Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Iron Curtain

2007-05-21T22:18:07Z

HuskerJeff: Grammar

The [[Iron Curtain]] referred to the bar to travel, commerce and communication with the nations of the West and the USSR erected by the [[Soviet Union]] after [[World War Two]]. The phrase was coined by [[Winston Churchill]], in 1946, in a speech at [[Westminster College]] in Fulton, [[Missouri]]. The [[Berlin Wall]] was perhaps its most visible symbol, dividing the city into the free [[West Berlin]] and the [[East Berlin]] under Soviet [[dictator]]ship. The Iron Curtain's shredding began with [[Ronald Reagan]]'s demand in 1987 that Premier [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] of the Soviet Union "tear down this wall".

==See Also==

[[Berlin Airlift]]

The Ramones

2007-05-21T20:48:48Z

HuskerJeff: General update, more information on band members, specific information for personal philosophical difference.

{{expand}}

'''The Ramones''' were a four-member [[New York]] [[punk]] band formed in 1975. All taking the adopted surname of "Ramone," original members included Joey, Johnny, Tommy, and Dee Dee Ramone. Tommy was replaced by Mark Bell of the New York art-punk group The Voidoids, who became Marky Ramone. Dee Dee left the band in the mid 1980s, and was replaced by C.J. Ramone.

Songs were typically introduced with a simple count of "1-2-3-4!" The band played extremely fast, and with minimal ostentation. This set the stage for future punk acts, who took cues from the Ramones' utilitarian approach. Early on, the band's sets were rarely longer than 30 minutes, however these expanded as songwriting improved.

The band contained members widely at variance in their personal philosophies (Joey was a [[hippie]], Johnny was a [[Republican]] ex-marine). In one instance, Johnny Ramone forced a song written by Dee Dee lambasting popular American president Ronald Reagan, entitled "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg," to have it's title changed to "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down" before it was released. The band used these differences constructively to generate a [[synergy|synergistic]] effect, their basic lyrics and fast-played music managing to somehow transcend their sound's apparent simplicity.

Later in their career, the Ramones made [[surf music|surf-themed]] and [[psychedelia|psychedelic]] records, as well as developing a heavier, more [[heavy metal|metallic]] sound, though never abandoning their endearing no-nonsense approach.

Though chart success eluded them to some extent, one Ramones song sounding much like another, the band were nevertheless extremely popular, and today are among the best-loved of all American bands, regularly placing highly in listener polls. <ref>http://www.actsofvolition.com/archives/2002/january/thebest49bands</ref>

A film, ''Rock'n'Roll High School'', featuring the Ramones was made in 1979.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Bands|Ramones, The]]

Punk

2007-05-21T20:40:47Z

HuskerJeff: Edited origins of the music as to American contribution.

'''Punk music''' originated in the late 1970s, primarily as a response to the cultural sterility of [[progressive rock]]. In the [[United Kingdom]], punk arose bands such as the [[Sex Pistols]], [[The Clash]] and [[The Buzzcocks]]. The [[Sex Pistols]] and [[The Clash]] were influenced by American punk acts such as [[The Ramones]], a Queens, New York quartet known for blending traditional pop hooks in with punk staples such as power chords and heavy distortion.

==Musicality==

Punk is charactarised by up-tempo guitar/bass arrangements. The lyrics can be concerned with any topic, generally, but are almost always written with a 1-2, 1-2 rhyme scheme. By design, the songs are usually structured to be very simplistic [[rock]] songs of the 1-4-5 chord progression variety.

==Dancing==

Various methods of dancing to it have emerged, such as skanking and pogo-ing. Punk-style dance is typically designed to be synasthesically expressive of an emotion, not of a particular representational style, such as a jitterbug.

==Punk Culture==

The Punk subculture is typified by core beliefs and ethos.

* DIY ethic
* individualism
* progressive thought

Punks typically distinguish themselves from others with their unmistakable appearances. This has included things such as Mohawk hairstyles, tight pants, studded leather jackets, bullet belts, combat boots, ect. Clothing and hairstyles vary widely throught the punk scene, and often paticular outfits denote paticular strains of punk or core-beliefs. Most true punks however will claim that the punk subculture is more based on the idea of non-conformity, community, and progressive thought (particularly in politics).

Not all punks are political, and likewise not all political punks advocate anarchy. While most punks are considered liberal, some are conservative ([[Nazi-punks]]).

==Sub-Genres==

* [[hardcore]]
* [[psychobilly]]
* [[pop-punk]]
* [[crust]]
* [[emo]]

== Notable Punk bands ==

=== United Kingdom===
* [[Sex Pistols]]
* [[The Buzzcocks]]
* [[The Damned]]
* [[Adicts]]
* [[U.K. Subs]]
* [[The Exploited]]
* [[Crass]]
* [[Subhumans]]
* [[The Clash]]
* The [[Anti-Nowhere League]]
*[[Flux of Pink Indians]]
*[[Conflict]]
* [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]]
* [[The Stranglers]]
* [[The Fall]]

=== United States ===
* [[Aus-Rotten]]
* [[The Ramones]]
* [[Television(band)|Television]]
* [[Dead Kennedys]]
* [[Anti-Flag]]
* [[Misfits]]
* [[New York Dolls]]
* [[Bad Religion]]
* [[Dropkick Murphys]]
* [[Black Flag]]
* [[Pixies]]

==Christianity in Punk Music==

Some Christians claim punk to have satanic roots, which is completely false. There are few punk bands who are Christians as well as punk bands that play Christian Punk music.

Some examples of Punk bands who are Christians and Christian Punk bands are:

*[[MxPx]]
*[[Relient K]]
*[[Slick Shoes]]

These bands, however, are not considered punk by real punks.

==External Links==
[http://www.punkvoter.com]

[[Category:Music]]

Voting Rights Act of 1965

2007-05-21T20:35:36Z

HuskerJeff: Grammar edit, flow issues.

The National Voting Rights Act of 1965<ref>42 U.S.C. § 1973-1973aa-6</ref> authorized, and in some areas required, federal oversight of elections. Many of these areas were in the South. Frequently amended, it imposes a complex system of regulations that include forcing local governments to print multilingual ballots at their own expense, in many different foreign languages. It requires federal registration of voters in regions where less than 50% of minorities are registered.

The Act gives the Department of Justice the power to approve or reject any change in a voting law in certain districts where less than 50% of the population were registered to vote in 1964. The Act also outlawed literacy tests that once limited the right to vote in some areas to those who could read the ballot, as well as so-called "Grandfather Clauses".

Although the Act is over 40 years old and addresses issues from the early 1960s and before, in 2006 Congress passed a 25-year extension without meaningful debate. 33 House members opposed the 25-year extension, primarily because of the imposition of multilingual balloting. Not a single senator, however, voted against it, and President [[George W. Bush]] quickly signed it into law.

== References ==

<references/>