[KAL 007 Survivors and Gulags of Russia]]). Experimentation on humans have been noted by Russian rights activists in connection with certain medical facilities. The Serbsky Institute and Mental Hospital figuring in as a center for mind altering experiments receives startling confirmation from Emilia Cherkover, former Deputy of the Zelenograd Soviet and member of the Russian Federation Human Rights Commission. Cherkover maintains that, along with Vladivostok and Moscow prisons and the mental hospital in Oryal, microwave (psychotronic and electromagnetic application) experiments had been conducted on humans between 1989 and 1990 at the Serbsky Institute in Moscow (see [[The Stavitski Account]]).
[[Image:Human Rights.JPG|left]]
<blockquote>
Journalist Yury Vorobyovsky has been investigating the top secret program of "psychotronic" brainwashing techniques developed by the KGB and the Ministry for three years. He notes Emilia Cherkova's claim that there are over a million victims. Her group, Ecology and Living Environment had filed damages against the Federal Security Service (FSB). The newspaper reports, "there is strong evidence that some kind of psychotronic warfare program did exist in the Soviet period, and that the technology may be falling into the wrong hands" (From Moscow Times, 7-11-95).
</blockquote>
====Prisons====
The judiciary is often subject to manipulation by political authorities and is plagued by large case backlogs and trial delays. Lengthy pretrial detention remains a serious problem. Russia has one of the highest [[prison]] population rates in the world, at 685 per 100,000. There are credible reports of beating and torture of inmates and detainees by law enforcement and correctional officials. Prison conditions fall well below international standards. In 2001, President Putin pronounced a moratorium on the death penalty. There are reports that the Russian Government might still be violating promises they made upon entering the European Council, especially in terms of prison control and conditions.
====Chechnya====
[[Chechnya]] has seen continuing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen forces. Chechen rebels also have committed abuses as well as acts of terrorism. In [[Chechnya]], Ingushetiya, and Dagestan, security forces were involved in unlawful killings and politically motivated kidnappings. Chechen President Kadyrov continued his repressive control as federal forces withdrew. Federal and local security forces in Chechnya targeted families of suspected insurgents with impunity, and Kadyrov's private militia allegedly engaged in kidnapping and torture.<ref>see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eur/119101.htm Country Report 2008] </ref>

Human rights groups have criticized Russian officials concerning cases of Chechens disappearing while in custody. Chechen rebels have similarly been responsible for politically motivated disappearances. Russian authorities have introduced some improvements, including better access to complaint mechanisms, the formal opening of investigations in most cases, and the introduction of two decrees requiring the presence of civilian investigators and other nonmilitary personnel during all large-scale military operations and targeted search and seizure operations. Human rights groups welcome these changes but claim that most abuses remain uninvestigated and unpunished and may be spreading more broadly in the North Caucasus.
====Religion====
The Russian constitution provides for freedom of religion and the equality of all religions before the law, as well as the separation of church and state. Although Jews and Muslims continue to encounter prejudice and societal discrimination, they have not been inhibited by the government in the free practice of their religion. High-ranking federal officials have condemned anti-Semitic hate crimes, but law enforcement bodies have not always effectively prosecuted those responsible. The influx of foreign missionaries has led to pressure by groups in Russia, specifically nationalists and the Russian Orthodox Church, to limit the activities of these "nontraditional" religious groups. In response, the Duma passed a restrictive and potentially discriminatory law on religion in October 1997. The law is complex, with many ambiguous and contradictory provisions. The law's most controversial provisions distinguish between religious "groups" and "organizations" and introduce a 15-year rule, which allows groups that have been in existence for 15 years or longer to obtain accredited status. Senior Russian officials have pledged to implement the 1997 law on religion in a manner that is not in conflict with Russia's international human rights obligations. Some local officials, however, have used the law as a pretext to restrict religious liberty.
====Media====
Pressure from Putin's regime weakened freedom of expression and media independence, particularly of the major television networks. Five journalists were assassinated in 2008. As some print and Internet media reflected a widening range of views, the government restricted media freedom through direct ownership of media outlets, pressuring the owners of major media outlets to abstain from critical coverage, and harassing and intimidating journalists into practicing self-censorship. Local governments limited freedom of assembly, and police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protest. The government limited freedom of association. The government restricted religious groups in some regions, and there were incidents of societal discrimination, harassment, and violence against religious minorities, including anti-Semitism..<ref>see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eur/119101.htm Country Report 2008] </ref>

Government pressure continued to weaken freedom of expression and the independence and freedom of some media, particularly major national television networks and regional electronic media outlets. A government decision resulted in the elimination of the last major non-state television network in 2003. National press is also increasingly in government hands or owned by government officials, narrowing the scope of opinion available. Self-censorship is a growing press problem. Unsolved murders of journalists, including the killing of respected investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya in October 2006, have caused significant international concern and increased pressure on journalists to avoid subjects considered sensitive. In August 2007, authorities arrested several suspects in connection with the Politkovksaya case.
====Civil Society====
Enactment of a new law on foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2006 was criticized in many quarters as a device to control [[civil society]], that is, private organizations. Implementing regulations appear to impose onerous paperwork reporting burdens on NGOs that could be used to limit or even suppress some of them. This law was used to shut down an NGO for the first time in January 2007 on the basis of extremism charges; however, most foreign NGOs have successfully re-registered. Domestic NGOs were not required to re-register, but are required to meeting new reporting requirements.

===Government Spending/Taxation===
[[Image:Putin..jpg|left|260px]]
The Russian federal budget has run growing surpluses since 2001, as the government has taxed and saved much of the rapidly increasing oil revenues. According to preliminary figures, the 2006 budget surplus was 7.4% of GDP on a cash basis. Although there are strong pressures to relax spending ahead of elections, the government has loosened its spending gradually, as the economy is running at near capacity and there are dangers of increasing inflation and rapid exchange rate appreciation. Spending increases to date have mostly been for increased salaries of government employees and pensions, but some money is also being dedicated to special investment funds and tax breaks to develop new industries in special economic zones. The government overhauled its tax system for both corporations and individuals in 2000-01, introducing a 13% flat tax for individuals and a unified tax for corporations, which improved overall collection. Business has put pressure on the government to reduce value added taxes (VAT) on oil and gas, but the government has postponed this discussion. Tax enforcement of disputes, particularly following the Yukos case, continues to be uneven and unpredictable.

A major focus of increased government spending has been the military, with large increases being spent on overhauling and updating equipment, as well as increasing salaries of military personnel, though a huge backlog of problems remain from the chaotic Yeltsin era and almost two decades of chronic underinvestment.

Much needed investment in national infrastructure, including railways and waterways, which are much more important in transportation in Russia than in the US and Europe has been insignificant, leading to bottlenecks that hamper growth and development. Telecoms and electricity production and distribution also remain run-down and outdated from the post-Soviet collapse. As a result of this, Russia remains dependent on energy exports for income, with the domestic economy effectively held back by capacity restraints or neglected facilities, a fact which has left Russia vulnerable to a collapse in fuel prices, such as that experienced at the beginning the global financial crisis, when crude oil prices dropped from over $100 per barrel to less than $60. Currently, Russian development of railways and highways in terms of new/renewed miles of route lies at around 1/10 that of China, despite having a much larger landmass.

===Foreign Relations===
In the years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia took important steps to become a full partner in the world's principal political groupings. On December 27, 1991, Russia assumed the permanent UN Security Council seat formerly held by the Soviet Union. Russia also is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). Russia and the European Union (EU) signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. It signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Partnership for Peace initiative in 1994. The NATO-Russia Founding Act in 1997 and the NATO-Russia Council superseded that in 2002. Russia acquiesced (despite misgivings) in enlargement of NATO by members first of the former Warsaw Pact and most recently by the Baltic states that had been forcibly integrated into the Soviet Union.

Over the past several years Russia has increased its international profile, played an increasing role in regional issues, and been more assertive in dealing with its neighbors. The rise in energy prices has given it leverage over countries which are dependent on Russian sources. Russia continues to support separatist regimes in Georgia and Moldova.

===Relations with the United States===
The United States and Russia share common interests on a broad range of issues, including counterterrorism and the drastic reduction of our strategic arsenals. Russia shares our basic goal of stemming the [[proliferation]] of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. We are working with Russia to compel Iran to bring its nuclear programs into compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rules and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737. On North Korea, Russia is a participant in the Six-Party Talks aimed at the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantling of North Korea's nuclear program. Russia also takes part in the Middle East Peace Process "Quartet" (along with the UN and the EU). Russia now interacts with NATO members as an equal through the NATO-Russia Council but without veto power over NATO decisions. During the past several years, Russia has intensified its efforts to combat trafficking in persons.

==Defense==
Russia's efforts to transform its Soviet-legacy military into a smaller, lighter and more mobile force continue to be hampered by an ossified military leadership, discipline problems and human rights violations, limited funding and demographics. Recent steps by the Government of Russia suggest a desire to reform. There has been an increased emphasis on practical training, and the government is introducing bills to improve the organization of the military.
[[Image:Cannon Russia.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
Despite large increases in the budget, defense spending is still unable to sustain Russia's large military. Current troop strength, estimated at 1.1 million, is large in comparison to Russia's GDP and military budget, which continues to make the process of transformation to a professional army difficult. This is both the result of the Soviet legacy and military thinking, and Russian geography, which demands a sizeable force simply to patrol and maintain normal defensive readiness across Russia's huge, remote and sparsely populated territory. Furthermore, unrest in Russia's souther regions demands a substantial military force at a high level of readiness.

Russian military salaries are low. Though, the army provides all necessities, the quality of accomodation is low, though the situation has improved considerably since the Yeltsin era when the military establishment almost totally collapsed, and some soldiers actually starved when provisions to remote bases went undelivered for months on end. Problems with both discipline and brutal hazing remain common, however. HIV infection rates in the Russian army are estimated to be between two to five times higher than in the general population, and tuberculosis is a persistent problem both in and outside the military, affecting the fitness of recruits.

Although the available manpower (males 15-49) for the Russian Armed Forces was projected at 35.2 million in 2005, only approximately 11% of eligible males do military service. Moreover, military officials complain that new recruit cohorts are plagued by increasing incidences of poor education, communicable diseases and criminality.

The Russian Government has stated a desire to convert to a professional army, but implementation has been delayed repeatedly. Current plans envision a transition to a mixed force, in which professional soldiers fill the ranks of select units and conscription is gradually phased out. Some officials have talked of developing a non-commissioned officer corps to lead the professional army, but the military has yet to make any concrete decisions, due to internal political considerations and a backlog of other issues soaking up increased funding.

Russia continues to maintain a sizeable strategic nuclear force equipped with global reach, with land, sea and air based nuclear launch facilities, though maintenance issues continue to affect the readiness of the system due to a flight of skilled personnel from the military, and financial and organisation pressures in the post-Soviet era. For this reason, Russia has sought a renewed START treaty with the United States for a mutual reduction of strategic nuclear forces. This agreement was reached between Presidents Obama and Medvedev in April 2010.

==Economy==
[[Image:Historic Centre of St. Petersburg.jpg|thumb|260px|Historic Center of St. Petersburg.]]
At the end of March, 2009, the World Bank issued a grim forecast of the Russian Economy, projecting a 4.5% decline in the economy in 2009 and warning that 5.8 million Russians would fall into poverty unless the government shifts spending to poor families. It praised the government’s $85 billion anticrisis program, which stabilized Russia’s banks and prevented financial panic. But it said too little had gone to households — a hazard in a society where 37 million people, a quarter of the population, lives near the poverty line.<ref> Ellen Berry, "World Bank Grim on Russian Economy," [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/world/europe/31russia.html?ref=world ''New York Times'' Mar. 30, 2009]</ref>

The Russian economy underwent tremendous stress in the 1990s as it moved from a centrally planned economy to a free market system. Difficulties in implementing fiscal reforms aimed at raising government revenues and a dependence on short-term borrowing to finance budget deficits led to a serious financial crisis in 1998. Lower prices for Russia's major export earners (oil and minerals) and a loss of investor confidence due to the Asian financial crisis exacerbated financial problems. The result was a rapid and steep decline (60%) in the value of the ruble, flight of foreign investment, delayed payments on sovereign and private debts, a breakdown of commercial transactions through the banking system, and the threat of runaway inflation.

Still, Russia weathered the crisis well. In the 8 years following the financial crisis, GDP growth averaged just under 7% due to a devalued ruble, implementation of key economic reforms (tax, banking, labor and land codes), tight fiscal policy, and favorable commodities prices. Household consumption and fixed capital investments have both grown by about 10 percent per year since 1999 and have replaced net exports as the main drivers of demand growth. Inflation and exchange rates have stabilized due to a prudent fiscal policy (Russia has run a budget surplus since 2003). The government created a stabilization/rainy day fund ($127 billion in mid-2007), and has the third-largest foreign exchange reserves in the world (close to $420 billion in mid-2007) which should shelter it from commodity price shocks.

Russia's balance of payments moves from strength to strength. The current account balance grew from $58.6 billion in 2004 to $95.3 billion in 2006, almost entirely due to oil price increases. The capital account turned positive in 2006, with net inflow of $6.1 billion. In addition, net private capital flows in 2006 increased significantly to $40.9 billion, compared to an inflow of $0.1 billion in 2005 due to liberalization of the capital account in mid-2006. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows dramatically improved in 2006 to an estimated $31 billion (inflows totaled $15.4 billion and $14.6 billion in 2004 and 2005, respectively). As of July 1, 2006, the ruble is convertible for both current and capital transactions. Russia prepaid its entire Soviet-era Paris Club debt of $22 billion in late 2006, pushing Russia's sovereign foreign debt down to $45 billion at the end of 2006, or about 5 percent of GDP. Russia's total public and private foreign debt at the end of 2006 was $310 billion, or 31 percent of GDP. Such a dramatic reversal to the macroeconomic situation is truly remarkable. Russia currently has a sovereign investment-grade rating from Standard and Poor's of BBB+.

Although the economy has begun to diversify, the government budget remains dependent on oil and gas revenues; consumption and investment are, however, contributing to an increasing share to GDP growth. While currently sheltered from external price shocks, the government realizes the need to intensify reforms that will promote new investment in aging infrastructure and continued productivity gains. The government believes it can do this by creating state-sponsored investment funds, special economic zones, and by exercising control of strategic enterprises (a draft law defining strategic sectors was submitted to the Duma in August 2007). Although investors are returning to Russia, excessive bureaucracy, corruption, insufficient and insufficiently enforced legislation, selective interpretation of laws (particularly tax laws), unclear limits and conditions on foreign investment, obsolete infrastructure, and stalled economic reforms still remain a problem. In 2005, the government announced reform programs in four priority areas (health, education, housing, and agriculture), but further work is needed on them as well as in financial regulation, civil service reform, and reform of government monopolies, such as railroads, gas, and electricity.
*GDP (2006): $989 billion.
*Growth rate (2006): 6.7%.
*Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, timber, furs, precious and nonferrous metals.
*Agriculture: Products--Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, dairy products.
*Industry: Types--Complete range of manufactures: automobiles, trucks, trains, agricultural equipment, advanced aircraft, aerospace, machine and equipment products; mining and extractive industry; medical and scientific instruments; construction equipment.
*Trade (2006): Exports--$304 billion: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, woods and wood products, metals, chemicals. Major markets--EU, CIS, China, Japan. Imports--$165 billion: machinery and equipment, chemicals, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semi-finished metal products. Major partners--EU, U.S., NIS, Japan, China. U.S. exports--$4.7 billion. Principal U.S. exports (2006)--oil/gas equipment, meat, inorganic chemicals, tobacco, aircraft, medical equipment, autos/parts. U.S. imports--$19.8 billion. Principal U.S. imports (2006)--oil, aluminum, chemicals, platinum, iron/steel, fish and crustaceans, nickel, wood, and copper.

====Gross Domestic Product====
A strong expansion in domestic demand continues to drive GDP growth, despite a slowdown in manufacturing. GDP growth and industrial production for 2006 were 6.7% and 4.8%, respectively, relative to 6.4% and 5.7% in 2005. GDP growth is currently derived from non-tradable sectors, but investment remains concentrated in tradables (oil and gas). Construction was the fastest growing sector of the economy, expanding by 14% in 2006. The main private sector services--wholesale & retail trade, banking & insurance, and transportation & communications--showed strong growth of about 10%. In contrast, public sector services--education, health care, and public administration--lagged behind with only 2-4% growth in 2006. Recent productivity growth has still been strong in some parts of domestic manufacturing. Real disposable incomes grew by 10.2% in 2006, spurring considerable growth in private consumption.

====Monetary Policy====
Large balance of payments surpluses have complicated monetary policy for Russia. The Central Bank has followed a policy of managed appreciation to ease the impact on domestic producers and has sterilized capital inflows with its large budget surpluses. However, the Central Bank also has been buying back dollars, pumping additional ruble liquidity into the system. Given the rising demand for money, this has softened the inflationary impact, but these policy choices have complicated the government's efforts to lower inflation to the single digits. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 9% in 2006 and 10.9% in 2005, having steadily decreased from 20.2% in 2000, due primarily to prudent fiscal policy and in 2006 lower world oil prices.

====Commercial Law====
Russia has a body of conflicting, overlapping and rapidly changing laws, decrees and regulations, which has resulted in an ad hoc and unpredictable approach to doing business. In this environment, negotiations and contracts from commercial transactions are complex and protracted. Uneven implementation of laws creates further complications. Regional and local courts are often subject to political pressure, and corruption is widespread. However, more and more small and medium businesses in recent years have reported fewer difficulties in this regard, especially in the Moscow region. In addition, Russian businesses are increasingly turning to the courts to resolve disputes. Russia's WTO accession process is also helping to bring the country's legal and regulatory regime in line with internationally accepted practices.

====Natural Resources====
The mineral-packed Ural Mountains and the vast oil, gas, coal, and timber reserves of Siberia and the Russian Far East make Russia rich in natural resources. However, most such resources are located in remote and climatically unfavorable areas that are difficult to develop and far from Russian ports. Nevertheless, Russia is a leading producer and exporter of minerals, gold, and all major fuels. Natural resources, especially energy, dominate Russian exports. Ninety percent of Russian exports to the United States are minerals or other raw materials.

====Industry====
[[Image:Tower Russia.JPG|thumb|right|180px]]
Russia is one of the most industrialized of the former Soviet republics. However, years of very low investment have left much of Russian industry antiquated and highly inefficient. Besides its resource-based industries, it has developed large manufacturing capacities, notably in metals, food products, and transport equipment. Russia is now the world's third-largest exporter of steel and primary aluminum. Russia inherited most of the defense industrial base of the Soviet Union, so armaments remain an important export category for Russia. Efforts have been made with varying success over the past few years to convert defense industries to civilian use, and the Russian Government is engaged in an ongoing process to privatize the remaining 9,222 state-owned enterprises, 33% of which are in the industrial manufacturing sector.
 
 
 
 

====Agriculture====
For its great size, Russia has relatively little area suited for agriculture because of its arid climate and inconsistent rainfall. Northern areas concentrate mainly on livestock, and the southern parts and western Siberia produce grain. Restructuring of former state farms has been an extremely slow process. Foreigners are not allowed to own farmland in Russia although long-term leases are permitted. Private farms and garden plots of individuals account for over one-half of all agricultural production.

====Investment/Banking====
Russia attracted an estimated $31 billion in FDI in 2006 (3.2% of GDP), up from $13 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005.Russia's annual FDI figures are now in line with those of China, India, and Brazil. However, Russia's per capita cumulative FDI still lags far behind such countries as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The paradox is that Russia's challenging business climate, lack of transparency, and weak rule of law/corruption has taken a back seat to Russia's extraordinary macroeconomic fundamentals and the consumer and retail boom, which is providing double digit returns to investors and attracting new flows. Russian domestic investment is also returning home, as the foreign investment coming into Russia from havens like Cyprus and Gibraltar, is actually returning Russian capital . As of the end of 2006, loans to the financial sector were 57.2% of total banking sector assets. Retail loans amounted to $78.4 billion at the end of 2006, up from $41 billion at the end of 2005. Retail deposits increased to $144.1 billion from $95.7 billion over the same period. Also, currently deposits are fully insured up to $4,000 and an additional $12,000 is insured at 90%.

Although still small by international standards, the Russian banking sector is growing fast and is becoming a larger source of investment funds. To meet a growing demand for loans, which they were unable to cover with domestic deposits, Russian banks borrowed heavily abroad in 2006, accounting for two-thirds of the private-sector capital inflows in that year. Ruble lending has increased since the October 1998 financial crisis, and in 2006 loans were 63% of total bank assets, with consumer loans posting the fastest growth at 74% that same year. Fewer Russians prefer to keep their money outside the banking sector, the recent appreciation of the ruble against the dollar has persuaded many Russians to keep their money in rubles or other currencies such as the euro, and retail deposits grew by 65% in 2006. Despite recent growth, the poorly developed banking system, along with contradictory regulations across banking, bond, and equity markets, still makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to raise capital as well as to permit capital transfer from a capital-rich sector such as energy to capital-poor sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing and to diversify risk. Banks still perceive small and medium commercial lending as risky, and some banks are inexperienced with assessing credit risk, though the situation is improving. In 2003, Russia enacted a deposit insurance law to protect deposits up to 100,000 rubles (about $3,700) per depositor, and a bill is currently in the Duma, which if passed will increase this coverage to 190,000 rubles (about $7,000) per depositor.

====Trade====
The U.S. exported $4.7 billion in goods to Russia in 2006, a 21% increase from the previous year. Corresponding U.S. imports from Russia were $19.8 billion, up 29%. Russia is currently the 33rd-largest export market for U.S. goods. Russian exports to the U.S. were fuel oil, inorganic chemicals, aluminum, and precious stones. U.S. exports to Russia were machinery, meat (mostly poultry), electrical equipment, and high-tech products.

Russia's overall trade surplus in 2006 was $139 billion, up from $118 billion in 2005. World prices continue to have a major effect on export performance, since commodities--particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber--comprise 80% of Russian exports. Russian GDP growth and the surplus/deficit in the Russian Federation state budget are closely linked to world oil prices.

Russia is in the process of negotiating terms of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The U.S. and Russia concluded a bilateral WTO accession agreement in late 2006, and negotiations continue in 2007 on meeting WTO requirements for accession. Russia reports that it has yet to conclude bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia and Georgia.

According to the 2005 U.S. Trade Representative's National Trade Estimate, Russia continues to maintain a number of barriers with respect to imports, including tariffs and tariff-rate quotas; discriminatory and prohibitive charges and fees; and discriminatory licensing, registration, and certification regimes. Discussions continue within the context of Russia's WTO accession to eliminate these measures or modify them to be consistent with internationally accepted trade policy practices. Non-tariff barriers are frequently used to restrict foreign access to the market and are also a significant topic in Russia's WTO negotiations. In addition, large losses to U.S. audiovisual and other companies in Russia owing to poor enforcement of intellectual property rights in Russia is an ongoing irritant in U.S.-Russia trade relations. Russia continues to work to bring its technical regulations, including those related to product and food safety, into conformity with international standards.

==History==
see [[History of Russia]]

== See also ==
*[[Gallery of Russian painting]]
* [[Soviet Union]]
*[[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] 1983 shootdown incident that intensified "2nd Cold War"

==Further reading==
===Guidebooks===
* ''Frommer's Moscow & St. Petersburg'' by Angela Charlton (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Moscow-St-Petersburg-Complete/dp/0470194030/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-7 excerpt and text search]
* ''Eyewitness: Russia'' by Kathleen Berton Murrell, (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Eyewitness-Russia-Kathleen-Berton-Murrell/dp/0789458802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Russia & Belarus'' (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) by Mark Elliott (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Russia-Belarus-Lonely-Planet-Travel/dp/1741042917/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239324359&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
===Surveys===
* Goldman, Marshall I. ''Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia'' (2008), by a leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/Petrostate-Putin-Power-New-Russia/dp/0195340736/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-5 extract and text search]
* Politkovskaya, Anna. ''Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Putins-Russia-Life-Failing-Democracy/dp/0805082506/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-9 extract and text search]
* Service, Robert. ''A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin'' (2005)
* Lucas, Edward. ''The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/New-Cold-War-Putins-Russia/dp/0230606121/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-12 extract and text search]

====references====
<references/>

==External Links==

[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html The World Fact Book]

[http://russiatrek.org Russian cities and regions guide]

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:Russia]]
[[Category:Russian History]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]

Open source conservative

2010-06-29T02:32:09Z

ElizDo:

An '''open source conservative''' embraces the [[best of the public]] and openness, while rejecting traditional controls on discourse. An open source conservative rejects the traditional priority given to the mainstream media and its [[liberal tricks]] and smear tactics, and instead relies on greater light to overpower darkness. An open source conservative encourages widespread distribution of information. An open source conservative supports more speech, rather than more controls as pushed by today's [[liberals]].
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
An open source conservative focuses more on the generation of new insights and good ideas rather than always playing defense against harmful movements. An open source conservative welcomes advantages brought by technology such as ''Conservapedia'' as a source of learning, rather than remaining confined to books.

An open source conservative favors more disclosures (e.g. ultrasounds for pregnant women) to address liberal [[deceit]], while a closed source conservative favors approaches such as campaign finance "reform" to limit speech during political campaigns.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Open Source Conservative
!Closed Source Conservative
|-
|[[Rand Paul]]<ref>Speaks freely and welcomes the [[best of the public]]</ref>
|[[George W. Bush]]<ref>Heavy reliance on cronyism rather than the [[best of the public]]</ref>
|-
|[[Sharron Angle]]
|[[John McCain]]<ref>Sponsored campaign finance limitations</ref>
|-
|Judges who welcome [[amicus brief]]s
|Judges who raise obstacles to amicus briefs
|-
|[[Tea Party Movement]]
|Entrenched Republican Party officials
|-
|Judges who take a broader view of [[standing]] in litigation
|Judges who take a narrow view of standing in litigation
|-
|}

A talk by an open source conservative includes robust question-and-answer exchanges with the audience. Indeed, an open source conservative seeks to learn from the audience as much as informing it. An open source conservative has optimism about a greater role for populism in the political process.

An open source conservative is more [[Essay:Quantifying Openmindedness|openminded]] than a traditional conservative when it comes to examining new ideas, placing priority on the idea rather than the source. For example, an open source conservative is more likely to be open to the idea that teenagers are capable of great insight and achievements, and thus to seriously examine their ideas, whereas a more traditional conservative might overlook the value of the idea because of the youth of the speaker.

An open source conservative views the world as [[Isaac Newton]] did: many [[conservative]] insights are yet to be discovered. Indeed, in many cases, the language to describe these insights does not yet exist; hence, open source conservatives serve as a driving force behind the development of the language and the emergence of powerful new conservative words. (See [[Best New Conservative Words]] for an examination of this principle.) A more traditional conservative emphasizes the past more than the future.

The [[censorability]] of an open source conservative (such as a Tea Partier) is lower than the censorability of a traditional conservative (such as a Reagan Republican). An open source conservative is more opposed to the [[censorship]] of ideas by [[liberals]] or even by other [[conservatives]].

== Advantages ==

There are several advantages to an "open source" approach with respect to the conservative movement:

*It anticipates and frustrates efforts by the liberal media to demonize, censor and smear conservatives. It is impossible to exclude the public from the public square.

*It is decentralized just as conservative values are.

*It provides a voice to the average citizen in a manner that traditional, centralized methods do not; open-source conservatism means that anyone is free to contribute, and the best contributions will naturally rise to the top, creating a free-market [[meritocracy]] of ideas. (See [[Best of the Public]]).

*Open source conservatism facilitates learning and improvement better than other approaches.

==Examples of Open Source Conservatives==

*''Conservapedia'' embraces the "open source" approach for expanding and understanding [[conservative]] principles.

*The [[Tea Party movement]] rejects the idea that a political movement needs to be governed by a handful of political elites; it is a movement driven by the [[Best of the Public]] which uses the Internet and other modern communication methods to organize and coordinate activities, rather than traditional top-down marching orders.

*[[Sarah Palin]] has made herself a relevant and influential voice for conservatism while eschewing the traditional [[gatekeepers]]. She has made it clear that she has little use for the liberal [[mainstream media]], and has demonstrated that their approval is not needed through her savvy use of online communication.

{{Conservatism}}

==References==

<references/>

John McCain

2010-06-29T02:31:02Z

ElizDo:

{{Officeholder
|name=John McCain
|image=John McCain official portrait 2009.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Carol Shepp (1965-1980) [[Cindy McCain|Cindy Lou Hensley]] (1980-present)
|religion=Baptist
|offices=

{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Arizona
|terms=January 3, 1987-present
|preceded=[[Barry Goldwater]]
|former=n
|succeeded=Incumbent (no successor)
}}
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=Arizona
|district=1st
|terms=January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
|preceded=John Jacob Rhodes Jr.
|former=n
|succeeded=John Jacob Rhodes III
}}
}}
'''John Sidney McCain III''', born in the U.S. [[Panama Canal]] Zone, August 29, 1936 (age {{age|1936|8|29}})<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m0003http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Button_enter.png Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]</ref>, was the Republican candidate for President in 2008 as well as a prominent maverick politician and [[Vietnam War]] hero. He is also the senior [[United States Senate|Senator]] of [[Arizona]]. He has been an influential leader in American politics since 1986, when he ran for office attacking corruption, attacking [[pork barrel]] spending and working for [[campaign finance reform]]. He was defeated by [[George W. Bush]] for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, and lost to [[Barack Obama]] in the 2008 Presidential Election.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
As a pilot for the [[United States Navy]] and former Prisoner-of-War ([[POW]]), he served in the military for 22 years.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m000303 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]</ref> McCain, a [[Baptist]],<ref> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296973,00.html</ref> has impressive credentials on issues of foreign policy and national security, which have propelled him in the forefront of national politics as both an outspoken voice for the United States military and as a Presidential contender for the Republican Party since 1993.<ref>Paul Alexander, ''John McCain: Man of the People''. (2003)</ref>

In the Senate in 2009 McCain has moved to the right, shedding his maverick image with full-throated attacks on the Democrats' proposals for health care reform, cap-and-trade environmental taxes, and wasteful stimulus spending, while supporting President Obama's aggressive policies in the [[Afghanistan War]].
==Early Life==
McCain's family has a long history of military service, including ancestors who fought as army soldiers in the Indian Wars, [[American Revolutionary War]], [[War of 1812]], for both the Union and the Confederate States of America during the [[American Civil War]], and in [[World War I]]. Both his father and grandfather were four-star Navy admirals. In addition, McCain's two sons are currently serving in the U.S. Navy.

In 1951, the McCain family moved to Northern [[Virginia]] and he attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria. McCain was on the wrestling team and went on to graduate in 1954. He later joined the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated in 1958.

==Military career==
[[Image:McCain 1965.jpg|left|thumb|200px|McCain photographed in 1965]]
McCain served heroically in the [[United States Navy]] from 1958 to 1981. He spent two and a half years as a naval aviator in training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in [[Florida]] and the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in [[Texas]]. By 1967, McCain was a veteran pilot aboard the [[USS Forrestal|USS ''Forrestal'']] [[aircraft carrier]] off the coast of Vietnam. On 29 July 1967, while preparing to take off on a bombing run over North Vietnam, a missile accidentally fired from another plane, hitting the fuel tanks on McCain's aircraft and triggering explosions and a fire. McCain escaped from his plane by crawling onto the nose of the aircraft and diving on to the ship's deck which was ablaze from burning fuel. His attempt to rescue a fellow pilot whose flight suit was on fire was prevented when McCain was blown over by further explosions. When the fire was contained 24 hours later, 134 men had been killed and hundreds more injured. It was called the worst non-combat-related accident in U.S. naval history.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=526451&in_page_id=1811 ''The coronation of the ultimate survivor, John McCain''] 5 March 2008 [[Daily Mail]]</ref>

===Prisoner-Of-War (1967 - 1973)===

On October 26, 1967, as McCain was flying over [[Hanoi]]'s Thermal Power Plant during his 23rd bombing mission, he was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. He had just released his bombs when [[A-4 Skyhawk|his plane]] was shot down by a [[surface-to-air missile]]. As he ejected, unconscious from the accident, he broke his knee and both arms and descended by parachute into a lake. When he floated ashore, Vietnamese locals spit and kicked him, nearly killing him. The police took him to Hoa Loa Prison where he was held in solitary captivity without medical attention or sufficient food. During brutal interrogations, he was asked for information in return for medical care. McCain refused, giving only his name and date of birth. When it was discovered that he was the son of a top U.S. Admiral, he was given medical care. Hospital personnel never believed he would survive, as he had large wounds and weighed a mere 100 lbs. He also had completely white hair, a product of accelerated aging under harsh conditions. Nonetheless, his health improved and McCain was held as a Prisoner-Of-War (POW) at the [[Hanoi Hilton]]. As a prisoner, guards tortured him with frequent beatings and painful contortions, breaking his teeth and bones. <ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. Published 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-47545-9</ref>

After months of beating sessions and intense interrogations, McCain was psychologically and physically weakened. At one point, he was forced to sign a statement which made claims exonerating his captors of inhumane treatment. The paper was intended for use as propaganda, but in all their subsequent attempts for promoting a "humane" image of the POW camp, McCain worked his hardest to thwart them. In 1971, four years from his capture, he was placed with 20 to 30 other Americans in better treatment. They were allowed to celebrate Christian holidays, including Christmas. McCain, who served as an impromptu chaplain, recalled that during their services, men cried; "They were tears of joy that for the first time... we were able to celebrate Christmas together."<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. Published 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-47545-9</ref> In light of his father's high military status, McCain was offered early release, which he adamantly refused in honor of the "First in, first out" clause of the POW Code of Conduct.

On March 14, 1973, after five and a half years of imprisonment, McCain was released alongside 106 other pilots under the Nixon administration. McCain received a heartfelt reception at the White House and was pronounced a war hero and eminent voice for the Vietnam War. Awards from the military followed, including the Legion of Merit, a [[Silver Star]], a [[Bronze Star]], a [[Purple Heart]], the [[Distinguished Flying Cross]], and the Vietnamese Legion of Honor.<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. Published 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-47545-9</ref> McCain's severe war injuries prevent him today from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. <ref>http://graphics.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/McCain_character_loyal_to_a_fault+.shtml</ref>

===Return to the Navy (1973 - 1981)===

The Vietnam War and his military service remained strong in McCain's. He immediately wanted to rejoin the Navy, and spent years preparing with excruciating physical therapy and a year of study in the Naval War College, where he attacked the liberal anti-war movement for weakening the morale of his fellow POWs.<ref>Kirkpatrick, David D. "[http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/14/america/15pows.php In '74 thesis, the seeds of McCain's war views.]" The New York Times (June 15, 2008) p. A1.]</ref> With his extensive experience in the Navy's Aviation division, he was selected to reform the flying fleet as Commanding Officer. John McCain quickly transformed his crew's personnel, which had been underfunded in the post-Vietnam era. Carl Smith, who served under McCain, stated, "He immediately began making changes. He fired people, and he replaced people at the top who he thought were not being as effective as he wanted them to be. He wanted real leadership. He wanted the squadron to come to life."<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. pg. 57</ref> Many in his staff were disappointed to have him leave, and praised his work in promoting efficiency.<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People.</ref>

During his assignment to the Senate as the Navy's liaison, 1977-81, McCain began to join the ranks of politicians. He transformed the position from a rather unimportant post into one of authority and respect{{fact}}, gaining allies in the Senate. The Senate liaison role provided a learning experience in national security policy and foreign affairs.

==Political career==
===Congressional (1982 - 1986)===

Prior to entering public service, McCain worked in [[Phoenix]] for his father-in-law's company, Hensley & Co, which was an Anheuser-Busch beer wholesaler and distributor. With nagging injuries and limited physical mobility, McCain realized he would never become a four-star general like his forefathers.<ref>[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542249 John McCain Biography (1936-)]</ref> Some biographers argue that he shifted into politics so that he could achieve the equivalent in politics, leading to his Senatorial career. After gaining support from local business leaders, he ran for a congressional seat for Arizona's 1st congressional district as a Republican in 1982. His [[liberal]] opponents labeled him as a "carpetbagger". McCain responded to a voter making the charge of "carpetbagging" saying,

{{cquote|Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My father was in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the First District of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi.}}

With the endorsements of local newspapers, McCain easily won the election. In 1983, he became President of the Republican freshman class of representatives. At the time, he largely supported Reagan's hard stance against the [[Soviet Union]], his tax cuts and matters on Indian Affairs. He did, however, break with the President on the decision to place a U.S. military presence in Lebanon, saying {{cquote|''I do not foresee obtainable objectives in Lebanon; I believe the longer we stay, the more difficult it will be to leave.''<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. pg. 100</ref>}} During his four years in [[Congress]], McCain and his wife Cindy had three children.

===Senatorial (1986 - Present)===
[[Image:Reagan mccain.jpg|left|thumb|300px|3/3/1987 President Reagan and Nancy Reagan greet John McCain in the Blue Room during a dinner for newly elected members of the 100th Congress]]
When Republican and [[conservative]] icon [[Barry Goldwater]] retired from the United States Senate in Arizona in 1986, Congressman McCain announced his candidacy for the seat. He easily won the election, defeating his Democratic opponent Richard Kimball by 20 percentage points. When entering the Senate, he became a member of the powerful Armed Services Committee and he also joined the Commerce Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee. During the 1988 Presidential Election, McCain was named chairman of Veterans for Bush. In 1991, Senator McCain became part of the "Keating Five" scandal, where McCain and four other Senators (all Democrats) were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Between 1982 and 1987, McCain had received approximately $112,000 in political contributions from Charles Keating Jr. After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined that McCain's involvement was minimal and was criticized for using "poor judgement".

===="Maverick" Image in the Senate====
John McCain has gained a reputation as a "maverick" for his sponsorship of many bills and leadership on almost every issue. Starting in 1994, he worked with Democratic [[Wisconsin]] Senator [[Russ Feingold]] on campaign finance reform. The McCain-Feingold bill banned "soft money". It passed and was signed into law on November 6th, 2002, by President Bush. In the 1990's, McCain gained attention for his strong opposition to pork barrel spending. He championed the 1996 Line Item Veto Act, which gave the President the power to veto individual spending items. However, in 1998, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled the act unconstitutional.

Voteview.com rated McCain as the second most conservative Senator in the 109th Congress (Jan. 2005 - Jan. 2007).<ref>http://voteview.com/SEN109.HTM</ref>

John McCain and the Bush administration agree on most issues. He voted with the Bush administration 95% of the time in 2007, according to Congressional Quarterly's "Presidential Support Scores". <ref>http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/512/ Politifact fact checks McCain's voting support</ref> Issues include making the Bush tax cuts permanent (even though he originally opposed and voted against them), energy independence, winning the war in Iraq, reforming Social Security, and continuing and expanding Bush's supply-side economic policies.

In 2008, McCain asked for $0 in earmarks.<ref>[http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2008_database 2008 ''Pig Book''], Council for Citizens Against Government Waste</ref>The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 100% in 2007 (88% lifetime).<ref>[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]</ref> A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. <ref>[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&page=NewsArticle&id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']</ref>

==Presidential Politics==
===2000 Presidential Campaign===
McCain launched his first campaign for President in 2000, when he challenged then-[[Texas]] Governor [[George W. Bush]] for the Republican nomination. McCain's campaign was surprisingly strong. By ignoring the [[Iowa Caucus]], he was able to win the [[New Hampshire]] Primary by nineteen percentage points. He then won the [[Michigan]] Primary. However, he went on to lose [[South Carolina]] and 9 out of the 13 [[Super Tuesday]] states. McCain withdrew from the race on March 9, 2000.

After withdrawing, McCain announced that he supported the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the top of the South Carolina statehouse. During the primary he had stated he believed it was an issue for the state to decide, which was his true belief from a federal standpoint, but not his personal belief. He felt by withholding her personal belief that he had erred. He explained that he lived his life by being open and felt he should have been at that time and apologized for not speaking up sooner. <ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/04/19/mccain.sc/</ref>

===During Bush Presidency 2001 - 2008 ===
Following McCain's loss in the 2000 Presidential primary and reports of dirty tricks in [[South Carolina]]<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/03/21/the_anatomy_of_a_smear_campaign/ The anatomy of a smear campaign, March 21, 2004</ref><ref>http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2007/12/30/top-romney-advisor-tied-to-anonymous-attacks-of-previous-presidential-primary/ Top Romney advisor tied to anonymous attacks of previous presidential primary, December 30, 2007</ref>, McCain began to disagree with President Bush on many issues, such as tax cuts, climate change, and gun legislation. After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], McCain wrote legislation that created the 9/11 Commission, while he and Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings co-sponsored the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that federalized airport security. In May 2005, McCain led the so-called "[[Gang of 14]]" in the Senate, which established a compromise that preserved the ability of senators to [[filibuster]] judicial nominees, but only in "extraordinary circumstances". McCain also co-sponsored comprehensive immigration reform (see below under political record for details). In addition to bipartisan work in the Senate, it was during this period that McCain was courted by the Senate Democrats, and considered switching parties.<ref>http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/democrats-say-mccain-nearly-abandoned-gop-2007-03-28.html</ref>

===2008 Presidential Campaign===

{{main|John McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign}}

McCain announced his run for President in early 2007 at New Hampshire, a state which had boosted his floundering 2000 run for President. From the onset, he ran on an unwavering support for the Iraq War and a close tie to President Bush, stemming from his shift during the 2004 election. The Republican Party was highly splintered among political groups, with strong constituents of the Christian social conservatives (Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee), anti-immigration activists (Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo), and the blockbuster fundraisers, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, who appeared to be media favorites upon entry. McCain was not seen as a viable candidate by many Republicans because of his strong support for immigration reform and distaste for political fund-raising. Mitt Romney, for instance, had raised $23 million in the first three months of 2007, for instance, three times that of Sen. McCain.<ref>Cook, Charles. "The 2008 Presidential Primaries: What in America's Name Is Going On?" The Washington Quarterly Vol. 31 Issue 3 pp. 193-204.</ref>

Christian conservatives overwhelmingly backed Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback, rejecting McCain from longstanding offense he had struck during his 2000 run. John McCain had called politically-charged leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance" for their part in a smear campaign during the South Carolina Primary. Many Christians were angered by these remarks, and fumed that they would field a Third Party candidate if McCain was chosen as the nominee. McCain had shown unfavorable views on abortion and religious initiatives in the past, and many Republican voters were worried that he could not be a reliably conservative candidate. <ref>Luo, Michael. "Evangelicals see Dilemma in GOP Field." July 8, 2007. New York Times.</ref>

Sen. McCain's unwavering support for victory in Iraq was made into a hot-button issue by many politicians following stories of insurgent violence erupting during early 2007. People began to fear the worst in Iraq, and the idea of a timetable for withdrawal became a major issue. At this time, conservative Republicans also feared McCain's position on immigration reform, and booed him loudly at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference. A news story by the New York Times was a major blow to the campaign, which reported that a scandalous affair between McCain and a lobbyist had taken place. It was found to be completely false, but the story severely hurt his political advances.

When news had spread that McCain's campaign bankrupted and "imploded" in the summer of 2007, the Republican nomination began a period of quick shifting; other candidates began to soar in the polls, detracting McCain's support. Rudy Giuliani, who collected a strong following based on his leadership as "America's Mayor", began to court evangelical Christians who felt uneasy about McCain, gaining the endorsement of televangelist Pat Robertson. However, as his less-than-flattering personal life and liberal positions on social issues became apparent, he quickly lost momentum to Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee.<ref>Cook, Charles. "The 2008 Presidential Primaries: What in America's Name Is Going On?" The Washington Quarterly Vol. 31 Issue 3 pp. 193-204.</ref> Fred Thompson, who entered late in the race, quickly withdrew because of lackadaisical popularity and poor fund-raising efforts. Huckabee remained popular in the Southern United States, but failed to win major contests among independents and Democrat voters.

Romney had the edge in early races, but couldn't deliver a knockout blow. McCain's poll numbers slowly increased and benefited as the field narrowed. After McCain defeated top contender Mitt Romney by a large margin on Super Tuesday in delegate-rich states like New York, California, and Arizona,<ref>Scott Neuman and Howard Berkes. "Mitt Romney Drops Out of GOP Presidential Race." Feb. 7, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18772382</ref> Mitt Romney withdrew with some protest, leaving McCain the clear front-runner.<ref>Bumiller, Elisabeth, Kirkpatrick, David. "Romney Is Out; McCain Emerges as G.O.P. Choice." Feb. 8, 2008. New York Times.</ref> Although McCain's proportion of the vote was not much higher than Romney's, he won most of the 'winner take all' states giving him a much higher proportion of the delegate count. Without Romney's well-financed opposition, McCain easily clinched the necessary delegate lead of 1,191 in March after a spirited yet short-lived fight from Mike Huckabee.<ref>NPR.org. "Election 2008: Huckabee, Romney Stay in Race for GOP Nomination." Feb. 6, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18739137</ref>

McCain had won the nomination and could focus on the [[2008 United States Presidential Election]].

==Domestic Policy==
[[Image:McCain_on_Meet_the_Press.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Senator John McCain discusses his opinions with Tim Russert on "Meet the Press", 2005]]

===Balanced Budget===
McCain has emphasized reducing government spending over tax cuts. He is one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of pork barrel spending and has pledged to veto any bill with pork as President. Congressional experience has enabled John McCain to identify items that are unnecessary. McCain is fiscally responsible with the taxpayers' money and created a simple method to detect spending abuses. <ref>[http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=d1a878d9-f16c-4570-b402-9d1bc3fe6ab9] , http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=d1a878d9-f16c-4570-b402-9d1bc3fe6ab9, U.S. Senate Pork Barrel Spending</ref>

* An appropriation that is not properly authorized by the Senate and not requested by the Administration.
* An unauthorized and unrequested, locality-specific or facility-specific earmark (including those funds that are above the Administration request).
* A budget add-on that would be subject to a budget point of order.
* The transfer or disposal of federal property or items under terms that circumvent existing law.
* New items added in conference that were never considered in either bill in either House.

===Economy===
Upon his party gaining the White House in 2001, McCain opposed a $1.35 trillion cut in [[taxation]] over 10 years, but switched his position around 2006, and voted to renew it twice. The plan included the objectives of doubling the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, reducing the tax penalty on [[marriage|married couples]] and fully repealing the [[Estate tax|tax on estates]]. A [[United States Senate]] Finance Committee Report estimated that with all the planned reductions fully phased in, the average family of four making $50,000 would save $1,825 per year.<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes/ $1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law], CNN, 21 June 2001</ref>

Since the tax cuts, [[IRS]] revenues increased from $1.78 trillion in 2003 to $2.56 trillion in 2007 with a 46.3% increase of individual income tax receipts. Surging $785 billion since the 2003 investment tax cuts, it is the largest four-year revenue increase in U.S. history<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119189497675953035.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</ref>

During this same time period, spending mandated by Congress has also increased by more than 29 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars, representing an 11.4 percent increase in federal spending as a percentage of [[Gross domestic product|GDP]]. This spending has doubled the federal debt, increasing it from 58 to 66 percent of GDP. Defense spending increased 61 percent, and non-defense by 23 percent during the eight years since 2000. The largest non-defense spending increase has been for federally-funded medical expenses, at 54 percent.<ref>[http://www.aier.org/research/commentaries/750-big-government-under-the-bush-administration Big Government Under The Bush Administration], AIER, 16 November 2008</ref> In total, Congress and the White House has increased government expenditures by the largest percentage since the administration of President [[Lyndon Johnson]], but McCain has opposed every earmark put forward in the Democratic and Republican congresses, even ones Bush supported. Part of the huge spending increases are directly traceable to the economic repercussions of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the economic downturn in its aftermath, and increased defense and Homeland Security spending. However, this appears likely to be eclipsed by the spending plans of [[Barack Obama]], who pledged on 6 December 2008 to invest "record amounts of money" in infrastructure, a plan which some members of Congress are estimating at $400 to $700 billion.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/politics/07radio.html?ref=us Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale], New York Times, 6 December 2008</ref>.

McCain's policies have caused general economic growth. This is partially due to changes in the stock market that lead to a record high in 2007, although the [[NASDAQ]] is still down considerably from the levels it was at before the Dot-com bubble burst. Corporations showed profits growing by double digits growth.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/us/2006-05-08-mart-usat_x.htm</ref> Even the working class benefited from the Bush economy, as unemployment hit an all time low in March 2007.<ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/economy</ref> McCain supported a minimum wage increase, one of the platforms for the Democrats in the 2006 Congressional elections, after the House and Senate included McCain's request of provisions for small-business tax breaks.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122001784.html</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011001666.html</ref> Tax policies have been favorable to reducing the [[Capital Gains Tax]], with a subsequent surge in investment.

===Earmarks===
John McCain staunchly opposes [[earmarks]] as [[corrupt]] and wasteful spending. In his 28 years in federal government, McCain has never requested an earmark. He vigorously crusaded against earmarks in his 2008 presidential campaign.

===Education===
McCain supports [[school vouchers]] and [[charter school]]s. His voting record shows support for reducing the federal government's role in [[education]]. He voted for school vouchers for Washington, D.C., education savings accounts, and against $5 billion for grants to local educational agencies. McCain sponsored the Education A-Plus bill in 1997 and again in 1999, which allowed parents to open tax-free saving accounts for their children's school supplies. McCain also co-sponsored the Child Nutrition Act, which would provide [[federal funding]] for at-risk children. He has publicly stated he supports [[intelligent design]] teaching in schools.<ref>http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/politics/90069 "On Tuesday, though, he sided with the president on two issues that have made headlines recently: teaching intelligent design in schools...McCain told the Star that, like Bush, he believes "all points of view" should be available to students studying the origins of mankind."</ref>

===Health Care===
McCain's record and stated positions on [[health care]] are based on true conservative principles. He is against socialized health care and health coverage mandates. McCain supports tax credits for personal health savings accounts and enhancing competition in the health care industry to improve quality and lower costs. He also supports allowing citizens to purchase out-of-state health insurance. In an October 2007 statement, McCain said: "In health care, we believe in enhancing the freedom of individuals to receive necessary and desired care. We do not believe in coercion and the use of state power to mandate care, coverage or costs." McCain is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership. <ref>[http://www.republicanmainstreet.org/healthcare.htm Pro Healthcare]</ref>

===Energy===
John McCain has stated "ethanol subsidies, tariff barriers and sugar quotas drive up food prices and hurt Americans. However, we cannot take the wrong direction and cut off trade for American goods."<ref>[http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/4dbd2cc7-890e-47f1-882f-b8fc4cfecc78.htm], McCain Economic Plan</ref> “America’s most vital interests call us to the mission of energy security, and so does our sense of honor. And the straightest, swiftest path to energy security is to produce more, use less, and find new sources of power — so that no commodity can determine our security, and no crisis can undermine our economy,” McCain said in Houston, TX, June 16, 2008. He proposes to remove federal obstacles to offshore drilling. Among his major initiatives is the removal of the 27-year old federal moratorium on states’ abilities to explore and drill for oil and natural gas.<ref>[http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/06/17/mccain-slaps-obama-on-energy-calls-for-more-drilling/], McCain slaps Obama on energy, June 17th, 2008</ref> In addition, he wants the states to receive incentives and royalties to drill. The current ban on offshore drilling covers an estimated 80 percent of U.S. coastal waters."We've seen the impact of it in the form of food prices, in the form of gasoline, in the form of threats of inflation and indeed indications of inflation, and we must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil." <ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080616/ap_on_el_pr/mccain] , http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080616/ap_on_el_pr/mccain , AP McCain urges end to ban on offshore drilling , June 16, 2008</ref> He indicated, though, that the end of the ban on offshore drilling would have mostly psychological effects in the short term. At a town hall meeting, McCain stated, "I don't see an immediate relief, but I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist -- and in view of many experts that do exist off our coasts -- is also a way that we need to provide relief. Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial."
He would support incentives for building new nuclear power plants. <ref>http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/24/1163504.aspx</ref> John McCain wants more nuclear reactors to increase America's energy independence. He is calling for the construction of 45 new reactors by 2030. Also, McCain wants to increase federal funds for clean coal technology by 2 billion dollars to reduce dependence on foreign oil. <ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91CMT0O0&show_article=1] , http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91CMT0O0&show_article=1 , AP McCain calls for building 45 new nuclear reactors, June 18, 2008</ref>
McCain supports increasing ethanol imports and more production of hybrid vehicles. He is co-sponsor of a Senate cap-and-trade bill designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions. He has consistently voted for preserving the budget for ANWR but against drilling for [[oil]] in the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]] (ANWR), because of environmental concerns. Conservationists differ from conservatives that 2000 acres for oil drilling is not enough to impact [[polar bears]] in the region.

===Environment===
McCain's position on [[global warming]] issues has put him at odds with conservatives. His [[environment]]al proposals are mostly sound modern thinking by someone that understands the enormity of the problem. McCain says that we can go green as a nation without bankrupting America. Per his website, Senator McCain "wants to leave a better future for our children."
On January 2007, McCain said, "we continue to learn more about the science of climate change and the dangerous precedence of not addressing this environmental problem. The science tells us that urgent and significant action is needed." On October 30, 2003, he co-sponsored the Climate Stewardship Act (S.139), which was defeated. McCain is a member of, and was endorsed by, the Republicans for Environmental Protection organization. His conservative stances include voting to confirm Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior and he is in favor of renewable energy such as solar, hydro, and wind. "Wind power is one of many alternative energy sources that are changing our economy for the better, and one day they will change our economy forever."

===Immigration===
John McCain says that he will secure the borders first and many [[immigration]] issue are still needed but will have to come later. In 2007, McCain worked to provide border security efforts with a temporary worker program and an eventual path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants. Conservatives wanted nothing to do with the proposal and in June 2007, Congress' efforts collapsed. McCain said of the outcome,"I say it is a lesson learned about what the American people's priorities are. And their priority is to secure the borders." <ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-11-03-610628094_x.htm] , http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-11-03-610628094_x.htm, AP McCain emphasizes border security, November 4, 2007</ref> "..I support the same solution. But we've got to secure the borders first" says McCain

On Jan. 5, regarding the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, Senator McCain announced that anyone who says he supported amnesty is "a liar, is lying." The senator stated "I do not support, nor would I ever support, any services provided to someone who came to this country illegally, nor would I ever and I never have supported [[Social Security]] benefits for people who are in this country illegally. Any assertion to the contrary is absolutely false." During the comprehensive immigration reform debate, Senator McCain voted to table an amendment that would have prevented illegal immigrants from receiving Social Security who "are not able to receive Social Security benefits as a result of unlawful activity."<ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00130</ref> Senator McCain stated in a May 29, 2003 interview, "Amnesty has to be an important part because there are people who have lived in this country for 20, 30 or 40 years, who have raised children here and pay taxes here and are not citizens." Arguing amnesty is not a free pass or a reward for law breaking, McCain stated, "Well, because amnesty, according to the dictionary, is forgiveness. The proposal that we had- would require fines, would require back in the line, would require deportation for some. It would require others to go back to the country of their origin" <ref>[http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/John_McCain_Immigration.htm] , Ontheissues.com, John McCain on Immigration</ref> At the [[Republican]] debate at the Reagan Library, McCain stated he supports the deportation of 2 million illegals who have committed crimes in the USA.

Conversely, in a June 2008 meeting with Hispanic leaders in Chicago, McCain indicated he would push legislation to overhaul federal immigration laws if elected. According to one attendee, Rosanna Pulido, head of the Illinois [[Minuteman Project]], ""He's one John McCain in front of white Republicans. And he's a different John McCain in front of Hispanics..." <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/20/mccain-discusses-immigrat_n_108297.html McCain Discusses Immigration With Hispanic Leaders</ref> <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-06-19-4020801806_x.htm McCain Meets With Hispanic Leaders</ref> Pulido further stated, "He was telling one group of people one thing and the Hispanics another, I'm a conservative and I think he's throwing conservatives under the bus."<ref>http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/title----mcca-1.html McCain Double-Talk on Immigration?</ref> Due to his support, members of the Minuteman Project, participating in the Minuteman Project Caravan, traveled to Washington, D.C. to register their disapproval. They made an entry into McCain's Guest Log Book asking him to uphold the Constitution and enforce the law. After making the entry, the group was forced to leave by a senior staffer for Senator McCain or be reported to the police. <ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1643181/posts Minuteman Project Thrown Out of McCain's Office</ref>

Senator McCain's position on illegal immigration has arguably resulted in the most criticisms from conservatives. On May 12, 2005, McCain joined Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] (D-[[Massachusetts]]) as co-sponsor of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. The bill would legalize and eventually grant citizenship to the estimated 12–20 million [[illegal alien]]s in the United States and have them immediately start collecting social security and other government benefits. The bill never came for a vote on the Senate floor. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 are two additional compromises based on the original McCain-Kennedy bill. McCain has consistently voted for visas for skilled workers. McCain voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006 and has said border security should be a bigger priority then the illegal aliens who are currently here.

===Global Trade===
McCain has actively supported reducing barriers to trade and has shown leadership in the [[United States Senate|Senate]] on Free Trade Agreements (FTA). Senator McCain supports both pending FTAs for Columbia and [[South Korea]]. <ref>[http://useconomy.about.com/od/candidatesandtheeconomy/p/McCain_Trade.htm], John McCain and Trade</ref> He voted for and defends the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

===Social Security===
McCain is a strong supporter of private [[Social Security]] accounts.

===Tax Reform===
In 2001, McCain gained attention as one of only two Republicans who voted against President Bush's tax cuts. He opposed accelerating the cuts in 2003, saying, "I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportional amount that went to the wealthiest Americans. I would clearly support not extending those tax cuts in order to help address the deficit." He has now changed his stance, by voting to make the tax cuts permanent, and says he would do the same as President. In 2002, Senator McCain was one of only two Republicans to twice vote against the permanent repeal of the Death Tax. He has also refused to sign a pledge put forth by Americans for Tax Freedom not to impose any new taxes or increase existing taxes. However, many of McCain's votes has shown support for lower taxes, such as eliminating the marriage penalty, a 1997 vote to cut capital gains taxes and he introduced measures that would require a sixty-vote majority to pass a tax increase.

==Foreign Policy==

===National Security===

McCain urges the Senate to pass FISA. “For months, House Democrats, the [[ACLU]], and the trial lawyers have held up legislation to modernize our nation’s terrorist surveillance laws. Today, the House passed a compromise bill to end this impasse. While I would have preferred to see the Senate bill enacted, which I voted for earlier this year, I am pleased Congressional leaders and the Administration were able to reach an agreement to reform our current surveillance law and not let FISA expire in August. I hope [[United States Senate|Senate]] Democrats will allow this matter to quickly be considered by the Senate and sent to the President for his signature. I will support this measure and hope that politics will be put aside in favor of this vital national security matter.” <ref>[http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=a7f9dc6c-da0e-459d-dd6c-91e20a46e1e5] , McCAIN URGES SENATE PASSAGE OF FISA
, June 20, 2008</ref> Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was established in 1978.

McCain has voted in support of the [[Patriot Act|USA PATRIOT Act]] as well as National Missile Defense. However, he has joined [[liberal]]s in support of immediately closing [[Guantanamo Bay]], and moving all the prisoners to Fort Leavenworth. On October 3, 2005, he introduced the McCain Detainee Amendment which prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. The bill was passed and signed by President [[George W. Bush]]. McCain has recently criticized the practice of [[waterboarding]], saying "they should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture." McCain voted against HR 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which included provisions that would have prevented the CIA from water boarding prisoners.

===Afghanistan===
After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] McCain was a strong advocate for military action in [[Afghanistan]], saying:

''We did not cause this war. Our enemies did, and they are to blame for the deprivations and difficulties it occasions. They are to'' ''blame for the loss of innocent life. They are to blame for the geopolitical problems confronting our friends and us. We can help'' ''repair the damage of war. But to do so, we must destroy the people who started it.'' <ref>http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=95001375</ref>

McCain is currently calling for 15,000 additional troops to address the situation in Afghanistan, similar to his victorious 2007 troop surge in Iraq.

===Iran===
McCain has said that "We continue to be concerned about [[Iran]]ian influence and assistance to Hezbollah as well as Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons." He tried to ban Iran from playing in the 2006 World Cup, citing Iranian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]'s [[Holocaust]] denials.

===Iraq===
[[Image:610x.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Senator John McCain with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, 03/17/08]] McCain voted with the majority [[Republican]] Party and 29 Democrats of the Senate in favor of the 2002 "[[Iraq War]] Resolution" authorizing President George W. Bush to go to war against Iraq and overthrow the [[Saddam Hussein]] regime. In 1998, McCain voted in favor of HR 4655 Iraq Liberation Act, signed by then President Clinton. <ref>[http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Legislation/ILA.htm], http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Legislation/ILA.htm, HR4655 Public Law: 105-338, October 31, 1998</ref> HR 4655 declares that it should be the policy of the United States to seek to remove the Saddam Hussein regime from power in Iraq and to replace it with a democratic government. McCain went on to became a critic of the management of the war, arguing that there wasn't enough troop strength in the area. However, he never became a defeatist advocating surrender. McCain publicly stated that he had "no confidence" in then-Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]]. However, he refused to call for his resignation, saying that "the President picks his team, and the president has the right to stay with that team if he wants to." McCain became one of the strongest leading advocates in the Senate for the 2007 troop surge, which increased the number of American troops by 20,500, deployed to provide security to [[Baghdad]] and Al Anbar Province. On February 4, he criticized a non-binding resolution opposing the troop buildup, calling it a reckless "vote of no confidence" in the U.S. Commanders and in the military. Additionally, he voted against all measures aimed at withdrawal of U.S. forces and voted against cutting off of war funds. McCain rightly believes that Congress should not micromanage the war and to give the military everything they ask for to successfully complete the mission. He has mentioned in a town hall forum that staying the course in Iraq for 'a hundred years' would not bother him if no American soldier's were losing their lives. This became an issue for Democratic political strategy. The DNC lead by chairman [[Howard Dean]] repeatedly tried to use false statements in justifying attacking McCain.<ref>[http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/04/mccains_100year_war.html]http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/04/mccains_100year_war.html, Washington post Fact Checker, April 2, 2008</ref> What McCain said is very different from what the liberal media and the DNC were reporting. Asked in Derry, NH of the willingness to keep troops in Iraq for 50 years, he said "Make it 100" and

{{QuoteBox|"That's fine with me as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed."}}

===Russia===
Senator McCain has strongly criticized [[Russia]]n President [[Vladimir Putin]]. During a primary debate he said, ""He bullies his neighbors and he wants to get a control of the energy supply of Western Europe. This is a dangerous person. And he has to understand that there's a cost to some of his actions." In 2005 McCain and [[Connecticut]] senator [[Joe Lieberman]] drafted a resolution banning Russia from attending the Group of 8 (G8) international forum. McCain is also a strong supporter of ballistic national missile defenses.

===Cuba===
McCain forcefully supports the [[Cuban embargo]] and believes it should be maintained until certain specific political freedoms are restored to the country. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/us/politics/21mccain.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&fta=y&adxnnlx=1222106556-zea3cQG12OakFI9P97dogQ</ref>

==Social Issues==
===Abortion===
{{QuoteBox|"If I am fortunate enough to be elected as the next President of the United States, I pledge to you to be a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement."}}

Sen. John McCain has more than a twenty year anti-[[abortion]] record, first in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], then in the U.S. Senate. McCain voted 11 times on anti-abortion and other [[pro-life]] issues in the House. Senator McCain has voted 119 times on anti-abortion and other pro-life measures in the Senate. <ref>[http://www.naral.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf], http://www.naral.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf</ref>

McCain's record in the Senate on abortion is pro-life. He voted for the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. McCain has also voted against government funding of birth control and sex education.<ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00214 Voted Nay on an amendment to authorize grants to carry out programs to provide education on preventing teen pregnancies</ref> <ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00075 Vote against allocation of $100m for prevention of unintended pregnancies </ref><ref>http://www.nowpublic.com/quiet-campaign-against-contraception Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's campaign officials boast that he has "consistently voted against taxpayer-funded contraception programs." And Mr. McCain reports that his adviser on sexual-health matters is Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, who leads campaigns claiming condoms are unsafe and opposing emergency contraception.</ref> During his first Presidential campaign for the 2000 election, McCain said the following on [[Roe v. Wade]], "I'd love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." <ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07021908.html McCain's "</ref> He has since changed his position, saying Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

John McCain:
* Voted against a [[Roe v. Wade]] resolution
* Co-sponsored and voted for the Federal Abortion Ban
* Supported H.R.1997, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act
* Voted for four anti-abortion U.S. Supreme Court judges
* Voted for six anti-abortion lower court judges
* Supported H.R.3913, to prohibit federal funds for abortion services in any case
* Voted to make it a federal crime for anyone but a parent to cross state lines for abortion termination
* Voted in favor of a national network of parental notification.

====Quotations====
“I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.” <ref>Ann Althouse, Rudy & Mitt Hem & Haw on Abortion, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 24, 2007.</ref>

*"I have many, many votes and it’s been consistent. And I’ve got a consistent zero from NARAL throughout all those years…."<ref>John McCain for President 2008, On the Issues: Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life</ref>
*"My record is clear, and I think the important thing is you look at people’s voting record because sometimes rhetoric can be a little… misleading…. As you know I don’t support Roe v. Wade…. I thought it was a bad decision, and I think that the decision should be made in the states"<ref>John McCain for President 2008, On the Issues: Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life</ref>
*“I’m proud that we have Justice Alito and Roberts on the United States Supreme Court. I’m very proud to have played a very small role in making that happen.” McCain explained further that he “will try to find clones of Alito and Roberts” to fill future court vacancies.<ref>[http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=26539], Letter from Sen. John McCain to Pro‐Life Community Janary 23, 2008</ref>

===Gun Control===
McCain's record on [[gun control]] is mixed. He co-sponsored the Gun Show Loophole Closing and Gun Law Enforcement Act of 2001. This act would reduce the number of gun shows, require gun-owners to purchase trigger locks, and allow federal agents to arrest those who violate federal gun laws. However, McCain has frequently voted in support of the Second Amendment, such as voting against background checks at gun shows and voting in support of prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. In August of 1999, McCain said he was open to voting for an assault weapon ban, depending on the details. However, he still voted against the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and the efforts to renew it, as well as the Brady Bill.

A top official of the [[National Rifle Association]] said McCain has been a reliable ally of gun owners despite divisions with the powerful lobbying group on some issues. NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told The Associated Press "...We're not foolish enough to ignore the vast areas of agreement in which John McCain has been a friend to gun owners." <ref>[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, May 14, 2008</ref> The Republican presidential nominee has voted against a ban on assault-type weapons with restrictions which were objected.

===Same-sex marriage===
In the speech on the Senate floor July 13th, 2004, McCain stated “Mr. President, most Americans believe, as I do, that the institution of marriage should be reserved for the union of a man and a woman." <ref>http://www.friendsofmccain.com/news/dspnews.cfm?id=143</ref> John McCain revealed his decision based on super majority requirements and the current political realities within Congress. “By my count, there is not at this time even a small majority of senators who would vote for Senator Allard’s amendment, much less the 67 votes required by the Constitution. That won’t change, Mr. President, unless public opinion changes significantly. The [[Founders]], wisely, made certain that the Constitution is difficult to amend, and, as a practical political matter, can’t be done without overwhelming public approval. And thank God for that. Were it any easier I fear we could not make the claim for the Constitution’s enduring success that I have just made." Further, he explained his approach to the amendment's ultimate success “If a constitution is to be amended, Mr. President, it should be a state constitution." McCain voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment. In May 2008, the California Supreme Court effectively created a ruling to grant same-sex partners equal rights to [[Marriage]] and to be recognized by the state. A spokesman for Republican John McCain, who opposes gay marriage, said the Arizona senator "doesn't believe judges should be making these decisions."

===Evolution===
Senator John McCain's position on evolution is nuanced:

{{QuoteBox|"I think Americans should be exposed to every point of view, I happen to [[believe in evolution]]. ... I respect those who think the world was created in seven days. Should it be taught as a science class? '''Probably not'''." [http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/12/mccain-creationism/]}}

==Personal life==
[[Image:Cindy McCain.jpg|thumb|Cindy McCain]]
McCain has been married twice. His first marriage, to Carol Shepp, ended in [[divorce]] in 1980 after 15 years, of which he spent five in captivity. McCain publicly acknowledges the responsibility for the breakup as his, stating in a 2008 interview with Pastor Rick Warren that "My greatest moral failing, and I have been a very imperfect person, is the failure of my first marriage". .<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/rules021299.htm</ref> His second and current wife is Cindy Lou Hensley, to whom he has been married for 28 years. His son John Sidney IV is a Midshipman at the [[United States Naval Academy]], Annapolis, and his son James is a non-commissioned officer in the [[United States Marine Corps]], who is serving in [[Iraq]] as part of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]]. Also, the McCains adopted a ten-week old baby girl in 1993, who they named Bridget, from [[Mother Teresa]]'s orphanage in [[Bangladesh]].<ref>[http://celebrity.rightpundits.com/?p=3183 Bridget McCain Biography] Rightpundits.com</ref> <ref>[http://www.newsanalysisindia.com/109022008.htm Bridget vs Sonia: McCain vs Rajiv Gandhi] News Analysis India</ref>
Cindy McCain was in the country as part of the American Voluntary Medical Team <ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-041408-cindy-mccain-bio,1,2151434.story Bio of Cindy McCain]</ref> in response to the 1991 [[Bangladesh]] cyclone.
===McCain's family===
*Wife Cindy
*4 sons
**Douglas
**Andrew
**John (''"Jack"'') Sidney IV
**James
*3 daughters
**Sidney
**Meghan
**Bridget
*Parents
**[[Admiral]] John Sydney McCain, Jr. (from [[Indiana]])
**[[Roberta McCain|Roberta Wright McCain]] (from [[Oklahoma]]).

== Books ==
* ''Faith of My Fathers'' (Random House; 1999) ISBN 0-3755-0191-6
* ''Odysseus in America'' (Scribner; 2002) ISBN 0-7432-1156-1
* ''Worth Fighting For: A Memoir'' (Diane Publ. Co; 2002) ISBN 0-7567-6759-8
* ''Medal of Honor'' (Artisan; 2003) ISBN 1-5796-5240-9
* ''Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life'' (Random House; 2004) ISBN 1-4000-6030-3
* ''Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember'' (Random House; 2005) ISBN 1-4000-6412-0
* ''Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them'' (Twelve; 2007) ISBN 0-4466-9911-X

==Further reading==
*McCain, John [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=513224&in_page_id=1811 ''My six years of hell: John McCain recalls life as a prisoner of war in Vietnam''] 8 February 2008 [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 9 February 2008

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

==See Also==
* [[John McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign]]
* [[Previous Breaking News/John McCain|Articles about John McCain from previous "Breaking News"]]
* [[White House]]
*[[Cindy McCain]], spouse of John McCain
*[[Roberta McCain]], mother of John McCain

== External links ==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQsckD9trn4&eurl=http://evangelicalsformccain.org/meetthesenator.htm ''John McCain: Courageous Service''] - Streaming video documentary hosted at YouTube, including footage of McCain's time as a POW and the Forrestal incident.
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542249 John McCain Biography]
*[http://evangelicalsformccain.org/index.htm Evangelicals for McCain] - Christians, Families and Patriots for John McCain
*[http://studentsformccain08.blogspot.com/ Students for McCain 2008]
*[http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/01/mccains-mom-pop.html McCain's Mom Pops Off]
*[http://www.rd.com/national-interest/people-and-politics/our-interview-with-sen-john-mccain/article.html Presidential Candidate John McCain on the Issues]
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270 Voting record]
*[http://www.opencongress.org/people/show/300071_john_mccain OpenCongress]

{{2008 presidential candidates}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCain, John}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:American war heroes]]
[[Category:United States Veterans]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:111th United States Congress]]

RINO

2010-06-29T02:30:34Z

ElizDo:

[[File:Kel-rino.jpg|thumb|250px|Sergeant [[Jesse Kelly]] runs for Congress in Arizona in 2009 and attacks the RINOs in the GOP]]
A '''RINO''' ('''R'''epublican '''i'''n '''N'''ame '''O'''nly), describes politicians who claim to be Republican but are in fact [[liberal]], and therefore generally debase the winning conservative coalition base of the Republican Party. The term is used to characterize an officeholder or candidate who is a member of the [[Republican Party]], but holds views outside the mainstream Republican Party such as support for raising taxes, abortion as a right, gay rights and gun control. RINOs and Reform Democrats typically come from [[New England]] or West Coast states. A less-used term is '''cafeteria conservative''', for a person who picks and chooses which [[conservative]] principles to believe, as a person might choose foods in a cafeteria instead of ordering the full-course ''menu'' selected by the chef at high-class restaurants.<ref>[http://www.manp.org/association-spotlight/archives/james-carville-mary-matalin-he-said-she-said James Carville & Mary Matalin: He Said, She Said]</ref> In contrast to RINO's and cafeteria conservatives, [[movement conservative]]s understand that since conservative philosophy is a coherent whole, it is untenable to discard part of it without discarding all of it.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
The targets of attack argue they follow middle of the road policies and are not liberals; they claim they get results, and insist that without them the Congress would be totally controlled by liberal Democrats and Republicans would rarely have any success. Conservatives respond that in the heyday of "Rockefeller liberalism" in the GOP the Democrats always controlled Congress, and the GOP only took power when [[Newt Gingrich]] launched a national conservative "Contract with America" in 1994, ending 40 years of Democratic control of the House.

In recent Republican primaries, voters have been rejecting establishment RINOs in favor of those with stronger conservative principles.

== RINOs ==
*Senator [[Olympia J. Snowe]] of [[Maine]]

*Senator [[Susan Collins]] of [[Maine]]

*Senator [[George Voinovich]] of [[Ohio]]

*Senator [[Lindsey Graham]] of [[South Carolina]]

*Senator [[Scott Brown]] of [[Massachusetts]]

*Senator [[Chuck Grassley]] of [[Iowa]]

*Former Senator [[Gordon Smith]] of [[Oregon]]

*Congressman [[Michael Castle]] of [[Delaware]]

*Congressman [[Mark Kirk]] of [[Illinois]]

*Former Congressman [[Christopher Shays]] of [[Connecticut]]

*Former Congressman [[Joe Scarborough]] of Florida

*Former Congressman [[Tom Campbell]] of [[California]]

*Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] of [[California]]

*Governor [[Linda Lingle]] of Hawaii

*Former Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]]

*Former Governor [[George Pataki]] of [[New York]]

*Former Governor and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator [[Christine Todd Whitman]] of [[New Jersey]]

*Former [[New York City]] Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]]

*Former United States Secretary of [[Homeland Security]] [[Tom Ridge]].

*Former Senator [[Charles Mathias]] of [[Maryland]]

*Former New York Congressional Candidate [[Dede Scozzafava]]

*Transportation Secretary [[Ray Lahood]]

==Former RINOs==

*Senator [[Arlen Specter]] of [[Pennsylvania]], who became a Democrat in 2009.

*Former Senator [[Lincoln Chafee]] of [[Rhode Island]], who became an Independent in 2007.

*Former Senator [[Lowell Weicker]] of [[Connecticut]], who became an Independent.

*[[New York City]] Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], who became an Independent.

*Former Senator Jim Jeffords of [[Vermont]], who left the Party in 2001, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats

*Governor [[Charlie Crist]] of [[Florida]], who became an independent after it was clear he would lose his Senate bid.

==McCain Speculation==

Some conservatives distrust [[John McCain]] and even call him a RINO, but his policies are that of a true conservative. Key RINO principles include support for gay rights, support for abortion, and support for earmarks: John McCain is against these positions. He has always worked in a bi-partisan fashion, reaching across the aisle whenever possible. The sacrifices he has made for this country cannot be overlooked, and his commitment to his duties is second to none. His fiscal conservatism, his support for families, and support for a strong national defense are in line with conservative, [[Reagan Republicans]].

==External Links==
* [http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/05/1615233/in-senate-primary-california-republicans.html In Senate primary, California Republicans run away from RINO label]

==See Also==
*[[Republican Party]]
*[[Moderate Republican]]
*[[Conservative Democrat]]
*[[Blue Dog Democrat]]
*[[Reagan Democrat]]
*[[Catholic in name only]]
*[[Liberal media conservative]]

{{Liberalism}}

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Conservative]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Talk:Aromatic ring

2010-06-29T02:30:15Z

ElizDo:

Tried to clear up some of the more obvious blunders without altering the overall structure as this is my 1st edit. Didn't bother with references, but this information can be found in any 1st year organic chemistry text. I'd like to rework it later for clarity and clear up the confusion between polycyclic benzenoids and polycyclic aromatics like indole, most of which aren't benzenoid.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.

Aromatic ring

2010-06-29T02:30:00Z

ElizDo:

An '''aromatic ring''' is a [[hydrocarbon]], such as [[benzene]], that has a low [[hydrogen]] to [[carbon]] ratio, and has low chemical reactivity due to aromatic resonance. In the case of benzene (formula C6H6), the carbon atoms form a hexagonal ring, with each carbon atom bonded in series at each point of the hexagon. Because of orbital hybridization, each carbon atom can bond to only one hydrogen. Although the traditional illustration of an aromatic ring appears to contain double bonds, in reality the extra pi electrons are equally distributed around the ring because of resonance. This results in an exceptionally stable molecule which does not undergo markovnikovian addition reactions.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
There are other shapes as well, but in order to be aromatic the ring must satisfy Huckel's rule by having a number of free electrons which satisfies the equation 4N+2. Cyclooctotetraene is an example of a molecule which does not follow this rule. Although it is a ring composed of alternating double bonds, it's chemical reactivity is that of a non-aromatic alkene.

There are variations to the benzene molecule. One such variation is [[toluene]] (formula C7H8, also called methylbenzene) where a [[methyl]] group replaces a hydrogen atom. Other variations can have non-carbon substituents in the ring whose free electron pairs contribute to the de-localized aromatic field and help it satisfy Huckel's rule.

Aromatic rings can also form in groups or chains, where each ring is "joined at the hip." These are called ''polycyclic benzenoid aromatic hydrocarbons''. One such case is naphthalene (formula C10H8), where two benzene rings share one carbon bond. These compounds must also follow Huckel's rule in order to be aromatic.

Aromatic rings were called ''aromatic'' in the early days of their discovery because they are [[fragrant]], as they were obtained from resins or oils.
[[Category:Organic Chemistry]]

Governors of Massachusetts

2010-06-29T02:29:33Z

ElizDo:

A list of '''governors''' from the commonwealth of '''[[Massachusetts]]'''.<ref>http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.8fd3d12ab65b304f8a278110501010a0?submit=Submit&State=MA</ref><ref>http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-colonial-governors-of-Massachusetts</ref>
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
==Plymouth Colony Governors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Years
|-
| John Carver
| 1620-1621
|-
| William Bradford
| 1621-1633, 1635-1636, 1637-1638, 1639-1644, 1645-1657
|-
| Edward Winslow
| 1633-1634, 1636-1637, 1644-1645
|-
| Thomas Prence
| 1634-1635, 1638-1639, 1657-1673
|-
| Josiah Winslow
| 1673-1680
|-
| Thomas Hinckley
| 1680-1686, 1689-1692
|}
==Massachusetts Bay Colony Governors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Years
|-
| John Endicott
| 1629-1630, 1644, 1649, 1651-1653, 1655-1664
|-
| John Winthrop
| 1630-1633, 1637-1639, 1642-1643, 1646-1648
|-
| Thomas Dudley
| 1634, 1640, 1645, 1650
|-
| John Haynes
| 1635
|-
| Henry Vane the Younger
| 1636
|-
| Richard Bellingham
| 1641, 1654, 1665-1672
|-
| John Leverett
| 1673-1678
|-
| Simon Bradstreet
| 1678-1686
|}
==Dominion of New England Governors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Years
|-
| Joseph Dudley
| 1686
|-
| Edmund Andros
| 1686-1689
|}
==Province of Massachusetts Bay Governors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Years
|-
| William Phips
| 1692-1694
|-
| William Stoughton
| 1694-1699, 1700-1701
|-
| Richard Coote
| 1699-1700
|-
| Joseph Dudley
| 1702-1715, 1715
|-
| William Tailer
| 1715-1716, 1730
|-
| Samuel Shute
| 1716-1723
|-
| William Dummer
| 1723-1728, 1729-1730
|-
| William Burnet
| 1728-1729
|-
| Jonathan Belcher
| 1730-1741
|-
| William Shirley
| 1741-1749, 1753-1756
|-
| Spencer Phips
| 1749-1753, 1756-1757
|-
| Thomas Pownall
| 1757-1760
|-
| Thomas Hutchinson
| 1760, 1769-1774
|-
| Francis Bernard
| 1760-1769
|-
| Thomas Gage
| 1774-1775
|-
| William Howe
| 1775-1776
|}

==Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name!! Party !! Years
|-
| [[John Hancock]]
| Federalist
| 1780-1785, 1787-1793
|-
| Thomas Cushing
|
| 1785
|-
| James Bowdoin
|
| 1785-1787
|-
| [[Samuel Adams]]
| Democratic Republican
| 1793-1797
|-
| Increase Sumner
| Federalist
| 1797-1799
|-
| Moses Gill
|
| 1799-1800
|-
| Caleb Strong
| Federalist
| 1800-1807, 1812-1816
|-
| James Sullivan
| Democratic Republican
| 1807-1808
|-
| Levi Lincoln
| Democratic Republican
| 1808-1809
|-
| Christopher Gore
| Federalist
| 1809-1810
|-
| [[Elbridge Gerry]]
| Democratic Republican
| 1810-1812
|-
| John Brooks
| Federalist
| 1816-1823
|-
| William Eustis
| Democratic Republican
| 1823-1825
|-
| Marcus Morton
| Democratic Republican
| 1825, 1840-1841, 1843-1844
|-
| Levi Lincoln, Jr.
| Adams Republican
| 1825-1834
|-
| John Davis
| Republican/Whig
| 1834-1835, 1841-1843
|-
| Samuel Turell Armstrong
| Whig
| 1835-1836
|-
| Edward Everett
| Whig
| 1836-1840
|-
| George Nixon Briggs
| Whig
| 1844-1851
|-
| George Sewall Boutwell
| Democrat
| 1851-1853
|-
| John Henry Clifford
| Whig
| 1853-1854
|-
| Emory Washburn
| Whig
| 1854-1855
|-
| Henry Joseph Gardner
| American (Know Nothing)
| 1855-1858
|-
| [[Nathaniel Prentice Banks]]
| Republican
| 1858-1861
|-
| John Albion Andrew
| Republican
| 1861-1866
|-
| Alexander Hamilton Bullock
| Republican
| 1866-1869
|-
| William Claflin
| Republican
| 1869-1872
|-
| William Barrett Washburn
| Republican
| 1872-1874
|-
| Thomas Talbot
| Republican
| 1874-1875, 1879-1880
|-
| William Gaston
| Democrat
| 1875-1876
|-
| Alexander Hamilton Rice
| Republican
| 1876-1879
|-
| John Davis Long
| Republican
| 1880-1883
|-
| Benjamin Franklin Butler
| Democrat/National
| 1883-1884
|-
| George Dexter Robinson
| Republican
| 1884-1887
|-
| Oliver Ames
| Republican
| 1887-1890
|-
| John Quincy Adams Brackett
| Republican
| 1890-1891
|-
| William Eustis Russell
| Democrat
| 1891-1894
|-
| Frederic Thomas Greenhalge
| Republican
| 1894-1896
|-
| Roger Wolcott
| Republican
| 1896-1900
|-
| Winthrop Murray Crane
| Republican
| 1900-1903
|-
| John Lewis Bates
| Republican
| 1903-1905
|-
| William Lewis Douglas
| Democrat
| 1905-1906
|-
| Curtis Guild, Jr.
| Republican
| 1906-1909
|-
| Ebenezer Sumner Draper
| Republican
| 1909-1911
|-
| Eugene Noble Ross
| Democrat
| 1911-1914
|-
| David Ignatius Walsh
| Democrat
| 1914-1916
|-
| Samuel Walker McCall
| Republican
| 1916-1919
|-
| [[Calvin Coolidge|John Calvin Coolidge]]
| Republican
| 1919-1921
|-
| Channing Harris Cox
| Republican
| 1921-1925
|-
| Alvan Tufts Fuller
| Republican
| 1925-1929
|-
| Frank G. Allen
| Republican
| 1929-1931
|-
| Joseph Buell Ely
| Democrat
| 1931-1935
|-
| James Michael Curley
| Democrat
| 1935-1937
|-
| Charles Francis Hurley
| Democrat
| 1937-1939
|-
| Leverett Saltonstall
| Republican
| 1939-1945
|-
| Maurice Tobin
| Democrat
| 1945-1947
|-
| Robert Fiske Bradford
| Republican
| 1947-1949
|-
| Paul Andrew Dever
| Democrat
| 1949-1953
|-
| Christian Archibald Herter
| Republican
| 1953-1957
|-
| Foster John Furcolo
| Democrat
| 1957-1961
|-
| John Anthony Volpe
| Republican
| 1961-1963, 1965-1969
|-
| Endicott Peabody
| Democrat
| 1963-1965
|-
| Francis William Sargent
| Republican
| 1969-1975
|-
| [[Michael Dukakis|Michael Stanley Dukakis]]
| Democrat
| 1975-1979, 1983-1991
|-
| Edward Joseph King
| Democrat
| 1979-1983
|-
| William Floyd Weld
| Republican
| 1991-1997
|-
| Argeo Paul Cellucci
| Republican
| 1997-2001
|-
| Jane Maria Swift
| Republican
| 2001-2003
|-
| [[Mitt Romney]]
| Republican
| 2003-2007
|-
| [[Deval Patrick]]
| Democrat
| 2007-present
|}

== See also ==

*[[State Governors]]

==Notes==
<references/>
{{Governors}}
[[Category:Massachusetts Governors]]

Hawick

2010-06-29T02:29:22Z

ElizDo:

'''Hawick''' is a town in south-east [[Scotland]] in the county of [[Roxburghshire]]. It lies on the banks of the rivers Teviot and Slitrig, close to the [[England|English]] border; a remote area of hill, forest and narrow, steep-sided valleys. The town was an early settlement of the pagan [[Angle]]s (the name means 'hedged enclosure' in Anglian). It was a minor administrative centre in medieval Scotland, frequently assaulted and burned during the endemic border warfare. Its later prominence was based on the development of the knitted woolen textile industry. The town had a small specialist trade in knitted hose and stockings, but in 1771 the Bailie, John Hardie, introduced the first knitting frames to the town, revolutionising the industry. These were hand-operated, but once the fast-flowing waters of the Teviot and Slitrig were harnessed to power multitudes of frames in specially-built mills, the industry expanded rapidly. In 1824 the first steam-powered mills were introduced. Knitwear is still made in Hawick, and the famous [[Pringles]] company, a favourite of [[golf]]ers, is based in the town.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
== External Links ==
*http://www.hawick.net/

[[Category:Scottish Cities and Towns]]

Corporation

2010-06-29T02:29:12Z

ElizDo:

{{corporations}}
A '''Corporation''' is a type of [[company]] formed for the purpose of doing business.

==Origin==
Corporations first arose, in a widespread manner, during the [[Industrial Revolution]], when [[industrialization]] expanded the possibilities for private enterprise. Many corporations are still engaged in heavy industries such as [[refining]] and [[steel]]. The modern world is now dominated by many [[multinational corporation]]s which are involved in diverse industries.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
However, the early corporation (dating to the 1600s) was wholly a "creature of state" - they had to be specially created by legislative act. Now, corporations may incorporate with ease, owing to enabling acts in all American states, but especially in [[Delaware]]

==Uniqueness==
The distinguishing feature of a corporation is that it is a separate legal entity from its owners. It has legal rights and obligations and is taxed on its earnings. When one sues at corporation, it is the business corporation, not its shareholders, that is party to the suit.

==Types of Corporations==
There are many different types of corporations in the United States and throughout the world. In the USA, the two major types of corporations are 'C' Corporations and 'S' Corporations. These names are derived from the tax code. 'C' corporations are traditional corporations with few restrictions on number of shareholders, ownership of or by other corporations and where they do business. 'S' corporations are, from a tax point of view, proprietorships or partnerships, but are allowed to incorporate to provide a legal separation between the owner and the business.

Additionally, an '''M-form''' firm is a [[conglomerate]], which means an aggregation of corporations from different business perspectives, integrated [[vertical integration|vertically]] or [[horizontal integration|horizontally]].

== See also ==

*[[International Business Machines]]
*[[Partnership]]

[[category:economics]]
[[Category:Business]]

Commodity

2010-06-29T02:29:02Z

ElizDo:

A '''commodity''' in [[economics]] is a [[goods|good]], such as [[food]], [[metal]]s or [[grain]]s, which is interchangeable with similar [[goods]], and which is available in large quantities.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
Investors can buy or sell on [[commodity exchange|commodities exchanges]] using [[futures contract]]s.

More generally, a commodity is any good in a [[competitive]] [[market]].

In general parlance, a commodity is a good where the good supplied is indistinguishable from one supplier to another. A consumer, then, only considers price when making a purchasing decision. In recent years, computers have become a commodity.

[[Category:Economics]]

New World

2010-06-29T02:28:53Z

ElizDo:

'''New World''' was the term used for the [[Americas]] when they were discovered by [[Christopher Columbus]] and the other explorers, as opposed to the "Old World", i.e. [[Europe]].
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[category:history]]

Tumbling strain

2010-06-29T02:28:43Z

ElizDo:

'''Tumbling strain''' is a vocal feature of [[music]] common to many types of music, especially ethnic music. It is charactarized by a phrase of singing starting high in pitch and getting lower as the user runs low on breath.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[Category:Musical terms]]

Wooley v. Maynard

2010-06-29T02:28:30Z

ElizDo:

In '''''Wooley v. Maynard''''', 430 U.S. 705 (1977), the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that the State of [[New Hampshire]] cannot force an objecting resident to display on his license plates the state motto, "Live Free or Die."
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
The court held that the [[First Amendment]] protects against this compelled speech. The State may not "'invad[e] the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment of our Constitution to reserve from all official control.'" ''Wooley v. Maynard'', 430 U.S. at 715 (quoting ''West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette'', 319 U.S. 624, 642 (1943)).

Then-[[Justice]] [[William Rehnquist]] dissented and was joined by Justice [[Harry Blackmun]].
[[Category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
[[Category:First Amendment]]

Parti Liberal du Quebec

2010-06-29T02:28:21Z

ElizDo:

The '''Liberal Party of Québec''' (Officially '''Parti Liberal du Québec''') is one of the three major parties in the Canadian Province of [[Québec]] and is currently in power.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
Though named liberal, its ideology is much more [[conservative]] than [[liberal]]. It is one of two political parties in Québec that is center/center-right, the other being the Action démocratique du Québec. The party is led by Jean Charest, who was formerly the leader of the Conservative Party of [[Canada]]. Charest has close ties with the Prime Minister of [[Canada]], [[Stephen Harper]].

[[category:Canadian Politics]]
[[category:Quebec]]

Digital organisms

2010-06-29T02:28:11Z

ElizDo:

A '''digital organism''' is a computer program which is capable of some form of self-replication. Owing to the distinct lack of natural evidence, scientists use them in attempts to prove the theory of [[evolution]].
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
One of their most well-known proponents is discredited evolutionist [[Richard Lenski]].

[[Category:evolution]]

Los Angeles Times

2010-06-29T02:28:02Z

ElizDo:

[[Image:LAT.jpg|right|LAT logo]]
The '''Los Angeles Times''' is a well known [[liberal]] daily [[newspaper]] based in [[Los Angeles]]. Serving a large metropolitan market, it has one of the highest circulations of any newspaper nationwide and even reaches into other parts of southern [[California]], having a version for [[San Diego]] county for instance.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
First published as the Los Angeles Daily Times, it was founded in 1881 and has won 37 [[Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer Prizes]] through 2004.

== External links ==
*[http://www.latimes.com/ Los Angeles Times]
*[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/dave-pierre/2007/11/10/lat-continues-propagate-abortion-falsehoods LAT Continues to Propagate Abortion Falsehoods]

[[Category:United States Newspapers|Los Angeles Times]]

Port Moresby

2010-06-29T02:27:53Z

ElizDo:

'''Port Moresby''' is the capital city of [[Papua New Guinea]], located on the country's south-eastern coast, and on the shore of Fairfax Harbour. The location of the city was first visted by Westerners in 1873: a British vessel commanded by Captain John Moresby; he named it after hios father Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby. Fairfax claimed the area for [[Great Britain]]. In 1906 British New Guinea, also known as Papua, was passed to Australian administration.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
During the [[Second World War]] Port Moresby was an important allied base; it lay in the small part of southern New Guinea not to have been conquered by the Japanese in 1941-42. The preservation of this bastion meant that the Japanese could not conquer all of New Guinea and proceed to invade northern [[Australia]].

When Papua New Guinea became an independent nation in 1975, Port Moresby became its capital city. It has a population of 254,000. According to a 2004 survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, of 130 world capital cities (excluding Baghdad), Port Moresby was the worst to live in, witgh very high rates of murder, rape, robbery, gang violence and extreme poverty.

==Further Information==
*http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/22/population.davidfickling
*http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/png/about_destin/port_moresby.html

[[Category:Capital Cities]]

Christopher Michael Beer

2010-06-29T02:27:43Z

ElizDo:

'''Christopher Michael Beer''' is an American independent filmmaker and published philosopher from Minnesota <ref>http://www.fallingupsky.com</ref>. His movies frequently contain a prevalent homosexual theme and anti-capitalist ideologies <ref>http://theshowsogay.podbean.com/2009/08/28/the-show-so-gays-10th-podcast/</ref>. He is currently in production on a new movie which centers specifically around the gay rights movement<ref>http://www.roguecinema.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=835</ref>.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Homosexuality]]

Homeless

2010-06-29T02:27:29Z

ElizDo:

A '''homeless''' person is someone without the income to pay for shelter, living catch-as-catch can, sometimes outside. The causes are many: incompetence, alcoholism, poor mental health, or economic recession. After 1960 many poor farms and mental hospitals that once housed the homeless have been shut down, and the weakness of family ties means their relatives are alienated and do not help. They get income by begging, stealing, and working at casual labor jobs for a day or two. Money is not safe for they suffer heavily from robbery. [[File:Homeless.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
==Numbers and definitions==
Refugees from wars or natural disasters are not usually included.

Social workers define three levels: (1) '''Literally homeless''' if the person lacked a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime abode and was living in a shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations, or a place not designed as a residence, such as a car, bus station, or the street. 2) '''Institution''' if the person lives in a staffed transitional residence (e.g., a halfway house), a health care institution (e.g., nursing home or other hospital) or other institutional setting. (3) '''Doubled Up''' if the person was staying temporarily with family members or a friend for 30 days or less.

How many are homeless, and for how long, is a puzzling question. Estimates by liberal advocates range as high as three million, but actual counts are ten times lower. Interview data suggests that half the homeless have that status for about 6 weeks; very few people are long-term homeless, and they should be the target of welfare.<ref> See Link (1995)</ref>
==Conditions==
About one third of homeless individuals have severe mental illness. Many homeless people rely extensively on expensive inpatient services and emergency rooms for their health care.

Because of poor sanitation and the tendency of the homeless to accost people for money, vagrancy in some places is considered a legal offense for which the victim can be arrested.
==Shelters==
Many homeless shelters are located across the United States, usually run by local government or [[religious charities]].

Besides giving shelter, they often have programs for job placement that can help the homeless move back into society. Under the [[Obama Administration]] some homeowners received welfare money to help them keep their homes.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/11/politics/otherpeoplesmoney/main4858348.shtml CBS News]</ref>
==Terms==
Hostile synonyms include bum, tramp, beggar, hobo, and bag lady. Neutral terms include transient and homeless. <ref>''Encarta World English Dictionary,'' (2004) </ref> Many Americans are repulsed by what seems the deliberate rejection of national standards regarding regular work and family life.

==1930s==
The Transient Division of the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee (KERC) operated 1933-35 under the direction of Republican Governor [[Alf Landon]]. It was funded by [[FERA]] (the Federal Emergency Relief Administration), the central relief organization of the New Deal. The KERC assisted approximately 700,000 homeless people, often in family groups, during its two years of operation. The KERC was a microcosm of the national approach to dealing with interstate migration and a model program noted for its efficiency, highly trained staff, and excellent administrative structure. It was comprised of reference centers located throughout the state and staffed by caseworkers who evaluated the health, literacy, and work skills of the migrants. Their aim was to stabilize the lives of transients and return them to their legal residences. The Kansas system, known for its quality, may have encouraged migration by acting as a lure for those living elsewhere in difficult conditions. There were challenges to the program, including people abusing the system in search of gas and food, the scarcity of work relief projects, and tensions between the service and local relief groups. Before the New Deal, transients were the responsibility of individual counties and private charities. After the program was liquidated in late 1935, the vast majority of transients were placed with the [[WPA]] (Works Progress Administration), another New Deal program, and Landon became the 1936 GOP nominee for president.<ref>Peter Fearon, "Relief for Wanderers: the Transient Service in Kansas, 1933-35," ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 2006 26(4): 245-264, </ref>
==1970s==
Urban renewal created much of the problem. In San Diego, California, the Centre City Development Corporation's urban renewal project in the Gaslamp Quarter began in 1968. Aimed at making the area a national historic district and bringing upper- and middle-class tourists and suburban residents to downtown San Diego, the project effectively displaced and disrupted thousands of elderly people, working-class poor, homeless, and others from this area of the city.<ref>Jordan Ervin, "Reinventing Downtown San Diego: a Spatial and Cultural Analysis of the Gaslamp Quarter," ''Journal of San Diego History'' 2007 53(4): 188-217, </ref>
==Further reading==
* Beier, A. L., and Paul Ocobock, eds. ''Cast Out: Vagrancy and Homelessness in Global and Historical Perspective'' (2009), international perspective [http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Out-Homelessness-Historical-Perspective/dp/0896802620/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258526111&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* DePastino, Todd. ''Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America.'' (2003). 325 pp. scholarly history focused on images and impact on the non-homeless [http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Hobo-Century-Homelessness-America/dp/0226143791/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258526069&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* Kusmer, Kenneth L. ''Down and Out, on the Road: The Homeless in American History'' (2002). 368 pp. scholarly history [http://www.amazon.com/Down-Out-Road-Homeless-American/dp/0195160967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258526285&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Link, B. et al. "Lifetime and five-year prevalence of homelessness in the United States" ''American Journal of Orthopsychiatry'', 1995 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1615395/pdf/amjph00463-0037.pdf online edition]
* Marcus, Anthony. ''Where Have All the Homeless Gone? The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis'' (2005), 166pp based on interviews with 110 homeless men
* Rossi, Peter. ''Down and out in America: the origins of homelessness,'' (1989) [http://www.amazon.com/Down-Out-America-Origins-Homelessness/dp/0226728293/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258525779&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

==See also==
*[[Lumpenproletariat]]

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Social Problems]]
[[Category:Welfare State]]

Unsecured claim

2010-06-29T02:27:19Z

ElizDo:

An '''unsecured claim''' is a legal [[claim]] or [[debt]] for which a [[creditor]] holds no special assurance of payment, such as a [[mortgage]] or [[lien]]; a debt for which credit was extended based solely upon the creditor's assessment of the debtor's future ability to pay.Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[Category:Legal Terms]]
[[category:bankruptcy]]

Sow

2010-06-29T02:27:06Z

ElizDo:

A '''sow''' is a [[female]] [[pig]].
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[Category:Even-toed ungulates]]

Sun

2010-06-29T02:26:51Z

ElizDo:

{{Planet
|image=Moooghj.jpg
|caption=The Sun. The small blue dot in the upper-right corner is Earth.
|primary=Galaxy
|periapsis=27,600 ly<ref name=Trapp>Trapp, Andrew. "[http://www.geocities.com/dreamer-71/timescales.html Timescales in Open, Flat, and Very Large Closed Universes]." ''From Now Until the End of Time...'' Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=31,800 ly<ref name=apo>Author unknown. "[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=apogalacticon Entry for 'Apogalacticon']." <http://everything2.com/> July 22, 2001. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>
|semimajor=29,700 ly<ref name=calc>Calculated</ref>
|eccentricity=0.07<ref name=apo/>
|sidereal=250,000,000 a
|orbitspeed=217 km/s
|inclination=25°
|reference=galactic plane
|siderealday = 25 da<ref name=Goddard>Williams, David R. "[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html Sun Fact Sheet]." ''Goddard Space Flight Center ([[NASA]])'', September 1, 2004. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>
|solarday=27.2753 da<ref name=SunFact>Harvey, Samantha. "[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sun&Display=Facts&System=Metric Sun Facts and Figures]." ''[[NASA]]'', April 26, 2007. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref><ref name=note1>This day is actually a synodic day and is the period for the same point on the Sun's equator to appear again directly facing the [[Earth]].</ref>
|mass=1.9891 * 1030 kg (332,848.616 * earth)<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=SunFact/>
|density=1408 kg/m³<ref name=Goddard/>
|surfacegrav=274.0 m/s² (27.94 ''g'')<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=SunFact/>
|escapespeed=618.02 km/s<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=SunFact/>
|meanradius=696,000 km<ref name=Goddard/>
|equatorradius=695,500 km<ref name=SunFact/>
|surfacearea=6,087,799,000,000 km² (11,935.176 * earth)<ref name=SunFact/>
|mintemp=4000 K<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=Britannica>"[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110144/Sun Entry for 'Sun']." ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref>
|meantemp=5777 K<ref name=SunFact/>
|maxtemp=8000 K<ref name=Britannica/>
|composition=92.1% [[hydrogen]], 7.8% [[helium]]<ref name=SunFact/>
|color=Yellow-orange
|pmdm=3.5 * 1029<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref><ref name=est>Estimated</ref>
|cmdm=4.65 * 1029<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mdt=19000 a<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mhl=13170 a<ref name=calc/>
}}The '''sun''' or Sol (either from the Greek, ''helios'' or from the [[Latin]] word ''sol'') is a [[yellow dwarf]] [[star]] of [[spectral type]] [[G2V]]. The eight [[planet]]s, including Earth, orbit the sun, as do countless other small objects.<ref name=Britannica/>

== Nomenclature ==
The sun a classified as spectral class G2 V. The "G" means it is a moderately warm yellow star. The "2" means it is in the third hottest group of stars within type "G" (the scale runs from 0 to 9). The "V" is a Roman numeral for 5 and indicates the sun's size. A size V star is a dwarf, main sequence star. Thus the sun is a moderately warm, yellow, dwarf main sequence star. The Sun is in the 95th percentile in its class by size and mass of other stars in its immediate region.

== History ==
=== Biblical ===
The [[Bible]] says:{{Bible quote|God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.|book=Genesis|chap=1|verses=16}}

This took place during the fourth [[Days of creation|day]] of Creation Week. More to the point, the Sun is a part of God's creation, not a "god" in its own right.

=== Mythological ===
In contrast, virtually every other civilization has regarded the Sun as one of many gods. The Egyptians called the Sun '''Ra''' or '''Re''', a deity whom, they said, created the world.<ref name=touregypt>Dunn, Jimmy. "[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm Re (Ra) and Re-Horakhty]." <http://www.touregypt.net/>. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> The Egyptians also called the sun-disk '''Aten''', and for a brief period (during the reign of [[Pharaoh]] [[Amenhotep IV]] or '''Akhenaten'''), actually worshipped Aten as the one and only god of the universe.<ref name=touregypt2>Dunn, Jimmy. "[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/aten.htm The Egyptian God Aten Before and After Akhenaten]." <http://www.touregypt.net/>. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> In [[Babylonia]] and [[Assyria]] the sun was called '''Shamash''', a god who, because he could see everything happening on earth, was also associated with truth and justice.<ref name=MacKenzie>MacKenzie, Donald A. "[http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/mba/mba17.htm Chapter XI: The Golden Age of Babylonia]." ''Myths of Babylonia and Assyria'', IndyPublish.com (ISBN 1421962977), December 30, 2005, pp. 240-259. Accessed March 5, 2008, at <http://www.sacred-texts.com/></ref> The Greeks at first regarded ''Helios'' as a son of heaven and earth but later came to associate the Sun with their god of truth, '''Apollo'''. According to the [[Apache Creation Story]], [[Creator]], the One Who Lives Above, created the sun by singing it into existence after he had created the Girl-Without-Parents.<ref>Welker, Glenn. "[http://www.indians.org/welker/creation.htm Apache Creation Story]" <Indians.org>, August 12, 2004. Accessed March 6, 2008.</ref>

The most common theme in all the sun-worship cults is the association of the sun with truth and justice personified. The second most common theme is the regarding of the sun as the creator.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
=== Materialistic ===
According to the [[materialism|materialist]] and [[uniformitarianism|uniformitarian]] view, what eventually became the solar system initially existed as a large, rotating [[cloud]] of [[dust]] and [[gas]], composed of hydrogen and helium produced in the [[Big Bang theory|Big Bang]] as well as small amounts of heavier [[element]]s. Around 4.57 billion years ago, the cloud began to contract, perhaps as a result of a [[shock wave]] from a nearby [[supernova]]. [[Inertia]] caused the rotating cloud to flatten into a disk. Most of the mass concentrated in the middle, and began to heat up. Eventually, the kinetic energy of the hydrogen was sufficient to overcome the [[electromagnetic]] repulsion between the protons, and fusion began. The resulting solar wind helped clear away much of the material which had not coalesced into planets or other orbiting bodies.<ref>"[http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/cosmic_evolution/docs/text/text_plan_1.html Cosmic Evolution, Epoch 4: Planetary Evolution]." ''[http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/cosmic_evolution/docs/splash.html Cosmic Evolution: From Big Bang to Humankind]'', Wright Center, [[Tufts University]]. Accessed March 6, 2008.</ref> The sun is most likely a third-generation star.

== Orbital characteristics and galactic relationships ==
The Sun orbits the galactic center at a distance less than half the total estimated radius of the [[galaxy]], and in an orbit inclined about 25° from the galactic plane. The eccentricity of the Sun's orbit is 0.07, about average in comparison to the eccentricities of the [[planet]]s and [[dwarf planet]]s of the [[solar system]]. At present the Sun lies 50 light years north of the galactic plane and is continuing to climb north of it as it approaches [[apsis|perigalacticon]].<ref name=LeDrew>LeDrew, Glenn. "[http://ottawa.rasc.ca/astronotes/1997/an9701p3.html Our Galactic Home]." ''AstroNotes'', 1997. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>

==Properties and Characteristics==
The sun accounts for 99.8% of our solar system's total mass. With a mass of 2 x 1030 kg, an atmospheric temperature of about 5800 K, and a [[luminosity]] of 4x1020 megawatts, the sun is by far the most extraordinary object during the day-time sky and of our solar system.
However within our Milky Way [[galaxy]] it is one of probably 100 billion of the same types of stars.

By mass, it is composed of 72% [[hydrogen]], 26% [[helium]] and 2% trace elements of [[oxygen]], [[carbon]], [[neon]], [[nitrogen]], [[magnesium]], [[iron]], and [[silicon]].<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/sun_worldbook.html World Book Encyclopedia @ NASA]</ref>

Core temperatures reach 15,000,000 K (K = Kelvin) while the sun's surface or ''photosphere'' temperature is 5,800 K. When the photosphere is hit by the heat of the sun the temperature drops to a minimum of 4,000 K. It then continues further until it encounters a thin layer of [[atmosphere]] roughly 10,000 kilometers deep called the ''chromosphere'' and reverses trend to rise to 8,000 K. Even further is another part of the sun's total atmosphere called the ''corona'' that blends in with interplanetary space.

=== Relationship to Earth ===
The sun produces a vast amount of [[energy]], only a tiny fraction of which the Earth receives, yet this small amount powers practically all [[life]] (and [[industry]]) on Earth, either directly or indirectly. It is also the main force controlling Earth's [[climate]] and [[weather]]. [[Plant]]s and other organisms capture the energy of the sun in a process called [[photosynthesis]]. Animals and other [[heterotroph]]s obtain food and energy from consuming plants or from consuming [[animal]]s which have consumed the plants. Only a few microscopic organisms obtain energy directly from chemical reactions.

The tremendous light and heat that the sun releases, and the delicate position that the [[Earth]] occupies in relation to the sun, combine to make the sun an integral part of sustaining life.

[[Human]] civilization, too, is dependent on the sun. Much of humanity's [[industry|industrial]] energy needs are obtained through the combustion of [[fossil fuel]]s, the remains of dead plants and animals. Uneven heating of the atmosphere provides [[wind power]]. Also, the sun evaporates water from lower-lying bodies of water; this then falls as rain and flows back down channels, providing hydroelectric power. On a limited basis, [[solar power]] is directly utilized. [[Geothermal energy]] and [[nuclear energy]] are examples of energy sources to which the sun does not directly contribute.

=== Energy production and transport ===
The sun produces its energy through [[nuclear fusion]].<ref name=sunspot1>"[http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/research2.html Sunspots: Modern Research, Page 2]." ''The Exploratorium'', 1998. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> The favored model for energy production relies on tremendous pressures resulting from the sun's own mass to overcome the natural electrostatic repulsive forces that normally keep hydrogen atoms from coming together and fusing.<ref name=Britannica/>

The model for hydrogen fusion includes these three equations:

<math>{}^0_{-1}\!e + {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} + {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} \to {}^2_1\!\mbox{H} + {}^0_0\!\nu + \mbox{1.44 MeV}</math>

<math>{}^2_1\!\mbox{H} + {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} \to {}^3_2\!\mbox{He} + \gamma + \mbox{5.49 MeV}</math>

<math>{}^3_2\!\mbox{He} + {}^3_2\!\mbox{He} \to {}^4_2\!\mbox{He}+ {}^1_1\!\mbox{H}+ {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} + \mbox{12.85 MeV}</math>

Here, <math>e</math> represents an electron, H means [[hydrogen]], He means [[helium]], <math>\gamma</math> represents a gamma photon, <math>\nu</math> represents a small, uncharged particle called a [[neutrino]] that is not supposed to have any proper mass, and the energy unit eV, or ''electron volt'', is the product of the charge on a single electron and the standard unit of electromotive force or electromotive potential.

The energy produced varies as the fourth power of the temperature--and at the temperatures thought to prevail in the sun's core, matter exists, not as ordinary matter with atomic nuclei and electrons, but as [[plasma]]--a form of super-hot matter in which atoms are totally denuded of their electrons.

The first equation above is assumed to be the rate-limiting step. The neutrinos produced should have an energy of 0.26 MeV--too little energy to be detectable by current technology. But processes occurring after this step ought to produce higher-energy neutrinos that ''would'' be detectable. Such neutrinos have been detected, but at a flux much smaller than predicted. This indicates that the presumed rates for these subsequent processes are higher than the true rates, or else the neutrinos produced somehow transform to a different type of neutrino that would be unobservable. That in turn would imply that neutrinos ''do'' have rest mass.<ref name=Britannica/>

According to current models, some of this energy is transferred to the surface by convection in the outer 20-30% of the body of the sun.<ref name=sunspot1/> [[Helium]] in this ''convective zone'' rises to or near the surface, releases its heat, and then sinks back to the center. Helium absorbs radiation more readily than does hydrogen, and for that reason the sun is always getting marginally brighter with the passage of time.<ref name=Britannica/>

The remaining energy is transferred in the gamma photons, which must take a "random walk" to reach the corona of the Sun. Current models suggest that the light generated by these processes takes 50 million years to reach the surface.<ref name=sunspot1/>

=== Sunspots ===
The earliest observations of sunspots might have been made in the fourth century BC by the Greeks. Chinese astronomical records dating back to 28 BC include descriptions of changing dark patches on the sun that might have been sunspots.<ref name=sunspot2>"[http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/history.html Sunspots: History]." ''The Exploratorium'', 1998. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref>

[[Galileo Galilei]] in 1613 was the first astronomer to study sunspots in any detail. It was a revolutionary observation, and one that clashed greatly with Western man's ideas of the heavens, propounded chiefly by Aristotle, as a perfect, unblemished place.<ref name=sunspot2/><ref name=heavens>[[Paul]] describes a region called the "third heaven" as the actual "heaven" where [[God]] has His throne. See {{Bible ref|book=II_Corinthians|chap=12|verses=2}}. But the Bible was not yet readily available to laymen in Galileo's day, and Western man might naturally confuse God's heaven with the lesser "heaven" that we call "outer space" today.</ref>

An amateur astronomer, Heinrich Schwabe, was the first to note the ''sunspot cycle'' in 1843.<ref name=sunspotcycle>"[http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/research4.html The Sunspot Cycle]." ''The Exploratorium'', 1998. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> The sunspots are dark on account of their cooler temperature. This in turn is due to strong magenetic fields which allow the transport of heat via convective motion in the sun. At times these sunspots can be 50,000 miles in diameter and appear in two bands, one being north and the other south in the direction of the sun's equator.

Observations have also shown that the number and location of sunspots come and go in a semi-periodic 9.5 to 11-year solar cycles. At the start of this cycle they are about 30 degrees from the equator. Midway through, the cycle of the number of sunspots observed is maximum, usually about 15 degrees from the equator. Near the end of this on average 10.8-year cycle, the sunspots are very near the equator.<ref name=curious>"[http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/sun.php The Sun]." ''Curious about Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer'', Cornell University, October 18, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref><ref name=Maunder>"[http://home.earthlink.net/~ponderthemaunderf/ Factors Affecting Global Temperature]." ''Ponder the Maunder''. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref>

=== The solar magnetosphere ===
The magnetosphere oscillates in synchrony with the sunspots in a twenty-two-year cycle. The current amplitude of that cycle is 3.5 * 1029 N-m-T. This amplitude has been decaying since creation, but relatively slowly, with a half-life of 13,170 Julian years. In fact, according to Humphreys<ref name=Humphreys/>, the sun's magnetic field has lost perhaps 25 percent of its strength since creation.

Measurements of the sun's magnetic dipole moment have not been exact enough to demonstrate whether the amplitude of the field's oscillations is constant or decaying. If those oscillations are in fact decaying, then the Sun cannot be a dynamo.<ref name=Humphreys/>

== Problems for uniformitarian theories posed by the Sun ==
[[Uniformitarianism|Uniformitarians]] must admit that the sun continues to brighten as it continues to fuse hydrogen into helium. In fact, by uniformitarian estimates, the sun ought to be 40% brighter today than it was when the planets formed and 33% brighter than it was when life first formed (3.8 billion years ago by evolutionary assumptions). The Earth thus ought to be much hotter today than it once was--or rather, the Earth was much colder in the early days in which life has existed than it is today. The fossil record demonstrably does not bear this out.<ref name=Britannica/><ref name=Psarris>Psarris, Spike. ''Our Created Universe''. Seattle Creation Conference, 2007. Video presentation, 55 minutes.</ref> Uniformitarians answer that the Earth's atmosphere might be compensating for this increased brightness. (But these are often the same scientists who insist that industrial and transport-related introduction of [[carbon dioxide]] into Earth's atmosphere threatens to overheat the Earth, with potentially disastrous results.)

Uniformitarians have also had to admit that the sun rotates about 200 times more slowly than the [[nebula hypothesis]] would predict, simply on account of the contraction of the solar mass into its present volume. This violates of the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum. This "angular momentum" problem has been apparent for hundreds of years and remains unresolved to this day.<ref name=Psarris/>

The sun's equatorial plane is inclined 7.25° to the ecliptic. (See [[Earth]].) By the nebula hypothesis, that inclination should be zero. The errant inclination poses an especially acute problem for the orbit of [[Neptune]]. Uniformitarians have speculated that a collision with an even larger object knocked the sun off a true perpendicular to its present inclination--but no scientist has offered a convincing speculation as to what that object might be.<ref name=Psarris/>

Conventional astronomers, [[Carl Sagan]] among them, insist that our star is mediocre and unremarkable. Yet the G-type of star is relatively rare, and furthermore its mass and position in the galaxy lie within very narrow tolerances for the support of life. The sun is also a singular star, not part of a binary--also a rare finding--and is remarkably stable in its energy output. These facts combine to make the sun an unusually hospitable star for a planet to have life on it.<ref name=Psarris/>

Finally, the only reason that uniformitarians can cite for a great age of the Sun is the apparent great age of the Earth.<ref name=Britannica/>. Astronomer John Eddy has frankly admitted that the Sun itself gives no clue to any such tremendous age, and that the acceptance of a very young age of the Sun, like the six-thousand-plus years calculated by [[James Ussher]], might logically follow from a modicum of new evidence:<ref name=Psarris/><ref name=Ussher>Eddy, John. Remarks at a seminar reported in ''Geotimes'', 23:18, September, 1978. Quoted in [[Larry Pierce|Pierce, Larry]], "The Forgotten Archbishop", in [[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pp. 891-2.</ref>{{cquote|There is no evidence based solely on solar observations, Eddy stated, that the sun is 4.5-5 x 109 years old. "I suspect," he said, "that the Sun is 4.5-5 billion years old. However, given some new and unexpected results to the contrary, and some time for frantic recalculation and theoretical readjustment, I suspect that we could live with Bishop [[James Ussher|Ussher]]'s value for the age of the earth and sun. I don't think we have much in the way of observational evidence in astronomy to conflict with that."}}

== External links ==

*[http://www.solarviews.com/eng/terms.htm Glossary]

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

{{Solarsystem}}

Thirty Years' War

2010-06-29T02:26:31Z

ElizDo:

The '''Thirty Years' War''', 1618-1648, was a horribly devastating war that engulfed Germany and all its neighbors in decades of fighting, rampaging and destruction.

It was primarily a religious conflict as Catholic states sought to suppress protestantism. It began in a fight between [[Bohemia]]n Protestants and [[Hapsburg]] Catholics in 1618. It soon became a political conflict for power that included [[Spain]], [[Holland]], [[Denmark]], [[France]], [[Sweden]], and The [[Habsburgs]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The war ended with the [[Treaty of Westphalia]] in 1648.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
The war began in 1618 with a revolt of Protestant Bohemia against the Catholic Habsburg Empire. After Bohemia's defeat in 1620, the war spread into western and southern Germany. In subsequent years, Spain (1621), Denmark (1626), Sweden (1630), and France (1635) became involved. Historians generally are not explicit on why the war began and then spread throughout Europe; they are mostly divided between those who believe it was a German war that was joined by other powers and those who believe it was an international war simply triggered by events in the Habsburg Empire. The Thirty Years War was a Central European war that came to involve so much of the continent because the Habsburg Empire was so extensive.
==Sweden==
[[File:Gustavus-Adolphus.jpg|thumb|190px|left|Gustavus Adolphus (1594 - 1632)]]
[[History of Sweden|Sweden's]] role in the [[Thirty Years War]] under King [[Gustavus Adolphus]] (1594 - 1632) determined the political as well as the religious balance of power in Europe. A notable military victory for Gustavus Adolphus was the battle of Breitenfeld (1631). With a superb military machine with good weapons, excellent training, and effective field artillery, all backed by a highly efficient government back home that paid the bills on time. Gustavus Adolphus was poised to make himself a major European leader, but he was killed in battle in 1632. Axel Oxenstierna (1583-1654), leader of the nobles, took charge and continued the war in alliance with France.

==Further reading==
* Parker, Geoffrey, ed. ''The Thirty Years' War'' (1997) [http://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Years-War-G-Parker/dp/0415128838/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250303012&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Steinberg, S. H. ''The 'Thirty Years War' and the Conflict for European Hegemony 1600-1660'' (1966).
* Theibault, John. "The Rhetoric of Death and Destruction in the Thirty Years War." ''Journal of Social History'' 27#2 (1993) pp 272+ [http://www.questia.com/read/5000249833?title=The%20Rhetoric%20of%20Death%20and%20Destruction%20in%20the%20Thirty%20Years%20War online edition]
* Wedgewood, C.V. ''The Thirty Years War'' (1938), classic narrative
* Wilson, Peter H. "The Causes of the Thirty Years War 1618-48." ''English Historical Review'' 2008 123(502): 554-586
* Wilson, Peter H. ''The Thirty Years War'' (2009), major scholarly history; stresses politics rather than religion

[[Category:Wars]]
[[Category:German History]]
[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:Swedish History]]

Musselburgh

2010-06-29T02:26:22Z

ElizDo:

Musselburgh, now part of [[Edinburgh]]’s urban sprawl, is the largest town in [[East Lothian]], [[Scotland]], and reputed to be Scotland’s oldest. As a burgh it is older than Edinburgh, as its residents are fond of reciting:
:”''Musselborough was a burgh when Edinburgh was nane'',”
:”''And Musselburgh will be a burgh when Edinburough’s gane''.”
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
It also boasts one of the oldest golf courses in the country.

[[Category: Scottish Cities and Towns]]

Doom (video game series)

2010-06-29T02:26:14Z

ElizDo:

'''Doom''' (Officially spelled "DOOM") ([[ESRB]] ratings: M) is a first-person shooting [[violent video games|violent video game]] series, it was created by [[id software]] and is one of the most well known of its genre due to its innovative graphics. It features vast amounts of [[violence]], [[blood]], [[demon]]ic imagery and [[gore]]. It has also been accused of causing the events at [[Columbine High School]] and that one of the shooters practiced for the event by creating Doom levels resembling the halls of the school with monsters to represent classmates and teachers. However, due to a lack of conclusive evidence, the levels are usually dismissed as just a coincidental myth as regarded widely.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
There are three games in the series as well as a series of [[expansion pack]]s.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]

[[Category: Video Games]]

FontForge

2010-06-29T02:26:05Z

ElizDo:

'''FontForge''' is an [[open-source]] [[font]] editor, formerly known as PfaEdit, developed by [[George Williams]], creator of the Monospace font family. FontForge supports a number of font formats, and is licensed under a [[BSD license]].
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[category:software]]

Vanadium Oxysalts

2010-06-29T02:25:55Z

ElizDo:

The '''vanadium oxysalts''' are [[compounds]] of [[metallic]] [[elements]] with the [[vanadate]] radical. This is a small class of [[minerals]] of which the most interesting for collectors is [[carnotite]], an important [[ore]] of [[uranium]]. Members of this class are soft, [[brittle]], and brightly colored. Chesterman, p. 493
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
=Sources=
*Chesterman, Charles W. ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals'', Alfred A. Knopf: New York (1987)

[[category:geology]]

Butyric Acid

2010-06-29T02:25:45Z

ElizDo:

'''Butyric acid''' (CH3(CH2)2COOH) is a [[fatty acid]] commonly found in rotten [[butter]], parmesan [[cheese]], and [[vomit]]. It has an unpleasant smell which can be detected by humans in concentrations of 10 parts per million (ppm).
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[Category:Acids]]

Christianity

2010-06-29T02:25:25Z

ElizDo:

{{Christianity}}
'''Christianity''' is the world's largest [[religion]], having 2.2 billion followers. It is a [[monotheistic]] religion that professes belief in [[Jesus]] as the Son of [[God]]. Christianity takes its name from [[Jesus Christ]] meaning "Jesus the Savior" and "Jesus the Anointed One". Followers of Jesus are called Christians, meaning "of Christ" or "belonging to Christ".<ref>[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=2661&dict=CALD Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]</ref> 
Today, Christianity is widespread and is practiced on all continents. It is most prevalent in Latin America, with a following of over four hundred million. Over 90% of the population of countries like Mexico, Brazil, and the Democratic Republic of Congo practice Christianity. Other significant regions include North America and Eurasia, where over 70% of the population is Christian.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
== Main Christian groups ==
[[Image:Anglican Christ Church.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Anglican Christ Church in Western Australia]]
'''The three largest self-governing bodies of Christians are:'''

* The [[Roman Catholic Church]] (approx. 1.1 billion baptized members) traces its roots back to [[Saint Peter]] whom Catholics believed established the Church and the succession of the [[Pope]]s as the spiritual authority over the Christian body of believers.

* The [[Orthodox Church]]es (approx. 300 million baptized members) also trace their roots back to the beginnings of Christianity, but do not believe in the Primacy of the Pope. Differing theological perspectives led to the [[Great Schism]] between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in A.D. 1054.

* [[Protestantism]]; the largest Communions are the [[Anglican Church|Anglicans]] (approx. 77 million baptized members) and the Lutheran World Federation (approx. 68 million baptized members). Protestantism has its origins in the European [[Reformation]]. It first broke away from the Roman Catholic Church under [[Martin Luther]] when differences over the nature of [[faith]] and works in the role of [[Christianity#salvation|salvation]] as well as other practices that Luther saw in the Catholic Church at that time that he did not agree with could not be adequately reconciled with Papal prescriptions. Other preachers and movements then followed Luther's example and also left the Catholic fold.

== Christian Beliefs ==
Theologians, over two millennia, have debated a definitive summary of the Christian faith. While its interpretations vary drastically, probably the most commonly accepted statement of faith is the [[Nicene Creed| Nicea-Constantinopolitan Creed]] below:

<blockquote>I believe in one God, [[God the Father|the Father Almighty]], Maker of [[heaven]] and [[earth]], and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the [[Holy Spirit]] and the [[Virgin Mary]], and became man. And He was crucified for us under [[Pontius Pilate]], and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He rose again, according to the [[Bible|Scriptures]]; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the [[Resurrection]] of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.</blockquote>

Christians and Christian denominations agree on many points of doctrine and disagree on others. According to an online Harris poll from 2003 99% of all American Christians believe in [[God]], 96% in the [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ|resurrection of Jesus Christ]], 93% in [[Heaven]], 93% in the virgin birth, 92% in the survival of the soul after death, 82% in [[Hell]], 50% in ghosts, 27% in astrology and 21% in reincarnation. <ref>http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=359</ref> Note that the latter two beliefs are in opposition to the religious tenents of most Christian denominations.

Nonetheless, the Nicea-Constantinopolitan Creed offers a general overall picture of what Christian theology looks like, and serves as a useful outline.

Other creeds may prove helpful in research. See also: the [[Apostle's Creed]], [[Athanasian Creed]].

===God===
{{main|God}}
God is a triune being. Though there is only one Divine nature there are three Divine Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three Persons are collectively called the [[Trinity]] or the Holy Trinity. While God is tripartite, this does not imply that Christians are polytheists--the oneness of the divine nature (or essence) is what matters. The doctrine of the Trinity is central to most (but not all) Christian theology.

A major theme of the Bible is [[love]]. In the Hebrew [[Old Testament]] the idea is expressed in the Hebrew word ''hessed'', which is variously translated as loyal love, tender mercy, steadfast love, mercy, goodness, etc. in the [[New Testament]] the same idea is expressed in the Greek word ''agape'', which is variously translated as love, compassion, charity, etc.

The God of the Christians is the creator of all things, is everywhere present, exists in all times, is transcendent, all-knowing (omniscient), just, and all-powerful (omnipotent).

===Jesus===
[[Image:Jesus' Baptism.jpg|180px|left|]]
During the reign of [[Augustus Caesar|Caesar Augustus]] the Son (e.g. the second Person of the Trinity) took flesh from a virgin woman and was incarnate as a man. He was born in the town of [[Bethlehem]] and was given the name [[Jesus]]. At the age of thirty he was baptized by his cousin, the [[John the Baptist|Prophet John]], and began to preach in the area [[Palestine]]. About three years after his baptism, he raised his friend [[Lazarus]] from the dead, prompting the Jewish power establishment to plot Jesus' death. Jesus was [[crucified]]. He came back from the dead and was seen by over 500 people. He ascended to Heaven. The four [[Gospels]] contain the records of some of what Jesus did and said, but he did much more than those four books relate, as the Apostle John said in his Gospel.
{{Clear}}

===Morality===
The fundamental principle in Christian moral teaching is love and forgiveness, as expressed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the New Testament. Jesus summarized his teachings in two commandments from the Old Testament:

"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 22:37-39; [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] 6:5; Leviticus 19:18)

Constant debate has resulted as to how a person should express love for God in their moral behavior. This moral dialogue found expression in the New Testament, where the [[Apostle Paul]] addressed such controversies as [[circumcision]] ([[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 2:25-29), eating meat that was sacrificed to [[pagan]] deities (1 Corinthians 8), speculating about myths and genealogies (1 Timothy 1:3-5), and observing ceremonial dates and seasons (Galatians 4:9-11).

Regardless of a person's ethical interpretations, adherents commonly point to New Testament passages John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as scriptural depictions of love. The former states that <blockquote>"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."</blockquote> The latter characterizes love, saying <blockquote>"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."</blockquote>

Jesus Christ affirmed, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

In trying to understand the reason for the growth of Christianity in a pagan culture, it has been noted that while love of one's neighbor is not an exclusively Christian virtue, it appears that the primitive Christian church practiced it much more effectively than any other group.<ref>E.R. Dodds, 1970:136-137</ref> This is most likely due to the constant mention of hospitality and generosity to one's "neighbors" in the Bible. Jesus was especially passionate about caring for people in need:

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me." (Matthew 19:21)

In addition to sacrificially showing care for those within the community as well as to those without, (cf. Gal. 6:10) the Christians elevated the sanctity of life, opposing abortion, infanticide, child abandonment, suicide, and gladiatorial contests.<ref>Kenneth Scott Latourette, ''A history of Christianity'' p. 244</ref><ref> Ted Cabal, Chad Owen Brand, Paul Copan, The Apologetics Study Bible, 274 </ref> While the primitive church tolerated the existing and pervasive cultural economic institution of slavery in the [[Roman Empire]], the mandate of equal pay and just treatment (Col. 4:1; Eph. 6:9) greatly ameliorated the treatment of slaves, while advising them to seek freedom if possible, (1Cor. 7:21) and requiring that the escape slave Onesimus be received back not "as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved". (Philemon 1:6) The Christian ethos of love also motivated a great expansion in the building of hospitals.<ref>Albert John Ochsner, Meyer Joseph Sturm, ''The organization, construction and management of hospitals'', p. 17</ref><ref>Roderick E. McGrew, ''Encyclopaedia of Medical Care'', p. 135</ref> By 500 A.D., most large towns in in the Roman Empire had erected them.<ref>George D. Pozgar, ''Legal aspects of health care administration', p. 2</ref>

===The Atonement of Jesus on the Cross===
[[Image:Dalí The Christ of St. John of the Cross.jpg|thumb|The Christ of St. John of the Cross by [[Salvador Dalí]], 1951.]]
All Christians believe with the New Testament that the death of Jesus, along with His resurrection, is an indispensable proclamation of a crucial event for the reconciliation of lost sinners with God. There are three elements they see to understanding His death on the cross.

# Jesus having the knowledge that His path would lead to his own death, desired and willed that that take place, and persevered in that path though there was opportunity for Him to avoid it. Though there is ample recognition in the New Testament that others desired Him to die, and that the circumstances in which His path took him would bring Him to His end on earth, the mover of all these things was Himself and the will of the Father. "I have power to take my life and I have power to lay down my life. I lay down my life for the sheep."
# Jesus saw that in His death there would be a way for people to be brought back to the God from whom they were alienated and lost because of their sins. This would involve a substitution of Himself to effect that way. "For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many." How this would take place was not new to the Jews of His day from their understanding of contemporary everyday practice of substitute payment - as in redemption of the first-born (Pidyon Ha Ben), or in the understanding of what aggadic stories such as the Binding of [[Isaac]] implied (see [[Midrash]]), but it was not the prevalent view that the Messiah was to be that payment. Though while alive on earth, he had hinted at it in sayings such as "unless a seed falls and dies, it remains alone, but when it dies, it brings forth..", it was only after He had risen from the dead that He explained Scripture (the Old Testament) clearly about the necessity of His death to have taken place. The disciples would henceforth preach, and Peter among them, that the death of Jesus the Messiah and His resurrection was for-planned and for-ordained by God the Father, and foretold in the Scripture (Isaiah 53). And so, "The Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God".
# It was the belief in Scripture, that in His death a way back to God was made possible for those that were near to God—the Jews. And a way back to God for those that were far away—the Gentiles. That is why the New Testament saw in the requirements of God for Israel a fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah. He was the perfect Israel, taken out of Egypt, to redeem Israel. And that is why the New Testament saw in Jesus, a deepness to the incarnation of the Son of God, deeper than just a Jew of His time of a certain tribe. He was the "Second Adam" to redeem the sons of Adam. This encompassing perspective had further implications.

Christians of all generations have looked to the perfect Atonement, and the hope for reconciliation, accomplished by Jesus on the cross, to provide the means of understanding the solution to the vexing problems of the mind and of life itself - How can I make reconciliation with my enemies, with even the members of my own family, of race with race and people with people?; Does His death for the sins of the world include those who only partially understand, for the baby aborted, the feeble minded, and severely retarded?; For those who have never heard of Jesus, never been "enlightened", distant and remote in place and time?; Does His death for the sins of the world also include a remedy for the ills that have come as a result of those sins—certain sicknesses, ills of the mind, body and the soul? Do they "hold" for today?; Does His death make good, turn to the better, show the way, effect the way, of the illnesses that have befallen the world, not only by sin, but simply by the circumstances of life, of degeneration, of compounded dysfunction? How does the fruit of His death bring in somehow the Kingdom "among us"?

The death of the Son of God on the cross has provided the solution for sin, and it still holds its sway over the imagination and aspirations for the people of our generation.

===Salvation===
The Bible teaches that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). This is often interpreted to mean that everyone has displeased God and is now separated from him in a kind of alienation and enmity that results from the fundamental conflict between selfish human interests and God's interests (Romans 8:5-8; James 4:4).

However, Jesus offered a solution to this Biblical dilemma in that by repentance of sins and faith in him (Jesus), their sins would be forgiven. He said that "...the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 2:10) Jesus also said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17, and "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men" (Mark 2:28)

Jesus Christ taught that "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" ([[Gospel of John|John]] 3:3). Protestant Evangelical Christianity often use the terms "saved" and "born again" interchangeably. Other Christians, notably the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church use the phrase ''born again'' as a synonym for [[baptism|baptized]]. "Jesus answered, Amen, amen, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

Christians are expected to continue living by Christ's teachings (John 8:31), as is appropriate for "children of Light" (Ephesians 5:8-10). Some believe that this is necessary in order to stay saved. However, this is a common misconception of the text. It is rather referring to proving that one is a child of God by their "fruit" (things that they do and how they behave). Christians in the Reformed tradition (following the teaching of the 16th century French lawyer [[John Calvin]], as well as the faith outlined in the Belgic and Heidleberg Confessions) say that salvation is irrevocable and that it cannot be lost, if it were genuinely part of one's life to begin with. Reformed Christians (often called [[Calvinists]]) often point to Romans 8:38-39 as validation of their belief: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39; [[NASB]]). According to Calvinists, the reason it cannot be lost by natural things is because salvation was obtained through a supernatural being, namely Jesus Christ. This does not negate Jesus' human side, only that he was both one-hundred percent God and one-hundred percent man, according to the [[Council of Chalcedon]] (A. D. 451). The Bible also makes it clear that mankind cannot earn their salvation, and that it is a free gift.

== Resurrection of Jesus Christ ==
[[Image:Jesus resurrected.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"The Resurrection" by Carl Heinrich Bloch]]
The [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ|resurrection of Jesus Christ]] is critical to the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (I Cor:15:14). Traditionally, Christianity has believed in a physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.<ref>http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/crj0056a.txt</ref>

In recent history Gary Habermas is considered the foremost [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] for defending the resurrection of Jesus.<ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/dialog_rexperience/dialog_rexperiences.htm Experiences of the Risen Jesus: The Foundational Historical Issue in the Early Proclamation of the Resurrection], ''Dialog: A Journal of Theology'', Vol. 45; No. 3 (Fall, 2006), pp. 288-297.</ref><ref>"Wildcat" and Holding, J.P., [http://www.tektonics.org/books/lichabrvw.html Book review of "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus"], 22nd June, 2004 (Tektonics)</ref><ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Habermas-Resurrection1-CTR.pdf Jesus' Resurrection and Contemporary Criticism: An Apologetic] ''Criswell Theological Review'' 4.1 (1989) 159-74.</ref><ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/crj_explainingaway/crj_explainingaway.htm Explaining Away Jesus' Resurrection:
The Recent Revival of Hallucination Theories], Christian Research Journal / vol. 23, no. 4, 2001.</ref><ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=/articles/historical_apologetics/habermas-nt.html Why I Believe The New Testament Is Historically Reliable] (Apologetics.com)</ref>
Other notable defenders of the resurrection include: [[William Lane Craig]],<ref>Craig, William Lane, [http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/menus/historical.html Articles: Historical Jesus]</ref> [[Lee Strobel]], [[Josh McDowell]],<ref>McDowell, Josh, [http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html Evidence for the Resurrection], 1992.</ref> [[Edwin M. Yamauchi]],<ref>Jamauchi, Edwin M., [http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/yama.html Easter: Myth, Hallucination, or History?]</ref> [[N.T. Wright]]<ref>Wright, N.T., [http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Early_Traditions.htm Early Traditions and the Origins of Christianity], ''Sewanee Theological Review'' 41.2, 1998.</ref> and [[Michael Horner]].<ref>Horner, Michael, [http://www.michaelhorner.com/articles/resurrection/index.html Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?]</ref>

===The Meaning of the Resurrection for Christians===

The Fact of the Resurrection of Christ is a key element of the preaching of the message about Jesus and an essential of Christian belief. But there are also certain effects that this belief has on the lives of believers.

1. It is because Jesus rose from the dead, that believers now can resort to a living Savior to help and deliver them from sin and from situations overwhelming for them by their own powers.

2. The New Testament sees in the resurrection of Christ a certain vindication of what apparently to the world and to all beings was a failure and an overcoming of Him by His crucifixion. He was "declared to be the Son of God" by His resurrection. This brings believers in Him to a strong confidence in the determined power of God to both vindicate in their own lives and to bring His reign upon earth.

3. The coming of Jesus back to life means to the believer that, indeed, their sins are totally forgiven. This is because believers know that His death was as a payment for sins - a "wage of death" for our sins that He received in our stead. If He remained dead, believers would know that the wage had not been fully paid. His resurrection, carries with it our knowledge that our sin with its attendant death has been totally and finally paid for.

4. It is a now living Savior that Christians know can go before them, can closely lead them through life - as He did when He was on earth. This makes following Him practical and real.

5. The New Testament reveals that it is the Risen Christ who received from the Father the Holy Spirit and He, through Himself ascended to the Father, has given the Holy Spirit to us. This gives the believer in Christ both the knowledge and the power to live a godly life, and live a life that can be an intimately and personally directed one.

6. The resurrected Christ was no mere reassembling of the molecules and particles of the Body that had been crucified. It was, indeed, a physical body, but one that was fully under the Spirit's control, guidance, and empowerment. It was a "spiritual body". Christians know that likewise, they will one day be granted the nature of a spiritual body, and full of health. They therefore are full of hope and consolations, and consider that even now in this life, there is an overcoming through Him, a restoration, and that tears, even now, are wiped away.

== Evangelism ==
In what is called the [[Great Commission]], Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to preach the Gospel (literally "good news") and make disciples.
:'''Great Commission'''
:''But the eleven disciples proceeded to [[Galilee]], to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in [[heaven]] and on [[earth]]." Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the [[#God the Father|Father]] and the [[#God the Son|Son]] and the [[#God the Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]], teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."'' --[[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 28:16-20 [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]]

[[Image:Gleyre The Departure of the Apostles.jpg|thumb|240px|The Departure of the Apostles by [[Charles Gleyre]].]]
 

==History of the name "Christian"==
The early Christian faith was sometimes called ''That Way'', (Acts 19:1,9,23; 24:22) and the church its adherents were also called ''Nazarenes'', (Acts 24:5) evidently after the city of [[Nazareth]] where Jesus lived. Probably close to A.D 50 the [[Acts of the Apostles|Book of Acts]] (Acts:11:26) records that "the disciples were called Christians first in [[Antioch]]." The title ''Christian'' is also used in Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16, and likely is referred to in James 2:7, "Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?"

==Early Church Community and Commitment: The Biblical Period==

The Bible records that that at least initially, the church was a single organic community, in which

:they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. {43} And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. {44} And all that believed were together, and had all things common; {45} And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. {46} And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."(Acts 2:42-47; 4:32)

This community was soon "scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles" due to determined persecution, which resulted in the dispersed disciples going "every where preaching the word." (Acts 8:1,4) Though the scattered Christian community could be found relatively soon throughout the then known world, they were primarily to be found in two separate cultural and liguistic entities and then kindoms, the Greek and then Latin speaking empires of Europe and the mid-east, and the Aramaic speaking sphere of the Parthian empire of the mid and far-east. This latter sphere encompassed not only the eastern portions of Syria, Arabian peninsula and Persia, but also extended to portions of southern India and even China. To this day there are many [[Aramaic Church]] members in the Kerala province of south India.

Other evidence indicates believers had their own houses and goods. (Acts 10:6; 16:14,15,40; 21:8; 1Cor. 11:22; 1Tim. 6:17; Philemon)

==Early Church Community and Commitment: the Post Biblical Period==

'''Justin martyr 100 A.D. - 165 A.D. From the "First Apology" (Defense)
'''

<blockquote>
But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized [illuminated] person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to genoito [so be it]. And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion. (Chapt. LXV - administration of the sacraments)</blockquote>

<blockquote>
And this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist = the Thanksgiving], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone... (Chapt. LXVl - of the Eucharist)
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead...(Chapt.LXVll - weekly worship of the Christians)
</blockquote>

'''Tertullian (A.D. 160 -220), Early ecclesiatical leader and writer, in his ''Apology'' (response to pagan charges) in describing the early church community (197 A.D.): '''

:We are a body knit together by one faith, one discipline and one hope. We meet together as a congregation, uniting together to offer prayer to God. We pray for the emperors and all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for peace and for the delay of the final end. We read our holy scriptures to nourish our faith, hope, steadfastness and good habits. We hear exhortations and rebukes. We take such judging very seriously – as befits those who believe they are in the sight of God – especially seriously when anyone sins so grievously we have to cut them off from our prayer, our congregation and all sacred things. Our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor not by money, but by their established character. There is no buying and selling in the things of God. Though we have a fund, but not because people can buy religion. Once a month, anyone who wants to makes a small donation – but only he who is able and willing; there is no compulsion. It is not spent on feasts, but to support and bury poor people, to provide for orphans, the elderly old persons, victims of shipwreck and those in prison for their faith.<ref>Defense by Tertullian (39), Trans. Rev. S. Thelwall. Modernized, abridged and introduced by Stephen Tomkins. Edited and prepared for the web by Dan Graves.</ref>

'''Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Pontus & Bithynia (northern Turkey) from A.D. 111-113, reporting to emperor Trajan of Christians, whom such pagan rulers found intolerable:'''

:...in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.

:... Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.

:They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food.<ref>Pliny the Younger Letters, 10.96 </ref>

==Also See==
[[Image:Orthodox churches icon artwork.jpg|thumb|Orthodox Church's icon artwork.]]
'''Denominations or branches of Christianity'''
*[[Roman Catholic Church]]
*[[Orthodox Church]]
*[[Protestantism|Protestant]]
**[[Amish]]
**[[Baptist]]
**[[Church of England]] or ''Anglican Church''
**[[Episcopal Church in the United States of America]] (or ''Episcopal Church'' or ''Episcopalians'') (Non-UK branch of the Anglican Church)
**[[Evangelical Christianity]]
**[[Fundamentalism]]
**[[Liberal Christianity]]
**[[Lutheran]]
**[[Mennonite]]
**[[Methodist]]
**[[Pentecostal]]
**[[Plymouth Brethren]]
**[[Presbyterian]]
**[[Seventh-day Adventist]]

'''Disputed'''
*[[Christian Science]]

'''Other articles'''
*[[Aramaic Church]]
*[[Cathedral]]
*[[Catholicism]]
*[[Christian apologetics]] (Defense of Christianity)
*[[Christianity and Science]]
*[[Church]]
*[[Conservative Christianity]]
*[[Eucharist]]
*[[Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America (Syro-Chaldean)]]
*[[Gospel reading in the Church: the Turgama]]
*[[Inspiration of Holy Scripture: An Eastern Christian and Jewish Perspective]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Judaism]]
*[[Messiah]]
*[[New Testament understanding through the Jewish perspective]]
*[[Passover Seder]]
*[[Persecution of Christians]]
*[[Red-letter Christian]]
*[[Sign of the Cross]]
*[[Essay: The Way of Salvation]]
*[[Gates of Hell]]
*[[Anti Abortion activism: a personal essay]]

==Further reading==
===Encyclopedias===
* Bodensieck, Julius, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church,'' (3 vol 1965), ECLS perspective
* Brauer, Jerald C. ''The Westminster Dictionary of Church History'' (1971), 880pp
* [http://newadvent.org/cathen/index.html ''The Catholic Encyyclopedia'' (1907-1913)], old but highly detailed and online
** '' New Catholic Encyclopedia'', edited by the Catholic University of America, 17 vol. 1967-1979.
*Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone, eds. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (3rd ed. 1997), 1840pp; [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Dictionary-Christian-Church/dp/0192802909/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b excerpt and text search]; online at [[OUP]]
* Elwell, Walter A., ed. ''Evangelical Dictionary of Theology‎'' (2001) 1312 pages; articles by over 200 Evangelical or Fundamentalist scholars
*Hastings, Adrian et al. eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought'' (2000) 808pp; 600 articles by 260 Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox scholars; [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0198600240/ref=sib_dp_pt/105-4292297-2766841#reader-link excerpt and text search]; online at [[OUP]]
*''New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'' (1911), ), major sources of older scholarly articles; mainline Protestant perspective
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc01.toc.html Vol. 1: Aachen - Basilians]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc02.toc.html Vol. 2: Basilica - Chambers]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc03.toc.html Vol. 3: Chamier - Draendorf]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc04.toc.html Vol. 4: Draeseke - Goa]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc05.toc.html Vol. 5: Goar - Innocent]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc06.toc.html Vol. 6: Innocents - Liudger]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc07.toc.html Vol. 7: Liutprand - Moralities]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc08.toc.html Vol. 8: Morality - Petersen]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc09.toc.html Vol. 9: Petri - Reuchlin]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc10.toc.html Vol. 10: Reutsch - Son]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc11.toc.html Vol. 11: Son of Man - Tremellius]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc12.toc.html Vol. 12: Trench - Zwingli]
**[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc13.toc.html Vol. 13: Index]

===Histories===
*Briggs, J. H. Y., Robert D. Linder, and David F. Wright. ''Introduction to the History of Christianity: First Century to the Present Day'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-History-Christianity-Century-Present/dp/0800638123/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200823548&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]
*Gonzalez, Justo L. '' A History of Christian Thought: Volume 1: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon'' (2nd ed. 1987); [http://www.amazon.com/History-Christian-Thought-Beginnings-Chalcedon/dp/0687171822/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200823941&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search vol 1]; ''A History of Christian Thought: Volume 2: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation'' (2nd ed. 1987) [http://www.amazon.com/History-Christian-Thought-Augustine-Reformation/dp/0687171830/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200823941&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search vol 2]; ''A History of Christian Thought: Volume 3: From the Protestant Reformation to the Twentieth Century'' (1987) [http://www.amazon.com/History-Christian-Thought-Protestant-Reformation/dp/0687171849/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200808706&sr=8-12 excerpt and text search vol 3]
*Horsley, Richard A. ''Christian Origins: A People's History Of Christianity, Vol. 1'' (2006), 318pp [http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Origins-Peoples-History-Christianity/dp/080063411X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200886474&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
*Latourette, Kenneth Scott. ''A History of Christianity'' (2 vol 1975) [http://www.amazon.com/History-Christianity-Beginnings-1500-Revised/dp/0060649526/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200823548&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search vol 1, to 1500], by leading Baptist scholar
*Latourette, Kenneth Scott. ''A history of the expansion of Christianity'' (7 vol 1939-1970), monumental history of missionary work worldwide
*MacCulloch, Diarmaid. ''The Reformation'' (2005), influential recent survey [http://www.amazon.com/Reformation-Diarmaid-MacCulloch/dp/014303538X/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200808706&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
*McGonigle, Thomas D., and James F. Quigley. ''A history of the Christian Tradition: From Its Jewish Orgins to the Reformation'' (1988); ''A History of the Christian Tradition, Vol. II: From the Reformation to the Present'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/History-Christian-Tradition-Vol-Reformation/dp/0809136481/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200808706&sr=8-15 excerpt and text search vol 2]
*Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine'' (5 vol 1975-91) [http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Tradition-Development-Doctrine-Medieval/dp/0226653757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201083460&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search v. 3, 600 AD -1300]]; [http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Tradition-Development-Reformation-1300-1700/dp/0226653773/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201083460&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search vol 4, 1300-1700]; [http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Tradition-History-Development-Doctrine/dp/0226653803/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201083460&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search vol 5, 1700-present] This is the standard history of Christian doctrine.
*Ward, Keith. ''Christianity: A Beginner's Guide'' (2008), 195pp

===United States===
* Ahlstrom, Sydney E. ''A religious history of the American people‎'' (1979) 1192 pages; classic history from broad perspective [http://books.google.com/books?id=5kFF6a1viGcC&dq=inauthor:ahlstrom&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES excerpt and text search]
* Balmer, Randall. ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism'' (2nd ed. 2004), 655pp [http://www.questia.com/library/book/encyclopedia-of-evangelicalism-by-randall-balmer.jsp ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism'' online edition]
* Lippy, Charles H. and Peter W. Williams, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the American religious experience: studies of traditions and movements'' (3 vol 1988) 1872 pages; standard reference work; long essays by scholars
* Noll, Mark A. '' A history of Christianity in the United States and Canada‎'' (1992), by leading Evangelical historian [http://books.google.com/books?id=VGF3wbzzy9QC&dq=intitle:christianity+inauthor:noll&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES excerpt and text search]
* Queen, Edward L. et al, eds. Encyclopedia of American Religious History'' (3rd ed. 2 vol. 2009) 1200pp
* Reid, Daniel G. et al. eds., ''Dictionary of Christianity in America'' (199)
* Wooley, Davis C. ed. '' Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists‎'' (5 vol 1958-19820; 2565 pages

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

==External Links==
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/christians/ What Liberals Say - Category: Christians], [[Accuracy In Media]]
*[http://www.christian.com Christian] Social Network
[[Category:Christianity| ]]
[[Category:Worldviews]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

John III Sobieski

2010-06-29T02:25:09Z

ElizDo:

John III Sobieski, (Polish: Jan III Sobieski) (1629 - 1696) is probably the most famous monarch of the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], which he reigned from 1674 until his death as a King of [[Poland]] and a Grand Duke of [[Lithuania]]. He lead the relief of [[Vienna]], and there, defeated the Turks in the [[Battle of Vienna]] in 1683.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[Category:Monarchs]]

Amnesty

2010-06-29T02:24:58Z

ElizDo:

'''Amnesty''' refers to a legal absolution for a [[crime]], typically conferred upon a guilty party by a branch of government other than the judiciary. In the [[United States]], the [[President]] can grant individual criminals amnesty by a presidential [[pardon]]; similarly, the legislature can repeal, or carve out exceptions to, criminal laws, and provide for retroactive application, thus discharging guilt.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
In United States political discourse, "amnesty" typically refers to legislative proposals to forgive immigrants who enter the country illegally and, in some cases, grant them citizenship. While moderates like [[John McCain]] support amnesty,<ref>http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2008/sep/mccain-promises-amnesty-illegal-immigrants</ref> [[conservative|conservatives]] staunchly oppose immigration amnesty in any form.<ref>http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42255</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[category:Law]]
[[category:Political Terms]]
[[category:Immigration]]

MIME

2010-06-29T02:24:46Z

ElizDo:

'''MIME''' stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. It is a set of instructions that allows [[email]]s to be sent in more than just plain text. [http://www.htmlite.com/php031.php]
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
[[category:internet]]

World History Homework One Answers - Student Three

2010-06-29T02:24:37Z

ElizDo:

'''World History Homework One'''
Leonard G.
Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.
1.) What I hope to accomplish in this course this year is to review [[world]] [[history]] and to have a good time while doing so.

:Great attitude!

2.) The date of the [[Tower of Babel]] interests me. To imagine a time when one language was spoken is difficult to comprehend, but if language wasn’t created by [[God]], we would probably be speaking in primitive grunts!

:Good humor. The entire episode of the [[Tower of Babel]] is a fascinating one which deserves more discussion and consideration. Good use of linking in your answer, by the way!

3.) Hammurabi’s Code was pretty blunt with its “eye for an eye” philosophy. It is similar to the Bible in many ways, including punishment for false accusations. Hammurabi’s Code was not perfect; however, it might have been too severe at times. An example would be persecuting a person who falsely accuses someone by accident. We must learn to forgive each other for the mistakes we may make.

:Excellent point about forgiveness, and its central role.

4) Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus. China, Mexican Olmec, and Peru are the first major empires of world history. Egypt is definitely my favorite because of their amazing intelligence. Their communication wasn’t that great, but to see such great works of architecture and leadership simply amazes me.

:Superb answer. Will use as a model.

5.) The controversy of creation can actually be dated back to this time, even though some believe that creation actually happened millions of years ago. Creation has been one of the biggest controversies in history, puzzling even the most intelligent person.

:Good.

6.) Egypt was divided into three periods, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. I love Egyptian architecture. To imagine the geniuses that were able to design such amazing structures that would last lifetimes!

:Good, but add the time periods to your answer. (Minus 1)

:59/60. Superb start!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 22:39, 7 February 2009 (EST)
[[Category:World History lectures]]

Balearic Islands

2010-06-29T02:24:26Z

ElizDo:

The '''Balearic Islands''' are an [[island]] group in the [[Mediterranean]] sea belonging to Spain. The main islands are Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza; the main economic activity is tourism.

Unfortunately, Phyllis and Andy Schlafly will be spending eternity in Hell due to their acceptance of John Schlafly's flaming homosexuality.

[[Category:Spain]]
[[Category:Islands]]