Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Supreme Court of the United States

2007-06-29T21:09:56Z

Jonjon:

[[Image:Sup.jpg|thumb|260px|US Supreme Court Building]]
The '''Supreme Court of the United States''' (SCOTUS) is the highest court of the judiciary of the [[United States of America]].
==Structure==
The Court is composed of eight Associate Justices and one [[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]. To assist them there are a multitude of clerks, guards, and other hired help. Cases are heard en banc whenever the Court is in session. Historians generally divide Court history into eras named after the Chief Justice then presiding (e.g. The Rehnquist Court).

Justices are appointed by the U.S. President with the advice and approval of the [[U.S. Senate]]

==Opinions==
Prior to the Marshall Court, the Court issued opinions in [[seratim]]. This means that each Justice wrote their own opinion and delivered it from the bench. Currently, the Court issues one opinion, said to be ''The opinion of the Court''. Opinions tend to have the history of the case, followed by the Court's reasoning and action. Generally the opinion will be written by a member of the majority, chosen by either the Chief Justice or the most senior Justice in the majority.

When a majority of Justices agree to the opinion, it is called the majority opinion. Occasionally, a majority of Justices agree to the [[remedy]], yet a minority of Justices agree with the main opinion. This is called a plurality opinion.

Justices that disagree with the Court's action can and frequently do write dissenting opinions, which state their objections to the ruling. When a Justice agrees with an action, but not the reasoning behind it, they may write a concurring opinion, which state the reasoning they would have used.
==Current members==
[[Image:SCOTUS.jpg|The Supreme Court of the United States, 2007]]
{|class="wikitable"
!Name!!Date of Accession!!Appointed by!!Title!!General ideology
|-
|[[John Paul Stevens]]||December 19, 1975|||[[Gerald Ford]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Antonin Scalia]]||September 26, 1986|||[[Ronald Reagan]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Anthony Kennedy]]||February 18, 1988|||[[Ronald Reagan]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||moderate/swing
|-
|[[David Souter]]||October 9, 1990|||[[George H. W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Clarence Thomas]]||October 23, 1991|||[[George H. W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]||August 10, 1993|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Stephen Breyer]]||August 3, 1994|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[John Roberts]]||September 29, 2005|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Samuel Alito]]||January 31, 2006|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|}

[[Category:United States law]]

Supreme Court of the United States

2007-06-29T21:09:30Z

Jonjon: ideology

[[Image:Sup.jpg|thumb|260px|US Supreme Court Building]]
The '''Supreme Court of the United States''' (SCOTUS) is the highest court of the judiciary of the [[United States of America]].
==Structure==
The Court is composed of eight Associate Justices and one [[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]. To assist them there are a multitude of clerks, guards, and other hired help. Cases are heard en banc whenever the Court is in session. Historians generally divide Court history into eras named after the Chief Justice then presiding (e.g. The Rehnquist Court).

Justices are appointed by the U.S. President with the advice and approval of the [[U.S. Senate]]

==Opinions==
Prior to the Marshall Court, the Court issued opinions in [[seratim]]. This means that each Justice wrote their own opinion and delivered it from the bench. Currently, the Court issues one opinion, said to be ''The opinion of the Court''. Opinions tend to have the history of the case, followed by the Court's reasoning and action. Generally the opinion will be written by a member of the majority, chosen by either the Chief Justice or the most senior Justice in the majority.

When a majority of Justices agree to the opinion, it is called the majority opinion. Occasionally, a majority of Justices agree to the [[remedy]], yet a minority of Justices agree with the main opinion. This is called a plurality opinion.

Justices that disagree with the Court's action can and frequently do write dissenting opinions, which state their objections to the ruling. When a Justice agrees with an action, but not the reasoning behind it, they may write a concurring opinion, which state the reasoning they would have used.
==Current members==
[[Image:SCOTUS.jpg|The Supreme Court of the United States, 2007]]
{|class="wikitable"
!Name!!Date of Accession!!Appointed by!!Title!!General ideology
|-
|[[John Paul Stevens]]||December 19, 1975|||[[Gerald Ford]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Antonin Scalia]]||September 26, 1986|||[[Ronald Reagan]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Anthony Kennedy]]||February 18, 1988|||[[Ronald Reagan]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||moderate/swing
|-
|[[David Souter]]||October 9, 1990|||[[George H. W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Clarence Thomas]]||October 23, 1991|||[[George H. W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]||August 10, 1993|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Stephen Breyer]]||August 3, 1994|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate ]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[John Roberts]]||September 29, 2005|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]
|-
|[[Samuel Alito]]||January 31, 2006|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|}

[[Category:United States law]]

Salvador Allende

2007-06-29T21:06:12Z

Jonjon:

'''Salvador Allende''' was the President of Chile from 1970 to 1973. South America's only Marxist leader at the time, his overthrow and death are very controversial.

==History==

Salvador Allende was was born July 26, 1908, in Valparaiso. Allende was a member of the [[Socialist Party of Chile]].
Allende, representing a coalition of [[Marxist]] parties,
came to power in 1970 after received narrowly beating his closest opponent with of 36.3 percent of the vote. [http://foia.state.gov/Reports/ChurchReport.asp]
Allende was outspoken in his intent to dramatically "transform" Chile according to socialist principles, which concerned moderate voters and politicians. The Chilean Congress voted to give Allende the presidency, in accordance with run-off rules in place at the time, but required Allende to sign a special statement promising that his reforms would always respect the constitution.

During his government, Allende instituted a plan called "La vía chilena al socialismo" which lead to widespread disruption of the Chilean economy. The media wrote extensively of his failures. He "nationalized" many industries. Strikes and shutdowns caused massive inflation and unrest, and the conservative-controlled Chilean Congress sought to reject Allende's proposals whenever possible, causing considerable political gridlock.

In 1973, at the height of numerous [[Cold War]] crisis's occurring simulataneously worldwide, the socialist government was overthrown in a [[coup d'etat]]. The Chilean National Commision on Truth and Reconciliation concluded in its 1991 report, "Within hours Chile's elected president, Salvador Allende, lay dead (this report concludes that he committed suicide), and a military junta presided by [[Augusto Pinochet]] took power."<ref>http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/chile_1993_introeng.html</ref> Many in the US vigorously protested both the CIA's alleged involvement in the coup, and the appalling human rights violations that followed, including the murder of [[Victor Jara]], a popular songwriter and musician and ardent supporter of Allende. Jara was one of several thousand Chileans who were taken into custody the day after the coup. He was tortured for several days, then shot to death.<ref>http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/1993_pt3ch1_A2a2_153-167.html</ref>

The Senate Intelligence Committe under Senator [[Frank Church ]]investigated US involement and exonerated the Nixon administration of any unlawful activity. <ref>[http://www.foia.state.gov/Reports/ChurchReport.asp Church Report. Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973]. United States Senate. 94th Cong. 1st Ses. GPO 63-372. Washington. 1975.</ref><ref>Falcoff, Mark, [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=10612 ''Kissinger and Chile''], Commentary Magazine, 10 November 2003.</ref>
[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/09/19/us.cia.chile.ap/]
[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/ch01-01.htm]

==Legacy==

Allende has become a common martyr for leftists and Anti-Americans around the world, who blame the United States and the CIA for Allende's death, and by extention the death of Chilean socialism. Though the nature of the CIA involvement continues to be widely debated, as well as Allende's status as a truly "democratic" leader, many conservatives have argued that the coup against his government was justified, as Allende had totalitarian, Communist ambitions. Some conservatives in turn have defended the subsquent regime of [[Augusto Pinochet]] as a morally superior government, while others have criticized Pinochet's regime as well.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.cyberussr.com/hcunn/for/chile-73.html Chile under Allende (1970-73) and Pinochet] - How bloody was Pinochet's coup? What, if any, justification did he have?

*[http://www.lyd.com/noticias/violencia/what_really.html ''What Really Happened In Chile 30 Years Ago''], James R. Whelan, Wall Street Journal Online, 12 September 2003.
*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/chile/index.html CIA Activities in Chile], September 18, 2000.

[[Category:Heads of state|Allende, Salvador]]

Salvador Allende

2007-06-29T21:04:22Z

Jonjon:

'''Salvador Allende''' was the President of Chile from 1970 to 1973. South America's only Marxist leader at the time, his overthrow and death are very controversial.

==History==

Salvador Allende was was born July 26, 1908, in Valparaiso. Allende was a member of the [[Socialist Party of Chile]].
Allende, representing a coalition of [[Marxist]] parties,
came to power in 1970 after received narrowly beating his closest opponent with of 36.3 percent of the vote. [http://foia.state.gov/Reports/ChurchReport.asp]
Allende was outspoken in his intent to dramatically "transform" Chile according to socialist principles, which concerned moderate voters and politicians. The Chilean Congress voted to give Allende the presidency, in accordance with run-off rules in place at the time, but required Allende to sign a special statement promising that his reforms would always respect the constitution.

During his government, Allende instituted a plan called "La vía chilena al socialismo" which lead to widespread disruption of the Chilean economy. The media wrote extensively of his failures. He "nationalized" many industries.

In 1973, at the height of numerous [[Cold War]] crisis's occurring simulataneously worldwide, the socialist government was overthrown in a [[coup d'etat]]. The Chilean National Commision on Truth and Reconciliation concluded in its 1991 report, "Within hours Chile's elected president, Salvador Allende, lay dead (this report concludes that he committed suicide), and a military junta presided by Augusto Pinochet took power."<ref>http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/chile_1993_introeng.html</ref> Many in the US vigorously protested both the CIA's alleged involvement in the coup, and the appalling human rights violations that followed, including the murder of [[Victor Jara]], a popular songwriter and musician and ardent supporter of Allende. Jara was one of several thousand Chileans who were taken into custody the day after the coup. He was tortured for several days, then shot to death.<ref>http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/1993_pt3ch1_A2a2_153-167.html</ref>

The Senate Intelligence Committe under Senator [[Frank Church ]]investigated US involement and exonerated the Nixon administration of any unlawful activity. <ref>[http://www.foia.state.gov/Reports/ChurchReport.asp Church Report. Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973]. United States Senate. 94th Cong. 1st Ses. GPO 63-372. Washington. 1975.</ref><ref>Falcoff, Mark, [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=10612 ''Kissinger and Chile''], Commentary Magazine, 10 November 2003.</ref>
[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/09/19/us.cia.chile.ap/]
[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/ch01-01.htm]

==Legacy==

Allende has become a common martyr for leftists and Anti-Americans around the world, who blame the United States and the CIA for Allende's death, and by extention the death of Chilean socialism. Though the nature of the CIA involvement continues to be widely debated, as well as Allende's status as a truly "democratic" leader, many conservatives have argued that the coup against his government was justified, as Allende had totalitarian, Communist ambitions. Some conservatives in turn have defended the subsquent regime of [[Augusto Pinochet]] as a morally superior government, while others have criticized Pinochet's regime as well.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.cyberussr.com/hcunn/for/chile-73.html Chile under Allende (1970-73) and Pinochet] - How bloody was Pinochet's coup? What, if any, justification did he have?

*[http://www.lyd.com/noticias/violencia/what_really.html ''What Really Happened In Chile 30 Years Ago''], James R. Whelan, Wall Street Journal Online, 12 September 2003.
*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/chile/index.html CIA Activities in Chile], September 18, 2000.

[[Category:Heads of state|Allende, Salvador]]

Salvador Allende

2007-06-29T21:02:54Z

Jonjon:

Salvador Allende was was born July 26, 1908, in Valparaiso. Allende was a member of the [[Socialist Party of Chile]].
Allende, representing a coalition of [[Marxist]] parties,
came to power in 1970 after received narrowly beating his closest opponent with of 36.3 percent of the vote. [http://foia.state.gov/Reports/ChurchReport.asp]
Allende was outspoken in his intent to dramatically "transform" Chile according to socialist principles, which concerned moderate voters and politicians. The Chilean Congress voted to give Allende the presidency, in accordance with run-off rules in place at the time, but required Allende to sign a special statement promising that his reforms would always respect the constitution.

During his government, Allende instituted a plan called "La vía chilena al socialismo" which lead to widespread disruption of the Chilean economy. The media wrote extensively of his failures. He "nationalized" many industries.

In 1973, at the height of numerous [[Cold War]] crisis's occurring simulataneously worldwide, the socialist government was overthrown in a [[coup d'etat]]. The Chilean National Commision on Truth and Reconciliation concluded in its 1991 report, "Within hours Chile's elected president, Salvador Allende, lay dead (this report concludes that he committed suicide), and a military junta presided by Augusto Pinochet took power."<ref>http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/chile_1993_introeng.html</ref> Many in the US vigorously protested both the CIA's alleged involvement in the coup, and the appalling human rights violations that followed, including the murder of [[Victor Jara]], a popular songwriter and musician and ardent supporter of Allende. Jara was one of several thousand Chileans who were taken into custody the day after the coup. He was tortured for several days, then shot to death.<ref>http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/1993_pt3ch1_A2a2_153-167.html</ref>

The Senate Intelligence Committe under Senator [[Frank Church ]]investigated US involement and exonerated the Nixon administration of any unlawful activity. <ref>[http://www.foia.state.gov/Reports/ChurchReport.asp Church Report. Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973]. United States Senate. 94th Cong. 1st Ses. GPO 63-372. Washington. 1975.</ref><ref>Falcoff, Mark, [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=10612 ''Kissinger and Chile''], Commentary Magazine, 10 November 2003.</ref>
[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/09/19/us.cia.chile.ap/]
[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/ch01-01.htm]

==Legacy==

Allende has become a common martyr for leftists and Anti-Americans around the world, who blame the United States and the CIA for Allende's death, and by extention the death of Chilean socialism. Though the nature of the CIA involvement continues to be widely debated, as well as Allende's status as a truly "democratic" leader, many conservatives have argued that the coup against his government was justified, as Allende had totalitarian, Communist ambitions. Some conservatives in turn have defended the subsquent regime of [[Augusto Pinochet]] as a morally superior government, while others have criticized Pinochet's regime as well.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.cyberussr.com/hcunn/for/chile-73.html Chile under Allende (1970-73) and Pinochet] - How bloody was Pinochet's coup? What, if any, justification did he have?

*[http://www.lyd.com/noticias/violencia/what_really.html ''What Really Happened In Chile 30 Years Ago''], James R. Whelan, Wall Street Journal Online, 12 September 2003.
*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/chile/index.html CIA Activities in Chile], September 18, 2000.

[[Category:Heads of state|Allende, Salvador]]

Kim Campbell

2007-06-29T20:13:59Z

Jonjon: New page: '''Kim Campbell''' was the Prime Minister of Canada frome June to November of 1993. She was the last Prime Minister of the now defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada,...

'''Kim Campbell''' was the [[Prime Minister of Canada]] frome June to November of [[1993]]. She was the last Prime Minister of the now defunct [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]], and came to power following the resignation of [[Brian Mulroney]].

Though she was Canada's first female Prime Minister she was never specifically elected to the office, and her reign was unpopular. Campbell was even more moderate than Brian Mulroney, and many conservatives saw her rise as proof that the Progressive Conservative Party was moving further and further to the left.

Campbell called an election in 1993, which saw her party go down to massive defeat. A key reason was that many conservative voters left the PC party and voted for the further right [[Reform Party of Canada]], and their candidate for Prime Minister, [[Preston Manning]]. Though the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] was ultimately elected to power, Reform won 52 seats while the PC party declined to only two.

Campbell was then appointed as an emmisary to California by new Prime Minister [[Jean Chretien]]. In retirement, Campbell has been critical of the Reform Party and [[Stephen Harper]], whom she feels have moved Canada too much to the right.

Conservative Party of Canada

2007-06-29T20:07:14Z

Jonjon:

[[Image:649px-Conservative Party of Canada.png|right|thumb]]
The '''Conservative Party of Canada''' was formed by an amalgamation of the Progressive-Conservative Party of Canada, and the Canadian Alliance. This effectively united the right-of-center Canadians under one common banner, allowing for much greater success in the most recent election. Its current party leader is [[Stephen Harper]].

After the defeat of Prime Minister [[Kim Campbell]] and the Progressive-Conservatives in the General Election of 1993, the Progressive-Conservatives were reduced to just two seats in the House of Commons. Another right-of-center party, the Reform Party, gained 52 seats in that election. In 2000, the Reform Party changed its name to the "Canadian Alliance." After a decade of proving ineffective as many [[conservative]] Canadians had trouble being represented by a vote split between the Canadian Alliance and the members of the Progressive-Conservatives, the PCs and the Alliance merged in 2003 to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

Many [[liberal]]s are critical of the party's views with respect to issues of "social freedom", such as [[same-sex marriage]]. The conservatives followed through with their promise to open up the issue of same-sex marriage for debate again in the House of Commons. However, as a result, there were no changes to current legislation.

==External links==
* [http://www.conservative.ca/ Conservative Party of Canada official site]
[[category:Political Parties]]
[[category:Canada]]

Stephen Harper

2007-06-29T20:05:48Z

Jonjon: lots more info

[[Image:Hoto.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Stephen Harper''' is currently the current Prime Minister of [[Canada]] and leader of the [[Conservative Party of Canada]].

==History==
Stephen Harper was born on April 30, 1959 in Toronto, Ontario. He received a Master's degree in economics from the University of Calgary.

As a young man, Harper briefly worked as an interin in [[Ottawa]] as an assistant to the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]]. However he eventually grew frustrated and disillusioned with the party, which he saw as overly pragmatic, insufficently conservative, and hostile towards the interests of western Canada.

Returning to Alberta, he joined forces with conservative activist [[Preston Manning]] and helped found the [[Reform Party of Canada]], a "true" conservative party designed to challenge the dominance of the Progressive Conservatives and then-PC Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]].

Harper proceded to be elected to Parliament in 1993 as a [[Reform Party of Canada]] member to represent the riding of Calgary West. In 1997 he declined to run for re-election, however, becoming frustrated with parlimentary politics and Manning's leadership of the Reform Party.

Subsequently, he became the head of the [[National Citizens Coalition]] (NCC), a conservative advocacy group in Canada.

==Recent history==

When Manning resigned as leader of Reform in 2000 the party renamed itself the [[Canadian Alliance]] and was briefly led by [[Stockwell Day]]. Day was an unpopular leader, though the party did make some parliamentary gains during his leadership. When he stepped down in 2002 Harper re-entered politics to replace him, and was subsequently elected the new leader of the [[Canadian Alliance]] (CA).

As leader, Harper was instrumental in instigating a merger between the CA and his old rivals, the Progressive Conservative Party, which was now led by [[Peter MacKay]], a man who was open to the idea of joining forces to help "unite the right" in Canada, and create a party powerful enough to defeat the entrenched [[Liberal Party of Canada]]. Harper's eagerness to merge led him to compromise several key principles of the Canadian Alliance, however. In order to win the moderate MacKay's support, Harper "softened" many of the CA's positions on issues.

Once the deal was inked, Harper was then elected first leader of the new [[Conservative Party of Canada]].

==Prime Minister==

In an election in 2006, the Conservative Party of Canada elected enough members of parliament to unseat Liberal Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]] and form a [[minority government]]. Stephen Harper became the Prime Minister.

In 2007 Harper promised Canadian farmers over $1 billion Canadian dollars in farm subsidies but at the same time promising to end the [[Wheat Board of Canada]]'s sales monopoly in Western Canada<ref>[http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/ cwb.ca]</ref>, (a government group that manipulates the prices of wheat and barley). Some farmers believe this would cost the Canadian farming industry billions of dollars in lost revenues while others feel the industry would benefit by allowing farmers in the West to market and sell their produce as they see fit; just as farmers in the east are allowed to do. The [[United States]] also wants the Wheat Board of Canada removed from power because it claims price fixing is unfair to free-trade. Wheat exports to the United States account for only 10% of Canada's wheat production.

==Views==

Mr. Harper is a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a conservative evangelical Christian group, and is generally considered to have [[socially conservative]] views on most issues. He opposes [[gay marriage]] and [[abortion]] and supports [[capital punishment]]. During the [[2003 Iraq War]] his party was the only one in Canada that supported the United States and George W. Bush. In his past careers he has also been strongly critical of taxation, multiculturalism, constitutional concessions to [[Quebec]], and socialized healthcare.

As Prime Minister, however, Harper has governed much more pragmatically. Canadian liberals often accuse Harper of being "right wing" and too similar to George W. Bush and American Republicans; analogies which are used to inflame anti-American sentiment in Canada. In the 2006 election Harper thus sought to distance himself from some of his strongly conservative positions of the past, usually by vowing to not persue a radical social agenda while in office, but instead focus on certain economic prorities.

Regardless, as a minority Prime Minister whose caucus is still outnumbered by left-wing parties, Harper's ability to govern as a true conservative has been somewhat limited. He has, however, introduced reforms limiting Canadian gun control laws and may be able to implement a more conservative set of policies if his party wins re-election with a majority of the seats in the Canadian parliament.

== References ==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.thestar.com/News/article/164678 Stephen Harper's article on hockey in the Toronto Star]
[[Category:Canada]]