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User talk:JLefkowitz

2018-01-22T05:47:28Z

JLefkowitz: clearing up old userpage (please delete both this account/DynaboyJ along with its associated pages, if you could. thank you!)

User talk:DynaboyJ

2018-01-22T05:46:14Z

JLefkowitz: clearing up old userpage

User:JLefkowitz

2018-01-22T05:45:31Z

JLefkowitz: clearing up old userpage

User:DynaboyJ

2018-01-22T05:45:11Z

JLefkowitz: clearing up old userpage

Deduction

2012-11-18T02:38:56Z

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Pyrolysis-mass-spectrometry

2012-11-18T02:38:41Z

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Carbon Footprint

2012-11-18T02:38:33Z

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Diorite

2012-11-18T02:38:26Z

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Lethe

2012-11-18T02:38:12Z

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Masonry

2012-11-18T02:38:05Z

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Nereus

2012-11-18T02:37:56Z

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Chuck Norris

2012-10-14T04:06:23Z

JLefkowitz:

[[Image:chuck_norris.jpg|right|Chuck Norris publicity shot from official website.]]

'''Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris''', born March 10, 1940 (age {{age|1940|3|10}}), is a popular American [[Martial arts|martial artist]] and actor, perhaps best known as the star of the popular television series, ''Walker, Texas Ranger''.<ref name="bio">[http://www.chucknorris.com/html/biog.html Official Chuck Norris Biography]</ref>

Norris, a conservative Christian, has written several books, financially supported various Republican political candidates, and has written columns for the conservative site, [[WorldNetDaily]], since 2006. Through his columns, Norris has been an outspoken critic of the [[theory of evolution]]<ref name="mania" />, the teaching of which he holds partially responsible for school shootings: "We teach our children they are nothing more than glorified apes, yet we don't expect them to act like monkeys."<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55333 "The heroes of America's academic halls"], by Chuck Norris</ref>

==Early Life==
Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma to Wilma and Ray Norris, and was named after his father's minister. He has two younger brothers, Weiland (who died in the Vietnam War), and Aaron. He is part Cherokee. Norris's parents divorced when he was 16, and his mother moved with him and his brothers first to Kansas, and then California. According to his biography, his father was an alcoholic who wasn't there for him while he was growing up.<ref name="norris"/>

He served with distinction from 1958 to 1962 in the USAF, where he got his nickname "Chuck" and a black belt in martial arts. In 1958 he married his wife Dianne Holechek, and had two sons (Mike and Eric) with her. They divorced in 1988. A daughter, Dina, was born in 1964 as a result of an extramarital affair.<ref>[http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/article_326336dd-5f35-54a2-98a3-f0dfaa1d8cca.html Chuck Norris authors online anti-abortion tract] February 2, 2007, heraldextra.com, retrieved September 28, 2011</ref> He did not meet his daughter until she was 26 years old.

In 1998, Norris married Gena O'Kelley, a former model born in 1963. Their twins, Dakota Alan and Danilee Kelly Norris, were born in 2001.

==Martial arts career==
After his left the Air Force, Norris began competing in martial arts tournaments. He won at least 30 tournaments over his career, and held the title of World Professional Middleweight Karate Champion for six consecutive years. Some say that Norris, in 1997, became the first American to ever earn an 8th-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do; however, there are two other Americans who earned their 8th-degree black belts before him.<ref>Chuck Sereff received his in 1990, and Edward Sell earned his in 1991. They both have since earned their 9th-degree black belt, making them the highest-ranking Westerners in the world in Tae Kwon Do.</ref> He has created his own form of martial arts, Chun Kuk Do, with the following rules:

# I will develop myself to the maximum of my potential in all ways.
# I will forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements.
# I will continually work at developing love, happiness and loyalty in my family.
# I will look for the good in all people and make them feel worthwhile.
# If I have nothing good to say about a person, I will say nothing.
# I will always be as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
# I will maintain an attitude of open-mindedness.
# I will maintain respect for those in authority and demonstrate this respect at all times.
# I will always remain loyal to my God, my country, family and my friends.
# I will remain highly goal-oriented throughout my life because that positive attitude helps my family, my country and myself.

==Acting==
His first movie was an uncredited appearance in''The Green Berets'' in 1968. His first starring role was in ''Breaker! Breaker!'', released in 1977. He also starred in movies such as ''The Octagon'' (1980), ''An Eye for an Eye'' (1981), ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', ''Code of Silence'', ''The Delta Force'', as well as the ''Missing in Action'' film trilogy, which he dedicated to the memory of his younger brother who had died in the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="norris">[http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/Chuck-Norris/biography/ Chuck Norris Biography] monstersandcritics.com, retrieved on September 28, 2011</ref>

In 1993 Norris started filming ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', a hit TV show that aired on CBS until 2001. In 2005, he filmed ''Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire'' for CBS's Sunday night 'Movie of the Week'.<ref name="norris"/>

==Politics and Religion==

He has written about the vast [[atheist]] conspiracy to outlaw Christianity in the United States, <ref name="outlaw">[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55668 "How to outlaw Christianity (Step 1)"], by Chuck Norris</ref><ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55789 "How to outlaw Christianity (Step 2 and 3)"], by Chuck Norris</ref> the first step of which is the acceptance of atheists in our government:

:"Though the majority of Americans continue to claim to be Christians, a Gallup poll discovered 45 percent of us would support an atheist for president. Such a survey is a clear indication that the secularization of society is alive and well."<ref name="outlaw" />
To thwart this menace of secularization, Norris has jokingly promised that if elected [[President of the United States of America|President]] he would "tattoo an American flag with the words 'In God we trust' on the forehead of every atheist," "require every member of Congress work out on the Total Gym 15 minutes each day," and "deport all [[Liberals]]." <ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56107 "If I am elected president"], by Chuck Norris</ref>
Norris is active in many Christian causes, including the [[Billy Graham Evangelistic Association]] and [[Feed the Children]]<ref>[http://www.chucknorris.com/html/christian.aspx Chuck Norris Official Website: Christian]</ref>. He and his wife are the spokespersons for the [[National Council on Bible Curriculum]], which seeks to bring state certified [[Bible]] courses to public high schools nationwide<ref>[http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/21073870.html "Actor Chuck Norris and Wife Gena Join National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools Board of Directors"], ''Christian Newswire''</ref>.

Norris is a [[Republican Party|Republican]] and has donated more than $32,000 to Republican candidates and organizations since 1988. Norris once filled in for [[Sean Hannity]] on [[Hannity and Colmes]].
<ref>[http://wcbstv.com/slideshows/Conservative.Celebrities.20.824701.html Celebs Who Lean To The Right - Slide 5], ''wcbstv.com'', Accessed on April 5, 2009</ref> Norris supported [[Mike Huckabee]] for U.S. President in the 2008 Republican primary. <ref>[http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58255 My choice for president], ''WorldNetDaily'', October 21, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58502 Huckabee, not duck-n-weave], ''WorldNetDaily'', November 5, 2007</ref> Norris was also featured in a television campaign ad with Huckabee. <ref>[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MDUQW8LUMs8 Huckchuckfacts Add on Youtube]</ref>

Norris criticized opponents of California's Proposition 8 (which outlawed gay marriage) for practicing double standards when they protested and harassed Mormons for supporting the bill while ignoring the fact "70 percent of African-Americans voted in favor of Proposition 8."<ref>[http://townhall.com/columnists/chucknorris/2008/11/18/if_democracy_doesnt_work,_try_anarchy If democracy doesn't work, try anarchy] Norris, Chuck, townhall.com, November 18, 2008, retrieved September 28, 2011</ref>
==Other facts==

Chuck Norris is also famous for endorsing the "Total Gym" exercise machine.<ref>[http://www.totalgymdirect.com/ Total Gym Website]</ref>

Chuck Norris exhibits no lack of [[machismo]] at all.

Chuck Norris is also the subject of the popular internet phenomenon known as "Chuck Norris Facts." <ref name="mania">[http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52567 On Chuck Norris 'mania' sweeping the Net], ''WorldNetDaily'', October 23, 2006</ref> These "facts" were originally meant to be ironic, as Chuck Norris was known for awkwardness at the time of the origin of them.

==Honors==
*Numerous black belts in martial arts.
*He is an honorary US Marine (Devil Dog)
*Honorary Texas Ranger

==External links==
* [http://www.chucknorris.com/ Chuck Norris Official Website]

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

{{DEFAULTSORT: Norris, Chuck}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Columnists]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]

George Carlin

2012-03-20T23:14:40Z

JLefkowitz:

'''George Carlin''' (May 12, 1937-June 22, 2008) was an [[atheist]] satirist and stand-up comedian in the tradition of [[Lenny Bruce]] and [[Richard Pryor]]. He appeared on TV and had several small parts in movies.

Many of his jokes poke fun at peculiarities of English language:
*Why is it that night falls but day breaks?
*Why is the third hand on the watch called a [[second hand]]?

He skewered all sorts of absurdities in American life:
*And why do they lock the public bathrooms at gas stations? Are they afraid that someone will clean them?<ref>http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html</ref>

Carlin was very vulgar in his comedy, mocking what he disagreed with in an audacious way that people often took offense to.

==Controversy==
George Carlin has been a long-standing testament to the countercultural revolution of the '60s and '70s and was no stranger to controversy.

In 1973, he was arrested after a show in [[Oregon]] on obscenity charges after his routine "The 7 Dirty Words (You Can't Say On TV Or Radio)" was played uncensored on the radio. The case created a stir on definitions of indecency and the restrictions by the [[FCC]].

Carlin was also an outspoken [[atheist]], and virulently anti-[[Christian]] and anti-establishment.

He blamed the October 2007 wildfires in [[Los Angeles]] County on the people, saying that they "invaded the habitat, and are getting theirs."

He also criticized global warming and [[environmentalism]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbFD4NC60EA&feature=PlayList&p=2F9495B0767D5C71&index=59</ref>

==Quotes==
*"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man, living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of 10 things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these 10 things, he has a special place full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish where he will send *you* to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever til the end of time...but he loves you."<ref>http://netscientia.com/god_spell.html</ref>

*"Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers."<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvF1Q3UidWM</ref>

==Death==

Carlin passed away on June 22, 2008, as a result of heart failure. He was 71.

His [[memoir]] ''Last Words'' (written with Tony Hendra) was published in November 2009.

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

==External links==
*[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_carlin.html George Carlin Quotes]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/author/george-carlin/ What Liberals Say - George Carlin], [[Accuracy In Media]]

{{DEFAULTSORT: Carlin, George}}

[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Talk:Conway's Game of Life

2012-03-20T23:11:50Z

JLefkowitz: Created page with "Conway's Game of Life doesn't prove complex evolution, like that of the origin of species, simply because it's not programmed to. It's not supposed to prove evolution--it's just ..."

Conway's Game of Life doesn't prove complex evolution, like that of the origin of species, simply because it's not programmed to. It's not supposed to prove evolution--it's just supposed to be an interesting "game". [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 19:11, 20 March 2012 (EDT)

Talk:War on Women

2012-03-13T20:32:25Z

JLefkowitz: Created page with "This seems an awful lot like an unproven, accusatory conspiracy theory--similar to the 9/11 attacks. I can guarantee that, even if the Democratic Party did something like this, t..."

This seems an awful lot like an unproven, accusatory conspiracy theory--similar to the 9/11 attacks. I can guarantee that, even if the Democratic Party did something like this, they wouldn't have given it your nickname of the "War on Women".

Dr. Seuss

2012-03-11T22:36:50Z

JLefkowitz:

'''Theodor Seuss Geisel''' (2 March 1904 – 24 September 1991) better known by the [[pen name]] of '''Dr. Seuss''', was a [[liberal]] children's author who wrote over 60 books between 1937 and 1990, including such classics as [[Green Eggs and Ham]], [[How the Grinch Stole Christmas]] and [[The Cat in the Hat]]. He was married to Helen Palmer, who committed [[suicide]] in 1967, and then married Audrey Stone in 1968. He had no children.

== Politics ==
Seuss identified himself as a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]], and his political views often show up in his work. [[The Lorax]] heavily promotes [[environmentalism]], with a righteous "Lorax" facing an evil "Once-ler" (obviously a stand-in for humans). The Lorax bothers the Once-ler by harrassing his workshop, and the narration doesn't face any concerns about the Once-ler's environment-harming business, like the fact that if it was shut down, everyone working would lose their jobs.

Seuss's book ''Horton Hears a Who'' is heavily promoted in [[pro-life]] circles, mostly because of the repeated line "A person's a person, no matter '''how''' small!" Seuss denied any [[pro-life]] metaphors in the book and claimed that it was a metaphor for the Hiroshima bombing.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Literature]]
[[category: poetry]]
[[Category:Books for Children]]

Mystery:Does God Have a Sense of Humor?

2012-03-11T17:56:20Z

JLefkowitz: Britian certainly doesn't have a lack of humor; Monty Python is just one good example.

'''Does [[God]] Have a Sense of Humor?'''

Rarely is the sense of humor of God discussed or analyzed, '''''but there are many compelling reasons to conclude that God does have a sense of humor''''':

*'''logic''': man has a sense of humor, and man was created in the image of God. Hence God has a sense of humor.
*'''history''': man's sense of humor improved with the discovery and expansion of Christianity, which indicates their strong correlation.
*'''politics''': atheistic political figures are known for their lack of a sense of humor, such as [[Attila the Hun]] and [[Adolf Hitler]], which suggests that the opposite of God is a lack of sense of humor.
*'''religious''': the encounter on the road to Emmaus, described at [[Luke_17-24_(Translated)#Chapter_24|Luke 25:13-31]], strongly suggests that God has intervened in amusing ways.
*'''scientific''': snowstorms have disrupted [[global warming]] conferences; regions that promote the global warming hoax have been subjected to brutally cold weather.
*'''athletic''': [[Tim Tebow]]'s completion of ten passes for 316 yards, at 31.6 yards per competition, in his stunning playoff victory against the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], echoed his promotion of [[John_1-7_(Translated)#Chapter_3|John 3:16]].
*'''zoology''': there are various animals, such as the duck-billed platypus, that seemed designed in order to amuse

Dr. Seuss

2012-03-11T17:45:24Z

JLefkowitz:

'''Theodor Seuss Geisel''' (2 March 1904 – 24 September 1991) better known by the [[pen name]] of '''Dr. Seuss''', was a [[liberal]] children's author who wrote over 60 books between 1937 and 1990, including such classics as [[Green Eggs and Ham]], [[How the Grinch Stole Christmas]] and [[The Cat in the Hat]]. He was married to Helen Palmer, who committed suicide in 1967, and then married Audrey Stone in 1968. He had no children.

== Politics ==
Seuss identified himself as a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]], and his political views often show up in his work. [[The Lorax]] heavily promotes [[environmentalism]], with a righteous "Lorax" facing an evil "Once-ler" (obviously a stand-in for humans). The Lorax bothers the Once-ler by harrassing his workshop, and the narration doesn't face any concerns about the Once-ler's environment-harming business, like the fact that if it was shut down, everyone working would lose their jobs.

Seuss's book ''Horton Hears a Who'' is heavily promoted in [[pro-life]] circles, mostly because of the repeated line "A person's a person, no matter '''how''' small!" Seuss denied any [[pro-life]] metaphors in the book and claimed that it was a metaphor for the Hiroshima bombing.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Literature]]
[[category: poetry]]
[[Category:Books for Children]]

Talk:Mystery:Does God Have a Sense of Humor?

2012-03-10T22:55:15Z

JLefkowitz:

== Yes ==

He does, but He doesn't intervene with modern times. Tim Tebow's 316 yards is just a coincidence, and there isn't much reason to think otherwise. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 17:55, 10 March 2012 (EST)

== No ==

Competitive eating

2012-03-09T07:38:39Z

JLefkowitz:

'''Competitive eating''' is a [[sport]] that is rapidly growing in popularity (primarily in the [[United States of America | United States]] and [[Japan]]) that focuses on the ability to eat large quantities of [[food]] in a short timed event. The food eaten is usually a variety of [[fast food]] or [[dessert]] such as [[pie]]s and [[hot dog]]s. There are several world championships with competitors starting at a local level and eventually achieving world wide renowned. [[Sonya Thomas]] from [[Korea]] is currently one of the sports greatest champions.

Competitors are called "gurgitators" and preparation for events is often extremely intensive training in stamina, eating and gut expansion.

[[Category:Sports]]

Adult stem cells

2012-03-09T03:49:45Z

JLefkowitz: rephrasing for grammar

'''Adult stem cells''' are pluripotent, semi-differentiated, [[cell]]s that exist in all tissues. "Adult stem cell", however, is not the preferred term used in the field to refer to them—developmental biologists will usually refer to them as a specific cell type (usually referencing genes they express) or as a tissue-specific stem cell. They function to maintain tissue homeostasis by dividing to replace damaged or senescent somatic cells. The two most well-studied examples of adult stem cells are the hematopoietic stem cells, which give rise to blood cells, and the intestinal crypt stem cells, which give rise to the intestinal epithelium.<ref>http://9e.devbio.com/</ref> '''''The use of adult stem cells is opposed by many supporters of [[abortion]], who want to limit stem cell use to harmful [[embryonic stem cells]]'''''.

As pluripotent cells, most adult stem cell types can generate cells of several different types. However, because they are already epigenetically programmed to favor a particular fate, they generally cannot generate cell types outside of their lineage without genetic manipulation.

Identifying and characterizing stem cells within all adult tissues is an area of much intense ongoing research. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the regulation of these stem cells has led to many recent breakthroughs in the field of cancer biology. A recent paradigm-shift in cancer biology was the discovery that cancer is a disease resulting from dysregulation of adult stem cells. The clinical implications of this concept are still being explored. Obviously, there is still much in this field that remains unknown.

Functionally, adult stem cells are very different from embryonic stem cells. Whereas embryonic stem cells are omnipotent, and may be coaxed with growth factors into producing any known cell type, adult stem cells are already partially committed to a particular fate and, without genetic manipulation, will only generate a limited number of cell types. As stated above, this is currently an intensive area of research, but at the present the two are not practically equivalent.

[[Induced pluripotent stem cells]] are adult somatic cells that have been manipulated, either genetically or with growth factors (generally a combination of the two), to become pluripotent stem cells. These cells still retain some epigenetic imprinting of their original type--even with the most current techniques. Mouse models have demonstrated that these cells have a significantly higher tumorigenic potential than transplanted embryonic stem cells. As such, therapies involving induced pluripotent stem cells are primarily being studied only as options of last resort. As scientists in the field devise better ways to generate these cells (new techniques are a current area of much research--there have been at least 40 published since 2009), they may become a useful tool in the clinic and the laboratory. Until that happens, induced pluripotent cells cannot substitute for adult or embryonic stem cells in clinical medicine or research.

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Genetics]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

McDonald's

2012-03-04T18:44:07Z

JLefkowitz: /* Menu */

[[File:Mcdonalds-logo.png|right]]
'''McDonald's''' is an global fast-food chain specializing in [[hamburger|hamburgers]]. It operates more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries on 6 continents.<ref>http://www.supersizeme.com/home.aspx?page=bythelb</ref> Although the first McDonald's was opened in [[California]] in 1940 by the McDonald brothers, the first [[franchise]] under the corporation as it exists today was opened by [[Ray Kroc]] in [[Illinois]] in 1955. The company is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.

McDonald's is the most popular fast-food restaurant, and second to Subway in number of stores.

McDonald's has been criticized for knowingly selling unhealthy food, and having a history of advertising burgers and fries to children, who consume their Happy Meals and play in their indoor playgrounds, often with parents having no other choice since cities do not have adequate playgrounds for them.

However, McDonald's has shown it can improve its menu in recent years. The chain has added fresh salads to its menu, as well as apples, parfaits, milk, and juice to lighten up its meat, potatoes, and soda menu. McDonald's has not marketed burgers and fries directly to children in several years, and has promoted healthy lifestyles. They recently have also cut the amount of French fries in half (the portion size went from 2.4 ounces to 1.1 ounces) in their Happy Meals, replacing them with apple slices without the standard caramel sauce, reducing the caloric count to well below 600.<ref>[http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/837079/the-new-mcdonalds-happy-meal-reduces-fries-keeps-toy]</ref>. However, critics claim the hamburgers and fries are still the biggest product at the restaurants.
==History==
Richard and Maurice McDonald opened McDonald's Bar-B-Que in San Bernardino, California. It was a typical drive-in featuring a vast menu and carhops. In 1948, the McDonald brothers shut down the restaurant for three months for alterations. They remade it into a self-service restaurant featuring only a few menu items: Hamburgers and cheeseburgers, soda, milkshakes, coffee, potato chips, and pie, with the core staple being the 15 cent hamburger.

The present corporation dates back to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955, which was overall the ninth McDonald's restaurant opened. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company. Kroc led the chain's worldwide expansion. Ronald McDonald, the company's signature mascot, was introduced in 1967. He was originally portrayed by Willard Scott, but is now portrayed by several different people. McDonald's first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name "McDonald's" on May 4, 1961. They also filed for a trademark on the original overlapping arches, but eventually went with the modern "Golden Arches" that form an "M". The company also became listed on the public stock markets in 1965.

McDonald's restaurants are found in 119 countries, with over 31,000 restaurants, employ more than 1.5 million people, and serve over 58 million people a day.

==Criticism==
McDonald's has often been accused of knowingly selling unhealthy food<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=yNFN1OpnkBkC&dq=fast+food+nation&pg=PP1&ots=l_kkxv7x65&sig=M0lMjzxa92mnxMp4CXMS3VaYpLk&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dfast%2Bfood%2Bnation%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title#PPA2,M1 Fast Food Nation]</ref>. McDonald's states that health is not only an issue of food but also of a balanced active lifestyle. McDonald's sponsors many events that promote active physical behavior, such as The Olympic Games.<ref>[http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat.html McDonald's Corporate website]</ref>; this is why many McDonald's restaurants have a jungle gym for the children to play in and be active. McDonald's also sells salads and water, two healthy food items, breakfast foods such as oatmeal, and several drinks that are artificially flavored to taste like fruit. The "[[schlockumentary]]" ''[[Super Size Me]]'' aimed at proving that McDonald's had no interest in healthy customers whatsoever.<ref>[http://www.supersizeme.com/ Super Size Me]</ref>

=== McLibel Trial ===
In 1990, McDonald's sued for [[libel]] several members of Greenpeace London (an organization which at the time of the incident was no longer connected with Greenpeace), who had been writing and distributing leaflets criticizing McDonald's. Of the five defendants, three repented due to lack of money for legal costs. The remaining two, [[Helen Steel]] and [[Dave Morris]], decided to take the case to court in 1994 with [[pro bono]] legal representation and public donations. This became known as the [[McLibel]] Trial. On day 102 in court - March 13, 1995 - McLibel became the longest ever UK libel trial, beating the previous record of 101 days in the Daily Mail vs The Moonies (1982). On December 11, 1995, it became the longest civil case (as opposed to criminal) in British history.
On November 1, 1996 (court day 292), McLibel became the longest trial of any kind in English history.

On June 19, 1997, Mr. Justice Bell took two hours to read his summary. He ruled that Steel and Morris had not proved the allegations against McDonald's on rainforest destruction, heart disease and cancer, food poisoning, starvation in the Third World and bad working conditions. But they had proved that McDonald's "exploit children" with their advertising, falsely advertise their food as nutritious, risk the health of their most regular, long-term customers, are "culpably responsible" for cruelty to animals, are "strongly antipathetic" to unions and pay their workers low wages.

The Judge ruled that Steel and Morris had libeled McDonald's, but as they had proved many of the allegations, they would only owe half of the claimed damages: £60,000.

=== Support for [[homosexual]] agenda ===

In March of 2008, Richard Ellis, McDonald's vice president of communications, joined the board of directors of a pro gay-rights organization, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.<ref>[http://outandaboutnewspaper.com/article.php?id=2470 "National gay chamber adds McDonald’s corporation officer to board." ''Out and About'' March 13, 2008.]</ref> Ellis states:

<blockquote>
I'm thrilled to join the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce team and ready to get to work. <ref>[http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=27747 Erin Roach. "McDonald's gives support to homosexual activists' agenda." ''Baptist Press'' April 3, 2008]</ref>
</blockquote>

McDonald's thus joins other large American corporations, such as [[Wal-Mart]]<ref>[http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2006/08/21/4 "Walmart launches gay-friendly initiative" August 21, 2006]</ref>, in actively backing admitted homosexual organizations and their agendas.

A boycott by the [[AFA]] ended on October 9th, 2008 when McDonald's chose to take a neutral position on gay issues. However, in 2010, McDonald's once again demonstrated active support for homosexuality as part of their "Come As You Are" campaign, airing a commercial in France which features a young customer talking on the phone to his lover. At the end of the commercial, the young man is revealed to be homosexual. <ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/04/2010-06-04_gay_mcdonalds_ad_airing_in_france_evokes_strong_reactions_around_the_world_over_.html</ref>

===''Super Size Me''===
''Super Size Me'' is a schlockumentary by liberal filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. The film is meant to criticize the fast food industry, with a special focus on McDonald's. Spurlock decides to go on a diet in which he would eat and drink items that came from McDonald's for thirty days. He had doctors check him before the experiment, and they said he was in excellent health.

Spurlock did this because he had said that McDonald's claimed their food could be integrated into a healthy diet. Spurlock ate three full meals from McDonald's for a month, eating each menu item at least once. He was to super size his meal only when asked by the cashier. He also greatly decreased his excercise regimen, to be on par with the average McDonald's consumer. Toward the end of his experiment, his doctors urgently advised him to quit to save his health and possibly his life.

After a month, Spurlock had significant weight gain, an increase in cholesterol, and fatty liver. McDonald's took the Super Size option off their menu, though they claim it was not a result of the film.

== Regionalization ==
McDonald's outlets outside of the US often have different menu items, and the formulations of some products may vary. For example, McDonald's sells rice in many Asian countries, and McDonald's [[Australia]] sells a wider range of 'healthy' foods, such as wraps with poached chicken, and has smaller portion sizes.

==Menu==
McDonald's original menu when the Speedy Service System was adopted was simply hamburgers, chips, soda, and milkshakes.

Today, McDonald's has a largely meat-and-potatoes diet, with sandwiches such as the McDouble (two hamburger patties with cheese, onions, seasonings, and pickle) the Big Mac (a larger burger with two patties three buns, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, and a special sauce) the Quarter Pounder and the Double Quarter Pounder available with cheese, the Big n' Tasty (a sandwich similar to Burger King's Whopper), the McChicken (fried chicken sandwich with mayonnaise and lettuce) the Filet o' Fish (fish with tartar sauce), and others. There are also various sizes of French fries, sodas, milkshakes (strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, various seasonal shakes such as Mint and egg nog), ice cream and sundaes. In recent years, healthier options have been added such as premium salads, parfaits, Snack Wraps, and apples.

==Employment==
McDonald's employs workers, often those who are in high school and college. Wages are minimal, and only full-time workers receive benefits of any sort. McDonald's is an easy way for many people to become employed. Many people who even have college degrees who have a hard time finding a job get a job at a McDonald's. McDonald's creates opportunities for advancement, and there is even a university called "Hamburger University" for aspiring workers. On April 19, 2011, over 50,000 people are employed at local McDonald's restaurants.

==See also==
*[[McDonaldization]]
*[[MaDonal]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.mcdonalds.com/ Company website]
*[http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPCollectionNews.asp?ID=131 2008 McDonald's and the Homosexual Agenda], Baptist Press

== References ==
<references />

[[category:Companies]]
[[Category:Restaurants]]
[[Category:Fast Foods]]

Talk:Liberal Hatred

2012-03-02T20:39:17Z

JLefkowitz:

Don't we have about twenty (hyperbole) different articles already like this? All these articles against liberals should really just be lumped into one index, with different sections for each type of bad thing, like the Examples of Bias in Wikipedia page. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 15:17, 2 March 2012 (EST)

Even though its good to have articles that talk about each subject in general, we should also have articles which concentrate on sub-topics of each subject as well. Besides we also have a variety of articles about "homosexuality" and "atheism." --[[User:Conlibtar|Conlibtar]] 15:30, 2 March 2012 (EST)

But is it really worth it to have something like Liberal Hatred when we've already got over 80 articles beginning with the phrase "liberal"--just in the category of Liberalism? We could just as easily paste the examples in a synonym of the word "hatred". I don't agree with the fact that there are so many, mostly ad-hominem, articles on subtopics of homosexuality and atheism. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 15:39, 2 March 2012 (EST)

Talk:Liberal Hatred

2012-03-02T20:17:27Z

JLefkowitz: Created page with "Don't we have about twenty (hyperbole) different articles already like this? All these articles against liberals should really just be lumped into one index, with different secti..."

United States of America

2012-03-01T20:17:04Z

JLefkowitz:

{{Country
|name =''United States of America''
|map =US map.PNG
|map2 =Loc of United States.png
|established=1776
|flag =50 star flag.png
|arms =United States arms.png
|capital =Washington, D.C.
|government =Constitutional Republic
|language =English
|official =n
|president =Barack Hussein Obama
|area =3,718,695 sq mi
|pop =313,232,000 (2011)
|gdp-year = $15 trillion (2011)
|gdp-pc =$48,029 (2011)
|currency =United States Dollar (USD)
}}
The '''United States of America'''<ref>(''conventional short form'': '''United States'''; ''abbreviation'': '''US''' or '''USA'''; sometimes also referred to as '''the States''' or simply as '''America''')</ref> is the most [[conservative]], prosperous and free nation in the world, based on the longest-running [[Constitution]] in history. Located in [[North America]], this nation consists of a federal union of fifty individual states, along with territories and a capital district. Founded originally as 13 colonies in the [[British Empire]], Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country on July 4, 1776 with the [[Declaration of Independence]].<ref>IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776. [http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America], ushistory.org, (Accessed August 2010).</ref> The new nation became recognized as the United States of America following the [[American Revolutionary War|War of Independence]] in 1783. Shortly thereafter, in 1787, the [[United States Constitution]] was written; grounded on [[Republican form of government|republican]] political principles and [[Judeo-Christian]] values, the Constitution remains in effect today, albeit with several amendments since then. The Americans created political parties and, since abolishing [[slavery]] in a bloody [[American Civil War|civil war]] (1861-65), instituted a form of government guided by the rule of law rather than the desires of a majority of voters. According to the U.S. Constitution written by America's [[Founding Fathers]], the United States is a [[Constitutional Republic]]. It is not a true [[Democracy|democracy]], but is a form of one.

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

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

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

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

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

==Geography==

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

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

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

==History==

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===New Nation===
[[File:Bierstadt Looking Down Yosemite-Valley 1865.jpg|thumb|[[Albert Bierstadt]], ''Looking Down Yosemite-Valley'', 1865.]]
In 1783, when the Treaty of Paris concluded the war of independence, the American population totalled some three million citizens and slaves living on about one million square miles of land. Tens of thousands of [[Native Americans]] also lived in the [[Northwest Territory]] and the Southwest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Executive Branch===

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

===Legislative Branch===

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

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

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

== Economy ==

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Unfortunately, china remains both the banker and salesman to the united state's role as buyer, and debtor. This will not end well for the United States, republican president or not. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts for about 60% of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $840 billion in 2008 before shrinking to $506 billion in 2009, and ramping back up to $630 billion in 2010. The global economic downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and other industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. Approximately two-thirds of these funds were injected into the economy by the end of 2010. In March 2010, President Obama signed a health insurance reform bill into law that will extend coverage to an additional 32 million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. In July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a bill designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight. In November 2010, in an attempt to keep interest rates from rising and snuffing out the nascent recovery, the US Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) announced that it would purchase $600 billion worth of US Government bonds by June 2011.

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

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

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

{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

==External links==
*[[CIA]] - [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html The World FactBook]
*[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States United States.]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/america.htm America]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/flags_of_us_states.htm Flags of the U.S. States]
*[http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf Interactive map test of the 50 U.S. states]
*[http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h445.html U.S. History]
*[http://www.theroot.com/buzz/who-owns-united-states Who Owns the United States?]
*[http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html Wealth, Income, and Power.] by G. William Domhoff, University of California Santa Cruz.

{{USstates}}

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

White blood cell

2012-02-23T23:02:57Z

JLefkowitz:

'''White blood cells''' are a component of [[blood]]. As part of the body's [[immune system]], their function is to protect the body from disease and infection if pathogens get in the bloodstream. White blood cells come in several varieties, each with a different role to play in neutralizing harmful foreign substances. White blood cells, like all [[blood cells]], are produced in the [[bone]] marrow.

They are also known as leukocytes. There are five main types of leukocytes, and these types are produced from immature cells in the [[lymphatic system]] in response to the body's needs. For example, infection with bacteria will cause more [[macrophage]]s to be produced and fewer NK cells, in response to "alarm signals" called [[chemokine]]s. Macrophages then exit the bloodstream, migrate towards the site of infection, and attempt to neutralize the invading pathogens. Others begin producing antibodies or recruit other systems to help.

The immune system of all [[vertebrates]] has [[memory]], which in this context means that it keeps a record of invaders it has previously encountered. Immune memory is not completely understood, but involves the cells that contributed most to fighting off the infection being stored away in the bone marrow. This system is why you will not usually get [[chickenpox]] if you have already had it, and is also why vaccines work (the vaccine contains a tiny, harmless bit of a pathogen such as [[polio]], so the immune system will "remember" it and then be ready if it should ever encounter the real thing).

==See Also==
*[[Red blood cell]]
*[[Platelets]]

[[Category:Anatomy]]

White blood cell

2012-02-23T23:02:12Z

JLefkowitz:

'''White blood cells''' are a component of [[blood]]. As part of the body's [[immune system]], their function is to protect the body from disease and infection if pathogens get in the bloodstream. White blood cells come in several varieties, each with a different role to play in neutralizing harmful foreign substances. White blood cells, like all [[blood cells]], are produced in the [[bone]] marrow.

They are also known as leukocytes. There are five main types of leukocytes, and these types are produced from immature cells in the [[lymphatic system]] in response to the body's needs. For example, infection with bacteria will cause more [[macrophage]]s to be produced and fewer NK cells, in response to "alarm signals" called [[chemokine]]s. Macrophages then exit the bloodstream, migrate towards the site of infection, and attempt to neutralize the invading pathogens. Others begin producing antibodies or recruit other systems to help.

The immune system of all [[vertebrates]] has [[memory]], which in this context means that it keeps a record of invaders it has previously encountered. Immune memory is not completely understood, but involves the cells that contributed most to fighting off the infection being stored away in the bone marrow. This system is why you will not usually get [[chickenpox]] if you have already had it, and is also why vaccines work (the vaccine looks similar to a pathogen such as [[polio]], so the immune system will "remember" it and then be ready if it should ever encounter the real thing).

==See Also==
*[[Red blood cell]]
*[[Platelets]]

[[Category:Anatomy]]

Harry Potter Witchcraft Repackaged

2012-02-23T21:43:21Z

JLefkowitz:

Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged is an enlightening documentary on the [[Harry Potter]] series by J.K. Rowling, which has the main characters use Bible-forbidden magic. It was published in 2002 and is narrated by Caryl Matrisciana.

It touches on issues such as the satanic rituals, occult symbols, and other heresy in the novels. It also raises the controversy of how these books have infiltrated public schools and libraries. It was created solely to expose the Harry Potter series as a recruitment tool for various cults.

This documentary has been heavily criticized by the [[liberal media]], calling it "crazy" and "insane".
[[Category:Documentary film]]
[[Category:Children's Fiction]]
[[Category:Magic]]

Chad Ochocinco

2012-02-22T03:34:42Z

JLefkowitz: Created page with "'''Chad Ochocinco''', formerly '''Chad Johnson''' (born January 9, 1978) is an American wide receiver in the NFL. Though he is known for playing with the Cincinnati Bengals, ..."

'''Chad Ochocinco''', formerly '''Chad Johnson''' (born January 9, 1978) is an American wide receiver in the NFL. Though he is known for playing with the [[Cincinnati Bengals]], he currently plays with the [[New England Patriots]] since 2010. He legally changed his last name to Ochocinco, the Spanish spelling of his number, 85, in 2008. He has four children.

Cincinnati Bengals

2012-02-22T03:29:01Z

JLefkowitz: /* Wide Receivers */

[[Image:Cincinnati-Bengals-Logo.gif|right]]
The '''Cincinnati Bengals''' are a [[National Football League]] franchise team based in [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]]. They are part of the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC) and play in the AFC North Division.
==Roster==
===Quarterbacks===
* - J.T. O'Sullivan
*9 - [[Carson Palmer]]
*5 - Jordan Palmer

===Running Backs===
*32 - Cedric Benson
*39 - James Johnson
*23 - Chris Perry
*33 - Kenny Watson
*27 - DeDe Dorsey
*27 - [[Larry Johnson]]

===Fullbacks===
*49 - Daniel Coats

===Wide Receivers===
*85 - [[Chad Ochocinco]]
*15 - [[Chris Henry]]
*87 - Andre Caldwell
* - [[Laveranues Coles]]
*89 - Jerome Simpson
*83 - Antonio Chatman

===Tight Ends===
*82 - Reggie Kelly
*80 - Nate Lawrie
*48 - Brad St. Louis
*81 - Ben Utecht

===Offensive Tackles===
*73 - Anthony Collins
*76 - Levi Jones
*62 - Nate Livings
*74 - Dennis Roland
*70 - Kirk Barton

===Guards===
*75 - Scott Kooistra
*77 - Andrew Whitworth
*60 - Andrew Crummey
*66 - Evan Mathis
*63 - Bobbie Williams

===Centers===
*64 - Kyle Cook
*65 - Dan Santucci
*53 - Eric Ghiaciuc

===Defensive Ends===
*68 - Jonathan Fanene
*96 - Chris Harrington
*98 - Antwan Odom
*91 Robert Geathers
*50 - Eric Henderson
*92 - Frostee Rucker

===Defensive Tackles===
*95 - Orien Harris
*94 - Domata Peko
*90 - Pat Sims
*99 - Jason Shirley
*97 - John Thornton

===Linebackers===
*52 - Abdul Hodge
*55 - Keith Rivers
*56 - Daryll Blackstock
*93 - Rashd Jeanty
*59 - Brandon Johnson
*57 - Dhani Jones
*50 - Jim Maxwell

===Cornerbacks===
*22 - Johnathan Joseph
*21 - Simeon Castille
*25 - Jamar Fletcher
*29 - Leon Hall
*20 - David Jones
*24 - Geoffrey Pope

===Safeties===
*40 - John Busing
*42 - Chris Crocker
*44 - Mike Doss
*34 - Kyries Hebert
*41 - Chinedum Ndukwe
*28 - Dexter Jackson
*47 - Corey Lynch
*26 - Marvin White

===Kickers===
*17 - [[Shayne Graham]]

===Punters===
*19 - Kyle Larson

==See also==
*[[Pittsburgh Steelers]]
*[[Cleveland Browns]]
*[[Baltimore Ravens]]
*[[National Football Conference]]
*[[American Football Conference]]

== External links ==
*[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/teams/bengals/index.html Team site]
*[http://proshop.bengals.com/iStar.asp?a=30 Cincinnati Bengals]

{{NFL Teams}}

[[Category: National Football League]]
[[Category:Ohio]]

Dog

2012-02-22T03:27:23Z

JLefkowitz: Undo revision 963168 by Cmurphy (talk) it can be either archaeological or archeological

{{Taxonomy|image = akitadog.jpg|kingdom = Animalia|phylum = Chordata|subphylum = Vertebrata|class = Mammalia|order = Carnivora|suborder = Caniformia |family = Canidae|genus = Canis|species = lupus|sub = C. l. familiaris (Domesticated dog)}}

'''Dogs''' are one of the most well-known domesticated species, with archaeological and historical records showing that they have lived in a mutually beneficial relationship with humans for thousands of years.

Offspring are called ''pups'' (or ''puppies'') until around a year old. The collective noun for a group of offspring is a ''litter''.

Research has shown that it is probable that the first settlers respectively of the [[America]]s and [[Australia]] brought dogs of some sort with them.

== Scientific details ==
Dogs (scientific name ''Canis lupus familiaris'') are a subspecies of [[wolf|wolves]], divided into a multitude of different breeds all in principle capable of interbreeding (though in some cases, physical relations between representatives of two breeds are unlikely or problematic - Chihuahuas and Great Danes, for example).

Fossils of canine skulls smaller than those of wolves have been found with human artifacts, with dates based on evolutionary assumptions estimated to between 130,000 and 190,000 years ago.<ref name="DK">Kingsley, Danny, [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s513072.htm Humans live a dog's life]</ref> whilst DNA evidence has been used to suggest that dogs diverged from wolves between 100,000 and 135,000 years ago.<ref name="DK" />
<ref>Vila, Carles; Carles Vila, Peter Savolainen, Jesus E. Maldonado, Isabel R. Amorim, John E. Rice, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Keith A. Crandall, Joakim Lundeberg, Wayne, Robert F. (1997-01-30; accepted 1997-04-14). [http://www.mnh.si.edu/GeneticsLab/StaffPage/MaldonadoJ/PublicationsCV/Science_Dog_Paper.pdf Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog], ''Science'' 276: 1687-1689. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.</ref>
Secular archeology has placed the earliest known domestication at potentially 12,000 BC-10,000 BC and with certainty at 7,000 BC. <ref>Scott, John Paul (1965), Dog behavior: The genetic basis, University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-74338-1.</ref>

Dogs are also viewed as being the single most genetically diverse species on Earth - largely thanks to human-imposed selective breeding, the vast array of dog breeds surpasses any other creature on the planet. Due to selective breeding by man, however, many breeds of dog have significant [[gene|genetic]] disorders. These include hip dysplasia (common with German Shepherds), and respiratory problems caused by shortening of the face, as seen with Boxer dogs and the Bulldog's lip. To overcome the prevalence of genetic disorders rendered common by inbreeding, many breeders regularly practice outcrossing, or introducing new material into a breed line via mating with other kinds of dog. This restores vigor to a breed and can decrease the likelihood of genetic disorders manifesting.

== Bites ==
Despite being colloquially known as "man's best friend", every 40 seconds, someone in the [[United States of America|United States]] seeks medical help for a dog bite, with approximately 800,000 such bites per year requiring medical attention.<ref>http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html</ref>
Due to the high cost of dog bite liability claims, some [[insurance]] companies have blacklisted certain breeds and refuse to provide homeowners insurance to those who own these dog breeds. <ref>http://www.dogbitelegalcenter.com/resources/common-dogs.html</ref>

== Uses ==

Dogs are used for many purposes:
[[File:Divot the Therapy Dog.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Divot was a therapy dog at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, [[Florida]]]]
*Being a companion for the old or lonely
*Guarding property and livestock
*Herding [[sheep]] and [[cow|cattle]]
*Tracking by scent, carrying messages, and mountain and water rescue
*Pursuing, flushing and retrieving game, and killing [[vermin]]
*Providing assistance to people with disabilities
*Military and police duties including guarding, tracking, interrogation, and attacking. In [[World War II]], the [[Soviet Union]] attempted to train dogs to place explosive charges under German [[tank]]s
*To detect cadavers, explosives, or illegal drugs (German Shepherds are commonly trained to do so by police)
*As a beast of burden, or for drawing sledges, sleighs, and dogcarts
* As a performing animal. [[Circus]] dogs have been trained to dance, ride bicycles, speak, and walk the tightrope
* For fighting, now illegal in most places, e.g. everywhere in USA
*As food. Dog is still considered a delicacy in [[China]], [[Korea]] and parts of [[Africa]] today

Today most dogs in western countries are kept for [[pet|companionship]] only. Stray and feral dogs cause many problems, spreading diseases such as [[rabies]], and attacking people and [[livestock]]. Muslims see dogs as unclean, and often kill dogs found as pets <ref>http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2065873,00.html</ref>.

==Conservative Nature of Dogs==
Dogs are known for their loyalty, making them one of the most [[conservative]] pets. Dogs represent [[Real America]]; they are often found on farms in [[red states]] and not in cities, where [[liberal]] apartment rental agreements often prevent renters from having dogs. Dogs are an important part of [[family values]], as the quintessential American family is often featured with a dog. Dogs also are often used to search out Muslim terrorists, serving America honorably in the army and police forces across the county.

Compared with lazy, entitled cats, dogs represent the epitome of a conservative animal. Historically, dogs earned their role in the home through hard work herding animals and assisting men with hunting. Cats, on the other hand, were worshiped as false idols in ancient societies and do little to earn their keep in the home. Liberals often use dogs to their political advantage - [[Barack Hussein Obama]] keeps a dog in the White House. This is clearly a liberal ploy to win over dog owners in crucial [[swing states]]. In reality no true dog would voluntarily be a part of the liberal propaganda machine, especially given how many liberals are [[atheist]] and the proven link between [[atheism and bestiality]].

==Further reading==
* [http://www.mastiffexperts.com Mastiff Experts]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Nb_zl_canines}}
{{Working dogs}}
{{Hounds}}
{{Sporting dogs}}
{{Non-sporting dogs}}
{{Toy dogs}}
{{Terriers}}
[[Category:Canines]]
[[Category:Biblical Animals]]
[[Category:Domestic Animals]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Adolf Hitler

2012-02-22T03:00:04Z

JLefkowitz: /* Beliefs */

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Hitler7.JPG|200px]]
| name =Adolf Hitler
| birth =April 20, 1889 Braunau am Inn, Austria–Hungary
| parents =Alois Hitler (Schicklgruber) Klara Pölzl
| religion =Roman Catholic (rejected)
| spouse =Eva Braun
| children =none
| death =April 30, 1945 Berlin, Germany
| deathmanner =Suicide by gunshot
| education =Realschule Linz, Austria
| country =[[Third Reich|Germany]]
| military =16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment Imperial German Army (1914-1918)
| rank =''Obergefreiter'' (Lance Corporal/Private First Class)
|burial = none, burned.
| polbeliefs =[[Socialism]] [[National socialism]] (Nazism)
| party =German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei 1920–1921) National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei 1921–1945)
| dictatordate =March 23, 1933
| war =[[World War II]]
| deathnumber =12,000,000+ exclusive of battle casualties
20,000,000 to 25,000,000 altogether

Rummel: 21,000,000
}}
'''Adolf Hitler''' was the Austrian-born Chancellor and President of [[Germany]] from January 30, 1933 until his death on April 30, 1945. He was also the leader (German: ''Der Führer'') of the [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] (''National-sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'', or [[Nazi]] Party) which gained political power through threat, intimidation, and outright violence throughout Germany in the aftermath of the [[First World War]]. Adolf Hitler was an [[Evolution|evolutionary]] [[racist]] and [[socialism|socialist]] (see also: [[evolutionary racism]]).<ref>http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=268</ref><ref>http://mises.org/daily/1937</ref><ref>http://www.hourofthetime.com/socialist.htm</ref> Hitler’s policies and beliefs resulted in the [[Genocide|mass extermination]] of the [[Jews]], [[Gypsies]], and other peoples he considered “[[Racial Supremacy|inferior]]” throughout central and eastern [[Europe]] and were directly responsible for the outbreak of [[World War II]], which caused the deaths of untold millions on and off the battlefield and ended only after Hitler's [[suicide]] in his Berlin bunker.

==Early life==
[[File:Hitler Roses.jpg|thumb|Roses by Adolf Hitler.]]
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, [[Austria]]. Hitler's father, Alois (born 1837), was a customs official who was himself born out of wedlock, carrying for a time his mother's name, Schicklgruber. By 1876 he had his baptismal entry corrected in his church records, establishing his father as Johan Heidler, which was altered slightly to Hitler.

When his father retired the family moved to Linz, Austria, where it remained a favorite for young Adolf for the rest of his life, and where he gave his wish to be buried. When Alois died in 1903 he left enough of a pension to support his wife and children; Adolf would take his and live off of it in Vienna after leaving school, dreaming of becoming an artist. Although somewhat competent as a painter of landscapes and architecture, his renderings of humans were considered “lifeless” and “crude” by the standards of the Academy of Fine Arts, and his application was rejected twice. Remaining in [[Vienna]], he moved from one cheap flop house to another, painting postcards and advertisements to earn a meager living after his allowance had dried up. By then he had developed traits which characterized his life as a whole: secretiveness, loneliness, a Spartan mode of everyday life, and a hatred of the cosmopolitan, multinational character that was the makeup of Vienna. ''He never sought a proper job or regular employment. Instead he immersed himself in the works of [[Hegel]], [[Nietzsche]], and the anti-Semitic writings of the Englishman Houston Stewart Chamberlain. He loved the operas of Wagner, and the stories of the Nordic Gods... In early 1910, he entered a shelter for the homeless, populated in the main by poor Jews, on Meldemenstrasse, and was eating at soup kitchens. By this time he had pawned all his belongings. '' <ref> [http://socyberty.com/history/young-adolf-the-adolescent-hitler-and-beyond/ Young Adolf: The Adolescent Hitler and Beyond.] </ref>

==Who And What He Was==
[[Image:Cupid Complaining to Venus by Lucas Cranach.jpg|150px|left|thumb|This painting, one of the best-loved paintings in the National Gallery, had once belonged to Hitler. New evidence has come to light that Lucas Cranach's ''Cupid Complaining to Venus'', currently on loan to an exhibition in Bristol, hung on the sitting-room wall of his flat in Munich. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/mar/28/art.secondworldwar Hitler owned painting now in National Gallery]</ref>]]
[[Elie Wiesel]] wrote famously, and most eloquently about Hitler in 1998:
<blockquote>''"At the same time that he terrorized his adversaries, he knew how to please, impress and charm the very interlocutors from whom he wanted support. Diplomats and journalists insist as much on his charm as they do on his temper tantrums. The savior admired by his own as he dragged them into his madness, the Satan and exterminating angel feared and hated by all others, Hitler led his people to a shameful defeat without precedent. That his political and strategic ambitions have created a dividing line in the history of this turbulent and tormented century is undeniable: there is a before and an after. By the breadth of his crimes, which have attained a quasi-ontological dimension, he surpasses all his predecessors: as a result of Hitler, man is defined by what makes him inhuman. With Hitler at the head of a gigantic laboratory, life itself seems to have changed."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"How did this Austrian without title or position manage to get himself elected head of a German nation renowned for its civilizing mission? How to explain the success of his cheap demagogy in the heart of a people so proud of having inherited the genius of a Wolfgang von Goethe and an Immanuel Kant?"''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"Was there no resistance to his disastrous projects? There was. But it was too feeble, too weak and too late to succeed. German society had rallied behind him: the judicial, the educational, the industrial and the economic establishments gave him their support. Few politicians of this century have aroused, in their lifetime, such love and so much hate; few have inspired so much historical and psychological research after their death. Even today, works on his enigmatic personality and his cursed career are best sellers everywhere. Some are good, others are less good, but all seem to respond to an authentic curiosity on the part of a public haunted by memory and the desire to understand."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"We think we know everything about the nefarious forces that shaped his destiny: his unhappy childhood, his frustrated adolescence; his artistic disappointments; his wound received on the front during World War I; his taste for spectacle, his constant disdain for social and military aristocracies; his relationship with [[Eva Braun]], who adored him; the cult of the very death he feared; his lack of scruples with regard to his former comrades of the SA, whom he had assassinated in 1934; his endless hatred of [[Jews]], whose survival enraged him — each and every phase of his official and private life has found its chroniclers, its biographers."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"And yet. There are, in all these givens, elements that escape us. How did this unstable paranoid find it within himself to impose gigantic hope as an immutable ideal that motivated his nation almost until the end? Would he have come to power if Germany were not going through endless economic crises, or if the winners in 1918 had not imposed on it conditions that represented a national humiliation against which the German patriotic fiber could only revolt? We would be wrong to forget: Hitler came to power in January 1933 by the most legitimate means. His [[Nationalist Socialist Party]] won a majority in the parliamentary elections. The aging [[Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg]] had no choice but to allow him, at age 43, to form the new government, marking the end of the Weimar Republic. And the beginning of the [[Third Reich]], which, according to Hitler, would last 1,000 years."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"From that moment on, events cascaded. The burning of the [[Reichstag]] came only a little before the openings of the first concentration camps, established for members of the opposition. Fear descended on the country and squeezed it in a vise. Great writers, musicians and painters went into exile to France and the U.S. Jews with foresight emigrated toward Palestine. The air of Hitler's Germany was becoming more and more suffocating. Those who preferred to wait, thinking that the Nazi regime would not last, could not last, would regret it later, when it was too late."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"The fact is that Hitler was beloved by his people — not the military, at least not in the beginning, but by the average Germans who pledged to him an affection, a tenderness and a fidelity that bordered on the irrational. It was idolatry on a national scale. One had to see the crowds who acclaimed him. And the women who were attracted to him. And the young who in his presence went into ecstasy. Did they not see the hateful mask that covered his face? Did they not divine the catastrophe he bore within himself?<ref name="time">http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler.html"''</ref></blockquote>

{{Clear}}

==Beliefs==
Despite the common myth that Hitler was an atheist, Hitler was actually a confirmed [[Roman Catholic]] Christian. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote, “by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord”. However, he was not very strong in his religious beliefs, and it is likely he only mentioned [[Christianity]] in his speeches to gain the votes and favor of both Catholics and Protestants.

=== Hitler, Nazism and socialism ===

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

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

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

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

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

=== Hitler and the Theory of Evolution ===
''For more information please see:'' [[Evolutionary racism]] and [[Social effects of the theory of evolution]]

[[Image:Hitlerrisetopower.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]
The staunch [[evolution|evolutionist]] Stephen Gould admitted the following:
{{cquote|[[Ernst Haeckel|[Ernst] Haeckel]] was the chief apostle of evolution in [[Germany]].... His evolutionary racism; his call to the German people for racial purity and unflinching devotion to a "just" state; his belief that harsh, inexorable laws of evolution ruled human civilization and nature alike, conferring upon favored races the right to dominate others; the irrational mysticism that had always stood in strange communion with his brave words about objective science - all contributed to the rise of Nazism. - Stephen J. Gould, "Ontogeny and Phylogeny," Belknap Press: Cambridge MA, 1977, pp.77-78).<ref>http://members.iinet.net.au/~sejones/social.html</ref>}}

Robert E.D. Clark in his work ''Darwin: Before and After'' wrote concerning Hitler's evolutionary racism:
{{cquote|The Germans were the higher race, destined for a glorious evolutionary future. For this reason it was essential that the Jews should be segregated, otherwise mixed marriages would take place. Were this to happen, all nature’s efforts 'to establish an evolutionary higher stage of being may thus be rendered futile' (''Mein Kampf''). <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1675</ref>}}

Hitler wrote in ''Mein Kampf'':
{{cquote|The stronger must dominate and not blend with the weaker, thus sacrificing his own greatness. Only the born weakling can view this as cruel, but he, after all, is only a weak and limited man; for if this law did not prevail, any conceivable higher development (Hoherentwicklung) of organic living beings would be unthinkable.<ref>http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=268</ref>}}

Dr. Robert E.D. Clark wrote in his work ''Darwin, Before and After'' the following regarding Hitler and the theory of evolution: “Adolf Hitler’s mind was captivated by evolutionary teaching — probably since the time he was a boy. Evolutionary ideas — quite undisguised — lie at the basis of all that is worst in Mein Kampf — and in his public speeches”.<ref name="courier">http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/the_holocaust_why_did_it_happen</ref>
[[Image:5712dawkins.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|right|thumbnail|200px|[[Richard Dawkins]] is a prominent [[atheism|atheist]] and [[evolution|evolutionist]]. [[Richard Dawkins]] stated in an interview: “What’s to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question."<ref>http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist</ref> ]]
Richard Hickman in his work ''Biocreation'' concurs and wrote the following:
{{cquote|It is perhaps no coincidence that Adolf Hitler was a firm believer in and preacher of evolutionism. Whatever the deeper, profound, complexities of his [[psychosis]], it is certain that [the concept of struggle was important for]. . . his book, Mein Kampf clearly set forth a number of evolutionary ideas, particularly those emphasizing struggle, survival of the fittest and extermination of the weak to produce a better society. <ref>http://www.creationism.org/csshs/v08n3p24.htm</ref>}}

Noted evolutionary [[anthropology|anthropologist]] Sir Arthur Keith conceded the following in regards to Hitler: “The German Fuhrer, as I have consistently maintained, is an evolutionist; he has consciously sought to make the practices of Germany conform to the theory of evolution”.<ref name="courier" />

[[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning author Marilynne Robinson wrote the following regarding Hitler's racism in the November 2006 issue of ''Harper’s'' magazine:
{{cquote|While it is true that persecution of the Jews has a very long history in [[Europe]], it is also true that science in the twentieth century revived and absolutized persecution by giving it a fresh rationale — Jewishness was not religious or cultural, but genetic. Therefore no appeal could be made against the brute fact of a Jewish grandparent.

[[Richard Dawkins|[Richard] Dawkins]] deals with all this in one sentence. Hitler did his evil "in the name of ... an insane and unscientific [[eugenics]] theory." But eugenics is science as surely as totemism is religion. That either is in error is beside the point. Science quite appropriately acknowledges that error should be assumed, and at best it proceeds by a continuous process of criticism meant to isolate and identify error. So bad science is still science in more or less the same sense that bad religion is still religion. That both of them can do damage on a huge scale is clear. The prestige of both is a great part of the problem, and in the modern period the credibility of anything called science is enormous. As the history of eugenics proves, science at the highest levels is no reliable corrective to the influence of cultural prejudice but is in fact profoundly vulnerable to it.

There is indeed historical precedent in the [[Spanish Inquisition]] for the notion of hereditary Judaism. But the fact that the worst religious thought of the sixteenth century can be likened to the worst scientific thought of the twentieth century hardly redounds to the credit of science.<ref>http://solutions.synearth.net/2006/10/20</ref><ref>http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/someone-finally-said-it-dawkinss-hysterical-scientism/</ref>}}

[[Evolution|Evolutionist]] and [[atheism|atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]] stated in an interview: “What’s to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question."<ref>http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist</ref> The interviewer wrote, regarding the Hitler comment, "I was stupefied. He had readily conceded that his own [[philosophy|philosophical]] position did not offer a rational basis for moral judgments. His intellectual honesty was refreshing, if somewhat disturbing on this point."<ref>http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist</ref>

== Similarities between Communism, Nazism and liberalism ==

''See also:'' [[Similarities between Communism, Nazism and liberalism]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
![[Communism|Communist]] Manifesto
![[Nazi]] Party Platform
!Analysis
|-
|1
|"Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes."
|"We demand an agrarian reform in accordance with our national requirements, and the enactment of a law to expropriate the owners without compensation of any land needed for the common purpose. The abolition of ground rents, and the prohibition of all speculation in land."
|The stripping away of land from private owners. [[Liberalism]] today demands "eminent domain" on property.
|-
|2
|"A heavy progressive or graduated income tax."
|"We demand the nationalization of all trusts...profit-sharing in large industries...a generous increase in old-age pensions...by providing maternity welfare centers, by prohibiting juvenile labor...and the creation of a national (folk) army."
|The points raised in the [[Nazi]] platform demand an increase in taxes to support them. Liberalism today demands heavy progressive and graduated income taxes.
|-
|3
|"Abolition of all rights of inheritance."
|"That all unearned income, and all income that does not arise from work, be abolished."
|Liberalism today demands a "death tax" on anyone inheriting an estate.
|-
|4
|"Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels."
|"We demand that all non-Germans who have entered Germany since August 2, 1914, shall be compelled to leave the Reich immediately."
|The Nuremburg Laws of 1934 allowed Germany to take Jewish property.
|-
|5
|"Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly."
|"We demand the nationalization of all trusts."
|Central control of the financial system.
|-
|6
|"Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State."
|"We demand that there be a legal campaign against those who propagate deliberate political lies and disseminate them through the press...editors and their assistants on newspapers published in the German language shall be German citizens...Non-German newspapers shall only be published with the express permission of the State...the punishment for transgressing this law be the immediate suppression of the newspaper..."
|Central control of the press. Liberals today demand control or suppression of talk radio and Fox News.
|-
|7
|"Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, &c, &c."
|"In order to make it possible for every capable and industrious German to obtain higher education, and thus the opportunity to reach into positions of leadership, the State must assume the responsibility of organizing thoroughly the entire cultural system of the people. The curricula of all educational establishments shall be adapted to practical life. The conception of the State Idea (science of citizenship) must be taught in the schools from the very beginning. We demand that specially talented children of poor parents, whatever their station or occupation, be educated at the expense of the State. "
|Central control of education, with an emphasis on doing things their way. Liberals today are doing things ''their way'' in our schools.
|-
|}

==War==
[[Image:Hitler munich1914.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hitler in the crowd in Munich, 1914, reacting to the news of Germany's entry in the First World War.]]
By 1913 Hitler was in Munich, Germany, with war clouds on the horizon. Classified as unfit for service in the Austrian army (possibly by faking, as he did not like the thought of serving Austria) in 1914, he volunteered for the German army, joining the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment, greeting the war with enthusiasm, and finding the military discipline and comradeship satisfying. He served during the entire [[First World War]] as a messenger carrying dispatches between units, and often at the front lines under fire; he was wounded in 1916, and gassed in 1918. His bravery during this time earned him the [[Iron Cross]], 2nd Class, in December, 1914, and in August 1918 he was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class – a rare decoration for a corporal. But the gassing would take him out of the war and into a hospital, where he would be told the heart-wrenching news of Germany’s defeat the following November.

==Path to power==
After the war ended, Hitler's future seemed uncertain. There was much discontent among demobilized veterans because of the lack of employment. The German military had felt it had not been defeated; indeed, the German Army stood on foreign soil when the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918 and not a square inch of German soil had been occupied. This was despite the fact that the German Army's strongest position, the Hindenburg line, had been broken by the Allies, and the German Army itself was in full retreat. However, the Army felt they had done their job, and the nation had been "stabbed in the back" by a gang of traitors who sought to lay hands on the Fatherland. The "myth" that Germany had been defeated was the "big lie" Hitler spoke of, as if repeating it often enough would cause people to believe it.

After his discharge from the hospital, Hitler acted as an army political agent, assigned in Munich to gather information on the various political parties which had spring up amid the social chaos following Germany’s defeat. In September, 1919, he was given orders to investigate the relatively-minor German Workers’ Party (''Deutsche Arbeiterpartei''); intrigued by the party’s apparatus and its racial, pan-German nationalism, he joined, becoming its 55th member; he left the army soon after and devoted himself to improving the party’s propaganda, as well as his own position within.

Conditions in Germany fostered the development of the party. Economic woes brought widespread discontent, added to the furor surrounding the loss of the war and the harsh terms heaped upon Germany by the Allied Powers in the Versailles Peace Treaty. Bavaria’s traditional separatism from the central government in Berlin made current conditions especially sharp, and Hitler was savvy enough to take full advantage of them. When he joined, he found the party ineffective in leadership and uncertain as to its aims; he accepted the party program, but regarded it as a means to an end. He caused friction with other members of the party, and their attempts to control him caused a threat of resignation; realizing that the future of the party now depended on Hitler, who clearly had a talent of organization, fund collecting, and above all, speaking, they declined to accept it; from July, 1921 Hitler was regarded as the party leader with nearly unlimited power. From his party newspaper, ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (“Popular Observer”), he spewed out endless propaganda. His meetings where he spoke grew from handfuls to hundreds, and then on to thousands. A man of charismatic personality, he quickly attracted a circle of loyal and devoted followers: Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Hermann Göring, and Rudolf Hess.

Munich was also a gathering place for former servicemen dissatisfied with conditions in the country; members of the Freikorps, which had been organized after the war from army units that refused to return to civilian life; and those civilians who plotted against the republic. Many of these men joined the Nazi Party. Among them was a staff member of the district command who had joined the German Workers’ Party before Hitler, Ernst Röhm, a pudgy man with a scared face who saw his own ambition in helping further Hitler’s rise within the party. Röhm recruited what came to be known as the “Brown Shirts”, the violent squads used to attack socialists and communists, and to protect party meetings whenever Hitler was speaking. By 1921 they were organized into a private army called the ''Sturmabteilung'', abbreviated to S.A.

==The Beer Hall Putsch==
Germany in 1923 was marked by social and political unrest caused by hyperinflation. In this time Hitler was able convince [[Erich Ludendorff]], an accomplished general and leader of the German forces in the first World War, to join him in a coup d'etat (''Putsch'' in German). When Hitler learned that the nationalist prime minister of Bavaria was giving a speech to 3000 officials in one of Munich's biggest beer halls (the Haufbrau Haus), he ordered his paramilitaries to surround the building. Hitler went inside and took the prime minister hostage, announced a revolution, and attempted to convince him to join the coup against Berlin and become member in his new administration. The Bavarian prime minister agreed under pressure, but informed the nation via radio later that night that he did not support Hitler. The prime minister also informed the federal government in Berlin; the putsch had begun to fail.

The next morning, 9 November 1923, Hitler and Ludendorff were marching with approximately 2000 partly armed supporters through Munich in a show of strength to regain the momentum. In the ensuing fight between Hitler's marchers and a cordon of police and army units at least 14 Nazi supporters and three policemen were killed and hundreds wounded. Ludendorff handed himself over to the authorities, while Hitler fled soon after the fighting began. Hitler was arrested a few days later at a friend's house, were had been in hiding since the failed coup. Ludendorff was acquitted of all charges, while Hitler was sentenced to 5 years in prison (he would do eight months). <ref>http://history1900s.about.com/cs/thirdreich/a/beerhallputsch_2.htm</ref><ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/putsch2.htm</ref> The Bavarian prime minister, who foiled the plan, was killed in 1934 in the "Night of the Long Knives".

===''Mein Kampf''===
{{main|Mein Kampf}}
Hitler had his inner circle as frequent visitors in his prison cell, which was made more comfortable due to his celebrity. While there, he dictated to Rudolf Hess the first volume of ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' (“My Struggle”), his political autobiography and a compendium of his many ideas, including his [[atheist]] and [[evolutionist]] ideas.

Hitler believed in the inequality of the races, nations, and individuals as part of the natural order of mankind, and chief among them was the exalted “Aryan race”, and the greatest of the Aryans were the Germans. It was the German, according to Hitler, that gave the world civilization and the arts; to safeguard the German people as a race (the “Volk”), they would need to be united under a single leader (the Führer), where they would be protected from their three principle enemies: Marxism, which included social democracy as well as communism; democracy and its mob-rule, as shown by the failings of the Weimar Republic; and above all what Hitler called the poisoners of humanity, the Jews. “Rational anti-Semitism must lead to systematic legal opposition,” he wrote in 1919. “Its final objective must be the removal of the Jews altogether.” In Mein Kampf, he told the world that the Jew was the “destroyer of culture,” “a parasite within the nation,” and “a menace.”

From "Mein Kampf":
{{cquote|The Jew "... he blares out his merits to the rest of the world until people really begin to believe in them. Anyone who does not believe in them is doing him a bitter injustice. In a short time he begins to twist things around to make it look as if all the injustice in the world had always been done to him and not the other way around." <ref> [http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkv1ch11.html Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler.]</ref> }}

{{cquote| Hitler portrays Jews as leaders in politics and banking, both groups seeking to strengthen their cause, [[Zionism]], to ensure Jewish domination. From his Social Darwinist perspective, Hitler perceived a racial war as inevitable and he sought to halt the "[[Jewish]] drive towards world conquest"... As Berlin collapsed around him, Adolf asserted: "Out of the ruins of our towns and monuments hatred will grow against those finally responsible for everything, International Jewry." <ref> [http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=32043&amid=30237234 Mein Kampf – The Text, its Themes and Hitler’s Vision] Robert Carr dissects a book frequently referred to but seldom read. </ref>
}}

==Rebuilding the Nazi Party==

[[Image:Hitler-3.jpg‎ |right|200px|thumb|Hitler in car, saluting passing S.A. at one of many parades.]]
Internal dissension within the party caused it to languish while Hitler was in prison. When he was released he saw difficulties in the country that had not existed before the Putsch, namely currency reform that brought economic stability, and the scaling back of the war reparations as a result of the Dawes Plan. Hitler was also forbidden to speak in public, and remained so until 1928; nonetheless he worked to rebuild the party and re-establish his own position within it as leader, despite Gregor Strasser’s opposition in northern Germany. By 1927 the number of Nazis was in the hundreds of thousands.

A new period of political and economic instability began with the onset of the Great Depression which threw millions out of work in Europe and North America. To campaign against the [[Young Plan]] (a second renegotiation of war reparations payments) Hitler made an alliance with one of Germany’s leading nationalists, Alfred Hugenberg, whose newspapers enabled Hitler to reach a national audience for the first time. The alliance also had another advantage: it enabled him to seek support from many in business and industry who controlled funds going into politics, and who themselves were desirous of seeing Germany under the control of a strong anti-Soviet and anti-Communist regime. The subsidies Hitler received placed the Nazi Party on a strong financial footing, enabling him to make his emotional appeal to the lower middle class and the unemployed in his faith that Germany would recover from its suffering and be a great nation once more. The alliance with the industrialists also demonstrated another aspect of Hitler, a skill of effectively using those that would use him, which many would discover when it was too late.

The electoral strength of the Nazis grew during the Depression, as unceasing propaganda accused the government of failing to improve conditions for the working man. By the fall of 1930 the Nazis captured more than 18 percent of the vote, compared to just 2.6 percent in 1928. Hitler captured 36.8 percent of the vote when he opposed Paul von Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential election; his mass following put him in such a strong position that he entered a series of closed-door intrigues with Franz von Papen, Oskar Hindenburg, and Otto Meissner, all sharing a fear and loathing of a communist government. Despite the party losing votes in the November, 1932 election, Hitler insisted on nothing less than the office of chancellor for himself. For him, it was all or nothing. Hindenburg offered it to him on January 30, 1933.

==In power==
Almost immediately, Hitler established himself as dictator. Less than a month after taking office, on February 27 the Reichstag building was set on fire under mysterious circumstances (but officially blamed on a feeble-minded Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe); Hitler soon after succeeded in getting several decrees passed removing much of the freedom guaranteed the constitution in the name of state security, and which also allowed an intensified campaign of violence against dissidents. Incredibly, in a special election set in those conditions on March 5, the Nazis won 43.9 percent of the vote. On March 21, the new Reichstag assembled at the Potsdam Church, as much a show of unity between the old guard under Hindenburg and the Nazis as it was a show of peace. Two days later the Enabling Act was passed, giving Hitler full powers; with the exception of the Nazis, all other political parties, including those which had helped pass the Enabling Act, ceased to exist within three months. Many of their leaders were imprisoned in concentration camps.

===Night of the Long Knives===
[[Image:HitlerRohm1933.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hitler with Ernst Röhm in 1933]]
Hitler, however, did not wish to start an immediate revolution. In order to implement his ideas he still needed the support of the army. But he did have one growing problem that was a thorn in the army’s side, the million-plus men of the S.A. and their leader, Ernst Röhm, who wanted nothing less than the merger of the S.A. into the army, with himself in overall command. At first, Hitler tried getting Röhm’s support by persuasion, but Hitler’s inner circle was for removing him by any means possible. On June 29, 1934, Hitler ordered a purge, flew towards a resort near Munich where a number of S.A. leaders were vacationing, and had them all arrested; many would be shot without trial. Refusing to shoot himself when offered, Röhm was killed in his cell at Dachau, his last words, ironically, “Mein Führer, mein Führer!” <ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/roehm.htm</ref><ref>http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/nsdap/Rohm.html</ref><ref>http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/innenpolitik/roehm/index.html</ref>
On July 13, Hitler gave speech in the Reichstag, announcing that some seventy-four individuals had been shot for threatening the stability of the Reich.
:''"If anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the regular courts of justice, then all I can say is this: In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people…It was no secret that this time the revolution would have to be bloody; when we spoke of it we called it 'The Night of the Long Knives.' Everyone must know for all future time that if he raises his hand to strike the State, then certain death is his lot." ''
Hitler also used this event to settle his account with other opponents, such as Georg Strasser, who stood for a more socialist and less racist national socialism, and the former Bavarian prime minister who foiled the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. Satisfied that the S.A. leadership was thoroughly broken up (thousands of S.A. members were either arrested or killed that night), the army approved of Hitler’s actions. Hindenburg died a few days later on August 2, and Hitler merged the office of president with the chancellorship, and with it the supreme command of the German armed forces. During this time the world was slowly recovering economically from the Depression, but it quickened in Germany, coincidently with Hitler’s rise to power. Taking credit for the recovery made him very popular, bringing him a 90 percent approval rating in a voter plebiscite that year.

===Beginnings of expansion===
In matters of state, the running of domestic affairs was left to subordinates, which was something Hitler had little attention for. Foreign policy always peaked his interest, in so much as to the advantages of a “Greater Germany”, which was his chief ambition. The first part of realizing this, according to ''Mein Kampf'', was to be a reunion of the German peoples within Europe; the second would be an expansion of Germany to the east (lebensraum). Expanding would mean a renewed conflict with the Slavic peoples, whom Hitler intended to serve as slaves to the “New German Order.” To follow through on his ambitions, he would have to remove Poland and the Soviet Union as countries; France also would have to be stabilized in the west, as she was Germany’s enemy for more than a century. He counted as possible allies Italy, with its fascist government under [[Benito Mussolini]], and Britain, whom he regarded as having a similar, Teutonic heritage.
[[Image:Hitler6-thumb.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hitler with his dog, Blondie.]]
Before any of his ambitions could take place, there was one thing he detested which needed immediate removal: the restrictions placed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I. Posing as a man of peace to allay suspicions, he insisted that he was a champion of Europe wishing only for the removal of the inequalities leveled by the treaty, and posturing as a shield against Bolshevism. In October, 1933, he had Germany withdraw from the [[League of Nations]]. The following January he signed a non-aggression treaty with Poland. His individual repudiations of parts of the treaty were followed by offers of negotiations for new agreements, while maintaining Germany’s limited ambitious nature.

While this was going on, Germany was steadily building up the armed forces. Rigorous training using wooden guns and trucks marked as “tanks” got needed battlefield training for officers. Potential fighter pilots began their training in gliders at public demonstrations – Germany, under terms of the treaty, was not allowed an air force – and later they would fly in new civilian stunt planes and transports, which on the drawing board were designed to be rapidly turned into fighters and bombers. Conscription was introduced in January, 1935, and in June of that year Hitler successfully signed a naval treaty with Britain, giving him rights to a respectable navy; but even while the ink was drying, Germany was secretly building a large U-boat fleet.

The matter of reuniting the German peoples came into being in July, 1934, and here Hitler overreached. German organizations were covertly aiding Austrian Nazis in the overthrow of their government, culminating in an attempted revolt as well as murdering Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. When the attempt clearly failed, Hitler denied involvement. In January, 1935, a plebecite was introduced in the Saarland; more than 90 percent voted to return the territory to Germany. Then in March, 1936, came his greatest slap to the Versailles Treaty: against the advice of his generals, and in open defiance of France and Britain, he ordered troops into the demilitarized Rhineland. Germany was once again becoming the leading power in continental Europe. By October, 1936, Germany had signed an alliance with Italy, proclaiming a “Rome-Berlin axis,” followed by the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. All three countries would sign a single, mutual alliance pact, the following year.

==Anschluss==

Removed from their offices in January 1938 were Hjalmar Schacht (economic ministry); Werner von Fritsch (soldiers’ representative); and Konstantin von Neurath (foreign office); the reason being was they were not fully accepting of Nazism. Beginning his plans of German conquest, he started with Austria. Kurt von Schuschnigg, the Austrian chancellor, was invited to Berchtesgaden in February, where he was browbeaten and forced to sign an agreement placing Austrian Nazis in the government. When Schuschnigg resisted and announced a plebiscite for Austrian voters concerning independence, Hitler ordered German troops into Austria, completely taking over the country within days. His return to Vienna was in triumph; enthusiastic crowds greeted him by the tens of thousands, in sharp contrast to the scenes of privation he had gone through there in his youth. Austria was annexed (Anschluss) to the Reich a short time later.

While the Anschluss was going on, Hitler was speaking in friendly terms with Czechoslovakia; nearly as soon as Austria ceased to exist, Hitler proceeded with his plans against the Czechs. The northwestern region of Czechoslovakia was the Sudetenland, inhabited by a German minority, and the leader of them, Konrad Henlein, was instructed to make impossible demands for those Germans on the Czech government. In the interest of preventing a general war (which Hitler wanted), Mussolini and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain concluded a peaceful agreement in Munich on September 30, giving Hitler the Sudetenland without firing a shot. Chamberlain would return to Britain, waving the agreement signed between himself and Hitler, declaring it to be “peace for our time”, but his act of appeasement would ensure the peace would last only a few more months. Despite assurances that the Sudetenland was his last territorial demands, “Czechia”, as the remainder of Czechoslovakia was called, became a German protectorate on March 15, 1939, when Hitler ordered it occupied. Just over a week later, Lithuania was forced to cede to Germany the territory of Memel (Klaipeda), on the border of East Prussia.

==Poland==
Poland’s turn was next, and listening to the rumblings was France and Britain, which signed guarantees of mutual assistance to the Polish nation should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler also signed pacts: a “Pact of Steel” with Italy, strengthening the alliance between Rome and Berlin, and then a treaty that caught many off-guard: a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union on August 23. A secret clause in the pact allowed for the simultaneous invasion of Poland, and the division of the country in the center from north to south. Poland was invaded on September 1; two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Hitler assumed his own war strategy. Poland was conquered within weeks, and when a desired peace accord with Britain failed to materialize, he ordered the army to prepare for a western offensive. Norway was invaded and occupied, forestalling a British move on that country; Denmark was occupied by April, 1940. Hitler than adopted General Erich von Manstien’s plan for an offensive against France itself, which would move through neutral Belgium’s Ardenne Forest on May 10, taking that country as a matter of convenience, as well as avoiding the static fortifications of France’s Maginot Line. The German forces, extremely successful in their operations, reached the coastal ports on the English Channel in 10 days; Holland and Belgium both surrendered within days. But south of Dunkirk was where the army was ordered to halt. Hitler had hoped even at this stage in the battle that Britain would commit to peace; instead, the halting of the German army allowed the British to remove 170,000 fighting men.

On June 10, Italy entered the war as German tanks were sweeping across northern France. Hitler signed an armistice with France on June 22, the signing taking place in the same rail car at the same site where the Germans surrendered in 1918.

Having failed in getting the British to sign an armistice, Hitler prepared his forces for “Operation Sea Lion,” the invasion of Britain. However, the Luftwaffe was defeated in its attempt to gain air superiority over British airspace, also known as the Battle Of Britain, which forced the permanent postponement of Sealion.

Facing the failure of the British to give in, Hitler started to prepare to double-cross his erstwhile partner in the Poland conquest, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. Then Mussolini invaded Greece, got bogged down in the Balkans, and the threat loomed that he would lose his whole army there. Hitler found it necessary to come to his aid, while at the same time taking direct control of Yugoslavia in the wake of the overthrow of the pro-Nazi government.

==Barbarossa==
The attack on Soviet Russia began June 22, 1941. Rapid in its advancement, the German army captured a large swath of territory between the Baltic and Black seas, and captured close to 3,000,000 prisoners. But Hitler, already micro-managing military operations, became overbearing to his generals; he preferred to go after many targets, while his generals argued for a single objective. A few miles in front of Moscow, the German army was halted by a Russian offensive in December, as well as something he had absolutely no control over: the severe Russian winter.

In the lands already occupied by German forces, S.S. chief Heinrich Himmler was preparing the ground for Hitler’s new German order. Expelling the Jews from Germany was the first step, and this was carried out by laws and decrees beginning in 1933; the Germans would switch to outright force in 1939, as Jews were first deported en-masse to Poland, then walled into ghettos after the occupation began. By 1941, a policy crafted under S.S. general Reinhard Heydrich had changed expulsion for extermination in what was called "a final solution to the Jewish question" (''die Endlösung der Judenfrage''). The system of concentration camps was supplemented by the creation of specialized killing centers in the occupied countries, especially in Poland, where camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzac “processed” thousands of victims daily. Some six million Jews died during what was called the [[Holocaust]], as well as an additional five million Slavs, Gypsies, the handicapped, the aged, and many others that the Nazis considered “subhuman” in accordance with German racial policies.<ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/burns.htm</ref>

==Beginning of the end==
[[Image:Adolf_hitler6.jpg‎ |right|200px|thumb|Hitler in 1944, by now looking tired and strained.]]
Hitler grew increasingly strained by the end of 1942, depending on large amounts of drugs supplied by his physician, Theodor Morell, as a result of the twin defeats of El Alamein (which he lost the bulk of his Afrika corps to British general Montgomery), and Stalingrad (where he lost an entire army of 250,000 men to the Russians). He spent more time in his headquarters in East Prussia, and his time in the public eye ceased to exist. He refused to visit bombed German cities, and, as with Stalingrad, refused to allow German armies to withdraw from the battlefield when the situation was lost. Still, he could make stunning, decisive decisions when called for, such as the commando raid that resulted in the rescue of Benito Mussolini from Italian partisans in July, 1943.

But the defeat of Germany in the war was looming closer. Hitler’s relations with his leading commanders grew strained, the more so as he allowed units of the S.S. to take positions traditionally held by the army. The line at the eastern front was slowly being pushed back by the Soviets, while in the Atlantic his U-boats campaign had faltered. German cities were constantly being bombed, and a successful invasion on the Normandy coast of France in June, 1944 marked the beginning of the end.

===Assassination attempt===
[[Image:NWT Hitler dead.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hitler's death as covered by the ''New York Times'', May 2, 1945.]]
Seeing Germany’s chances of surviving the war were desperate, a group of officers plotted to assassinate Hitler, planning several attempts in 1943-44, but nearly successful on July 20, 1944, when a bomb hidden in a briefcase by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg went off under a table that Hitler and others were leaning over; four were killed outright, several suffered injuries, but Hitler escaped relatively unharmed (the bomb itself was set down away from Hitler behind a solid oak table leg, saving him). The conspirators were quickly rounded up; Stauffenberg was shot. The remainder were put on show trials and condemned to hang on meat hooks with piano wire. It was said that Hitler enjoyed watching film of their executions. As a result of the bomb, Nazi members were employed at key positions within the army, removing any trace of the army’s independence.

Within months nearly all of the territory occupied by Germany was now in Allied hands. A last offensive in December, 1944 to take the port of Antwerp, Belgium, failed. Hitler had by them grown ill; his hopes for a German victory bordered on the fantastical and the imagination. By January, 1945 he had moved into his command bunker in Berlin, where he gave orders deploying fictional divisions to counter the ever-closer Soviets. When all seemed lost, he gave out his final orders: first, appointing Admiral Karl Dönitz as head of the state and his successor, and Josef Goebbels as chancellor; and second, dictating his last political will which was an attempt to justify his life’s work.

On April 29, he committed the one truly-chivalrous act of his life: he married Eva Braun, his long-time mistress. After retiring to his room in the bunker the next day, Eva took poison, and Hitler put a bullet in his head. In accordance with his wishes, both bodies were burned. His Third Reich would outlive him for another week.

[[Elie Wiesel]] wrote the following in [[Time Magazine]] regarding Hitler:
{{cquote|Adolf Hitler or the incarnation of absolute evil; this is how future generations will remember the all-powerful Fuehrer of the criminal Third Reich. Compared with him, his peers [[Mussolini]] and [[Franco]] were novices. Under his hypnotic gaze, humanity crossed a threshold from which one could see the abyss. "Before Hitler, we thought we had sounded the depths of human nature," argues Ron Rosenbaum, author of "Explaining Hitler." "He showed how much lower we could go, and that's what was so horrifying. It gets us wondering not just at the depths he showed us but whether there is worse to come. The power of Hitler was to confound the modernist notion that judgments about good and [[evil]] were little more than matters of taste, reflections of social class and power and status. Although some modern scholars drive past the notion of evil and instead explain Hitler's conduct as a reflection of his childhood and self-esteem issues, for most survivors of the 20th century he is confirmation of our instinctive sense that evil does exist. It moves among us; it leads us astray and deploys powerful, subtle weapons against even the sturdiest souls." <ref name="time" />}}

All in all, Hitler survived over forty assassination attempts. The Stauffenburg attempt was the closest anyone ever came to killing Hitler. George Elser, a communist, came very close in 1938, having planted a bomb in a beam that Hitler stood in front of while giving a speech. Luck saved Hitler, as he left the hall early and twelve minutes later the bomb exploded.

== Adolf Hitler and Abortion ==

''For more information see:'' [[Abortion and Adolf Hitler]]

In 1942 Adolf Hitler declared:
{{cquote|In view of the large families of the Slav native population, it could only suit us if girls and women there had as many abortions as possible. We are not interested in seeing the non-[[German]] population multiply…We must use every means to instill in the population the idea that it is harmful to have several children, the expenses that they cause and the dangerous effect on woman's health… It will be necessary to open special institutions for abortions and doctors must be able to help out there in case there is any question of this being a breach of their professional ethics. <ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07090708.html</ref>}}

== External links ==
[[File:Hitler Siegestor Munich Victory Gate.jpg|thumb|Watercolor of the Arch of Triumph in Munich by Hitler.]]
*[http://www.eucontest.org/go.php?pdf=www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%201994.pdf Extracts From Mein Kampf by Hitler]
*[http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/ Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler.] Full text.
*[http://www.snyderstreasures.com/pages/hartworks.htm Adolf Hitler ORIGINAL Watercolor Artworks.]
*[http://constitutionalistnc.tripod.com/hitler-leftist/ Hitler Was a Leftist]

==Further reading==
*[http://www.ushmm.org/research/doctors/medical.htm STATE MEDICAL SERVICES OF THE THIRD REICH], FROM THE OPENING STATEMENT BY TELFORD TAYLOR, Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10. Nuremberg, October 1946–April 1949. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O, 1949–1953.] Retrieved from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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

==Sources==
*[http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/h/hitler-adolf/oss-papers/text/profile-index.htmlA Psychological Analysis of Adolf Hitler, His Life and Legend], Walter C. Langer, Office of Strategic Services, Washington, D.C.

{{DEFAULTSORT: Hitler, Adolf}}

[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Nazis]]
[[Category:Evolutionists]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]
[[Category:Anti-Semitism]]
[[Category:German History]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Evolutionary Racists]]
[[Category: Lunatics]]

Adolf Hitler

2012-02-22T02:59:28Z

JLefkowitz: /* Beliefs */

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Hitler7.JPG|200px]]
| name =Adolf Hitler
| birth =April 20, 1889 Braunau am Inn, Austria–Hungary
| parents =Alois Hitler (Schicklgruber) Klara Pölzl
| religion =Roman Catholic (rejected)
| spouse =Eva Braun
| children =none
| death =April 30, 1945 Berlin, Germany
| deathmanner =Suicide by gunshot
| education =Realschule Linz, Austria
| country =[[Third Reich|Germany]]
| military =16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment Imperial German Army (1914-1918)
| rank =''Obergefreiter'' (Lance Corporal/Private First Class)
|burial = none, burned.
| polbeliefs =[[Socialism]] [[National socialism]] (Nazism)
| party =German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei 1920–1921) National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei 1921–1945)
| dictatordate =March 23, 1933
| war =[[World War II]]
| deathnumber =12,000,000+ exclusive of battle casualties
20,000,000 to 25,000,000 altogether

Rummel: 21,000,000
}}
'''Adolf Hitler''' was the Austrian-born Chancellor and President of [[Germany]] from January 30, 1933 until his death on April 30, 1945. He was also the leader (German: ''Der Führer'') of the [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] (''National-sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'', or [[Nazi]] Party) which gained political power through threat, intimidation, and outright violence throughout Germany in the aftermath of the [[First World War]]. Adolf Hitler was an [[Evolution|evolutionary]] [[racist]] and [[socialism|socialist]] (see also: [[evolutionary racism]]).<ref>http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=268</ref><ref>http://mises.org/daily/1937</ref><ref>http://www.hourofthetime.com/socialist.htm</ref> Hitler’s policies and beliefs resulted in the [[Genocide|mass extermination]] of the [[Jews]], [[Gypsies]], and other peoples he considered “[[Racial Supremacy|inferior]]” throughout central and eastern [[Europe]] and were directly responsible for the outbreak of [[World War II]], which caused the deaths of untold millions on and off the battlefield and ended only after Hitler's [[suicide]] in his Berlin bunker.

==Early life==
[[File:Hitler Roses.jpg|thumb|Roses by Adolf Hitler.]]
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, [[Austria]]. Hitler's father, Alois (born 1837), was a customs official who was himself born out of wedlock, carrying for a time his mother's name, Schicklgruber. By 1876 he had his baptismal entry corrected in his church records, establishing his father as Johan Heidler, which was altered slightly to Hitler.

When his father retired the family moved to Linz, Austria, where it remained a favorite for young Adolf for the rest of his life, and where he gave his wish to be buried. When Alois died in 1903 he left enough of a pension to support his wife and children; Adolf would take his and live off of it in Vienna after leaving school, dreaming of becoming an artist. Although somewhat competent as a painter of landscapes and architecture, his renderings of humans were considered “lifeless” and “crude” by the standards of the Academy of Fine Arts, and his application was rejected twice. Remaining in [[Vienna]], he moved from one cheap flop house to another, painting postcards and advertisements to earn a meager living after his allowance had dried up. By then he had developed traits which characterized his life as a whole: secretiveness, loneliness, a Spartan mode of everyday life, and a hatred of the cosmopolitan, multinational character that was the makeup of Vienna. ''He never sought a proper job or regular employment. Instead he immersed himself in the works of [[Hegel]], [[Nietzsche]], and the anti-Semitic writings of the Englishman Houston Stewart Chamberlain. He loved the operas of Wagner, and the stories of the Nordic Gods... In early 1910, he entered a shelter for the homeless, populated in the main by poor Jews, on Meldemenstrasse, and was eating at soup kitchens. By this time he had pawned all his belongings. '' <ref> [http://socyberty.com/history/young-adolf-the-adolescent-hitler-and-beyond/ Young Adolf: The Adolescent Hitler and Beyond.] </ref>

==Who And What He Was==
[[Image:Cupid Complaining to Venus by Lucas Cranach.jpg|150px|left|thumb|This painting, one of the best-loved paintings in the National Gallery, had once belonged to Hitler. New evidence has come to light that Lucas Cranach's ''Cupid Complaining to Venus'', currently on loan to an exhibition in Bristol, hung on the sitting-room wall of his flat in Munich. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/mar/28/art.secondworldwar Hitler owned painting now in National Gallery]</ref>]]
[[Elie Wiesel]] wrote famously, and most eloquently about Hitler in 1998:
<blockquote>''"At the same time that he terrorized his adversaries, he knew how to please, impress and charm the very interlocutors from whom he wanted support. Diplomats and journalists insist as much on his charm as they do on his temper tantrums. The savior admired by his own as he dragged them into his madness, the Satan and exterminating angel feared and hated by all others, Hitler led his people to a shameful defeat without precedent. That his political and strategic ambitions have created a dividing line in the history of this turbulent and tormented century is undeniable: there is a before and an after. By the breadth of his crimes, which have attained a quasi-ontological dimension, he surpasses all his predecessors: as a result of Hitler, man is defined by what makes him inhuman. With Hitler at the head of a gigantic laboratory, life itself seems to have changed."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"How did this Austrian without title or position manage to get himself elected head of a German nation renowned for its civilizing mission? How to explain the success of his cheap demagogy in the heart of a people so proud of having inherited the genius of a Wolfgang von Goethe and an Immanuel Kant?"''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"Was there no resistance to his disastrous projects? There was. But it was too feeble, too weak and too late to succeed. German society had rallied behind him: the judicial, the educational, the industrial and the economic establishments gave him their support. Few politicians of this century have aroused, in their lifetime, such love and so much hate; few have inspired so much historical and psychological research after their death. Even today, works on his enigmatic personality and his cursed career are best sellers everywhere. Some are good, others are less good, but all seem to respond to an authentic curiosity on the part of a public haunted by memory and the desire to understand."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"We think we know everything about the nefarious forces that shaped his destiny: his unhappy childhood, his frustrated adolescence; his artistic disappointments; his wound received on the front during World War I; his taste for spectacle, his constant disdain for social and military aristocracies; his relationship with [[Eva Braun]], who adored him; the cult of the very death he feared; his lack of scruples with regard to his former comrades of the SA, whom he had assassinated in 1934; his endless hatred of [[Jews]], whose survival enraged him — each and every phase of his official and private life has found its chroniclers, its biographers."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"And yet. There are, in all these givens, elements that escape us. How did this unstable paranoid find it within himself to impose gigantic hope as an immutable ideal that motivated his nation almost until the end? Would he have come to power if Germany were not going through endless economic crises, or if the winners in 1918 had not imposed on it conditions that represented a national humiliation against which the German patriotic fiber could only revolt? We would be wrong to forget: Hitler came to power in January 1933 by the most legitimate means. His [[Nationalist Socialist Party]] won a majority in the parliamentary elections. The aging [[Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg]] had no choice but to allow him, at age 43, to form the new government, marking the end of the Weimar Republic. And the beginning of the [[Third Reich]], which, according to Hitler, would last 1,000 years."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"From that moment on, events cascaded. The burning of the [[Reichstag]] came only a little before the openings of the first concentration camps, established for members of the opposition. Fear descended on the country and squeezed it in a vise. Great writers, musicians and painters went into exile to France and the U.S. Jews with foresight emigrated toward Palestine. The air of Hitler's Germany was becoming more and more suffocating. Those who preferred to wait, thinking that the Nazi regime would not last, could not last, would regret it later, when it was too late."''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"The fact is that Hitler was beloved by his people — not the military, at least not in the beginning, but by the average Germans who pledged to him an affection, a tenderness and a fidelity that bordered on the irrational. It was idolatry on a national scale. One had to see the crowds who acclaimed him. And the women who were attracted to him. And the young who in his presence went into ecstasy. Did they not see the hateful mask that covered his face? Did they not divine the catastrophe he bore within himself?<ref name="time">http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler.html"''</ref></blockquote>

{{Clear}}

==Beliefs==
Despite the common myth that Hitler was an atheist, Hitler was actually a confirmed [[Roman Catholic]] Christian. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote, “by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord”. However, he was not very strong in his religious beliefs, and it is likely he only mentioned [[Christianity]] in his speeches to gain the votes and favor of both Catholics and Protestants. Even as late as 1941 Hitler told one of his generals: “I am now, as before, a Catholic and will always remain so.”

=== Hitler, Nazism and socialism ===

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

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

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

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

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

=== Hitler and the Theory of Evolution ===
''For more information please see:'' [[Evolutionary racism]] and [[Social effects of the theory of evolution]]

[[Image:Hitlerrisetopower.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]
The staunch [[evolution|evolutionist]] Stephen Gould admitted the following:
{{cquote|[[Ernst Haeckel|[Ernst] Haeckel]] was the chief apostle of evolution in [[Germany]].... His evolutionary racism; his call to the German people for racial purity and unflinching devotion to a "just" state; his belief that harsh, inexorable laws of evolution ruled human civilization and nature alike, conferring upon favored races the right to dominate others; the irrational mysticism that had always stood in strange communion with his brave words about objective science - all contributed to the rise of Nazism. - Stephen J. Gould, "Ontogeny and Phylogeny," Belknap Press: Cambridge MA, 1977, pp.77-78).<ref>http://members.iinet.net.au/~sejones/social.html</ref>}}

Robert E.D. Clark in his work ''Darwin: Before and After'' wrote concerning Hitler's evolutionary racism:
{{cquote|The Germans were the higher race, destined for a glorious evolutionary future. For this reason it was essential that the Jews should be segregated, otherwise mixed marriages would take place. Were this to happen, all nature’s efforts 'to establish an evolutionary higher stage of being may thus be rendered futile' (''Mein Kampf''). <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1675</ref>}}

Hitler wrote in ''Mein Kampf'':
{{cquote|The stronger must dominate and not blend with the weaker, thus sacrificing his own greatness. Only the born weakling can view this as cruel, but he, after all, is only a weak and limited man; for if this law did not prevail, any conceivable higher development (Hoherentwicklung) of organic living beings would be unthinkable.<ref>http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=268</ref>}}

Dr. Robert E.D. Clark wrote in his work ''Darwin, Before and After'' the following regarding Hitler and the theory of evolution: “Adolf Hitler’s mind was captivated by evolutionary teaching — probably since the time he was a boy. Evolutionary ideas — quite undisguised — lie at the basis of all that is worst in Mein Kampf — and in his public speeches”.<ref name="courier">http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/the_holocaust_why_did_it_happen</ref>
[[Image:5712dawkins.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|right|thumbnail|200px|[[Richard Dawkins]] is a prominent [[atheism|atheist]] and [[evolution|evolutionist]]. [[Richard Dawkins]] stated in an interview: “What’s to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question."<ref>http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist</ref> ]]
Richard Hickman in his work ''Biocreation'' concurs and wrote the following:
{{cquote|It is perhaps no coincidence that Adolf Hitler was a firm believer in and preacher of evolutionism. Whatever the deeper, profound, complexities of his [[psychosis]], it is certain that [the concept of struggle was important for]. . . his book, Mein Kampf clearly set forth a number of evolutionary ideas, particularly those emphasizing struggle, survival of the fittest and extermination of the weak to produce a better society. <ref>http://www.creationism.org/csshs/v08n3p24.htm</ref>}}

Noted evolutionary [[anthropology|anthropologist]] Sir Arthur Keith conceded the following in regards to Hitler: “The German Fuhrer, as I have consistently maintained, is an evolutionist; he has consciously sought to make the practices of Germany conform to the theory of evolution”.<ref name="courier" />

[[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning author Marilynne Robinson wrote the following regarding Hitler's racism in the November 2006 issue of ''Harper’s'' magazine:
{{cquote|While it is true that persecution of the Jews has a very long history in [[Europe]], it is also true that science in the twentieth century revived and absolutized persecution by giving it a fresh rationale — Jewishness was not religious or cultural, but genetic. Therefore no appeal could be made against the brute fact of a Jewish grandparent.

[[Richard Dawkins|[Richard] Dawkins]] deals with all this in one sentence. Hitler did his evil "in the name of ... an insane and unscientific [[eugenics]] theory." But eugenics is science as surely as totemism is religion. That either is in error is beside the point. Science quite appropriately acknowledges that error should be assumed, and at best it proceeds by a continuous process of criticism meant to isolate and identify error. So bad science is still science in more or less the same sense that bad religion is still religion. That both of them can do damage on a huge scale is clear. The prestige of both is a great part of the problem, and in the modern period the credibility of anything called science is enormous. As the history of eugenics proves, science at the highest levels is no reliable corrective to the influence of cultural prejudice but is in fact profoundly vulnerable to it.

There is indeed historical precedent in the [[Spanish Inquisition]] for the notion of hereditary Judaism. But the fact that the worst religious thought of the sixteenth century can be likened to the worst scientific thought of the twentieth century hardly redounds to the credit of science.<ref>http://solutions.synearth.net/2006/10/20</ref><ref>http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/someone-finally-said-it-dawkinss-hysterical-scientism/</ref>}}

[[Evolution|Evolutionist]] and [[atheism|atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]] stated in an interview: “What’s to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question."<ref>http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist</ref> The interviewer wrote, regarding the Hitler comment, "I was stupefied. He had readily conceded that his own [[philosophy|philosophical]] position did not offer a rational basis for moral judgments. His intellectual honesty was refreshing, if somewhat disturbing on this point."<ref>http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist</ref>

== Similarities between Communism, Nazism and liberalism ==

''See also:'' [[Similarities between Communism, Nazism and liberalism]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
![[Communism|Communist]] Manifesto
![[Nazi]] Party Platform
!Analysis
|-
|1
|"Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes."
|"We demand an agrarian reform in accordance with our national requirements, and the enactment of a law to expropriate the owners without compensation of any land needed for the common purpose. The abolition of ground rents, and the prohibition of all speculation in land."
|The stripping away of land from private owners. [[Liberalism]] today demands "eminent domain" on property.
|-
|2
|"A heavy progressive or graduated income tax."
|"We demand the nationalization of all trusts...profit-sharing in large industries...a generous increase in old-age pensions...by providing maternity welfare centers, by prohibiting juvenile labor...and the creation of a national (folk) army."
|The points raised in the [[Nazi]] platform demand an increase in taxes to support them. Liberalism today demands heavy progressive and graduated income taxes.
|-
|3
|"Abolition of all rights of inheritance."
|"That all unearned income, and all income that does not arise from work, be abolished."
|Liberalism today demands a "death tax" on anyone inheriting an estate.
|-
|4
|"Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels."
|"We demand that all non-Germans who have entered Germany since August 2, 1914, shall be compelled to leave the Reich immediately."
|The Nuremburg Laws of 1934 allowed Germany to take Jewish property.
|-
|5
|"Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly."
|"We demand the nationalization of all trusts."
|Central control of the financial system.
|-
|6
|"Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State."
|"We demand that there be a legal campaign against those who propagate deliberate political lies and disseminate them through the press...editors and their assistants on newspapers published in the German language shall be German citizens...Non-German newspapers shall only be published with the express permission of the State...the punishment for transgressing this law be the immediate suppression of the newspaper..."
|Central control of the press. Liberals today demand control or suppression of talk radio and Fox News.
|-
|7
|"Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, &c, &c."
|"In order to make it possible for every capable and industrious German to obtain higher education, and thus the opportunity to reach into positions of leadership, the State must assume the responsibility of organizing thoroughly the entire cultural system of the people. The curricula of all educational establishments shall be adapted to practical life. The conception of the State Idea (science of citizenship) must be taught in the schools from the very beginning. We demand that specially talented children of poor parents, whatever their station or occupation, be educated at the expense of the State. "
|Central control of education, with an emphasis on doing things their way. Liberals today are doing things ''their way'' in our schools.
|-
|}

==War==
[[Image:Hitler munich1914.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hitler in the crowd in Munich, 1914, reacting to the news of Germany's entry in the First World War.]]
By 1913 Hitler was in Munich, Germany, with war clouds on the horizon. Classified as unfit for service in the Austrian army (possibly by faking, as he did not like the thought of serving Austria) in 1914, he volunteered for the German army, joining the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment, greeting the war with enthusiasm, and finding the military discipline and comradeship satisfying. He served during the entire [[First World War]] as a messenger carrying dispatches between units, and often at the front lines under fire; he was wounded in 1916, and gassed in 1918. His bravery during this time earned him the [[Iron Cross]], 2nd Class, in December, 1914, and in August 1918 he was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class – a rare decoration for a corporal. But the gassing would take him out of the war and into a hospital, where he would be told the heart-wrenching news of Germany’s defeat the following November.

==Path to power==
After the war ended, Hitler's future seemed uncertain. There was much discontent among demobilized veterans because of the lack of employment. The German military had felt it had not been defeated; indeed, the German Army stood on foreign soil when the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918 and not a square inch of German soil had been occupied. This was despite the fact that the German Army's strongest position, the Hindenburg line, had been broken by the Allies, and the German Army itself was in full retreat. However, the Army felt they had done their job, and the nation had been "stabbed in the back" by a gang of traitors who sought to lay hands on the Fatherland. The "myth" that Germany had been defeated was the "big lie" Hitler spoke of, as if repeating it often enough would cause people to believe it.

After his discharge from the hospital, Hitler acted as an army political agent, assigned in Munich to gather information on the various political parties which had spring up amid the social chaos following Germany’s defeat. In September, 1919, he was given orders to investigate the relatively-minor German Workers’ Party (''Deutsche Arbeiterpartei''); intrigued by the party’s apparatus and its racial, pan-German nationalism, he joined, becoming its 55th member; he left the army soon after and devoted himself to improving the party’s propaganda, as well as his own position within.

Conditions in Germany fostered the development of the party. Economic woes brought widespread discontent, added to the furor surrounding the loss of the war and the harsh terms heaped upon Germany by the Allied Powers in the Versailles Peace Treaty. Bavaria’s traditional separatism from the central government in Berlin made current conditions especially sharp, and Hitler was savvy enough to take full advantage of them. When he joined, he found the party ineffective in leadership and uncertain as to its aims; he accepted the party program, but regarded it as a means to an end. He caused friction with other members of the party, and their attempts to control him caused a threat of resignation; realizing that the future of the party now depended on Hitler, who clearly had a talent of organization, fund collecting, and above all, speaking, they declined to accept it; from July, 1921 Hitler was regarded as the party leader with nearly unlimited power. From his party newspaper, ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (“Popular Observer”), he spewed out endless propaganda. His meetings where he spoke grew from handfuls to hundreds, and then on to thousands. A man of charismatic personality, he quickly attracted a circle of loyal and devoted followers: Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Hermann Göring, and Rudolf Hess.

Munich was also a gathering place for former servicemen dissatisfied with conditions in the country; members of the Freikorps, which had been organized after the war from army units that refused to return to civilian life; and those civilians who plotted against the republic. Many of these men joined the Nazi Party. Among them was a staff member of the district command who had joined the German Workers’ Party before Hitler, Ernst Röhm, a pudgy man with a scared face who saw his own ambition in helping further Hitler’s rise within the party. Röhm recruited what came to be known as the “Brown Shirts”, the violent squads used to attack socialists and communists, and to protect party meetings whenever Hitler was speaking. By 1921 they were organized into a private army called the ''Sturmabteilung'', abbreviated to S.A.

==The Beer Hall Putsch==
Germany in 1923 was marked by social and political unrest caused by hyperinflation. In this time Hitler was able convince [[Erich Ludendorff]], an accomplished general and leader of the German forces in the first World War, to join him in a coup d'etat (''Putsch'' in German). When Hitler learned that the nationalist prime minister of Bavaria was giving a speech to 3000 officials in one of Munich's biggest beer halls (the Haufbrau Haus), he ordered his paramilitaries to surround the building. Hitler went inside and took the prime minister hostage, announced a revolution, and attempted to convince him to join the coup against Berlin and become member in his new administration. The Bavarian prime minister agreed under pressure, but informed the nation via radio later that night that he did not support Hitler. The prime minister also informed the federal government in Berlin; the putsch had begun to fail.

The next morning, 9 November 1923, Hitler and Ludendorff were marching with approximately 2000 partly armed supporters through Munich in a show of strength to regain the momentum. In the ensuing fight between Hitler's marchers and a cordon of police and army units at least 14 Nazi supporters and three policemen were killed and hundreds wounded. Ludendorff handed himself over to the authorities, while Hitler fled soon after the fighting began. Hitler was arrested a few days later at a friend's house, were had been in hiding since the failed coup. Ludendorff was acquitted of all charges, while Hitler was sentenced to 5 years in prison (he would do eight months). <ref>http://history1900s.about.com/cs/thirdreich/a/beerhallputsch_2.htm</ref><ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/putsch2.htm</ref> The Bavarian prime minister, who foiled the plan, was killed in 1934 in the "Night of the Long Knives".

===''Mein Kampf''===
{{main|Mein Kampf}}
Hitler had his inner circle as frequent visitors in his prison cell, which was made more comfortable due to his celebrity. While there, he dictated to Rudolf Hess the first volume of ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' (“My Struggle”), his political autobiography and a compendium of his many ideas, including his [[atheist]] and [[evolutionist]] ideas.

Hitler believed in the inequality of the races, nations, and individuals as part of the natural order of mankind, and chief among them was the exalted “Aryan race”, and the greatest of the Aryans were the Germans. It was the German, according to Hitler, that gave the world civilization and the arts; to safeguard the German people as a race (the “Volk”), they would need to be united under a single leader (the Führer), where they would be protected from their three principle enemies: Marxism, which included social democracy as well as communism; democracy and its mob-rule, as shown by the failings of the Weimar Republic; and above all what Hitler called the poisoners of humanity, the Jews. “Rational anti-Semitism must lead to systematic legal opposition,” he wrote in 1919. “Its final objective must be the removal of the Jews altogether.” In Mein Kampf, he told the world that the Jew was the “destroyer of culture,” “a parasite within the nation,” and “a menace.”

From "Mein Kampf":
{{cquote|The Jew "... he blares out his merits to the rest of the world until people really begin to believe in them. Anyone who does not believe in them is doing him a bitter injustice. In a short time he begins to twist things around to make it look as if all the injustice in the world had always been done to him and not the other way around." <ref> [http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkv1ch11.html Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler.]</ref> }}

{{cquote| Hitler portrays Jews as leaders in politics and banking, both groups seeking to strengthen their cause, [[Zionism]], to ensure Jewish domination. From his Social Darwinist perspective, Hitler perceived a racial war as inevitable and he sought to halt the "[[Jewish]] drive towards world conquest"... As Berlin collapsed around him, Adolf asserted: "Out of the ruins of our towns and monuments hatred will grow against those finally responsible for everything, International Jewry." <ref> [http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=32043&amid=30237234 Mein Kampf – The Text, its Themes and Hitler’s Vision] Robert Carr dissects a book frequently referred to but seldom read. </ref>
}}

==Rebuilding the Nazi Party==

[[Image:Hitler-3.jpg‎ |right|200px|thumb|Hitler in car, saluting passing S.A. at one of many parades.]]
Internal dissension within the party caused it to languish while Hitler was in prison. When he was released he saw difficulties in the country that had not existed before the Putsch, namely currency reform that brought economic stability, and the scaling back of the war reparations as a result of the Dawes Plan. Hitler was also forbidden to speak in public, and remained so until 1928; nonetheless he worked to rebuild the party and re-establish his own position within it as leader, despite Gregor Strasser’s opposition in northern Germany. By 1927 the number of Nazis was in the hundreds of thousands.

A new period of political and economic instability began with the onset of the Great Depression which threw millions out of work in Europe and North America. To campaign against the [[Young Plan]] (a second renegotiation of war reparations payments) Hitler made an alliance with one of Germany’s leading nationalists, Alfred Hugenberg, whose newspapers enabled Hitler to reach a national audience for the first time. The alliance also had another advantage: it enabled him to seek support from many in business and industry who controlled funds going into politics, and who themselves were desirous of seeing Germany under the control of a strong anti-Soviet and anti-Communist regime. The subsidies Hitler received placed the Nazi Party on a strong financial footing, enabling him to make his emotional appeal to the lower middle class and the unemployed in his faith that Germany would recover from its suffering and be a great nation once more. The alliance with the industrialists also demonstrated another aspect of Hitler, a skill of effectively using those that would use him, which many would discover when it was too late.

The electoral strength of the Nazis grew during the Depression, as unceasing propaganda accused the government of failing to improve conditions for the working man. By the fall of 1930 the Nazis captured more than 18 percent of the vote, compared to just 2.6 percent in 1928. Hitler captured 36.8 percent of the vote when he opposed Paul von Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential election; his mass following put him in such a strong position that he entered a series of closed-door intrigues with Franz von Papen, Oskar Hindenburg, and Otto Meissner, all sharing a fear and loathing of a communist government. Despite the party losing votes in the November, 1932 election, Hitler insisted on nothing less than the office of chancellor for himself. For him, it was all or nothing. Hindenburg offered it to him on January 30, 1933.

==In power==
Almost immediately, Hitler established himself as dictator. Less than a month after taking office, on February 27 the Reichstag building was set on fire under mysterious circumstances (but officially blamed on a feeble-minded Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe); Hitler soon after succeeded in getting several decrees passed removing much of the freedom guaranteed the constitution in the name of state security, and which also allowed an intensified campaign of violence against dissidents. Incredibly, in a special election set in those conditions on March 5, the Nazis won 43.9 percent of the vote. On March 21, the new Reichstag assembled at the Potsdam Church, as much a show of unity between the old guard under Hindenburg and the Nazis as it was a show of peace. Two days later the Enabling Act was passed, giving Hitler full powers; with the exception of the Nazis, all other political parties, including those which had helped pass the Enabling Act, ceased to exist within three months. Many of their leaders were imprisoned in concentration camps.

===Night of the Long Knives===
[[Image:HitlerRohm1933.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hitler with Ernst Röhm in 1933]]
Hitler, however, did not wish to start an immediate revolution. In order to implement his ideas he still needed the support of the army. But he did have one growing problem that was a thorn in the army’s side, the million-plus men of the S.A. and their leader, Ernst Röhm, who wanted nothing less than the merger of the S.A. into the army, with himself in overall command. At first, Hitler tried getting Röhm’s support by persuasion, but Hitler’s inner circle was for removing him by any means possible. On June 29, 1934, Hitler ordered a purge, flew towards a resort near Munich where a number of S.A. leaders were vacationing, and had them all arrested; many would be shot without trial. Refusing to shoot himself when offered, Röhm was killed in his cell at Dachau, his last words, ironically, “Mein Führer, mein Führer!” <ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/roehm.htm</ref><ref>http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/nsdap/Rohm.html</ref><ref>http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/innenpolitik/roehm/index.html</ref>
On July 13, Hitler gave speech in the Reichstag, announcing that some seventy-four individuals had been shot for threatening the stability of the Reich.
:''"If anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the regular courts of justice, then all I can say is this: In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people…It was no secret that this time the revolution would have to be bloody; when we spoke of it we called it 'The Night of the Long Knives.' Everyone must know for all future time that if he raises his hand to strike the State, then certain death is his lot." ''
Hitler also used this event to settle his account with other opponents, such as Georg Strasser, who stood for a more socialist and less racist national socialism, and the former Bavarian prime minister who foiled the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. Satisfied that the S.A. leadership was thoroughly broken up (thousands of S.A. members were either arrested or killed that night), the army approved of Hitler’s actions. Hindenburg died a few days later on August 2, and Hitler merged the office of president with the chancellorship, and with it the supreme command of the German armed forces. During this time the world was slowly recovering economically from the Depression, but it quickened in Germany, coincidently with Hitler’s rise to power. Taking credit for the recovery made him very popular, bringing him a 90 percent approval rating in a voter plebiscite that year.

===Beginnings of expansion===
In matters of state, the running of domestic affairs was left to subordinates, which was something Hitler had little attention for. Foreign policy always peaked his interest, in so much as to the advantages of a “Greater Germany”, which was his chief ambition. The first part of realizing this, according to ''Mein Kampf'', was to be a reunion of the German peoples within Europe; the second would be an expansion of Germany to the east (lebensraum). Expanding would mean a renewed conflict with the Slavic peoples, whom Hitler intended to serve as slaves to the “New German Order.” To follow through on his ambitions, he would have to remove Poland and the Soviet Union as countries; France also would have to be stabilized in the west, as she was Germany’s enemy for more than a century. He counted as possible allies Italy, with its fascist government under [[Benito Mussolini]], and Britain, whom he regarded as having a similar, Teutonic heritage.
[[Image:Hitler6-thumb.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hitler with his dog, Blondie.]]
Before any of his ambitions could take place, there was one thing he detested which needed immediate removal: the restrictions placed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I. Posing as a man of peace to allay suspicions, he insisted that he was a champion of Europe wishing only for the removal of the inequalities leveled by the treaty, and posturing as a shield against Bolshevism. In October, 1933, he had Germany withdraw from the [[League of Nations]]. The following January he signed a non-aggression treaty with Poland. His individual repudiations of parts of the treaty were followed by offers of negotiations for new agreements, while maintaining Germany’s limited ambitious nature.

While this was going on, Germany was steadily building up the armed forces. Rigorous training using wooden guns and trucks marked as “tanks” got needed battlefield training for officers. Potential fighter pilots began their training in gliders at public demonstrations – Germany, under terms of the treaty, was not allowed an air force – and later they would fly in new civilian stunt planes and transports, which on the drawing board were designed to be rapidly turned into fighters and bombers. Conscription was introduced in January, 1935, and in June of that year Hitler successfully signed a naval treaty with Britain, giving him rights to a respectable navy; but even while the ink was drying, Germany was secretly building a large U-boat fleet.

The matter of reuniting the German peoples came into being in July, 1934, and here Hitler overreached. German organizations were covertly aiding Austrian Nazis in the overthrow of their government, culminating in an attempted revolt as well as murdering Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. When the attempt clearly failed, Hitler denied involvement. In January, 1935, a plebecite was introduced in the Saarland; more than 90 percent voted to return the territory to Germany. Then in March, 1936, came his greatest slap to the Versailles Treaty: against the advice of his generals, and in open defiance of France and Britain, he ordered troops into the demilitarized Rhineland. Germany was once again becoming the leading power in continental Europe. By October, 1936, Germany had signed an alliance with Italy, proclaiming a “Rome-Berlin axis,” followed by the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. All three countries would sign a single, mutual alliance pact, the following year.

==Anschluss==

Removed from their offices in January 1938 were Hjalmar Schacht (economic ministry); Werner von Fritsch (soldiers’ representative); and Konstantin von Neurath (foreign office); the reason being was they were not fully accepting of Nazism. Beginning his plans of German conquest, he started with Austria. Kurt von Schuschnigg, the Austrian chancellor, was invited to Berchtesgaden in February, where he was browbeaten and forced to sign an agreement placing Austrian Nazis in the government. When Schuschnigg resisted and announced a plebiscite for Austrian voters concerning independence, Hitler ordered German troops into Austria, completely taking over the country within days. His return to Vienna was in triumph; enthusiastic crowds greeted him by the tens of thousands, in sharp contrast to the scenes of privation he had gone through there in his youth. Austria was annexed (Anschluss) to the Reich a short time later.

While the Anschluss was going on, Hitler was speaking in friendly terms with Czechoslovakia; nearly as soon as Austria ceased to exist, Hitler proceeded with his plans against the Czechs. The northwestern region of Czechoslovakia was the Sudetenland, inhabited by a German minority, and the leader of them, Konrad Henlein, was instructed to make impossible demands for those Germans on the Czech government. In the interest of preventing a general war (which Hitler wanted), Mussolini and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain concluded a peaceful agreement in Munich on September 30, giving Hitler the Sudetenland without firing a shot. Chamberlain would return to Britain, waving the agreement signed between himself and Hitler, declaring it to be “peace for our time”, but his act of appeasement would ensure the peace would last only a few more months. Despite assurances that the Sudetenland was his last territorial demands, “Czechia”, as the remainder of Czechoslovakia was called, became a German protectorate on March 15, 1939, when Hitler ordered it occupied. Just over a week later, Lithuania was forced to cede to Germany the territory of Memel (Klaipeda), on the border of East Prussia.

==Poland==
Poland’s turn was next, and listening to the rumblings was France and Britain, which signed guarantees of mutual assistance to the Polish nation should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler also signed pacts: a “Pact of Steel” with Italy, strengthening the alliance between Rome and Berlin, and then a treaty that caught many off-guard: a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union on August 23. A secret clause in the pact allowed for the simultaneous invasion of Poland, and the division of the country in the center from north to south. Poland was invaded on September 1; two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Hitler assumed his own war strategy. Poland was conquered within weeks, and when a desired peace accord with Britain failed to materialize, he ordered the army to prepare for a western offensive. Norway was invaded and occupied, forestalling a British move on that country; Denmark was occupied by April, 1940. Hitler than adopted General Erich von Manstien’s plan for an offensive against France itself, which would move through neutral Belgium’s Ardenne Forest on May 10, taking that country as a matter of convenience, as well as avoiding the static fortifications of France’s Maginot Line. The German forces, extremely successful in their operations, reached the coastal ports on the English Channel in 10 days; Holland and Belgium both surrendered within days. But south of Dunkirk was where the army was ordered to halt. Hitler had hoped even at this stage in the battle that Britain would commit to peace; instead, the halting of the German army allowed the British to remove 170,000 fighting men.

On June 10, Italy entered the war as German tanks were sweeping across northern France. Hitler signed an armistice with France on June 22, the signing taking place in the same rail car at the same site where the Germans surrendered in 1918.

Having failed in getting the British to sign an armistice, Hitler prepared his forces for “Operation Sea Lion,” the invasion of Britain. However, the Luftwaffe was defeated in its attempt to gain air superiority over British airspace, also known as the Battle Of Britain, which forced the permanent postponement of Sealion.

Facing the failure of the British to give in, Hitler started to prepare to double-cross his erstwhile partner in the Poland conquest, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. Then Mussolini invaded Greece, got bogged down in the Balkans, and the threat loomed that he would lose his whole army there. Hitler found it necessary to come to his aid, while at the same time taking direct control of Yugoslavia in the wake of the overthrow of the pro-Nazi government.

==Barbarossa==
The attack on Soviet Russia began June 22, 1941. Rapid in its advancement, the German army captured a large swath of territory between the Baltic and Black seas, and captured close to 3,000,000 prisoners. But Hitler, already micro-managing military operations, became overbearing to his generals; he preferred to go after many targets, while his generals argued for a single objective. A few miles in front of Moscow, the German army was halted by a Russian offensive in December, as well as something he had absolutely no control over: the severe Russian winter.

In the lands already occupied by German forces, S.S. chief Heinrich Himmler was preparing the ground for Hitler’s new German order. Expelling the Jews from Germany was the first step, and this was carried out by laws and decrees beginning in 1933; the Germans would switch to outright force in 1939, as Jews were first deported en-masse to Poland, then walled into ghettos after the occupation began. By 1941, a policy crafted under S.S. general Reinhard Heydrich had changed expulsion for extermination in what was called "a final solution to the Jewish question" (''die Endlösung der Judenfrage''). The system of concentration camps was supplemented by the creation of specialized killing centers in the occupied countries, especially in Poland, where camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzac “processed” thousands of victims daily. Some six million Jews died during what was called the [[Holocaust]], as well as an additional five million Slavs, Gypsies, the handicapped, the aged, and many others that the Nazis considered “subhuman” in accordance with German racial policies.<ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/burns.htm</ref>

==Beginning of the end==
[[Image:Adolf_hitler6.jpg‎ |right|200px|thumb|Hitler in 1944, by now looking tired and strained.]]
Hitler grew increasingly strained by the end of 1942, depending on large amounts of drugs supplied by his physician, Theodor Morell, as a result of the twin defeats of El Alamein (which he lost the bulk of his Afrika corps to British general Montgomery), and Stalingrad (where he lost an entire army of 250,000 men to the Russians). He spent more time in his headquarters in East Prussia, and his time in the public eye ceased to exist. He refused to visit bombed German cities, and, as with Stalingrad, refused to allow German armies to withdraw from the battlefield when the situation was lost. Still, he could make stunning, decisive decisions when called for, such as the commando raid that resulted in the rescue of Benito Mussolini from Italian partisans in July, 1943.

But the defeat of Germany in the war was looming closer. Hitler’s relations with his leading commanders grew strained, the more so as he allowed units of the S.S. to take positions traditionally held by the army. The line at the eastern front was slowly being pushed back by the Soviets, while in the Atlantic his U-boats campaign had faltered. German cities were constantly being bombed, and a successful invasion on the Normandy coast of France in June, 1944 marked the beginning of the end.

===Assassination attempt===
[[Image:NWT Hitler dead.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hitler's death as covered by the ''New York Times'', May 2, 1945.]]
Seeing Germany’s chances of surviving the war were desperate, a group of officers plotted to assassinate Hitler, planning several attempts in 1943-44, but nearly successful on July 20, 1944, when a bomb hidden in a briefcase by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg went off under a table that Hitler and others were leaning over; four were killed outright, several suffered injuries, but Hitler escaped relatively unharmed (the bomb itself was set down away from Hitler behind a solid oak table leg, saving him). The conspirators were quickly rounded up; Stauffenberg was shot. The remainder were put on show trials and condemned to hang on meat hooks with piano wire. It was said that Hitler enjoyed watching film of their executions. As a result of the bomb, Nazi members were employed at key positions within the army, removing any trace of the army’s independence.

Within months nearly all of the territory occupied by Germany was now in Allied hands. A last offensive in December, 1944 to take the port of Antwerp, Belgium, failed. Hitler had by them grown ill; his hopes for a German victory bordered on the fantastical and the imagination. By January, 1945 he had moved into his command bunker in Berlin, where he gave orders deploying fictional divisions to counter the ever-closer Soviets. When all seemed lost, he gave out his final orders: first, appointing Admiral Karl Dönitz as head of the state and his successor, and Josef Goebbels as chancellor; and second, dictating his last political will which was an attempt to justify his life’s work.

On April 29, he committed the one truly-chivalrous act of his life: he married Eva Braun, his long-time mistress. After retiring to his room in the bunker the next day, Eva took poison, and Hitler put a bullet in his head. In accordance with his wishes, both bodies were burned. His Third Reich would outlive him for another week.

[[Elie Wiesel]] wrote the following in [[Time Magazine]] regarding Hitler:
{{cquote|Adolf Hitler or the incarnation of absolute evil; this is how future generations will remember the all-powerful Fuehrer of the criminal Third Reich. Compared with him, his peers [[Mussolini]] and [[Franco]] were novices. Under his hypnotic gaze, humanity crossed a threshold from which one could see the abyss. "Before Hitler, we thought we had sounded the depths of human nature," argues Ron Rosenbaum, author of "Explaining Hitler." "He showed how much lower we could go, and that's what was so horrifying. It gets us wondering not just at the depths he showed us but whether there is worse to come. The power of Hitler was to confound the modernist notion that judgments about good and [[evil]] were little more than matters of taste, reflections of social class and power and status. Although some modern scholars drive past the notion of evil and instead explain Hitler's conduct as a reflection of his childhood and self-esteem issues, for most survivors of the 20th century he is confirmation of our instinctive sense that evil does exist. It moves among us; it leads us astray and deploys powerful, subtle weapons against even the sturdiest souls." <ref name="time" />}}

All in all, Hitler survived over forty assassination attempts. The Stauffenburg attempt was the closest anyone ever came to killing Hitler. George Elser, a communist, came very close in 1938, having planted a bomb in a beam that Hitler stood in front of while giving a speech. Luck saved Hitler, as he left the hall early and twelve minutes later the bomb exploded.

== Adolf Hitler and Abortion ==

''For more information see:'' [[Abortion and Adolf Hitler]]

In 1942 Adolf Hitler declared:
{{cquote|In view of the large families of the Slav native population, it could only suit us if girls and women there had as many abortions as possible. We are not interested in seeing the non-[[German]] population multiply…We must use every means to instill in the population the idea that it is harmful to have several children, the expenses that they cause and the dangerous effect on woman's health… It will be necessary to open special institutions for abortions and doctors must be able to help out there in case there is any question of this being a breach of their professional ethics. <ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07090708.html</ref>}}

== External links ==
[[File:Hitler Siegestor Munich Victory Gate.jpg|thumb|Watercolor of the Arch of Triumph in Munich by Hitler.]]
*[http://www.eucontest.org/go.php?pdf=www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%201994.pdf Extracts From Mein Kampf by Hitler]
*[http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/ Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler.] Full text.
*[http://www.snyderstreasures.com/pages/hartworks.htm Adolf Hitler ORIGINAL Watercolor Artworks.]
*[http://constitutionalistnc.tripod.com/hitler-leftist/ Hitler Was a Leftist]

==Further reading==
*[http://www.ushmm.org/research/doctors/medical.htm STATE MEDICAL SERVICES OF THE THIRD REICH], FROM THE OPENING STATEMENT BY TELFORD TAYLOR, Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10. Nuremberg, October 1946–April 1949. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O, 1949–1953.] Retrieved from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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

==Sources==
*[http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/h/hitler-adolf/oss-papers/text/profile-index.htmlA Psychological Analysis of Adolf Hitler, His Life and Legend], Walter C. Langer, Office of Strategic Services, Washington, D.C.

{{DEFAULTSORT: Hitler, Adolf}}

[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Nazis]]
[[Category:Evolutionists]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]
[[Category:Anti-Semitism]]
[[Category:German History]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Evolutionary Racists]]
[[Category: Lunatics]]

Talk:Richard Dawkins

2012-02-21T03:51:33Z

JLefkowitz: /* Why does Dawkins matter so much to you? */

*[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 1|Archive #1]]| *[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 5|Archive #5]]
*[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 2|Archive #2]]| *[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 6|Archive #6]]
*[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 3|Archive #3]]| *[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 7|Archive #7]]
*[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 4|Archive #4]]| *[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 8|Archive #8]]
*[[Talk:Richard Dawkins/Archive 9|Archive #9]]


== Elevatorgate ==

Develop [[Elevatorgate]] article and incorporate it into the Richard Dawkins article. Mention the atheist Rebecca Watson is no longer going to recommend his books, etc. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 05:34, 13 July 2011 (EDT)

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/07/08/atheist_flirting

http://gawker.com/5818993/richard-dawkins-torn-limb-from-limbby-atheists

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/david-allen-green/2011/07/richard-dawkins-chewing-gum

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/07/richard-dawkins-draws-feminist-wrath-over-sexual-harassment-comments/39637/

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/not-your-average-read/2011/jul/16/sexism-atheism-Dawkins-Watson-feminists-Skepchick/

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/4978/does_atheism_have_a_misogyny_problem/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-09-15/atheist-sexism-women/50416454/1

:I've been reading up on Elevatorgate and I'm going to start drafting an article on it. One thing though - he now has ten books out and I can't change it. --[[User:SamCoulter|SamCoulter]] 09:13, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
Please be more specific about book addition. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 09:23, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
:There's certainly one called ''Evolution: The Greatest Show on Earth'' (or similar) that's been out for a while, and that would seem reasonably relevant to the overall tenor of this article.--[[User:CPalmer|CPalmer]] 09:36, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
:::CPalmer, Done. Plus, I included a book which refutes that book. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 09:50, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
=== Consider mentioning that Wikipedia Richard Dawkins article does not mention Elevatorgate ===

Consider mentioning that Wikipedia Richard Dawkins article does not mention Elevatorgate even though it caused quite a bit of additional damage to his already damaged reputation [http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/david-allen-green/2011/07/richard-dawkins-chewing-gum] (see also: [[Atheism and cowardice]], [[Richard Dawkins and pseudoscience]], etc.).[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 06:03, 9 September 2011 (EDT)

== False dichotomy ==

"Dawkins has repeatedly likened religious faith to a mental defect despite the fact that atheists are more likely to commit suicide than believers in the existence of God and the plentitude of studies associating theism with better mental and physical health."

Why "despite"? The use of this word suggests that the two assertions - religious faith being a mental defect and atheists being more likely to commit suicide than believers - are mutually exclusive. That is obviously not true. Christians may be crazy while at the same time atheists may be a bunch of suicidal pessimists. [[User:Baobab|Baobab]] 16:55, 6 September 2011 (EDT)
::I can see your jealous of the mental fitness of fervent Christians. Given the madness of atheism and Christian charitableness, no doubt Christians have built a lot of hospitals containing mental wards [[Atheism and suicide|often frequented by suicidal atheists.]] Of course, the mental toughness of Christian creationists this year on the creation vs. evolution battlefield is going to make the [[Question evolution! campaign]] very successful in 2012![http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqt5i2Hn7Jo] It may cause a lot of atheists to have nervous breakdowns. Onward Christian soldiers! :) [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 02:39, 8 January 2012 (EST)
:::Unfortunately, I think we have to worry more about scientists in general than atheists in the QE! campaign. It's not just the atheist scientists who have been brainwashed. Either way, let's hope for the best! [[User:RedGoliath|RedGoliath]] 18:33, 8 January 2012 (GMT)
:::Conservative, what makes you think I am "jealous of the mental fitness of fervent Christians"? I merely signaled a logical flaw in the article text, without attacking Christians or praising atheists. By the way, is your spelling prowess ("I can see ''your'' jealous") testimony of the mental fitness of fervent Christians? [[User:Baobab|Baobab]] 11:44, 5 February 2012 (EST)

== Another book ==

Richard Dawkins is publishing another book. A children's book, this time, called ''The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True''. See [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Reality-know-whats-really/dp/059306612X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318250314&sr=8-1 here]. I think this should be added to the list of books.--[[User:CPalmer|CPalmer]] 08:39, 10 October 2011 (EDT)

:I have added it to the list myself. (For some reason I thought the page was protected, but it isn't.)--[[User:CPalmer|CPalmer]] 08:39, 12 October 2011 (EDT)

== Dawkins - intellectual fraud: in interview could not name the full title of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. ==

Dawkins - intellectual fraud: in interview could not name the full title of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. [http://voxday.blogspot.com/2012/02/richard-dawkins-sans-pants.html] [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 03:40, 18 February 2012 (EST)

Wow, the full title of On the Origin of Species? That's important, since that book is pretty much all there is to evolution. There hasn't been much progress or growth for a century and a half, so it's very important that people remember the full title of that book, and not just the shortened title that everyone else uses. Dawkins' inability to remember the full title of the book is a death blow against evolutionary theory, which requires that famous atheists know the full titles of famous books on evolution in order for god to not exist. I am personally disappointed with Dawkins, who should have found a way to balance his writing work, his numerous speaking engagements, his family and the need to memorize the title of Darwin's magnum opus, but has failed to do so. I think it is shameful that a scientist can call himself a scientist without knowing the full, unabridged title of this vital book, which is the center of a large amount of current research and not simply of work of historical interest, superseded by current research. Thank you, Vox Day, for bringing this vial issue to our attention, and thank you, Conservative, for providing us with vital information, the full title of the book, in your post above. No doubt the world is a better place for you two having pointed out these obvious flaws in Richard Dawkins' memory/evolution. I can only hope that scientists can jump out of the way soon enough when the big, scary train of the Question Evolution campaign comes barreling down the tracks, headed for Truthville, and cuts right through Atheism Village and sets it all on fire and everyone dies. [[User:RachelW|RachelW]] 10:39, 18 February 2012 (EST)

:Wouldn't this be an example of [[gotcha journalism]]? [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 11:35, 18 February 2012 (EST)
:::Vox Day wrote: "It's bad enough that Dawkins couldn't come up with the name of what he considers to be the most important book ever written immediately after claiming he could do so, but in addition to stumbling a little on the subtitle, he even forgot the rather important part of the title that refers to the actual mechanism supposedly responsible!"[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2012/02/richard-dawkins-sans-pants.html] Second, the [http://creation.com/15-questions 15 for evolutionist] show that no progress has been made advancing credible evidence for Darwinism. Third, the atheist population is chock-full of corrupt people who are often clearly second stringers and Richard Dawkins is a prime example of this. See: [[Richard Dawkins and pseudoscience]] and [[Richard Dawkins, atheist atrocities, and historical revisionism]] and [[Richard Dawkins' commentary on Adolf Hitler]] and [[Atheism and cowardice]]. Plus, see: [[Richard Dawkins and Creation Ministries International]] and [[Atheism and mass murder]] and [[Atheism and morality]] and [[Atheism and deception]] [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 02:20, 19 February 2012 (EST)

::::Well, Conservative, first of all thank you so much for that very relevant and intelligent response. How could I forget the 15 questions for evolutionists, which we were totally talking about and are not irrelevant to this subject? I was under the impression that evolutionary biology had been improving and advancing for the last century and a half, I guess it's a good thing I have CMI around to set the record straight! And of course, even if there were some progress made, it can be safely ignored because atheists are "second stringers," which is totally a word people use outside of football. Tell me, Conservative, what other pieces of relevant wisdom do you have to share with us? Care to shoehorn feminism or obesity into the argument as well? Why not replace Dawkins' picture with a matador? Or a hundred matadors? ¡Ole ole ole! [[User:RachelW|RachelW]] 08:15, 19 February 2012 (EST)

I wonder where the creationist responses to the Evolutionist arguments are on the 15 Questions debate page... Seems they're still missing. User:Conservative, with your seemingly and suspiciously constant essays and commentary on evolution and atheism, I assume that you can easily respond to the Evolutionist answers personally - that means no quotes! - and if not, then it is you, sir, who is the inept fraud. I have given you plenty of time and my own patience, but you insist on either ignoring me or changing the subject. Prove to us that Evolution is the fraud that you so want us to believe. --[[User:RedGoliath|RedGoliath]] 13:54, 19 February 2012 (GMT)
:::Richard Dawkins was called a clown in the press in 2010 and the [[Question evolution! campaign]] will further demonstrate the man is a clown. I do find it telling that Dawkins said "Oh, God" during the debate exchange (a debate exchange that he clearly lost and made a fool of himself in). It is not surprising Richard Dawkins ducked his debate with [[William Lane Craig]] (see: [[Atheism and cowardice]]). Plus, he initially denied debating Rabbi Boteach in a videotaped debate the audience felt he lost (see: [[Richard Dawkins and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach]]). In addtion, Dawkins claimed Boteach shrieked like Adolf Hitler during the debate. How could you possibly forget debating a rabbi who supposedly shrieked like Adolf Hitler which leads me to the conclusion that Richard Dawkins is a fraud and a liar (see: [[Atheism and deception]]). [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 11:15, 19 February 2012 (EST)

Finally! Proof that Dawkins has no idea what he's talking about! I find it amazing that people still support him after all his blunders. --[[User:Bdor24|Bdor24]] 12:15, 19 February 2012 (EST)

== Why does Dawkins matter so much to you? ==

There's no such thing as supernatural beings. I knew that before I'd ever heard of Dawkins, and I still know that even though I've never read a word that he's written. You can discount him and attack him and send all the sharks and dogs and whatever else you want at him, but it won't change the fact that he has nothing to do with the non-existence of deities, spirits, ghosts, demons, devils, or gods. [[User:GarryG|GarryG]] 18:33, 20 February 2012 (EST)
:Then prove your assertion, ScottDG. I would love to see an atheist prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God doesn't exist. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 19:51, 20 February 2012 (EST)
[[File:Richard dawkins alexa 2012.png|right|400px]]
:::GarryG, first of all, do you know that atheism is true? What proof and evidence do you have that atheism is true? I do know that [[Christian apologetics|there is an abundance of evidence supporting Christianity]] and that [[global atheism]] is shrinking while [[global Christianity]] is seeing tremendous growth. Third, does Richard Dawkins mean so much to someone at Conservapedia? Are you a mind reader? Lastly, it appears people are caring less and less about what Richard Dawkins has to say according to: the web traffic tracking company Alexa (see graph to the right), the web traffic tracking company Compete (see: [http://siteanalytics.compete.com/richarddawkins.net/ Compete graph]) and according to Google Trends as can be seen [http://www.google.com/trends/?q=Richard+dawkins HERE] (relative to latter part of 2006). [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 19:58, 20 February 2012 (EST)
GarryG, by the way, why do you care so much about who may or may not be important to me? Do you have [[Essay: Conservapedia obsessive compulsive disorder|Conservapedia obsessive compulsive disorder]]? :) I suggest getting taking up a hobby. :) [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 20:15, 20 February 2012 (EST)
:I'd suggest you take up one yourself. If you don't think there's proof and evidence that atheism is true and correct, well, start proving evidence that religion is true and correct better. You don't have to undermine atheism to prove religion. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 21:45, 20 February 2012 (EST)
In order to "undermine" something, it first needs to have a foundation. Here is what an atheist said about atheism: "Concentrating oneself only on being an atheist is like trying to build a house from the second floor up. It may look less costly on paper, and for people who only build houses in their imagination this may be a good way of seeing it, but it's not good enough for a serious endeavour. And most importantly, it's too fragile. I see too many religionists attacking atheism from the bottom and atheists being unable to adequately reply to the arguments. If the atheist cannot answer to his most fundamental beliefs on the nature of reality and cognition, then his atheism is worthless in terms of validation. It is nothing more than a big paper tiger, made from the finest cardboard." [http://liberator.net/articles/TremblayFrancois/herdingcats.html] [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 22:25, 20 February 2012 (EST)
:I really don't know how to reply to that, considering you ignored the main part of my argument, where I said you kept criticizing atheism and you could prove religion without mocking and satirizing atheism. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 22:51, 20 February 2012 (EST)

Talk:Richard Dawkins

2012-02-21T02:45:22Z

JLefkowitz: /* Why does Dawkins matter so much to you? */

Talk:Saturday Night Live

2012-02-20T02:16:07Z

JLefkowitz:

== Popularity/Humor ==

I'm not sure I agree with a lot of the first section. SNL is still a very highly rated show and was the highest rated show in the 18-49 demographic for Saturday nights in 2011. While the numbers change every week SNL has consistently been competing only with itself.<ref>http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/02/16/saturday-night-live-scores-its-top-18-49-rating-for-a-regular-1130-p-m-et-edition-since-last-may/120338/ Ratings</ref> There's also the issue that humor is very subjective but I think we can generally go by what the most people think. In this case the ratings imply that SNL is still very funny. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 20:09, 19 February 2012 (EST)

<references/>
:SNL has lessened in quality in recent years. Actors on the show are much more likely to parody conservative politicians rather than liberal ones.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 20:48, 19 February 2012 (EST)
::The article shouldn't really mention our opinion of quality at all, just what the ratings and reception of the audience says. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 20:52, 19 February 2012 (EST)
:::Not when their politically correct stances hinder the quality of their show. Did you see last night's episode where they got their kicks from mocking [[Bill O'Reilly]]?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 20:59, 19 February 2012 (EST)
::::And how does that necessarily hinder the quality of the show? Judging by ratings and what the overall public thought, the quality of the show is still very good. The quality of the show really shouldn't be said in the article at all, as it's meant to be objective and factual, not our opinion. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 21:05, 19 February 2012 (EST)
:::::We shouldn't also censor facts. The facts are that SNL (much like many other comedy venues) have come to appreciate a generally leftist stance.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 21:13, 19 February 2012 (EST)
::::::That I'll agree with, but we shouldn't imply that the quality has dropped or that the show has objectively gotten less funny. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 21:16, 19 February 2012 (EST)

Talk:Saturday Night Live

2012-02-20T02:05:11Z

JLefkowitz:

Talk:Saturday Night Live

2012-02-20T01:52:19Z

JLefkowitz: /* Popularity/Humor */

Saturday Night Live

2012-02-20T01:44:39Z

JLefkowitz:

'''Saturday Night Live''' (often shortened to just SNL) is an immensely popular sketch-comedy show starting in 1975 on [[NBC]], but as it became more [[politically correct]] it predictably became less funny in the past decade. SNL's attempt to spoof [[Sarah Palin]] was widely promoted by the remainder of the [[liberal media]].

In the past, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, the show turned some of its minor players into feature film actors including:

*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0000101/ Dan Akroyd] ([http://www.bluesbrothers.com/ ''The Blues Brothers''] and [[Ghostbusters]])
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5LX16zia2k Eddie Murphy] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKYl6y8qGqw ''Coming to America''], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LgQyxS4-Os ''Trading Places''] and [http://www.klumps.com/ ''The Nutty Professor''])
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0000196/ Mike Myers] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sO4zTmKLf8 ''Wayne's World''], [http://www.austinpowers.com/ ''Austin Powers''], and [http://www.shrek.com/main.php ''Shrek''])
*[http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/julia-louis-dreyfus/159255 Julia Louis Dreyfuss] ([http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/ ''Seinfeld''])
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwYQBV66rbM Adam Sandler] ([http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/50firstdates/ ''50 First Dates''] and [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/happy_gilmore/ ''Happy Gilmore'']
* [http://www.harryshearer.com/ Harry Shearer] ([http://www.thesimpsons.com/bios/bios_actors_shearer.htm ''The Simpsons'']and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU3H1Um4Ju4&feature=related ''This is Spinal Tap''])

[[Category:Entertainment]]

Saturday Night Live

2012-02-20T01:44:13Z

JLefkowitz:

'''Saturday Night Live''' (often shortened to just SNL) is an immensely popular sketch-comedy show starting in 1975 on [[NBC]], but as it became more [[politically correct]] it predictably became less funny in the past decade. SNL's attempt to spoof [[Sarah Palin]] was widely promoted by the remainder of the [[liberal media]].

In the past, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, the show turned some of its minor players into feature film actors including:

*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0000101/ Dan Akroyd] ([http://www.bluesbrothers.com/ ''The Blues Brothers''] and [[Ghostbusters]])
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5LX16zia2k Eddie Murphy] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKYl6y8qGqw ''Coming to America''], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LgQyxS4-Os ''Trading Places''] and [http://www.klumps.com/ ''The Nutty Professor''])
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0000196/ Mike Meyers] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sO4zTmKLf8 ''Wayne's World''], [http://www.austinpowers.com/ ''Austin Powers''], and [http://www.shrek.com/main.php ''Shrek''])
*[http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/julia-louis-dreyfus/159255 Julia Louis Dreyfuss] ([http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/ ''Seinfeld''])
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwYQBV66rbM Adam Sandler] ([http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/50firstdates/ ''50 First Dates''] and [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/happy_gilmore/ ''Happy Gilmore'']
* [http://www.harryshearer.com/ Harry Shearer] ([http://www.thesimpsons.com/bios/bios_actors_shearer.htm ''The Simpsons'']and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU3H1Um4Ju4&feature=related ''This is Spinal Tap''])

[[Category:Entertainment]]

Ice hockey

2012-02-19T20:35:26Z

JLefkowitz:

'''Ice Hockey''' (as opposed to [[field hockey]] and [[street hockey]]), is a team sport played on an ice rink. The object of the game is to get a puck into the opposing team's goal (a small net). The game consists of three periods of twenty minutes each. In case of tie, there is a "sudden death" overtime period or a series of "shootouts".[http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-overtime-work-in-hockey.htm] Each team consists of six players; three "forwards," (left wing, right wing, center) two "defensemen" (left defenseman, right defenseman) and a "goalie."

The sport is popular in [[Canada]], some Northern and Eastern European Countries (notably [[Sweden]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], [[Russia]] and [[Finland]]) and many parts of the United States (notably the northern midwest and the East Coast region).

The top professional league in [[North America]] is the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL), and the league championship trophy is called the [[Stanley Cup]]. The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The [[Montreal_Canadiens|Montréal Canadiens]] have won the Stanley Cup 23 times, the most of any team in the league.

==Canada==
Stick and ball games on ice had been played for decades before 1875 especially in the Maritimes and at military garrisons. In its modern form hockey was standardizes by McGill students in 1875 under rules brought to Montreal by Haligonian J.G.A. Creighton. The game rapidly spread nationwide. The Stanley Cup was created in 1893 by Lord Stanley, Canada's governor general. Almost exclusively a Canadian sport, ice hockey was seasonal, without uniform rules, played outdoors informally whenever and wherever there was available a large enough piece of ice; with its severely cold setting, the sport attracted virtually no spectators. Professional teams emerged after 1900. Five cities in the U.S. and Ontario formed the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1904. The American-based league marked the beginning of the professionalization of ice hockey. The IHL attracted high-caliber players from Canada, thus depleting that country's stock. Although many Canadian amateur teams secretly paid their players, most Canadian hockey associations still embraced the principles of amateurism. The IHL existed for only three years, but that was long enough to spark the creation of a Canadian-based professional league, the Ontario Professional Hockey League, in 1908. Though some have attributed the IHL's short life to a lack of spectators, the primary reason the league failed was a loss of good players back to Canadian teams that by 1906 played in hockey associations, such as the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association, that allowed professionals to play alongside amateurs. The National Hockey League was formed in (1917).<ref> Daniel S. Mason, "The International Hockey League and the Professionalization of Ice Hockey, 1904-1907." ''Journal of Sport History'' 1998 25(1): 1-17. Issn: 0094-1700 </ref>

The extremes of masculinity and violence ignited the Ottawa Silver Seven and Montreal Wanderers rivalry of 1907. Newspapers depicted the game as a combination of "brutal butchery" and "strenuous spectacle," speaking to public perceptions and different ways of experiencing the game. Ideals of respectable, middle-class masculinity and rough, working-class masculinity co-existed within accounts of fast, skilled, rugged, hard-hitting hockey.<ref>Stacy L. Lorenz, and Geraint B. Osborne, "'Talk about Strenuous Hockey': Violence, Manhood, and the 1907 Ottawa Silver Seven-Montreal Wanderer Rivalry." ''Journal of Canadian Studies'' 2006 40(1): 125-156. Issn: 0021-9495 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

Facing severe economic pressures during the [[Great Depression]], the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was forced to reevaluate its purist position on amateurism in ice hockey and to rethink its relation to the amateur sports infrastructure in Canada, which was headed by the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada. The poor performance of the defending champion Canadian hockey team at the 1936 Olympics, in a context of international dispute over player eligibility and the authority of national bodies to determine that eligibility, crystallized the problems Canadian hockey faced and led to substantial changes in policies and procedures.<ref> John Wong, "Sport Networks on Ice: the Canadian Experience at the 1936 Olympic Hockey Tournament." ''Sport History Review'' 2003 34(2): 190-212. ISSN: 1087-1659 </ref>

Despite being excluded from Winnipeg's senior hockey league for the 1919-20 season, the Winnipeg Falcons, made up of the children of Icelandic immigrants, became Canadian national champions and won the 1920 Olympic gold medal in Antwerp. Combined with their willingness to serve Canada in World War I, their success made this team a symbol of Canadian manhood, unaffected by the ethnic stereotyping and discrimination that affected some other sports teams during the 1920s.<ref>Ryan Eyford, "From Prairie Goolies to Canadian Cyclones: the Transformation of the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons." ''Sport History Review'' 2006 37(1): 5-18. Issn: 1087-1659 </ref>

Maurice "Rocket" Richard, (1921–2000) is one of the nation's most important sports icons, especially in Quebec. Playing for the Montreal Canadiens (1942–60) he scored 544 regular season goals and 82 more in playoffs. Famed for his dashing style of play, his intensity, determination, and scoring prowess, Richard the first 50-goal scorer in NHL history in 1944-45, with a 50-game schedule. Richard was named to the All Star team 14 times, won two Hart trophies as league MVP, and led the Canadiens to eight Stanley Cups.<ref> Melançon Benoît, ''Les Yeux de Maurice Richard: Une Histoire Culturelle,'' (2006)</ref>

In September 1972, Canada's best hockey players from the National Hockey League (NHL) played the elite amateurs from the [[Soviet Union]] in a friendly series. When Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau met his Soviet counterpart, Aleksei Kosygin, in 1971, their discussions included increasing the hockey competitions between the two countries. Soon after, hockey hierarchies of both nations decided on a series of eight games, four to be played across Canada and four in Moscow. For Canadians, the Summit Series was intended to be a celebration of their global supremacy in ice hockey. The architects of Soviet hockey, on the other hand, had designs on surprising Canada and the world with their skill and claiming the Canadian game as their own. Over the course of the month, the games captured the imagination of both nations. Far beyond any hockey match, the series pitted East against West - communism against capitalism - and many of the players were swept away with the sense of history in the making that the games engendered. What was to be a friendly contest became instead a politically charged event with extensive cultural repercussions - quite literally, a Cold War.<ref>J. J. Wilson, "27 Remarkable Days: the 1972 Summit Series of Ice Hockey Between Canada and the Soviet Union." ''Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions'' 2004 5(2): 271-280. ISSN: 1469-0764 Fulltext: [[EBSCO]]; Markku Jokisipilä, "Maple Leaf, Hammer, and Sickle: International Ice Hockey During the Cold War." ''Sport History Review'' 2006 37(1): 36-53. Issn: 1087-1659 </ref>

See also [[Canadian sports]]

==Further reading==
* Boyd, Bill. ''All Roads Lead to Hockey: Reports from Northern Canada to the Mexican Border.'' (2006). 240 pp
* Dryden, Ken. "Soul on Ice: A Century of Canadian Hockey." ''Beaver''(Dec 2000/Jan 2001), Vol. 80, Issue 6 in [[EBSCO]]
* Dryden, Ken, and Roy MacGregor. ''Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada'' (1989)
* Gruneau, Richard. ''Hockey night in Canada: Sport, identities and cultural politics'', (1993)
* Hollan, Andrew C., 'Playing in the Neutral Zone: Meanings and uses of ice hockey in the Canada-U.S. Borderlands, 1895-1915', ''American Review Of Canadian Studies'', 2004, 34(1).
* Hughes-Fuller, Helen Patricia. "The Good Old Game: Hockey, Nostalgia, Identity." PhD dissertation U. of Alberta 2002. 258 pp. DAI 2004 64(7): 2496-A. DANQ81202 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]
* Melançon, Benoît. ''The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard'' (2009), outstanding interpretation, emphasizing how Canadians understood their great hero. [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=24872 online review]
* Moore, Mark. ''Saving the Game: Pro Hockey's Quest to Raise its Game from Crisis to New Heights.'' (2nd ed. 2006). 420 pp.
* Morrow, Don, and Kevin Wamsley. ''Sport in Canada: A History.'' (2005). 318 pp. ISBN 978-0-19- 541996-2. [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=219611151340448 online review]
* Stubbs, Dave, and Neal Portnoy. ''Our Game: The History of Hockey in Canada'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.ca/Our-Game-History-Hockey-Canada/dp/1897073275/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209069938&sr=8-16 excerpt and text search]
* Wong, John Chi-Kit. "The Development of Professional Hockey and the Making of the National Hockey League." PhD dissertation U. of Maryland, College Park 2001. 432 pp. DAI 2002 62(9): 3152-A. DA3024988 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]

====references====
<references/>
[[category:sports]]

Talk:Wallace and gromit

2012-02-17T22:52:21Z

JLefkowitz:

This page seems to have been created as an act of subversion. I have removed most of the obnoxious content, but I think there is a case for deleting it entirely. Much-loved as the inventor and his canine companion are, and ingenious though be the animation, and as undeniably charming as the world of Wallace and G may very well be, are they an entirely appropriate subject for an encyclopaeidia entry?--[[User:CPalmer|CPalmer]] 12:27, 17 February 2012 (EST)
:It's pretty obvious the original article was a parody on Conservapedia's alleged way of finding liberal values in everything. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 17:52, 17 February 2012 (EST)

Talk:Wallace and gromit

2012-02-17T22:52:11Z

JLefkowitz:

Talk:It Gets Better

2012-02-17T22:48:03Z

JLefkowitz: /* Lost */

==Merge Request==
I prefer that this page grows on. So, my vote is no merge, uno vs. uno. We need a tie breaker Ed.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:53, 20 January 2012 (EST)

==Lost==
You're really unpleasant about gay people on this website. Why? Denying my sexuality was causing me severe mental distress. It really does get better coming out and acdcepting the fact that you're gay, actually. Sorry, you're wrong.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:Really? Is that so? I believe the [[Bible]] says otherwise.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 21:38, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::There is medicine to help with your mental distress. You can have feelings for same-sex but you don't have to act on it. We love the sinner and hate the sin. We rather you hear the truth than to sugar coat it. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:44, 12 December 2011 (EST)
:::It is not important if it please you or you you 'think' it is better the wicked way you choose. The important matter is how God sees it and I assure you: God does not approve !--[[User:PhilipN|PhilipN]] 21:46, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::::Yep I'm on good medication, good therapy the works, and I'm now in a good, stable, loving relationship. I'm not particularly religious, but have nothing against those who are. I'm in a much better place than I ever was when I tried to deny my sexuality or convince myself it was 'evil' or something to be 'cured'. And I'm not the only one. You are causing significant suffering and distress - why? I've read the Bible, surely the idea of 'sin' is something that is harmful to humanity - my sexuality is in no way harmful to anyone, quite the opposite. Were I to carry on living a lie, trying to suppress the truth, believing that being gay is wrong or abhorrent, that would be harmful - to myself, my friends and my family, as it was. That's true, from human experience. If you've not experienced it, but only read about it or heard about it, what makes you think you're qualified to judge? Why do you sit in judgment? Leave us alone to be happy, we aren't interfereing with you. I'm not mlitant, I don't hate anyone, and yet everywhere come across poison and hatred based on prejudices and misinformation, such as in Rick Perry's latest campaign ad. Why? I'm not harming anyone. Why should I have to live in denial? I am a moral person, loyal, kind and committed, which is more than can be said for many straight people -including many of those looking to run for President of the United States, on both sides of the political spectrum. God, I am sure, would want me first and foremost to be happy and contented, and cause happiness and contentment to those around me. I am now able to do this, thanks to my coming out. You are promoting a negative, isolating, cold view of love and human relationships. Please, stop. How can you be so certain God does not approve? I am not wicked, I didn't choose to be this way. Sometimes I wish I weren't, but I am what I am. End of.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:::::You know, if you want to believe your own delusions, go right ahead. But I know and you know God does not approve of that lifestyle. It explicitly states it in the Old ''and'' New Testaments! Sure Jesus makes no specific reference, but He didn't have to. I hope you decide to turn from your wicked sin and find a good doctor. You are in my prayers.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:21, 13 December 2011 (EST)
:::::As for Rick Perry's ads, he makes a good point. Why are they allowed to serve in the military when our children can't celebrate ''Christmas'' or pray in school? It seems the left will tolerate any lifestyle except Christian ones. They hate Christianity, but they will accept Islam, homosexuality, and anything else. You can be homsexual, but you can't pray in school. Does that seem sound to you?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:25, 13 December 2011 (EST)
::::::I've an excellent doctor and have turned from my 'wicked ways' - these being periods of self-harm and aggression caused not by my being gay, but by my repressing it. Now I have come to terms with it and am in a good, stable relationship, with the support of my friends and family, my life is infintitely better. It is sad and distinctly unChristian of you to disparage that and the love and support I have found. I feel very sorry for you that you have such horrible, twisted delusions about gay people and human sexuality. I have nothing to feel ashamed of now, but you clearly do - your hatred and bigotry stem from either a profound bitterness and insecurity, or a cult-like delusional religious Stalinism of skewed biblical literalism and the poison dripped in your ear by false prophets. I pity you. In love.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
::::::::It appears you did not heed my warning about making productive edits to entries, and you instead decided to waste time by talking uselessly. I hope you see the light of [[conservative values]] and recover from the sin you are committing against our Lord. All the best.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 16:57, 15 December 2011 (EST)
:Let's refrain from ad-hominem when blocking, JamesWilson. It grows the stereotype that conservatives are all close-minded insulting people. Instead, gently rebuke them. 23:59, 13 February 2012 (EST)
::Apologies, but this particular editor, despite ''several'' warnings, continued to talk, talk, talk, without contributing anything of substance (or anything at all for this matter) to this article (or any other article), as can be witnessed here. Thanks.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 06:42, 15 February 2012 (EST)
:::You provoked him and pressed him on. Had you just left him alone, maybe, just ignored or didn't criticize his original comment, he wouldn't have continued. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 16:37, 17 February 2012 (EST)
::::No, I didn't. I was not the only one to rightfully criticize his original comment. Do you agree with it by chance?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 17:35, 17 February 2012 (EST)
::::I meant "you" in its plural form. And no, I don't agree. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 17:46, 17 February 2012 (EST)

== Protected? ==

Why is this protected? I would be interested in adding some more facts(100% referenced) to the article. As it is the article gives very little information on the project itself and just reads like an essay. If you want an essay on why it is wrong write one but an article should actually give information on the project in more than the lead. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 00:06, 14 February 2012 (EST)
::I will unlock it. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 06:24, 14 February 2012 (EST)

== Rewrite ==

I've been working on a [http://conservapedia.com/User:Ayzmo/IGB rewrite of the article] to make it more encyclopedic. I've kept much of the content but rewrote the intro entirely and added a history section. I wasn't really sure how to work the criticism section. It needs a lot more work before it should be moved over here but I'd really appreciate any comments, suggestions, or criticisms on the talk page. Please don't alter what I've already written. If you put something on the talk page I'll find a way to work it into the article. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 17:43, 17 February 2012 (EST)

Talk:It Gets Better

2012-02-17T22:46:39Z

JLefkowitz: /* Lost */

==Merge Request==
I prefer that this page grows on. So, my vote is no merge, uno vs. uno. We need a tie breaker Ed.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:53, 20 January 2012 (EST)

==Lost==
You're really unpleasant about gay people on this website. Why? Denying my sexuality was causing me severe mental distress. It really does get better coming out and acdcepting the fact that you're gay, actually. Sorry, you're wrong.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:Really? Is that so? I believe the [[Bible]] says otherwise.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 21:38, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::There is medicine to help with your mental distress. You can have feelings for same-sex but you don't have to act on it. We love the sinner and hate the sin. We rather you hear the truth than to sugar coat it. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:44, 12 December 2011 (EST)
:::It is not important if it please you or you you 'think' it is better the wicked way you choose. The important matter is how God sees it and I assure you: God does not approve !--[[User:PhilipN|PhilipN]] 21:46, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::::Yep I'm on good medication, good therapy the works, and I'm now in a good, stable, loving relationship. I'm not particularly religious, but have nothing against those who are. I'm in a much better place than I ever was when I tried to deny my sexuality or convince myself it was 'evil' or something to be 'cured'. And I'm not the only one. You are causing significant suffering and distress - why? I've read the Bible, surely the idea of 'sin' is something that is harmful to humanity - my sexuality is in no way harmful to anyone, quite the opposite. Were I to carry on living a lie, trying to suppress the truth, believing that being gay is wrong or abhorrent, that would be harmful - to myself, my friends and my family, as it was. That's true, from human experience. If you've not experienced it, but only read about it or heard about it, what makes you think you're qualified to judge? Why do you sit in judgment? Leave us alone to be happy, we aren't interfereing with you. I'm not mlitant, I don't hate anyone, and yet everywhere come across poison and hatred based on prejudices and misinformation, such as in Rick Perry's latest campaign ad. Why? I'm not harming anyone. Why should I have to live in denial? I am a moral person, loyal, kind and committed, which is more than can be said for many straight people -including many of those looking to run for President of the United States, on both sides of the political spectrum. God, I am sure, would want me first and foremost to be happy and contented, and cause happiness and contentment to those around me. I am now able to do this, thanks to my coming out. You are promoting a negative, isolating, cold view of love and human relationships. Please, stop. How can you be so certain God does not approve? I am not wicked, I didn't choose to be this way. Sometimes I wish I weren't, but I am what I am. End of.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:::::You know, if you want to believe your own delusions, go right ahead. But I know and you know God does not approve of that lifestyle. It explicitly states it in the Old ''and'' New Testaments! Sure Jesus makes no specific reference, but He didn't have to. I hope you decide to turn from your wicked sin and find a good doctor. You are in my prayers.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:21, 13 December 2011 (EST)
:::::As for Rick Perry's ads, he makes a good point. Why are they allowed to serve in the military when our children can't celebrate ''Christmas'' or pray in school? It seems the left will tolerate any lifestyle except Christian ones. They hate Christianity, but they will accept Islam, homosexuality, and anything else. You can be homsexual, but you can't pray in school. Does that seem sound to you?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:25, 13 December 2011 (EST)
::::::I've an excellent doctor and have turned from my 'wicked ways' - these being periods of self-harm and aggression caused not by my being gay, but by my repressing it. Now I have come to terms with it and am in a good, stable relationship, with the support of my friends and family, my life is infintitely better. It is sad and distinctly unChristian of you to disparage that and the love and support I have found. I feel very sorry for you that you have such horrible, twisted delusions about gay people and human sexuality. I have nothing to feel ashamed of now, but you clearly do - your hatred and bigotry stem from either a profound bitterness and insecurity, or a cult-like delusional religious Stalinism of skewed biblical literalism and the poison dripped in your ear by false prophets. I pity you. In love.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
::::::::It appears you did not heed my warning about making productive edits to entries, and you instead decided to waste time by talking uselessly. I hope you see the light of [[conservative values]] and recover from the sin you are committing against our Lord. All the best.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 16:57, 15 December 2011 (EST)
:Let's refrain from ad-hominem when blocking, JamesWilson. It grows the stereotype that conservatives are all close-minded insulting people. Instead, gently rebuke them. 23:59, 13 February 2012 (EST)
::Apologies, but this particular editor, despite ''several'' warnings, continued to talk, talk, talk, without contributing anything of substance (or anything at all for this matter) to this article (or any other article), as can be witnessed here. Thanks.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 06:42, 15 February 2012 (EST)
:::You provoked him and pressed him on. Had you just left him alone, maybe, just ignored or didn't criticize his original comment, he wouldn't have continued. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 16:37, 17 February 2012 (EST)
::::No, I didn't. I was not the only one to rightfully criticize his original comment. Do you agree with it by chance?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 17:35, 17 February 2012 (EST)
::::I meant "you" in its plural form. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 17:46, 17 February 2012 (EST)

== Protected? ==

Why is this protected? I would be interested in adding some more facts(100% referenced) to the article. As it is the article gives very little information on the project itself and just reads like an essay. If you want an essay on why it is wrong write one but an article should actually give information on the project in more than the lead. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 00:06, 14 February 2012 (EST)
::I will unlock it. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 06:24, 14 February 2012 (EST)

== Rewrite ==

I've been working on a [http://conservapedia.com/User:Ayzmo/IGB rewrite of the article] to make it more encyclopedic. I've kept much of the content but rewrote the intro entirely and added a history section. I wasn't really sure how to work the criticism section. It needs a lot more work before it should be moved over here but I'd really appreciate any comments, suggestions, or criticisms on the talk page. Please don't alter what I've already written. If you put something on the talk page I'll find a way to work it into the article. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 17:43, 17 February 2012 (EST)

Talk:Gotcha journalism

2012-02-17T22:32:32Z

JLefkowitz: /* Impossible? */

== Impossible? ==

Article states that this tactic is asking "impossible" questions to make conservatives look foolish. However, the cited question ("Name all 10 Commandments") is far from impossibe, and the most famous gotcha question of all (when Couric asked Palin what magazines she read) is in no way impossible. I will take steps to fix this article. [[User:LouW|LouW]] 23:21, 14 January 2012 (EST)

:While Couric was certainly engaged in gotcha journalism, the specific question of what books or magazines she read is not in itself a gotcha question. What matters is whether it's a routine question she asks everyone, and then follows up in a "tell me about yourself way", or if it's just something to pounce on to make a point.

:It also depends on whether the questioner is a political opponent of the interviewee. Sometimes a "host" of a show will debate a guest in the guise of doing an interview.

:More interesting is whether any of this is done more by liberals than by conservatives. Surely someone keeps track of such things. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 15:52, 19 January 2012 (EST)

::A problem with that is the fact that Gotcha Journalism really doesn't have a concrete definition, so their is no way to interpret it except with one's own biases. Studies have shown that people with strong political leanings tend to interpret news to be biased against their particular opinion, even if a liberal and a conservative look at the same news footage they can both interpret it as biased against their own positions. A conservative, therefore, is less likely to view a conservative journalist as engaging in gotcha journalism, and vice versa, making any kind of comparison pretty useless in an objective sense. Besides, who wants to wade through all of the MSNBC/CNN dreck looking for "gotcha" questions? [[User:RachelW|RachelW]] 16:05, 19 January 2012 (EST)

:::There are examples of liberals being asked gotcha questions too, so this isn't entirely liberal deceit--just deceit and a fallacy. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 17:32, 17 February 2012 (EST)

Harry Potter Witchcraft Repackaged

2012-02-17T21:52:55Z

JLefkowitz:

Political cards

2012-02-17T21:47:49Z

JLefkowitz: removing specific cards as political cards should be abstract ideas; liberals aren't alone in using these, guys

'''Political cards''' are tactics used in politics, the media, and other adversarial settings in order to appeal to emotion or even prejudice rather than reason. The term is a metaphor for what happens in the card game of [[bridge]], where one card can be played to "trump" (defeat) all other cards.

In contrast with most card games, however, a political card can be played at any time, no matter how irrational or irrelevant to the topic. Many liberal articles and commentaries consist of little more than playing one or more political cards.

A card is "played" when one side relies on a particular issue in order to gain an often-unjustified upper hand in the debate or controversy.

Liberals have had a difficult time playing a [[political card]] against the [[Tea Party Movement]], due to its amorphous nature.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Political card
!Meaning
!Example
!Advantage
!Disadvantage
|-
|sexist card
|allegations men are ignorant slobs and women need a protected status as a voting bloc within the [[Democratic Party]].
|[[Lawrence Summers]] was driven from his presidency of [[Harvard]] for merely mentioning the possibility that women may not have as much aptitude for math as men.
|safe haven for angry liberals and [[feminists]]
|implies women are helpless unless they receive special treatment from the government
|-
|[[race card]]
|Bringing race into a debate by suggesting that criticism is racially motivated or that one's opponent is racist
|Used effectively to silence criticism of Obama in 2008
|prove you're not a racist is like saying, "when did you stop beating your wife?"
|the boy who cried wolf.
|-
|hate speech card
|Anything that highlights or is critical of the historical record of liberal governance.
|The [[Obama administration]] has used the [[FCC]] to harass and intimidate what it considers its media critics. <ref>http://spectator.org/archives/2009/10/20/fcc-church-conspiracy-to-silen/print#</ref>
|programmed response for liberal failures.
|mimics liberal talking points
|-
|[[Xenophobia]] card
|Bringing country of origin into a debate by suggesting that criticism is motivated by a fear of foreigners (eg. Australians)
|Polite and responsible criticism of President Obama is deemed xenophobic.<ref>See:[[JournoList]]</ref>
|At first seems to be an effective way to pose the opponent as racist.
|Ultimately fails when both debaters are of the same country or when the person making the original claim is from the country of the claim.
|-
|anti-gay card
|Calling opponents of the [[homosexual agenda]] intolerant instead of focusing on the immorality of homosexuality.
|Used against [[Rick Santorum]] leading up to his defeat for reelection in 2006
|assumes the posture of [[civil rights]] advocacy.
|African-Americans oppose the promotion of gay rights in greater numbers than the general population of the United States as a whole.<ref>http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2008/10/30/proposition_8</ref>
|-
|intolerant card
|demonstrating inconsistencies in liberal ideology.
|the most despicable forms of liberal intolerance traditionally have been reserved for, and manifested in, the vile abuses heaped upon Black conservatives, Black Republicans, and Black Tea Party activists.
|in a democracy, the voice of opposition can always be labeled intolerant
|boomerang
|-
|extreme card
|in typical [[MSM]] [[newspeak]], anything right of center or not liberal.
|Bill and [[Hillary Clinton]] persistently referred to the Republican [[Newt Gingrich|Contract with America]] as extreme; [[President Clinton]] ultimately signed 7 of 10 Contract items in to law.
|Prior to the [[9/11 attacks]], was used interchangeably with "[[terrorist]]" by mainstream media sources.
|Polls show mainstream journalists are more liberal than the American public.<ref>[http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/2004/pdf/liberal_media.pdf The Liberal Media, ''Every Poll Shows Journalists Are More Liberal than the American Public — And the Public Knows It''], Rich Noyes, Director of Research, Media Research Center, June 30, 2004.</ref>
|-
|greedy card
|Portraying [[capitalist]]ic ideas or actions as greedy
|Attacking oil companies for their profits, even though oil companies create jobs and pay into the federal Treasury, and profits make up a reasonable portion of total revenue.
|Most people care about money and fairness.
|Seems hypocritical if the person using the strategy is wealthy (like most liberal politicians) or benefits from capitalism (like all Americans)
|-
|millionaires and billionaires card
|[[class warfare]]
|[[President Obama]] said on June 29, 2011, "I'm proposing we get rid of tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires." <ref>The ''[[Washington Post]]'' Fact Checker column said, "in the context of a $4 trillion goal, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/the-missing-facts-in-president-obamas-news-conference/2011/06/29/AGpQMPrH_blog.html it is essentially meaningless]. The item is so small the White House could not even provide an estimate of the revenue that would be raised, but other estimates suggest it would amount to $3 billion over 10 years."</ref>
|appeals to voters motivated by [[envy]]
|politicians that use it are dependent on campaign contributions from millionaires and billionaires.
|-
|conspiracy theory card
|the one making the charge cannot explain facts.
|Hillary Clinton charged that her husband's behavior was the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy".
|provides plausible reasons for the simple minded.
|contradictory evidence leads to more conspiracy theories.
|-
|[[homophobia]] card
|Accusing the opponent of having an irrational fear or hatred of [[homosexuals]].
|Opposition to the radical redefinition of marriage as expressed in California's [[Proposition 8]] was deemed homophobia.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082605233.html</ref>
|Old stand-by in the arsenal of liberal slander attacks.
|Attempts to ostracize and criminalize an emotional disorder. Many if not most homophobes are gay.
|-
| anti-environment card
| A claim that tries to portray the opponent badly by placing them as someone who "hates the environment".
| "The GOP wants babies to be fed poison from the environment" <ref>http://www.uncoverage.net/2011/03/new-tv-ad-for-epa-republicans-poison-babies/</ref> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSTnoeNNbzQ Watch the Video]
| The simple-minded will swallow any line of garbage.
| purview of [[extremist]]s
|-
| over-sensitive card
| failure to behave in a realistic manner and being afraid to upset people
|
| Plays on others' fear of seeming weak.
|
|-
|uneducated card
|Because a person is stupid, they are unqualified to be president.
|Reading from a prop, Dan Quayle once misspelled "potato", and [[liberals]] destroyed him by playing this card.
|A momentary lapse is seized upon to make a person look like an idiot.
|Works well until a liberal candidate utters a statement like the United States is made up of 57 states.
|-
|fundamentalist card
|seeks to link Islamic fundamentalism with Christian fundamentalism.
|[[Richard Dawkins]] screed, ''[[The God Delusion]]''.
|puts [[Billy Graham]] and [[bin Laden]] in the same boat.
|A majority of Americans are neither atheist nor [[secular humanist]]s.
|-
|[[Dominionist]] card
|implies [[evangelical]] [[Christian]]s want to impose an [[Iran]]ian style [[theocracy]] on the United States.
|Used by [[misogynist]]s to attack [[Michelle Bachmann]]. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/KeepLeft/michele-bachmann-john-quincy-adams_n_885868_94606213.html]
|appeals to the fears of [[atheist]]s and religious bigots.
|based on social [[pseudoscience]], [[propaganda]], and journalistic hacks.
|-
|free speech card
|cry "free speech," "free speech" for everything offensive to Christianity, while censoring the truth and limiting political speech
| [[Supreme Court]] ruled exotic dancing protected free expression but disallowed a high school football team's pregame prayer under the same grounds.
|Legally it is technically correct
|Just because something is "free speech" does not mean it is not wrong
|-
| birther card
| claims those asking unanswered questions are conspiracy kooks
| ''Truthers vs. Birthers: Not All Conspiracy Theories Are Created Equal'' <ref>[http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/truthers-vs-birthers-not-all-conspiracy-theories-are-created-equal/?singlepage=true ''Truthers vs. Birthers: Not All Conspiracy Theories Are Created Equal; Birthers aren't remotely as crazy — and dangerous — as Truthers'']. September 23, 2009 by Arthur Chrenkoff. Pajama's Media.</ref>
| hides the question of [[natural born citizen]]
| exposes the original meaning of [[natural born citizen]].
|-
| abortion card
| a defense of feminism
| Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] implied that Justice Bork would turn back Roe V. Wade forcing women to have back-alley abortions.
| fear Republican laws and personal responsibility
| you can't run from your conscience and consequence of actions can lead to a lifetime of suffering
|-
|snark card
|Using snarky (sometimes even offensive) humor to attack the opponent.
|Rachael Maddow, Jon Stewart, etc.
|Often a [[laugh track|cue]] for other liberals to "join in" the laughter
|Nobody else is laughing (or they are laughing at the snark attempt-er).
|-
|Jesus card
|Claiming "What would Jesus do" to try to paint the opponent as not a true Christian (a common liberal tactic when cornered on a religious issue, such as [[homosexuality]])
|As noted above, liberals often use this to defend homosexuality <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore/what-would-jesus-do-if-in_b_480013.html</ref> by claiming that Jesus never specifically mentioned it.
|Certain Bible passages can easily be [[quote mine]]d.
|A true Christian can easily find the flaws in such an argument by pointing our how it is taken out of context.
|-
|gun nut card
|slurs anyone who wants to take away defensive weapons
|The shooting of Rep. [[Gabrielle Giffords]] was blamed on [[Sarah Palin]]; opponents of Constitutional Rights immediately clamored for bigger and more government oppression.<ref>http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-01-09/news/27086902_1_gun-ban-sarah-palin-gun-incident</ref>
|Appeals to pro-gun-control people's negative stereotypes of gun enthusiasts.
|angers those with guns
|-
|[[Liberal redefinition]] card
| changing the definition of a word to suit one's purposes
| "[[General Welfare Clause|Promote the General Welfare]]" became "living on the [[Welfare|dole]]".
| An insidious way to reframe debate that can be effective if one's opponents are not vigilant or use imprecise thinking.
|[[Moral relativism]].
|-
| misuse of statistics card
| Liberals often use certain "trends" to support their claims.
| Citing the Clinton surplus vs the Bush deficit
| At first makes the user look like they have done their research
| Often taken out of context (for example the Clinton surplus was largely due to a Republican congress and the end of the Cold War, while the Bush deficit was caused greatly by two wars and need for Homeland Security.
|-
| cherry picking data card
| selectively picking out cases that support one's arguments from a wide variety of material and ignoring all the cases that don't
| Obama [[White House]] claims the [[Recovery Summer|stimulus]] "created or saved" 2.4 million jobs.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124451592762396883.html</ref>
| Many people struggle with statistics, so poorly-informed observers may assume the user is correct.
| dishonest and easy to point out counterexamples
|-
| never-admit-a-mistake card <ref>[[Thomas Sowell]] writes, (a) goals are redefined after the fact to give the public the illusion of success; (b) bad motives are ascribed to the opposition or society in general; (c) good intentions of the anointed are highlighted; and (d) they attack the accuracy of the data showing failure. Thomas Sowell, [http://nobsblog.blogspot.com/2002/12/vision-of-anointed-by-thomas-sowell.html ''The Vision of the Anointed]'', Chap. 2.</ref>
| inability to admit a mistake; lack of [[Essay:Quantifying Openmindedness|openmindness]]
| Obama said his [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|stimulus]] would hold unemployment below 8%; instead it rose to over 9% and straddled the U.S. with the [[debt ceiling]] crisis. <ref>http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/07/20/opinion/only-hope-is-undoing-obamas-mess.html Only Hope Is Undoing Obama’s Mess], Kenneth Brown And Micha Gisser, ''Albuquerque Journal'', July 20 2011.</ref>
| the quick fix
| incrementalism leads to compromise
|-
| denying [[Biblical scientific foreknowledge]] card
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Anti-Americanism|Anti-American]] card
| Denying [[ American exceptionalism|American exceptionalism]]. Trots out false examples of how European countries have better standard of living.
|
|
|
|-
| [[Deceit|deceit]] card
| Lies or distorts truth in order to win argument.
| Obama's critics are racists.
| Can impress ill-informed or credulous observers.
| You're only fooling yourself if you believe any of it.
|-
| [[Poe's law|Poe's]] card
| Impersonation of politicians to discredit their positions. Liberals often create straw men during this impersonation.
|
| Adds to negative stereotypes of real conservatives, especially where people have not met many genuine conservatives.
|
|-
| Elite card
| claiming that a policy benefits the rich and powerful
|
| Appeals to people's "Robin Hood" impulse to support underdogs and mistrust the wealthy.
| The rich pay all the [[tax]]es.
|-
| Compassion card
| arguing someone must be right because he has more compassion
| [[Liberals and uncharitableness|Liberal uncharitableness]] and [[Liberal politicians and uncharitableness]] has been well documented.
| Attempts to paint opponents' pragmatism as cold-heartedness.
| The calling card of [[limousine liberal]]s.
|-
| Hypocrite card
| claiming some inconsistency in positions
| The idea that a pro-lifer must oppose death penalty
| Some people actually buy it.
| Often the people making the Hypocrite claim exhibit hypocrisy themselves (see [[Liberal hypocrisy]])
|-
| Guilt by association card
| insinuating that someone is bad because he was once in the same room with some extremist
| "shaking hands with [[Saddam Hussein]]." <ref>[http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=shaking+hands+with+Saddam+Hussein&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-ContextMenu&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_enUS425US426 Google Search Results].</ref>
| slander at will
| look who's calling the kettle back.
|-
| nativist card
| the idea people born in a given country are xenophobic exclusionary bigots.
| Opposition to the Ground Zero mosque.
| divides the people against themselves
| hard to prove in a [[melting pot]]
|-
|[[Godwin's Law|Godwin]] card
|invoking the name of Hitler.
|Liberal [[George_Soros#2004_Presidential_Elections_in_the_United_States|George Soros]] likened the Bush administration to the Nazi regime.
|appeals to emotion and extremists, and less educated leftists.
|typical [[totalitarian]] tactic.
|-
|Patriot card
|Seeks to paint loyal Americans as racist.
| "patriotism is little more than a disguised form of racism"<ref>http://atheism.about.com/od/politicspoliticalissues/a/problempride_2.htm</ref>
|Some "Patriot movement" groups call for tighter immigration control.
|Democrats can be sensitive to the charge of being unpatriotic.
|-
|Immigration card
|Implies Democrats are sympathetic to a person's immigration status, despite the fact there is no historical record of legislative achievements in this area and Democrats associate being opposed to illegal immigration as being "anti-immigration" as a whole, which is bigoted and completely insulting to people that come to this country legally.
|The [[DREAM Act|Obama Dream Act]], a "cynical exercise in political charades", failed to pass the Democratic controlled Senate, 55-41.
|Seeks to pit voters against each other along racial and ethnic lines, which Democrats view as a win.
|Most immigrants come to America seeking [[conservative values]], such as a [[right to work]], [[religious freedom]], or being free of [[big government]] oppression. Millions have fled intolerant [[atheist regime]]s.
|-
|redneck card
|implication rural inhabitants are uneducated and possibly racist
|Used to smear most conservatives
|pejorative aimed at Bluedog Democrats, [[Red State]] dwellers, and others in flyover country.
|When motivated, this group forms an important part of a center-right majority.
|-
| bitter and cling to guns or religion card
| Why don't common people vote Democrat?
| Used by Obama and [[Howard Dean]].
| Attempts to justify Democrat's failure to coffeehouse liberals, and persuade hick voters by belittling them.
| Insulting to average voters.
|-
|[[NASCAR]] card
|insinuates NASCAR fans are uneducated and racist
|NASCAR fans tend to vote Republican,<ref>http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/04/24/109269/-Why-do-NASCAR-Fans-Vote-Republican</ref> more so than fans of most others sports.
|Republicans failed to balance the budget by cutting $7.4 million from the [[Pentagon]]'s sponsorship of NASCAR for Army recruiting. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/sports/autoracing/19nascar.html</ref>
|NASCAR has an estimated 75 million fans.
|-
| insensitive card
| failure to behave in a [[politically correct]] manner.
| a former Miss California was stripped of her crown for saying she thought marriage was between a man and a woman. <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/04/20/carrie-prejean-says-answer-gay-marriage-question-cost-miss-usa-crown/</ref>
| ostracizing others among the unenlightened masses leads to feelings of superiority.
| not everyone keeps up to date on the lastest liberal [[tripe]].
|-
|[[McCarthyism]] card
|accuse someone of being like the (false) liberal portrayal of [[Joseph McCarthy]]
|''"Racist!" as an Epithet of Repression'' <ref>[http://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/racist/ ''“Racist!” as an Epithet of Repression''], Dr. Paul Trout, Montana Professor Journal, Fall 1995.</ref>
|baseless smear, such as calling someone a racist. Extremely flexible, and with great glee you can ruin someone's life just for fun.
|Requires no morals or conscience.
|-
| Victim card
| Pretending to be a victim of the right wingers.
| Liberals looking for alleged conservative bias everywhere.
| Rallies base.
| Makes them look weak, petty and paranoid.
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:political cards]]

Superman (film, 1978)

2012-02-17T21:41:32Z

JLefkowitz:

{{Infobox Film
| name=Superman
| image=SupermanMovieposter.jpg
| caption=
| director=Richard Donner
| producer=Ilya Salkind Alexander Salkind Pierre Spengler
| writer=Mario Puzo David Newman Leslie Newman Robert Benton
| narrator=
| starring=Marlon Brando Gene Hackman Christopher Reeve Margot Kidder
| music=John Williams
| cinematography=Geoffrey Unsworth
| editing=Stuart Baird Michael Ellis
| distributor=Warner Brothers
| released=December 15, 1978
| runtime=143 min
| country=USA
| language=English
| budget=
| gross=
| preceded_by=
| followed_by=
| website=
| amg_id=
| imdb_id=
}}
'''''Superman''''' (in full, ''Superman: The Movie'') is a film released in December, 1978 by Warner Brothers, and starring [[Marlon Brando]], [[Gene Hackman]], and relatively-unknown [[Christopher Reeve]] and Margot Kidder as, respectively, the comic book hero [[Superman]] and his love interest Lois Lane.

Talk:It Gets Better

2012-02-17T21:37:22Z

JLefkowitz: /* Lost */

==Merge Request==
I prefer that this page grows on. So, my vote is no merge, uno vs. uno. We need a tie breaker Ed.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:53, 20 January 2012 (EST)

==Lost==
You're really unpleasant about gay people on this website. Why? Denying my sexuality was causing me severe mental distress. It really does get better coming out and acdcepting the fact that you're gay, actually. Sorry, you're wrong.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:Really? Is that so? I believe the [[Bible]] says otherwise.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 21:38, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::There is medicine to help with your mental distress. You can have feelings for same-sex but you don't have to act on it. We love the sinner and hate the sin. We rather you hear the truth than to sugar coat it. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:44, 12 December 2011 (EST)
:::It is not important if it please you or you you 'think' it is better the wicked way you choose. The important matter is how God sees it and I assure you: God does not approve !--[[User:PhilipN|PhilipN]] 21:46, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::::Yep I'm on good medication, good therapy the works, and I'm now in a good, stable, loving relationship. I'm not particularly religious, but have nothing against those who are. I'm in a much better place than I ever was when I tried to deny my sexuality or convince myself it was 'evil' or something to be 'cured'. And I'm not the only one. You are causing significant suffering and distress - why? I've read the Bible, surely the idea of 'sin' is something that is harmful to humanity - my sexuality is in no way harmful to anyone, quite the opposite. Were I to carry on living a lie, trying to suppress the truth, believing that being gay is wrong or abhorrent, that would be harmful - to myself, my friends and my family, as it was. That's true, from human experience. If you've not experienced it, but only read about it or heard about it, what makes you think you're qualified to judge? Why do you sit in judgment? Leave us alone to be happy, we aren't interfereing with you. I'm not mlitant, I don't hate anyone, and yet everywhere come across poison and hatred based on prejudices and misinformation, such as in Rick Perry's latest campaign ad. Why? I'm not harming anyone. Why should I have to live in denial? I am a moral person, loyal, kind and committed, which is more than can be said for many straight people -including many of those looking to run for President of the United States, on both sides of the political spectrum. God, I am sure, would want me first and foremost to be happy and contented, and cause happiness and contentment to those around me. I am now able to do this, thanks to my coming out. You are promoting a negative, isolating, cold view of love and human relationships. Please, stop. How can you be so certain God does not approve? I am not wicked, I didn't choose to be this way. Sometimes I wish I weren't, but I am what I am. End of.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:::::You know, if you want to believe your own delusions, go right ahead. But I know and you know God does not approve of that lifestyle. It explicitly states it in the Old ''and'' New Testaments! Sure Jesus makes no specific reference, but He didn't have to. I hope you decide to turn from your wicked sin and find a good doctor. You are in my prayers.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:21, 13 December 2011 (EST)
:::::As for Rick Perry's ads, he makes a good point. Why are they allowed to serve in the military when our children can't celebrate ''Christmas'' or pray in school? It seems the left will tolerate any lifestyle except Christian ones. They hate Christianity, but they will accept Islam, homosexuality, and anything else. You can be homsexual, but you can't pray in school. Does that seem sound to you?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:25, 13 December 2011 (EST)
::::::I've an excellent doctor and have turned from my 'wicked ways' - these being periods of self-harm and aggression caused not by my being gay, but by my repressing it. Now I have come to terms with it and am in a good, stable relationship, with the support of my friends and family, my life is infintitely better. It is sad and distinctly unChristian of you to disparage that and the love and support I have found. I feel very sorry for you that you have such horrible, twisted delusions about gay people and human sexuality. I have nothing to feel ashamed of now, but you clearly do - your hatred and bigotry stem from either a profound bitterness and insecurity, or a cult-like delusional religious Stalinism of skewed biblical literalism and the poison dripped in your ear by false prophets. I pity you. In love.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
::::::::It appears you did not heed my warning about making productive edits to entries, and you instead decided to waste time by talking uselessly. I hope you see the light of [[conservative values]] and recover from the sin you are committing against our Lord. All the best.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 16:57, 15 December 2011 (EST)
:Let's refrain from ad-hominem when blocking, JamesWilson. It grows the stereotype that conservatives are all close-minded insulting people. Instead, gently rebuke them. 23:59, 13 February 2012 (EST)
::Apologies, but this particular editor, despite ''several'' warnings, continued to talk, talk, talk, without contributing anything of substance (or anything at all for this matter) to this article (or any other article), as can be witnessed here. Thanks.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 06:42, 15 February 2012 (EST)
:::You provoked him and pressed him on. Had you just left him alone, maybe, just ignored or didn't criticize his original comment, he wouldn't have continued. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 16:37, 17 February 2012 (EST)

== Protected? ==

Why is this protected? I would be interested in adding some more facts(100% referenced) to the article. As it is the article gives very little information on the project itself and just reads like an essay. If you want an essay on why it is wrong write one but an article should actually give information on the project in more than the lead. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 00:06, 14 February 2012 (EST)
::I will unlock it. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 06:24, 14 February 2012 (EST)

== Rewrite ==

I've been working on a [http://conservapedia.com/User:Ayzmo/IGB rewrite of the article] to make it more encyclopedic. I've kept much of the content but rewrote the intro entirely and added a history section. I wasn't really sure how to work the criticism section. It needs a lot more work before it should be moved over here but I'd really appreciate any comments, suggestions, or criticisms on the talk page. Please don't alter what I've already written. If you put something on the talk page I'll find a way to work it into the article.