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	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Brown_vs._Board_of_Education&amp;diff=666021</id>
		<title>Brown vs. Board of Education</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Brown_vs._Board_of_Education&amp;diff=666021"/>
		<updated>2009-05-24T01:03:09Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;'''Brown vs. Board of Education''' was the landmark 1954 decision that overturned &lt;br /&gt;
the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that allowed de jure (legal) segregation. &lt;br /&gt;
The U. S. Supreme Court unanimously voted to end segregation with ''Brown'', &lt;br /&gt;
but segregation continued in the Southern United States until the Civil Rights movement &lt;br /&gt;
achieved the Civil Rights Act of 1964.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Rush_Limbaugh&amp;diff=666020</id>
		<title>Rush Limbaugh</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Rush_Limbaugh&amp;diff=666020"/>
		<updated>2009-05-24T00:57:39Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* The Harry Reid Letter */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Limbaugh.jpg|thumb|right|Rush Limbaugh]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Rush Limbaugh''' (born January 12, 1951) is a [[conservative]] [[American]] [[radio]] talk show host.  Limbaugh has risen to the top of the ratings heap as a reliably [[conservative]] voice in a talk radio media environment dominated by conservatives.  In his sharp criticisms on the [[Obama Administration]] Limbaugh maintains his position as one of the ''de facto'' leaders of the [[Republican]] opposition.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Radio ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Limbaugh hosts a radio show famed for its incisive criticism of the follies of [[liberalism]] and his cogent exposure of [[liberal]] [[propaganda]] and [[deceit]]. He is often at odds with [[liberal]] activist [[Al Franken]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://fireside.designcommunity.com/topic-9993.html Forum thread] discussing a NYT Editorial&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. He habitually refers to [[feminists]] who support [[abortion]] as ''feminazis'' and to his own self as having &amp;quot;talent on loan from God&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Limbaugh's style has been credited with &amp;quot;reviving AM radio in the United States, and is considered by many to have been a catalyst for the [[Republican Party]]'s 1994 Congressional victories&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10813FA3B5D0C708EDDAB0894DE494D81&amp;amp;n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fL%2fLimbaugh%2c%20Rush Radio Talk Show Host Fears For True Conservatism's Fate], New York Times&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
Limbaugh's conservative talk show is nationally syndicated and averages over 16 million listeners weekly, making him the #1 Radio Talk Show Host in America.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&amp;amp;task=view&amp;amp;id=17&amp;amp;Itemid=34 The Top Talk Radio Audiences] Tallkers magazine online&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In July 2008, Rush announced &amp;quot;he has renewed his contract with Premiere Radio Networks and Clear Channel Radio, continuing syndication of his show 'many years into the future.'&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27326 Rush Renews Contract], ''[[Human Events]]'', July, 2, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Obama to Fail===&lt;br /&gt;
Rush made national headlines when he was asked to write 400 words for a newspaper column about Obama's plans.  He said he didn't need 400 words, he needs just four, &amp;quot;I hope he fails.&amp;quot; He immediately came under attack as an unpatriotic obstructionist. Rush explained that what he meant was, if Obama is for socialistic policies and against capitalist policies, of course he could not support those policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rush addressed [[CPAC]] and further discussed his stance that generated so much attention. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/01/limbaugh-leader-obama-chief-staff-calls-talk-host-barrier-progress/ Limbaugh the Leader? Obama Chief of Staff] Fox News,  March 01, 2009&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; {{cquote|''' ''&amp;quot;Did the Democrats want the war in Iraq to fail? Well, they certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail, they proclaimed it a failure. ... The last thing they wanted was to win. They hoped George Bush failed. So where is it -- what is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?&amp;quot;'' '''}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== The Harry Reid Letter ==&lt;br /&gt;
On October 2, 2007, [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Harry Reid]], [[Democrat|D]]-[[Nevada|NV]], wrote a letter to Mark P. Mays, President and CEO of Clear Channel Communications, who is Rush Limbaugh's chief patron. In it Senator Reid essentially demanded that Mr. Mays order Mr. Limbaugh to apologize for remarks he made concerning &amp;quot;phony soldiers.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=ReidText&amp;gt;Reid, Harry, ''et al.'' &amp;quot;[http://reid.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=284699 Letter to Mark P. Mays of Clear Channel Communications].&amp;quot; [http://reid.senate.gov/ Electronic Office of US Senator Harry Reid], October 2, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A ''phony soldier'' is someone who is not a soldier at all but is pretending to be one, especially in a public forum. Such activity is unlawful, and the [[Jesse MacBeth|person]] whose activity prompted Mr. Limbaugh's remarks has since been convicted and punished.&amp;lt;ref name=PhonySoldier&amp;gt;Limbaugh, Rush. &amp;quot;[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092807/content/01125106.guest.html The Anatomy of a Smear: 'Phony Soldiers' Is a Phony Story].&amp;quot; ''[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html Rush Limbaugh Official Site]'', accessed December 25, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Limbaugh was not eligible for the Vietnam era draft because of a pilonidal cyst.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Limbaugh endorsed [[Mitt Romney]] for the [[2008 Presidential Election]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnsnews.com/ThisHour.asp#Limbaugh%20Endorses%20Romney Limbaugh Endorses Romney], [[Melanie Hunter]], ''[[CNSNews]]'', February 05, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He was often critical of [[John McCain]] during the Republican primaries, but supported him in the general election.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Painkiller addiction ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On October 6, 2003 Limbaugh told his audience he was addicted to OxyContin and other painkillers citing a failed back surgery as the cause of his pain and subsequent dependence. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The Rush Limbaugh Show, October 6, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/10/rush.limbaugh/ &amp;quot;Limbaugh admits addiction to pain medication&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Limbaugh underwent treatment for his addiction, and charges against him for alleged &amp;quot;doctor shopping&amp;quot; to procure prescription medications were dropped on the condition that he continue treatment for his addiction.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/28/national/main1561324.shtml&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The [[MSM]] as well as Democratic politicians consistently use this information to crudely and unfairly attack Limbaugh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Sports ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Limbaugh is an avid sports fan, particularly football. He briefly held a position as a commentator on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown pre-game show. He resigned from the show on October 2, 2006 after comments made regarding Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb received widespread criticism.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{cquote|''' ''&amp;quot;I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team.&amp;quot;'' '''}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After McNabb's response, &amp;quot;It's sad that you've got to go to skin color. I thought we were through with that whole deal,&amp;quot; significant pressure was put upon Limbaugh to resign. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://espn.go.com/gen/news/2003/1001/1628537.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Other Media Work ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Limbaugh Letter is a monthly publication that contains conservative articles and humor in Rush's style. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Limbaugh is involved in the conservative satire show &amp;quot;The 1/2 Hour News Hour&amp;quot; show on the [[Fox News Channel]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/16/AR2007021602098.html Fox News Channel's '1/2 Hour News Hour': Right Funny, in Spots] washingtonpost.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rush occasionally writes op-ed pieces for the [[Wall Street Journal]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See Also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Previous Breaking News/Rush Limbaugh|Articles about '''Rush Limbaugh''' from previous &amp;quot;Breaking News&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Conservative Links]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Rush Derangement Syndrome]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==External Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html Official Rush Limbaugh website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.cspan.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-15919 Rush's 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Speech], ''C-SPAN'', February 28, 2009&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT: Limbaugh, Rush}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Broadcasters]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category: Conservatives]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Brown_vs._Board_of_Education&amp;diff=666019</id>
		<title>Brown vs. Board of Education</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Brown_vs._Board_of_Education&amp;diff=666019"/>
		<updated>2009-05-24T00:39:21Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: Created page with '''Brown vs. Board of Education'' was the landmark 1954 decision that overturned  the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that allowed de jure (legal) segregation.  The U. S. Suprem...'&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;''Brown vs. Board of Education'' was the landmark 1954 decision that overturned &lt;br /&gt;
the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that allowed de jure (legal) segregation. &lt;br /&gt;
The U. S. Supreme Court unanimously voted to end segregation, &lt;br /&gt;
but segregation continued in the Southern United States until the Civil Rights movement &lt;br /&gt;
achieved the Civil Rights Act of 1964.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Jesse_Helms&amp;diff=654540</id>
		<title>Jesse Helms</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Jesse_Helms&amp;diff=654540"/>
		<updated>2009-04-20T02:30:03Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Officeholder&lt;br /&gt;
|name=Jesse Helms&lt;br /&gt;
|image=JesseHelms.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Dorothy &amp;quot;Dot&amp;quot; Helms&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=Baptist&lt;br /&gt;
|offices=&lt;br /&gt;
	{{Officeholder/senator&lt;br /&gt;
	|state=North Carolina&lt;br /&gt;
	|terms=January 3, 1973 – January 3, 2003&lt;br /&gt;
	|preceded=B. Everett Jordan&lt;br /&gt;
	|former=y&lt;br /&gt;
	|succeeded=[[Elizabeth Dole]]&lt;br /&gt;
	}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Jesse Helms''' (born Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr., October 18, 1921, d. July 4, 2008) was a five-time [[Republican]] [[U.S. Senator|senator]] from [[North Carolina]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000463&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms, throughout his tenure as United States Senator was known for his [[conservative]] principles, including his support for a strong defense, individual rights, the oppressed, and support for freedom. Like most conservative politicians who eschew political correctness, Helms was frequently the target of mainstream [[media bias]], despite his former career in the media.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/biography.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms was a staunch advocate for equality under law, but due to his Southern background and incorrect party affiliation, his positions were misrepresented through typically biased reporting.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#handsad&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, Helms opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Larry Margasak, Jesse Helms: Polarizer, not a compromiser, Newsweek, July 5, 2008, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/144633]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms also opposed extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Reagan called Helms a &amp;quot;lionhearted leader of a great and growing army.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/1755723/ Conservative icon Jesse Helms dead at 86]&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Frequently Helms was the target of massive, heavily funded [[liberal]] efforts to defeat him at reelection, and every time Helms crushed the liberals and won handily. In 1990, a weak election year for [[Republicans]], polls just prior to the election suggested that his [[liberal]] African American opponent Harvey Gantt would prevail. Helms ran a final advertisement that became famous as the &amp;quot;hands&amp;quot; ad, showing a white pair of hands and a voice complaining that he lost a job opportunity due to [[affirmative action]], which his opponent supported.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The voice in the ad stated, &amp;quot;You needed that job and you were the best qualified, but they had to give it to a minority because of a racial quota. Is that really fair? Harvey Gantt says it is.&amp;quot;[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241325&amp;amp;ft=1&amp;amp;f=1003]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The [[liberal]] press accused Helms of injecting race into the campaign, to which he responded:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241325&amp;amp;ft=1&amp;amp;f=1003&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Absolutely not. What am I supposed to do? Ignore everything that involves a black man? That would make me speechless in this campaign, and Mr. Gantt knows how to dish it out but he can't take it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While Helms might be called an Internationalist, his support can be understood more in terms of Western military alliances that strengthened US Security such as [[NATO]] as opposed to organizations such as the [[UN]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic1&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms died at age 86 of natural causes on the [[Fourth of July]], 2008, in [[Raleigh]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080704/ap_on_re_us/obit_helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Early Life ==&lt;br /&gt;
Helms' parents were Jesse Helms Sr., the local chief of police, and his wife Ethel Mae Helms.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
=== Education ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms attended public schools. He said this about his high school principal:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glajfJbQP2WmgGcjVzbfYrT4VKWwD91N40A80&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;If he taught us anything, he taught us that we are personally responsible and accountable. I remember that day, and always will, when he called in several from the senior class. ... He said you can make it in this country. He said it's going to take hard work. ... He said you're going to succeed. He said you'll own your own homes and you'll have two cars and all that. I thought this man had lost his mind.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms attended Wingate Junior College and Wake Forest College.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Journalist ===&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939, Helms quit Wake Forest to work as a [[journalist]] on the Raleigh News and Observer. By the age of 21 he managed one of the paper's smaller papers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During World War II, Helms served in the Navy as a recruiter. It was during his military career that he discovered his knack for broadcasting.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WRAL Radio and AA to Senator Willis Smith ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1948, became a radio news director at WRAL in Raleigh, NC. Helms reported on the heated 1950 Democratic primary for the Senate. Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. The winner of this race, Senator Willis Smith, took him to Washington as his administrative assistant a post at which he served until 1953 staying on to become Senator Alton Lennon's assistant after Smith's untimely demise.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000463&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Willis, like Helms was a conservative Southern Democrat.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Willis's defeated opponent, the liberal Frank Porter Graham was appointed by his supporter President Harry Truman as Ambassador to the United Nations.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=g000353&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms also worked on the unsuccessful Democratic primary presidential campaign of Richard B. Russell, Jr., in 1952.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Bankers Association to Capital Broadcasting ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms early work in politics lead him to become the Executive director of the North Carolina Bankers Association and later the Raleigh City Council where he opposed excessive taxation and supported limiting the growth of government.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By the mid-1960's, Helms became the executive Vice President for Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh. He directed the news operation and delivered over-the-air commentaries. Helms developed a following due to his firebrand but perceptive political commentary&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/biography.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; which often attacked the decline of morality, liberal trends in society of the time, the Federal government's dubious social engineering in the southern states and Judicial activism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Senate Career ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Democrat to Republican ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1970, Helms left the Democratic party for the Republican party, which had long been unpopular outside the Carolina mountain districts. His shift reflected the movement of young white conservatives into the GOP across the South. In 1972 he ran for the Senate as a supporter of Republican presidential candidate [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Helms faced liberal Democrat Nick Galifianakis. Helms's successful tactic was to associate Galifiankis with the highly unpopular liberal presidential candidate [[George McGovern]]. He won the Senate seat with 54% of the vote. He was reelected in 1978 (with 55%), 1984 (with 52%), 1990 (with 53%), and 1996 (with 53%). His margins were never large and his campaigns were always intensely fought. Although repeatedly targeted for defeat by national Democrats, he always pulled off narrow victories, and helped his allies win statewide office as well. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Senator No ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms' opposition to increasing the role of the federal government in the lives of every day citizens earned him the title &amp;quot;Senator No&amp;quot;. From his first term to his last Helms rejected nominations of unqualified liberal candidates, against federal spending (except millitary spending and federal aid for farmers),&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and opposed naming a holiday for Dr. [[Martin Luther King]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/04/obit.helms/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms supported and befriended qualified candidates regardless of party affiliation whom he felt would better the country, such as [[Madeline Albright]] for US Ambassador to the United Nations and later Secretary of State (ref: Madam Secretary, Madeline Albright). Helms was known for his bipartisan friendships despite ideological differences. However, Helms was broadminded and tolerant of contrary views, and unafraid to be proven in error. For instance Helms originally stood against increased funding to stop the devastation caused by [[AIDS]] in Africa. Helms change of heart on this issue in his own words: &amp;quot;It had been my feeling that AIDS was a disease largely spread by reckless and voluntary sexual and drug-abusing behavior, and that it would probably be confined to those in high risk populations. I was wrong.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Jesse Helms, ''Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir'' (2005)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Standing on principle ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms challenged the Republican party to promote the socially and economically conservative values of the American People. Helms's conservative values won him a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union for the entire last decade he was in office and never more than 10% according to similar liberal groups. Terry O'Neill -- of the far left [[feminist]] group, the [[National Organization for Women]] -- on hearing of Helms ill health and planned retirement reacted gleefully with the statement &amp;quot;It's a very good thing for the country that he's leaving the Senate.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms stated his disbelief in the old adage that &amp;quot;morality cannot be legislated&amp;quot;. Helms took an active role in campaigning and in helping the Republican party to engage these values. First in his early work for Smith, then locally and eventually in early 1980 played a key role in helping the father of modern conservative, Ronald Reagan, win the Republican primary and take the White House back from the liberal president Jimmy Carter. Helms's political action committee spent over $4.6 million dollars to help Reagan capture the white house.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Until recently, when Helms became incapacitated, in his home state of North Carolina few Conservative Republican candidates would run for state or national office without an endorsement from Helms.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Foreign Policy ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms believed that America should stand against dictators and help bring its values of freedom and democracy to the world. This belief caused Helms to stand against &amp;quot;Most Favored Nation&amp;quot; status for China (which the Reagan and Nixon Administrations supported). At the same time, Helms stood for a strong national defense and strongly opposed Communism and would occasionally compromise on the humanitarian part of his policy when it suited those aims, such was the case in his support for the dictator Augusto Pinochet.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/principles/default.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms opposed arms control and nuclear test-ban treaties even when some of these measures were supported by Reagan himself.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Liberal opposition ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some in the liberal media have questioned Helms' integrity, largely due to his standing against Affirmative Action programs and quotas and secondly for his opposition to many liberal appointees for federal office.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic2&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms stated in his biography he has stood up for candidates in the jobs for which they were qualified. He has opposed liberal and unqualified candidates in posts for which they were not qualified. The record shows Helms enthusiastically supported African American candidates [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Colin Powell]], [[Claude Allen]], and [[Condoleezza Rice]], as well as other well qualified candidates for the positions in which they were appointed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic5&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1996, Helms caused controversy by seeming to threaten then president [[Bill Clinton]] when he said 'Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here (North Carolina). He’d better have a bodyguard'.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.bartleby.com/66/41/27741.html The Columbia World of Quotations]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Humanitarian ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jesse Helms continued to work on his humanitarian causes after leaving office until he became incapacitated. Since then others continue his work in his name. His approach encourages individual and organization charity rather than government intervention.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Work for Americans held captive==&lt;br /&gt;
On December 5, 1991, Senator Helms wrote to Russian President Boris Yeltsin concerning U.S. servicemen who were POWs or MIAs. &amp;quot;The status of thousands and thousands of American servicemen who are held by Soviet and other Communist forces, and who were never repatriated after every major war this century, is of grave concern to the American people.&amp;quot; Yeltsin would ultimately respond with a statement made on June 15, 1992, while being interviewed aboard his presidential jet on his way to the United States, &amp;quot;Our archives have shown that it is true — some of them were transferred to the territory of the U.S.S.R. and were kept in labor camps... We can only surmise that some of them may still be alive.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
====Korean Airlines Flight 007====&lt;br /&gt;
On December 10, just five days after Senator Helms had written Yeltsin concerning American servicemen, he again wrote to Yeltsin, this time concerning KAL 007 shot down by the Soviets just west of Sakhalin Island on Sept. 1, 1983, &amp;quot;One of the greatest tragedies of the Cold War was the shoot-down of the [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] by the Armed Forces of what was then the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. . . The KAL-007 tragedy was one of the most tense incidences of the entire Cold War. However, now that relations between our two nations have improved substantially, I believe that it is time to resolve the mysteries surrounding this event. Clearing the air on this issue could help further to improve relations [http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm].&amp;quot; Yeltsin would ultimately respond on January 8, 1992 by handing over to the International Civil Aviation Organization what the Russians had for so many years denied possessing: the tapes of the KAL 007's &amp;quot;Black Box&amp;quot; (its Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder). With the return of the tapes, Yeltsin would hand over the real-time Soviet military communications of the shootdown requested by Helms, reopening the question about the fate of KAL 007 and its passengers (See [[KAL 007: Timeline of Interception and Shootdown]] for the reconstruction of KAL 007's flight after the attack based on these military communications)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms on various occasions expressed pointed concern for the fate of the passengers of KAL 007. Here are the interrogaties he had addressed to Yeltsin, expressing that concern with pointed reference to Congressman[[Larry McDonald]], passenger aboard the flight:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;From Soviet reports of the incident, please provide&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a) A list of the names of any living passengers and crew members from the airplane;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
b) A list of missing passengers and crew;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
c) A list of dead passengers and crew;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
d) A list and explanation of what happened to the bodies of any dead passengers and crew;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please provide detailed information on the fate of U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And finally, Helms would add:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. How many KAL-007 family members and crew are being held in Soviet camps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Please provide a detailed list of the camps containing live passengers and crew, together with a map showing their location[http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Concerning Stacy (3years) and Noelle (5 years) Grenfell, passengers aboard KAL 007, Senator Helms, who was on sister flight KAL 015 also on the way to Seoul, [[South Korea]] to celebrate the 30th year anniversary of the U.S. South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, would write:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I’ll never forget that night when that plane was just beside ours at Anchorage airport with two little girls and their parents...I taught them, among other things, to say I love you in deaf language, and the last thing they did when they turned the corner was stick up their little hands and tell me they loved me.'' [http://www.rescue007.org/grenfells.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Summary ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms and his conservative values can be summed up in his own words: &amp;quot;Compromise, hell!&amp;quot; Helms said. &amp;quot;That's what has happened to us all down the line -- and that's the very cause of our woes.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Bibliography== &lt;br /&gt;
* CQ. &amp;quot;Helms, Jesse Alexander&amp;quot; in CQ, ''Politics in America 2002. The 107th Congress.'' (2001)&lt;br /&gt;
* Furgurson, Ernest B.  ''Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms.'' 1986. 302 pp.  &lt;br /&gt;
* Thrift, Bryan Hardin.  &amp;quot;Jesse Helms, the New Right, and American Freedom.&amp;quot;  PhD dissertation Boston U. 2005. 364 pp.  DAI 2004 65(5): 1935-1936-A. DA3132781  full text in [[ProQuest Dissertations &amp;amp; Theses]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Link William A. ''Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism'' (2008), the major scholarly biography&lt;br /&gt;
* Luebke, Paul. ''Tar Heel Politics: Myths and Realities.'' (1990) [http://www.questia.com/read/7885884 online edition]&lt;br /&gt;
* Snider, William D. ''Helms and Hunt: The North Carolina Senate Race, 1984'' (1985) [http://www.questia.com/read/94817386 online edition]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Primary sources===&lt;br /&gt;
* Helms, Jesse. ''Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir'' (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
* Helms, Jesse. &amp;quot;Saving the U.N.: A Challenge to the Next Secretary-General,&amp;quot; ''Foreign Affairs,'' September/October 1996 [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19960901facomment3388/jesse-helms/saving-the-u-n-a-challenge-to-the-next-secretary-general.html online edition]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See Also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Jesse Helms: A Tribute]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Larry McDonald]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==External Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rescue007.org/ International Committee for the Rescue of KAL 007 - for Senator Helms work on Committee for Foreign Relations in KAL 007 matters]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm Letter of Senator Helms To Boris Yeltsin requesting location and fate of Cong. [[Larry McDonald]] and rest of KAL 007 passengers]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rescue007.org/republican_staff_study.htm Complete 1991 Republican Staff Study (draft) on KAL 007 of Committee on Foreign Relations commissioned by Senator Helms]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.aim.org/aim-report/hold-russia-accountable-for-kal-007-shootdown/ Accuracy In Media report &amp;quot;Hold Russia Acountable For KAL 007 Shootdown&amp;quot;, with Jesse Helms addendum below]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helms, Jesse}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Conservatives]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Republican Party]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=J._Edgar_Hoover&amp;diff=654539</id>
		<title>J. Edgar Hoover</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=J._Edgar_Hoover&amp;diff=654539"/>
		<updated>2009-04-20T02:27:11Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;'''John Edgar Hoover''' (1895-1972) was a controversial director of the [[FBI]]. Hoover was a staunch opponent of [[Communism]], [[liberalism]], [[organized labor]], and [[homosexuals]]. Hoover served as director for 48 years until his death.  He founded the FBI's 'public enemies' program, under which such criminals as [[John Dillinger]], [[Bonnie Parker]] and [[Clyde Barrow]] were successfully caught.  He enforced [[prohibition]] when it was in effect.  At the beginning of the [[Korean War]], Hoover submitted a plan to President [[Harry Truman]] that would arrest thousands of Americans who he judged to be &amp;quot;potentially dangerous to the internal security of the country&amp;quot; due to ties to [[communism]].  They were to be detained in federal prisons or military facilities, and given hearings where they would be either detained, paroled, or released.  The hearings were to be &amp;quot;not bound by the rules of evidence&amp;quot;, although it is unclear what that meant.  The Truman administration did not follow through on Hoover's plan. Hoover also had the FBI spy on anyone who had ideas he considered to be subversive, including Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Hoover worked closely with all presidents from [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and after, keeping track of political enemies of the residents as well as threats to national security. He was especially worried about the ties of [[Martin Luther King]] to Communist leaders.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoover, J. Edgar}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Crime]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:1920s]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:New Deal]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:1950s]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:1960s]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Espionage]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Jesse_Helms&amp;diff=643177</id>
		<title>Jesse Helms</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Jesse_Helms&amp;diff=643177"/>
		<updated>2009-03-22T18:18:03Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Officeholder&lt;br /&gt;
|name=Jesse Helms&lt;br /&gt;
|image=JesseHelms.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Dorothy &amp;quot;Dot&amp;quot; Helms&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=Baptist&lt;br /&gt;
|offices=&lt;br /&gt;
	{{Officeholder/senator&lt;br /&gt;
	|state=North Carolina&lt;br /&gt;
	|terms=January 3, 1973 – January 3, 2003&lt;br /&gt;
	|preceded=B. Everett Jordan&lt;br /&gt;
	|former=y&lt;br /&gt;
	|succeeded=[[Elizabeth Dole]]&lt;br /&gt;
	}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Jesse Helms''' (born Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr., October 18, 1921, d. July 4, 2008) was a five-time [[Republican]] [[U.S. Senator|senator]] from [[North Carolina]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000463&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms, throughout his tenure as United States Senator was known for his [[conservative]] principles, including his support for a strong defense, individual rights, the oppressed, and support for freedom. Like most conservative politicians who eschew political correctness, Helms was frequently the target of mainstream [[media bias]], despite his former career in the media.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/biography.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms was a staunch advocate for equality under law, but due to his Southern background and incorrect party affiliation, his positions were misrepresented through typically biased reporting.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#handsad&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, Helms opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Larry Margasak, Jesse Helms: Polarizer, not a compromiser, Newsweek, July 5, 2008, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/144633]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms also opposed extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Reagan called Helmes a &amp;quot;lionhearted leader of a great and growing army.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/1755723/ Conservative icon Jesse Helms dead at 86]&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Frequently Helms was the target of massive, heavily funded [[liberal]] efforts to defeat him at reelection, and every time Helms crushed the liberals and won handily. In 1990, a weak election year for [[Republicans]], polls just prior to the election suggested that his [[liberal]] African American opponent Harvey Gantt would prevail. Helms ran a final advertisement that became famous as the &amp;quot;hands&amp;quot; ad, showing a white pair of hands and a voice complaining that he lost a job opportunity due to [[affirmative action]], which his opponent supported.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The voice in the ad stated, &amp;quot;You needed that job and you were the best qualified, but they had to give it to a minority because of a racial quota. Is that really fair? Harvey Gantt says it is.&amp;quot;[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241325&amp;amp;ft=1&amp;amp;f=1003]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The [[liberal]] press accused Helms of injecting race into the campaign, to which he responded:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241325&amp;amp;ft=1&amp;amp;f=1003&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Absolutely not. What am I supposed to do? Ignore everything that involves a black man? That would make me speechless in this campaign, and Mr. Gantt knows how to dish it out but he can't take it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While Helms might be called an Internationalist, his support can be understood more in terms of Western military alliances that strengthened US Security such as [[NATO]] as opposed to organizations such as the [[UN]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic1&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms died at age 86 of natural causes on the [[Fourth of July]], 2008, in [[Raleigh]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080704/ap_on_re_us/obit_helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Early Life ==&lt;br /&gt;
Helms' parents were Jesse Helms Sr., the local chief of police, and his wife Ethel Mae Helms.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
=== Education ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms attended public schools. He said this about his high school principal:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glajfJbQP2WmgGcjVzbfYrT4VKWwD91N40A80&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;If he taught us anything, he taught us that we are personally responsible and accountable. I remember that day, and always will, when he called in several from the senior class. ... He said you can make it in this country. He said it's going to take hard work. ... He said you're going to succeed. He said you'll own your own homes and you'll have two cars and all that. I thought this man had lost his mind.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms attended Wingate Junior College and Wake Forest College.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Journalist ===&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939, Helms quit Wake Forest to work as a [[journalist]] on the Raleigh News and Observer. By the age of 21 he managed one of the paper's smaller papers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During World War II, Helms served in the Navy as a recruiter. It was during his military career that he discovered his knack for broadcasting.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WRAL Radio and AA to Senator Willis Smith ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1948, became a radio news director at WRAL in Raleigh, NC. Helms reported on the heated 1950 Democratic primary for the Senate. Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. The winner of this race, Senator Willis Smith, took him to Washington as his administrative assistant a post at which he served until 1953 staying on to become Senator Alton Lennon's assistant after Smith's untimely demise.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000463&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Willis, like Helms was a conservative Southern Democrat.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Willis's defeated opponent, the liberal Frank Porter Graham was appointed by his supporter President Harry Truman as Ambassador to the United Nations.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=g000353&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms also worked on the unsuccessful Democratic primary presidential campaign of Richard B. Russell, Jr., in 1952.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Bankers Association to Capital Broadcasting ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms early work in politics lead him to become the Executive director of the North Carolina Bankers Association and later the Raleigh City Council where he opposed excessive taxation and supported limiting the growth of government.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By the mid-1960's, Helms became the executive Vice President for Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh. He directed the news operation and delivered over-the-air commentaries. Helms developed a following due to his firebrand but perceptive political commentary&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/biography.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; which often attacked the decline of morality, liberal trends in society of the time, the Federal government's dubious social engineering in the southern states and Judicial activism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Senate Career ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Democrat to Republican ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1970, Helms left the Democratic party for the Republican party, which had long been unpopular outside the Carolina mountain districts. His shift reflected the movement of young white conservatives into the GOP across the South. In 1972 he ran for the Senate as a supporter of Republican presidential candidate [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Helms faced liberal Democrat Nick Galifianakis. Helms's successful tactic was to associate Galifiankis with the highly unpopular liberal presidential candidate [[George McGovern]]. He won the Senate seat with 54% of the vote. He was reelected in 1978 (with 55%), 1984 (with 52%), 1990 (with 53%), and 1996 (with 53%). His margins were never large and his campaigns were always intensely fought. Although repeatedly targeted for defeat by national Democrats, he always pulled off narrow victories, and helped his allies win statewide office as well. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Senator No ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms' opposition to increasing the role of the federal government in the lives of every day citizens earned him the title &amp;quot;Senator No&amp;quot;. From his first term to his last Helms rejected nominations of unqualified liberal candidates, against federal spending (except millitary spending and federal aid for farmers),&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and opposed naming a holiday for Dr. [[Martin Luther King]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/04/obit.helms/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms supported and befriended qualified candidates regardless of party affiliation whom he felt would better the country, such as [[Madeline Albright]] for US Ambassador to the United Nations and later Secretary of State (ref: Madam Secretary, Madeline Albright). Helms was known for his bipartisan friendships despite ideological differences. However, Helms was broadminded and tolerant of contrary views, and unafraid to be proven in error. For instance Helms originally stood against increased funding to stop the devastation caused by [[AIDS]] in Africa. Helms change of heart on this issue in his own words: &amp;quot;It had been my feeling that AIDS was a disease largely spread by reckless and voluntary sexual and drug-abusing behavior, and that it would probably be confined to those in high risk populations. I was wrong.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Jesse Helms, ''Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir'' (2005)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Standing on principle ===&lt;br /&gt;
Helms challenged the Republican party to promote the socially and economically conservative values of the American People. Helms's conservative values won him a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union for the entire last decade he was in office and never more than 10% according to similar liberal groups. Terry O'Neill -- of the far left [[feminist]] group, the [[National Organization for Women]] -- on hearing of Helms ill health and planned retirement reacted gleefully with the statement &amp;quot;It's a very good thing for the country that he's leaving the Senate.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms stated his disbelief in the old adage that &amp;quot;morality cannot be legislated&amp;quot;. Helms took an active role in campaigning and in helping the Republican party to engage these values. First in his early work for Smith, then locally and eventually in early 1980 played a key role in helping the father of modern conservative, Ronald Reagan, win the Republican primary and take the White House back from the liberal president Jimmy Carter. Helms's political action committee spent over $4.6 million dollars to help Reagan capture the white house.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Until recently, when Helms became incapacitated, in his home state of North Carolina few Conservative Republican candidates would run for state or national office without an endorsement from Helms.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Foreign Policy ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms believed that America should stand against dictators and help bring its values of freedom and democracy to the world. This belief caused Helms to stand against &amp;quot;Most Favored Nation&amp;quot; status for China (which the Reagan and Nixon Administrations supported). At the same time, Helms stood for a strong national defense and strongly opposed Communism and would occasionally compromise on the humanitarian part of his policy when it suited those aims, such was the case in his support for the dictator Augusto Pinochet.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/principles/default.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms opposed arms control and nuclear test-ban treaties even when some of these measures were supported by Reagan himself.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Liberal opposition ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some in the liberal media have questioned Helms' integrity, largely due to his standing against Affirmative Action programs and quotas and secondly for his opposition to many liberal appointees for federal office.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic2&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Helms stated in his biography he has stood up for candidates in the jobs for which they were qualified. He has opposed liberal and unqualified candidates in posts for which they were not qualified. The record shows Helms enthusiastically supported African American candidates [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Colin Powell]], [[Claude Allen]], and [[Condoleezza Rice]], as well as other well qualified candidates for the positions in which they were appointed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic5&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1996, Helms caused controversy by seeming to threaten then president [[Bill Clinton]] when he said 'Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here (North Carolina). He’d better have a bodyguard'.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.bartleby.com/66/41/27741.html The Columbia World of Quotations]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Humanitarian ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jesse Helms continued to work on his humanitarian causes after leaving office until he became incapacitated. Since then others continue his work in his name. His approach encourages individual and organization charity rather than government intervention.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.jessehelmscenter.org&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Work for Americans held captive==&lt;br /&gt;
On December 5, 1991, Senator Helms wrote to Russian President Boris Yeltsin concerning U.S. servicemen who were POWs or MIAs. &amp;quot;The status of thousands and thousands of American servicemen who are held by Soviet and other Communist forces, and who were never repatriated after every major war this century, is of grave concern to the American people.&amp;quot; Yeltsin would ultimately respond with a statement made on June 15, 1992, while being interviewed aboard his presidential jet on his way to the United States, &amp;quot;Our archives have shown that it is true — some of them were transferred to the territory of the U.S.S.R. and were kept in labor camps... We can only surmise that some of them may still be alive.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
====Korean Airlines Flight 007====&lt;br /&gt;
On December 10, just five days after Senator Helms had written Yeltsin concerning American servicemen, he again wrote to Yeltsin, this time concerning KAL 007 shot down by the Soviets just west of Sakhalin Island on Sept. 1, 1983, &amp;quot;One of the greatest tragedies of the Cold War was the shoot-down of the [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] by the Armed Forces of what was then the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. . . The KAL-007 tragedy was one of the most tense incidences of the entire Cold War. However, now that relations between our two nations have improved substantially, I believe that it is time to resolve the mysteries surrounding this event. Clearing the air on this issue could help further to improve relations [http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm].&amp;quot; Yeltsin would ultimately respond on January 8, 1992 by handing over to the International Civil Aviation Organization what the Russians had for so many years denied possessing: the tapes of the KAL 007's &amp;quot;Black Box&amp;quot; (its Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder). With the return of the tapes, Yeltsin would hand over the real-time Soviet military communications of the shootdown requested by Helms, reopening the question about the fate of KAL 007 and its passengers (See [[KAL 007: Timeline of Interception and Shootdown]] for the reconstruction of KAL 007's flight after the attack based on these military communications)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms on various occasions expressed pointed concern for the fate of the passengers of KAL 007. Here are the interrogaties he had addressed to Yeltsin, expressing that concern with pointed reference to Congressman[[Larry McDonald]], passenger aboard the flight:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;From Soviet reports of the incident, please provide&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a) A list of the names of any living passengers and crew members from the airplane;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
b) A list of missing passengers and crew;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
c) A list of dead passengers and crew;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
d) A list and explanation of what happened to the bodies of any dead passengers and crew;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please provide detailed information on the fate of U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And finally, Helms would add:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. How many KAL-007 family members and crew are being held in Soviet camps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Please provide a detailed list of the camps containing live passengers and crew, together with a map showing their location[http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Concerning Stacy (3years) and Noelle (5 years) Grenfell, passengers aboard KAL 007, Senator Helms, who was on sister flight KAL 015 also on the way to Seoul, [[South Korea]] to celebrate the 30th year anniversary of the U.S. South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, would write:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I’ll never forget that night when that plane was just beside ours at Anchorage airport with two little girls and their parents...I taught them, among other things, to say I love you in deaf language, and the last thing they did when they turned the corner was stick up their little hands and tell me they loved me.'' [http://www.rescue007.org/grenfells.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Summary ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Helms and his conservative values can be summed up in his own words: &amp;quot;Compromise, hell!&amp;quot; Helms said. &amp;quot;That's what has happened to us all down the line -- and that's the very cause of our woes.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Bibliography== &lt;br /&gt;
* CQ. &amp;quot;Helms, Jesse Alexander&amp;quot; in CQ, ''Politics in America 2002. The 107th Congress.'' (2001)&lt;br /&gt;
* Furgurson, Ernest B.  ''Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms.'' 1986. 302 pp.  &lt;br /&gt;
* Thrift, Bryan Hardin.  &amp;quot;Jesse Helms, the New Right, and American Freedom.&amp;quot;  PhD dissertation Boston U. 2005. 364 pp.  DAI 2004 65(5): 1935-1936-A. DA3132781  full text in [[ProQuest Dissertations &amp;amp; Theses]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Link William A. ''Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism'' (2008), the major scholarly biography&lt;br /&gt;
* Luebke, Paul. ''Tar Heel Politics: Myths and Realities.'' (1990) [http://www.questia.com/read/7885884 online edition]&lt;br /&gt;
* Snider, William D. ''Helms and Hunt: The North Carolina Senate Race, 1984'' (1985) [http://www.questia.com/read/94817386 online edition]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Primary sources===&lt;br /&gt;
* Helms, Jesse. ''Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir'' (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
* Helms, Jesse. &amp;quot;Saving the U.N.: A Challenge to the Next Secretary-General,&amp;quot; ''Foreign Affairs,'' September/October 1996 [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19960901facomment3388/jesse-helms/saving-the-u-n-a-challenge-to-the-next-secretary-general.html online edition]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See Also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Jesse Helms: A Tribute]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Larry McDonald]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==External Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rescue007.org/ International Committee for the Rescue of KAL 007 - for Senator Helms work on Committee for Foreign Relations in KAL 007 matters]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm Letter of Senator Helms To Boris Yeltsin requesting location and fate of Cong. [[Larry McDonald]] and rest of KAL 007 passengers]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.rescue007.org/republican_staff_study.htm Complete 1991 Republican Staff Study (draft) on KAL 007 of Committee on Foreign Relations commissioned by Senator Helms]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.aim.org/aim-report/hold-russia-accountable-for-kal-007-shootdown/ Accuracy In Media report &amp;quot;Hold Russia Acountable For KAL 007 Shootdown&amp;quot;, with Jesse Helms addendum below]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helms, Jesse}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Conservatives]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Republican Party]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=643172</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=643172"/>
		<updated>2009-03-22T18:06:50Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Unsupported attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*In 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*The sculptor Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book. 'Were I wrong,' he said, 'one professor would have been enough.' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launched the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent with Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executor of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intelligence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archived in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Unsupported attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of light]] is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not invent the term &amp;quot;relativity theory&amp;quot;, and did not even like the term. He called it the &amp;quot;so-called relativity theory&amp;quot; until 1911. Einstein did not banish the ether from Physics. In a 1920 lecture, he said, &amp;quot;More careful reflection teaches us, however, that the special theory of relativity does not compel us to deny æther.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Quoted by Tulane astrophysicist Frank J. Tipler, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1271310&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. &lt;br /&gt;
However, Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; equation is popular. &lt;br /&gt;
According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==External Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/E=mc2.shtml Relativity Calculator - e=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; derivation]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=636985</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=636985"/>
		<updated>2009-03-09T21:53:23Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Unsupported attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*In 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*The sculptor Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book. 'Were I wrong,' he said, 'one professor would have been enough.' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launched the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent with Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executor of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intelligence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archived in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Unsupported attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of light]] is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not invent the term &amp;quot;relativity theory&amp;quot;, and did not even like the term. He called it the &amp;quot;so-called relativity theory&amp;quot; until 1911. Einstein did not banish the ether from Physics. In a 1920 lecture, he said, &amp;quot;More careful reflection teaches us, however, that the special theory of relativity does not compel us to deny æther.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Quoted by Tulane astrophysicist Frank J. Tipler, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1271310&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. &lt;br /&gt;
However, Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; equation was  popular. &lt;br /&gt;
According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==External Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/E=mc2.shtml Relativity Calculator - e=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; derivation]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=576866</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=576866"/>
		<updated>2008-12-03T23:36:14Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King famously called on America to live out the full meaning of its creed, including a declaration that all men are created equal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In addition to ending segregation and protecting voting rights, the Civil Rights era also led to [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]]. However, America is more of a democracy than before the Civil Rights Movement.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fred Shuttlesworth]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ralph Abernathy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John Lewis]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[James Meredith]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=561150</id>
		<title>Barack Hussein Obama</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=561150"/>
		<updated>2008-11-18T04:38:02Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: to be widely claimed???&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|President-Elect Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Barack Hussein Obama II''' (born in Honolulu,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.kitv.com/politics/17860890/detail.html?rss=hon&amp;amp;psp=news KITV Honolulu report]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; August 4, 1961) is the [[Democratic party|Democratic]] junior [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] (2004 - present) and President-elect of the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_wins_presidency/2008/11/04/147788.html?utm_medium=RSS]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; On November 4, Obama and his running mate [[Senator Joseph Biden]] won the presidency after twenty-three months of campaigning, raising and spending an unprecedented $650 million, most of which came from anonymous donors never disclosed by the Obama campaign.  President-elect Obama will become the [[President]] and sworn into office at his inauguration on [[January]] 20, 2009. It has been claimed that he is a [[Muslim]], and he could possibly be sworn in using the Koran.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Christian Science Monitor, ''At swearing in, congressman [Keith Ellison, D Minnesota, who is a Muslim] wants to carry Koran. Outrage ensues.'', by Jane Lampman, December 07, 2006, retrieved on 10/16/2008  [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1207/p01s03-uspo.html]&amp;quot;In Congress, newly elected representatives do not put their left hands on any book. They raise their right hands, and are sworn in together as the speaker of the House administers the oath of office. Some do carry a book, according to House historians, and some choose to photograph a private swearing-in afterward with their hand on the Bible.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has espoused the socialist idea of &amp;quot;spreading the wealth,&amp;quot; in other words raising the tax rates on business and the wealthy to a burdensome level in order to redistribute their income to low income individuals, many of whom don't currently pay income taxes.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;To which John McCain replied &amp;quot;He's running for Redistributor In Chief, I'm running for Commander In Chief.&amp;quot;[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/31/mccain-hungry-upset-obama-eyes-landslide/ McCain Attacks Obama's Faith in Americans] Fox News, 10-31-2008.  The slogan &amp;quot;from each according to their ability to each according to their need&amp;quot; is an idea originally proposed by [[Karl Marx]] and could be the inspiration for the centrally planned economy Obama plans to introduce to the US when he is installed into office.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; His health care plan forces employers to purchase health care or pay a fine and will force many into a poorly run single payer system.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The socialization of health care will force taxpayers to pay for healthcare for those who refuse to or can not afford to purchase it themselves.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; To announce his trip to [[Berlin]] in July 2008, Obama used posters which show a marked similarity to posters of [[Lenin]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://andrightlyso.com/2008/07/24/obama-lenin-gaffe/ Obama's direct copy of a Lenin poster for his Berlin visit]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   During Obama's youth in Hawaii, he developed a strong, almost Father/Son relationship with Frank Marshall Davis, a known Communist&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.aim.org/aim-report/is-barack-obama-a-marxist-mole/ &amp;quot;Is Barack Obama a Marxist Mole?&amp;quot;, Accuracy in Media.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.   For these reasons and others, he is generally considered to hold Marxist/Socialist views - views directly contrary to those of most Americans.   And it is because of these beliefs that he has kept hidden from the view of the general public that many are suspicious of his agenda for the future of the US.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]]. [http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Obama_doesnt_put_hand_over_heart_1022.html See Video] ]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The October 2008 crimes against Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson's family highlight Obama's record against law and order, as he voted against making it a crime in Illinois &amp;quot;for convicts on probation or on bail to have contact with a street gang&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The person of interest in the murders of Hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew is the estranged husband of Hudson's sister and a convicted felon who had violated his parole conditions.[http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-julian-king-autopsy-1029,0,2752431.story]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &amp;quot;'We've got 75,000 gang members - that's almost six gang members to one police officer,'&amp;quot; in Obama's hometown of Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;More people have been murdered in Chicago this year than in New York - even though New York's population is three times greater. When Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were killed last month, they pushed the city's homicide total for the year to 436 and counting. New York has had 430 homicides.&amp;quot; [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/01/2008-11-01_chicago_buried_in_murders.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is the first person having ties to a known former terrorist to gain control over America's nuclear weapons.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/26/obama-associate-bill-ayers-unrepentant-for-acts-of-terror/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Author and blogger Jack Cashill requisitioned a comparison of the writing style of Bill Ayers' 2001 memoir, ''Fugitive Days'', with Barack Obama's earlier 1995 book, ''Dreams From My Father'', and came to the conclusion that Ayres may have ghostwritten Dreams.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;www.cashill.com, ''Who Wrote “Dreams From My Father&amp;quot;?'', by Jack Cashill, October 9, 2008, retrieved on 10/16/2008 [http://www.cashill.com/natl_general/who_wrote_dreams_from.htm] Cashill states that a computer comparison of Obama's so-called autobiography with that of the terrorist Bill Ayers, supports the theory that Ayers actually wrote parts of Obama's book; also he wrote &amp;quot;None of this, of course, proves Ayers’ authorship conclusively, but the evidence makes him a much more likely candidate than Obama to have written the best parts of Dreams&amp;quot;. &amp;quot;In assessing the signature of sample passages from Dreams,&amp;quot; the experienced analyst found &amp;quot;a very strong match to all of the Ayers samples&amp;quot; that he processed.  He did not address the possibility that Ayers had plagiarized from Obama's earlier book.  A philosophy professor from England disagreed.[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;amp;pageId=77815]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Ayers admitted that he was &amp;quot;guilty as hell&amp;quot; in planting bombs in the 1970s, and that he has no regrets and felt he &amp;quot;should have done more.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Bill Ayers is also an admitted atheist.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, where Obama received his Democratic Party nomination, recently criticized Obama as the &amp;quot;most committed&amp;quot; [[abortion]]-supporting candidate &amp;quot;since the ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' abortion decision in 1973.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14088&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama said &amp;quot;the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  That bill &amp;quot;would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Indeed, Obama was upset with the decision of the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] not to strike down the law passed by the [[United States Congress]] to prohibit partial-birth abortion, believing that partial-birth abortion is guaranteed right of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] and that there should be no ability to legislate against it. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doctors from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons have stated that Obama uses techniques of mind control in his speeches and campaign symbols.  For example, one speech declared, &amp;quot;a light will shine down from somewhere, it will light upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will say to yourself, 'I have to vote for Barack.'&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;mind control&amp;quot;&amp;gt;http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/0089 .  The doctors observe that &amp;quot;Obama's logo is noteworthy. It is always there, a small one in the middle of the podium, providing a point of visual fixation ... [that] resembles a crystal ball, a favorite of hypnotists.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama will likely be the first Muslim President==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:OBAMA MUSULMAN.jpg|thumb|President-Elect Obama wearing traditional African garb, a gift from his hosts while visiting Kenya&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-wore-muslim-gear-during-kenya-trip]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;]]&lt;br /&gt;
The evidence that Obama is a Muslim includes:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's background, education, and outlook are [[Muslim]], and fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17736/barack-obama-2&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm.  During the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class, according to the LATimes. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.obama16mar16,0,1634059,print.story?coll=bal_news_nation_promo Campaign downplays his connection during boyhood in Indonesia, Baltimore Sun, March 16, 2007]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's middle name (Hussein) references '''Husayn''', who was the grandson of [[Muhammad]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Oxford Dictionary of First Names, 2nd edition (2007).[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277459/al-Husayn-ibn-Ali].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, which most Christians would not retain. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Only after Obama became politically ambitious did he declare himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] name &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot; with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion.  For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to &amp;quot;Paul&amp;quot;; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Muslim name of [[Muhammad Ali]].  &amp;quot;It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion&amp;quot;[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama recently referred to his &amp;quot;Muslim faith.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama declared, &amp;quot;John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.&amp;quot;[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqIpdBOg6I]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is &amp;quot;one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset,&amp;quot; and recited &amp;quot;with a first-class [[Arabic]] accent&amp;quot; the opening lines: Allah is Supreme! ... I witness that there is no god but Allah ....&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=78309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama stated that the autobiography of Malcolm X, a Nation of Islam leader who became a Muslim, inspired him in his youth.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Obama writes in his own autobiography, &amp;quot;Only Malcolm X's autobiography seemed to offer something different. His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me. The blunt poetry of his words, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will. ... [E]ven as I imagine myself following Malcolm's call, one line in the book stayed with me. He spoke of a wish he'd once had, the wish that the white blood that ran through him, there by an act of violence, might somehow be expunged.&amp;quot;[http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/does_obama_know_america.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama raised nearly $1 million and campaigned for a [[Kenyan]] presidential candidate who had a written agreement with [[Muslim]] leaders promising to convert Kenya to an Islamic state that bans Christianity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;amp;pageId=78324] Text of the agreement, as three images: [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;amp;pageId=78323]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*On the campaign trail, Obama was reading &amp;quot;The Post-American World&amp;quot; by Fareed Zakaria,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=fa8cf1bf-2cc8-4d6e-b72d-a07d406e19ff&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; which is written from a Muslim point-of-view.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-08-09/news/the-interpreter/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Contrary to [[Christianity]], the Islamic doctrine of [[taqiyya]] encourages adherents to deny they are Muslim if it advances the cause of Islam.&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama uses the Muslim Pakistani pronunciation for &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; rather than the common American one.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama repeatedly pronounced &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; in the first presidential debate.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
*Obama was thoroughly exposed to Christianity as an adult in Chicago prior to attending law school, yet no one at law school saw him display any interest in converting. Obama unabashedly explained how he became &amp;quot;churched&amp;quot; in a 2007 speech: &amp;quot;It's around that time [while working as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in Chicago] that some pastors I was working with came around and asked if I was a member of a church. 'If you're organizing churches,' they said, 'it might be helpful if you went to a church once in a while.' And I thought, 'I guess that makes sense.'&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=15363 Obama, ACORN, and the churches] SperoNews, October 7, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama is mentioned as helping to organize the 1995 million man march led by black [[Muslim]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]] from the [[Nation of Islam]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9291850 Louis Farrakhan Biography] Biography.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama has chosen the [[Secret Service]] code name &amp;quot;Renegade&amp;quot;.  &amp;quot;Renegade&amp;quot; conventionally describes someone who goes against normal conventions of behavior, but its first usage was to describe someone who has turned from their religion. It is a word derived from the [[Spanish]] ''renegado'', meaning &amp;quot;Christian turned Muslim.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/3452281/Renegade-and-Renaissance-Obama-to-replace-Trailblazer-and-Tempo-Bush-in-the-White-House.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama tries to downplay his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a &amp;quot;confirmed [[atheist]]&amp;quot; before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics, or non-religious.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991, nor of Barack Obama's joining of a Mosque (The Islamic house of worship) at any time in his life.  Finally, Obama abruptly left his radical Christian church in Chicago in 2008, when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join. Obama was sworn into the US senate on a [[Bible]].&lt;br /&gt;
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__TOC__ &amp;lt;!--Do not remove this. We want to keep the insights on the first screen of viewing--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Elitism==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has consistently shown himself to be an elitist who looks down on &amp;quot;ordinary&amp;quot; Americans.  Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied &amp;quot;it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama did not recount his statement but instead replied, I &amp;quot;didn't say it as well as I should have.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Although many rural counties went for McCain, Obama carried the state with 54.6% of the vote, compared to 44.3% for John McCain.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&amp;amp;ElectionID=28&amp;amp;OfficeID=1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an attempt counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he &amp;quot;worked his way through college and Harvard Law.&amp;quot; This claim is at best an exaggeration, as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The Daily Standard, ''Obama Unplugged Lost without a Teleprompter'', by Dean Barnett, 02/12/2008[http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;This was first displayed in the Saddleback Forum, and has occurred subsequently also.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; His most recent debate performances illustrate that he may have been extensively coached over the course of 2008, although he still repeatedly fumbles at moments where he moves off his memorized remarks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Insights==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, &amp;quot;Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams from My Father'', Obama admitted using illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as &amp;quot;blow&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;pot&amp;quot; respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before claiming to choose a different path in life.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.&lt;br /&gt;
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In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him.  In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians.&amp;quot; [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama said that &amp;quot;[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.&amp;quot;  In fact, Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma march took place in 1965.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as &amp;quot;the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In his famous 2002 speech&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; at an anti-war rally, Obama said that he was against &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot; and expressed some reservations about the Iraq War because he disagrees with the ideological agendas of the Bush administration, but he did not explicitly oppose the war. In his 2004 Democrat Convention speech, Obama said that he did not know how he would have voted on the Iraq War.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's campaign &amp;quot;is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for President of the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;  [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Charitable Giving==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the years 2000 through 2004, before becoming a United States Senator and being in the public spotlight, Obama gave 1% of his earnings to charity even though he made $250,000 per year.  Since becoming a national figure, that amount has jumped to 6%.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://patterico.com/2008/10/31/obama-and-bidens-charitable-giving-they-dont-want-to-spread-their-own-wealth-around/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama's small donations are consistent with atheism and were perhaps influenced by his nonbelieving mother.  According to a study by the Barna Group, atheists give less per capita in donations than religious Americans &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&amp;amp;BarnaUpdateID=272 The Barna Update, 2007&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Aunt is in the United States Illegally==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the end of October 2008 it came to light that Obama's aunt is in the United States illegally and has been since 2004 when her request for asylum was turned down.  She has been living in public tax payer funded housing in Boston. This may have some bearing on Obama's immigration policy given that a member of his own family is in violation of current US immigration law. There are also questions about how much Obama knew about this.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27481680 Obama's Aunt Living in US Illegally]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The Obama campaign issued a statement to the effect that they had no knowledge of this situation and returned the donation she made to his campaign; in the United states it is illegal to accept campaign contributions from people who are not currently citizens or legal residents of the united states. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/obama.aunt/index.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Statements==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has been noted by several independent sources as misquoting historical events and statements by famous persons. A notable example came after Obama's win in the [[North Carolina]] democratic primary. Obama was quoted as saying, &amp;quot;I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies as Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did.&amp;quot; (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt spoke with none of the [[Axis]] or [[Japanese]] leaders and the the only communication that was sent to them was unconditional surrender. (President) [[Harry Truman]] took over for FDR and continued his unconditional surrender philosophy as well as ending [[World War II]] with an atomic bomb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/obama_needs_to_study_history_b.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life and education==&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Hussein Obama II claims to have been born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961, but there is evidence that he may have actually been born in Kenya. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years.  Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. His days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays were spent praying in a Mosque with his stepfather. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/pipes_obama_muslim/2008/10/09/138898.html Obama 'Lying' About Muslim Past, Expert Says] NewsMax, October 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For college, Obama initially attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science.  Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School.  He became a member of the ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&amp;amp;scp=3&amp;amp;sq=Obama%201990&amp;amp;st=cse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Legal career==&lt;br /&gt;
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill &amp;amp; Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today.  During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education.  ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Senate career==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.  Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004.  Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].&lt;br /&gt;
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A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and 16th most liberal in 2005.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published.  Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that &amp;quot;racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run ....  We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics.  ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&amp;amp;oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a &amp;quot;new strategy&amp;quot; in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&amp;amp;page=NewsArticle&amp;amp;id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a Fox News report on October 5th, Obama has taken more than $126,000. in campaign contribution from [[Fannie Mae]] in a little over three years. This ranks him second, only Chris Dodd has received more campaign contribution dollars from Fannie Mae.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Bills co-sponsored ===&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://thomas.loc.gov/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.  This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website&amp;lt;obamasenate2010.gov&amp;gt; is now defunct.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Presidential campaign==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama began his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois.  His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future.  It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html &amp;quot;Obama declares he's running for President&amp;quot;] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general.  Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million from over 100,000 contributors.  $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an &amp;quot;articulate&amp;quot; spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Chicago Sun-Times, &lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet, &lt;br /&gt;
April 29, 2007,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In reality, the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Speaking regarding his knowledge of the Afghanistan conflict, Obama points the finger at U.S. troops and American policy &amp;quot;...just airraiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293365,00.html Barack Obama Caught on Tape Accusing U.S. Troops of 'Killing Civilians'] Fox News, August 15, 2007&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrW4fOGIMVY See Video]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing.  After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted.  First, Obama said he would have face-to-face meetings with two of Florida's most feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]].  Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions.  Then Obama claimed that he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation.  Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era.  The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the Presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, and went on to become the unofficial Democratic nominee.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At a campaign event in Elkhart, Indiana, a seven-year-old girl asked Barack Obama why he wants to be President. He replies, &lt;br /&gt;
'''&amp;quot;America is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children.&amp;quot;''' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/09/mostly-mia-obamas-downer-america-delivered-7-year-old Media Mostly MIA on Obama's 'America No Longer What It Once Was' Downer Delivered to 7 Year-Old] Newsbusters.org, August 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Healthcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. &amp;quot;Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On June 6th, an [[AP]] article &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&amp;amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; presented the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama visited U.S. troops in Iraq in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops in Iraq]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and in Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2008&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops and officials in Afghanistan and Kuwait]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's tax plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, while cutting taxes for the middle class.  According to the non-partisan [[Tax Policy Center]], most Americans would pay less taxes than under Senator McCain's plan.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749 An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Updated September 12, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to another non-partisan group, Americans for Tax Reform, tax-payers would clearly be burdened by an Obama Presidency.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.atr.org/content/html/2008/june/0616-obama_mccaintaxes.html McCain vs. Obama on Taxes] Americans For Tax Reform, June 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Campaign financing=== &lt;br /&gt;
Obama is the first presidential candidate to reject public financing. He broke his promise to accept it in the hope that his powerful fund-raising machine would generate far more money than the $84.1 million McCain is getting in public funding. Indeed, on August 14th, the Obama campaign announced it had received donations from 2 million individuals, setting new records. Obama raised $272 million for the primaries and expects to raise $300 million for the general election. However the Republican National Committee has been raising much more than the Democratic National Committee and each candidate had about $100 million in cash on September 1. Each expects to spend about $300 million by November. However, Obama is obliged to devote much of his time to fund raising among supporters rather than campaigning among undecided voters.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; see [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/09/was-obama-right-to-opt-out-of-public-financing.aspx Andrew Romano, &amp;quot;Was Obama Right to Opt Out of Public Financing?,&amp;quot; ''Newsweek'' (Sept. 9, 2008) online]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Among his backers is homosexual pornography baron [[Terrence Bean]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Secrecy=== &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Democratic party feels it necessary to keep all questions about Obama at a safe distance. It is an unprecedented move to keep secrets about a presidential candidate. The following questions remain sealed from the public. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-sent-obama-why-has-he-refused-to.html Who sent Obama? Why has he refused to release these basic documents?] ObamaWTF.blogspot.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Certified Copy of original Birth certificate(see certificate controversy below)&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia Thesis paper&lt;br /&gt;
# Campaign donor analysis requested by 7 major watchdog groups&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Harvard]] College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Illinois State Senate records&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Illinois]] State Senate schedule&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Law]] practice client list and billing records/summary&lt;br /&gt;
# Locations and names of all half-siblings and step-mothers&lt;br /&gt;
# Medical records (only the one page summary released so far)&lt;br /&gt;
# Occidental College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Parent's [[Marriage]] Certificate&lt;br /&gt;
# Record of baptism&lt;br /&gt;
# Selective Service Registration&lt;br /&gt;
# Trips schedules for trips outside of the United States before 2007&lt;br /&gt;
# Scholarly articles&lt;br /&gt;
# Access to his Grandmother (Obama's Grandmother has since passed away from cancer [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g3m4YaeYwDHXS6hHdZJi8pm6cZdAD947RJKO0])&lt;br /&gt;
# List of all campaign workers that are lobbyists&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama keeps donations secret by exploiting a loophole that allows campaigns to refuse to divulge donations under $200.00. This is useful to the candidate because many of his contributions are from dubious foreign or illegal sources. It is described as the &amp;quot;largest pool of unidentified money that has ever flooded into the U.S. election system, before or after the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms of 2002.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/Obama_fundraising_illegal/2008/09/29/135718.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Tone===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many observers have criticized Obama's campaign for its incivility. For instance, John McCain's wife Cindy noted that Obama is running &amp;quot;the dirtiest campaign in American history.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's smears usually fall into two categories: race-baiting and distortions. On October 10, 2008, Obama surrogate Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) typified the campaign by comparing Sen. McCain to racial segregationists and Klansmen. &amp;quot;Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division,&amp;quot; Lewis exclaimed before comparing Sen. McCain to segregationist Democrat George Wallace, further noting that he, &amp;quot;...never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged [the attacks in which] four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/11/mccain.lewis/index.html?eref=rss_politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; This is particularly harsh to Sen. McCain because he fondly admires Lewis. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.rickwarrennews.com/transcript/civil_forum_transcript-04.txt&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As for the distortions and personal attacks, Obama mocks Sen. McCain's for his age and Gov. Palin for being a woman and outsider. For instance, Obama responded with a subtle reference to Alzheimer's disease when Sen. McCain criticized his foreign policy in May 2008, alleging that Sen. McCain &amp;quot;lost his bearings&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Obama_McCain_offensive_losing_his_bearings.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Senior Adviser Mark Salter noted, &amp;quot;He used the words 'losing his bearings' intentionally, a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue. This is typical of the Obama style of campaigning.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/salter_obama_attacked_mccains.php&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. In reference to Gov. Palin, Obama was caught for his quiet hiring of Winner &amp;amp; Associates to disseminate a sexist smear video against her. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194057.php&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Some argue this is a FEC violation because it lacked obligatory label denoting it was sponsored by the Obama Campaign. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://eclipseweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/vicious-anti-sarah-palin-smear-campaign.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; One of the biggest distortions by Obama is that 95% of all taxpayers will get a tax cut. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385651698727257.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama's 95% Illusion] Wall Steet Journal, October 13, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Without the distortion, Obama is proposing income re-distribution because those families that pay no taxes, one-third, will get money from the wealthy top 5%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Another feature of the Obama campaign is the unruly audience. CNN reported in October of 2008 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,3565842635.aspx&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, that people are calling John McCain a terrorist at these events. According to Sen. McCain, &amp;quot;I've heard the [label terrorist], unfortunately, at Senator Obama's rallies being said about me. There's always a fringe element.&amp;quot; Other eyewitness reports are harsher &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://theinvigilator.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-front-of-disgust.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Election==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama won the 2008 Presidential election, with over 52% of the popular vote.  He carried every state that [[John Kerry]] won in 2004, in addition to Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, and Indiana. Of the 127 million votes cast, Obama beat John McCain by 8 million total votes.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [http://images.newsmax.com/misc/2008_Election_Map.jpg See county breakdown map] &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[www.cnn.com/election]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Positions and Qualifications ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is [[pro-abortion]].  The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the  mother's womb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|&amp;quot;If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.&amp;quot;}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|175px|thumb|right|[[Weather Underground]] co-founder Bill Ayers&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; stomps on the American flag in this 2001 pose for Chicago Magazine.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama, having been asked about his associations with [[William Ayers]], an unrepentant [[terrorist]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own.  Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]], hosted a fundraiser for Obama in their home in 1995 at the start of Obama's political career. Obama compares his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take &amp;quot;extreme&amp;quot; positions or would use terrorist tactics.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has no military or executive experience and little foreign policy experience.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ...  Mr. Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman.&amp;quot;[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site &amp;quot;MoveOn.org&amp;quot; for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise Hillary Clinton refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   &lt;br /&gt;
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He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]].  Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that &amp;quot;Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe, for whom Obama worked as a research assistant, wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama's &amp;quot;research&amp;quot; for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the [[Constitution]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the &amp;quot;best student I ever had&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;most exciting research assistant.&amp;quot; [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Throughout his career, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in a transparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office.  In example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted &amp;quot;present&amp;quot; rather than &amp;quot;aye&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;nay&amp;quot; nearly an astounding 130 times.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed.  A newspaper that favored Obama  took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]].  &amp;quot;Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ...  The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;  The [[New York Times]] noted that &amp;quot;Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&amp;amp;ex=1358485200&amp;amp;en=bb179297e5f61acb&amp;amp;ei=5090&amp;amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;amp;emc=rss&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut,&amp;quot; the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama often makes reference to his &amp;quot;two decades of experience&amp;quot; in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book, or organizing community events.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Political views ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's political views have been subjected to controversy even before he put himself forward as a presidential candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist&amp;quot;.]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David Kopel, &amp;quot;The Democrats and Gun Control,&amp;quot; Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he &amp;quot;never saw or approved the questionnaire,&amp;quot; and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.&lt;br /&gt;
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After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has said, &amp;quot;Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as &amp;quot;an age-appropriate manner&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten.&amp;quot; [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama, in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way.  In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot;. At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama, has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraeus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him [[George W. Bush|President George Bush]] or even Mr. George Bush. Obama has also disrespectfully called him 'George Bush'.  Oddly, when Bill Clinton spoke with Obama on September 11th, 2008 predicting he would win handily, Obama responded, &amp;quot;There you go, you can take it from the President of the United States.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/campaign.wrap/index.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  It appears Obama will use the term for a former President, but will not do the same for the actual President. Examples of Obama's treatment of our current President: &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy,&amp;quot; Obama said &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies,&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mcca)n/]`Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to &amp;quot;John McCain's President, George W. Bush&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_mccain/2008/08/18/122924.html No More Hugs: Obama Tears Into McCain] AP, August 18, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Side note, George W. Bush is also Barack Obama's President.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Foreign policy experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
In his presidential campaign, Obama stated&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; that &amp;quot;foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident&amp;quot; and then cited &amp;quot;having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa&amp;quot;. He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other children in Africa.&lt;br /&gt;
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While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Religious affiliations==&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and his wife (raised a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.tucc.org/about.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in Chicago. The church embraces [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons. &lt;br /&gt;
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blamed the media &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, stating “It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...&amp;quot;, and called Wright's rhetoric &amp;quot;&amp;quot;a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in the truth.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;USA TODAY, ''Obama breaks with former pastor, Candidate cites rants on U.S. role in terror, AIDS'', by Kathy Kiely and David Jackson [http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080430/1a_offlede30_dom.art.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Obama Says He Is Outraged By Wright's &amp;quot;Rants&amp;quot;''[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080430.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements &amp;quot;G-d damn America&amp;quot; and describing the September 11th attacks, he said &amp;quot;We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying &amp;quot;We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside.&amp;quot;}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.  &lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.&lt;br /&gt;
  &lt;br /&gt;
And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Books ==&lt;br /&gt;
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* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama and, allegedly, William Ayers) ISBN 0307383415&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama) ISBN 0307455874&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak) ISBN 0786720573&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso) ISBN 1596985666 &lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi) ISBN 1416598065 &lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler) ISBN 0936783591 &lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin) ISBN 0965781240 &lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary) ISBN 1935071025&lt;br /&gt;
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==Published criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who made a racially insensitive remark&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, &amp;quot;The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as &amp;quot;miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of &amp;quot;mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners&amp;quot; on the campaign trail.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set &amp;quot;an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Birth Certificate Controversy===&lt;br /&gt;
During  the democratic primaries the Clinton Campaign lead a smear campaign against the validity of Barrack Obama's Hawaii Birth cirtificate, claiming that it is false and that he is intelligible for Presidency. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as &lt;br /&gt;
authentic.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, some analysts claim that the birth certificate is false.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The site stated, &amp;quot;FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship.&amp;quot;  In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number.  The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/obama-was-born-in-hawaii-wrong-can-of-worms/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls &amp;quot;dual loyalties&amp;quot; due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. The &amp;quot;dual loyalties&amp;quot; which have not been shown to exist do not violate any constitutional or legal precedents and would make Sen. Obama a poor choice for President, not an invalid choice.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and paying a number of legal fees and taking several days out of his busy campaigning schedule the Obama campaign had the case dropped on the grounds that it lacked any supporting evidence. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://neighbors.denverpost.com/viewtopic.php?t=10815605&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The fact that Mr. Berg's dual arguments were mutually contradictory may also have contributed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The state of Hawaii announced that the document is legitimate and official. Since the state of Hawaii is the issuing body they have ultimate authority with regards to the matter.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081031/BREAKING01/81031064/0/BREAKING04&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; If states are no longer regarded as a valid authority on citizenship of those born within them then no one is eligible for President because no one can prove that they are natural born citizens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous &amp;quot;Breaking News&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[The Honorable James David Manning]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[New Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&amp;amp;in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Sources==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.barackobama.com/ Offical Obama for President Website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{2008 presidential candidates}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Liberalism}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Liberals]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Muslims]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category: Socialism]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=561146</id>
		<title>Abraham Lincoln</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=561146"/>
		<updated>2008-11-18T04:27:25Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* On slavery */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=Ncoln2.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=16&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1861&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 15, 1865&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|vp=Hannibal Hamlin&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1861-1865&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1865&lt;br /&gt;
|previous=James Buchanan&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=February 12, 1809&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hardin County, Kentucky&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 15, 1865 (aged 56)&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Washington, D.C.&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Mary Todd&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Abraham Lincoln''' was the 16th [[President of the United States of America]] serving from 1861 to 1865.  He led his country through one of the darker chapters in American history; the [[American Civil War | Civil War]]. He was [[homeschooled]] and almost completely self-taught, which likely gave him independent thinking, reliance on logic, and a desire to continue to learn as an adult.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Lincoln successfully proved all of Euclid's theorems while serving in Congress.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He is considered the most eloquent writer of any American president in history thus far. He is also one of the very few whose [[faith]] developed and grew while holding high public office.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
''“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families-- second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon Counties, Illinois.”'' [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/autobiog.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin some three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.  His father was Thomas Lincoln; a descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated to Massachusetts from England some years after the [[Mayflower]] landed. Thomas was a sturdy man, committed to pioneering in the new lands of Kentucky and Indiana despite his lack of prosperity. He married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, and together they had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who did not survive infancy. Young Abraham’s earliest memories of his days in Kentucky involved helping his father plant some seeds of corn and sunflower, and a flood that washed them away.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Young abraham lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The oldest-known photograph of Lincoln, about 1847.]]&lt;br /&gt;
In December 1816 Thomas had to pack up his family and leave for southwestern Indiana to avoid a lawsuit which had threatened him with a takeover of his property. There he built what was a “half-faced” camp; a crude log structure with one side open to the elements, and there the family stayed as squatters on public land until Thomas had finished a permanent cabin, and later would buy the land outright on which it stood. Helping Thomas clear the land and plowing the fields was Abraham, who would also take care of the crops but developed a dislike for tasks which put additional food on the table, hunting and fishing. The poverty, Lincoln recalled, was “pretty pinching” at times, and by the age of nine he was a tall, lanky boy dressed rather ragged and unkempt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then the fall of 1818 brought the hardest blow: Nancy had died of the “milk sickness”, leaving Abraham without the mother whom he deeply loved. Some time later, Thomas had taken the buckboard and the mule, and left Abraham and Sarah on their own for two weeks; when he returned, he was with a new wife, Sarah Bush Johnson; she immediately made up for the absence of Nancy by replacing Abraham’s corn husk mattress with one of down, winning him over the first day.  The new step-mother treated both children with an even hand (she herself was a widow with three children, whom she had brought), but she became very fond of Abraham, and he in turn was fond of her, referring to her as his “angel mother” for the rest of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Education===&lt;br /&gt;
Both of Abraham’s parents were nearly completely illiterate, and he himself had not much more than one year of formal education.  When he did go to school, it was by “littles” – a little here, a little there – and he would call it “blab” school, which meant that they had to recite their lessons constantly due to lack of paper, pencils, and chalk.  “Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.”  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His step-mother encouraged his reading as much as possible, and although Abraham did not have access to a large number of books, he would read as much of what was there, and read voraciously. He read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, ''Aesop’s Fables'', Daniel DeFoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe'', Parson Weems's ''Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington'', Edward Gibbon’s ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', and undoubtedly he read many times the only book his family actually owned, the Bible. He would walk for miles to borrow a book he heard about, and after his chores he would collapse into a heap in front of the fire and read for hours. He would say years later that his best friend was the man who let him borrow a book he hadn’t read yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The Rail-Splitter===&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.” He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.” After a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver. (Sandburg, pg. 14) Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln hair.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Fearing that his friends wouldn't recognize him &amp;quot;without a bad tousle&amp;quot;, Lincoln messed his hair up in this picture before the photographer closed the shutter.]]&lt;br /&gt;
Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers. Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying. Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Springfield==&lt;br /&gt;
The following year he moved to the new state capital of Illinois, Springfield, becoming law partners with John T. Stuart, Stephan T. Logan, and finally William H. Herndon in 1844, who, although junior in age to Lincoln by a decade, made a good, balanced partner. Few records exist of their law business, and when they got paid for their services they split the cash, no matter who was paid. Lincoln would earn $1,200 - $1,500 annually within just a few years; by comparison circuit judges earned $750. But to earn it he kept busy and worked hard; often he would climb into his buggy and travel the circuit of neighboring counties and practice before the courts there.  And often the cases he would be involved in were petty&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Years before he had tried, and failed, to push legislation through the state assembly to have the Sangamon River made navigable to New Salem; by 1850 the railroads were bringing business and prosperity to Illinois, and Lincoln, by virtue of the ease the railroad made in traveling to his courts, profited more. He had served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad, enabling it to get a state charter; he would defend the company against McClean County’s unsuccessful efforts to tax it. He handles cases for other railroads, banks, manufacturing, and other large companies in the state; he handled some patent suits and a few criminal trials.  And he also saved the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River from demolition, when river interests demanded the bridge be taken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The moonlight murder===&lt;br /&gt;
In Lincoln’s New Salem days he was introduced to the Clary’s Grove Boys, a group of rowdy men from that nearby town would come into New Salem to bully some of the male townsfolk.  The leader of the group was Jack Armstrong, who’s challenge to wrestle the Salem men usually resulted in Armstrong throwing the unfortunate man to the ground in a very short time; when he saw Lincoln, Armstrong would dismiss the lanky young man as a pushover.  It was when they fought that Armstrong discovered just how hard it was to throw Lincoln – in fact, it was impossible.  The battle ended in a draw, and the good-natured Lincoln made a new friend.  Armstrong would later be one of the men to elect Lincoln to lead the company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1856, Jack Armstrong’s son, William (or “Duff”), was charged with murder.  A witness had claimed that he had seen Duff and another kill a New Salem man late at night by the light of full moon.  Lincoln pulled out an almanac and proved that the witness could not have seen anything at all, as the moon was at its quarter and had actually set over an hour before.  Duff was acquitted, and Lincoln won the case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and a Democrat from Tennessee, was in the White House when Lincoln first entered politics.  He shared with Jackson the sympathies for the common man, but differed in the role of government as related to it; Jackson stated the government should be separated from the economic enterprise, while Lincoln was of the view that “the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.”   Lincoln most associated himself with the Whig Party, as among their members Henry Clay and Daniel Webster both advocated a government should be encouraging business, and the development of the country to that end.  It was an easy choice for Lincoln: he saw Illinois as needing such aid to improve the development of its own economy.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
In the Illinois State Legislature Lincoln found that politics could be detrimental and harsh, as well as rewarding.  An example of the former occurred in 1836, just as he gave a speech in support of his re-election.  Democrat John Forquer, also seeking election, used his response and acid tounge to denounce him. &amp;quot;This young man needs to be taken down&amp;quot; he said, pointing to Lincoln, &amp;quot;and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me.&amp;quot; The success of Forquer's speech convinced some of Lincoln's own allies that his career was over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But when Lincoln rose to make his rebuttal, he thought of Forquer, and what he had done recently in conniving with President Jackson to change parties; in reward for doing so he was made Government Land Register with a $3,000 annual salary. Forquer was then able to construct a fine new house in Springfield, complete with a curiosity residents had heard about from science but had never seen before: a lightning rod.  Before he entered the state house building that day, Lincoln spent a few minutes at Forquer's house staring at the thing, and having heard Forquer's speech later on, he thought of what he saw.  Lincoln's reply was blistering, and sealed Forquer's fate. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Among other things he said, the gentleman commenced his speech by saying that 'this young man,' alluding to me, 'must be taken down.' I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a politician, but, live long or die young, I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God!&amp;quot;'' (Sandburg, pg.49)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also proposed state funding to construct a network of roads, railroads, and canals.  Both Whigs and Democrats would join in for the passing of this omnibus bill, but a business depression was created by the panic of 1837, and as a result most of the provisions in the bill were abandoned.  1837 was also marked by the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, a newspaperman from Alton who was killed by a mob due to his anti-slavery views.  The legislature introduced resolutions defending Southern slavery while condemning abolitionist societies, as per the U.S. Constitution.  In protest of the resolutions Lincoln, with a fellow legislator, drew up a declaration [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm] which stated that slavery was “founded on both injustice and bad policy,” while also declaring that “the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its evils.”&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lawyer Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lincoln in the late 1850's, about to debate his rival Stephen A. Douglas.]]&lt;br /&gt;
He only served one term in the United States Congress, 1847 to 1849, during which time he did little on legislative matters.  He did introduce a bill calling for a gradual emancipation of slaves within the District of Columbia, but since it hinged on the approval of the white citizens there, it only caused mild anger from abolitionists as well as slave holders, and was quietly dropped.  His one main issue was over the Mexican War, in which he condemned the American entry into it on false pretenses, particularly blaming current president James K. Polk. He worked toward the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency, and when Taylor had won, Lincoln expected to be rewarded with the job of land commissioner, but failed.  He was voted out of office by his constituents, as they felt he was too critical of the war.  Disillusioned, he left politics and reentered his law practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Return to politics==&lt;br /&gt;
He stayed out for five years, winning several cases before the courts, then in 1854 he had read in the papers that Stephan A. Douglas, his political rival and Democratic senator from Illinois, had placed before Congress a bill which would reopen the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to slavery, as well as allow settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to vote for themselves whether or not they wanted it, a concept which was called “popular sovereignty” by Douglas.  The resulting Kansas-Nebraska Act would do nothing more than provoke violent opposition; a border war would result between Kansas and Missouri as both pro and anti-slavery forces would cause much bloodshed; and voters in the Old Northwest, Illinois among them, would react vehemently against it, resulting in the destruction of the Whigs as a political party, and the birth of the Republicans, of which Lincoln quickly became a member.  The [[Dred Scott]] decision of 1856, in which a black man who sued for his freedom only to be told that he was never a citizen and had to remain a slave, only added more fuel to the fire, as the states were aligning slave versus free, North versus South. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the leading member of the Republican Party in Illinois, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in Springfield on June 16, 1858.  The acceptance speech he gave has been called the [[Lincoln's &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; Speech|House Divided]] speech, after the opening lines, which were based upon Matthew 12:25:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. &amp;quot;A house divided against itself cannot stand.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- Matthew 12:25 --&amp;gt; I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds.  Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]].  Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was &amp;quot;established upon the white basis.  It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men.&amp;quot;   (TL 1, pg 106).  Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east.  Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was &amp;quot;voted up or voted down.&amp;quot;  By his last debate, Lincoln would narrow the differences between himself and Douglas as the basic principle of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, &amp;quot;You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it.&amp;quot; No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.&amp;quot;''  [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al11.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Douglas for his part knew how formidable his foe was, and declared that if he won, “it would be a hollow victory.” He did win, retaining his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==The presidency==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and beard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Soon after his election, a little girl named Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln, telling him his face would be softened by the addition of a beard; here he just started on her advice.]]&lt;br /&gt;
:''My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' Lincoln's Farewell Speech to the citizens of Springfield, February 11, 1861.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 18, 1860 at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot.  He then set aside his law practice and gave full time to the direction of his campaign, with the object of first uniting the Republicans from anything with which the party could disagree over.  The Democrats were already divided, having nominated Douglas in Baltimore on the Northern platform of popular sovereignty, and John C. Breckenridge who was elected on a platform of states’ rights and slavery by Southern Democrats.  Lincoln won the [[United States presidential election of 1860]], winning a clear majority in popular votes as well as electoral votes, despite winning no votes in the South.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The state of South Carolina proclaimed its secession from the Union in December, 1860, soon after Lincoln’s victory.  To try to prevent other states from following, compromises were hurriedly pushed through Congress, one of which, the [[Crittenden Amendment]], guaranteed the existence of slavery in perpetuity where it already existed, and dividing the territories between slave and free; Lincoln, however, was opposed to it, as he believed that despite this slavery would still expand south of the U.S. border.  Six more states seceded, joining with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A crisis was thus forced upon Lincoln before he even entered the White House.  Fort Sumter, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, was claimed by the Confederacy and ordered to be turned over; the commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused.  Lincoln, still in Springfield, asked Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, to be prepared “to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inauguration.”&lt;br /&gt;
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On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to &amp;quot;preserve, protect, and defend it.&amp;quot;'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]&lt;br /&gt;
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However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and General P.G.T. Beauregard, believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Civil War==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Mary Todd Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mary Todd Lincoln]]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union; he would have been happy to preserve the peace as well, but he was willing to engage in a war to preserve it as well, a war he thought would be short.  After Fort Sumter he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports and called for thousands of volunteers to enlist for ninety days.  He also believed that an overland war was inevitable, and he ordered forces on a march on the Virginia front, resulting in the first great defeat for the Union at Bull Run (July 21, 1861).  Shortly afterward, Lincoln issued a set of memorandums for the military, of which his basic thought was that armies in the field must advance concurrently and on several fronts.  &lt;br /&gt;
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Finding himself as the leader of a country now at war, Lincoln used a description of himself in which he let events control him, and then react to the problem.  It was something of himself that was used with success as a politician.  In this sense he was being practical, ready to employ an action or decision which would help the cause, and ready to abandon it and use another if the first failed.  But his first insight with which he held fast to, that of taking the fight to the enemy’s army, failed many times when successive generals tried to take the fight to the enemy’s capitol and failed, or failed in following up on a rare victory.  He had George McClellan on the Peninsula, but was beaten back during the Seven Days battles.  His replacement, John Pope, lost in a repeat of Bull Run.  McClellan was back again, winning a victory at Antietam, but failed to follow through in capturing the enemy’s army afterwards.  Then Ambrose Burnside, followed by Joseph Hooker, led the Army of the Potomac to massive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, respectively.  Then George Gordon Meade was put in, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg; Meade would not finish off the enemy either.  Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commented on the frequent changes in generals.  “I’m afraid they’re going to find a general I cannot understand.”&lt;br /&gt;
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Having seen what he done at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Lincoln found the fighting general he was looking for in Ulysses S. Grant.  In March 1864 he promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Federal armies.  Grant would have his headquarters in the field with Meade’s Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George H. Thomas would each lead an army to take the fight to the enemy.  Halleck would be given a new title, chief of staff, and remain in Washington as the presidential liaison.  Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton would be responsible for the procurement of men and supplies.  By this reorganization Lincoln created the structure of the high command in which all the energies of and resources of the country were mobilized into a grand strategy for the completion of the war.  It was all the more remarkable as prior to 1861, he had no knowledge of military theory or affairs; he threw himself into studying the subject that by 1864, he was considered to be something of a military genius.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Personal life==&lt;br /&gt;
Ann Rutledge played a part in stories as being the first woman Lincoln may have fallen in love with.  However, evidence is scant, and what surviving letters and documents there are indicate they were close friends.  She died in 1835 at the age of 22, and the entire community grieved with Lincoln.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and tad.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The irrepressible Tad Lincoln, striking a typical pose next to his father, who could barely restrain a smile.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The one true love of Lincoln’s life was a well-educated woman with a quick wit, [[Mary Todd]], from a well-to-do family in Springfield.  Lincoln endured a courtship that lasted two years (and was broken once), before they were married on November 4, 1842.  Together they would have four boys: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (“Eddie”, who died at age 4), William Wallace (“Willie”), and Thomas (“Tad”).  Willie and Tad were the first children in the White House, and the halls and gardens were filled with childish romps, especially from the rambunctious, uncontrollable Tad, who once took a group of office seekers there to see the president on a trip through a confusing maze of hanging laundry; drove a herd of goats inside; got into the attic and rang the servants’ bells for hours; and succeeded in getting his doll executed for sleeping on watch.&lt;br /&gt;
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The Lincolns also had their share of quarrels, and stories passed through the years tended to exaggerate them, but existing letters between the two indicate they were like any other married couple.  They were devoted to each other’s company, and when apart they missed each other.  &amp;quot;I have fallen in love with her,&amp;quot; Lincoln would write to a friend about Mary, &amp;quot;and have never fallen out.&amp;quot;  Mary did have fits of temper and a sense of insecurity; while in the White House she had spells of simple jealousy which she staged in front of guests; sometimes the scene would be quite embarrassing.  She also rang up large bills for her personal wardrobe and redecorating the White House; Lincoln, when he found out one such bill which totaled near $20,000 and coupled with a request for Congress to appropriate the money needed to pay for it, displayed a rare occurrence of pure anger:&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;It would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had approved a bill overrunning an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs, for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets!&amp;quot;'' [http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/marytoddlincoln.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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The early deaths of Eddie in 1850 and Willie in 1863 may have played a role in Mary’s eccentricity.  Lincoln did what he could to support her, even pointing out the presence of a nearby building which housed a sanitarium, hinting that Mary could be placed there if she didn't control herself over Willie's death.&lt;br /&gt;
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==On slavery==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1841, Lincoln had a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, and he saw sitting on board another boat a group of slaves chained together.  He described the sight in a letter to Joshua Speed in 1855: “You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.”&lt;br /&gt;
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Though a gradualist, Lincoln hated slavery.  “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself,” he declared. “I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypocrites.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm] In 1855, writing to his friend Joshua Speed, he recalled a steamboat trip the two had taken on the Ohio River14 years earlier. “You may remember, as I well do,” he said, “that from Louisville [Kentucky] to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln often penned fragments on slavery.  He would begin it by starting a hypothetical vested interest in slavery, and end it with the only logical conclusion, that is was a great moral wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
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:''If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B.—why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?''&lt;br /&gt;
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:''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.'' &lt;br /&gt;
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:''You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.''&lt;br /&gt;
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:''But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.'' (Fragment on Slavery, April, 1854)&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln was elected on a platform which pledged no interference with slavery where it had already existed, and he was hesitant to adopt an abolitionist policy.  He was concerned about the reaction of the border states should such a policy be enacted.  He was concerned about four million newly-freed blacks being incorporated into the country’s social, economic, and political life.  Some individuals, such as General John C. Freemont, made it a point to proclaim freedom in districts which they had conquered; Lincoln revoked those proclamations.  In a letter to Horace Greely, Lincoln plainly stated&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln was willing to play a major part in removing slavery altogether during the war.  He first proposed an idea in which slaves were to be freed gradually by the actions of the states, with the federal government sharing the cost of compensation.  None of the border states were willing to implement it, and no prominent African-American leader was willing to see newly-freed blacks sent to Africa, as part of the idea called for.&lt;br /&gt;
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But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.&amp;quot;'' Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln, like many other people of his day, believed, at least initially, that &amp;quot;Religion is a private affair between a man and his God.&amp;quot;  Doubts about Lincoln's faith have arisen mainly because he never officially joined a church, which his political opponents used sometimes to accuse him.  He had a love of the Bible and memorized parts of the Bible, and used biblical allusions later on in political speech.  Lincoln said once that:&lt;br /&gt;
''&amp;quot;I doubt the possibility or propriety of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas.  I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms.&amp;quot;'' &lt;br /&gt;
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He also said on another occasion:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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He also made statements that suggest a strong faith, such as when his father was ill:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Tell father to remember to call upon and confide in our great, and good, and merciful Maker who will not turn away from him in any extremity.  He notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs of our heads; and he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him.  If it is to be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before; and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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Regardless of Lincoln's views on faith as a youth, it seemed to grow as President.  Lincoln penciled in &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; after &amp;quot;one nation&amp;quot; for his [[Gettysburg Address]] delivered on November 19, 1863.  The phrase &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; was not in the early drafts.  Mrs. Lincoln recalled her husband's last words just prior to his assassination in Ford's Theater: &amp;quot;He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the [[Savior]]. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-09-08&amp;amp;view=View&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In 1864, a close friend of Lincoln's, Joshua Speed, confided in Lincoln that he did not accept the Bible as true. Lincoln famously replied, &amp;quot;Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
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After Lincoln was shot at Ford's theater two clergy claimed that he had made a secret trip from Washington to be baptized.  Also a Roman Catholic Priest claimed that Lincoln received the sacrament of baptism in secret.  Neither of these claims have any proof in White House records or his personal diary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing, 2005.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Lincoln's conservatism==&lt;br /&gt;
In his [[Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech|Cooper Union Address]], Lincoln spoke of the sectionalism which was fracturing the country as a result of slavery; the Republican Party was new in 1859, and a serious threat to slavery's existence.  Lincoln and his party were called radical and destructive, but he counted himself among the earliest defenders of conservative principles, which was in essence a defense of time-honored, traditional values. Lincoln said that out of the 39 framers of the Constitution, 23 of the 39 voted on whether to prevent the spread of slavery, and that 21 of the 23 voted in favor of doing so. Lincoln therefore said that it was the pro-slavery South that was radically breaking with the tradition begun by those that created the Constitution. As Lincoln said:&lt;br /&gt;
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:''But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;&amp;quot; while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave trade; some for a Congressional Slave-Code for the Territories; some for Congress forbidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery within their limits; some for maintaining Slavery in the Territories through the judiciary; some for the &amp;quot;gur-reat pur-rinciple&amp;quot; that &amp;quot;if one man would enslave another, no third man should object,&amp;quot; fantastically called &amp;quot;Popular Sovereignty;&amp;quot; but never a man among you is in favor of federal prohibition of slavery in federal territories, according to the practice of &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live.''&lt;br /&gt;
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==Lincoln's style of writing==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lincoln in November, 1863, about to leave for Pennsylvania.  The reason for his confident look may have been within the envelope lying on the table, believed to contain his draft of the Gettysburg Address]]&lt;br /&gt;
A White House visitor, Orville Browning, told Lincoln's personal secretary John Nicolay one day that he had spoke to Lincoln sometime in 1861 on the subject of slavery; that if the right thing about slavery wasn't done, God just couldn't be on the side of the Union. Browning remembered Lincoln's reply: &amp;quot;What if the Almighty takes a different view of slavery than we do?&amp;quot;, and right then and there Browning realized that Lincoln had thought very deep on the subject, much deeper than Browning did. [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/books/wilson.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln was known to think long and deep on various topics, and often he would take notes, write them on little scraps of paper, and stuff them into his tall stovepipe hat for later use.  When it was time for use, such as his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech, he pulled them out, laid them on a table, and would commence to writing.  He would sift through the subject, adding this, removing that, and sometimes he would stand in his empty room and deliver it out loud to an imaginary audience, testing the effects of what he spoke, and altering it as needed.  According to author Garry Wills, Lincoln brought to bear the rhetorical tone of the Greek Revival and Transcendental movements, in which spoken oratory was practiced in government and on the stage.  The leading speakers of this time, and whom Lincoln looked upon, were Danial Webster and Henry Clay, both of the Senate, and Edward Everett, a speaker much in demand.&lt;br /&gt;
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The training he had given himself also enabled him to write a simple letter or a speech on the spot.  Words would flow clear when Lincoln wrote in his later years, and he didn't have to do twice one of his finest personal letters, one of consolation to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, who had lost five sons in the war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Executive Mansion,''&lt;br /&gt;
:''Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Dear Madam,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''&lt;br /&gt;
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:''Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''A. Lincoln''&lt;br /&gt;
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What many consider his masterpiece is the [[Gettysburg Address]].  Here Lincoln, going through perhaps a dozen writes and re-writes of what he had thought on the subject, entirely changed the meaning of the war itself in a mere 272 words, and in so doing, according to Wills, remaking America.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Politics in war==&lt;br /&gt;
That there had to be a certain degree of support to win the war was a given, and Lincoln strove to have unity for that effort in the North.  Politics was required, and Lincoln had a special knack for appealing to his fellows and talking to them at their own level and language.  He would smooth over lingering differences, and held the loyalty of those who were antagonistic to one another.  &lt;br /&gt;
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But the Democrats remained strong, and frequently clashed.  Its member included both war and peace Democrats; the peace side was called “Copperheads”, after the snake which strikes without warning while hidden.  Lincoln tried conciliating with both, but with the latter he had to resort to arrest at times, most famously to an Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Valandigham, who was arrested after he had repeatedly exhorted soldiers to desert.  He justified his actions on the grounds that the suspension of ''habeas corpus'' was necessary only in times of rebellion, insurrection, or when the public safety may require it, as stated in the Constitution; certainly the Civil War had met those specific conditions.  Many would dissent, and openly criticize Lincoln for arbitrarily violating the Constitution that he had sworn to preserve.  In response to the criticism in general, and the case of Valandigham in particular, Lincoln wrote:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.&amp;quot;'' [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=boolean;rgn=div1;q1=soldier;op2=and;q2=deserts;op3=and;q3=agitator;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln6;node=lincoln6%3A569]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who promised a restoration of the Union, but waffled on many of its points, even abandoning the Democratic platform of armistice and peaceful separation.  Lincoln was able to beat him in the election, assisted by the timely victories of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sherman in Georgia.  Overtures of peace from Confederates were not wholly rejected.  On February 3, 1865, Lincoln met with Confederate commissioners, among them Vice President Alexander Stephens, on a steamship in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  There would be peace, he insisted, if the South would quit the war, abandon slavery, and accept re-unification, and once these conditions were met he would gracious with pardons.  But his terms satisfied neither the Confederacy nor the Radical Republicans in Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
His postwar policy was one of compassion.  As he explained to his top leaders on board a riverboat, the City Queen, he wanted peace above all else.  His Second Inaugural Address expressed his point of healing the wounds caused by the war.&lt;br /&gt;
:''With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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When asked specifically, he related the following, according to General Sherman, one of those present:&lt;br /&gt;
:''Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation, assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over; and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and that to avoid anarchy the State governments then in existence, with their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the government de facto till Congress could provide others.'' &lt;br /&gt;
:''I know, when I left him, that I was more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march of hostile armies through the South; and that his earnest desire seemed to be to end the war speedily, without more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the men of both sections to their homes. In the language of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have &amp;quot;charity for all, malice toward none,&amp;quot; and, above all, an absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity of the armies in the field.'' [http://www.sonshi.com/sherman24.html]&lt;br /&gt;
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==Final curtain==&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln received the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, and he was called out to the balcony of the White House that night by a large crowd gathered in celebration.  When asked to make a speech, Lincoln noticed a band among them, and made an unusual request.&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General, and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
He entered Richmond the following day, to the joyous delight of free blacks, who welcomed the arrival of &amp;quot;Father Abraham&amp;quot; as they called him, and he paid a visit to the Confederate White House, and sat at the desk of Jefferson Davis.  The only thing he asked for was a glass of water.&lt;br /&gt;
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Just four days later on April 14 he attended a play at Ford's Theater.  It was called ''Our American Cousin'', with well-known stage actress Laura Keane and comedian Harry Hawke in the title role.  Unseen to the audience was another actor making his way quietly up the stairs to the president's private box, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a Southern sympathizer who had hatched a conspiracy with a few others to kill the president and other leading officials.  Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln in the head, stabbed a guest, and dropped to the stage, escaping behind the curtains.  Taken across the street to a boarding house, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was laid across a small bed in humble surroundings, similar it seemed, to where he was born.  He died at sunrise a few hours later.&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;Now he belongs to the ages&amp;quot; Edwin Stanton was heard to say.&lt;br /&gt;
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==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*McCollister, John C. ''God and the Oval Office'', W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee(2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Sandburg, Carl. ''Abraham Lincoln'', Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York (1954)&lt;br /&gt;
*Walsh, John E. ''Moonlight'', St. Martin's Press, New York (2000)&lt;br /&gt;
*Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', Simon and Schuster, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Hanchett, William. ''The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies'', University of Illinois (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
*Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln'', Jonathan Cafe (Random House), London (1995)&lt;br /&gt;
*Wills, Gary. ''Lincoln at Gettysburg: the Words that Remade America'', Simon and Schuster, New York (1992)&lt;br /&gt;
*White, Ronald C. Jr. ''The Eloquent President: A [[portraits|Portrait]] of Lincoln Through His Words'', Random House, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Carwardine, Richard. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York (2003)&lt;br /&gt;
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html Abraham Lincoln Online]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Home.aspx Lincoln Archive of original newspaper articles]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ History Place: Lincoln timeline]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm Lincoln's Home National Historic Site]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html White House site; short bio on Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=112&amp;amp;subjectID=1 Mr. Lincoln and Friends]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm Declaration against slavery, Illinois State Legislature, March 3, 1837]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm Lincoln's letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm Speech in Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;q1=erastus;q2=corning;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=ACK7441.0001.001;didno=ACK7441.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 13, 1863, in which Lincoln explains his suspention of ''habeas corpus'']&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.sonshi.com/sherman.html Memoirs of William T. Sherman ]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:DcLincMor.JPG|right|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
*[[Democracy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John F. Kennedy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Andrew Jackson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=561144</id>
		<title>Abraham Lincoln</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=561144"/>
		<updated>2008-11-18T04:27:03Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* On slavery */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=Ncoln2.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=16&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1861&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 15, 1865&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|vp=Hannibal Hamlin&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1861-1865&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1865&lt;br /&gt;
|previous=James Buchanan&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=February 12, 1809&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hardin County, Kentucky&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 15, 1865 (aged 56)&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Washington, D.C.&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Mary Todd&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Abraham Lincoln''' was the 16th [[President of the United States of America]] serving from 1861 to 1865.  He led his country through one of the darker chapters in American history; the [[American Civil War | Civil War]]. He was [[homeschooled]] and almost completely self-taught, which likely gave him independent thinking, reliance on logic, and a desire to continue to learn as an adult.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Lincoln successfully proved all of Euclid's theorems while serving in Congress.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He is considered the most eloquent writer of any American president in history thus far. He is also one of the very few whose [[faith]] developed and grew while holding high public office.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
''“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families-- second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon Counties, Illinois.”'' [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/autobiog.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin some three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.  His father was Thomas Lincoln; a descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated to Massachusetts from England some years after the [[Mayflower]] landed. Thomas was a sturdy man, committed to pioneering in the new lands of Kentucky and Indiana despite his lack of prosperity. He married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, and together they had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who did not survive infancy. Young Abraham’s earliest memories of his days in Kentucky involved helping his father plant some seeds of corn and sunflower, and a flood that washed them away.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Young abraham lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The oldest-known photograph of Lincoln, about 1847.]]&lt;br /&gt;
In December 1816 Thomas had to pack up his family and leave for southwestern Indiana to avoid a lawsuit which had threatened him with a takeover of his property. There he built what was a “half-faced” camp; a crude log structure with one side open to the elements, and there the family stayed as squatters on public land until Thomas had finished a permanent cabin, and later would buy the land outright on which it stood. Helping Thomas clear the land and plowing the fields was Abraham, who would also take care of the crops but developed a dislike for tasks which put additional food on the table, hunting and fishing. The poverty, Lincoln recalled, was “pretty pinching” at times, and by the age of nine he was a tall, lanky boy dressed rather ragged and unkempt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then the fall of 1818 brought the hardest blow: Nancy had died of the “milk sickness”, leaving Abraham without the mother whom he deeply loved. Some time later, Thomas had taken the buckboard and the mule, and left Abraham and Sarah on their own for two weeks; when he returned, he was with a new wife, Sarah Bush Johnson; she immediately made up for the absence of Nancy by replacing Abraham’s corn husk mattress with one of down, winning him over the first day.  The new step-mother treated both children with an even hand (she herself was a widow with three children, whom she had brought), but she became very fond of Abraham, and he in turn was fond of her, referring to her as his “angel mother” for the rest of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Education===&lt;br /&gt;
Both of Abraham’s parents were nearly completely illiterate, and he himself had not much more than one year of formal education.  When he did go to school, it was by “littles” – a little here, a little there – and he would call it “blab” school, which meant that they had to recite their lessons constantly due to lack of paper, pencils, and chalk.  “Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.”  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His step-mother encouraged his reading as much as possible, and although Abraham did not have access to a large number of books, he would read as much of what was there, and read voraciously. He read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, ''Aesop’s Fables'', Daniel DeFoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe'', Parson Weems's ''Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington'', Edward Gibbon’s ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', and undoubtedly he read many times the only book his family actually owned, the Bible. He would walk for miles to borrow a book he heard about, and after his chores he would collapse into a heap in front of the fire and read for hours. He would say years later that his best friend was the man who let him borrow a book he hadn’t read yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The Rail-Splitter===&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.” He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.” After a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver. (Sandburg, pg. 14) Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln hair.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Fearing that his friends wouldn't recognize him &amp;quot;without a bad tousle&amp;quot;, Lincoln messed his hair up in this picture before the photographer closed the shutter.]]&lt;br /&gt;
Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers. Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying. Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Springfield==&lt;br /&gt;
The following year he moved to the new state capital of Illinois, Springfield, becoming law partners with John T. Stuart, Stephan T. Logan, and finally William H. Herndon in 1844, who, although junior in age to Lincoln by a decade, made a good, balanced partner. Few records exist of their law business, and when they got paid for their services they split the cash, no matter who was paid. Lincoln would earn $1,200 - $1,500 annually within just a few years; by comparison circuit judges earned $750. But to earn it he kept busy and worked hard; often he would climb into his buggy and travel the circuit of neighboring counties and practice before the courts there.  And often the cases he would be involved in were petty&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Years before he had tried, and failed, to push legislation through the state assembly to have the Sangamon River made navigable to New Salem; by 1850 the railroads were bringing business and prosperity to Illinois, and Lincoln, by virtue of the ease the railroad made in traveling to his courts, profited more. He had served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad, enabling it to get a state charter; he would defend the company against McClean County’s unsuccessful efforts to tax it. He handles cases for other railroads, banks, manufacturing, and other large companies in the state; he handled some patent suits and a few criminal trials.  And he also saved the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River from demolition, when river interests demanded the bridge be taken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The moonlight murder===&lt;br /&gt;
In Lincoln’s New Salem days he was introduced to the Clary’s Grove Boys, a group of rowdy men from that nearby town would come into New Salem to bully some of the male townsfolk.  The leader of the group was Jack Armstrong, who’s challenge to wrestle the Salem men usually resulted in Armstrong throwing the unfortunate man to the ground in a very short time; when he saw Lincoln, Armstrong would dismiss the lanky young man as a pushover.  It was when they fought that Armstrong discovered just how hard it was to throw Lincoln – in fact, it was impossible.  The battle ended in a draw, and the good-natured Lincoln made a new friend.  Armstrong would later be one of the men to elect Lincoln to lead the company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1856, Jack Armstrong’s son, William (or “Duff”), was charged with murder.  A witness had claimed that he had seen Duff and another kill a New Salem man late at night by the light of full moon.  Lincoln pulled out an almanac and proved that the witness could not have seen anything at all, as the moon was at its quarter and had actually set over an hour before.  Duff was acquitted, and Lincoln won the case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and a Democrat from Tennessee, was in the White House when Lincoln first entered politics.  He shared with Jackson the sympathies for the common man, but differed in the role of government as related to it; Jackson stated the government should be separated from the economic enterprise, while Lincoln was of the view that “the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.”   Lincoln most associated himself with the Whig Party, as among their members Henry Clay and Daniel Webster both advocated a government should be encouraging business, and the development of the country to that end.  It was an easy choice for Lincoln: he saw Illinois as needing such aid to improve the development of its own economy.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
In the Illinois State Legislature Lincoln found that politics could be detrimental and harsh, as well as rewarding.  An example of the former occurred in 1836, just as he gave a speech in support of his re-election.  Democrat John Forquer, also seeking election, used his response and acid tounge to denounce him. &amp;quot;This young man needs to be taken down&amp;quot; he said, pointing to Lincoln, &amp;quot;and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me.&amp;quot; The success of Forquer's speech convinced some of Lincoln's own allies that his career was over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But when Lincoln rose to make his rebuttal, he thought of Forquer, and what he had done recently in conniving with President Jackson to change parties; in reward for doing so he was made Government Land Register with a $3,000 annual salary. Forquer was then able to construct a fine new house in Springfield, complete with a curiosity residents had heard about from science but had never seen before: a lightning rod.  Before he entered the state house building that day, Lincoln spent a few minutes at Forquer's house staring at the thing, and having heard Forquer's speech later on, he thought of what he saw.  Lincoln's reply was blistering, and sealed Forquer's fate. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Among other things he said, the gentleman commenced his speech by saying that 'this young man,' alluding to me, 'must be taken down.' I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a politician, but, live long or die young, I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God!&amp;quot;'' (Sandburg, pg.49)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also proposed state funding to construct a network of roads, railroads, and canals.  Both Whigs and Democrats would join in for the passing of this omnibus bill, but a business depression was created by the panic of 1837, and as a result most of the provisions in the bill were abandoned.  1837 was also marked by the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, a newspaperman from Alton who was killed by a mob due to his anti-slavery views.  The legislature introduced resolutions defending Southern slavery while condemning abolitionist societies, as per the U.S. Constitution.  In protest of the resolutions Lincoln, with a fellow legislator, drew up a declaration [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm] which stated that slavery was “founded on both injustice and bad policy,” while also declaring that “the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its evils.”&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lawyer Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lincoln in the late 1850's, about to debate his rival Stephen A. Douglas.]]&lt;br /&gt;
He only served one term in the United States Congress, 1847 to 1849, during which time he did little on legislative matters.  He did introduce a bill calling for a gradual emancipation of slaves within the District of Columbia, but since it hinged on the approval of the white citizens there, it only caused mild anger from abolitionists as well as slave holders, and was quietly dropped.  His one main issue was over the Mexican War, in which he condemned the American entry into it on false pretenses, particularly blaming current president James K. Polk. He worked toward the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency, and when Taylor had won, Lincoln expected to be rewarded with the job of land commissioner, but failed.  He was voted out of office by his constituents, as they felt he was too critical of the war.  Disillusioned, he left politics and reentered his law practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Return to politics==&lt;br /&gt;
He stayed out for five years, winning several cases before the courts, then in 1854 he had read in the papers that Stephan A. Douglas, his political rival and Democratic senator from Illinois, had placed before Congress a bill which would reopen the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to slavery, as well as allow settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to vote for themselves whether or not they wanted it, a concept which was called “popular sovereignty” by Douglas.  The resulting Kansas-Nebraska Act would do nothing more than provoke violent opposition; a border war would result between Kansas and Missouri as both pro and anti-slavery forces would cause much bloodshed; and voters in the Old Northwest, Illinois among them, would react vehemently against it, resulting in the destruction of the Whigs as a political party, and the birth of the Republicans, of which Lincoln quickly became a member.  The [[Dred Scott]] decision of 1856, in which a black man who sued for his freedom only to be told that he was never a citizen and had to remain a slave, only added more fuel to the fire, as the states were aligning slave versus free, North versus South. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the leading member of the Republican Party in Illinois, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in Springfield on June 16, 1858.  The acceptance speech he gave has been called the [[Lincoln's &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; Speech|House Divided]] speech, after the opening lines, which were based upon Matthew 12:25:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. &amp;quot;A house divided against itself cannot stand.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- Matthew 12:25 --&amp;gt; I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds.  Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]].  Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was &amp;quot;established upon the white basis.  It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men.&amp;quot;   (TL 1, pg 106).  Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east.  Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was &amp;quot;voted up or voted down.&amp;quot;  By his last debate, Lincoln would narrow the differences between himself and Douglas as the basic principle of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, &amp;quot;You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it.&amp;quot; No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.&amp;quot;''  [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al11.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Douglas for his part knew how formidable his foe was, and declared that if he won, “it would be a hollow victory.” He did win, retaining his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==The presidency==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and beard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Soon after his election, a little girl named Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln, telling him his face would be softened by the addition of a beard; here he just started on her advice.]]&lt;br /&gt;
:''My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' Lincoln's Farewell Speech to the citizens of Springfield, February 11, 1861.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 18, 1860 at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot.  He then set aside his law practice and gave full time to the direction of his campaign, with the object of first uniting the Republicans from anything with which the party could disagree over.  The Democrats were already divided, having nominated Douglas in Baltimore on the Northern platform of popular sovereignty, and John C. Breckenridge who was elected on a platform of states’ rights and slavery by Southern Democrats.  Lincoln won the [[United States presidential election of 1860]], winning a clear majority in popular votes as well as electoral votes, despite winning no votes in the South.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The state of South Carolina proclaimed its secession from the Union in December, 1860, soon after Lincoln’s victory.  To try to prevent other states from following, compromises were hurriedly pushed through Congress, one of which, the [[Crittenden Amendment]], guaranteed the existence of slavery in perpetuity where it already existed, and dividing the territories between slave and free; Lincoln, however, was opposed to it, as he believed that despite this slavery would still expand south of the U.S. border.  Six more states seceded, joining with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A crisis was thus forced upon Lincoln before he even entered the White House.  Fort Sumter, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, was claimed by the Confederacy and ordered to be turned over; the commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused.  Lincoln, still in Springfield, asked Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, to be prepared “to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inauguration.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to &amp;quot;preserve, protect, and defend it.&amp;quot;'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and General P.G.T. Beauregard, believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Civil War==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Mary Todd Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mary Todd Lincoln]]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union; he would have been happy to preserve the peace as well, but he was willing to engage in a war to preserve it as well, a war he thought would be short.  After Fort Sumter he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports and called for thousands of volunteers to enlist for ninety days.  He also believed that an overland war was inevitable, and he ordered forces on a march on the Virginia front, resulting in the first great defeat for the Union at Bull Run (July 21, 1861).  Shortly afterward, Lincoln issued a set of memorandums for the military, of which his basic thought was that armies in the field must advance concurrently and on several fronts.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finding himself as the leader of a country now at war, Lincoln used a description of himself in which he let events control him, and then react to the problem.  It was something of himself that was used with success as a politician.  In this sense he was being practical, ready to employ an action or decision which would help the cause, and ready to abandon it and use another if the first failed.  But his first insight with which he held fast to, that of taking the fight to the enemy’s army, failed many times when successive generals tried to take the fight to the enemy’s capitol and failed, or failed in following up on a rare victory.  He had George McClellan on the Peninsula, but was beaten back during the Seven Days battles.  His replacement, John Pope, lost in a repeat of Bull Run.  McClellan was back again, winning a victory at Antietam, but failed to follow through in capturing the enemy’s army afterwards.  Then Ambrose Burnside, followed by Joseph Hooker, led the Army of the Potomac to massive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, respectively.  Then George Gordon Meade was put in, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg; Meade would not finish off the enemy either.  Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commented on the frequent changes in generals.  “I’m afraid they’re going to find a general I cannot understand.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Having seen what he done at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Lincoln found the fighting general he was looking for in Ulysses S. Grant.  In March 1864 he promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Federal armies.  Grant would have his headquarters in the field with Meade’s Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George H. Thomas would each lead an army to take the fight to the enemy.  Halleck would be given a new title, chief of staff, and remain in Washington as the presidential liaison.  Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton would be responsible for the procurement of men and supplies.  By this reorganization Lincoln created the structure of the high command in which all the energies of and resources of the country were mobilized into a grand strategy for the completion of the war.  It was all the more remarkable as prior to 1861, he had no knowledge of military theory or affairs; he threw himself into studying the subject that by 1864, he was considered to be something of a military genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Personal life==&lt;br /&gt;
Ann Rutledge played a part in stories as being the first woman Lincoln may have fallen in love with.  However, evidence is scant, and what surviving letters and documents there are indicate they were close friends.  She died in 1835 at the age of 22, and the entire community grieved with Lincoln.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and tad.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The irrepressible Tad Lincoln, striking a typical pose next to his father, who could barely restrain a smile.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The one true love of Lincoln’s life was a well-educated woman with a quick wit, [[Mary Todd]], from a well-to-do family in Springfield.  Lincoln endured a courtship that lasted two years (and was broken once), before they were married on November 4, 1842.  Together they would have four boys: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (“Eddie”, who died at age 4), William Wallace (“Willie”), and Thomas (“Tad”).  Willie and Tad were the first children in the White House, and the halls and gardens were filled with childish romps, especially from the rambunctious, uncontrollable Tad, who once took a group of office seekers there to see the president on a trip through a confusing maze of hanging laundry; drove a herd of goats inside; got into the attic and rang the servants’ bells for hours; and succeeded in getting his doll executed for sleeping on watch.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns also had their share of quarrels, and stories passed through the years tended to exaggerate them, but existing letters between the two indicate they were like any other married couple.  They were devoted to each other’s company, and when apart they missed each other.  &amp;quot;I have fallen in love with her,&amp;quot; Lincoln would write to a friend about Mary, &amp;quot;and have never fallen out.&amp;quot;  Mary did have fits of temper and a sense of insecurity; while in the White House she had spells of simple jealousy which she staged in front of guests; sometimes the scene would be quite embarrassing.  She also rang up large bills for her personal wardrobe and redecorating the White House; Lincoln, when he found out one such bill which totaled near $20,000 and coupled with a request for Congress to appropriate the money needed to pay for it, displayed a rare occurrence of pure anger:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;It would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had approved a bill overrunning an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs, for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets!&amp;quot;'' [http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/marytoddlincoln.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The early deaths of Eddie in 1850 and Willie in 1863 may have played a role in Mary’s eccentricity.  Lincoln did what he could to support her, even pointing out the presence of a nearby building which housed a sanitarium, hinting that Mary could be placed there if she didn't control herself over Willie's death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On slavery==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1841, Lincoln had a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, and he saw sitting on board another boat a group of slaves chained together.  He described the sight in a letter to Joshua Speed in 1855: “You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Though technically a gradualist, Lincoln hated slavery.  “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself,” he declared. “I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypocrites.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm] In 1855, writing to his friend Joshua Speed, he recalled a steamboat trip the two had taken on the Ohio River14 years earlier. “You may remember, as I well do,” he said, “that from Louisville [Kentucky] to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln often penned fragments on slavery.  He would begin it by starting a hypothetical vested interest in slavery, and end it with the only logical conclusion, that is was a great moral wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B.—why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.'' (Fragment on Slavery, April, 1854)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was elected on a platform which pledged no interference with slavery where it had already existed, and he was hesitant to adopt an abolitionist policy.  He was concerned about the reaction of the border states should such a policy be enacted.  He was concerned about four million newly-freed blacks being incorporated into the country’s social, economic, and political life.  Some individuals, such as General John C. Freemont, made it a point to proclaim freedom in districts which they had conquered; Lincoln revoked those proclamations.  In a letter to Horace Greely, Lincoln plainly stated&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was willing to play a major part in removing slavery altogether during the war.  He first proposed an idea in which slaves were to be freed gradually by the actions of the states, with the federal government sharing the cost of compensation.  None of the border states were willing to implement it, and no prominent African-American leader was willing to see newly-freed blacks sent to Africa, as part of the idea called for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.&amp;quot;'' Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln, like many other people of his day, believed, at least initially, that &amp;quot;Religion is a private affair between a man and his God.&amp;quot;  Doubts about Lincoln's faith have arisen mainly because he never officially joined a church, which his political opponents used sometimes to accuse him.  He had a love of the Bible and memorized parts of the Bible, and used biblical allusions later on in political speech.  Lincoln said once that:&lt;br /&gt;
''&amp;quot;I doubt the possibility or propriety of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas.  I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms.&amp;quot;'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also said on another occasion:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also made statements that suggest a strong faith, such as when his father was ill:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Tell father to remember to call upon and confide in our great, and good, and merciful Maker who will not turn away from him in any extremity.  He notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs of our heads; and he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him.  If it is to be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before; and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Regardless of Lincoln's views on faith as a youth, it seemed to grow as President.  Lincoln penciled in &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; after &amp;quot;one nation&amp;quot; for his [[Gettysburg Address]] delivered on November 19, 1863.  The phrase &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; was not in the early drafts.  Mrs. Lincoln recalled her husband's last words just prior to his assassination in Ford's Theater: &amp;quot;He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the [[Savior]]. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-09-08&amp;amp;view=View&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1864, a close friend of Lincoln's, Joshua Speed, confided in Lincoln that he did not accept the Bible as true. Lincoln famously replied, &amp;quot;Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After Lincoln was shot at Ford's theater two clergy claimed that he had made a secret trip from Washington to be baptized.  Also a Roman Catholic Priest claimed that Lincoln received the sacrament of baptism in secret.  Neither of these claims have any proof in White House records or his personal diary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing, 2005.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's conservatism==&lt;br /&gt;
In his [[Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech|Cooper Union Address]], Lincoln spoke of the sectionalism which was fracturing the country as a result of slavery; the Republican Party was new in 1859, and a serious threat to slavery's existence.  Lincoln and his party were called radical and destructive, but he counted himself among the earliest defenders of conservative principles, which was in essence a defense of time-honored, traditional values. Lincoln said that out of the 39 framers of the Constitution, 23 of the 39 voted on whether to prevent the spread of slavery, and that 21 of the 23 voted in favor of doing so. Lincoln therefore said that it was the pro-slavery South that was radically breaking with the tradition begun by those that created the Constitution. As Lincoln said:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;&amp;quot; while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave trade; some for a Congressional Slave-Code for the Territories; some for Congress forbidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery within their limits; some for maintaining Slavery in the Territories through the judiciary; some for the &amp;quot;gur-reat pur-rinciple&amp;quot; that &amp;quot;if one man would enslave another, no third man should object,&amp;quot; fantastically called &amp;quot;Popular Sovereignty;&amp;quot; but never a man among you is in favor of federal prohibition of slavery in federal territories, according to the practice of &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's style of writing==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lincoln in November, 1863, about to leave for Pennsylvania.  The reason for his confident look may have been within the envelope lying on the table, believed to contain his draft of the Gettysburg Address]]&lt;br /&gt;
A White House visitor, Orville Browning, told Lincoln's personal secretary John Nicolay one day that he had spoke to Lincoln sometime in 1861 on the subject of slavery; that if the right thing about slavery wasn't done, God just couldn't be on the side of the Union. Browning remembered Lincoln's reply: &amp;quot;What if the Almighty takes a different view of slavery than we do?&amp;quot;, and right then and there Browning realized that Lincoln had thought very deep on the subject, much deeper than Browning did. [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/books/wilson.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was known to think long and deep on various topics, and often he would take notes, write them on little scraps of paper, and stuff them into his tall stovepipe hat for later use.  When it was time for use, such as his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech, he pulled them out, laid them on a table, and would commence to writing.  He would sift through the subject, adding this, removing that, and sometimes he would stand in his empty room and deliver it out loud to an imaginary audience, testing the effects of what he spoke, and altering it as needed.  According to author Garry Wills, Lincoln brought to bear the rhetorical tone of the Greek Revival and Transcendental movements, in which spoken oratory was practiced in government and on the stage.  The leading speakers of this time, and whom Lincoln looked upon, were Danial Webster and Henry Clay, both of the Senate, and Edward Everett, a speaker much in demand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The training he had given himself also enabled him to write a simple letter or a speech on the spot.  Words would flow clear when Lincoln wrote in his later years, and he didn't have to do twice one of his finest personal letters, one of consolation to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, who had lost five sons in the war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Executive Mansion,''&lt;br /&gt;
:''Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Dear Madam,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''A. Lincoln''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What many consider his masterpiece is the [[Gettysburg Address]].  Here Lincoln, going through perhaps a dozen writes and re-writes of what he had thought on the subject, entirely changed the meaning of the war itself in a mere 272 words, and in so doing, according to Wills, remaking America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics in war==&lt;br /&gt;
That there had to be a certain degree of support to win the war was a given, and Lincoln strove to have unity for that effort in the North.  Politics was required, and Lincoln had a special knack for appealing to his fellows and talking to them at their own level and language.  He would smooth over lingering differences, and held the loyalty of those who were antagonistic to one another.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But the Democrats remained strong, and frequently clashed.  Its member included both war and peace Democrats; the peace side was called “Copperheads”, after the snake which strikes without warning while hidden.  Lincoln tried conciliating with both, but with the latter he had to resort to arrest at times, most famously to an Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Valandigham, who was arrested after he had repeatedly exhorted soldiers to desert.  He justified his actions on the grounds that the suspension of ''habeas corpus'' was necessary only in times of rebellion, insurrection, or when the public safety may require it, as stated in the Constitution; certainly the Civil War had met those specific conditions.  Many would dissent, and openly criticize Lincoln for arbitrarily violating the Constitution that he had sworn to preserve.  In response to the criticism in general, and the case of Valandigham in particular, Lincoln wrote:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.&amp;quot;'' [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=boolean;rgn=div1;q1=soldier;op2=and;q2=deserts;op3=and;q3=agitator;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln6;node=lincoln6%3A569]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who promised a restoration of the Union, but waffled on many of its points, even abandoning the Democratic platform of armistice and peaceful separation.  Lincoln was able to beat him in the election, assisted by the timely victories of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sherman in Georgia.  Overtures of peace from Confederates were not wholly rejected.  On February 3, 1865, Lincoln met with Confederate commissioners, among them Vice President Alexander Stephens, on a steamship in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  There would be peace, he insisted, if the South would quit the war, abandon slavery, and accept re-unification, and once these conditions were met he would gracious with pardons.  But his terms satisfied neither the Confederacy nor the Radical Republicans in Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
His postwar policy was one of compassion.  As he explained to his top leaders on board a riverboat, the City Queen, he wanted peace above all else.  His Second Inaugural Address expressed his point of healing the wounds caused by the war.&lt;br /&gt;
:''With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When asked specifically, he related the following, according to General Sherman, one of those present:&lt;br /&gt;
:''Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation, assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over; and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and that to avoid anarchy the State governments then in existence, with their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the government de facto till Congress could provide others.'' &lt;br /&gt;
:''I know, when I left him, that I was more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march of hostile armies through the South; and that his earnest desire seemed to be to end the war speedily, without more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the men of both sections to their homes. In the language of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have &amp;quot;charity for all, malice toward none,&amp;quot; and, above all, an absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity of the armies in the field.'' [http://www.sonshi.com/sherman24.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Final curtain==&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln received the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, and he was called out to the balcony of the White House that night by a large crowd gathered in celebration.  When asked to make a speech, Lincoln noticed a band among them, and made an unusual request.&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General, and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
He entered Richmond the following day, to the joyous delight of free blacks, who welcomed the arrival of &amp;quot;Father Abraham&amp;quot; as they called him, and he paid a visit to the Confederate White House, and sat at the desk of Jefferson Davis.  The only thing he asked for was a glass of water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just four days later on April 14 he attended a play at Ford's Theater.  It was called ''Our American Cousin'', with well-known stage actress Laura Keane and comedian Harry Hawke in the title role.  Unseen to the audience was another actor making his way quietly up the stairs to the president's private box, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a Southern sympathizer who had hatched a conspiracy with a few others to kill the president and other leading officials.  Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln in the head, stabbed a guest, and dropped to the stage, escaping behind the curtains.  Taken across the street to a boarding house, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was laid across a small bed in humble surroundings, similar it seemed, to where he was born.  He died at sunrise a few hours later.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now he belongs to the ages&amp;quot; Edwin Stanton was heard to say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*McCollister, John C. ''God and the Oval Office'', W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee(2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Sandburg, Carl. ''Abraham Lincoln'', Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York (1954)&lt;br /&gt;
*Walsh, John E. ''Moonlight'', St. Martin's Press, New York (2000)&lt;br /&gt;
*Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', Simon and Schuster, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Hanchett, William. ''The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies'', University of Illinois (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
*Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln'', Jonathan Cafe (Random House), London (1995)&lt;br /&gt;
*Wills, Gary. ''Lincoln at Gettysburg: the Words that Remade America'', Simon and Schuster, New York (1992)&lt;br /&gt;
*White, Ronald C. Jr. ''The Eloquent President: A [[portraits|Portrait]] of Lincoln Through His Words'', Random House, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Carwardine, Richard. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York (2003)&lt;br /&gt;
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html Abraham Lincoln Online]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Home.aspx Lincoln Archive of original newspaper articles]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ History Place: Lincoln timeline]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm Lincoln's Home National Historic Site]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html White House site; short bio on Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=112&amp;amp;subjectID=1 Mr. Lincoln and Friends]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm Declaration against slavery, Illinois State Legislature, March 3, 1837]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm Lincoln's letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm Speech in Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;q1=erastus;q2=corning;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=ACK7441.0001.001;didno=ACK7441.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 13, 1863, in which Lincoln explains his suspention of ''habeas corpus'']&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.sonshi.com/sherman.html Memoirs of William T. Sherman ]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:DcLincMor.JPG|right|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
*[[Democracy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John F. Kennedy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Andrew Jackson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&amp;diff=554608</id>
		<title>Franklin D. Roosevelt</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&amp;diff=554608"/>
		<updated>2008-11-11T20:01:01Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=509px-FDR in 1933.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=32&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1933&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 12, 1945    &lt;br /&gt;
|party=Democratic    &lt;br /&gt;
|vp= John N. Garner&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1933-1941          &lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Henry A. Wallace          &lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1941-1945          &lt;br /&gt;
|3vp=Harry Truman          &lt;br /&gt;
|3vp_dates=1945          &lt;br /&gt;
|4vp=          &lt;br /&gt;
|4vp_dates=          &lt;br /&gt;
|previous=Herbert Hoover&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Harry Truman      &lt;br /&gt;
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|term2_end=    &lt;br /&gt;
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|previous2=&lt;br /&gt;
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|birth_date=January 30, 1882 &lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hyde Park, New York&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 12, 1945&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Warm Springs, Georgia&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=[[Eleanor Roosevelt]]&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=[[Episcopalian]]&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Franklin Delano Roosevelt''' was the 32nd [[President of the United States of America]], 1933-45, leading the U.S. from the darkest days of the [[Great Depression]] to victory over Germany and Japan; he built the '''New Deal Coalition''' which dominated American politics into the 1960s, and is still fondly remembered by liberals.  His [[New Deal]] was a very large, complex interlocking set of programs designed to produce relief (which meant jobs for the unemployed), recovery (of the GDP), and reform (by which he meant regulation of Wall Street and the economy), as well as reelection (in 1936, 1940 and 1944) and realignment of the political system.  Conservatives strongly opposed many, but not all, of the New Deal programs. Conservatives abolished most of the relief programs when unemployment practically ended in the 1940s. Most of the regulations on business were ended about 1975-85, except for the regulation of Wall Street by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]], which still exists. The major surviving program is [[Social Security]], which Roosevelt passed in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Conservatives at the time denounced his bids for presidential power, including building a national political machine through the [[WPA]] (it lasted from 1935 to 1943), attempting to take control of the Supreme Court by adding new liberal judges (an attempt which failed, 1937), and trying to purge the Democratic party of conservative congressman (an attempt which failed in 1938). The failures of those attempts can be attributed to the [[Conservative Coalition]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After 1938 FDR turned his attention to [[World War II]]. he was a strong advocate of support for China against Japan; most conservatives agreed.  He also was a strong supporter of military aid to Britain. Conservatives split on that, with the &amp;quot;isolationists&amp;quot; opposed, and others like [Henry Stimson]] in favor.  Once Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, conservatives strongly supported the war effort and generally approved his military leadership, although highly critical of his close cooperation with [[Stalin]] and the Soviet Union. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He was the first and only President to be elected four times, breaking the traditional two-term-limit precedent established by [[George Washington]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Tradition was restored by the 22ndAmendment in 1947.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt's health failed rapidly in 1944-45, even as he ran for reelection. He died On April 12, 1945. Despite polio which crippled him starting in the early 1920s, he exuded a sense of confidence and hope for the future that made for a charismatic personality. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Conservative scholars have argued that some relief efforts actually helped to prolong the [[Great Depression]]. However, government spending and prosperity combined after World War II, the most costly war in American history.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0829/p15s01-cogn.html|author=Francis, David R. |title=More Costly than &amp;quot;The War to End All Wars&amp;quot;|date=2005-08-29|accessdate = 2006-10-24 |work=Christian Science Monitor}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The amount spent on the New Deal was less than the $21 billion borrowed by the government over two years during World War I.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David M. Kennedy, Freedom From Fear, page 178&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
Franklin Roosevelt studied law at Columbia University where he failed to graduate.  Secretary of Labor [[Frances  Perkins]], the first woman ever appointed to a cabinet post and knew FDR from his early manhood up to his death, says he was not a student, that he knew nothing of economics and that he admitted he had never read a book on the subject. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt I Knew,'' Frances Perkins, New York, Viking Press, 1946. p. 34.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Election of 1932 ==&lt;br /&gt;
The Democrats made Government non-intervention under the Hoover administration an issue in the campaign of 1932, charging that Hoover's laissez faire approach was not working.  After Roosevelt had taken office, former Democratic New York Governor Al Smith, saw Roosevelt's ultimately expansive policies as a departure from the ideals of Conservatives and supported Republican candidates in subsequent elections. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the Democrats were damning Hoover as a big spender, at the same time he was refusing to be drawn into big spending, the Democratic House passed a bill appropriating $1,500,000,000 for old-fashioned [[pork-barrel]] outlays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Because of Hoover's hesitance to utilize government spending to bail the nation out of the depression, he became incredibly unpopular, paving the way for Roosevelt's landslide victory in the presidential election of 1932, winning 472 electoral votes (nearly 90% of the total) and 22,800,000 popular votes (57% of the total) to defeat incumbent president Herbert Hoover.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;1932 Presidential Election Results http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?f=0&amp;amp;year=1932&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was running primarily on the platform that he would help the country recover from the Great Depression with his New Deal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== First Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
===Foreign policy===&lt;br /&gt;
On November 16, 1933, when the Roosevelt administration granted diplomatic recognition to the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]], the USSR pledged itself to refrain &amp;quot;from interfering in any manner in the internal affairs of the United States.&amp;quot;  This occurred three weeks after the founding of the [[Comintern]] affiliated [[American League for Peace and Democracy]]. The process of Communist “influence” in American life was accelerated.  This “influence,” as described by [[Communist party]] defector [[Louis Budenz]], was to “infiltrate key government posts, undermine the patriotism of well meaning people in strategic or confidential positions, and win over those whose words, spoken and written, have an effect on American [[public opinion]];” it was checked “partially during the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact|Hitler-Stalin alliance]], it went all out in the course of the [[Second World War]].&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Men Without Faces, The Communist Conspiracy in the U. S. A., By Louis Budenz, New York  Harper &amp;amp; Brothers, 1950, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=//PDFsml_AD/Men_Without_Faces-Louis_Francis_Budenz-1950-315pgs-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=238&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pg. 2] pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Numerous [[Attorney General's list|Comintern affiliate]] organizations sprung up in the ensuing years, including the [[American Youth Congress]] in 1934 and the [[League of American Writers]] in 1935.  [[KGB]] officers traveled the country in the guise of diplomatic and consular officials, conducting [[espionage]] activities &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/10.gif Anonymous letter to Hoover], undated (received 7 August 1943), National Security Agency Venona Collection. &amp;quot;[[SEMENOV]] works in AMTORG, is robbing the whole of the war industry in America. SEMENOV has his agents in all the industrial towns of the U.S.A., in all aviation and chemical war factories and in big industries.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; freely and offering bribes.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On February 28, 1934, Elliott Roosevelt, son of the President, and [[Anthony Fokker]] each received half a million dollars for selling fifty military aircraft to the Soviet government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756770-2,00.html ''Son's Scheme''], Time magazine, Oct. 19, 1936,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===New Deal===&lt;br /&gt;
:''For Main Article see '''[[New Deal]].'''''&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Flatgrowth.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Real Output and Growth remained stagnant throughout the New Deal largely due to government involvement. The Depression came back with a vengeance in 1937-1938 because of the [[economic planner]]s over emphasis on consumption, and deemphasis and persecution of producers--the people who make the economy work. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;''Source:New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression.''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis, ''Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, Journal of Political Economy, volume 112 (2004), pages 779–816.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;]]&lt;br /&gt;
FDR is also famous for his [[New Deal]], a set of [[economic planning]] experiments that were instilled in the hope of ending the [[Great Depression]]. After many years, unemployment was finally brought down to reasonable levels as World War II began and the draft opened up more opportunties for people to move into the workforce. [[Economic growth]] was generally occurring, but the nation wasn't back on its feet until the war progressed.&lt;br /&gt;
Enforcement of the [[Anti-trust Act]] was considered as an essential instrument to prevent [[cartel]]s and trusts in restraint of trade which had been viewed as deadly to the system of [[free enterprise]]. On the campaign trail Roosevelt called loudly for its strict enforcement. Yet immediately upon Roosevelt's accession to office the Anti-trust Act was suspended in order to cartelize every industry in America on the Italian [[fascist]] corporative model. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt Myth'', John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 1, Chapter 4, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/cgi-bin/framed/2767/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Four___The_New_New_Deal.htm ''The New New Deal''].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The National Recovery Act (NRA) and the [[Agricultural Adjustment Act]] (AAA) were plans to take the whole industrial and agricultural life of the country under the wing of the government, organize it into vast farm and industrial cartels, as they were called in Germany, cooperatives as they were called in Italy, and operate business and farms by economic planning schemes dictated and carried out under the supervision of government. It is also worth noting that World War II was total warfare on both sides.  Even the Allied Powers such as the British took control of the nation's economy.  Such intervention was very much necessary in order to gain every advantage possible against the enemy.  Centralized planning allowed for greater efficiency, yet some civil liberties were suppressed in the effort. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=420&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The AAA reported to the Secretary of Agriculture but was independent of the Department of Agriculture bureaucracy. [[Harold Ware]] was a [[Communist Party USA]] (CPUSA) official in the AAA and founded the [[Ware group]]. The group consisted of young lawyers and economists, had about 75 members in 1934 and was divided into about eight cells. The AAA was later found [[unconstitutional]], but by that time the Communist operatives had established jobs in government employment. [[Alger Hiss]], [[Lee Pressman]], [[John Abt]], [[Charles Kramer]], [[Nathan Witt]], [[Henry Collins]], [[George Silverman]], [[Marion Bachrach]], [[John Herrmann]], [[Nathaniel Weyl]], [[Donald Hiss]] and [[Victor Perlo]] were all members of the Ware group.  [[Harry Dexter White]], who was involved in the most auspicious policy [[subversion (political)|subversion]] as Director of the Division of Monetary Research in the [[Treasury Department]], was also affiliated with the group. The Ware group was the CPUSA's covert arm at this time.   Each of these agents not only provided classified documents to Soviet intelligence, but was involved in political influence operations as well.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1934, a Congressional Investigation was held to examine statements by Dr. William A. Wirt, who headed the U.S. [[Department of Education|Office of Education]]. Dr. Wirt had attended a dinner party with several Brain Trusters at the home of his secretary, [[Alice Barrows]].  Barrows began working for the Office of Education in 1919 and was secretly a member of the [[Communist Party of the United States]] (CPUSA) which advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Constitution.  Several of the Brain Trusters present at the dinner revealed to Wirt they were CPUSA members. Wirt testified,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|I was told they believe that by thwarting our then evident economic recovery, they would be able to prolong the country’s destitution until they had demonstrated to the American people that the Government must operate business and commerce.  By propaganda, they would destroy institutions making long term capital loans—and then push Uncle Sam into making these loans. Once Uncle Sam becomes our financier, he must also follow his money with control and management. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Hearings, House Select Committee To Investigate Certain Statements of Dr. William Wirt, 73rd Congress, 2nd Session, April 10 and 17, 1934. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Dr Wirt faces the cameras and tells all'', Literary Digest v. 117 (April 21 1934) p. 7.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Silvermaster file [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster053.pdf Volume 53 June 1946], p. 78 pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A June 1945 [[Venona project]] decryption of Soviet [[KGB]] wartime cables from the Washington D.C. KGB Office to Moscow's Eighth Department, the political intelligence wing, relayed information on matters regarding Attorney General Francis Biddle.  KGB agent [[Charles Kramer]], who served on the staff of several U.S. Senate Subcommittees, and Barrows are the sources of the information. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Venona 3706 KGB Washington to Moscow, 29 June 1945.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Mary Van Kleek who headed the Russell Sage Foundation and also served on the Board of the National Council, visited Washington weekly to meet with Barrows and [[Greg Silvermaster|Nathan Gregory Silvermaster]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[World War II]] Barrows was the Executive Secretary of the the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship.  This organization was declared in 1953 to be a [[Glossary_of_espionage_terms#Fronts_and_cutouts|Communist front]] organization by the [[Subversive Activities Control Board]] (SACB). In its Findings of Fact, the SACB said the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, &lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|advances positions...markedly pro-Soviet and...anti-United States Government...is a Communist-action organization which has as its primary purpose to advance the objectives of the world Communist movement under the [[hegemony]] of the Soviet Union; it has the policy to support and defend the Soviet Union under any and all circumstances...We conclude that the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Inc., is substantially directed, dominated, and controlled by the Communist Party of the United States...and is primarily operated for the purpose of giving aid and support to...the Soviet Union, a Communist foreign government.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;United States. Subversive Activities Control Board. [http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=usfexec;cc=usfexec;q1=Barrows;rgn=full text;idno=81242.0001.001;didno=81242.0001.001;view=image;seq=511;page=root;size=s;endseq=3;frm=frameset Reports of the Subversive Activities Control Board.] Washington. United States Government Printing Office. 1966. Vol. 1, p. 501.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
====Civilian Conservation Corps====&lt;br /&gt;
:''Main article [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Soon after President Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933, he announced the establishment of the CCC camps to take the &amp;quot;boys&amp;quot; (age 17-23) off the street corners; they were paid $30 a month, of which $25 went to their families.  The U.S. Army ran the camps, which provided a generation of young Army officers with leadership experience, as 2.5 million young men spent 6-months or 12-months in the camps. However there were no uniforms or military drills.  Of all the New Deal innovations, perhaps the most generally applauded was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was strongly approved at the time by conservatives and liberals alike, including most religious and business leaders as a way to save the boys who were perpectually unemployed and drifting into gangs. The CCC was ended in 1943 when the need had vanished.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Social Security===&lt;br /&gt;
An Old Age Social Security Bill was passed during his first term which provided for workers who reach the age of 65 a pension of $8 a week at most. The plan had to be pushed through against his procrastination until finally in the 1934 congressional elections the Republicans denounced him for his tardiness. When he did finally consent to a bill, it contained a plan for building a huge reserve fund that would extract billions from the workers' payrolls without any adequate return. Over the protest of the President, the Congress finally took that provision proposed by Roosevelt out of the law. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; ''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Chapter 14, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Fifteen___The_Roosevelt_.htm ''The Roosevelt Myth''], John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Taxation===&lt;br /&gt;
FDR, in a letter to journalist Roy W. Howard, wrote, &lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;What is known as consumer taxes, namely the invisible taxes paid by people in every walk of life, fall relatively much more heavily upon the poor man than on the rich man.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Franklin D. Roosevelt, letter to Roy W. Howard, September 2, 1935. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Robert H. Jackson]], then serving as [[Internal Revenue Service]] General Counsel, observed in Congressional testimony that prior to FDR’s election, &amp;quot;we find those taxes bearing most heavily on the well-to-do contributed 68% per cent of the government's total internal revenue and customs receipts, while miscellaneous taxes and customs receipts, bearing most heavily upon the consumer contributed only 31.8%”  By 1935 the situation was reversed with “taxes based on ability to pay contributed 38.7% . . . there has been an increase in the proportion of revenues contributed by taxes on consumption to 61.3%.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Testimony of Robert Jackson, Assistant General Counsel, Treasury Department, Committee on Finance, U . S. Senate, August 6, 1985.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Economic growth===&lt;br /&gt;
New capital made available for investment amounted to $348,000,000 in 1935. This was less than 1/10th of the amount available in 1929.  By contrast, the British economy had nearly recovered to its 1929 levels by 1935, and the amount available for investment was almost twice as much as the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{| style=&amp;quot;background:white; color:blue&amp;quot; border=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot; class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
! Year&lt;br /&gt;
! United States &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Standard Statistics Co., ''New Honey for Operating and Producing.''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
! Great Britain &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Midland Bank, London, ''New Issues for British Companies,'' converted from £ to $ at $4.8665.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1927&lt;br /&gt;
| $3,201,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| $710,509,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1928&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,062,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 983,033,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1929&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,668,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 759,174,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1930&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,039,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 394,186,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1931&lt;br /&gt;
| 1,006,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 155,728,000 &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1932&lt;br /&gt;
| 321,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 248,191,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1933&lt;br /&gt;
| 177,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 296,856,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1934&lt;br /&gt;
| 356,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 350,388,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1935&lt;br /&gt;
| 348,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 666,710,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Congress of Industrial Organizations===&lt;br /&gt;
By 1935 membership in labor unions had sunk to a low figure as a result of [[unemployment]].  There were men around the President at this time that saw the tremendous possibilities of organizing labor as a political force. An industrial union is one in which all the people engaged in a single industry are included without regard to the type of skills at which they work.  The industrial union was the one great instrument by which all labor could be organized and the President was urged to promote this idea as the starting point in building up a powerful political labor movement. There were three large industrial unions at that time, [[John L. Lewis]]’s [[United Mine Workers]] (UMW), the International Ladies Garment Workers Union of David Dubinsky and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of [[Sidney Hillman]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt tried to sell the plan to John L. Lewis of the UMW, and William Green, head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Green and the AFL opposed the idea of industrial unions and refused, but under the leadership of Lewis, a new group of unions was formed called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).  The Comintern directed [[Lee Pressman]] &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Report, [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster082.pdf Underground Soviet Espionage (NKVD) in Agencies of the United States Government], October 21, 1946, United States Government, pgs. 298 - 300 pdf. &amp;quot;Leon Pressman, alias Lee Pressman, served as General Counsel for the [[Agricultural Adjustment Administration]] from 1933 to 1935; in 1935 he was appointed General Counsel for the [[Works Progress Administration]]. In 1937 he was appointed to the General Counsel for the National [[Congress of Industrial Organizations]] (CIO). Pressman was also associated with various Communist front organizations.  Pressman was a known contact of [[Anatoly Gorsky]], New York [[KGB]] Rezident, and KGB Agents [[Alger Hiss]] and [[Harry Dexter White]]. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; of the [[Ware group]] to assume the position of general counsel&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Silvermaster file, [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster132.pdf Vol. 132, pg. 109] pdf. &amp;quot;Pressman is said to have run arms to Spain during the Civil War via Mexico and to have worked with General Mark Moren in the project. Moren was involved in the [[Rubens Robinson]] passport case in 1938.&amp;quot;  See also Underground Espionage Agent, Adolf Berle notes, September 2, 1939. [http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page100.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789421,00.html ''32,000 &amp;amp; Mrs. Rubens''], Time magazine, Feb. 07, 1938. &amp;quot;In the first years of the Soviet Union, to escape from Russia was difficult and dangerous. Today it has become almost impossible, an attempt tantamount to suicide. Barbed and electrically charged wire, searchlight-equipped watch towers. 24-hour frontier patrols aided by bloodhounds and police dogs guard every mile of border. .... Weak from [[scurvy]] and [[dysentery]], Konarski told correspondents: 'The camp contains about 32,000 prisoners. They are kept there until [[death]] results from hard work, bad food and consequent sickness. I met two [[American citizen]]s in the camp, Arthur Hanley, a chemical engineer from California, and Edward Rose, a machinist from Boston, Mass. They said they came to Russia in 1921 as volunteer workers. Rose said he was [[arrest]]ed in Leningrad in 1923. Hanley was caught trying to escape from Russia to Latvia in 1925. Each was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but, although they have served out their sentences, they are still being held. They told me they know of three other native-born Americans who are held prisoner in other Soviet camps.'...Mrs. Ruth Marie Rubens (alias Robinson), one U. S. citizen officially known to be in jail in Moscow (TIME, Dec. 27 [1938]). In Moscow on December 9 able, active U. S. Charge d'Affaires Loy W. Henderson learned that Mrs. Rubens had &amp;quot;disappeared&amp;quot;' from the big Hotel National next door to the U.S. Embassy. On January 18 the Soviet Foreign Office finally admitted that Mrs. Rubens was under arrest, failed to say on what charge.... hundreds of Germans are today in Soviet jails and for years German diplomatic &amp;amp; consular officials have not been allowed to see them.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; where he became known as &amp;quot;Comrade Big.&amp;quot;  The year 1936 was a period of furious organizing work by it among the unskilled workers of the country. As Lewis,  Dubinsky, and Hillman set about organizing millions of workers they were immediately up against the problem of finding skilled organizers to promote and manage the new unions.&lt;br /&gt;
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There had been in the United States a [[Communist]] labor organization known as the Trade Union Unity League which took its instructions directly from [[Moscow]]. It is estimated that ten or fifteen thousand Communists were in these unions. In 1934, Moscow directed the Communist party in the United States to dissolve the Trade Union Unity League unions and to march the members of those unions into the American Federation of Labor. The purpose was not to advance the cause of labor unions or to get better working conditions for the members, but to use the apparatus of the labor union as an instrument of [[revolution]]. The Communist leaders saw in the rise of the CIO a better opportunity for their own revolutionary objectives than in the AFL and instructed their members to withdraw from the AFL and go into the CIO where they achieved disproportionate influence. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Soviet World of American Communism'', Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Kyrill M. Anderson, Yale University Press, 1998,  Document 13, pp. 58-68. ISBN 0-300-07150-7. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Lewis was interested in bringing into existence industrial unions like his own, in which he had always believed. Roosevelt was interested in bringing into American labor unions as many voters as possible and in capturing their leadership to build a powerful labor faction which could control the Democratic party and which he and his allies could control through the vast power of the government and the vast powers of labor leaders, along with the immense financial resources that so great a labor movement would have. The Communists were interested in getting into key positions as union officers, statisticians, economists, etc., in order to utilize the apparatus of the unions to promote the cause of revolution.  By the early part of 1938, over three million workers had been organized.  Lewis was later to split with FDR. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Communists and the CIO: From the Soviet archives'', Harvey Klehr and John E. Haynes, Labor History, Volume 35, Issue 3 Summer 1994 , pages 442 - 446. [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a772103056~db=all?tab=references]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,788129-4,00.html ''Turning Point?''], Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 12, 1937.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Third Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
It is fairly certain that early in 1939, if not a little sooner, FDR made up his mind to seek a third election in the [[United States presidential election, 1940|presidential election of 1940]].  FDR realized the political difficulties involved in a third nomination so he wanted to make it appear as a &amp;quot;draft Roosevelt&amp;quot; movement. He discussed other candidates with his aids, among the names were Democratic National Committee Chairman [[James Farley]], whom FDR rejected because he was [[Roman Catholic]].  The name of Paul McNutt was urged; FDR was angry McNutt would even permit his name to be discussed. FDR told Farley: &amp;quot;I consider it bad taste on his part to be letting his name be used when he is still a member of my administration.&amp;quot; Roosevelt sent him as High Commissioner to the Philippines and jokingly asked: &amp;quot;Is that far enough?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt Myth'', Book 1, Ch. 6, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Seven___The_Third_Term.htm  ''The Third Term''], John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Historian [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]] in her book ''No Ordinary Time'' explored the decision to seek a third time and concludes FDR probably decided to enter the war at the same time he decided to run again, although he was politically unable to enter the war until the [[Japanese]] [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].&lt;br /&gt;
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Administrative Assistants to Roosevelt included [[James Forrestal]], [[Lauchlin Currie]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Committee on Un-American Activities, &amp;quot;The Shameful Years: Thirty Years of Soviet Espionage in the United States,&amp;quot; 82d Congress, 2d Session, 1951, pp. 15-17; [http://www.counterintelligencetraining.com/BK/ci_centre_bibliography.htm Required Reading List for Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Security Professionals,]The Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, Alexandria, VA.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and [[David K. Niles]]. Their function was &amp;quot;to get, information and to condense and summarize it for [Roosevelt's] use.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt and Hopkins : An Intimate History'', Robert E. Sherwood, New York Harper and Brothers, 1948, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=/PDFsml_AD/Roosevelt_and_Hopkins-An_Intimate_History-Robert_E_Sherwood-1948-1034pgs-GOV-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=252&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pg. 226] pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Forrestal later was to jump from a 16th story window of Bethesda Naval Hospital psychiatric ward. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People'', John Loftus and Mark Aarons, New York : St.Martin's Press, 1994. [http://yamaguchy.netfirms.com/vegyes_/secretwar_06.rtf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Currie and Niles were to be found working for the [[KGB]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Uncovering Stalin's Spies'' Julius W. Friend, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, (2000) Vol. 13 No. 3, pgs. 381 - 384. [http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/index/UN1VH8U16UMXEFGF.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00039.cfm ''The Venona Story''], Robert L. Benson, Center for Cryptological History, National Security Agency.  One of the special reports issued in July 1948 (1948 was a presidential election year) gives the earliest translation found that mentions friends of [[David Niles]], an important advisor to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, &amp;quot;will arrange anything for a bribe.&amp;quot;  Venona message 786 New York KGB to Moscow, 1 June 1944, [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/releases/01_Jun_1944_R3_m1_p1.gif pg. 1], [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/releases/01_Jun_1944_R3_m1_p2.gif pg. 2]).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Currie alerted his KGB controllers that &amp;quot;the United States was on the verge of breaking the Soviet code.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors'',  Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, Washington, DC, Regnery, 2000, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC&amp;amp;pg=PA27&amp;amp;lpg=PA27&amp;amp;dq=lauchlin+currie+break+code&amp;amp;source=web&amp;amp;ots=Yj2NHYwgxB&amp;amp;sig=sbZ3789Tz0jd7xPRiC6EEdeuJ48 pg. 27.] Herbert Romerstein was the Chief, Office to Counter Soviet Disinformation and Active Measures, U.S. Information Agency from (1983-1989), Staff member, U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (1978-1983), and Minority Chief Investigator, House Committee on Internal Security (1971-1975). [http://www.iwp.edu/faculty/facultyID.9/profile.asp]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Commander in Chief === &lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Josephstalin.jpg‎|thumb|325px|right|Roosevelt, a long-time advocate of [[Fascism#Beliefs|corporate statism]], was a great friend of [[Soviet]] leader [[Joseph Stalin]], despite the latter's war crimes and use of genocide as a political tool. Upon meeting him face-to-face for the first time at the [[Yalta Conference]], he greeted him warmly: 'I am glad to see you. I have tried for a long time to bring this about'.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_6/stefan.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; ]]&lt;br /&gt;
In August 1939 Stalin made an alliance with Hitler that allowed Hitler to invade Poland; the two divided P{oland and eastern Europe between them, as Germany turned toward France and Britain.  With Roosevelt strongly supporting France and Britain, the American Communist Party began attacking Roosevelt in the wildest terms and did so for the next twenty-two months. It used antiwar slogans like &amp;quot;The Yanks Are Not Coming&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Hands Off.&amp;quot; It set up a &amp;quot;perpetual peace vigil&amp;quot; across the street from the White House. Communist party leader Earl Browder announced that FDR, head of the &amp;quot;war party of the American bourgeoisie,&amp;quot; was no better than the Communists great enemy, FBI head J. Edgar Hoover.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;James G. Ryan, ''Earl Browder: The Failure of American Communism,'' (1997), p.  168.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In the 1940 election, pro-Moscow elements in the CIO forced John L. Lewis to turn against Roosevelt and support the liberal Republican [[Wendell Willkie]]. Roosevelt meanwhile moved right, and brought into top jobs the GOP vice presidential nominee from 1936, Frank Knox (a conservative who became Secretary of the Navy) and conservative Republican lawyer [[Henry Stimson]], who took over the War Department.  Rejecting advice from the far left, 90% of CIO members voted for Roosevelt, who was easily elected to a third term.&lt;br /&gt;
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[[John P. Davies]] was assigned to Gen. [[Joseph Stilwell]] as Stilwell's adviser in China. Hopkins made a note at the time: &amp;quot;The President indicated his strong dissatisfaction with the way the whole show was running in China. He stated that Stillwell obviously hated the Chinese and that his cablegrams are sarcastic about the Chinese and this feeling is undoubtedly known to the Generalissimo.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 739.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Roosevelt and Hopkins biographer [[Robert Sherwood]] wrote that Gen. [[George C. Marshall]] told Hopkins his only serious disagreement with&lt;br /&gt;
Hopkins was on the issue of Stilwell. Sherwood adds that &amp;quot;he was unquestionably a serious nuisance to Roosevelt and there were many times when he was on the verge of recalling him.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 740.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Roosevelt was determined to help [[England]] against [[Germany]] and at one point [[Winston Churchill]] even moved into the [[White House]] while [[Britain]] was at war.  Roosevelt said in May 1941:  &amp;quot;You know I am a juggler, and I never let my right hand know what my left hand does ... I may have one policy for Europe and one diametrically opposite for North and South America. I may be entirely inconsistent, and furthermore I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help win the war.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/05/deception_for_country_not_for.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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On May 19, 1942, pressured by Communist union officials of the American Communications Association, [[CIO]], Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, informed Rear Admiral Adolphus Staton that Communist radio operators were not to be removed from their ships. Less than six months earlier, Congress, with the lone dissenting vote of [[Vito Marcantonio]], enacted Public Law 351, which authorized the Secretary of the Navy to have all radio operators with a [[subversion (political)|subversive]] background taken off their ships. Rear Admiral Staton had recommended the removal of a number of Communists. In the presence of Rear Admiral S. C. Hooper and others, Knox instructed Rear Admiral Staton &amp;quot;that, in the opinion of the President, membership or suspected membership in the CPUSA was not sufficient to deprive a radio operator of his job.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''America's Tragedy-Today'', Major Hamilton A.  Long, (NY: Post Printing), pgs. 15-25.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Expounding a memorandum bearing President Roosevelt's initials, Knox brushed aside the objections of Staton and Hooper, declaring that the order came from the President himself. Because the presidential command defied the law of the land, it was not put into writing. Consequently, the Communist radio operators returned to their ships and Rear Admirals Hooper and Staton were put on the inactive list.&lt;br /&gt;
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Stalin publicly disbanded the [[Comintern]] in 1943. A Moscow message to all stations on 12 September 1943, message number 142, relating to this event is one of the most interesting and historically important messages &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00008.cfm Venona 142(a) Moscow to Canberra 12 September 1943]. Text reads: &amp;quot;change in circumstances - and in particular the dissolution of the [[Comintern]] - necessitates a change in the method used by the workers of our residencies to keep in touch with the leaders of the local [[Communist_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America#Secret_apparatus|Communist]] organizations on intelligence matters. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
2. Our workers, by continuing to meet the leader of the Communists, are exposing themselves to danger and are giving cause [''orgs of''] local authorities to suspect that the Comintern is still in existence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
3. We propose: &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
a. That personal contact with leaders of the local Communist organizations should cease and that Communist material should not be accepted for forwarding to the Comintern. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
b. That meetings of our workers may take place only with special reliable undercover [ZAKONSPIRIROVANNYJ] contacts of the Communist [D% organizations], who are not suspected by the [''orgs of''] local authorities, exclusively about specific aspects of our intelligence work (acquiring [1 group unidentified] contacts, leads [NAVODKI], rechecking of those who are being cultivated, etc.). For each meeting it is necessary to obtain our consent. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Representative of the Soviet Union.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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No. 4084 &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Lt. Gen. [[P.M. Fitin]]. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Notes: [a] This message is known to have been sent also to NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, and OTTAWA.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in the entire corpus of [[VENONA]] translations. This message clearly discloses the [[KGB]]'s connection to the Comintern and to the national Communist parties. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Counterintelligence Reader'', National Counterintelligence Center, United States,  [http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci2/2ch4_a.htm Vol. 2, Ch. 4], n.d.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Shortly afterwards Rear Admiral Staton, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, was asked to testify before the Cox Committee of House of Representatives on the [[White House]] efforts to protect Communists in the Armed Forces. Staton complied in executive session. Before he could appear in public hearings, [[Adlai Stevenson]], assistant to Secretary Knox, instructed him that &amp;quot;there were White House orders&amp;quot; forbidding him to testify. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777835,00.html ''Cox's Circus''], Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 19, 1943.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By that time Counter-Intelligence officers had obtained irrefutable proof that the CPUSA had developed an extensive plan to abolish the Armed Forces' counter-subversive system. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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Roosevelt himself was responsible for the order of January 1, 1944 which abolished the entire setup of the Counter-Intelligence Corps in the [[War Department]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  On February 19 the War Department issued the order which purposely disorganized the counter-subversive  reporting system of the Armed Forces. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 13&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  On May 19, the day after learning of the secret order to destroy the War Department records on subversives, Senator [[StyIes Bridges]], a member of the Military Affairs Committee, demanded an explanation from Secretary of War [[Henry Stimson]]. Lieutenant General McNarney, Army Chief of Staff deputy, was &amp;quot;vague, evasive and obstructive.&amp;quot; Bridges told McNarney &amp;quot;he could forgive an officer who makes a mistake or loses a battle, but that an officer who betrays the security of his country should be taken out and shot.&amp;quot;  McNarney admitted the order had been issued from &amp;quot;higher authority.&amp;quot; After much wrangling, Secretary Stimson in a letter of May 27 promised to prevent the destruction of records on subversives. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pgs. 28-31.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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The War Department, on December 30, 1944, issued a secret order which expressly condoned &amp;quot;divided loyalty&amp;quot; and established as a guiding rule that &amp;quot;the subversive-suspect should be given the benefit of all reasonable doubt.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Big Three conferences===&lt;br /&gt;
:''See also '''[[Teheran conference]]'''''&lt;br /&gt;
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At the [[Teheran conference]] it was secretly agreed to let the Soviet Union have not only eastern Poland but also part of Finland, the Baltic States and parts of Romania. It was secretly agreed to support the Yugoslav Communist, [[Joseph Broz Tito]], and desert the pro-Western, anti-totalitarian friend, General Mihailovich.  Roosevelt told a joint session of Congress upon his return to the United States that no secret arrangements had been made. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''See also '''[[Yalta conference]]'''''&lt;br /&gt;
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At the [[Yalta conference]] a [[reparations]] commission was set up. The Soviet Union wanted the amount to be 20 billion dollars of which the USSR would take half. It was agreed that labor might be taken as a possible source of reparations. This was a way of authorizing the seizure of human beings to work as [[slave]]s and is the basis of the crime perpetrated after hostilities ceased to which Franklin Roosevelt agreed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Speaking Frankly'', James F. Byrnes, New York: Harper &amp;amp; Bros., 1947, p. 29.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Roosevelt also agreed at Yalta to have all fugitive Soviet nationals or citizens of satellite nations and tens of thousands of [[POW]]'s who elected to stay this side of the [[Iron Curtain]], returned to the Soviet Union. This was in contravention of the Geneva Convention.  The ''Saturday Evening Post'' commented:&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|With this shameful agreement as their authority, Russian [[KGB|MVD]] agents strode through the displaced-persons camps after the war and put the finger on thousands who had managed to escape the Soviet tyranny. These miserable victims were herded into boxcars and driven back to death, torture or the slow murder of the Siberian mines and forests. Many killed themselves on the way. Also under a Yalta agreement, the Russians were permitted to use German prisoners in forced labor as an item in 'reparations account.' For such inhumanities there is no excuse.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Saturday Evening Post'', Editorial, April 11, 1953, pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
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Roosevelt not only made agreements secret from the American people but secret from his closest advisers in the government. He made agreements with Stalin hostile to the objectives of Churchill and kept secret from Churchill. He made secret agreements with [[Chiang Kai-shek]] secret from both Churchill and Stalin. He made secret agreements in derogation of Chiang Kai-shek's interests without Chiang Kai-shek's knowledge. And he made many secret agreements which no one in the U.S. State Department knew about until after his death and then learned about only at embarrassing moments from Soviet Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 13, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Thirteen___The_Final_Bet.htm ''The Final Betrayal''], Flynn, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Fourth Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
In February 1944 Congress rejected Roosevelt's demand for a $10,500,000,000 tax increase and cut it to $2,300,000,000. Roosevelt vetoed it saying this was a &amp;quot;bill not for relief of the needy but of the greedy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Senator [[Alben Barkley]], Democratic leader, rose on the floor of the Senate to say the veto was &amp;quot;a calculated and deliberate assault upon the legislative integrity of every member of Congress.&amp;quot; The entire Senate united in a roar of applause. Barkley declared that after seven years of carrying the [[New Deal]] banner for Roosevelt, he would resign his post as Democratic majority leader and he called on every member of the Congress to preserve its self respect and override the veto. The Senate overrode it 72 to 14 and the House 299 to 95. &lt;br /&gt;
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After the [[Comintern]] was disbanded Roosevelt was offered the nomination of the [[Communist]] dominated [[American Labor Party]] and he had accepted their nomination in the [[Presidential election of 1944]].  It was 825,000 votes from  [[Earl Browder]] and [[Sidney Hillman]]'s American Labor Party that gave him his majority in New York State. His administration was now the hopeless prisoner of these demanding and ruthless radical labor leaders,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 12, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Twelve___The_Atlantic_Ch.htm ''The Atlantic Charter Is Scrapped''], Flynn, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who had shown their ability to elect or defeat the Democratic party, who had filled all the departments and bureaus with their agents and who had insinuated their experts into the CIO labor unions and their propagandists into the radio, the movies and all the great instruments of communication and opinion - a fact which Mr. Roosevelt's successors would have to face when the war ended. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.archive.org/web/20060820054409/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/review/2000/summer/re2-su0.htm ''The Venona Progeny''], Hayen B. Peake, Naval War College Review, Summer 2000, Vol. LIII, No. 3. &amp;quot;[[Venona]] makes absolutely clear that they had active agents in the U.S. State Department, Treasury Department, Justice Department, Senate committee staffs, the military services, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the [[Manhattan Project]], and the [[White House]], as well as wartime agencies. No modern government was more thoroughly penetrated.&amp;quot; [[Hayden B. Peake]] is the curator of [[Central Intelligence Agency]]’s (CIA) Historical Intelligence Collection. [http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/P_folder/peake.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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So thorough was [[KGB]] penetration of the Roosevelt Administration, that when [[Army Signals Intelligence]] cryptographer [[Meredith Gardner]] extracted the names of [[Hans Bethe]], [[Niels Bohr]], [[Enrico Fermi]], [[Harold Urey]], [[Edward Teller]] and 11 other scientists working on the [[Manhattan Project]] from a December 2, 1944 KGB encypherment,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00014.cfm Venona 1699 New York to Moscow, December 2, 1944].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; KGB agent [[William Weisband]] watched him do it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;VENONA: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1957, Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., (Washington, D.C.: [[National Security Agency]], Central Intelligence Agency, 1996) [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/preface.htm]; The ''Baltimore Sun'' (Laura Sullivan, &amp;quot;SPY'S ROLE LINKED TO US FAILURE ON KOREA,&amp;quot; 6/29/00) reported that a report newly declassified by the US National Security Agency (NSA) shows that [[William Weisband]] alerted the Soviets to extensive US eavesdropping in 1948, resulting in a complete blackout of information from the communist bloc for more than two years. This crippled the NSA's intelligence gathering efforts in the late 1940s and begins to explain why the US was caught unprepared for the [[DPRK]]'s 1950 invasion of the [[ROK]]. NSA historian David A. Hatch, who authored the report, said, &amp;quot;This report answers several significant questions. Up until now, there has been a great lack of knowledge surrounding some of these events ... and this should help sharpen [the public's] understanding.&amp;quot; [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news service for June 29, 2000.] [http://www.nautilus.org/archives/napsnet/dr/0006/JUN29.html#item8] &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Strom Thurmond]] also supported FDR's decision to seek a fourth term, and referred to Roosevelt as having been the world’s greatest leader. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.kevinbaker.info/c_wtm.html What Trent Meant], Kevin Baker.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Reflections on Christianity ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR said this about the Bible in an address on October 6, 1935: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the [[Bible]] has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Quoted in DeMar, ''The Untold Story'', p. 60 and Gabrial Sivan, ''The Bible and Civilization'' (New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., 1973), p. 178.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR became famous for delivering &amp;quot;fireside chats&amp;quot; over the new medium of [[radio]], and on March 9, 1937 he declared: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;I hope that you have re-read the [[United States Constitution| Constitution]] of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be read again and again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While running for his third time in a Brooklyn speech, Roosevelt said,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;I am certain that the rank and file of patriotic Republicans do not realize the nature of this threat. They should remember, and we must remember, what the collaborative understanding between Communism and Nazism has done to the processes of democracy abroad...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Those forces hate democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization. They oppose democracy because it is Christian. They oppose Christianity because it preaches democracy. Their objective is to prevent democracy from becoming strong. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt and Hopkins'', Sherwood, 1948, pgs. 193-194 (pgs. 211 - 212 pdf).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As [[World War II]] broke out in Europe, FDR warned:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Those forces hate [[Democracy]] and [[Christianity]] as two phases of the same civilization.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The following year, on May 27, 1941, FDR stated in one of his radio addresses: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In his second inaugural address, FDR pledged to do his utmost by 'seeking Divine guidance.' He took that mission further on January 25, 1941, when he wrote a personal prologue to a special edition of the [[New Testament]], which was distributed to millions of U.S. soldiers. 'As Commander-in-Chief,' Roosevelt wrote, 'I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States.' He believed that all American soldiers should have the opportunity to read the words of [[Christ]] in preparing for battle. Once, when joining those soldiers aboard a warship with Winston Churchill, FDR asked the crew and prime minister to join him in singing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' In his final inaugural address, FDR affirmed, &amp;quot;So we pray to Him for the vision to see our way clearly ... to achievement of His will.' &amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 176&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When American soldiers were landing on the beaches of Normandy, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer during a radio broadcast. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum,  [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odddayp.html Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer], June 6, 1944.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Legacy==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Dcrosmor.jpg|right|thumb|330px|Statue of the president at [[The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial]] in Washington D.C.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt is an admired but still hotly debated president. Many credit Roosevelt with helping the United States survive the Great Depression and with providing solid leadership during World War II. Others, especially conservatives, assert that he uselessly expanded the welfare state, abused executive powers, and badly botched diplomacy before and during World War II.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt's image now appears on the [[Dime]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[New Ordeal]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Michael Whitney Straight]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*H.W. Brands, ''Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt'' (2008)&lt;br /&gt;
*Smith, Jean Edward. ''FDR'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/FDR-Jean-Edward-Smith/dp/1400061210/ref=pd_ts_b_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books excerpt and text search]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;small&amp;gt;{{reflist|2}}&amp;lt;/small&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External Links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;small&amp;gt;* [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=176 &amp;quot;The Mythology of Roosevelt and the New Deal,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.onpower.org/history_greatdepression.html/ Great Depression]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=12&amp;amp;articleID=139 &amp;quot;On the Brink of World War II: Justus Doenecke’s ''Storm on the Horizon'',&amp;quot; by Ralph Raico]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/working_papers/article.asp?id=1499 &amp;quot;Government and the Economy: The World Wars,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=113 &amp;quot;How War Amplified Federal Power in the Twentieth Century,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=65 ''Depression, War and Cold War'', by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=138 &amp;quot;Wartime Prosperity?&amp;quot;, by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/issues/article.asp?id=1431 Pearl Harbor]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1468 FDR: The Man, the Leader, the Legacy], Ralph Raico, Future of Freedom Foundation, April 1, 2001. Retrieved from The Independent Institute.org 06/17/07.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/small&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Franklin D.}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:World War II]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&amp;diff=554605</id>
		<title>Franklin D. Roosevelt</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&amp;diff=554605"/>
		<updated>2008-11-11T19:59:31Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=509px-FDR in 1933.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=32&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1933&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 12, 1945    &lt;br /&gt;
|party=Democratic    &lt;br /&gt;
|vp= John N. Garner&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1933-1941          &lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Henry A. Wallace          &lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1941-1945          &lt;br /&gt;
|3vp=Harry Truman          &lt;br /&gt;
|3vp_dates=1945          &lt;br /&gt;
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|4vp_dates=          &lt;br /&gt;
|previous=Herbert Hoover&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Harry Truman      &lt;br /&gt;
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|birth_date=January 30, 1882 &lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hyde Park, New York&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 12, 1945&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Warm Springs, Georgia&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=[[Eleanor Roosevelt]]&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=[[Episcopalian]]&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Franklin Delano Roosevelt''' was the 32nd [[President of the United States of America]], 1933-45, leading the U.S. from the darkest days of the [[Great Depression]] to victory over Germany and Japan; he built the '''New Deal Coalition''' which dominated American politics into the 1960s, and is still fondly remembered by liberals.  His [[New Deal]] was a very large, complex interlocking set of programs designed to produce relief (which meant jobs for the unemployed), recovery (of the GDP), and reform (by which he meant regulation of Wall Street and the economy), as well as reelection (in 1936, 1940 and 1944) and realignment of the political system.  Conservatives strongly opposed many, but not all, of the New Deal programs. Conservatives abolished most of the relief programs when unemployment practically ended in the 1940s. Most of the regulations on business were ended about 1975-85, except for the regulation of Wall Street by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]], which still exists. The major surviving program is [[Social Security]], which Roosevelt passed in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Conservatives at the time denounced his bids for presidential power, including building a national political machine through the [[WPA]] (it lasted from 1935 to 1943), attempting to take control of the Supreme Court by adding new liberal judges (an attempt which failed, 1937), and trying to purge the Democratic party of conservative congressman (an attempt which failed in 1938). The failures of those attempts can be attributed to the [[Conservative Coalition]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After 1938 FDR turned his attention to [[World War II]]. he was a strong advocate of support for China against Japan; most conservatives agreed.  He also was a strong supporter of military aid to Britain. Conservatives split on that, with the &amp;quot;isolationists&amp;quot; opposed, and others like [Henry Stimson]] in favor.  Once Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, conservatives strongly supported the war effort and generally approved his military leadership, although highly critical of his close cooperation with [[Stalin]] and the Soviet Union. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He was the first and only President to be elected four times, breaking the traditional two-term-limit precedent established by [[George Washington]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Tradition was restored by the 22ndAmendment in 1947.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt's health failed rapidly in 1944-45, even as he ran for reelection. He died On April 12, 1945. Despite polio which crippled him starting in the early 1920s, he exuded a sense of confidence and hope for the future that made for a charismatic personality. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Conservative scholars have argued that some relief efforts actually helped to prolong the [[Great Depression]]. However, government spending and prosperity combined after World War II, the most costly war in American history.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0829/p15s01-cogn.html|author=Francis, David R. |title=More Costly than &amp;quot;The War to End All Wars&amp;quot;|date=2005-08-29|accessdate = 2006-10-24 |work=Christian Science Monitor}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The amount spent on the New Deal was less than the $21 billion borrowed by the government during two years during World War I.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David M. Kennedy, Freedom From Fear, page 178&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
Franklin Roosevelt studied law at Columbia University where he failed to graduate.  Secretary of Labor [[Frances  Perkins]], the first woman ever appointed to a cabinet post and knew FDR from his early manhood up to his death, says he was not a student, that he knew nothing of economics and that he admitted he had never read a book on the subject. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt I Knew,'' Frances Perkins, New York, Viking Press, 1946. p. 34.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Election of 1932 ==&lt;br /&gt;
The Democrats made Government non-intervention under the Hoover administration an issue in the campaign of 1932, charging that Hoover's laissez faire approach was not working.  After Roosevelt had taken office, former Democratic New York Governor Al Smith, saw Roosevelt's ultimately expansive policies as a departure from the ideals of Conservatives and supported Republican candidates in subsequent elections. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the Democrats were damning Hoover as a big spender, at the same time he was refusing to be drawn into big spending, the Democratic House passed a bill appropriating $1,500,000,000 for old-fashioned [[pork-barrel]] outlays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Because of Hoover's hesitance to utilize government spending to bail the nation out of the depression, he became incredibly unpopular, paving the way for Roosevelt's landslide victory in the presidential election of 1932, winning 472 electoral votes (nearly 90% of the total) and 22,800,000 popular votes (57% of the total) to defeat incumbent president Herbert Hoover.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;1932 Presidential Election Results http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?f=0&amp;amp;year=1932&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was running primarily on the platform that he would help the country recover from the Great Depression with his New Deal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== First Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
===Foreign policy===&lt;br /&gt;
On November 16, 1933, when the Roosevelt administration granted diplomatic recognition to the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]], the USSR pledged itself to refrain &amp;quot;from interfering in any manner in the internal affairs of the United States.&amp;quot;  This occurred three weeks after the founding of the [[Comintern]] affiliated [[American League for Peace and Democracy]]. The process of Communist “influence” in American life was accelerated.  This “influence,” as described by [[Communist party]] defector [[Louis Budenz]], was to “infiltrate key government posts, undermine the patriotism of well meaning people in strategic or confidential positions, and win over those whose words, spoken and written, have an effect on American [[public opinion]];” it was checked “partially during the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact|Hitler-Stalin alliance]], it went all out in the course of the [[Second World War]].&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Men Without Faces, The Communist Conspiracy in the U. S. A., By Louis Budenz, New York  Harper &amp;amp; Brothers, 1950, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=//PDFsml_AD/Men_Without_Faces-Louis_Francis_Budenz-1950-315pgs-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=238&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pg. 2] pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Numerous [[Attorney General's list|Comintern affiliate]] organizations sprung up in the ensuing years, including the [[American Youth Congress]] in 1934 and the [[League of American Writers]] in 1935.  [[KGB]] officers traveled the country in the guise of diplomatic and consular officials, conducting [[espionage]] activities &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/10.gif Anonymous letter to Hoover], undated (received 7 August 1943), National Security Agency Venona Collection. &amp;quot;[[SEMENOV]] works in AMTORG, is robbing the whole of the war industry in America. SEMENOV has his agents in all the industrial towns of the U.S.A., in all aviation and chemical war factories and in big industries.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; freely and offering bribes.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On February 28, 1934, Elliott Roosevelt, son of the President, and [[Anthony Fokker]] each received half a million dollars for selling fifty military aircraft to the Soviet government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756770-2,00.html ''Son's Scheme''], Time magazine, Oct. 19, 1936,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===New Deal===&lt;br /&gt;
:''For Main Article see '''[[New Deal]].'''''&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Flatgrowth.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Real Output and Growth remained stagnant throughout the New Deal largely due to government involvement. The Depression came back with a vengeance in 1937-1938 because of the [[economic planner]]s over emphasis on consumption, and deemphasis and persecution of producers--the people who make the economy work. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;''Source:New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression.''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis, ''Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, Journal of Political Economy, volume 112 (2004), pages 779–816.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;]]&lt;br /&gt;
FDR is also famous for his [[New Deal]], a set of [[economic planning]] experiments that were instilled in the hope of ending the [[Great Depression]]. After many years, unemployment was finally brought down to reasonable levels as World War II began and the draft opened up more opportunties for people to move into the workforce. [[Economic growth]] was generally occurring, but the nation wasn't back on its feet until the war progressed.&lt;br /&gt;
Enforcement of the [[Anti-trust Act]] was considered as an essential instrument to prevent [[cartel]]s and trusts in restraint of trade which had been viewed as deadly to the system of [[free enterprise]]. On the campaign trail Roosevelt called loudly for its strict enforcement. Yet immediately upon Roosevelt's accession to office the Anti-trust Act was suspended in order to cartelize every industry in America on the Italian [[fascist]] corporative model. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt Myth'', John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 1, Chapter 4, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/cgi-bin/framed/2767/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Four___The_New_New_Deal.htm ''The New New Deal''].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The National Recovery Act (NRA) and the [[Agricultural Adjustment Act]] (AAA) were plans to take the whole industrial and agricultural life of the country under the wing of the government, organize it into vast farm and industrial cartels, as they were called in Germany, cooperatives as they were called in Italy, and operate business and farms by economic planning schemes dictated and carried out under the supervision of government. It is also worth noting that World War II was total warfare on both sides.  Even the Allied Powers such as the British took control of the nation's economy.  Such intervention was very much necessary in order to gain every advantage possible against the enemy.  Centralized planning allowed for greater efficiency, yet some civil liberties were suppressed in the effort. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=420&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The AAA reported to the Secretary of Agriculture but was independent of the Department of Agriculture bureaucracy. [[Harold Ware]] was a [[Communist Party USA]] (CPUSA) official in the AAA and founded the [[Ware group]]. The group consisted of young lawyers and economists, had about 75 members in 1934 and was divided into about eight cells. The AAA was later found [[unconstitutional]], but by that time the Communist operatives had established jobs in government employment. [[Alger Hiss]], [[Lee Pressman]], [[John Abt]], [[Charles Kramer]], [[Nathan Witt]], [[Henry Collins]], [[George Silverman]], [[Marion Bachrach]], [[John Herrmann]], [[Nathaniel Weyl]], [[Donald Hiss]] and [[Victor Perlo]] were all members of the Ware group.  [[Harry Dexter White]], who was involved in the most auspicious policy [[subversion (political)|subversion]] as Director of the Division of Monetary Research in the [[Treasury Department]], was also affiliated with the group. The Ware group was the CPUSA's covert arm at this time.   Each of these agents not only provided classified documents to Soviet intelligence, but was involved in political influence operations as well.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1934, a Congressional Investigation was held to examine statements by Dr. William A. Wirt, who headed the U.S. [[Department of Education|Office of Education]]. Dr. Wirt had attended a dinner party with several Brain Trusters at the home of his secretary, [[Alice Barrows]].  Barrows began working for the Office of Education in 1919 and was secretly a member of the [[Communist Party of the United States]] (CPUSA) which advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Constitution.  Several of the Brain Trusters present at the dinner revealed to Wirt they were CPUSA members. Wirt testified,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|I was told they believe that by thwarting our then evident economic recovery, they would be able to prolong the country’s destitution until they had demonstrated to the American people that the Government must operate business and commerce.  By propaganda, they would destroy institutions making long term capital loans—and then push Uncle Sam into making these loans. Once Uncle Sam becomes our financier, he must also follow his money with control and management. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Hearings, House Select Committee To Investigate Certain Statements of Dr. William Wirt, 73rd Congress, 2nd Session, April 10 and 17, 1934. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Dr Wirt faces the cameras and tells all'', Literary Digest v. 117 (April 21 1934) p. 7.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Silvermaster file [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster053.pdf Volume 53 June 1946], p. 78 pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A June 1945 [[Venona project]] decryption of Soviet [[KGB]] wartime cables from the Washington D.C. KGB Office to Moscow's Eighth Department, the political intelligence wing, relayed information on matters regarding Attorney General Francis Biddle.  KGB agent [[Charles Kramer]], who served on the staff of several U.S. Senate Subcommittees, and Barrows are the sources of the information. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Venona 3706 KGB Washington to Moscow, 29 June 1945.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Mary Van Kleek who headed the Russell Sage Foundation and also served on the Board of the National Council, visited Washington weekly to meet with Barrows and [[Greg Silvermaster|Nathan Gregory Silvermaster]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[World War II]] Barrows was the Executive Secretary of the the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship.  This organization was declared in 1953 to be a [[Glossary_of_espionage_terms#Fronts_and_cutouts|Communist front]] organization by the [[Subversive Activities Control Board]] (SACB). In its Findings of Fact, the SACB said the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, &lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|advances positions...markedly pro-Soviet and...anti-United States Government...is a Communist-action organization which has as its primary purpose to advance the objectives of the world Communist movement under the [[hegemony]] of the Soviet Union; it has the policy to support and defend the Soviet Union under any and all circumstances...We conclude that the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Inc., is substantially directed, dominated, and controlled by the Communist Party of the United States...and is primarily operated for the purpose of giving aid and support to...the Soviet Union, a Communist foreign government.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;United States. Subversive Activities Control Board. [http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=usfexec;cc=usfexec;q1=Barrows;rgn=full text;idno=81242.0001.001;didno=81242.0001.001;view=image;seq=511;page=root;size=s;endseq=3;frm=frameset Reports of the Subversive Activities Control Board.] Washington. United States Government Printing Office. 1966. Vol. 1, p. 501.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
====Civilian Conservation Corps====&lt;br /&gt;
:''Main article [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Soon after President Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933, he announced the establishment of the CCC camps to take the &amp;quot;boys&amp;quot; (age 17-23) off the street corners; they were paid $30 a month, of which $25 went to their families.  The U.S. Army ran the camps, which provided a generation of young Army officers with leadership experience, as 2.5 million young men spent 6-months or 12-months in the camps. However there were no uniforms or military drills.  Of all the New Deal innovations, perhaps the most generally applauded was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was strongly approved at the time by conservatives and liberals alike, including most religious and business leaders as a way to save the boys who were perpectually unemployed and drifting into gangs. The CCC was ended in 1943 when the need had vanished.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Social Security===&lt;br /&gt;
An Old Age Social Security Bill was passed during his first term which provided for workers who reach the age of 65 a pension of $8 a week at most. The plan had to be pushed through against his procrastination until finally in the 1934 congressional elections the Republicans denounced him for his tardiness. When he did finally consent to a bill, it contained a plan for building a huge reserve fund that would extract billions from the workers' payrolls without any adequate return. Over the protest of the President, the Congress finally took that provision proposed by Roosevelt out of the law. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; ''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Chapter 14, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Fifteen___The_Roosevelt_.htm ''The Roosevelt Myth''], John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Taxation===&lt;br /&gt;
FDR, in a letter to journalist Roy W. Howard, wrote, &lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;What is known as consumer taxes, namely the invisible taxes paid by people in every walk of life, fall relatively much more heavily upon the poor man than on the rich man.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Franklin D. Roosevelt, letter to Roy W. Howard, September 2, 1935. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Robert H. Jackson]], then serving as [[Internal Revenue Service]] General Counsel, observed in Congressional testimony that prior to FDR’s election, &amp;quot;we find those taxes bearing most heavily on the well-to-do contributed 68% per cent of the government's total internal revenue and customs receipts, while miscellaneous taxes and customs receipts, bearing most heavily upon the consumer contributed only 31.8%”  By 1935 the situation was reversed with “taxes based on ability to pay contributed 38.7% . . . there has been an increase in the proportion of revenues contributed by taxes on consumption to 61.3%.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Testimony of Robert Jackson, Assistant General Counsel, Treasury Department, Committee on Finance, U . S. Senate, August 6, 1985.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Economic growth===&lt;br /&gt;
New capital made available for investment amounted to $348,000,000 in 1935. This was less than 1/10th of the amount available in 1929.  By contrast, the British economy had nearly recovered to its 1929 levels by 1935, and the amount available for investment was almost twice as much as the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{| style=&amp;quot;background:white; color:blue&amp;quot; border=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot; class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
! Year&lt;br /&gt;
! United States &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Standard Statistics Co., ''New Honey for Operating and Producing.''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
! Great Britain &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Midland Bank, London, ''New Issues for British Companies,'' converted from £ to $ at $4.8665.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1927&lt;br /&gt;
| $3,201,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| $710,509,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1928&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,062,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 983,033,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1929&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,668,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 759,174,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1930&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,039,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 394,186,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1931&lt;br /&gt;
| 1,006,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 155,728,000 &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1932&lt;br /&gt;
| 321,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 248,191,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1933&lt;br /&gt;
| 177,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 296,856,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1934&lt;br /&gt;
| 356,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 350,388,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1935&lt;br /&gt;
| 348,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 666,710,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Congress of Industrial Organizations===&lt;br /&gt;
By 1935 membership in labor unions had sunk to a low figure as a result of [[unemployment]].  There were men around the President at this time that saw the tremendous possibilities of organizing labor as a political force. An industrial union is one in which all the people engaged in a single industry are included without regard to the type of skills at which they work.  The industrial union was the one great instrument by which all labor could be organized and the President was urged to promote this idea as the starting point in building up a powerful political labor movement. There were three large industrial unions at that time, [[John L. Lewis]]’s [[United Mine Workers]] (UMW), the International Ladies Garment Workers Union of David Dubinsky and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of [[Sidney Hillman]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt tried to sell the plan to John L. Lewis of the UMW, and William Green, head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Green and the AFL opposed the idea of industrial unions and refused, but under the leadership of Lewis, a new group of unions was formed called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).  The Comintern directed [[Lee Pressman]] &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Report, [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster082.pdf Underground Soviet Espionage (NKVD) in Agencies of the United States Government], October 21, 1946, United States Government, pgs. 298 - 300 pdf. &amp;quot;Leon Pressman, alias Lee Pressman, served as General Counsel for the [[Agricultural Adjustment Administration]] from 1933 to 1935; in 1935 he was appointed General Counsel for the [[Works Progress Administration]]. In 1937 he was appointed to the General Counsel for the National [[Congress of Industrial Organizations]] (CIO). Pressman was also associated with various Communist front organizations.  Pressman was a known contact of [[Anatoly Gorsky]], New York [[KGB]] Rezident, and KGB Agents [[Alger Hiss]] and [[Harry Dexter White]]. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; of the [[Ware group]] to assume the position of general counsel&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Silvermaster file, [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster132.pdf Vol. 132, pg. 109] pdf. &amp;quot;Pressman is said to have run arms to Spain during the Civil War via Mexico and to have worked with General Mark Moren in the project. Moren was involved in the [[Rubens Robinson]] passport case in 1938.&amp;quot;  See also Underground Espionage Agent, Adolf Berle notes, September 2, 1939. [http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page100.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789421,00.html ''32,000 &amp;amp; Mrs. Rubens''], Time magazine, Feb. 07, 1938. &amp;quot;In the first years of the Soviet Union, to escape from Russia was difficult and dangerous. Today it has become almost impossible, an attempt tantamount to suicide. Barbed and electrically charged wire, searchlight-equipped watch towers. 24-hour frontier patrols aided by bloodhounds and police dogs guard every mile of border. .... Weak from [[scurvy]] and [[dysentery]], Konarski told correspondents: 'The camp contains about 32,000 prisoners. They are kept there until [[death]] results from hard work, bad food and consequent sickness. I met two [[American citizen]]s in the camp, Arthur Hanley, a chemical engineer from California, and Edward Rose, a machinist from Boston, Mass. They said they came to Russia in 1921 as volunteer workers. Rose said he was [[arrest]]ed in Leningrad in 1923. Hanley was caught trying to escape from Russia to Latvia in 1925. Each was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but, although they have served out their sentences, they are still being held. They told me they know of three other native-born Americans who are held prisoner in other Soviet camps.'...Mrs. Ruth Marie Rubens (alias Robinson), one U. S. citizen officially known to be in jail in Moscow (TIME, Dec. 27 [1938]). In Moscow on December 9 able, active U. S. Charge d'Affaires Loy W. Henderson learned that Mrs. Rubens had &amp;quot;disappeared&amp;quot;' from the big Hotel National next door to the U.S. Embassy. On January 18 the Soviet Foreign Office finally admitted that Mrs. Rubens was under arrest, failed to say on what charge.... hundreds of Germans are today in Soviet jails and for years German diplomatic &amp;amp; consular officials have not been allowed to see them.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; where he became known as &amp;quot;Comrade Big.&amp;quot;  The year 1936 was a period of furious organizing work by it among the unskilled workers of the country. As Lewis,  Dubinsky, and Hillman set about organizing millions of workers they were immediately up against the problem of finding skilled organizers to promote and manage the new unions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There had been in the United States a [[Communist]] labor organization known as the Trade Union Unity League which took its instructions directly from [[Moscow]]. It is estimated that ten or fifteen thousand Communists were in these unions. In 1934, Moscow directed the Communist party in the United States to dissolve the Trade Union Unity League unions and to march the members of those unions into the American Federation of Labor. The purpose was not to advance the cause of labor unions or to get better working conditions for the members, but to use the apparatus of the labor union as an instrument of [[revolution]]. The Communist leaders saw in the rise of the CIO a better opportunity for their own revolutionary objectives than in the AFL and instructed their members to withdraw from the AFL and go into the CIO where they achieved disproportionate influence. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Soviet World of American Communism'', Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Kyrill M. Anderson, Yale University Press, 1998,  Document 13, pp. 58-68. ISBN 0-300-07150-7. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lewis was interested in bringing into existence industrial unions like his own, in which he had always believed. Roosevelt was interested in bringing into American labor unions as many voters as possible and in capturing their leadership to build a powerful labor faction which could control the Democratic party and which he and his allies could control through the vast power of the government and the vast powers of labor leaders, along with the immense financial resources that so great a labor movement would have. The Communists were interested in getting into key positions as union officers, statisticians, economists, etc., in order to utilize the apparatus of the unions to promote the cause of revolution.  By the early part of 1938, over three million workers had been organized.  Lewis was later to split with FDR. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Communists and the CIO: From the Soviet archives'', Harvey Klehr and John E. Haynes, Labor History, Volume 35, Issue 3 Summer 1994 , pages 442 - 446. [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a772103056~db=all?tab=references]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,788129-4,00.html ''Turning Point?''], Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 12, 1937.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Third Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
It is fairly certain that early in 1939, if not a little sooner, FDR made up his mind to seek a third election in the [[United States presidential election, 1940|presidential election of 1940]].  FDR realized the political difficulties involved in a third nomination so he wanted to make it appear as a &amp;quot;draft Roosevelt&amp;quot; movement. He discussed other candidates with his aids, among the names were Democratic National Committee Chairman [[James Farley]], whom FDR rejected because he was [[Roman Catholic]].  The name of Paul McNutt was urged; FDR was angry McNutt would even permit his name to be discussed. FDR told Farley: &amp;quot;I consider it bad taste on his part to be letting his name be used when he is still a member of my administration.&amp;quot; Roosevelt sent him as High Commissioner to the Philippines and jokingly asked: &amp;quot;Is that far enough?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt Myth'', Book 1, Ch. 6, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Seven___The_Third_Term.htm  ''The Third Term''], John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Historian [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]] in her book ''No Ordinary Time'' explored the decision to seek a third time and concludes FDR probably decided to enter the war at the same time he decided to run again, although he was politically unable to enter the war until the [[Japanese]] [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Administrative Assistants to Roosevelt included [[James Forrestal]], [[Lauchlin Currie]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Committee on Un-American Activities, &amp;quot;The Shameful Years: Thirty Years of Soviet Espionage in the United States,&amp;quot; 82d Congress, 2d Session, 1951, pp. 15-17; [http://www.counterintelligencetraining.com/BK/ci_centre_bibliography.htm Required Reading List for Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Security Professionals,]The Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, Alexandria, VA.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and [[David K. Niles]]. Their function was &amp;quot;to get, information and to condense and summarize it for [Roosevelt's] use.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt and Hopkins : An Intimate History'', Robert E. Sherwood, New York Harper and Brothers, 1948, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=/PDFsml_AD/Roosevelt_and_Hopkins-An_Intimate_History-Robert_E_Sherwood-1948-1034pgs-GOV-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=252&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pg. 226] pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Forrestal later was to jump from a 16th story window of Bethesda Naval Hospital psychiatric ward. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People'', John Loftus and Mark Aarons, New York : St.Martin's Press, 1994. [http://yamaguchy.netfirms.com/vegyes_/secretwar_06.rtf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Currie and Niles were to be found working for the [[KGB]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Uncovering Stalin's Spies'' Julius W. Friend, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, (2000) Vol. 13 No. 3, pgs. 381 - 384. [http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/index/UN1VH8U16UMXEFGF.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00039.cfm ''The Venona Story''], Robert L. Benson, Center for Cryptological History, National Security Agency.  One of the special reports issued in July 1948 (1948 was a presidential election year) gives the earliest translation found that mentions friends of [[David Niles]], an important advisor to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, &amp;quot;will arrange anything for a bribe.&amp;quot;  Venona message 786 New York KGB to Moscow, 1 June 1944, [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/releases/01_Jun_1944_R3_m1_p1.gif pg. 1], [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/releases/01_Jun_1944_R3_m1_p2.gif pg. 2]).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Currie alerted his KGB controllers that &amp;quot;the United States was on the verge of breaking the Soviet code.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors'',  Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, Washington, DC, Regnery, 2000, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC&amp;amp;pg=PA27&amp;amp;lpg=PA27&amp;amp;dq=lauchlin+currie+break+code&amp;amp;source=web&amp;amp;ots=Yj2NHYwgxB&amp;amp;sig=sbZ3789Tz0jd7xPRiC6EEdeuJ48 pg. 27.] Herbert Romerstein was the Chief, Office to Counter Soviet Disinformation and Active Measures, U.S. Information Agency from (1983-1989), Staff member, U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (1978-1983), and Minority Chief Investigator, House Committee on Internal Security (1971-1975). [http://www.iwp.edu/faculty/facultyID.9/profile.asp]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Commander in Chief === &lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Josephstalin.jpg‎|thumb|325px|right|Roosevelt, a long-time advocate of [[Fascism#Beliefs|corporate statism]], was a great friend of [[Soviet]] leader [[Joseph Stalin]], despite the latter's war crimes and use of genocide as a political tool. Upon meeting him face-to-face for the first time at the [[Yalta Conference]], he greeted him warmly: 'I am glad to see you. I have tried for a long time to bring this about'.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_6/stefan.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; ]]&lt;br /&gt;
In August 1939 Stalin made an alliance with Hitler that allowed Hitler to invade Poland; the two divided P{oland and eastern Europe between them, as Germany turned toward France and Britain.  With Roosevelt strongly supporting France and Britain, the American Communist Party began attacking Roosevelt in the wildest terms and did so for the next twenty-two months. It used antiwar slogans like &amp;quot;The Yanks Are Not Coming&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Hands Off.&amp;quot; It set up a &amp;quot;perpetual peace vigil&amp;quot; across the street from the White House. Communist party leader Earl Browder announced that FDR, head of the &amp;quot;war party of the American bourgeoisie,&amp;quot; was no better than the Communists great enemy, FBI head J. Edgar Hoover.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;James G. Ryan, ''Earl Browder: The Failure of American Communism,'' (1997), p.  168.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In the 1940 election, pro-Moscow elements in the CIO forced John L. Lewis to turn against Roosevelt and support the liberal Republican [[Wendell Willkie]]. Roosevelt meanwhile moved right, and brought into top jobs the GOP vice presidential nominee from 1936, Frank Knox (a conservative who became Secretary of the Navy) and conservative Republican lawyer [[Henry Stimson]], who took over the War Department.  Rejecting advice from the far left, 90% of CIO members voted for Roosevelt, who was easily elected to a third term.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[John P. Davies]] was assigned to Gen. [[Joseph Stilwell]] as Stilwell's adviser in China. Hopkins made a note at the time: &amp;quot;The President indicated his strong dissatisfaction with the way the whole show was running in China. He stated that Stillwell obviously hated the Chinese and that his cablegrams are sarcastic about the Chinese and this feeling is undoubtedly known to the Generalissimo.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 739.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Roosevelt and Hopkins biographer [[Robert Sherwood]] wrote that Gen. [[George C. Marshall]] told Hopkins his only serious disagreement with&lt;br /&gt;
Hopkins was on the issue of Stilwell. Sherwood adds that &amp;quot;he was unquestionably a serious nuisance to Roosevelt and there were many times when he was on the verge of recalling him.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 740.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt was determined to help [[England]] against [[Germany]] and at one point [[Winston Churchill]] even moved into the [[White House]] while [[Britain]] was at war.  Roosevelt said in May 1941:  &amp;quot;You know I am a juggler, and I never let my right hand know what my left hand does ... I may have one policy for Europe and one diametrically opposite for North and South America. I may be entirely inconsistent, and furthermore I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help win the war.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/05/deception_for_country_not_for.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 19, 1942, pressured by Communist union officials of the American Communications Association, [[CIO]], Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, informed Rear Admiral Adolphus Staton that Communist radio operators were not to be removed from their ships. Less than six months earlier, Congress, with the lone dissenting vote of [[Vito Marcantonio]], enacted Public Law 351, which authorized the Secretary of the Navy to have all radio operators with a [[subversion (political)|subversive]] background taken off their ships. Rear Admiral Staton had recommended the removal of a number of Communists. In the presence of Rear Admiral S. C. Hooper and others, Knox instructed Rear Admiral Staton &amp;quot;that, in the opinion of the President, membership or suspected membership in the CPUSA was not sufficient to deprive a radio operator of his job.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''America's Tragedy-Today'', Major Hamilton A.  Long, (NY: Post Printing), pgs. 15-25.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Expounding a memorandum bearing President Roosevelt's initials, Knox brushed aside the objections of Staton and Hooper, declaring that the order came from the President himself. Because the presidential command defied the law of the land, it was not put into writing. Consequently, the Communist radio operators returned to their ships and Rear Admirals Hooper and Staton were put on the inactive list.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Stalin publicly disbanded the [[Comintern]] in 1943. A Moscow message to all stations on 12 September 1943, message number 142, relating to this event is one of the most interesting and historically important messages &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00008.cfm Venona 142(a) Moscow to Canberra 12 September 1943]. Text reads: &amp;quot;change in circumstances - and in particular the dissolution of the [[Comintern]] - necessitates a change in the method used by the workers of our residencies to keep in touch with the leaders of the local [[Communist_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America#Secret_apparatus|Communist]] organizations on intelligence matters. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
2. Our workers, by continuing to meet the leader of the Communists, are exposing themselves to danger and are giving cause [''orgs of''] local authorities to suspect that the Comintern is still in existence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
3. We propose: &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
a. That personal contact with leaders of the local Communist organizations should cease and that Communist material should not be accepted for forwarding to the Comintern. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
b. That meetings of our workers may take place only with special reliable undercover [ZAKONSPIRIROVANNYJ] contacts of the Communist [D% organizations], who are not suspected by the [''orgs of''] local authorities, exclusively about specific aspects of our intelligence work (acquiring [1 group unidentified] contacts, leads [NAVODKI], rechecking of those who are being cultivated, etc.). For each meeting it is necessary to obtain our consent. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Representative of the Soviet Union.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No. 4084 &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Lt. Gen. [[P.M. Fitin]]. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Notes: [a] This message is known to have been sent also to NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, and OTTAWA.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in the entire corpus of [[VENONA]] translations. This message clearly discloses the [[KGB]]'s connection to the Comintern and to the national Communist parties. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Counterintelligence Reader'', National Counterintelligence Center, United States,  [http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci2/2ch4_a.htm Vol. 2, Ch. 4], n.d.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Shortly afterwards Rear Admiral Staton, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, was asked to testify before the Cox Committee of House of Representatives on the [[White House]] efforts to protect Communists in the Armed Forces. Staton complied in executive session. Before he could appear in public hearings, [[Adlai Stevenson]], assistant to Secretary Knox, instructed him that &amp;quot;there were White House orders&amp;quot; forbidding him to testify. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777835,00.html ''Cox's Circus''], Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 19, 1943.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By that time Counter-Intelligence officers had obtained irrefutable proof that the CPUSA had developed an extensive plan to abolish the Armed Forces' counter-subversive system. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt himself was responsible for the order of January 1, 1944 which abolished the entire setup of the Counter-Intelligence Corps in the [[War Department]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  On February 19 the War Department issued the order which purposely disorganized the counter-subversive  reporting system of the Armed Forces. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 13&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  On May 19, the day after learning of the secret order to destroy the War Department records on subversives, Senator [[StyIes Bridges]], a member of the Military Affairs Committee, demanded an explanation from Secretary of War [[Henry Stimson]]. Lieutenant General McNarney, Army Chief of Staff deputy, was &amp;quot;vague, evasive and obstructive.&amp;quot; Bridges told McNarney &amp;quot;he could forgive an officer who makes a mistake or loses a battle, but that an officer who betrays the security of his country should be taken out and shot.&amp;quot;  McNarney admitted the order had been issued from &amp;quot;higher authority.&amp;quot; After much wrangling, Secretary Stimson in a letter of May 27 promised to prevent the destruction of records on subversives. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pgs. 28-31.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The War Department, on December 30, 1944, issued a secret order which expressly condoned &amp;quot;divided loyalty&amp;quot; and established as a guiding rule that &amp;quot;the subversive-suspect should be given the benefit of all reasonable doubt.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Big Three conferences===&lt;br /&gt;
:''See also '''[[Teheran conference]]'''''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the [[Teheran conference]] it was secretly agreed to let the Soviet Union have not only eastern Poland but also part of Finland, the Baltic States and parts of Romania. It was secretly agreed to support the Yugoslav Communist, [[Joseph Broz Tito]], and desert the pro-Western, anti-totalitarian friend, General Mihailovich.  Roosevelt told a joint session of Congress upon his return to the United States that no secret arrangements had been made. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''See also '''[[Yalta conference]]'''''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the [[Yalta conference]] a [[reparations]] commission was set up. The Soviet Union wanted the amount to be 20 billion dollars of which the USSR would take half. It was agreed that labor might be taken as a possible source of reparations. This was a way of authorizing the seizure of human beings to work as [[slave]]s and is the basis of the crime perpetrated after hostilities ceased to which Franklin Roosevelt agreed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Speaking Frankly'', James F. Byrnes, New York: Harper &amp;amp; Bros., 1947, p. 29.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt also agreed at Yalta to have all fugitive Soviet nationals or citizens of satellite nations and tens of thousands of [[POW]]'s who elected to stay this side of the [[Iron Curtain]], returned to the Soviet Union. This was in contravention of the Geneva Convention.  The ''Saturday Evening Post'' commented:&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|With this shameful agreement as their authority, Russian [[KGB|MVD]] agents strode through the displaced-persons camps after the war and put the finger on thousands who had managed to escape the Soviet tyranny. These miserable victims were herded into boxcars and driven back to death, torture or the slow murder of the Siberian mines and forests. Many killed themselves on the way. Also under a Yalta agreement, the Russians were permitted to use German prisoners in forced labor as an item in 'reparations account.' For such inhumanities there is no excuse.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Saturday Evening Post'', Editorial, April 11, 1953, pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt not only made agreements secret from the American people but secret from his closest advisers in the government. He made agreements with Stalin hostile to the objectives of Churchill and kept secret from Churchill. He made secret agreements with [[Chiang Kai-shek]] secret from both Churchill and Stalin. He made secret agreements in derogation of Chiang Kai-shek's interests without Chiang Kai-shek's knowledge. And he made many secret agreements which no one in the U.S. State Department knew about until after his death and then learned about only at embarrassing moments from Soviet Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 13, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Thirteen___The_Final_Bet.htm ''The Final Betrayal''], Flynn, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fourth Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
In February 1944 Congress rejected Roosevelt's demand for a $10,500,000,000 tax increase and cut it to $2,300,000,000. Roosevelt vetoed it saying this was a &amp;quot;bill not for relief of the needy but of the greedy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Senator [[Alben Barkley]], Democratic leader, rose on the floor of the Senate to say the veto was &amp;quot;a calculated and deliberate assault upon the legislative integrity of every member of Congress.&amp;quot; The entire Senate united in a roar of applause. Barkley declared that after seven years of carrying the [[New Deal]] banner for Roosevelt, he would resign his post as Democratic majority leader and he called on every member of the Congress to preserve its self respect and override the veto. The Senate overrode it 72 to 14 and the House 299 to 95. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the [[Comintern]] was disbanded Roosevelt was offered the nomination of the [[Communist]] dominated [[American Labor Party]] and he had accepted their nomination in the [[Presidential election of 1944]].  It was 825,000 votes from  [[Earl Browder]] and [[Sidney Hillman]]'s American Labor Party that gave him his majority in New York State. His administration was now the hopeless prisoner of these demanding and ruthless radical labor leaders,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 12, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Twelve___The_Atlantic_Ch.htm ''The Atlantic Charter Is Scrapped''], Flynn, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who had shown their ability to elect or defeat the Democratic party, who had filled all the departments and bureaus with their agents and who had insinuated their experts into the CIO labor unions and their propagandists into the radio, the movies and all the great instruments of communication and opinion - a fact which Mr. Roosevelt's successors would have to face when the war ended. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.archive.org/web/20060820054409/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/review/2000/summer/re2-su0.htm ''The Venona Progeny''], Hayen B. Peake, Naval War College Review, Summer 2000, Vol. LIII, No. 3. &amp;quot;[[Venona]] makes absolutely clear that they had active agents in the U.S. State Department, Treasury Department, Justice Department, Senate committee staffs, the military services, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the [[Manhattan Project]], and the [[White House]], as well as wartime agencies. No modern government was more thoroughly penetrated.&amp;quot; [[Hayden B. Peake]] is the curator of [[Central Intelligence Agency]]’s (CIA) Historical Intelligence Collection. [http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/P_folder/peake.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So thorough was [[KGB]] penetration of the Roosevelt Administration, that when [[Army Signals Intelligence]] cryptographer [[Meredith Gardner]] extracted the names of [[Hans Bethe]], [[Niels Bohr]], [[Enrico Fermi]], [[Harold Urey]], [[Edward Teller]] and 11 other scientists working on the [[Manhattan Project]] from a December 2, 1944 KGB encypherment,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00014.cfm Venona 1699 New York to Moscow, December 2, 1944].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; KGB agent [[William Weisband]] watched him do it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;VENONA: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1957, Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., (Washington, D.C.: [[National Security Agency]], Central Intelligence Agency, 1996) [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/preface.htm]; The ''Baltimore Sun'' (Laura Sullivan, &amp;quot;SPY'S ROLE LINKED TO US FAILURE ON KOREA,&amp;quot; 6/29/00) reported that a report newly declassified by the US National Security Agency (NSA) shows that [[William Weisband]] alerted the Soviets to extensive US eavesdropping in 1948, resulting in a complete blackout of information from the communist bloc for more than two years. This crippled the NSA's intelligence gathering efforts in the late 1940s and begins to explain why the US was caught unprepared for the [[DPRK]]'s 1950 invasion of the [[ROK]]. NSA historian David A. Hatch, who authored the report, said, &amp;quot;This report answers several significant questions. Up until now, there has been a great lack of knowledge surrounding some of these events ... and this should help sharpen [the public's] understanding.&amp;quot; [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news service for June 29, 2000.] [http://www.nautilus.org/archives/napsnet/dr/0006/JUN29.html#item8] &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Strom Thurmond]] also supported FDR's decision to seek a fourth term, and referred to Roosevelt as having been the world’s greatest leader. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.kevinbaker.info/c_wtm.html What Trent Meant], Kevin Baker.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Reflections on Christianity ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR said this about the Bible in an address on October 6, 1935: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the [[Bible]] has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Quoted in DeMar, ''The Untold Story'', p. 60 and Gabrial Sivan, ''The Bible and Civilization'' (New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., 1973), p. 178.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR became famous for delivering &amp;quot;fireside chats&amp;quot; over the new medium of [[radio]], and on March 9, 1937 he declared: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;I hope that you have re-read the [[United States Constitution| Constitution]] of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be read again and again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While running for his third time in a Brooklyn speech, Roosevelt said,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;I am certain that the rank and file of patriotic Republicans do not realize the nature of this threat. They should remember, and we must remember, what the collaborative understanding between Communism and Nazism has done to the processes of democracy abroad...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Those forces hate democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization. They oppose democracy because it is Christian. They oppose Christianity because it preaches democracy. Their objective is to prevent democracy from becoming strong. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt and Hopkins'', Sherwood, 1948, pgs. 193-194 (pgs. 211 - 212 pdf).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As [[World War II]] broke out in Europe, FDR warned:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Those forces hate [[Democracy]] and [[Christianity]] as two phases of the same civilization.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The following year, on May 27, 1941, FDR stated in one of his radio addresses: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In his second inaugural address, FDR pledged to do his utmost by 'seeking Divine guidance.' He took that mission further on January 25, 1941, when he wrote a personal prologue to a special edition of the [[New Testament]], which was distributed to millions of U.S. soldiers. 'As Commander-in-Chief,' Roosevelt wrote, 'I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States.' He believed that all American soldiers should have the opportunity to read the words of [[Christ]] in preparing for battle. Once, when joining those soldiers aboard a warship with Winston Churchill, FDR asked the crew and prime minister to join him in singing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' In his final inaugural address, FDR affirmed, &amp;quot;So we pray to Him for the vision to see our way clearly ... to achievement of His will.' &amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 176&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When American soldiers were landing on the beaches of Normandy, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer during a radio broadcast. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum,  [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odddayp.html Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer], June 6, 1944.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Legacy==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Dcrosmor.jpg|right|thumb|330px|Statue of the president at [[The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial]] in Washington D.C.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt is an admired but still hotly debated president. Many credit Roosevelt with helping the United States survive the Great Depression and with providing solid leadership during World War II. Others, especially conservatives, assert that he uselessly expanded the welfare state, abused executive powers, and badly botched diplomacy before and during World War II.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt's image now appears on the [[Dime]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[New Ordeal]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Michael Whitney Straight]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*H.W. Brands, ''Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt'' (2008)&lt;br /&gt;
*Smith, Jean Edward. ''FDR'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/FDR-Jean-Edward-Smith/dp/1400061210/ref=pd_ts_b_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books excerpt and text search]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;small&amp;gt;{{reflist|2}}&amp;lt;/small&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External Links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;small&amp;gt;* [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=176 &amp;quot;The Mythology of Roosevelt and the New Deal,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.onpower.org/history_greatdepression.html/ Great Depression]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=12&amp;amp;articleID=139 &amp;quot;On the Brink of World War II: Justus Doenecke’s ''Storm on the Horizon'',&amp;quot; by Ralph Raico]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/working_papers/article.asp?id=1499 &amp;quot;Government and the Economy: The World Wars,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=113 &amp;quot;How War Amplified Federal Power in the Twentieth Century,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=65 ''Depression, War and Cold War'', by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=138 &amp;quot;Wartime Prosperity?&amp;quot;, by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/issues/article.asp?id=1431 Pearl Harbor]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1468 FDR: The Man, the Leader, the Legacy], Ralph Raico, Future of Freedom Foundation, April 1, 2001. Retrieved from The Independent Institute.org 06/17/07.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/small&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Franklin D.}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:World War II]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545265</id>
		<title>Abraham Lincoln</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545265"/>
		<updated>2008-10-30T01:26:40Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=Ncoln2.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=16&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1861&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 15, 1865&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|vp=Hannibal Hamlin&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1861-1865&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1865&lt;br /&gt;
|previous=James Buchanan&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=February 12, 1809&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hardin County, Kentucky&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 15, 1865 (aged 56)&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Washington, D.C.&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Mary Todd&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Abraham Lincoln''' was the 16th [[President of the United States of America]] serving from 1861 to 1865.  He led his country through its darkest chapter, the [[American Civil War | Civil War]].  He was [[homeschooled]] and almost completely self-taught, which likely gave him independent thinking, reliance on logic, and a desire to continue to learn as an adult.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Lincoln successfully proved all of Euclid's theorems while Lincoln served in Congress.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He is considered the most eloquent writer of any American president in history.  He is also one of the very few whose [[faith]] developed and grew while holding high public office.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
''“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families-- second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon Counties, Illinois.”'' [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/autobiog.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin some three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.  His father was Thomas Lincoln, who himself was a descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated to Massachusetts from England some years after the Mayflower landed.  Thomas was a sturdy man, committed to pioneering in the new lands of Kentucky and Indiana, despite his lack of prosperity.  He married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, and together they had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who did not survive infancy.  Young Abraham’s earliest memories of his days in Kentucky were his helping his father plant some seeds of corn and sunflower, and of a flood that washed them away.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Young abraham lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The oldest-known photograph of Lincoln, about 1847.]]&lt;br /&gt;
In December 1816 Thomas had to pack up his family and leave for southwestern Indiana to avoid a lawsuit which had threatened him with a takeover of his property.  There he built what was a “half-faced” camp, just a crude log structure with one side open to the elements, and there the family stayed as squatters on public land until Thomas had finished a permanent cabin, and later would buy the land outright on which it stood.  Helping Thomas clear the land and plowing the fields was Abraham, who would also take care of the crops but developed a dislike for tasks which put additional food on the table, hunting and fishing.  The poverty, Lincoln recalled, was “pretty pinching” at times, and by the age of nine he was a tall, lanky boy dressed rather ragged and unkempt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then the fall of 1818 brought the hardest blow: Nancy had died of the “milk sickness”, leaving Abraham without the mother whom he deeply loved.  Some time later, Thomas had taken the buckboard and the mule, and left Abraham and Sarah on their own for two weeks; when he returned, he was with a new wife, Sarah Bush Johnson; she immediately made up for the absence of Nancy by replacing Abraham’s corn husk mattress with one of down, winning him over the first day.  The new step-mother treated both children with an even hand (she herself was a widow with three children, whom she had brought), but she became very fond of Abraham, and he in turn was fond of her, referring to her as his “angel mother” for the rest of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Education===&lt;br /&gt;
Both of Abraham’s parents were nearly completely illiterate, and he himself had not much more than one year of formal education.  When he did go to school, it was by “littles” – a little here, a little there – and he would call it “blab” school, which meant that they had to recite their lessons constantly due to lack of paper, pencils, and chalk.  “Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.”  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His step-mother encouraged his reading as much as possible, and although Abraham did not have access to a large number of books, he would read as much of what was there, and read voraciously.  He read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, ''Aesop’s Fables'', Daniel DeFoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe'', Parson Weems's ''Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington'', Edward Gibbon’s ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', and undoubtedly he read many times the only book his family actually owned, the Bible.  He would walk for miles to borrow a book he heard about, and after his chores he would collapse into a heap in front of the fire and read for hours.  He would say years later that his best friend was the man who let him borrow a book he hadn’t read yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The Rail-Splitter===&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.”  He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.”  And after a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver.  (Sandburg, pg. 14)  Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln hair.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Fearing that his friends wouldn't recognize him &amp;quot;without a bad tousle&amp;quot;, Lincoln messed his hair up in this picture before the photographer closed the shutter.]]&lt;br /&gt;
Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers.  Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying.  Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Springfield==&lt;br /&gt;
The following year he moved to the new state capital of Illinois, Springfield, becoming law partners with John T. Stuart, Stephan T. Logan, and finally William H. Herndon in 1844, who, although junior in age to Lincoln by a decade, made a good, balanced partner.  Few records exist of their law business, and when they got paid for their services they split the cash, no matter who was paid.  Lincoln would earn $1,200 - $1,500 annually within just a few years; by comparison circuit judges earned $750.  But to earn it he kept busy and worked hard; often he would climb into his buggy and travel the circuit of neighboring counties and practice before the courts there.  And often the cases he would be involved in were petty&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Years before he had tried, and failed, to push legislation through the state assembly to have the Sangamon River made navigable to New Salem; by 1850 the railroads were bringing business and prosperity to Illinois, and Lincoln, by virtue of the ease the railroad made in traveling to his courts, profited more.  He had served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad, enabling it to get a state charter; he would defend the company against McClean County’s unsuccessful efforts to tax it.  He handles cases for other railroads, banks, manufacturing, and other large companies in the state; he handled some patent suits and a few criminal trials.  And he also saved the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River from demolition, when river interests demanded the bridge be taken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The moonlight murder===&lt;br /&gt;
In Lincoln’s New Salem days he was introduced to the Clary’s Grove Boys, a group of rowdy men from that nearby town would come into New Salem to bully some of the male townsfolk.  The leader of the group was Jack Armstrong, who’s challenge to wrestle the Salem men usually resulted in Armstrong throwing the unfortunate man to the ground in a very short time; when he saw Lincoln, Armstrong would dismiss the lanky young man as a pushover.  It was when they fought that Armstrong discovered just how hard it was to throw Lincoln – in fact, it was impossible.  The battle ended in a draw, and the good-natured Lincoln made a new friend.  Armstrong would later be one of the men to elect Lincoln to lead the company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1856, Jack Armstrong’s son, William (or “Duff”), was charged with murder.  A witness had claimed that he had seen Duff and another kill a New Salem man late at night by the light of full moon.  Lincoln pulled out an almanac and proved that the witness could not have seen anything at all, as the moon was at its quarter and had actually set over an hour before.  Duff was acquitted, and Lincoln won the case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and a Democrat from Tennessee, was in the White House when Lincoln first entered politics.  He shared with Jackson the sympathies for the common man, but differed in the role of government as related to it; Jackson stated the government should be separated from the economic enterprise, while Lincoln was of the view that “the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.”   Lincoln most associated himself with the Whig Party, as among their members Henry Clay and Daniel Webster both advocated a government should be encouraging business, and the development of the country to that end.  It was an easy choice for Lincoln: he saw Illinois as needing such aid to improve the development of its own economy.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
In the Illinois State Legislature Lincoln found that politics could be detrimental and harsh, as well as rewarding.  An example of the former occurred in 1836, just as he gave a speech in support of his re-election.  Democrat John Forquer, also seeking election, used his response and acid tounge to denounce him. &amp;quot;This young man needs to be taken down&amp;quot; he said, pointing to Lincoln, &amp;quot;and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me.&amp;quot; The success of Forquer's speech convinced some of Lincoln's own allies that his career was over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But when Lincoln rose to make his rebuttal, he thought of Forquer, and what he had done recently in conniving with President Jackson to change parties; in reward for doing so he was made Government Land Register with a $3,000 annual salary. Forquer was then able to construct a fine new house in Springfield, complete with a curiosity residents had heard about from science but had never seen before: a lightning rod.  Before he entered the state house building that day, Lincoln spent a few minutes at Forquer's house staring at the thing, and having heard Forquer's speech later on, he thought of what he saw.  Lincoln's reply was blistering, and sealed Forquer's fate. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Among other things he said, the gentleman commenced his speech by saying that 'this young man,' alluding to me, 'must be taken down.' I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a politician, but, live long or die young, I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God!&amp;quot;'' (Sandburg, pg.49)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also proposed state funding to construct a network of roads, railroads, and canals.  Both Whigs and Democrats would join in for the passing of this omnibus bill, but a business depression was created by the panic of 1837, and as a result most of the provisions in the bill were abandoned.  1837 was also marked by the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, a newspaperman from Alton who was killed by a mob due to his anti-slavery views.  The legislature introduced resolutions defending Southern slavery while condemning abolitionist societies, as per the U.S. Constitution.  In protest of the resolutions Lincoln, with a fellow legislator, drew up a declaration [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm] which stated that slavery was “founded on both injustice and bad policy,” while also declaring that “the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its evils.”&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lawyer Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lincoln in the late 1850's, about to debate his rival Stephen A. Douglas.]]&lt;br /&gt;
He only served one term in the United States Congress, 1847 to 1849, during which time he did little on legislative matters.  He did introduce a bill calling for a gradual emancipation of slaves within the District of Columbia, but since it hinged on the approval of the white citizens there, it only caused mild anger from abolitionists as well as slave holders, and was quietly dropped.  His one main issue was over the Mexican War, in which he condemned the American entry into it on false pretenses, particularly blaming current president James K. Polk. He worked toward the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency, and when Taylor had won, Lincoln expected to be rewarded with the job of land commissioner, but failed.  He was voted out of office by his constituents, as they felt he was too critical of the war.  Disillusioned, he left politics and reentered his law practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Return to politics==&lt;br /&gt;
He stayed out for five years, winning several cases before the courts, then in 1854 he had read in the papers that Stephan A. Douglas, his political rival and Democratic senator from Illinois, had placed before Congress a bill which would reopen the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to slavery, as well as allow settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to vote for themselves whether or not they wanted it, a concept which was called “popular sovereignty” by Douglas.  The resulting Kansas-Nebraska Act would do nothing more than provoke violent opposition; a border war would result between Kansas and Missouri as both pro and anti-slavery forces would cause much bloodshed; and voters in the Old Northwest, Illinois among them, would react vehemently against it, resulting in the destruction of the Whigs as a political party, and the birth of the Republicans, of which Lincoln quickly became a member.  The [[Dred Scott]] decision of 1856, in which a black man who sued for his freedom only to be told that he was never a citizen and had to remain a slave, only added more fuel to the fire, as the states were aligning slave versus free, North versus South. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the leading member of the Republican Party in Illinois, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in Springfield on June 16, 1858.  The acceptance speech he gave has been called the [[Lincoln's &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; Speech|House Divided]] speech, after the opening lines, which were based upon Matthew 12:25:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. &amp;quot;A house divided against itself cannot stand.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- Matthew 12:25 --&amp;gt; I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds.  Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]].  Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was &amp;quot;established upon the white basis.  It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men.&amp;quot;   (TL 1, pg 106).  Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east.  Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was &amp;quot;voted up or voted down.&amp;quot;  By his last debate, Lincoln would narrow the differences between himself and Douglas as the basic principle of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, &amp;quot;You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it.&amp;quot; No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.&amp;quot;''  [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al11.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Douglas for his part knew how formidable his foe was, and declared that if he won, “it would be a hollow victory.” He did win, retaining his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==The presidency==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and beard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Soon after his election, a little girl named Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln, telling him his face would be softened by the addition of a beard; here he just started on her advice.]]&lt;br /&gt;
:''My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' Lincoln's Farewell Speech to the citizens of Springfield, February 11, 1861.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 18, 1860 at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot.  He then set aside his law practice and gave full time to the direction of his campaign, with the object of first uniting the Republicans from anything with which the party could disagree over.  The Democrats were already divided, having nominated Douglas in Baltimore on the Northern platform of popular sovereignty, and John C. Breckenridge who was elected on a platform of states’ rights and slavery by Southern Democrats.  Lincoln won the [[United States presidential election of 1860]], winning a clear majority in popular votes as well as electoral votes, despite winning no votes in the South.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The state of South Carolina proclaimed its secession from the Union in December, 1860, soon after Lincoln’s victory.  To try to prevent other states from following, compromises were hurriedly pushed through Congress, one of which, the [[Crittenden Amendment]], guaranteed the existence of slavery in perpetuity where it already existed, and dividing the territories between slave and free; Lincoln, however, was opposed to it, as he believed that despite this slavery would still expand south of the U.S. border.  Six more states seceded, joining with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A crisis was thus forced upon Lincoln before he even entered the White House.  Fort Sumter, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, was claimed by the Confederacy and ordered to be turned over; the commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused.  Lincoln, still in Springfield, asked Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, to be prepared “to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inauguration.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to &amp;quot;preserve, protect, and defend it.&amp;quot;'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and General P.G.T. Beauregard, believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Civil War==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Mary Todd Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mary Todd Lincoln]]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union; he would have been happy to preserve the peace as well, but he was willing to engage in a war to preserve it as well, a war he thought would be short.  After Fort Sumter he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports and called for thousands of volunteers to enlist for ninety days.  He also believed that an overland war was inevitable, and he ordered forces on a march on the Virginia front, resulting in the first great defeat for the Union at Bull Run (July 21, 1861).  Shortly afterward, Lincoln issued a set of memorandums for the military, of which his basic thought was that armies in the field must advance concurrently and on several fronts.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finding himself as the leader of a country now at war, Lincoln used a description of himself in which he let events control him, and then react to the problem.  It was something of himself that was used with success as a politician.  In this sense he was being practical, ready to employ an action or decision which would help the cause, and ready to abandon it and use another if the first failed.  But his first insight with which he held fast to, that of taking the fight to the enemy’s army, failed many times when successive generals tried to take the fight to the enemy’s capitol and failed, or failed in following up on a rare victory.  He had George McClellan on the Peninsula, but was beaten back during the Seven Days battles.  His replacement, John Pope, lost in a repeat of Bull Run.  McClellan was back again, winning a victory at Antietam, but failed to follow through in capturing the enemy’s army afterwards.  Then Ambrose Burnside, followed by Joseph Hooker, led the Army of the Potomac to massive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, respectively.  Then George Gordon Meade was put in, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg; Meade would not finish off the enemy either.  Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commented on the frequent changes in generals.  “I’m afraid they’re going to find a general I cannot understand.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Having seen what he done at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Lincoln found the fighting general he was looking for in Ulysses S. Grant.  In March 1864 he promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Federal armies.  Grant would have his headquarters in the field with Meade’s Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George H. Thomas would each lead an army to take the fight to the enemy.  Halleck would be given a new title, chief of staff, and remain in Washington as the presidential liaison.  Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton would be responsible for the procurement of men and supplies.  By this reorganization Lincoln created the structure of the high command in which all the energies of and resources of the country were mobilized into a grand strategy for the completion of the war.  It was all the more remarkable as prior to 1861, he had no knowledge of military theory or affairs; he threw himself into studying the subject that by 1864, he was considered to be something of a military genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Personal life==&lt;br /&gt;
Ann Rutledge played a part in stories as being the first woman Lincoln may have fallen in love with.  However, evidence is scant, and what surviving letters and documents there are indicate they were close friends.  She died in 1835 at the age of 22, and the entire community grieved with Lincoln.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and tad.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The irrepressible Tad Lincoln, striking a typical pose next to his father, who could barely restrain a smile.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The one true love of Lincoln’s life was a well-educated woman with a quick wit, [[Mary Todd]], from a well-to-do family in Springfield.  Lincoln endured a courtship that lasted two years (and was broken once), before they were married on November 4, 1842.  Together they would have four boys: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (“Eddie”, who died at age 4), William Wallace (“Willie”), and Thomas (“Tad”).  Willie and Tad were the first children in the White House, and the halls and gardens were filled with childish romps, especially from the rambunctious, uncontrollable Tad, who once took a group of office seekers there to see the president on a trip through a confusing maze of hanging laundry; drove a herd of goats inside; got into the attic and rang the servants’ bells for hours; and succeeded in getting his doll executed for sleeping on watch.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns also had their share of quarrels, and stories passed through the years tended to exaggerate them, but existing letters between the two indicate they were like any other married couple.  They were devoted to each other’s company, and when apart they missed each other.  &amp;quot;I have fallen in love with her,&amp;quot; Lincoln would write to a friend about Mary, &amp;quot;and have never fallen out.&amp;quot;  Mary did have fits of temper and a sense of insecurity; while in the White House she had spells of simple jealousy which she staged in front of guests; sometimes the scene would be quite embarrassing.  She also rang up large bills for her personal wardrobe and redecorating the White House; Lincoln, when he found out one such bill which totaled near $20,000 and coupled with a request for Congress to appropriate the money needed to pay for it, displayed a rare occurrence of pure anger:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;It would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had approved a bill overrunning an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs, for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets!&amp;quot;'' [http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/marytoddlincoln.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The early deaths of Eddie in 1850 and Willie in 1863 may have played a role in Mary’s eccentricity.  Lincoln did what he could to support her, even pointing out the presence of a nearby building which housed a sanitarium, hinting that Mary could be placed there if she didn't control herself over Willie's death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On slavery==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1841, Lincoln had a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, and he saw sitting on board another boat a group of slaves chained together.  He described the sight in a letter to Joshua Speed in 1855: “You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln hated slavery.  “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself,” he declared. “I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypocrites.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm] In 1855, writing to his friend Joshua Speed, he recalled a steamboat trip the two had taken on the Ohio River14 years earlier. “You may remember, as I well do,” he said, “that from Louisville [Kentucky] to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln often penned fragments on slavery.  He would begin it by starting a hypothetical vested interest in slavery, and end it with the only logical conclusion, that is was a great moral wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B.—why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.'' (Fragment on Slavery, April, 1854)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was elected on a platform which pledged no interference with slavery where it had already existed, and he was hesitant to adopt an abolitionist policy.  He was concerned about the reaction of the border states should such a policy be enacted.  He was concerned about four million newly-freed blacks being incorporated into the country’s social, economic, and political life.  Some individuals, such as General John C. Freemont, made it a point to proclaim freedom in districts which they had conquered; Lincoln revoked those proclamations.  In a letter to Horace Greely, Lincoln plainly stated&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was willing to play a major part in removing slavery altogether during the war.  He first proposed an idea in which slaves were to be freed gradually by the actions of the states, with the federal government sharing the cost of compensation.  None of the border states were willing to implement it, and no prominent African-American leader was willing to see newly-freed blacks sent to Africa, as part of the idea called for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.&amp;quot;'' Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln, like many other people of his day, believed, at least initially, that &amp;quot;Religion is a private affair between a man and his God.&amp;quot;  Doubts about Lincoln's faith have arisen mainly because he never officially joined a church, which his political opponents used sometimes to accuse him.  He had a love of the Bible and memorized parts of the Bible, and used biblical allusions later on in political speech.  Lincoln said once that:&lt;br /&gt;
''&amp;quot;I doubt the possibility or propriety of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas.  I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms.&amp;quot;'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also said on another occasion:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also made statements that suggest a strong faith, such as when his father was ill:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Tell father to remember to call upon and confide in our great, and good, and merciful Maker who will not turn away from him in any extremity.  He notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs of our heads; and he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him.  If it is to be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before; and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Regardless of Lincoln's views on faith as a youth, it seemed to grow as President.  Lincoln penciled in &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; after &amp;quot;one nation&amp;quot; for his [[Gettysburg Address]] delivered on November 19, 1863.  The phrase &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; was not in the early drafts.  Mrs. Lincoln recalled her husband's last words just prior to his assassination in Ford's Theater: &amp;quot;He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the [[Savior]]. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-09-08&amp;amp;view=View&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1864, a close friend of Lincoln's, Joshua Speed, confided in Lincoln that he did not accept the Bible as true. Lincoln famously replied, &amp;quot;Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After Lincoln was shot at Ford's theater two clergy claimed that he had made a secret trip from Washington to be baptized.  Also a Roman Catholic Priest claimed that Lincoln received the sacrament of baptism in secret.  Neither of these claims have any proof in White House records or his personal diary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing, 2005.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's conservatism==&lt;br /&gt;
In his [[Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech|Cooper Union Address]], Lincoln spoke of the sectionalism which was fracturing the country as a result of slavery; the Republican Party was new in 1859, and a serious threat to slavery's existence.  Lincoln and his party were called radical and destructive, but he counted himself among the earliest defenders of conservative principles, which was in essence a defense of time-honored, traditional values. Lincoln said that out of the 39 framers of the Constitution, 23 of the 39 voted on whether to prevent the spread of slavery, and that 21 of the 23 voted in favor of doing so. Lincoln therefore said that it was the pro-slavery South that was radically breaking with the tradition begun by those that created the Constitution. As Lincoln said:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;&amp;quot; while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave trade; some for a Congressional Slave-Code for the Territories; some for Congress forbidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery within their limits; some for maintaining Slavery in the Territories through the judiciary; some for the &amp;quot;gur-reat pur-rinciple&amp;quot; that &amp;quot;if one man would enslave another, no third man should object,&amp;quot; fantastically called &amp;quot;Popular Sovereignty;&amp;quot; but never a man among you is in favor of federal prohibition of slavery in federal territories, according to the practice of &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's style of writing==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lincoln in November, 1863, about to leave for Pennsylvania.  The reason for his confident look may have been within the envelope lying on the table, believed to contain his draft of the Gettysburg Address]]&lt;br /&gt;
A White House visitor, Orville Browning, told Lincoln's personal secretary John Nicolay one day that he had spoke to Lincoln sometime in 1861 on the subject of slavery; that if the right thing about slavery wasn't done, God just couldn't be on the side of the Union. Browning remembered Lincoln's reply: &amp;quot;What if the Almighty takes a different view of slavery than we do?&amp;quot;, and right then and there Browning realized that Lincoln had thought very deep on the subject, much deeper than Browning did. [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/books/wilson.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was known to think long and deep on various topics, and often he would take notes, write them on little scraps of paper, and stuff them into his tall stovepipe hat for later use.  When it was time for use, such as his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech, he pulled them out, laid them on a table, and would commence to writing.  He would sift through the subject, adding this, removing that, and sometimes he would stand in his empty room and deliver it out loud to an imaginary audience, testing the effects of what he spoke, and altering it as needed.  According to author Garry Wills, Lincoln brought to bear the rhetorical tone of the Greek Revival and Transcendental movements, in which spoken oratory was practiced in government and on the stage.  The leading speakers of this time, and whom Lincoln looked upon, were Danial Webster and Henry Clay, both of the Senate, and Edward Everett, a speaker much in demand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The training he had given himself also enabled him to write a simple letter or a speech on the spot.  Words would flow clear when Lincoln wrote in his later years, and he didn't have to do twice one of his finest personal letters, one of consolation to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, who had lost five sons in the war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Executive Mansion,''&lt;br /&gt;
:''Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Dear Madam,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''A. Lincoln''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What many consider his masterpiece is the [[Gettysburg Address]].  Here Lincoln, going through perhaps a dozen writes and re-writes of what he had thought on the subject, entirely changed the meaning of the war itself in a mere 272 words, and in so doing, according to Wills, remaking America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics in war==&lt;br /&gt;
That there had to be a certain degree of support to win the war was a given, and Lincoln strove to have unity for that effort in the North.  Politics was required, and Lincoln had a special knack for appealing to his fellows and talking to them at their own level and language.  He would smooth over lingering differences, and held the loyalty of those who were antagonistic to one another.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But the Democrats remained strong, and frequently clashed.  Its member included both war and peace Democrats; the peace side was called “Copperheads”, after the snake which strikes without warning while hidden.  Lincoln tried conciliating with both, but with the latter he had to resort to arrest at times, most famously to an Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Valandigham, who was arrested after he had repeatedly exhorted soldiers to desert.  He justified his actions on the grounds that the suspension of ''habeas corpus'' was necessary only in times of rebellion, insurrection, or when the public safety may require it, as stated in the Constitution; certainly the Civil War had met those specific conditions.  Many would dissent, and openly criticize Lincoln for arbitrarily violating the Constitution that he had sworn to preserve.  In response to the criticism in general, and the case of Valandigham in particular, Lincoln wrote:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.&amp;quot;'' [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=boolean;rgn=div1;q1=soldier;op2=and;q2=deserts;op3=and;q3=agitator;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln6;node=lincoln6%3A569]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who promised a restoration of the Union, but waffled on many of its points, even abandoning the Democratic platform of armistice and peaceful separation.  Lincoln was able to beat him in the election, assisted by the timely victories of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sherman in Georgia.  Overtures of peace from Confederates were not wholly rejected.  On February 3, 1865, Lincoln met with Confederate commissioners, among them Vice President Alexander Stephens, on a steamship in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  There would be peace, he insisted, if the South would quit the war, abandon slavery, and accept re-unification, and once these conditions were met he would gracious with pardons.  But his terms satisfied neither the Confederacy nor the Radical Republicans in Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
His postwar policy was one of compassion.  As he explained to his top leaders on board a riverboat, the City Queen, he wanted peace above all else.  His Second Inaugural Address expressed his point of healing the wounds caused by the war.&lt;br /&gt;
:''With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When asked specifically, he related the following, according to General Sherman, one of those present:&lt;br /&gt;
:''Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation, assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over; and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and that to avoid anarchy the State governments then in existence, with their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the government de facto till Congress could provide others.'' &lt;br /&gt;
:''I know, when I left him, that I was more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march of hostile armies through the South; and that his earnest desire seemed to be to end the war speedily, without more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the men of both sections to their homes. In the language of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have &amp;quot;charity for all, malice toward none,&amp;quot; and, above all, an absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity of the armies in the field.'' [http://www.sonshi.com/sherman24.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Final curtain==&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln received the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, and he was called out to the balcony of the White House that night by a large crowd gathered in celebration.  When asked to make a speech, Lincoln noticed a band among them, and made an unusual request.&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General, and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
He entered Richmond the following day, to the joyous delight of free blacks, who welcomed the arrival of &amp;quot;Father Abraham&amp;quot; as they called him, and he paid a visit to the Confederate White House, and sat at the desk of Jefferson Davis.  The only thing he asked for was a glass of water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just four days later on April 14 he attended a play at Ford's Theater.  It was called ''Our American Cousin'', with well-known stage actress Laura Keane and comedian Harry Hawke in the title role.  Unseen to the audience was another actor making his way quietly up the stairs to the president's private box, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a Southern sympathizer who had hatched a conspiracy with a few others to kill the president and other leading officials.  Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln in the head, stabbed a guest, and dropped to the stage, escaping behind the curtains.  Taken across the street to a boarding house, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was laid across a small bed in humble surroundings, similar it seemed, to where he was born.  He died at sunrise a few hours later.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now he belongs to the ages&amp;quot; Edwin Stanton was heard to say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*McCollister, John C. ''God and the Oval Office'', W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee(2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Sandburg, Carl. ''Abraham Lincoln'', Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York (1954)&lt;br /&gt;
*Walsh, John E. ''Moonlight'', St. Martin's Press, New York (2000)&lt;br /&gt;
*Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', Simon and Schuster, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Hanchett, William. ''The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies'', University of Illinois (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
*Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln'', Jonathan Cafe (Random House), London (1995)&lt;br /&gt;
*Wills, Gary. ''Lincoln at Gettysburg: the Words that Remade America'', Simon and Schuster, New York (1992)&lt;br /&gt;
*White, Ronald C. Jr. ''The Eloquent President: A [[portraits|Portrait]] of Lincoln Through His Words'', Random House, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Carwardine, Richard. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York (2003)&lt;br /&gt;
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html Abraham Lincoln Online]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Home.aspx Lincoln Archive of original newspaper articles]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ History Place: Lincoln timeline]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm Lincoln's Home National Historic Site]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html White House site; short bio on Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=112&amp;amp;subjectID=1 Mr. Lincoln and Friends]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm Declaration against slavery, Illinois State Legislature, March 3, 1837]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm Lincoln's letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm Speech in Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;q1=erastus;q2=corning;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=ACK7441.0001.001;didno=ACK7441.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 13, 1863, in which Lincoln explains his suspention of ''habeas corpus'']&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.sonshi.com/sherman.html Memoirs of William T. Sherman ]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:DcLincMor.JPG|right|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
*[[Democracy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John F. Kennedy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Andrew Jackson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545263</id>
		<title>Abraham Lincoln</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545263"/>
		<updated>2008-10-30T01:24:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=Ncoln2.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=16&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1861&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 15, 1865&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|vp=Hannibal Hamlin&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1861-1865&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1865&lt;br /&gt;
|previous=James Buchanan&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=February 12, 1809&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hardin County, Kentucky&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 15, 1865 (aged 56)&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Washington, D.C.&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Mary Todd&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Abraham Lincoln''' was the 16th [[President of the United States of America]] serving from 1861 to 1865.  He led his country through its darkest chapter, the [[American Civil War | Civil War]].  He was [[homeschooled]] and mostly self taught for his education, which likely gave him independent thinking, reliance on logic, and a desire to continue to learn as an adult.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Lincoln successfully proved all of Euclid's theorems while Lincoln served in Congress.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He is considered the most eloquent writer of any American president in history.  He is also one of the very few whose [[faith]] developed and grew while holding high public office.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
''“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families-- second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon Counties, Illinois.”'' [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/autobiog.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin some three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.  His father was Thomas Lincoln, who himself was a descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated to Massachusetts from England some years after the Mayflower landed.  Thomas was a sturdy man, committed to pioneering in the new lands of Kentucky and Indiana, despite his lack of prosperity.  He married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, and together they had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who did not survive infancy.  Young Abraham’s earliest memories of his days in Kentucky were his helping his father plant some seeds of corn and sunflower, and of a flood that washed them away.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Young abraham lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The oldest-known photograph of Lincoln, about 1847.]]&lt;br /&gt;
In December 1816 Thomas had to pack up his family and leave for southwestern Indiana to avoid a lawsuit which had threatened him with a takeover of his property.  There he built what was a “half-faced” camp, just a crude log structure with one side open to the elements, and there the family stayed as squatters on public land until Thomas had finished a permanent cabin, and later would buy the land outright on which it stood.  Helping Thomas clear the land and plowing the fields was Abraham, who would also take care of the crops but developed a dislike for tasks which put additional food on the table, hunting and fishing.  The poverty, Lincoln recalled, was “pretty pinching” at times, and by the age of nine he was a tall, lanky boy dressed rather ragged and unkempt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then the fall of 1818 brought the hardest blow: Nancy had died of the “milk sickness”, leaving Abraham without the mother whom he deeply loved.  Some time later, Thomas had taken the buckboard and the mule, and left Abraham and Sarah on their own for two weeks; when he returned, he was with a new wife, Sarah Bush Johnson; she immediately made up for the absence of Nancy by replacing Abraham’s corn husk mattress with one of down, winning him over the first day.  The new step-mother treated both children with an even hand (she herself was a widow with three children, whom she had brought), but she became very fond of Abraham, and he in turn was fond of her, referring to her as his “angel mother” for the rest of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Education===&lt;br /&gt;
Both of Abraham’s parents were nearly completely illiterate, and he himself had not much more than one year of formal education.  When he did go to school, it was by “littles” – a little here, a little there – and he would call it “blab” school, which meant that they had to recite their lessons constantly due to lack of paper, pencils, and chalk.  “Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.”  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His step-mother encouraged his reading as much as possible, and although Abraham did not have access to a large number of books, he would read as much of what was there, and read voraciously.  He read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, ''Aesop’s Fables'', Daniel DeFoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe'', Parson Weems's ''Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington'', Edward Gibbon’s ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', and undoubtedly he read many times the only book his family actually owned, the Bible.  He would walk for miles to borrow a book he heard about, and after his chores he would collapse into a heap in front of the fire and read for hours.  He would say years later that his best friend was the man who let him borrow a book he hadn’t read yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The Rail-Splitter===&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.”  He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.”  And after a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver.  (Sandburg, pg. 14)  Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln hair.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Fearing that his friends wouldn't recognize him &amp;quot;without a bad tousle&amp;quot;, Lincoln messed his hair up in this picture before the photographer closed the shutter.]]&lt;br /&gt;
Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers.  Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying.  Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Springfield==&lt;br /&gt;
The following year he moved to the new state capital of Illinois, Springfield, becoming law partners with John T. Stuart, Stephan T. Logan, and finally William H. Herndon in 1844, who, although junior in age to Lincoln by a decade, made a good, balanced partner.  Few records exist of their law business, and when they got paid for their services they split the cash, no matter who was paid.  Lincoln would earn $1,200 - $1,500 annually within just a few years; by comparison circuit judges earned $750.  But to earn it he kept busy and worked hard; often he would climb into his buggy and travel the circuit of neighboring counties and practice before the courts there.  And often the cases he would be involved in were petty&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Years before he had tried, and failed, to push legislation through the state assembly to have the Sangamon River made navigable to New Salem; by 1850 the railroads were bringing business and prosperity to Illinois, and Lincoln, by virtue of the ease the railroad made in traveling to his courts, profited more.  He had served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad, enabling it to get a state charter; he would defend the company against McClean County’s unsuccessful efforts to tax it.  He handles cases for other railroads, banks, manufacturing, and other large companies in the state; he handled some patent suits and a few criminal trials.  And he also saved the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River from demolition, when river interests demanded the bridge be taken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The moonlight murder===&lt;br /&gt;
In Lincoln’s New Salem days he was introduced to the Clary’s Grove Boys, a group of rowdy men from that nearby town would come into New Salem to bully some of the male townsfolk.  The leader of the group was Jack Armstrong, who’s challenge to wrestle the Salem men usually resulted in Armstrong throwing the unfortunate man to the ground in a very short time; when he saw Lincoln, Armstrong would dismiss the lanky young man as a pushover.  It was when they fought that Armstrong discovered just how hard it was to throw Lincoln – in fact, it was impossible.  The battle ended in a draw, and the good-natured Lincoln made a new friend.  Armstrong would later be one of the men to elect Lincoln to lead the company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1856, Jack Armstrong’s son, William (or “Duff”), was charged with murder.  A witness had claimed that he had seen Duff and another kill a New Salem man late at night by the light of full moon.  Lincoln pulled out an almanac and proved that the witness could not have seen anything at all, as the moon was at its quarter and had actually set over an hour before.  Duff was acquitted, and Lincoln won the case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and a Democrat from Tennessee, was in the White House when Lincoln first entered politics.  He shared with Jackson the sympathies for the common man, but differed in the role of government as related to it; Jackson stated the government should be separated from the economic enterprise, while Lincoln was of the view that “the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.”   Lincoln most associated himself with the Whig Party, as among their members Henry Clay and Daniel Webster both advocated a government should be encouraging business, and the development of the country to that end.  It was an easy choice for Lincoln: he saw Illinois as needing such aid to improve the development of its own economy.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
In the Illinois State Legislature Lincoln found that politics could be detrimental and harsh, as well as rewarding.  An example of the former occurred in 1836, just as he gave a speech in support of his re-election.  Democrat John Forquer, also seeking election, used his response and acid tounge to denounce him. &amp;quot;This young man needs to be taken down&amp;quot; he said, pointing to Lincoln, &amp;quot;and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me.&amp;quot; The success of Forquer's speech convinced some of Lincoln's own allies that his career was over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But when Lincoln rose to make his rebuttal, he thought of Forquer, and what he had done recently in conniving with President Jackson to change parties; in reward for doing so he was made Government Land Register with a $3,000 annual salary. Forquer was then able to construct a fine new house in Springfield, complete with a curiosity residents had heard about from science but had never seen before: a lightning rod.  Before he entered the state house building that day, Lincoln spent a few minutes at Forquer's house staring at the thing, and having heard Forquer's speech later on, he thought of what he saw.  Lincoln's reply was blistering, and sealed Forquer's fate. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Among other things he said, the gentleman commenced his speech by saying that 'this young man,' alluding to me, 'must be taken down.' I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a politician, but, live long or die young, I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God!&amp;quot;'' (Sandburg, pg.49)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also proposed state funding to construct a network of roads, railroads, and canals.  Both Whigs and Democrats would join in for the passing of this omnibus bill, but a business depression was created by the panic of 1837, and as a result most of the provisions in the bill were abandoned.  1837 was also marked by the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, a newspaperman from Alton who was killed by a mob due to his anti-slavery views.  The legislature introduced resolutions defending Southern slavery while condemning abolitionist societies, as per the U.S. Constitution.  In protest of the resolutions Lincoln, with a fellow legislator, drew up a declaration [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm] which stated that slavery was “founded on both injustice and bad policy,” while also declaring that “the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its evils.”&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lawyer Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lincoln in the late 1850's, about to debate his rival Stephen A. Douglas.]]&lt;br /&gt;
He only served one term in the United States Congress, 1847 to 1849, during which time he did little on legislative matters.  He did introduce a bill calling for a gradual emancipation of slaves within the District of Columbia, but since it hinged on the approval of the white citizens there, it only caused mild anger from abolitionists as well as slave holders, and was quietly dropped.  His one main issue was over the Mexican War, in which he condemned the American entry into it on false pretenses, particularly blaming current president James K. Polk. He worked toward the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency, and when Taylor had won, Lincoln expected to be rewarded with the job of land commissioner, but failed.  He was voted out of office by his constituents, as they felt he was too critical of the war.  Disillusioned, he left politics and reentered his law practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Return to politics==&lt;br /&gt;
He stayed out for five years, winning several cases before the courts, then in 1854 he had read in the papers that Stephan A. Douglas, his political rival and Democratic senator from Illinois, had placed before Congress a bill which would reopen the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to slavery, as well as allow settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to vote for themselves whether or not they wanted it, a concept which was called “popular sovereignty” by Douglas.  The resulting Kansas-Nebraska Act would do nothing more than provoke violent opposition; a border war would result between Kansas and Missouri as both pro and anti-slavery forces would cause much bloodshed; and voters in the Old Northwest, Illinois among them, would react vehemently against it, resulting in the destruction of the Whigs as a political party, and the birth of the Republicans, of which Lincoln quickly became a member.  The [[Dred Scott]] decision of 1856, in which a black man who sued for his freedom only to be told that he was never a citizen and had to remain a slave, only added more fuel to the fire, as the states were aligning slave versus free, North versus South. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the leading member of the Republican Party in Illinois, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in Springfield on June 16, 1858.  The acceptance speech he gave has been called the [[Lincoln's &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; Speech|House Divided]] speech, after the opening lines, which were based upon Matthew 12:25:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. &amp;quot;A house divided against itself cannot stand.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- Matthew 12:25 --&amp;gt; I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds.  Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]].  Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was &amp;quot;established upon the white basis.  It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men.&amp;quot;   (TL 1, pg 106).  Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east.  Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was &amp;quot;voted up or voted down.&amp;quot;  By his last debate, Lincoln would narrow the differences between himself and Douglas as the basic principle of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, &amp;quot;You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it.&amp;quot; No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.&amp;quot;''  [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al11.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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Douglas for his part knew how formidable his foe was, and declared that if he won, “it would be a hollow victory.” He did win, retaining his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin.&lt;br /&gt;
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==The presidency==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and beard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Soon after his election, a little girl named Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln, telling him his face would be softened by the addition of a beard; here he just started on her advice.]]&lt;br /&gt;
:''My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' Lincoln's Farewell Speech to the citizens of Springfield, February 11, 1861.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 18, 1860 at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot.  He then set aside his law practice and gave full time to the direction of his campaign, with the object of first uniting the Republicans from anything with which the party could disagree over.  The Democrats were already divided, having nominated Douglas in Baltimore on the Northern platform of popular sovereignty, and John C. Breckenridge who was elected on a platform of states’ rights and slavery by Southern Democrats.  Lincoln won the [[United States presidential election of 1860]], winning a clear majority in popular votes as well as electoral votes, despite winning no votes in the South.  &lt;br /&gt;
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The state of South Carolina proclaimed its secession from the Union in December, 1860, soon after Lincoln’s victory.  To try to prevent other states from following, compromises were hurriedly pushed through Congress, one of which, the [[Crittenden Amendment]], guaranteed the existence of slavery in perpetuity where it already existed, and dividing the territories between slave and free; Lincoln, however, was opposed to it, as he believed that despite this slavery would still expand south of the U.S. border.  Six more states seceded, joining with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America.&lt;br /&gt;
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A crisis was thus forced upon Lincoln before he even entered the White House.  Fort Sumter, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, was claimed by the Confederacy and ordered to be turned over; the commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused.  Lincoln, still in Springfield, asked Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, to be prepared “to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inauguration.”&lt;br /&gt;
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On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to &amp;quot;preserve, protect, and defend it.&amp;quot;'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]&lt;br /&gt;
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However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and General P.G.T. Beauregard, believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Civil War==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Mary Todd Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mary Todd Lincoln]]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union; he would have been happy to preserve the peace as well, but he was willing to engage in a war to preserve it as well, a war he thought would be short.  After Fort Sumter he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports and called for thousands of volunteers to enlist for ninety days.  He also believed that an overland war was inevitable, and he ordered forces on a march on the Virginia front, resulting in the first great defeat for the Union at Bull Run (July 21, 1861).  Shortly afterward, Lincoln issued a set of memorandums for the military, of which his basic thought was that armies in the field must advance concurrently and on several fronts.  &lt;br /&gt;
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Finding himself as the leader of a country now at war, Lincoln used a description of himself in which he let events control him, and then react to the problem.  It was something of himself that was used with success as a politician.  In this sense he was being practical, ready to employ an action or decision which would help the cause, and ready to abandon it and use another if the first failed.  But his first insight with which he held fast to, that of taking the fight to the enemy’s army, failed many times when successive generals tried to take the fight to the enemy’s capitol and failed, or failed in following up on a rare victory.  He had George McClellan on the Peninsula, but was beaten back during the Seven Days battles.  His replacement, John Pope, lost in a repeat of Bull Run.  McClellan was back again, winning a victory at Antietam, but failed to follow through in capturing the enemy’s army afterwards.  Then Ambrose Burnside, followed by Joseph Hooker, led the Army of the Potomac to massive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, respectively.  Then George Gordon Meade was put in, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg; Meade would not finish off the enemy either.  Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commented on the frequent changes in generals.  “I’m afraid they’re going to find a general I cannot understand.”&lt;br /&gt;
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Having seen what he done at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Lincoln found the fighting general he was looking for in Ulysses S. Grant.  In March 1864 he promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Federal armies.  Grant would have his headquarters in the field with Meade’s Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George H. Thomas would each lead an army to take the fight to the enemy.  Halleck would be given a new title, chief of staff, and remain in Washington as the presidential liaison.  Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton would be responsible for the procurement of men and supplies.  By this reorganization Lincoln created the structure of the high command in which all the energies of and resources of the country were mobilized into a grand strategy for the completion of the war.  It was all the more remarkable as prior to 1861, he had no knowledge of military theory or affairs; he threw himself into studying the subject that by 1864, he was considered to be something of a military genius.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Personal life==&lt;br /&gt;
Ann Rutledge played a part in stories as being the first woman Lincoln may have fallen in love with.  However, evidence is scant, and what surviving letters and documents there are indicate they were close friends.  She died in 1835 at the age of 22, and the entire community grieved with Lincoln.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and tad.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The irrepressible Tad Lincoln, striking a typical pose next to his father, who could barely restrain a smile.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The one true love of Lincoln’s life was a well-educated woman with a quick wit, [[Mary Todd]], from a well-to-do family in Springfield.  Lincoln endured a courtship that lasted two years (and was broken once), before they were married on November 4, 1842.  Together they would have four boys: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (“Eddie”, who died at age 4), William Wallace (“Willie”), and Thomas (“Tad”).  Willie and Tad were the first children in the White House, and the halls and gardens were filled with childish romps, especially from the rambunctious, uncontrollable Tad, who once took a group of office seekers there to see the president on a trip through a confusing maze of hanging laundry; drove a herd of goats inside; got into the attic and rang the servants’ bells for hours; and succeeded in getting his doll executed for sleeping on watch.&lt;br /&gt;
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The Lincolns also had their share of quarrels, and stories passed through the years tended to exaggerate them, but existing letters between the two indicate they were like any other married couple.  They were devoted to each other’s company, and when apart they missed each other.  &amp;quot;I have fallen in love with her,&amp;quot; Lincoln would write to a friend about Mary, &amp;quot;and have never fallen out.&amp;quot;  Mary did have fits of temper and a sense of insecurity; while in the White House she had spells of simple jealousy which she staged in front of guests; sometimes the scene would be quite embarrassing.  She also rang up large bills for her personal wardrobe and redecorating the White House; Lincoln, when he found out one such bill which totaled near $20,000 and coupled with a request for Congress to appropriate the money needed to pay for it, displayed a rare occurrence of pure anger:&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;It would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had approved a bill overrunning an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs, for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets!&amp;quot;'' [http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/marytoddlincoln.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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The early deaths of Eddie in 1850 and Willie in 1863 may have played a role in Mary’s eccentricity.  Lincoln did what he could to support her, even pointing out the presence of a nearby building which housed a sanitarium, hinting that Mary could be placed there if she didn't control herself over Willie's death.&lt;br /&gt;
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==On slavery==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1841, Lincoln had a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, and he saw sitting on board another boat a group of slaves chained together.  He described the sight in a letter to Joshua Speed in 1855: “You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.”&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln hated slavery.  “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself,” he declared. “I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypocrites.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm] In 1855, writing to his friend Joshua Speed, he recalled a steamboat trip the two had taken on the Ohio River14 years earlier. “You may remember, as I well do,” he said, “that from Louisville [Kentucky] to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln often penned fragments on slavery.  He would begin it by starting a hypothetical vested interest in slavery, and end it with the only logical conclusion, that is was a great moral wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
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:''If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B.—why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?''&lt;br /&gt;
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:''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.'' &lt;br /&gt;
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:''You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.''&lt;br /&gt;
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:''But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.'' (Fragment on Slavery, April, 1854)&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln was elected on a platform which pledged no interference with slavery where it had already existed, and he was hesitant to adopt an abolitionist policy.  He was concerned about the reaction of the border states should such a policy be enacted.  He was concerned about four million newly-freed blacks being incorporated into the country’s social, economic, and political life.  Some individuals, such as General John C. Freemont, made it a point to proclaim freedom in districts which they had conquered; Lincoln revoked those proclamations.  In a letter to Horace Greely, Lincoln plainly stated&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln was willing to play a major part in removing slavery altogether during the war.  He first proposed an idea in which slaves were to be freed gradually by the actions of the states, with the federal government sharing the cost of compensation.  None of the border states were willing to implement it, and no prominent African-American leader was willing to see newly-freed blacks sent to Africa, as part of the idea called for.&lt;br /&gt;
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But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.&lt;br /&gt;
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:''&amp;quot;In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.&amp;quot;'' Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln, like many other people of his day, believed, at least initially, that &amp;quot;Religion is a private affair between a man and his God.&amp;quot;  Doubts about Lincoln's faith have arisen mainly because he never officially joined a church, which his political opponents used sometimes to accuse him.  He had a love of the Bible and memorized parts of the Bible, and used biblical allusions later on in political speech.  Lincoln said once that:&lt;br /&gt;
''&amp;quot;I doubt the possibility or propriety of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas.  I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms.&amp;quot;'' &lt;br /&gt;
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He also said on another occasion:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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He also made statements that suggest a strong faith, such as when his father was ill:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Tell father to remember to call upon and confide in our great, and good, and merciful Maker who will not turn away from him in any extremity.  He notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs of our heads; and he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him.  If it is to be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before; and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
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Regardless of Lincoln's views on faith as a youth, it seemed to grow as President.  Lincoln penciled in &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; after &amp;quot;one nation&amp;quot; for his [[Gettysburg Address]] delivered on November 19, 1863.  The phrase &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; was not in the early drafts.  Mrs. Lincoln recalled her husband's last words just prior to his assassination in Ford's Theater: &amp;quot;He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the [[Savior]]. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-09-08&amp;amp;view=View&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In 1864, a close friend of Lincoln's, Joshua Speed, confided in Lincoln that he did not accept the Bible as true. Lincoln famously replied, &amp;quot;Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
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After Lincoln was shot at Ford's theater two clergy claimed that he had made a secret trip from Washington to be baptized.  Also a Roman Catholic Priest claimed that Lincoln received the sacrament of baptism in secret.  Neither of these claims have any proof in White House records or his personal diary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing, 2005.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Lincoln's conservatism==&lt;br /&gt;
In his [[Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech|Cooper Union Address]], Lincoln spoke of the sectionalism which was fracturing the country as a result of slavery; the Republican Party was new in 1859, and a serious threat to slavery's existence.  Lincoln and his party were called radical and destructive, but he counted himself among the earliest defenders of conservative principles, which was in essence a defense of time-honored, traditional values. Lincoln said that out of the 39 framers of the Constitution, 23 of the 39 voted on whether to prevent the spread of slavery, and that 21 of the 23 voted in favor of doing so. Lincoln therefore said that it was the pro-slavery South that was radically breaking with the tradition begun by those that created the Constitution. As Lincoln said:&lt;br /&gt;
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:''But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;&amp;quot; while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave trade; some for a Congressional Slave-Code for the Territories; some for Congress forbidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery within their limits; some for maintaining Slavery in the Territories through the judiciary; some for the &amp;quot;gur-reat pur-rinciple&amp;quot; that &amp;quot;if one man would enslave another, no third man should object,&amp;quot; fantastically called &amp;quot;Popular Sovereignty;&amp;quot; but never a man among you is in favor of federal prohibition of slavery in federal territories, according to the practice of &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live.''&lt;br /&gt;
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==Lincoln's style of writing==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lincoln in November, 1863, about to leave for Pennsylvania.  The reason for his confident look may have been within the envelope lying on the table, believed to contain his draft of the Gettysburg Address]]&lt;br /&gt;
A White House visitor, Orville Browning, told Lincoln's personal secretary John Nicolay one day that he had spoke to Lincoln sometime in 1861 on the subject of slavery; that if the right thing about slavery wasn't done, God just couldn't be on the side of the Union. Browning remembered Lincoln's reply: &amp;quot;What if the Almighty takes a different view of slavery than we do?&amp;quot;, and right then and there Browning realized that Lincoln had thought very deep on the subject, much deeper than Browning did. [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/books/wilson.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
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Lincoln was known to think long and deep on various topics, and often he would take notes, write them on little scraps of paper, and stuff them into his tall stovepipe hat for later use.  When it was time for use, such as his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech, he pulled them out, laid them on a table, and would commence to writing.  He would sift through the subject, adding this, removing that, and sometimes he would stand in his empty room and deliver it out loud to an imaginary audience, testing the effects of what he spoke, and altering it as needed.  According to author Garry Wills, Lincoln brought to bear the rhetorical tone of the Greek Revival and Transcendental movements, in which spoken oratory was practiced in government and on the stage.  The leading speakers of this time, and whom Lincoln looked upon, were Danial Webster and Henry Clay, both of the Senate, and Edward Everett, a speaker much in demand.&lt;br /&gt;
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The training he had given himself also enabled him to write a simple letter or a speech on the spot.  Words would flow clear when Lincoln wrote in his later years, and he didn't have to do twice one of his finest personal letters, one of consolation to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, who had lost five sons in the war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Executive Mansion,''&lt;br /&gt;
:''Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Dear Madam,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''&lt;br /&gt;
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:''Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''A. Lincoln''&lt;br /&gt;
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What many consider his masterpiece is the [[Gettysburg Address]].  Here Lincoln, going through perhaps a dozen writes and re-writes of what he had thought on the subject, entirely changed the meaning of the war itself in a mere 272 words, and in so doing, according to Wills, remaking America.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Politics in war==&lt;br /&gt;
That there had to be a certain degree of support to win the war was a given, and Lincoln strove to have unity for that effort in the North.  Politics was required, and Lincoln had a special knack for appealing to his fellows and talking to them at their own level and language.  He would smooth over lingering differences, and held the loyalty of those who were antagonistic to one another.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But the Democrats remained strong, and frequently clashed.  Its member included both war and peace Democrats; the peace side was called “Copperheads”, after the snake which strikes without warning while hidden.  Lincoln tried conciliating with both, but with the latter he had to resort to arrest at times, most famously to an Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Valandigham, who was arrested after he had repeatedly exhorted soldiers to desert.  He justified his actions on the grounds that the suspension of ''habeas corpus'' was necessary only in times of rebellion, insurrection, or when the public safety may require it, as stated in the Constitution; certainly the Civil War had met those specific conditions.  Many would dissent, and openly criticize Lincoln for arbitrarily violating the Constitution that he had sworn to preserve.  In response to the criticism in general, and the case of Valandigham in particular, Lincoln wrote:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.&amp;quot;'' [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=boolean;rgn=div1;q1=soldier;op2=and;q2=deserts;op3=and;q3=agitator;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln6;node=lincoln6%3A569]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who promised a restoration of the Union, but waffled on many of its points, even abandoning the Democratic platform of armistice and peaceful separation.  Lincoln was able to beat him in the election, assisted by the timely victories of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sherman in Georgia.  Overtures of peace from Confederates were not wholly rejected.  On February 3, 1865, Lincoln met with Confederate commissioners, among them Vice President Alexander Stephens, on a steamship in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  There would be peace, he insisted, if the South would quit the war, abandon slavery, and accept re-unification, and once these conditions were met he would gracious with pardons.  But his terms satisfied neither the Confederacy nor the Radical Republicans in Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
His postwar policy was one of compassion.  As he explained to his top leaders on board a riverboat, the City Queen, he wanted peace above all else.  His Second Inaugural Address expressed his point of healing the wounds caused by the war.&lt;br /&gt;
:''With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When asked specifically, he related the following, according to General Sherman, one of those present:&lt;br /&gt;
:''Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation, assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over; and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and that to avoid anarchy the State governments then in existence, with their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the government de facto till Congress could provide others.'' &lt;br /&gt;
:''I know, when I left him, that I was more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march of hostile armies through the South; and that his earnest desire seemed to be to end the war speedily, without more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the men of both sections to their homes. In the language of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have &amp;quot;charity for all, malice toward none,&amp;quot; and, above all, an absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity of the armies in the field.'' [http://www.sonshi.com/sherman24.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Final curtain==&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln received the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, and he was called out to the balcony of the White House that night by a large crowd gathered in celebration.  When asked to make a speech, Lincoln noticed a band among them, and made an unusual request.&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General, and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
He entered Richmond the following day, to the joyous delight of free blacks, who welcomed the arrival of &amp;quot;Father Abraham&amp;quot; as they called him, and he paid a visit to the Confederate White House, and sat at the desk of Jefferson Davis.  The only thing he asked for was a glass of water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just four days later on April 14 he attended a play at Ford's Theater.  It was called ''Our American Cousin'', with well-known stage actress Laura Keane and comedian Harry Hawke in the title role.  Unseen to the audience was another actor making his way quietly up the stairs to the president's private box, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a Southern sympathizer who had hatched a conspiracy with a few others to kill the president and other leading officials.  Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln in the head, stabbed a guest, and dropped to the stage, escaping behind the curtains.  Taken across the street to a boarding house, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was laid across a small bed in humble surroundings, similar it seemed, to where he was born.  He died at sunrise a few hours later.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now he belongs to the ages&amp;quot; Edwin Stanton was heard to say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*McCollister, John C. ''God and the Oval Office'', W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee(2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Sandburg, Carl. ''Abraham Lincoln'', Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York (1954)&lt;br /&gt;
*Walsh, John E. ''Moonlight'', St. Martin's Press, New York (2000)&lt;br /&gt;
*Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', Simon and Schuster, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Hanchett, William. ''The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies'', University of Illinois (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
*Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln'', Jonathan Cafe (Random House), London (1995)&lt;br /&gt;
*Wills, Gary. ''Lincoln at Gettysburg: the Words that Remade America'', Simon and Schuster, New York (1992)&lt;br /&gt;
*White, Ronald C. Jr. ''The Eloquent President: A [[portraits|Portrait]] of Lincoln Through His Words'', Random House, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Carwardine, Richard. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York (2003)&lt;br /&gt;
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html Abraham Lincoln Online]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Home.aspx Lincoln Archive of original newspaper articles]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ History Place: Lincoln timeline]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm Lincoln's Home National Historic Site]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html White House site; short bio on Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=112&amp;amp;subjectID=1 Mr. Lincoln and Friends]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm Declaration against slavery, Illinois State Legislature, March 3, 1837]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm Lincoln's letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm Speech in Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;q1=erastus;q2=corning;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=ACK7441.0001.001;didno=ACK7441.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 13, 1863, in which Lincoln explains his suspention of ''habeas corpus'']&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.sonshi.com/sherman.html Memoirs of William T. Sherman ]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:DcLincMor.JPG|right|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
*[[Democracy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John F. Kennedy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Andrew Jackson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545260</id>
		<title>Abraham Lincoln</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545260"/>
		<updated>2008-10-30T01:22:46Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Lincoln's conservatism */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=Ncoln2.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=16&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1861&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 15, 1865&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|vp=Hannibal Hamlin&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1861-1865&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1865&lt;br /&gt;
|previous=James Buchanan&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=February 12, 1809&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hardin County, Kentucky&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 15, 1865 (aged 56)&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Washington, D.C.&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Mary Todd&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Abraham Lincoln''' was the 16th [[President of the United States of America]] serving from 1861 to 1865.  He led his country through its darkest chapter, the [[American Civil War | Civil War]].  He was [[homeschooled]] for his education, which likely gave him independent thinking, reliance on logic, and a desire to continue to learn as an adult.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Lincoln successfully proved all of Euclid's theorems while Lincoln served in Congress.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He is considered the most eloquent writer of any American president in history.  He is also one of the very few whose [[faith]] developed and grew while holding high public office.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
''“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families-- second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon Counties, Illinois.”'' [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/autobiog.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin some three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.  His father was Thomas Lincoln, who himself was a descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated to Massachusetts from England some years after the Mayflower landed.  Thomas was a sturdy man, committed to pioneering in the new lands of Kentucky and Indiana, despite his lack of prosperity.  He married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, and together they had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who did not survive infancy.  Young Abraham’s earliest memories of his days in Kentucky were his helping his father plant some seeds of corn and sunflower, and of a flood that washed them away.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Young abraham lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The oldest-known photograph of Lincoln, about 1847.]]&lt;br /&gt;
In December 1816 Thomas had to pack up his family and leave for southwestern Indiana to avoid a lawsuit which had threatened him with a takeover of his property.  There he built what was a “half-faced” camp, just a crude log structure with one side open to the elements, and there the family stayed as squatters on public land until Thomas had finished a permanent cabin, and later would buy the land outright on which it stood.  Helping Thomas clear the land and plowing the fields was Abraham, who would also take care of the crops but developed a dislike for tasks which put additional food on the table, hunting and fishing.  The poverty, Lincoln recalled, was “pretty pinching” at times, and by the age of nine he was a tall, lanky boy dressed rather ragged and unkempt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then the fall of 1818 brought the hardest blow: Nancy had died of the “milk sickness”, leaving Abraham without the mother whom he deeply loved.  Some time later, Thomas had taken the buckboard and the mule, and left Abraham and Sarah on their own for two weeks; when he returned, he was with a new wife, Sarah Bush Johnson; she immediately made up for the absence of Nancy by replacing Abraham’s corn husk mattress with one of down, winning him over the first day.  The new step-mother treated both children with an even hand (she herself was a widow with three children, whom she had brought), but she became very fond of Abraham, and he in turn was fond of her, referring to her as his “angel mother” for the rest of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Education===&lt;br /&gt;
Both of Abraham’s parents were nearly completely illiterate, and he himself had not much more than one year of formal education.  When he did go to school, it was by “littles” – a little here, a little there – and he would call it “blab” school, which meant that they had to recite their lessons constantly due to lack of paper, pencils, and chalk.  “Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.”  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His step-mother encouraged his reading as much as possible, and although Abraham did not have access to a large number of books, he would read as much of what was there, and read voraciously.  He read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, ''Aesop’s Fables'', Daniel DeFoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe'', Parson Weems's ''Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington'', Edward Gibbon’s ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', and undoubtedly he read many times the only book his family actually owned, the Bible.  He would walk for miles to borrow a book he heard about, and after his chores he would collapse into a heap in front of the fire and read for hours.  He would say years later that his best friend was the man who let him borrow a book he hadn’t read yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The Rail-Splitter===&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.”  He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.”  And after a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver.  (Sandburg, pg. 14)  Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln hair.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Fearing that his friends wouldn't recognize him &amp;quot;without a bad tousle&amp;quot;, Lincoln messed his hair up in this picture before the photographer closed the shutter.]]&lt;br /&gt;
Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers.  Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying.  Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Springfield==&lt;br /&gt;
The following year he moved to the new state capital of Illinois, Springfield, becoming law partners with John T. Stuart, Stephan T. Logan, and finally William H. Herndon in 1844, who, although junior in age to Lincoln by a decade, made a good, balanced partner.  Few records exist of their law business, and when they got paid for their services they split the cash, no matter who was paid.  Lincoln would earn $1,200 - $1,500 annually within just a few years; by comparison circuit judges earned $750.  But to earn it he kept busy and worked hard; often he would climb into his buggy and travel the circuit of neighboring counties and practice before the courts there.  And often the cases he would be involved in were petty&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Years before he had tried, and failed, to push legislation through the state assembly to have the Sangamon River made navigable to New Salem; by 1850 the railroads were bringing business and prosperity to Illinois, and Lincoln, by virtue of the ease the railroad made in traveling to his courts, profited more.  He had served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad, enabling it to get a state charter; he would defend the company against McClean County’s unsuccessful efforts to tax it.  He handles cases for other railroads, banks, manufacturing, and other large companies in the state; he handled some patent suits and a few criminal trials.  And he also saved the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River from demolition, when river interests demanded the bridge be taken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The moonlight murder===&lt;br /&gt;
In Lincoln’s New Salem days he was introduced to the Clary’s Grove Boys, a group of rowdy men from that nearby town would come into New Salem to bully some of the male townsfolk.  The leader of the group was Jack Armstrong, who’s challenge to wrestle the Salem men usually resulted in Armstrong throwing the unfortunate man to the ground in a very short time; when he saw Lincoln, Armstrong would dismiss the lanky young man as a pushover.  It was when they fought that Armstrong discovered just how hard it was to throw Lincoln – in fact, it was impossible.  The battle ended in a draw, and the good-natured Lincoln made a new friend.  Armstrong would later be one of the men to elect Lincoln to lead the company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1856, Jack Armstrong’s son, William (or “Duff”), was charged with murder.  A witness had claimed that he had seen Duff and another kill a New Salem man late at night by the light of full moon.  Lincoln pulled out an almanac and proved that the witness could not have seen anything at all, as the moon was at its quarter and had actually set over an hour before.  Duff was acquitted, and Lincoln won the case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and a Democrat from Tennessee, was in the White House when Lincoln first entered politics.  He shared with Jackson the sympathies for the common man, but differed in the role of government as related to it; Jackson stated the government should be separated from the economic enterprise, while Lincoln was of the view that “the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.”   Lincoln most associated himself with the Whig Party, as among their members Henry Clay and Daniel Webster both advocated a government should be encouraging business, and the development of the country to that end.  It was an easy choice for Lincoln: he saw Illinois as needing such aid to improve the development of its own economy.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
In the Illinois State Legislature Lincoln found that politics could be detrimental and harsh, as well as rewarding.  An example of the former occurred in 1836, just as he gave a speech in support of his re-election.  Democrat John Forquer, also seeking election, used his response and acid tounge to denounce him. &amp;quot;This young man needs to be taken down&amp;quot; he said, pointing to Lincoln, &amp;quot;and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me.&amp;quot; The success of Forquer's speech convinced some of Lincoln's own allies that his career was over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But when Lincoln rose to make his rebuttal, he thought of Forquer, and what he had done recently in conniving with President Jackson to change parties; in reward for doing so he was made Government Land Register with a $3,000 annual salary. Forquer was then able to construct a fine new house in Springfield, complete with a curiosity residents had heard about from science but had never seen before: a lightning rod.  Before he entered the state house building that day, Lincoln spent a few minutes at Forquer's house staring at the thing, and having heard Forquer's speech later on, he thought of what he saw.  Lincoln's reply was blistering, and sealed Forquer's fate. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Among other things he said, the gentleman commenced his speech by saying that 'this young man,' alluding to me, 'must be taken down.' I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a politician, but, live long or die young, I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God!&amp;quot;'' (Sandburg, pg.49)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also proposed state funding to construct a network of roads, railroads, and canals.  Both Whigs and Democrats would join in for the passing of this omnibus bill, but a business depression was created by the panic of 1837, and as a result most of the provisions in the bill were abandoned.  1837 was also marked by the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, a newspaperman from Alton who was killed by a mob due to his anti-slavery views.  The legislature introduced resolutions defending Southern slavery while condemning abolitionist societies, as per the U.S. Constitution.  In protest of the resolutions Lincoln, with a fellow legislator, drew up a declaration [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm] which stated that slavery was “founded on both injustice and bad policy,” while also declaring that “the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its evils.”&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lawyer Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lincoln in the late 1850's, about to debate his rival Stephen A. Douglas.]]&lt;br /&gt;
He only served one term in the United States Congress, 1847 to 1849, during which time he did little on legislative matters.  He did introduce a bill calling for a gradual emancipation of slaves within the District of Columbia, but since it hinged on the approval of the white citizens there, it only caused mild anger from abolitionists as well as slave holders, and was quietly dropped.  His one main issue was over the Mexican War, in which he condemned the American entry into it on false pretenses, particularly blaming current president James K. Polk. He worked toward the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency, and when Taylor had won, Lincoln expected to be rewarded with the job of land commissioner, but failed.  He was voted out of office by his constituents, as they felt he was too critical of the war.  Disillusioned, he left politics and reentered his law practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Return to politics==&lt;br /&gt;
He stayed out for five years, winning several cases before the courts, then in 1854 he had read in the papers that Stephan A. Douglas, his political rival and Democratic senator from Illinois, had placed before Congress a bill which would reopen the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to slavery, as well as allow settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to vote for themselves whether or not they wanted it, a concept which was called “popular sovereignty” by Douglas.  The resulting Kansas-Nebraska Act would do nothing more than provoke violent opposition; a border war would result between Kansas and Missouri as both pro and anti-slavery forces would cause much bloodshed; and voters in the Old Northwest, Illinois among them, would react vehemently against it, resulting in the destruction of the Whigs as a political party, and the birth of the Republicans, of which Lincoln quickly became a member.  The [[Dred Scott]] decision of 1856, in which a black man who sued for his freedom only to be told that he was never a citizen and had to remain a slave, only added more fuel to the fire, as the states were aligning slave versus free, North versus South. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the leading member of the Republican Party in Illinois, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in Springfield on June 16, 1858.  The acceptance speech he gave has been called the [[Lincoln's &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; Speech|House Divided]] speech, after the opening lines, which were based upon Matthew 12:25:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. &amp;quot;A house divided against itself cannot stand.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- Matthew 12:25 --&amp;gt; I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds.  Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]].  Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was &amp;quot;established upon the white basis.  It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men.&amp;quot;   (TL 1, pg 106).  Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east.  Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was &amp;quot;voted up or voted down.&amp;quot;  By his last debate, Lincoln would narrow the differences between himself and Douglas as the basic principle of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, &amp;quot;You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it.&amp;quot; No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.&amp;quot;''  [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al11.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Douglas for his part knew how formidable his foe was, and declared that if he won, “it would be a hollow victory.” He did win, retaining his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==The presidency==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and beard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Soon after his election, a little girl named Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln, telling him his face would be softened by the addition of a beard; here he just started on her advice.]]&lt;br /&gt;
:''My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' Lincoln's Farewell Speech to the citizens of Springfield, February 11, 1861.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 18, 1860 at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot.  He then set aside his law practice and gave full time to the direction of his campaign, with the object of first uniting the Republicans from anything with which the party could disagree over.  The Democrats were already divided, having nominated Douglas in Baltimore on the Northern platform of popular sovereignty, and John C. Breckenridge who was elected on a platform of states’ rights and slavery by Southern Democrats.  Lincoln won the [[United States presidential election of 1860]], winning a clear majority in popular votes as well as electoral votes, despite winning no votes in the South.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The state of South Carolina proclaimed its secession from the Union in December, 1860, soon after Lincoln’s victory.  To try to prevent other states from following, compromises were hurriedly pushed through Congress, one of which, the [[Crittenden Amendment]], guaranteed the existence of slavery in perpetuity where it already existed, and dividing the territories between slave and free; Lincoln, however, was opposed to it, as he believed that despite this slavery would still expand south of the U.S. border.  Six more states seceded, joining with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A crisis was thus forced upon Lincoln before he even entered the White House.  Fort Sumter, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, was claimed by the Confederacy and ordered to be turned over; the commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused.  Lincoln, still in Springfield, asked Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, to be prepared “to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inauguration.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to &amp;quot;preserve, protect, and defend it.&amp;quot;'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and General P.G.T. Beauregard, believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Civil War==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Mary Todd Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mary Todd Lincoln]]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union; he would have been happy to preserve the peace as well, but he was willing to engage in a war to preserve it as well, a war he thought would be short.  After Fort Sumter he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports and called for thousands of volunteers to enlist for ninety days.  He also believed that an overland war was inevitable, and he ordered forces on a march on the Virginia front, resulting in the first great defeat for the Union at Bull Run (July 21, 1861).  Shortly afterward, Lincoln issued a set of memorandums for the military, of which his basic thought was that armies in the field must advance concurrently and on several fronts.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finding himself as the leader of a country now at war, Lincoln used a description of himself in which he let events control him, and then react to the problem.  It was something of himself that was used with success as a politician.  In this sense he was being practical, ready to employ an action or decision which would help the cause, and ready to abandon it and use another if the first failed.  But his first insight with which he held fast to, that of taking the fight to the enemy’s army, failed many times when successive generals tried to take the fight to the enemy’s capitol and failed, or failed in following up on a rare victory.  He had George McClellan on the Peninsula, but was beaten back during the Seven Days battles.  His replacement, John Pope, lost in a repeat of Bull Run.  McClellan was back again, winning a victory at Antietam, but failed to follow through in capturing the enemy’s army afterwards.  Then Ambrose Burnside, followed by Joseph Hooker, led the Army of the Potomac to massive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, respectively.  Then George Gordon Meade was put in, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg; Meade would not finish off the enemy either.  Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commented on the frequent changes in generals.  “I’m afraid they’re going to find a general I cannot understand.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Having seen what he done at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Lincoln found the fighting general he was looking for in Ulysses S. Grant.  In March 1864 he promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Federal armies.  Grant would have his headquarters in the field with Meade’s Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George H. Thomas would each lead an army to take the fight to the enemy.  Halleck would be given a new title, chief of staff, and remain in Washington as the presidential liaison.  Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton would be responsible for the procurement of men and supplies.  By this reorganization Lincoln created the structure of the high command in which all the energies of and resources of the country were mobilized into a grand strategy for the completion of the war.  It was all the more remarkable as prior to 1861, he had no knowledge of military theory or affairs; he threw himself into studying the subject that by 1864, he was considered to be something of a military genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Personal life==&lt;br /&gt;
Ann Rutledge played a part in stories as being the first woman Lincoln may have fallen in love with.  However, evidence is scant, and what surviving letters and documents there are indicate they were close friends.  She died in 1835 at the age of 22, and the entire community grieved with Lincoln.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and tad.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The irrepressible Tad Lincoln, striking a typical pose next to his father, who could barely restrain a smile.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The one true love of Lincoln’s life was a well-educated woman with a quick wit, [[Mary Todd]], from a well-to-do family in Springfield.  Lincoln endured a courtship that lasted two years (and was broken once), before they were married on November 4, 1842.  Together they would have four boys: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (“Eddie”, who died at age 4), William Wallace (“Willie”), and Thomas (“Tad”).  Willie and Tad were the first children in the White House, and the halls and gardens were filled with childish romps, especially from the rambunctious, uncontrollable Tad, who once took a group of office seekers there to see the president on a trip through a confusing maze of hanging laundry; drove a herd of goats inside; got into the attic and rang the servants’ bells for hours; and succeeded in getting his doll executed for sleeping on watch.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns also had their share of quarrels, and stories passed through the years tended to exaggerate them, but existing letters between the two indicate they were like any other married couple.  They were devoted to each other’s company, and when apart they missed each other.  &amp;quot;I have fallen in love with her,&amp;quot; Lincoln would write to a friend about Mary, &amp;quot;and have never fallen out.&amp;quot;  Mary did have fits of temper and a sense of insecurity; while in the White House she had spells of simple jealousy which she staged in front of guests; sometimes the scene would be quite embarrassing.  She also rang up large bills for her personal wardrobe and redecorating the White House; Lincoln, when he found out one such bill which totaled near $20,000 and coupled with a request for Congress to appropriate the money needed to pay for it, displayed a rare occurrence of pure anger:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;It would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had approved a bill overrunning an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs, for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets!&amp;quot;'' [http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/marytoddlincoln.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The early deaths of Eddie in 1850 and Willie in 1863 may have played a role in Mary’s eccentricity.  Lincoln did what he could to support her, even pointing out the presence of a nearby building which housed a sanitarium, hinting that Mary could be placed there if she didn't control herself over Willie's death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On slavery==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1841, Lincoln had a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, and he saw sitting on board another boat a group of slaves chained together.  He described the sight in a letter to Joshua Speed in 1855: “You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln hated slavery.  “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself,” he declared. “I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypocrites.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm] In 1855, writing to his friend Joshua Speed, he recalled a steamboat trip the two had taken on the Ohio River14 years earlier. “You may remember, as I well do,” he said, “that from Louisville [Kentucky] to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln often penned fragments on slavery.  He would begin it by starting a hypothetical vested interest in slavery, and end it with the only logical conclusion, that is was a great moral wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B.—why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.'' (Fragment on Slavery, April, 1854)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was elected on a platform which pledged no interference with slavery where it had already existed, and he was hesitant to adopt an abolitionist policy.  He was concerned about the reaction of the border states should such a policy be enacted.  He was concerned about four million newly-freed blacks being incorporated into the country’s social, economic, and political life.  Some individuals, such as General John C. Freemont, made it a point to proclaim freedom in districts which they had conquered; Lincoln revoked those proclamations.  In a letter to Horace Greely, Lincoln plainly stated&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was willing to play a major part in removing slavery altogether during the war.  He first proposed an idea in which slaves were to be freed gradually by the actions of the states, with the federal government sharing the cost of compensation.  None of the border states were willing to implement it, and no prominent African-American leader was willing to see newly-freed blacks sent to Africa, as part of the idea called for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.&amp;quot;'' Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln, like many other people of his day, believed, at least initially, that &amp;quot;Religion is a private affair between a man and his God.&amp;quot;  Doubts about Lincoln's faith have arisen mainly because he never officially joined a church, which his political opponents used sometimes to accuse him.  He had a love of the Bible and memorized parts of the Bible, and used biblical allusions later on in political speech.  Lincoln said once that:&lt;br /&gt;
''&amp;quot;I doubt the possibility or propriety of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas.  I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms.&amp;quot;'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also said on another occasion:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also made statements that suggest a strong faith, such as when his father was ill:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Tell father to remember to call upon and confide in our great, and good, and merciful Maker who will not turn away from him in any extremity.  He notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs of our heads; and he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him.  If it is to be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before; and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Regardless of Lincoln's views on faith as a youth, it seemed to grow as President.  Lincoln penciled in &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; after &amp;quot;one nation&amp;quot; for his [[Gettysburg Address]] delivered on November 19, 1863.  The phrase &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; was not in the early drafts.  Mrs. Lincoln recalled her husband's last words just prior to his assassination in Ford's Theater: &amp;quot;He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the [[Savior]]. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-09-08&amp;amp;view=View&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1864, a close friend of Lincoln's, Joshua Speed, confided in Lincoln that he did not accept the Bible as true. Lincoln famously replied, &amp;quot;Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After Lincoln was shot at Ford's theater two clergy claimed that he had made a secret trip from Washington to be baptized.  Also a Roman Catholic Priest claimed that Lincoln received the sacrament of baptism in secret.  Neither of these claims have any proof in White House records or his personal diary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing, 2005.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's conservatism==&lt;br /&gt;
In his [[Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech|Cooper Union Address]], Lincoln spoke of the sectionalism which was fracturing the country as a result of slavery; the Republican Party was new in 1859, and a serious threat to slavery's existence.  Lincoln and his party were called radical and destructive, but he counted himself among the earliest defenders of conservative principles, which was in essence a defense of time-honored, traditional values. Lincoln said that out of the 39 framers of the Constitution, 23 of the 39 voted on whether to prevent the spread of slavery, and that 21 of the 23 voted in favor of doing so. Lincoln therefore said that it was the pro-slavery South that was radically breaking with the tradition begun by those that created the Constitution. As Lincoln said:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;&amp;quot; while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave trade; some for a Congressional Slave-Code for the Territories; some for Congress forbidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery within their limits; some for maintaining Slavery in the Territories through the judiciary; some for the &amp;quot;gur-reat pur-rinciple&amp;quot; that &amp;quot;if one man would enslave another, no third man should object,&amp;quot; fantastically called &amp;quot;Popular Sovereignty;&amp;quot; but never a man among you is in favor of federal prohibition of slavery in federal territories, according to the practice of &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's style of writing==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lincoln in November, 1863, about to leave for Pennsylvania.  The reason for his confident look may have been within the envelope lying on the table, believed to contain his draft of the Gettysburg Address]]&lt;br /&gt;
A White House visitor, Orville Browning, told Lincoln's personal secretary John Nicolay one day that he had spoke to Lincoln sometime in 1861 on the subject of slavery; that if the right thing about slavery wasn't done, God just couldn't be on the side of the Union. Browning remembered Lincoln's reply: &amp;quot;What if the Almighty takes a different view of slavery than we do?&amp;quot;, and right then and there Browning realized that Lincoln had thought very deep on the subject, much deeper than Browning did. [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/books/wilson.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was known to think long and deep on various topics, and often he would take notes, write them on little scraps of paper, and stuff them into his tall stovepipe hat for later use.  When it was time for use, such as his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech, he pulled them out, laid them on a table, and would commence to writing.  He would sift through the subject, adding this, removing that, and sometimes he would stand in his empty room and deliver it out loud to an imaginary audience, testing the effects of what he spoke, and altering it as needed.  According to author Garry Wills, Lincoln brought to bear the rhetorical tone of the Greek Revival and Transcendental movements, in which spoken oratory was practiced in government and on the stage.  The leading speakers of this time, and whom Lincoln looked upon, were Danial Webster and Henry Clay, both of the Senate, and Edward Everett, a speaker much in demand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The training he had given himself also enabled him to write a simple letter or a speech on the spot.  Words would flow clear when Lincoln wrote in his later years, and he didn't have to do twice one of his finest personal letters, one of consolation to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, who had lost five sons in the war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Executive Mansion,''&lt;br /&gt;
:''Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Dear Madam,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''A. Lincoln''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What many consider his masterpiece is the [[Gettysburg Address]].  Here Lincoln, going through perhaps a dozen writes and re-writes of what he had thought on the subject, entirely changed the meaning of the war itself in a mere 272 words, and in so doing, according to Wills, remaking America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics in war==&lt;br /&gt;
That there had to be a certain degree of support to win the war was a given, and Lincoln strove to have unity for that effort in the North.  Politics was required, and Lincoln had a special knack for appealing to his fellows and talking to them at their own level and language.  He would smooth over lingering differences, and held the loyalty of those who were antagonistic to one another.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But the Democrats remained strong, and frequently clashed.  Its member included both war and peace Democrats; the peace side was called “Copperheads”, after the snake which strikes without warning while hidden.  Lincoln tried conciliating with both, but with the latter he had to resort to arrest at times, most famously to an Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Valandigham, who was arrested after he had repeatedly exhorted soldiers to desert.  He justified his actions on the grounds that the suspension of ''habeas corpus'' was necessary only in times of rebellion, insurrection, or when the public safety may require it, as stated in the Constitution; certainly the Civil War had met those specific conditions.  Many would dissent, and openly criticize Lincoln for arbitrarily violating the Constitution that he had sworn to preserve.  In response to the criticism in general, and the case of Valandigham in particular, Lincoln wrote:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.&amp;quot;'' [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=boolean;rgn=div1;q1=soldier;op2=and;q2=deserts;op3=and;q3=agitator;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln6;node=lincoln6%3A569]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who promised a restoration of the Union, but waffled on many of its points, even abandoning the Democratic platform of armistice and peaceful separation.  Lincoln was able to beat him in the election, assisted by the timely victories of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sherman in Georgia.  Overtures of peace from Confederates were not wholly rejected.  On February 3, 1865, Lincoln met with Confederate commissioners, among them Vice President Alexander Stephens, on a steamship in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  There would be peace, he insisted, if the South would quit the war, abandon slavery, and accept re-unification, and once these conditions were met he would gracious with pardons.  But his terms satisfied neither the Confederacy nor the Radical Republicans in Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
His postwar policy was one of compassion.  As he explained to his top leaders on board a riverboat, the City Queen, he wanted peace above all else.  His Second Inaugural Address expressed his point of healing the wounds caused by the war.&lt;br /&gt;
:''With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When asked specifically, he related the following, according to General Sherman, one of those present:&lt;br /&gt;
:''Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation, assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over; and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and that to avoid anarchy the State governments then in existence, with their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the government de facto till Congress could provide others.'' &lt;br /&gt;
:''I know, when I left him, that I was more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march of hostile armies through the South; and that his earnest desire seemed to be to end the war speedily, without more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the men of both sections to their homes. In the language of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have &amp;quot;charity for all, malice toward none,&amp;quot; and, above all, an absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity of the armies in the field.'' [http://www.sonshi.com/sherman24.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Final curtain==&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln received the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, and he was called out to the balcony of the White House that night by a large crowd gathered in celebration.  When asked to make a speech, Lincoln noticed a band among them, and made an unusual request.&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General, and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
He entered Richmond the following day, to the joyous delight of free blacks, who welcomed the arrival of &amp;quot;Father Abraham&amp;quot; as they called him, and he paid a visit to the Confederate White House, and sat at the desk of Jefferson Davis.  The only thing he asked for was a glass of water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just four days later on April 14 he attended a play at Ford's Theater.  It was called ''Our American Cousin'', with well-known stage actress Laura Keane and comedian Harry Hawke in the title role.  Unseen to the audience was another actor making his way quietly up the stairs to the president's private box, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a Southern sympathizer who had hatched a conspiracy with a few others to kill the president and other leading officials.  Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln in the head, stabbed a guest, and dropped to the stage, escaping behind the curtains.  Taken across the street to a boarding house, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was laid across a small bed in humble surroundings, similar it seemed, to where he was born.  He died at sunrise a few hours later.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now he belongs to the ages&amp;quot; Edwin Stanton was heard to say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*McCollister, John C. ''God and the Oval Office'', W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee(2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Sandburg, Carl. ''Abraham Lincoln'', Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York (1954)&lt;br /&gt;
*Walsh, John E. ''Moonlight'', St. Martin's Press, New York (2000)&lt;br /&gt;
*Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', Simon and Schuster, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Hanchett, William. ''The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies'', University of Illinois (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
*Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln'', Jonathan Cafe (Random House), London (1995)&lt;br /&gt;
*Wills, Gary. ''Lincoln at Gettysburg: the Words that Remade America'', Simon and Schuster, New York (1992)&lt;br /&gt;
*White, Ronald C. Jr. ''The Eloquent President: A [[portraits|Portrait]] of Lincoln Through His Words'', Random House, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Carwardine, Richard. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York (2003)&lt;br /&gt;
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html Abraham Lincoln Online]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Home.aspx Lincoln Archive of original newspaper articles]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ History Place: Lincoln timeline]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm Lincoln's Home National Historic Site]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html White House site; short bio on Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=112&amp;amp;subjectID=1 Mr. Lincoln and Friends]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm Declaration against slavery, Illinois State Legislature, March 3, 1837]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm Lincoln's letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm Speech in Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;q1=erastus;q2=corning;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=ACK7441.0001.001;didno=ACK7441.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 13, 1863, in which Lincoln explains his suspention of ''habeas corpus'']&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.sonshi.com/sherman.html Memoirs of William T. Sherman ]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:DcLincMor.JPG|right|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
*[[Democracy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John F. Kennedy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Andrew Jackson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545256</id>
		<title>Abraham Lincoln</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln&amp;diff=545256"/>
		<updated>2008-10-30T01:16:55Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Lincoln's conservatism */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=Ncoln2.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=16&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1861&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 15, 1865&lt;br /&gt;
|party=Republican&lt;br /&gt;
|vp=Hannibal Hamlin&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1861-1865&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1865&lt;br /&gt;
|previous=James Buchanan&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Andrew Johnson&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=February 12, 1809&lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hardin County, Kentucky&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 15, 1865 (aged 56)&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Washington, D.C.&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=Mary Todd&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Abraham Lincoln''' was the 16th [[President of the United States of America]] serving from 1861 to 1865.  He led his country through its darkest chapter, the [[American Civil War | Civil War]].  He was [[homeschooled]] for his education, which likely gave him independent thinking, reliance on logic, and a desire to continue to learn as an adult.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Lincoln successfully proved all of Euclid's theorems while Lincoln served in Congress.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He is considered the most eloquent writer of any American president in history.  He is also one of the very few whose [[faith]] developed and grew while holding high public office.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
''“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families-- second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon Counties, Illinois.”'' [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/autobiog.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin some three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.  His father was Thomas Lincoln, who himself was a descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated to Massachusetts from England some years after the Mayflower landed.  Thomas was a sturdy man, committed to pioneering in the new lands of Kentucky and Indiana, despite his lack of prosperity.  He married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, and together they had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who did not survive infancy.  Young Abraham’s earliest memories of his days in Kentucky were his helping his father plant some seeds of corn and sunflower, and of a flood that washed them away.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Young abraham lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The oldest-known photograph of Lincoln, about 1847.]]&lt;br /&gt;
In December 1816 Thomas had to pack up his family and leave for southwestern Indiana to avoid a lawsuit which had threatened him with a takeover of his property.  There he built what was a “half-faced” camp, just a crude log structure with one side open to the elements, and there the family stayed as squatters on public land until Thomas had finished a permanent cabin, and later would buy the land outright on which it stood.  Helping Thomas clear the land and plowing the fields was Abraham, who would also take care of the crops but developed a dislike for tasks which put additional food on the table, hunting and fishing.  The poverty, Lincoln recalled, was “pretty pinching” at times, and by the age of nine he was a tall, lanky boy dressed rather ragged and unkempt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then the fall of 1818 brought the hardest blow: Nancy had died of the “milk sickness”, leaving Abraham without the mother whom he deeply loved.  Some time later, Thomas had taken the buckboard and the mule, and left Abraham and Sarah on their own for two weeks; when he returned, he was with a new wife, Sarah Bush Johnson; she immediately made up for the absence of Nancy by replacing Abraham’s corn husk mattress with one of down, winning him over the first day.  The new step-mother treated both children with an even hand (she herself was a widow with three children, whom she had brought), but she became very fond of Abraham, and he in turn was fond of her, referring to her as his “angel mother” for the rest of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Education===&lt;br /&gt;
Both of Abraham’s parents were nearly completely illiterate, and he himself had not much more than one year of formal education.  When he did go to school, it was by “littles” – a little here, a little there – and he would call it “blab” school, which meant that they had to recite their lessons constantly due to lack of paper, pencils, and chalk.  “Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.”  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His step-mother encouraged his reading as much as possible, and although Abraham did not have access to a large number of books, he would read as much of what was there, and read voraciously.  He read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, ''Aesop’s Fables'', Daniel DeFoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe'', Parson Weems's ''Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington'', Edward Gibbon’s ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', and undoubtedly he read many times the only book his family actually owned, the Bible.  He would walk for miles to borrow a book he heard about, and after his chores he would collapse into a heap in front of the fire and read for hours.  He would say years later that his best friend was the man who let him borrow a book he hadn’t read yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The Rail-Splitter===&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.”  He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.”  And after a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver.  (Sandburg, pg. 14)  Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln hair.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Fearing that his friends wouldn't recognize him &amp;quot;without a bad tousle&amp;quot;, Lincoln messed his hair up in this picture before the photographer closed the shutter.]]&lt;br /&gt;
Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers.  Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying.  Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Springfield==&lt;br /&gt;
The following year he moved to the new state capital of Illinois, Springfield, becoming law partners with John T. Stuart, Stephan T. Logan, and finally William H. Herndon in 1844, who, although junior in age to Lincoln by a decade, made a good, balanced partner.  Few records exist of their law business, and when they got paid for their services they split the cash, no matter who was paid.  Lincoln would earn $1,200 - $1,500 annually within just a few years; by comparison circuit judges earned $750.  But to earn it he kept busy and worked hard; often he would climb into his buggy and travel the circuit of neighboring counties and practice before the courts there.  And often the cases he would be involved in were petty&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Years before he had tried, and failed, to push legislation through the state assembly to have the Sangamon River made navigable to New Salem; by 1850 the railroads were bringing business and prosperity to Illinois, and Lincoln, by virtue of the ease the railroad made in traveling to his courts, profited more.  He had served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad, enabling it to get a state charter; he would defend the company against McClean County’s unsuccessful efforts to tax it.  He handles cases for other railroads, banks, manufacturing, and other large companies in the state; he handled some patent suits and a few criminal trials.  And he also saved the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River from demolition, when river interests demanded the bridge be taken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===The moonlight murder===&lt;br /&gt;
In Lincoln’s New Salem days he was introduced to the Clary’s Grove Boys, a group of rowdy men from that nearby town would come into New Salem to bully some of the male townsfolk.  The leader of the group was Jack Armstrong, who’s challenge to wrestle the Salem men usually resulted in Armstrong throwing the unfortunate man to the ground in a very short time; when he saw Lincoln, Armstrong would dismiss the lanky young man as a pushover.  It was when they fought that Armstrong discovered just how hard it was to throw Lincoln – in fact, it was impossible.  The battle ended in a draw, and the good-natured Lincoln made a new friend.  Armstrong would later be one of the men to elect Lincoln to lead the company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1856, Jack Armstrong’s son, William (or “Duff”), was charged with murder.  A witness had claimed that he had seen Duff and another kill a New Salem man late at night by the light of full moon.  Lincoln pulled out an almanac and proved that the witness could not have seen anything at all, as the moon was at its quarter and had actually set over an hour before.  Duff was acquitted, and Lincoln won the case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and a Democrat from Tennessee, was in the White House when Lincoln first entered politics.  He shared with Jackson the sympathies for the common man, but differed in the role of government as related to it; Jackson stated the government should be separated from the economic enterprise, while Lincoln was of the view that “the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.”   Lincoln most associated himself with the Whig Party, as among their members Henry Clay and Daniel Webster both advocated a government should be encouraging business, and the development of the country to that end.  It was an easy choice for Lincoln: he saw Illinois as needing such aid to improve the development of its own economy.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
In the Illinois State Legislature Lincoln found that politics could be detrimental and harsh, as well as rewarding.  An example of the former occurred in 1836, just as he gave a speech in support of his re-election.  Democrat John Forquer, also seeking election, used his response and acid tounge to denounce him. &amp;quot;This young man needs to be taken down&amp;quot; he said, pointing to Lincoln, &amp;quot;and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me.&amp;quot; The success of Forquer's speech convinced some of Lincoln's own allies that his career was over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But when Lincoln rose to make his rebuttal, he thought of Forquer, and what he had done recently in conniving with President Jackson to change parties; in reward for doing so he was made Government Land Register with a $3,000 annual salary. Forquer was then able to construct a fine new house in Springfield, complete with a curiosity residents had heard about from science but had never seen before: a lightning rod.  Before he entered the state house building that day, Lincoln spent a few minutes at Forquer's house staring at the thing, and having heard Forquer's speech later on, he thought of what he saw.  Lincoln's reply was blistering, and sealed Forquer's fate. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Among other things he said, the gentleman commenced his speech by saying that 'this young man,' alluding to me, 'must be taken down.' I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a politician, but, live long or die young, I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God!&amp;quot;'' (Sandburg, pg.49)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also proposed state funding to construct a network of roads, railroads, and canals.  Both Whigs and Democrats would join in for the passing of this omnibus bill, but a business depression was created by the panic of 1837, and as a result most of the provisions in the bill were abandoned.  1837 was also marked by the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, a newspaperman from Alton who was killed by a mob due to his anti-slavery views.  The legislature introduced resolutions defending Southern slavery while condemning abolitionist societies, as per the U.S. Constitution.  In protest of the resolutions Lincoln, with a fellow legislator, drew up a declaration [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm] which stated that slavery was “founded on both injustice and bad policy,” while also declaring that “the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its evils.”&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lawyer Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lincoln in the late 1850's, about to debate his rival Stephen A. Douglas.]]&lt;br /&gt;
He only served one term in the United States Congress, 1847 to 1849, during which time he did little on legislative matters.  He did introduce a bill calling for a gradual emancipation of slaves within the District of Columbia, but since it hinged on the approval of the white citizens there, it only caused mild anger from abolitionists as well as slave holders, and was quietly dropped.  His one main issue was over the Mexican War, in which he condemned the American entry into it on false pretenses, particularly blaming current president James K. Polk. He worked toward the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency, and when Taylor had won, Lincoln expected to be rewarded with the job of land commissioner, but failed.  He was voted out of office by his constituents, as they felt he was too critical of the war.  Disillusioned, he left politics and reentered his law practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Return to politics==&lt;br /&gt;
He stayed out for five years, winning several cases before the courts, then in 1854 he had read in the papers that Stephan A. Douglas, his political rival and Democratic senator from Illinois, had placed before Congress a bill which would reopen the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to slavery, as well as allow settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to vote for themselves whether or not they wanted it, a concept which was called “popular sovereignty” by Douglas.  The resulting Kansas-Nebraska Act would do nothing more than provoke violent opposition; a border war would result between Kansas and Missouri as both pro and anti-slavery forces would cause much bloodshed; and voters in the Old Northwest, Illinois among them, would react vehemently against it, resulting in the destruction of the Whigs as a political party, and the birth of the Republicans, of which Lincoln quickly became a member.  The [[Dred Scott]] decision of 1856, in which a black man who sued for his freedom only to be told that he was never a citizen and had to remain a slave, only added more fuel to the fire, as the states were aligning slave versus free, North versus South. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the leading member of the Republican Party in Illinois, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in Springfield on June 16, 1858.  The acceptance speech he gave has been called the [[Lincoln's &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; Speech|House Divided]] speech, after the opening lines, which were based upon Matthew 12:25:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. &amp;quot;A house divided against itself cannot stand.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- Matthew 12:25 --&amp;gt; I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds.  Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]].  Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was &amp;quot;established upon the white basis.  It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men.&amp;quot;   (TL 1, pg 106).  Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east.  Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was &amp;quot;voted up or voted down.&amp;quot;  By his last debate, Lincoln would narrow the differences between himself and Douglas as the basic principle of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, &amp;quot;You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it.&amp;quot; No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.&amp;quot;''  [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al11.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Douglas for his part knew how formidable his foe was, and declared that if he won, “it would be a hollow victory.” He did win, retaining his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==The presidency==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and beard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Soon after his election, a little girl named Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln, telling him his face would be softened by the addition of a beard; here he just started on her advice.]]&lt;br /&gt;
:''My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' Lincoln's Farewell Speech to the citizens of Springfield, February 11, 1861.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On May 18, 1860 at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot.  He then set aside his law practice and gave full time to the direction of his campaign, with the object of first uniting the Republicans from anything with which the party could disagree over.  The Democrats were already divided, having nominated Douglas in Baltimore on the Northern platform of popular sovereignty, and John C. Breckenridge who was elected on a platform of states’ rights and slavery by Southern Democrats.  Lincoln won the [[United States presidential election of 1860]], winning a clear majority in popular votes as well as electoral votes, despite winning no votes in the South.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The state of South Carolina proclaimed its secession from the Union in December, 1860, soon after Lincoln’s victory.  To try to prevent other states from following, compromises were hurriedly pushed through Congress, one of which, the [[Crittenden Amendment]], guaranteed the existence of slavery in perpetuity where it already existed, and dividing the territories between slave and free; Lincoln, however, was opposed to it, as he believed that despite this slavery would still expand south of the U.S. border.  Six more states seceded, joining with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A crisis was thus forced upon Lincoln before he even entered the White House.  Fort Sumter, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, was claimed by the Confederacy and ordered to be turned over; the commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused.  Lincoln, still in Springfield, asked Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, to be prepared “to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inauguration.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to &amp;quot;preserve, protect, and defend it.&amp;quot;'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and General P.G.T. Beauregard, believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Civil War==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Mary Todd Lincoln.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mary Todd Lincoln]]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union; he would have been happy to preserve the peace as well, but he was willing to engage in a war to preserve it as well, a war he thought would be short.  After Fort Sumter he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports and called for thousands of volunteers to enlist for ninety days.  He also believed that an overland war was inevitable, and he ordered forces on a march on the Virginia front, resulting in the first great defeat for the Union at Bull Run (July 21, 1861).  Shortly afterward, Lincoln issued a set of memorandums for the military, of which his basic thought was that armies in the field must advance concurrently and on several fronts.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finding himself as the leader of a country now at war, Lincoln used a description of himself in which he let events control him, and then react to the problem.  It was something of himself that was used with success as a politician.  In this sense he was being practical, ready to employ an action or decision which would help the cause, and ready to abandon it and use another if the first failed.  But his first insight with which he held fast to, that of taking the fight to the enemy’s army, failed many times when successive generals tried to take the fight to the enemy’s capitol and failed, or failed in following up on a rare victory.  He had George McClellan on the Peninsula, but was beaten back during the Seven Days battles.  His replacement, John Pope, lost in a repeat of Bull Run.  McClellan was back again, winning a victory at Antietam, but failed to follow through in capturing the enemy’s army afterwards.  Then Ambrose Burnside, followed by Joseph Hooker, led the Army of the Potomac to massive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, respectively.  Then George Gordon Meade was put in, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg; Meade would not finish off the enemy either.  Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commented on the frequent changes in generals.  “I’m afraid they’re going to find a general I cannot understand.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Having seen what he done at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Lincoln found the fighting general he was looking for in Ulysses S. Grant.  In March 1864 he promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Federal armies.  Grant would have his headquarters in the field with Meade’s Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George H. Thomas would each lead an army to take the fight to the enemy.  Halleck would be given a new title, chief of staff, and remain in Washington as the presidential liaison.  Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton would be responsible for the procurement of men and supplies.  By this reorganization Lincoln created the structure of the high command in which all the energies of and resources of the country were mobilized into a grand strategy for the completion of the war.  It was all the more remarkable as prior to 1861, he had no knowledge of military theory or affairs; he threw himself into studying the subject that by 1864, he was considered to be something of a military genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Personal life==&lt;br /&gt;
Ann Rutledge played a part in stories as being the first woman Lincoln may have fallen in love with.  However, evidence is scant, and what surviving letters and documents there are indicate they were close friends.  She died in 1835 at the age of 22, and the entire community grieved with Lincoln.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln and tad.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The irrepressible Tad Lincoln, striking a typical pose next to his father, who could barely restrain a smile.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The one true love of Lincoln’s life was a well-educated woman with a quick wit, [[Mary Todd]], from a well-to-do family in Springfield.  Lincoln endured a courtship that lasted two years (and was broken once), before they were married on November 4, 1842.  Together they would have four boys: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (“Eddie”, who died at age 4), William Wallace (“Willie”), and Thomas (“Tad”).  Willie and Tad were the first children in the White House, and the halls and gardens were filled with childish romps, especially from the rambunctious, uncontrollable Tad, who once took a group of office seekers there to see the president on a trip through a confusing maze of hanging laundry; drove a herd of goats inside; got into the attic and rang the servants’ bells for hours; and succeeded in getting his doll executed for sleeping on watch.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Lincolns also had their share of quarrels, and stories passed through the years tended to exaggerate them, but existing letters between the two indicate they were like any other married couple.  They were devoted to each other’s company, and when apart they missed each other.  &amp;quot;I have fallen in love with her,&amp;quot; Lincoln would write to a friend about Mary, &amp;quot;and have never fallen out.&amp;quot;  Mary did have fits of temper and a sense of insecurity; while in the White House she had spells of simple jealousy which she staged in front of guests; sometimes the scene would be quite embarrassing.  She also rang up large bills for her personal wardrobe and redecorating the White House; Lincoln, when he found out one such bill which totaled near $20,000 and coupled with a request for Congress to appropriate the money needed to pay for it, displayed a rare occurrence of pure anger:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;It would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had approved a bill overrunning an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs, for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets!&amp;quot;'' [http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/marytoddlincoln.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The early deaths of Eddie in 1850 and Willie in 1863 may have played a role in Mary’s eccentricity.  Lincoln did what he could to support her, even pointing out the presence of a nearby building which housed a sanitarium, hinting that Mary could be placed there if she didn't control herself over Willie's death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On slavery==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1841, Lincoln had a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, and he saw sitting on board another boat a group of slaves chained together.  He described the sight in a letter to Joshua Speed in 1855: “You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln hated slavery.  “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself,” he declared. “I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypocrites.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm] In 1855, writing to his friend Joshua Speed, he recalled a steamboat trip the two had taken on the Ohio River14 years earlier. “You may remember, as I well do,” he said, “that from Louisville [Kentucky] to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” [http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln often penned fragments on slavery.  He would begin it by starting a hypothetical vested interest in slavery, and end it with the only logical conclusion, that is was a great moral wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B.—why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.'' (Fragment on Slavery, April, 1854)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was elected on a platform which pledged no interference with slavery where it had already existed, and he was hesitant to adopt an abolitionist policy.  He was concerned about the reaction of the border states should such a policy be enacted.  He was concerned about four million newly-freed blacks being incorporated into the country’s social, economic, and political life.  Some individuals, such as General John C. Freemont, made it a point to proclaim freedom in districts which they had conquered; Lincoln revoked those proclamations.  In a letter to Horace Greely, Lincoln plainly stated&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was willing to play a major part in removing slavery altogether during the war.  He first proposed an idea in which slaves were to be freed gradually by the actions of the states, with the federal government sharing the cost of compensation.  None of the border states were willing to implement it, and no prominent African-American leader was willing to see newly-freed blacks sent to Africa, as part of the idea called for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.&amp;quot;'' Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Abraham Lincoln, like many other people of his day, believed, at least initially, that &amp;quot;Religion is a private affair between a man and his God.&amp;quot;  Doubts about Lincoln's faith have arisen mainly because he never officially joined a church, which his political opponents used sometimes to accuse him.  He had a love of the Bible and memorized parts of the Bible, and used biblical allusions later on in political speech.  Lincoln said once that:&lt;br /&gt;
''&amp;quot;I doubt the possibility or propriety of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas.  I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms.&amp;quot;'' &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also said on another occasion:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He also made statements that suggest a strong faith, such as when his father was ill:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Tell father to remember to call upon and confide in our great, and good, and merciful Maker who will not turn away from him in any extremity.  He notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs of our heads; and he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him.  If it is to be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before; and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Regardless of Lincoln's views on faith as a youth, it seemed to grow as President.  Lincoln penciled in &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; after &amp;quot;one nation&amp;quot; for his [[Gettysburg Address]] delivered on November 19, 1863.  The phrase &amp;quot;under God&amp;quot; was not in the early drafts.  Mrs. Lincoln recalled her husband's last words just prior to his assassination in Ford's Theater: &amp;quot;He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the [[Savior]]. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-09-08&amp;amp;view=View&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1864, a close friend of Lincoln's, Joshua Speed, confided in Lincoln that he did not accept the Bible as true. Lincoln famously replied, &amp;quot;Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After Lincoln was shot at Ford's theater two clergy claimed that he had made a secret trip from Washington to be baptized.  Also a Roman Catholic Priest claimed that Lincoln received the sacrament of baptism in secret.  Neither of these claims have any proof in White House records or his personal diary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing, 2005.  &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's conservatism==&lt;br /&gt;
In his [[Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech|Cooper Union Address]], Lincoln spoke of the sectionalism which was fracturing the country as a result of slavery; the Republican Party was new in 1859, and a serious threat to slavery's existence.  Lincoln and his party were called radical and destructive, but he counted himself among the earliest defenders of conservative principles, which was in essence a defense of time-honored, traditional values. Lincoln said that out of the 39 framers of the Constitution, 23 of the 39 voted on whether to prevent the spread of slavery, and that 21 of the 23 voted in favor of doing so. Lincoln therefore said that it was the pro-slavery South that was radically breaking with the tradition begun by those that created the Constitution. As Lincoln said:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by &amp;quot;our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;&amp;quot; while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Lincoln's style of writing==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lincoln in November, 1863, about to leave for Pennsylvania.  The reason for his confident look may have been within the envelope lying on the table, believed to contain his draft of the Gettysburg Address]]&lt;br /&gt;
A White House visitor, Orville Browning, told Lincoln's personal secretary John Nicolay one day that he had spoke to Lincoln sometime in 1861 on the subject of slavery; that if the right thing about slavery wasn't done, God just couldn't be on the side of the Union. Browning remembered Lincoln's reply: &amp;quot;What if the Almighty takes a different view of slavery than we do?&amp;quot;, and right then and there Browning realized that Lincoln had thought very deep on the subject, much deeper than Browning did. [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/books/wilson.htm]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln was known to think long and deep on various topics, and often he would take notes, write them on little scraps of paper, and stuff them into his tall stovepipe hat for later use.  When it was time for use, such as his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech, he pulled them out, laid them on a table, and would commence to writing.  He would sift through the subject, adding this, removing that, and sometimes he would stand in his empty room and deliver it out loud to an imaginary audience, testing the effects of what he spoke, and altering it as needed.  According to author Garry Wills, Lincoln brought to bear the rhetorical tone of the Greek Revival and Transcendental movements, in which spoken oratory was practiced in government and on the stage.  The leading speakers of this time, and whom Lincoln looked upon, were Danial Webster and Henry Clay, both of the Senate, and Edward Everett, a speaker much in demand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The training he had given himself also enabled him to write a simple letter or a speech on the spot.  Words would flow clear when Lincoln wrote in his later years, and he didn't have to do twice one of his finest personal letters, one of consolation to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, who had lost five sons in the war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Executive Mansion,''&lt;br /&gt;
:''Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Dear Madam,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''&lt;br /&gt;
:''I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''A. Lincoln''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What many consider his masterpiece is the [[Gettysburg Address]].  Here Lincoln, going through perhaps a dozen writes and re-writes of what he had thought on the subject, entirely changed the meaning of the war itself in a mere 272 words, and in so doing, according to Wills, remaking America.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Politics in war==&lt;br /&gt;
That there had to be a certain degree of support to win the war was a given, and Lincoln strove to have unity for that effort in the North.  Politics was required, and Lincoln had a special knack for appealing to his fellows and talking to them at their own level and language.  He would smooth over lingering differences, and held the loyalty of those who were antagonistic to one another.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But the Democrats remained strong, and frequently clashed.  Its member included both war and peace Democrats; the peace side was called “Copperheads”, after the snake which strikes without warning while hidden.  Lincoln tried conciliating with both, but with the latter he had to resort to arrest at times, most famously to an Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Valandigham, who was arrested after he had repeatedly exhorted soldiers to desert.  He justified his actions on the grounds that the suspension of ''habeas corpus'' was necessary only in times of rebellion, insurrection, or when the public safety may require it, as stated in the Constitution; certainly the Civil War had met those specific conditions.  Many would dissent, and openly criticize Lincoln for arbitrarily violating the Constitution that he had sworn to preserve.  In response to the criticism in general, and the case of Valandigham in particular, Lincoln wrote:&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.&amp;quot;'' [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=boolean;rgn=div1;q1=soldier;op2=and;q2=deserts;op3=and;q3=agitator;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln6;node=lincoln6%3A569]&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who promised a restoration of the Union, but waffled on many of its points, even abandoning the Democratic platform of armistice and peaceful separation.  Lincoln was able to beat him in the election, assisted by the timely victories of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sherman in Georgia.  Overtures of peace from Confederates were not wholly rejected.  On February 3, 1865, Lincoln met with Confederate commissioners, among them Vice President Alexander Stephens, on a steamship in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  There would be peace, he insisted, if the South would quit the war, abandon slavery, and accept re-unification, and once these conditions were met he would gracious with pardons.  But his terms satisfied neither the Confederacy nor the Radical Republicans in Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
His postwar policy was one of compassion.  As he explained to his top leaders on board a riverboat, the City Queen, he wanted peace above all else.  His Second Inaugural Address expressed his point of healing the wounds caused by the war.&lt;br /&gt;
:''With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When asked specifically, he related the following, according to General Sherman, one of those present:&lt;br /&gt;
:''Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation, assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over; and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and that to avoid anarchy the State governments then in existence, with their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the government de facto till Congress could provide others.'' &lt;br /&gt;
:''I know, when I left him, that I was more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march of hostile armies through the South; and that his earnest desire seemed to be to end the war speedily, without more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the men of both sections to their homes. In the language of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have &amp;quot;charity for all, malice toward none,&amp;quot; and, above all, an absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity of the armies in the field.'' [http://www.sonshi.com/sherman24.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Final curtain==&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln received the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, and he was called out to the balcony of the White House that night by a large crowd gathered in celebration.  When asked to make a speech, Lincoln noticed a band among them, and made an unusual request.&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General, and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.&amp;quot;''&lt;br /&gt;
He entered Richmond the following day, to the joyous delight of free blacks, who welcomed the arrival of &amp;quot;Father Abraham&amp;quot; as they called him, and he paid a visit to the Confederate White House, and sat at the desk of Jefferson Davis.  The only thing he asked for was a glass of water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just four days later on April 14 he attended a play at Ford's Theater.  It was called ''Our American Cousin'', with well-known stage actress Laura Keane and comedian Harry Hawke in the title role.  Unseen to the audience was another actor making his way quietly up the stairs to the president's private box, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a Southern sympathizer who had hatched a conspiracy with a few others to kill the president and other leading officials.  Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln in the head, stabbed a guest, and dropped to the stage, escaping behind the curtains.  Taken across the street to a boarding house, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was laid across a small bed in humble surroundings, similar it seemed, to where he was born.  He died at sunrise a few hours later.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now he belongs to the ages&amp;quot; Edwin Stanton was heard to say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*McCollister, John C. ''God and the Oval Office'', W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee(2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Sandburg, Carl. ''Abraham Lincoln'', Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York (1954)&lt;br /&gt;
*Walsh, John E. ''Moonlight'', St. Martin's Press, New York (2000)&lt;br /&gt;
*Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', Simon and Schuster, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Hanchett, William. ''The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies'', University of Illinois (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
*Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln'', Jonathan Cafe (Random House), London (1995)&lt;br /&gt;
*Wills, Gary. ''Lincoln at Gettysburg: the Words that Remade America'', Simon and Schuster, New York (1992)&lt;br /&gt;
*White, Ronald C. Jr. ''The Eloquent President: A [[portraits|Portrait]] of Lincoln Through His Words'', Random House, New York (2005)&lt;br /&gt;
*Carwardine, Richard. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York (2003)&lt;br /&gt;
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Links==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html Abraham Lincoln Online]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Home.aspx Lincoln Archive of original newspaper articles]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ History Place: Lincoln timeline]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm Lincoln's Home National Historic Site]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html White House site; short bio on Lincoln]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=112&amp;amp;subjectID=1 Mr. Lincoln and Friends]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al02.htm Declaration against slavery, Illinois State Legislature, March 3, 1837]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al03.htm Lincoln's letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/slavery/al05.htm Speech in Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;q1=erastus;q2=corning;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=ACK7441.0001.001;didno=ACK7441.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 13, 1863, in which Lincoln explains his suspention of ''habeas corpus'']&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.sonshi.com/sherman.html Memoirs of William T. Sherman ]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:DcLincMor.JPG|right|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
*[[Democracy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John F. Kennedy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Andrew Jackson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=537124</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=537124"/>
		<updated>2008-10-16T03:50:50Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King famously called on America to live out the full meaning of its creed, including a declaration that all men are created equal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sadly, also remaining from that era is [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]] supported by [[liberal]] courts. However, America is more of a democracy than before the Civil Rights Movement.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fred Shuttlesworth]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ralph Abernathy]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[John Lewis]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[James Meredith]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=533718</id>
		<title>Barack Hussein Obama</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=533718"/>
		<updated>2008-10-10T23:51:08Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;''&amp;quot;Obama&amp;quot; redirects here.  For other uses see [[Obama (disambiguation)]].''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Barack Hussein Obama, II''' (born, allegedly, in Honolulu,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for [[President of the United States of America|president]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] since 2004. On August 23 he chose [[Senator Joseph Biden]] as his running mate. In 2007, Obama was rated the most [[liberal]] Senator by the National Journal, who had rated [[Senator John Kerry]] the most liberal senator during his presidential run as well.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  If elected, Obama may become the first [[Muslim]] [[President]] of the [[United States]].&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot;&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails miserably at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet, as displayed in the Saddleback Forum.  The first McCain-Obama debate was held in Mississippi on September 26 and, without a teleprompter, Obama stumbled further. The second McCain-Obama debate was held on October 7, and had a Town Hall format. At this debate, McCain mentioned a plan for helping homeowners pay for mortgage debts that Obama later disagreed with.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, &amp;quot;Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Islam==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is likely to be Muslim because:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's background and education are [[Muslim]]&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's middle name remains [[Muslim]], which most Christians would not retain&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;See, e.g., [http://islam.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&amp;amp;sdn=islam&amp;amp;cdn=religion&amp;amp;tm=4&amp;amp;f=10&amp;amp;tt=2&amp;amp;bt=0&amp;amp;bts=0&amp;amp;zu=http%3A//www.sudairy.com/arabic/masc.html]  After Obama became politically ambitious, he declared himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] name &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot; with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion.  For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to &amp;quot;Paul&amp;quot;; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Muslim name of [[Muhammad Ali]].  &amp;quot;It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion&amp;quot;[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama recently referred to his &amp;quot;Muslim faith&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama declared, &amp;quot;John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama uses the Muslim Pakistani pronunciation for &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; rather than the common American one&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama repeatedly pronounced &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; in the first presidential debate.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
*Obama has viewed the Muslim Malcolm X as his favorite black leader&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama was thoroughly exposed to Christianity as an adult in Chicago prior to attending law school, yet no one at law school saw him display any interest in converting. Obama unabashedly explained how he became “churched” in a 2007 speech: “It’s around that time [while working as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in Chicago] that some pastors I was working with came around and asked if I was a member of a church. 'If you’re organizing churches,' they said, 'it might be helpful if you went to a church once in a while.' And I thought, 'I guess that makes sense.'” &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=15363 Obama, ACORN, and the churches] SperoNews, October 7, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*During the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class, according to the LATimes. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.obama16mar16,0,1634059,print.story?coll=bal_news_nation_promo Campaign downplays his connection during boyhood in Indonesia] Baltimore Sun, March 16, 2007&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''The odds of Obama being truthful in his claim that he converted to Christianity are less than 100 to 1 against it, as fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.'''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;  [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He could never explain where the false number of 57 came from, but it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islamic]] states and Obama was educated at an [[Islamic]] grade school while he lived in an [[Islamic]] country.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama downplays his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a &amp;quot;confirmed [[atheist]]&amp;quot; before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991.  Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.&lt;br /&gt;
__TOC__ &amp;lt;!--Please do not remove this. We want to keep the &amp;quot;insights&amp;quot; on the first screen of viewing--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Elitism==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied &amp;quot;it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I &amp;quot;didn't say it as well as I should have.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he &amp;quot;worked his way through college and Harvard Law.&amp;quot; This claim was an exaggeration as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Insights==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago; in fact, he held the position of &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; For most of his time there he was regarded by the university as a professor.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004.[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams of my Father'', Obama admitted using illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as &amp;quot;blow&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;pot&amp;quot; respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before claiming to choose a different path in life.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him.  In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians.&amp;quot; [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama said that &amp;quot;[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.&amp;quot;  In fact, Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma march took place in 1965.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as &amp;quot;the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In his famous 2002 speech&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; at an anti-war rally, Obama said that he was against &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot; and expressed some reservations about the Iraq War because he disagrees with the ideological agendas of the Bush administration, but he did not explicitly oppose the war. In his 2004 Democrat Convention speech, Obama said that he did not know how he would have voted on the Iraq War.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's campaign &amp;quot;is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Statements===&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has been noted by several independent sources as misquoting historical events and statements by famous persons. A notable example came after Obama's win in the [[North Carolina]] democratic primary. Obama was quoted as saying, &amp;quot;I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies as Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did.&amp;quot; (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt spoke with none of the [[Axis]] or [[Japanese]] leaders and the the only communication that was sent to them was unconditional surrender. (President) [[Harry Truman]] took over for FDR and continued his unconditional surrender philosophy as well as ending [[World War II]] with an atomic bomb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/obama_needs_to_study_history_b.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Early life and education==&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Hussein Obama II was allegedly born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years.  Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. His days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays were spent praying in a Mosque with his stepfather. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/pipes_obama_muslim/2008/10/09/138898.html Obama 'Lying' About Muslim Past, Expert Says] NewsMax, October 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.&lt;br /&gt;
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For college, Obama initially attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science.  Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School.  He became a member of the ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&amp;amp;scp=3&amp;amp;sq=Obama%201990&amp;amp;st=cse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Legal career==&lt;br /&gt;
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill &amp;amp; Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today.  During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education.  ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Senate career==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.  Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004.  Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].&lt;br /&gt;
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A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and 16th most liberal in 2005.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published.  Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that &amp;quot;racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run ....  We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics.  ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&amp;amp;oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a &amp;quot;new strategy&amp;quot; in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.&lt;br /&gt;
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As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&amp;amp;page=NewsArticle&amp;amp;id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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According to a Fox News report on October 5th, Obama has taken more than $126,000. in campaign contribution from [[Fannie Mae]] in a little over three years. This ranks him second, only Chris Dodd has received more campaign contribution dollars from Fannie Mae.&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Bills co-sponsored ===&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
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Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://thomas.loc.gov/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===&lt;br /&gt;
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In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.  This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website&amp;lt;obamasenate2010.gov&amp;gt; is now defunct.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Presidential campaign==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama began his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois.  His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future.  It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html &amp;quot;Obama declares he's running for president&amp;quot;] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general.  Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11. &lt;br /&gt;
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By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million from over 100,000 contributors.  $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an &amp;quot;articulate&amp;quot; spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Chicago Sun-Times, &lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet, &lt;br /&gt;
April 29, 2007,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.  From his remarks, he states that he has &amp;quot;one more to go&amp;quot; and stated he couldn't visit Hawaii and Alaska, indicating he meant to say, &amp;quot;forty-seven states&amp;quot;.  &lt;br /&gt;
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During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
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In reality, the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.&lt;br /&gt;
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By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing.  After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted.  First, Obama said he would have face-to-face meetings with two of Florida's most feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]].  Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions.  Then Obama claimed that he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation.  Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era.  The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, and went on to become the unofficial Democratic nominee.&lt;br /&gt;
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At a campaign event in Elkhart, Indiana, a seven-year-old girl asked Barack Obama why he wants to be President. He replies, &lt;br /&gt;
'''&amp;quot;America is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children.&amp;quot;''' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/09/mostly-mia-obamas-downer-america-delivered-7-year-old Media Mostly MIA on Obama's 'America No Longer What It Once Was' Downer Delivered to 7 Year-Old] Newsbusters.org, August 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.&lt;br /&gt;
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On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Healthcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. &amp;quot;Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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On June 6th, an [[AP]] article &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&amp;amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; presented the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama visited U.S. troops in Iraq in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops in Iraq]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and in Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2008&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops and officials in Afghanistan and Kuwait]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's tax plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, while cutting taxes for the middle class.  According to the non-partisan [[Tax Policy Center]], most Americans would pay less taxes than under Senator McCain's plan.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749 An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Updated September 12, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to another non-partisan group, Americans for Tax Reform, tax-payers would clearly be burdened by an Obama presidency.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.atr.org/content/html/2008/june/0616-obama_mccaintaxes.html McCain vs. Obama on Taxes] Americans For Tax Reform, June 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Campaign financing=== &lt;br /&gt;
Obama is the first presidential candidate to reject public financing. He broke his promise to accept it in the hope that his powerful fund-raising machine would generate far more money than the $84.1 million McCain is getting in public funding. Indeed, on August 14th, the Obama campaign announced it had received donations from 2 million individuals, setting new records. Obama raised $272 million for the primaries and expects to raise $300 million for the general election. However the Republican National Committee has been raising much more than the Democratic National Committee and each candidate had about $100 million in cash on September 1. Each expects to spend about $300 million by November. However, Obama is obliged to devote much of his time to fund raising among supporters rather than campaigning among undecided voters.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; see [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/09/was-obama-right-to-opt-out-of-public-financing.aspx Andrew Romano, &amp;quot;Was Obama Right to Opt Out of Public Financing?,&amp;quot; ''Newsweek'' (Sept. 9, 2008) online]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
===Secrecy=== &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Democratic party feels it necessary to keep all questions about Obama at a safe distance. It is an unprecedented move to keep secrets about a Presidential candidate. The following questions remain sealed from the public. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-sent-obama-why-has-he-refused-to.html Who sent Obama? Why has he refused to release these basic documents?] ObamaWTF.blogspot.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Certified Copy of original Birth certificate(see certificate controversy below)&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia Thesis paper&lt;br /&gt;
# Campaign donor analysis requested by 7 major watchdog groups&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Harvard]] College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Illinois State Senate records&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Illinois]] State Senate schedule&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Law]] practice client list and billing records/summary&lt;br /&gt;
# Locations and names of all half-siblings and step-mothers&lt;br /&gt;
# Medical records (only the one page summary released so far)&lt;br /&gt;
# Occidental College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Parent's [[Marriage]] Certificate&lt;br /&gt;
# Record of baptism&lt;br /&gt;
# Selective Service Registration&lt;br /&gt;
# Trips schedules for trips outside of the United States before 2007&lt;br /&gt;
# Scholarly articles&lt;br /&gt;
# Access to his Grandmother&lt;br /&gt;
# List of all campaign workers that are lobbyists&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama keeps donations secret by exploiting a loophole that allows campaigns to refuse to divulge donations under $200.00. This is useful to the candidate because many of his contributions are from dubious foreign or illegal sources. It is described as the &amp;quot;largest pool of unidentified money that has ever flooded into the U.S. election system, before or after the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms of 2002.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/Obama_fundraising_illegal/2008/09/29/135718.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Positions and Qualifications ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. Obama said &amp;quot;the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  That bill &amp;quot;would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the  mother's womb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.&lt;br /&gt;
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In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|&amp;quot;If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.&amp;quot;}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|175px|thumb|right|[[Weather Underground]] co-founder Bill Ayers&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; stomps on the American flag in this 2001 pose for Chicago Magazine.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama, having been asked about his associations with [[William Ayers]], an unrepentant [[terrorist]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own.  Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]], hosted a fundraiser for Obama in their home in 1995 at the start of Obama's political career. Obama compares his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take &amp;quot;extreme&amp;quot; positions or would use terrorist tactics.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has no military or executive experience and little foreign policy experience.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ...  Mr. Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman.&amp;quot;[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site &amp;quot;MoveOn.org&amp;quot; for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise Hillary Clinton refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   &lt;br /&gt;
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He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]].  Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that &amp;quot;Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe, for whom Obama worked as a research assistant, wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama's &amp;quot;research&amp;quot; for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the [[Constitution]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the &amp;quot;best student I ever had&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;most exciting research assistant.&amp;quot; [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Throughout his career, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in a transparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office.  In example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted &amp;quot;present&amp;quot; rather than &amp;quot;aye&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;nay&amp;quot; nearly an astounding 130 times.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed.  A newspaper that favored Obama  took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]].  &amp;quot;Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ...  The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;  The [[New York Times]] noted that &amp;quot;Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&amp;amp;ex=1358485200&amp;amp;en=bb179297e5f61acb&amp;amp;ei=5090&amp;amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;amp;emc=rss&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut,&amp;quot; the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama often makes reference to his &amp;quot;two decades of experience&amp;quot; in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book, or organizing community events.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Political views ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's political views have been subjected to controversy even before he put himself forward as a presidential candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist&amp;quot;.]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David Kopel, &amp;quot;The Democrats and Gun Control,&amp;quot; Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he &amp;quot;never saw or approved the questionnaire,&amp;quot; and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.&lt;br /&gt;
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After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has said, &amp;quot;Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as &amp;quot;an age-appropriate manner&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten.&amp;quot; [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama, in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way.  In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot;. At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama, has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraeus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him [[George W. Bush|President George Bush]] or even Mr. George Bush. Obama has also disrespectfully called him 'George Bush'.  Oddly, when Bill Clinton spoke with Obama on September 11th, 2008 predicting he would win handily, Obama responded, &amp;quot;There you go, you can take it from the president of the United States.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/campaign.wrap/index.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  It appears Obama will use the term for a former President, but will not do the same for the actual President. Examples of Obama's treatment of our current President: &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy,&amp;quot; Obama said &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies,&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mccain/] Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to &amp;quot;John McCain's president, George W. Bush&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_mccain/2008/08/18/122924.html No More Hugs: Obama Tears Into McCain] AP, August 18, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Side note, George W. Bush is also Barack Obama's President.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Foreign policy experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
In his presidential campaign, Obama bragged&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; that &amp;quot;foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident&amp;quot; and then cited &amp;quot;having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa&amp;quot;. He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other kids in Africa.&lt;br /&gt;
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While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Religious affiliations==&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and his wife (reared a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.tucc.org/about.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in Chicago. The church embraces black liberation theology and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons. &lt;br /&gt;
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blames the media and not the rhetoric on display &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|“It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...&amp;quot;}}  Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements &amp;quot;G-d damn America&amp;quot; and describing the September 11th attacks, he said &amp;quot;We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying &amp;quot;We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside.&amp;quot;}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.  &lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.&lt;br /&gt;
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And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Books ==&lt;br /&gt;
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* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Published criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who made a racially insensitive remark&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, &amp;quot;The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as &amp;quot;miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of &amp;quot;mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners&amp;quot; on the campaign trail.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set &amp;quot;an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Birth Certificate Controversy===&lt;br /&gt;
There has been some controversy over the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate and his Constitutional eligibility to hold the office of President.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as &lt;br /&gt;
authentic.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, an analyst at the Israel Insider website, has concluded based on a photographic analysis of the document that the birth certificate has been altered and is likely not Obama's true birth certificate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The site stated, &amp;quot;FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship.&amp;quot;  In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number.  The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/obama-was-born-in-hawaii-wrong-can-of-worms/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls &amp;quot;dual loyalties&amp;quot; due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of &amp;quot;multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries&amp;quot; remains on the table. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama] Newsbusters.org, August 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and put the matter to rest, they seek to have the lawsuit dismissed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/29/fight-smears-website-admits-obama-was-kenyan-citizen-wheres-msm 'Fight the Smears' Website Admits Obama was Kenyan Citizen: Where's the MSM?] NewsBusters.org, September 29, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous &amp;quot;Breaking News&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[The_Honorable_James_David_Manning]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Black_Liberation_Theology]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Association_of_Community_Organizations_for_Reform_Now_%28ACORN%29]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&amp;amp;in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Sources==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{2008 presidential candidates}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Liberals]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Muslims]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=532366</id>
		<title>Talk:Barack Hussein Obama</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=532366"/>
		<updated>2008-10-08T22:19:32Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Biased */&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;Archives:&lt;br /&gt;
[[/archive1|1]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[/archive2|2]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[/archive3|3]]&lt;br /&gt;
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== Meaning of Hussein ==&lt;br /&gt;
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This has been brought up before, but I just wanted to do some research so we could clear it up:&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; 1st point: According to the Oxford Dictionary of First Names, 2nd Edition (published 2006 by the Oxford University Press; authors Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges; ISBN 0-19-861060-2) Hussein means this:&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;quot; '''Husayn''' ♂ Diminutive of ''hasan'' 'good, beautiful, exquisite.' Al-Husayn (''c''.626-680) was the grandson of the Prophet, whose supporters emerged after his death as the Shiite party.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; Hussein is a variant of Husayn, yet it is unlisted in this dictionary. However, I think that it is apparent that this is simply a modified/altered form of the phonetic equivalent, much like Katherine/Catherine/Kathryn. Hussein/Husayn WAS the grandson of the Prophet, but to say that the name means such is akin to claiming that Mary means &amp;quot;Mother of Jesus.&amp;quot; It may be a colloquial usage or have that connotative meaning, but until there is proof of that, then the entry seems to be incorrect.&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; 2nd point: The source currently referenced (http://www.sudairy.com) displays this for the definition of Hussein:&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;'''Husain, Husayn, Hussein''' - Beautiful, doer of good deads[sic]; a descendent[sic] of the Prophet&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; which implies that the Oxford source is 1) more accurate as it is verifiable and edited by a trustworthy source and capable speller, and 2) &amp;quot;descendent[sic] of the Prophet&amp;quot; is in reference to the original namesake, though it is not clearly marked. If we are to trust sudairy.com as being completely accurate, however, then anyone named Hayyan, Hannad, or Nizar have the denotative travesty of meaning &amp;quot;Old Arabic Name.&amp;quot; I think the entry should be changed to reflect this. --[[User:Limbo|Limbo]] 16:52, 3 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: I don't understand. You list one of the meanings as &amp;quot;a descendent[sic] of the Prophet.&amp;quot; Are you trying to imply that this is not Mohammed?--'''&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#6698FF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#E41B17&amp;quot;&amp;gt;p&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#F88017&amp;quot;&amp;gt;a&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#347C17&amp;quot;&amp;gt;t&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#A74AC7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;t&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;'''&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;[[User:Jpatt|  ]]&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; 16:18, 7 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: I listed the incorrect meaning as &amp;quot;descendent[sic] of the Prophet.&amp;quot; This is from the website Suidairy.com, which is not an accurate source of information (my justification is the last paragraph of the first post). The definition I feel is most accurate is the Oxford one, listed above, which lists the definition as &amp;quot;good, beautiful, exquisite.&amp;quot; Al-Husayn (a man, not a name) was the descendant of the prophet. For comparison, anyone named Jesus would not be assumed to be the son of God. --[[User:Limbo|Limbo]] 16:25, 7 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== No longer presumptive ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He's the real-deal nominee at this point. [[User:Athuroglossos|Athuroglossos]] 13:11, 29 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:He's presumptive in the sense that Obama is far too inexperienced to be President. [[User:Redstatepride|Redstatepride]] 18:56, 29 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Education In Jakarta, Indonesia ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All students in Indonesia, regardless of religion get off for Islamic holy days including Nabi Isa which we know as Christmas.  It's disengenuous to make a claim that because he went to a public school and got an Islamic holy day off that there's some nefarious connection.  Muslims that attend Catholic school have to attend Mass whether they like it or not.--[[User:EmpressG1973|EmpressG1973]] 17:01, 28 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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I think the point is that Barack Hussein Obama was observing an islamic holy day when he is claiming to be Christian.  It just does'nt add up to alot of people and should make Christians think twice about him.  --[[User:Patriot1505|Patriot1505]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Actually it was his '''school''' that was observing the holiday. When a child attends a school, they can't just choose which days they want to take off. Your argument is ridiculous.-- [[User:rkstiner|rkstiner]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
How is my point incorrect?  You can nit-pick it all you want but Obama attended a muslim school and observed muslim holidays.  Thats all there is to it.  Take your liberal name-calling elsewhere. --[[User:Patriot1505|Patriot1505]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Name calling?....where?[[User:Rkstiner|Rkstiner]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:So a Jew who attends a public school in this country doesn't go to school on Christmas, so he is therefore observing a Christian holiday? Making him, I suppose, a Christian? Doesn't make sense. [[User:MichaelR|MichaelR]] 16:08, 3 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::You shouldn't have to defend it at all.  Barack Hussein Obama is very likely a muslim there is strong evidence to suggest it.  Since when is being a muslim such a bad thing?  It's not, unless your running for President and try to lie about it. --[[User:Patriot1505|Patriot1505]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Reversion Explained ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We don't post a politician's self-serving claptrap.  Obama catered to anti-patriotic donors to win the nomination.  There's no real dispute about that.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 09:53, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Remember, Conservapedia is billed as trustworthy, and children read this website. [[User:Yesaliberal|Yesaliberal]] 15:29, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::What's your point? That children don't need to know he flip flopped on wearing a flag pin? [[User:TJason|TJason]] 15:39, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::The point is that children especially should be told the truth. Include the flip-flopping by all means, but also include his explanation for why he did flip-flop. This has more validity then stating &amp;quot;but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.&amp;quot; Adequate to whom? By what criteria is the inadequacy judged? If he had explained it by saying &amp;quot;it's none of your business&amp;quot;, or did not offer an explanation, then certainly that would qualify as &amp;quot;without adequate explanation.&amp;quot; Remember: Conservapedia is billed as trustworthy. [[User:Yesaliberal|Yesaliberal]] 15:56, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::::I agree that citing his explanation and then explaining why conservatives find it inadequate would be an improvement. I would make said improvement, but I am currently hard &amp;quot;at work&amp;quot;. [[User:TJason|TJason]] 16:09, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Affirmative Action President ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I reverted the removal of &amp;quot;affirmative action president&amp;quot; for now. Corey, can you explain why this is racist? If affirmative action isn't racist, why is describing someone as an &amp;quot;affirmative action president&amp;quot; racist? Is your problem with the description that it is racist? Or that it is untrue? I think these are two separate issues. [[User:TJason|TJason]] 10:29, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:This speaks to what I think is an enormous problem with affirmative action (no, I'm not a complete supporter), claiming that a minority only got a job because they are a minority. I think that claiming that Barack Obama's political success comes only from his being black is racist demagoguery, or at least rhetoric designed to incite racial tensions. I have no doubt that there are some people who support Obama only because of the color of his skin, just the same as there are those who oppose him only for the same reason. Also, I will not say that there isn't a desire by many people to see somebody other than white male in the White House. But this is not the ''only'' reason most of Obama's supporters have for supporting him, as the term &amp;quot;affirmative action president&amp;quot; suggests. He has political experience and he is a deft politician, which figures greatly in a political campaign. I would implore anybody who considers Obama to have no accomplishments to compare his life to that of our sitting president before 2000. Some time in office, a string of business failures, and questionable service in the Texas Air National Guard. Fortunately for G.W. Bush, his father is Bush 41. Bush supporters discuss his successes as his own doing. Claiming that Obama's are not his own because he is black sounds rather racist to me. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 11:16, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::George W. Bush was governor of Texas; some people consider that to be a political accomplishment.  I think you will have to go pretty far back to find a candidate for President whose entire political career was two years as a Senator.  In 1988 Dan Quayle was blasted for his lack of experience for a Vice Presidential candidate, and he had already served many more years in the Congress than Barack Obama has.  Like it or not Obama was fasttracked and bypassed the usual protocols because of the color of his skin.  Whether or not this is appropriate is left to each individual to decide. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 11:32, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::A governorship is certainly a political accomplishment, one which George W. Bush would probably have been unable to attain were it not for his father's name. There is hardly any information on the George W. Bush entry on this site pertaining to his life before his presidency, the details of which would likely lead many people to conclude that were George H.W. Bush not so well-connected his son would not be president. In contrast, the opening paragraph of Obama's entry uses his race to attack him politically. I find this hard to rationalize. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:04, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::There is not usually an understood litmus test for governor. Some people are longterm politicians, others are not. For instance Arnold held only minor political appointments before he became governor of California. But the Presidency has generally required proving yourself in some capacity. Bush was a well respected governor who received high marks. Carter, Clinton, and Reagan had all been governors. Someone running for President who has not successfully governed a state and has only been in Congress for 2 years is very out of the ordinary. Again, note what Quayle was put through and he was only a Vice Presidential candidate. That being said, I am not necessarily supporting the article in the form it has taken. I have not read it in quite some time, but if it is a leadoff then that would seem to be inappropriate. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:47, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::Obama's experience is fair game, and I agree that he has not had as much time in political office as the average candidate. I think that using race as an issue detracts from this fair and logical line of debate. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:53, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I don't think that the term &amp;quot;affirmative action president&amp;quot; suggests that affirmative action is the '''only''' reason Obama is where he is. I think the term is supposed to denote that his being black is a '''major''' force behind his success. Also, I think the term brings to light that, historically, this is a first. No previous nominee has been the beneficiary of affirmative action in the way Obama has. At any rate, ''I'' won't revert the edit if you remove it again, since you've made your case and I am not willing to fight to keep it in. I suspect others might, though. [[User:TJason|TJason]] 11:37, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::Where has he explicitly benefited from affirmative action programs? This is a &amp;quot;heads, I win, tails, you lose&amp;quot; situation. If he doesn't get into Harvard Law or win an election, it's because of lack of merit. If he succeeds, it's because the standards were lowered due to his race. This is an extremely dubious political argument. Attack him on his policies, voting record, character, or fitness to lead: fire as they bear! That's our process, and it's a good process. But these race arguments are petty, desperate, and drag our political discourse down to a despicable level. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:04, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::::I am pretty sure that Harvard Law Review has an affirmative action policy, but I will have to check. Regardless, I think the term also covers &amp;quot;implicit&amp;quot; affirmative action that has benefited Obama (e.g. a white candidate with his experience would not be taken seriously). [[User:TJason|TJason]] 12:10, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::&amp;quot;Implicit&amp;quot; affirmative action seems to be in the realm of vagueness and speculation. I refer you to Conservapedia Commandment 1: &amp;quot;Everything you post must be true and verifiable.&amp;quot; [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:25, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::Like I said, I'm not really willing to fight over this. We are at least in agreement that this is a distraction from the real issue: his actual positions. I reverted the edit because I thought what was said in the edit comment should have been spelled out in the talk page. It has been. Therefore, if you want to remove the reference again, I won't revert it again.[[User:TJason|TJason]] 12:29, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::::I have no intention of perpetuating a pointless revert war, either, and I agree that discussion of the real issues suffer because of such statements. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:32, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== &amp;quot;Alleged&amp;quot; birth revert ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even the National Review doesn't dispute the [http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= authenticity of Obama's birth certificate.] Why is Obama's birth information being censored by this website? [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:30, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::There is no censorship here. Removing any mention that there is doubt about the authenticity of his birth certificate is censorship, imho. [[User:TJason|TJason]] 12:34, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::However, the way rumor is so prominently injected into the article within the first five words is clear weasel-wording. A separate section regarding the issue would be more appropriate than saying that he was &amp;quot;allegedly&amp;quot; born somewhere, and I wouldn't oppose such a section. Seeing as how you usually hear the word &amp;quot;allegedly&amp;quot; on the news while watching a video of a perp walk, it is unnecessarily loaded language. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:42, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::::And accusing senior CP members of &amp;quot;weasel-wording&amp;quot; isn't loaded? You should watch your step. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 12:46, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::We Should add &amp;quot;allegedly&amp;quot; to everything just to be fair.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: We know many [[liberal]]s love [[deceit]], and the birth certificate posted by [[Obama]]'s campaign has obvious defects.  Even its number is blotted out for unexplained reasons.  There are still unanswered questions about his place and date of birth, and what is on his real certificate, which his campaign has not released.  We provide the information about this and let the reader decide.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 13:12, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::Then maybe the thing to do would be to dedicate a separate section to present the issue. It would be much clearer and provide more information than the status quo. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 14:16, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::I have reverted another removal of the word &amp;quot;alleged&amp;quot; since there are still unanswered questions about his birth certificate. Is the consensus that this should be made into a new section? [[User:TJason|TJason]] 17:18, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::I would agree with a section. This entire article could do with a better layout and more sectioning. Our John McCain article is better in this regard - perhaps we could use this as a blueprint? [[User:DefenderofTrue|DefenderofTrue]] 17:38, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(unindent) We seem to be in agreement. I'll make a section tomorrow, under the &amp;quot;Published Criticism&amp;quot; section. I would like to add that I love it when people of different viewpoints can meet in the middle. Good night. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 23:44, 12 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:I like the changes you have made. [[User:TJason|TJason]] 11:37, 14 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::(edit conflict) Thank you. As discussed, I added a section regarding the birth certificate controversy and removed &amp;quot;alleged&amp;quot; from the intro paragraph. I tried to make it as evenly written as I could. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 11:40, 14 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Also, what is up with the &amp;lt;span&amp;gt; tag at the beginning of the article? I don't know what this is used for, but it doesn't appear to be doing anything except make &amp;quot;span&amp;quot; the first word in the article. [[User:TJason|TJason]] 11:44, 14 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::1. You're right- I scanned the diff and thought he removed the Daily Kos ref. 2. I don't know. I never noticed it before. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 11:46, 14 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== We have a problem ==&lt;br /&gt;
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Okay... to start things off I am deathly afraid of this man getting elected and think he would ruin our wonderful nation. I do think that the media is helping him and realize that he is basically &amp;quot;the chosen one.&amp;quot; My conservative principles help me make all of those opinions. Heres the thing. This place exists because someone thought that wikipedia was biased and unfair... but honestly... some of this stuff borders on propaganda! For Pete's sake our job as conservatives is too tell the truth and expose things about him. This page is going too far. I'm embarrassed to know that my fellow conservatives wrote this! This page can still be dedicated to exposing the truth about &amp;quot;the chosen one.&amp;quot; But we'll be SO much more effective if we do it properly and fairly. If you want to contact me its easier to do so at my wikipedia talk page of the same name. Thank you and lets try to do better please. [[User:Saksjn|Saksjn]] 15:32, 21 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: A true conservative would be appalled at Wikipedia and not contribute to their cause-- [[Image:50 star flag.png|14px]] [[User:Jpatt|jp]] 20:39, 12 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Hussein Obama's Birth Certificate Number ==&lt;br /&gt;
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I copied this from the [[Talk:Main_Page#Obama_Born_In_U.S.A.|Main Page Talk section]] to here because you all might find it of interest. --[[User:AdmiralNelson|AdmiralNelson]] 11:32, 23 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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----&lt;br /&gt;
:[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Look at this photo], is this Barack Obama's birth certificate? [[User:Visitor|Visitor]] 23:44, 22 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::It's interesting that they finally give the, so-called authentic, birth certificate number in this supposedly unfaked photo. It is '''151 1961 - 010641'''. The reason I bring this up, and I think the REAL reason this was masked, is because numerological analysis shows something very disturbing. If you add up the three sets of digits thus:&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;151 + 1961 + 010641 = 12753&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;and then add the individual digits of the result thus:&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;1 + 2 + 7 + 5 + 3 = 18&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;the final result, 18, is the product of three sixes (3 x 6 = 18). Three sixes, or [[666]], sort of speaks for itself. I just thought this was interesting. --[[User:AdmiralNelson|AdmiralNelson]] 11:22, 23 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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I think it's rather obvious that AdmiralNelson doesn't take this site seriously. [[User:Jirby|Jirby]] 20:51, 24 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:Does anyone? [[User:Visitor|Visitor]] 21:05, 24 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:: I'm giving it a chance. [[User:Jirby|Jirby]] 21:14, 24 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::So am I. I new here and was hoping to find stuff that would challenge my beliefs, so far not much luck. [[User:Visitor|Visitor]] 21:21, 24 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:Can I quote myself? '''I just thought this was interesting.''' For &amp;quot;seriousness&amp;quot; [[Special:Contributions/AdmiralNelson|I stand by my record]]. Feel free to check it out. --[[User:AdmiralNelson|AdmiralNelson]] 11:29, 25 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Lawsuit==&lt;br /&gt;
The guy filing the lawsuit doesn't dispute the fact that he he was born in Honolulu. He is disputing that Obama is a US citizen after he lived in Indonesia. So why does it say allegedly born still? [[User:Visitor|Visitor]] 19:08, 24 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: I think he does dispute it.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:46, 25 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: ASchlafly is correct - Philip J. Berg is alleging that Barrack Obama forged his birth-certificate because he was not a Natural Born US citizen. [http://obamacrimes.com/ Berg vs Obama] --[[User:Jimmygoddard|Jimmygoddard]] 14:50, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Dilution ==&lt;br /&gt;
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Don't dilute the entry by referring to the silly text messaging stunt in the first paragraph.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:46, 25 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:Can I put it down in the Presidential Campaign section instead then? --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 10:49, 25 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Requested change ==&lt;br /&gt;
Original text:&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|On June 3rd, Barack Obama had received enough pledged delegates and the endorsement of superdelegates to be called the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party by the Democratic National Committee. The nomination became official when Hillary Clinton conceded on June 7th.}}&lt;br /&gt;
Requested new text:&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.}}&lt;br /&gt;
This more accurately describes what happened and updates the section with last week's events. --[[User:Ampersand|Ampersand]] 17:02, 29 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
===Another===&lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Obama&amp;amp;diff=506483&amp;amp;oldid=505653 This link] should be commented out until [[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate| this abysmal essay]] is fixed. [[User talk:MargeryCampbell|Marge]] 17:11, 29 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Pearl Harbor issue==&lt;br /&gt;
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The entire section regarding his comments about Pearl Harbor has got to go. There is no reason to imply that someone leaving an 's' off the word 'bomb' (''bomb'''s''''' did fall on Pearl Harbor, that much is true, right?) means they ignore or disdain American history. I'm guessing the McCain article makes no immediate mention of his confusion over the borders of Iran, or his lack of knowledge about the situation in Iraq, illustrated by the fact that he mixed up the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. Do either of those things make sense? NO! I'm sure John McCain knows what he's talking about, and I'm sure he's not confused about the issues at hand. Obviously, which course of action he chooses to follow is eternally and rightly up for debate, and if we want to highlight that debate about Obama, then that's fine. But it's ridiculous - nay, ridicule-worthy - to say that Obama leaving out an 's' means he thinks Pearl Harbor was nuked. That's so stupid it turns neurons into Pop Rocks. [[User:OtherSide|OtherSide]] 19:51, 31 August 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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No, it should stay, the man's an idiot, clearly.   Also - I added the &amp;quot;any educated person would know&amp;quot; bit, which Jareddr just removed.   But I'd point out that many of the younger generation ''don't'' know that it wasn't one bomb.   I've even spoken to young folk who confuse Pearl Harbor with Hiroshima, and think that the nuclear bomb was dropped on Pearl Harbor!   It's remarkable how uneducated some of today's public-school educated youth are.   Also, people from foreign countries may not know the context of Obama's gaffe.  Perhaps that point might be allowed back in - Jareddr, if you want to re-word it yourself maybe?   I think it's kind of important, the stupidity of his point might be missed otherwise.   [[User:RobCross|RobCross]] 14:55, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:Then state something to the effect of, &amp;quot;In actuality, multiple bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor during the Japanese mission.&amp;quot;  You didn't say anything about being foreign-educated, only &amp;quot;any educated person...&amp;quot;  If you want to place it in context using my above phrasing, go ahead.  But the entire section has already been set up to switch verbal miscues for &amp;quot;idiocy&amp;quot; so no need to pile on, as they say. &lt;br /&gt;
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:Besides, you don't see anything on McCain's pages about him &amp;quot;not knowing&amp;quot; the difference between Sunni and Shiite, referencing Czechoslovakia (a now defunct country), or calling Putin the President of Germany.--[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 14:58, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:OK, I'l do that then Jareddr, thanks for the suggestion.   As to the McCain entry, I don't think we need to highlight those issues, they're a distraction.   [[User:RobCross|RobCross]] 15:07, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::True, we don't want to confuse the readers about the candidate storylines. --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 15:11, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::The entry should be removed, since McCain failed to state how many homes he owns is no where to be seen on the McCain article. [[User:SamuelHTD|SamuelHTD]] 15:43, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::::Don't be ridiculous, Samuel.  Many everyday Americans have trouble remembering how many homes they own.  Sometimes they own a home, but it's in someone else's name, or it's just a vacation lodge, or it's a few homes on one piece of property.  Ask people on the street how many homes they own, and I guarantee very few will answer! --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 15:46, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::::: McCain isn't running to be a real estate agent for the country.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 15:52, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::True, but he spoke about real estate business, and it's undeniably a large factor in the economy, which is a current problem. Compare that to Obama and 60 years ago? Oh Please. Thanks for the sarcasm Jared. :P [[User:SamuelHTD|SamuelHTD]] 16:39, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::: Obama isn't running to be a history teacher for the country either, though.  One could argue that if you're going to enforce a populist message, and cast yourself as an &amp;quot;everyman&amp;quot; and your opponent as &amp;quot;elite&amp;quot;, you should be able to answer how many homes you have on command.  We're not looking for net value, just a (presumably) single-digit number.  I'm not aware of any &amp;quot;everyman&amp;quot; that forgets that number, but I'm sure some &amp;quot;elite&amp;quot; may forget. --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 16:07, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::::: Obama can try that next, Samuel:  &amp;quot;Who cares about what happened at Pearl Harbor?  That was 60 years ago!!!&amp;quot;  Good luck to him and his supporters with that absurd approach.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:12, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::::What's more absurd is putting words in my mouth (as well as Obama's, apparently?), as if I were trying to say that I didn't care about Pearl Harbor. I said no such thing. I was comparing something that happened over 60 years ago to present time in relevance to gaffe, nothing more and nothing less, in comparison to Obama's article and McCain's. [[User:SamuelHTD|SamuelHTD]] 19:29, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::::::: Obama's gaffe was about an essential element of American history that defines our country; McCain's was not.  We do expect presidents to know important aspects of American history.  We really do.  We don't care if they can tell you how wealthy they are, or how many houses they own.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 19:35, 5 September 2008 (EDT)--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 19:35, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::::::::::And yet McCain's belief in an Iraq/Pakistan border - and his belief that a country named &amp;quot;Czechoslovakia&amp;quot; still exists - shows how out of touch he may be with the issues that matter NOW.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 19:42, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:I won't compare the semantics of how you measure the impact and importance of a slip-up, but it ''is'' rather telling that the Obama article prominently features such a slip-up while the McCain article apparently doesn't. This doesn't compute. Both of them have had weird moments (&amp;quot;President Putin of Germany&amp;quot;, anybody?), and in fact, everybody has slip-ups. Bushisms, anybody? So why do we have to pick on Obama's mistakes alone?&lt;br /&gt;
:An encyclopedia needs consistent standards. Entries about similar topics should be comparable. They should be similar in style. They should follow the same intuitive standards.&lt;br /&gt;
:Overall, the McCain article looks like a very good example of how such an entry should look like (kudos to those who made it that way), and the Obama article is a prime example of something that would look great on some obvious right-wing propaganda site, but ''not'' in an encyclopedia. The part before the TOC should be condensed and moved to another part of the article. The intro section (the part before the TOC) is supposed to be an ''intro''. It should briefly sum up who he is and what he does, period. Then come biography sections, then his political stuff, then the Presidential campaign. And THERE you should feature the notable events or slip-ups. I'm most definitely no Obama supporter, but when comparing the McCain and Obama articles, you don't have to do a deep analysis to figure out that this site is way more political activism than encyclopedia, and I think that should change. --[[User:DirkB|DirkB]] 20:22, 5 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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Remember when George H. W. Bush got the date wrong for Pearl Harbor by months?  And he's a WWII veteran!  'Bomb' was a slip of the tongue, nothing more. [[User:CraigC|CraigC]] 21:14, 18 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Citation Needed ==&lt;br /&gt;
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The first sentence in the second paragraph about Barack Obama reads this:&lt;br /&gt;
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a teleprompter and rarely allows tough questions.&lt;br /&gt;
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It then gives the citation down at the bottom, which reads this:&lt;br /&gt;
After one debate against Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.&lt;br /&gt;
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I don't think that's a real citation.  Does a link not need to be provided?  Just like anybody can type anything on the main page, anybody can type anything as the citation too.  I would suggest either finding legitimate proof to this claim, or just take it down.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Tone of the article on Obama ==&lt;br /&gt;
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The whole tone of this article on Barack Obama is appalling. It is poorly written, inaccurate, misleading, insulting and thoroughly vile. I would be ashamed to publish such contemptible stuff.&lt;br /&gt;
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: That's your first -- and only -- contribution here.  Hope you can do better than that!--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:17, 7 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Tone of the article on Obama ==&lt;br /&gt;
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I see someone is watching the Obama talk page like a hawk. I stand by my previous remarks and hope to be adding many more in the near future.&lt;br /&gt;
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: Good for you.  And my hope is that you'll have better contributions to this site than what you've done so far.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:25, 7 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:: I have to say that to a foreigner, this article reads like one-sided drivel. Some of it is so blatantly ridiculous that it gives a negative impression of the people writing it, not Obama. Surely you should be attacking him over his policies rather than a non-existent issue over where he was born or some completely pathetic nonsense about him taking holidays at the same time as other kids in his school. (Amazing but true: Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist children in Britain take holidays at Christmas and Easter; they don't volunteer for extra classes on those days.) This article reads as though you've given up all hope of defeating him on political grounds and are just falling back on rather silly personal remarks. Surely you can do better than that! (Kindly read that as constructive criticism.) [[User:Googly|Googly]] 19:45, 8 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== I'm noticing a very disturbing pattern... ==&lt;br /&gt;
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# (cur) (last)  15:45, 8 September 2008 Aschlafly (Talk | contribs) m (59,707 bytes) (Reverted edits by Lodovico (Talk); changed back to last version by Ampersand) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
# (cur) (last) 15:42, 8 September 2008 Lodovico (Talk | contribs) m (59,972 bytes) (Corrected information of misinterpretation) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
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Alright, so notice that Lodovico makes an edit, and adds sufficient reasoning for his edit in the apt column. Notice then that Andrew changes it, and doesn't even look to the talk page to provide ANY reasoning.&lt;br /&gt;
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# (cur) (last)  23:55, 6 September 2008 Aschlafly (Talk | contribs) m (58,039 bytes) (Reverted edits by Chippeterson (Talk); changed back to last version by AliceBG) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
# (cur) (last) 23:52, 6 September 2008 Chippeterson (Talk | contribs) (58,095 bytes) (→Senate career) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
# (cur) (last) 14:19, 6 September 2008 Chippeterson (Talk | contribs) (58,052 bytes) (I don't like Obama anymore then ayone else on Conservapedia, but come on. The two pictures should be reversed) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
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Here again we have a very reasonable edit, that it reverted without adequate explanation.&lt;br /&gt;
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# (cur) (last)  14:36, 25 August 2008 Aschlafly (Talk | contribs) m (57,388 bytes) (Reverted edits by Impm (Talk); changed back to last version by Aschlafly) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
# (cur) (last) 14:35, 25 August 2008 Impm (Talk | contribs) (57,106 bytes) (http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html He was born in Hawaii unequivocally.) (undo)&lt;br /&gt;
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Impm makes what appears to be a reasonable edit, and Andrew changes it again. &lt;br /&gt;
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http://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Barack_Obama#Citation_Needed &amp;lt;--- Here is another example; everyone is discussing the pertinent issue, including Andrew, but then drops out of the picture and: (cur) (last)  10:09, 27 August 2008 Aschlafly (Talk | contribs) (57,862 bytes) (restored material deleted by liberal censorship) (undo) &lt;br /&gt;
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I'm just wondering, but why is it we have to discuss changes we want to make whenever an edit conflict arises, but Andrew doesn't? This makes it essentially impossible to edit any article that Andrew has become party to because you can never know which of your edits will be acceptable or not. &lt;br /&gt;
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Then there is this: http://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Barack_Obama#Affirmative_Action_President&lt;br /&gt;
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Despite the lack as a citation for the statement that caused that particular talk-page topic to manifest, and the lack-of-response from Andrew, any time this statement is changed Andrew swoops in and reverts it. &lt;br /&gt;
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Am I alone in seeing this? Do I see a ghost ruffling the leafs or is it simply just the wind?[[User:Jirby|Jirby]] 19:51, 8 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:I've noticed it too, but I didn't think asking him about it would change anything. Especially on the &amp;quot;affirmative action president&amp;quot; thing. --[[User:Ampersand|Ampersand]] 23:15, 8 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::This is inane. It's been more at least a day now and we haven't even gotten a one sentence response yet; just more reverted edits without adequate explanation. [[User:Jirby|Jirby]] 18:28, 9 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Welcome to conservapedia. Often if you attempt to question the work of ASchlafly, he will simply ignore you. --[[User:AndrasK|AndrasK]] 18:33, 9 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Jirby, be concise in your comments.  This site isn't a liberal blog where people talk, talk, talk without saying anything.  Reversions do not have a place for summarizing the reason in the wiki software.  Also, people who only criticize conservatives without criticizing the liberal vandals lack credibility.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:43, 9 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::So the best you can do... is complain that my words are too big and my sentences are too long? And here I was trying my best not to mischaracterize you. Shame on me! It is also clearly evident that revisions do not have a comment box, but how does that keep you from posting your reasons for consistently reverting factual edits here? It doesn't. My concern also isn't with liberal/conservative/anarchist vandals because they're freaking obvious and will be dealt with without my input (unless in the case of the uppity negro comment from before) they have fallen under the radar of authority and it behooves me to say something. Now stop trying to shift this in a way as if it is MY fault for trying to make you accountable as per your own rules. [[User:Jirby|Jirby]] 18:49, 9 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::: Jirby, your above rant illustrates my point.  I'm moving on and request that you be substantive and concise in the future.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:53, 9 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Large repetitions!==&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Published Criticism&amp;quot; section repeats, aside from a couple of sentances, almost word for word the introduction. This needs changing as it looks silly to have repetitions so I am going to leave this comment to see if there is any response and wait 48 hours and then go to work on fixing it. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 21:17, 8 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: Fine, but don't remove information from the introduction.  Thanks.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:18, 8 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::I'll only remove the double-ups from the lower section. Thanks for the quick response! [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 21:20, 8 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Marxist/redistrubution of wealth line ==&lt;br /&gt;
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Was just trying to [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Obama&amp;amp;diff=512956&amp;amp;oldid=512942 fix my spelling error], not trying to revert Andy. --[[User:GunsandaBible|GunsandaBible]].&lt;br /&gt;
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==&amp;quot;My Muslim Faith&amp;quot; quote==&lt;br /&gt;
I've seen the video of this quote and it is taken totally out of context. What Obama is saying is that JOhn McCain has not accused him of being a secret muslim. Does anyone really believe that this is Obama mistakenly revealing that he is a muslim? Anyone who has seen the video can't seriously believe that this is the case. This quote should be removed before people start taking it seriously. [[User:Billgates3|Billgates3]]&lt;br /&gt;
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:Can someone explain why you think it would be such a big deal if Barack Obama were actually Muslim? (Leaving aside for the moment the lack of any evidence that he ever has been a Muslim.) I thought you guys in the USA believed in separation of religion and the state, so why does it matter what religion, if any, the President happens to follow? [[User:KennyMac|KennyMac]] 20:13, 13 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:: As a Democrat who will be voting for Obama, I think (and I really hope that this is the general consensus) that the main issue would be that he's lied.  I'd like to think that somebody saying up front that they were a Muslim wouldn't be a reason to vote against them if they're wholly qualified otherwise, but IF it turns out that somebody can prove that he really is a Muslim (I highly doubt anything like that can turn up, since everything out there now is just gossip), then he'll be caught in a BIG lie that would kill his credibility with everything. [[User:Mk|Mk]] 15:12, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Muslim &amp;amp; Catholic holidays ==&lt;br /&gt;
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Why on earth are CP people bothered about the fact that Obama had holidays for Muslim festivals when he went to school in a Muslim country? Muslim (and Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish and Zoroastrian) children take days off school for Christian holidays in the UK without society collapsing. Honestly, some of the stuff on this page is just weird. Why on earth don't you guys concentrate on his policies (or lack of any) instead of getting so worked up about personal matters which are complete non-issues? [[User:KennyMac|KennyMac]] 19:27, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:It is a matter of honesty which Obama will not address. America has never elected somebody with such a secret history as Barack hides from. Criticize CP all you want, I don't expect you to last here that long.  -- [[Image:50 star flag.png|14px]] [[User:Jpatt|jp]] 21:12, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Err... why not, exactly? What's the problem with suggesting that politically-active people in the USA should concentrate on politics, not on minor details (or utterly trivial ones, in this case) of a candidate's personal life? [[User:KennyMac|KennyMac]] 12:54, 15 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Unreliable sourcing and references ==&lt;br /&gt;
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The section on Obama's &amp;quot;secrecy&amp;quot; cites only a blog which gives no sources. Unless there are complaints or offers to better source it, I will remove this section or shorten it.&lt;br /&gt;
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The section on Obama's middle name is also poorly sourced. It is claimed that &amp;quot;most&amp;quot; people change their names when they undergo a religious conversion. The cite refers to two people who converted to Christianity and then changed their names. &amp;quot;For example&amp;quot; can never be used to prove &amp;quot;most&amp;quot;. Unless someone offers a statistic backing up the &amp;quot;most&amp;quot; claim, I will change it to &amp;quot;some&amp;quot;. Additionally, the citation given for the meaning of &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot; is to a names list on about.com. There is no way this can be considered authoritative, and in any case the alternate meaning (&amp;quot;handsome&amp;quot;) should also be reported lest we be accused of fearmongering.&lt;br /&gt;
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Finally, I fail to see how &amp;quot;there are few atheists in Kenya&amp;quot; could possibly be seen as an argument against Obama's father being nonreligious. There are also few admirals in the US; does this mean McCain's father wasn't an admiral?  [[User:Egen|Egen]] 15:22, 19 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Seeing no objection on the talk page or attempts to correct the faulty information during the last 24 hours or so, I've gone ahead and made the edits. [[User:Egen|Egen]] 15:39, 20 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Sorry, wholesale deletion of content, some which has been discussed on the talk page, is inappropriate at your rank of contributions.-- [[Image:50 star flag.png|14px]] [[User:Jpatt|jp]] 15:48, 20 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::Surprise, surprise.  Everything Egen deleted was either unsourced or irrelevant.--[[User:Frey|Frey]] 19:29, 20 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::This &amp;quot;content&amp;quot; is worthless and factually inaccurate in a way that's absolutely obvious to anyone reading it. The page is already too long and having such nonsense on the page is a severe detriment to our credibility. No one even attempted to respond to my reasoning and I gave ample time to allow disagreements. If ANYONE can provide reliable evidence that &amp;quot;most&amp;quot; people change their name when they convert, that Obama's father was not an atheist, and that Hussein means &amp;quot;descendent of the prophet Muhammad&amp;quot; (a baby names site is not reliable evidence) then please do so. (The last statement is, in fact, false. In Arabic, you would never simply refer to any descendant of Muhammad as &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot;. &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot; does not mean &amp;quot;descendant of Muhammad&amp;quot; any more than James means &amp;quot;brother of Jesus.&amp;quot;) [[User:Egen|Egen]] 19:26, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Senate career==&lt;br /&gt;
HelpJazz, the stat is no good. It is an attempt at obfusication, it's  not 1 billion, it is only 18%, gee. -- [[Image:50 star flag.png|14px]] [[User:Jpatt|jp]] 23:54, 21 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:Uh, it say right in the article &amp;quot;$936 million&amp;quot;. The 18% figure only adds to the figure, it takes away nothing. Obama has a lifetime score of 18%, which is far below failing and far below the Republican average. Plus, if you really thought that the 18% figure was obsfucation (which, I'll reiterate, doesn't make any sense) then why did you take away the scale, which gives meaning to the number? If I said that Barack Obama scored a 397 on a liberalness test, you would want to know what that score means, no? And you would want to know how he compares to other liberals, right? You wouldn't say &amp;quot;he scored 397 on a liberalness test -- that's just under 400!&amp;quot; because that doesn't add anything to the article. Your &amp;quot;500k/day&amp;quot; stat ''does'' add to the article. Even though there's nothing to compare it to, it's still a nice number that hits home how big almost a billion is. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 17:44, 22 September 2008 (EDT) PS: Sorry to keep you waiting, editing cut off early last night, and wasn't on this morning before I went to work.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Muslim==&lt;br /&gt;
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I know this has been talked about a lot here, but i would like for someone to prove to me byond a reasonable doubt that Obama is a muslim. Otherwise, i don't think we should have him in the 'muslims' category. so, can someone provide irrefutable proof that Barack Obama is a practicing muslim?&lt;br /&gt;
:Reasonable doubt is enough, or no article would have categories. [[User:Devout|Devout]] 15:16, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::based on that logic i could say McCain is ineligible to be US President due to his birth in the Panama Canal Zone due to the US returning it. [[User:Xapdal5|Xapdal5]] 23:08, 26 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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My parents and pastor always taught me not to lie, so when I heard there was a website that dealt more fairly with intelligent design and creationism than most, I wanted to check it out. I was quite upset to find a site filled with such dishonesty, double-standards, and vitriol. I don't recall that part of my bible that says 'don't lie unless it's about someone of the rival political party.' [[User:Booster|Booster]] 17:02, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::Booster, you are not looking at this issue properly. It is not a matter of party.  Obama is a Muslim. The United States is, by tradition, a Christin nation. As Devout notes, there is enough reasonable doubt that no true Christian can vote for him.--[[User:Saxplayer|Saxplayer]] 17:56, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::::But he's NOT a Muslim. Misspeaking once or twice doesn't make you a Muslim. Not wearing a flag-pin doesn't make you a Muslim. A funny name doesn't make you a Muslim. My middle name is Caesar and I don't worship Zeus. If the man was a Muslim, there would be real evidence, unless we contend that he hides under the blanket at night and reads the Koran by flashlight. I'm not going to vote for the man because I fundamentally disagree with many of his policies, not because of untruths posted about his religion. [[User:Booster|Booster]] 22:29, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::::You say he's a Muslim?  Heck, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but that's all the proof I need!--[[User:Frey|Frey]] 18:02, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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I am proud muslim but not from united states. Obama is very good but not muslim. That is ok. Also, I read article and it say that Obama not change his name. Around me, muslims convert to jesus but do not change their names. I will change article if that is ok. [[User:SyedO|SyedO]] 18:06, 23 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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The issue is that the United States is a Christian Nation.  We are one nation under God, not mohammad or allah.  That probably offends liberals, but it's the truth. [[User:Patriot1505|Patriot1505]]&lt;br /&gt;
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:Not that it matters, because Obama is not a Muslim unless anyone can provide any actual evidence to suggest that he is. [[User:Egen|Egen]] 16:32, 25 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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The US is not a Christian nation. It clearly states in the constitution that church and state are separate. while there might be christian influences it does not mean we are a christian nation. [[User:Xapdal5|Xapdal5]] 23:14, 26 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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I have yet to see conclusive evidense that he is a muslim. i am removing him from that category.&lt;br /&gt;
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: Perhaps we should have a category called &amp;quot;Suspected Muslims&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Crypto-Muslims&amp;quot;? --[[User:Jimmygoddard|Jimmygoddard]] 20:25, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== What does &amp;quot;alleged&amp;quot; mean ==&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;Does it mean he may have been born somewhere else,&amp;quot; or that &amp;quot;his live birth is contested?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Is it supposed to mean he may have been hatched?&amp;quot; Then he'd be evolved, right libs? Some people on here are so dumb it frightening. [[User:LarryHapp|LarryHapp]] 15:42, 25 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== Allegations of Homosexuality &amp;amp; Drug Use ==&lt;br /&gt;
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I'm surprised that this article did not mention the compelling allegations of homosexuality and drug-abuse. One witness (a former homosexual called Larry Sinclair) confessed in great detail an event in which he consumed cocaine and performed oral-sex on Obama (this was a few years before he became a senator). &lt;br /&gt;
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This issue has been the subject of at least two court-cases - both were dismissed on technicalities, conveniently allowing Mr. Obama to avoid tackling the substantive issue. &lt;br /&gt;
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Despite being repeatedly asked to deny or even comment about these allegations Team-Obama has remained utterly silent. Surely (as Mr. Sinclair stated) - if somebody made an allegation which was incorrect you'd deny it or at least tell your side of the story. Obama's silence on this issue (as so many others) is worthy of suspicion. With the permission of my fellow Conservapedia users I'd like to add a summaary of these alegations to the article. --[[User:Jimmygoddard|Jimmygoddard]] 20:12, 26 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:He's already admitted to cocaine use in one of his books (''Dreams from my Father'', I think.)--[[User:Frey|Frey]] 22:15, 26 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::Any nutball can allege anything.  Some things are below notice. [[User:CraigC|CraigC]] 08:34, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::That is true, however Larry Sinclair has been vetted by a great many conservative journalists. His story has yet to be disproven, and furthermore he has come under a great deal of attack by Joe Biden's people. Given that Sinclair's story is merely corroborating something that Obama has already admitted, why exclude it from what ought to be an authoritative article? Obama supporters have called Sinclar a nut (and much worse), but none of them have disproven his allegations? Ask yourself - why is it that Obama has not attempted to disprove that he had a homosexual liason and took crack-cocaine with Mr. Sinclair that night? His silence on the topic does not make any sense. --[[User:Jimmygoddard|Jimmygoddard]] 08:40, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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::: No, not everyone bothers to deny every allegation. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 09:58, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:: I agree, not everybody bothers to deny everything, for example if I accused you of being an &amp;quot;alien from outer-space&amp;quot; or something entirely preposterous then you might be right to disregard my comments. On the other hand Sinclair has only accused Obama of things which he has partly confessed to. Regarding drug-taking, Obama confessed that he had tried drugs as a young man but had given up. Sinclair contends that he witnessed Obama using drugs relatively recently. &lt;br /&gt;
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:: Your point would be entirely relevant to this case if the Obama people were simply ignoring Sinclair, however as anybody who has watched this story unfold can see Obama's people have done anything but ignore Sinclair. In fact, he was the victim of a very organized campaign to discredit him. Biden's people arranged for him to be arrested during one of his press conferences (you can see it on Youtube if you do not believe me). &lt;br /&gt;
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:: This article has presented a great deal of evidence that Mr. Obama can be sneaky and deceptive. We know that America harbors a great deal of drug-users and homosexuals. Why do you believe that somebody who faked a legal document (like a Birth Certificate) might be incapable of other acts of immorality? --[[User:Jimmygoddard|Jimmygoddard]] 20:21, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== A compromise for place of birth issues? ==&lt;br /&gt;
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Rather than simply state that he was allegedly born in a state of the USA, how about we outline the various conflicting theories regarding his place of birth, the primary evidence of each of those theories and the principle backers of each of those theories. That way we can be fair and balanced with regards to this issue? --[[User:Jimmygoddard|Jimmygoddard]] 20:30, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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== &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot;????? ==&lt;br /&gt;
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What's this nonsense on the News section of the Main Page about a '''Muslim''' pronounciation of Pakistan as 'Pokiston'? For one thing, there's no such thing as a Muslim pronounciation of anything - a Muslim from Glasgow sounds Scottish, a Muslim from Madras sounds South Indian. For another, the Pakistani pronounciation of Pakistan is 'Paakistaan' - long aa's (aaah). Please delete this item from the News - it just makes CP look silly. [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 20:51, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: I don't think what you said is true.  Arabic is the language of the Koran, having a Muslim pronunciations, and &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; is a word created by Muslims, having a Muslim pronunciation.  There is Muslim pronunciation used by Obama and a very different English pronunciation used by most Americans.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:57, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::: The pronounciation of the word as used in India and Pakistan - by Hindus, Muslims, Christians and everyone else - is Paakistaan. That would also be an transliteration of the word into English. It's now also much the most common pronounciation in the UK; before about 1970 in the UK, both &amp;quot;a&amp;quot;s were pronounced as the short, semi-closed &amp;quot;a&amp;quot; as in cat, hat, fat, etc, but it's changed to become closer to the Indian/Pakistani pronounciation. I daresay the &amp;quot;cat/hat/fat&amp;quot; vowel sound might still be used &amp;quot;by most Americans&amp;quot; (to quote you) but that isn't the usage in India, Pakistan or the UK. I have no idea how Obama says Pakistan but there's no more a Muslim pronounciation of the word than there is a Hindu or Christian one. In any case, Pakistan is an Urdu word, not an Arabic one. It makes no more sense to say that 'Pakistan' is an Arabic word than to say that 'automobile' is a Greek word. And finally, why does this matter to you? [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 20:32, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::Andy- just because Arabic is the language of the Koran, that doesn't mean that there is such a thing as &amp;quot;Muslim pronounciations.&amp;quot; In this last statement, you've conflated religion (&amp;quot;Muslim pronounciation&amp;quot;), linguistic groups (&amp;quot;Arabic&amp;quot;) and nationalities (&amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;English pronounciation used by most Americans.&amp;quot;) They are all different, and all complex. A French-speaking Algerian isn't going to pronounce &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; the same way as an Arabic-speaking Sudanese or an Indonesian. [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 23:03, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:::Well, right, an American doesn't pronounce Pakistan the way that Muslims educated in Indonesia do, which underscores the point.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:14, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::: But isn't Obama an American? --[[User:Hsmom|Hsmom]] 16:15, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::::He ''claims'' to be. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 16:20, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::I know LOTS of Americans who use the pronounciation in question. And Brits, too. Look at it this way: if the link between the language of the Koran and the billion or so Muslims scattered across the globe means that there is such a thing as &amp;quot;Muslim pronounciation,&amp;quot; does that mean that the world's Christians--Swedes, Phillipinos, Americans, Candians, Irish, Brazilians, French, Germans, all share &amp;quot;Christian pronounciations&amp;quot; that can be traced back to Hebrew, Aramaic and ancient Greek? [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 23:18, 27 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::::::Quite correct, AliceBG. A Christian from South India doesn't sounds like a Christian from Scotland and a Muslim from Scotland doesn't sound like a Muslim from South India. Putting stuff like this &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; issue on CP's front page gives the impression that Aschafly and his colleagues have no serious issues with which to attack Obama and are forced to resort to personal trivia of the silliest kind. I really don't understand why Aschafly &amp;amp; friends don't focus on the politics. This is very peculiar to people outside the USA. [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 14:34, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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Liberals protest here too much to the observation that Obama uses the Muslim pronunciation of Pakistan rather than the virtually universal American pronunciation.  But nothing in the liberal protests explains the clear difference in a satisfactory manner.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:40, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::Actually, many of the protests have pointed out clearly that your assertion is based on a mistaken conflation between religion and linguistic groups, have pointed to the fact that Muslims from different language groups pronounce words differently, and have pointed out that the notion of &amp;quot;Christian pronounciation&amp;quot; would obviously be an impossible phenomenon to talk about. i'd repeat myself, but I'd rather go back to improving your encyclopedia for you. Asalaam Aleikum.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 20:47, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::Aschafly, why is pointing out an instance where CP is talking nonsense 'liberal'? [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 16:14, 29 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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This is just ridiculous. What is a &amp;quot;Muslim pronunciation?&amp;quot; Muslims everywhere pronounce words and names differently. If anything, an &amp;quot;Arabic pronunciation&amp;quot; might exist, but that is debatable. And don't give me the crap about that because Arabic is the language of the Koran, everyone who uses an Arabic pronunciation is Muslim. Arab Christians around the world speak Arabic. Plus, Arabic was being spoken way before Islam cam around. The name of the country should be pronounced the way it actually sounds, as dictated by the natives. Iraq is not &amp;quot;eye-rack,&amp;quot; it is pronounced Irok. The fact that Obama pronounces Pakistan properly just shows that he is attentive to the culture and language of the country, (a key ally that we are in danger of losing, by the way), not that he is a Muslim. Even if there were some kind of valid point in the &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; argument, which there is most definitely not, it would be minuscule considering the broader scale of things. This whole section has just got to go.&lt;br /&gt;
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: You protest too much.  There is a common American pronunciation of &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot;, but Obama uses the different pronunciation he either learned while attending a Muslim grade school, or heard from his closest advisers over the past 20 years.  It's informative to point that out, whether you think he's &amp;quot;correct&amp;quot; or not.  Pronunciations can be illustrative of one's culture and beliefs.  It suggests the pronunciation used by one's teachers and advisers.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:37, 3 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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:: Notice that you didn't address any of the actual points I made. I say &amp;quot;Pokistan.&amp;quot; I avoid saying &amp;quot;eye-rack.&amp;quot; Am I a Muslim? And what is an &amp;quot;American&amp;quot; pronunciation? As far as I know, there is no &amp;quot;American&amp;quot; way of saying anything. Do you mean an English pronunciation? I am simply baffled by some of the things people say on this site.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Section headings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is a long article with a large variety of sub-topics. I've inserted a half-dozen section headings that improve readability and organization. While it might be a good idea to think about re-organizing the sections and moving particular facts into different sections, I really think the piece needs to be broken up like this--plus it makes it more effective, acting as a catalogue of important questions and criticisms.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 22:51, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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: The greatest insights are going on the first screen page, period.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:58, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::Fine--why undo the section headings, then? [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 22:59, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::I think I see the problem - when a section heading is inserted higher up, the contents block, which is rather large, takes up most of the first screen.  However, if you hit the &amp;quot;hide&amp;quot; button on the contents block, it takes up very little space and the insights are on the first screen page.  It seems to be a &amp;quot;sticky&amp;quot; hide also, as it continues to be hidden when I re-load the page.  I hope this helps.  Like [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]], I'm just attempting to improve readability by inserting section headings.  I do not want to remove any insights, or hide any.  I believe section headings actually make it easier for the reader to glance over the many areas of concern (in the contents block), and go quickly to their area of interest, whilst still remaining aware of the other topics presented. They will also help editors to put their information in the correct section, thus minimizing problems with redundant information and making the whole article easier to read. (Right now, some of it kind of jumps around.)  I am also open to other solutions to the problems that a long article presents. --[[User:Hsmom|Hsmom]] 23:14, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::Oh, i see the problem too. [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 23:15, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
== HSMOM ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of the stuff under the &amp;quot;Islam&amp;quot; section heading has nothing to do with Islam, but Schlafly won't let anyone put it in a reasonable order. Good luck with that. [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 23:07, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:Told you. He won't listen.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 23:09, 28 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
::There should be a way to solve this. You can force the TOC to not show up and then manually add it some where else. I can't remember how to do it off the top of my head, but I'll see if I can poke around and remember how. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 12:43, 29 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::Ok, as dirty as I feel for putting &amp;quot;his muslim faith&amp;quot; higher up than his birth, hopefully this should solve the problem. Now the Muslim insights are on the first page, and they are sectioned off for better flow. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 12:54, 29 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Professor?==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In attempting to organize the article yesterday, I came across two different sections on Obama's job at the University of Chicago.  They seem to contradict each other.  Here they are:&lt;br /&gt;
* Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago; in fact, he held the position of &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; For most of his time there he was regarded by the university as a professor.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004.[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*He was &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer in the Law&amp;quot;, which is not a professor-level position, at the [[University of Chicago]] Law School as of 2004&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041103.obama.shtml&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and is no longer active at the school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
To sort this out, I looked at the references provided.  Here's what they said:&lt;br /&gt;
* ''&amp;quot;I was a constitutional law professor, which means unlike the current president I actually respect the Constitution,&amp;quot; Obama told an audience at a campaign fundraiser. ... Responding to Obama's comments, Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said, &amp;quot;Senator Obama needs to understand that at this level words matter and he will be scrutinized.&amp;quot;  Ronayne pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. The University of Chicago lists him as a senior lecturer on leave.''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  So in this reference, an AP story in the San Francisco Chronicle, we have evidence that Obama has indeed called himself a law professor, and a quote from an RNC spokesman saying he was not.&lt;br /&gt;
* This reference &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; is to a chat board.  It mostly lists several references, including the article above and the University of Chicago's ''Statement Regarding Barack Obama''.&lt;br /&gt;
* The next two references are repeats of the first two.&lt;br /&gt;
* The next is the University of Chicago's ''Statement Regarding Barack Obama''.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  It states:  ''The Law School has received many media requests about Barack Obama, especially about his status as &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer.&amp;quot;  From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School. He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track. The title of Senior Lecturer is distinct from the title of Lecturer, which signifies adjunct status. Like Obama, each of the Law School's Senior Lecturers has high-demand careers in politics or public service, which prevent full-time teaching. Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Law School, Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined.''  It seems that he was an adjunct from '92 to '96, but after that, as a Senior Lecturer, he was considered a professor.&lt;br /&gt;
* The next reference is a news article on UChicago's site from '04.  It uses the title of Senior Lecturer to describe Obama, which confirms that he was indeed at that time a Senior Lecturer.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041103.obama.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
All of the references seem to agree that Obama was a Senior Lecturer, and that he was not full-time.  The RNC spokesman said that Obama was &amp;quot;only a Senior Lecturer and not a full professor&amp;quot;.  UofC said &amp;quot;Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track&amp;quot;.  I think we should sum all this up by including something along the lines of the following:&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Hsmom|Hsmom]] 15:36, 29 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Great-uncle ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please could someone explain why it matters that Obama's great-uncle liberated Buchenwald rather than Auschwitz? [Stuff not about B.O. deleted] Really, fellow CP people, sometimes you have to stop nit-picking and get a life. Surely there are political issues you can attack the man on? Why are you fussing about precisely which Nazi concentration camp his great-uncle helped to liberate. [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 18:25, 29 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::It not that he was wrong about his uncle, its that he used it as a politics tool.  Like how he says about 57 states.  He doesnt think or research about what he says.  Do we want a president that makes that many slips?  [[User:Patriot1505|Patriot1505]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: Well, I'd say he isn't the first American politician (or British one, come to that) not to be 100% careful about what he says on every single occasion. How about your ''current'' President?! [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 18:33, 30 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::: The problem is one of honesty, not harmless slips.  The gaffes reveal a real Obama that is being denied by himself and his supporters.  Obama's gaffes are analogous to a racist gaffe, which of course no liberal would ignore if uttered by an opponent.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:36, 30 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::: My head is spinning... Thanks, anyway, for not putting that particularly unpleasant slur back on your page about B.O. [[User:WaZi|WaZi]] 16:17, 1 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Birth certificate edit==&lt;br /&gt;
The word &amp;quot;alleged&amp;quot; will stay for now, and here's why: the reference used for the certificate links to a pic of what is claimed to be Obama's, which is not the original.  What is there is what could be called a &amp;quot;certified official copy&amp;quot; from the Department of Vital Statistics in Hawaii, which means that someone went to the filed originals and started typing on the copy sheet what he/she saw.  Since there is a little war brewing over whether or not Obama was actualy born there, I think it's reasonable to ask for A) a copy of what a Hawaiian birth certificate looked like in 1960; and B) a Xerox copy of Obama's birth certificate as it appears in the files, and NOT as the certified copy that we are seeing now.  [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 23:04, 1 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== sex ed for kindergartners? ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Why do I keep hearing about Obama wanting sex ed for kindergartners? It is appalling to think that the next president of the united states might actually teach sex education to 5 year old's.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Answer: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/off_base_on_sex_ed.html&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Disgusted Conservative ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've voted Republican in every election since 1960, but I'm absolutely disgusted by this page.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What happened to the dignity of our party under Goldwater and Reagan? This &amp;quot;encyclopedia&amp;quot; page is just one long rant. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Are there any real conservatives out there willing to present objective, factual criticism of Obama? God knows there are enough valid arguments to make. Why are we channeling Michael Savage rather than William Buckley? Currently this page makes me cry for my party.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Sounds like disgusted conservative is voting for BO. I happen to think it is an accurate account of a man that is dishonest. Where will you get the real picture about about if not here? Are you disgusted by Wikipedias article? How about the coverage on MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS, LATimes, WaPo, NYT, Google, The Guardian. Why not be mad and except that the majority of America is being fooled? Why not be mad at someone as disgusting as BO, actually has a real chance to take the Presidency and doesn't deserve it IN THE LEAST? Reagan is rolling over in his grave and so all the Founders.--'''&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#6698FF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#E41B17&amp;quot;&amp;gt;p&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#F88017&amp;quot;&amp;gt;a&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#347C17&amp;quot;&amp;gt;t&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;&amp;lt;font color=&amp;quot;#A74AC7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;t&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;'''&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;[[User:Jpatt|  ]]&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; 09:54, 7 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Voting Republican again this year. I know you're mad about what's going on, but it shows throughout the page. An encyclopedia can't be written from an angry point of view. Let me be specific:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1) &amp;quot;Obama and Elitism&amp;quot; plus &amp;quot;Obama and Islam&amp;quot; are not valid main introductory sections. Start with his early life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2) His birth certificate gets its own section but his healthcare and tax plans don't? Focus on what's really important.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3) The &amp;quot;Insights&amp;quot; section is just a list of criticisms and belongs under a &amp;quot;Criticism&amp;quot; section. Categorize corectly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4) Off-topic side-swipes: &amp;quot;He became a member of the Harvard Law Review, which uses racial quotas, in 1989&amp;quot;. Why is &amp;quot;which uses racial quotas&amp;quot; in there? If it was a reason that he was chosen, say that. If it wasn't leave it out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
5) Unsubstantiated claims: &amp;quot;Obama's campaign has been financed largely by leftist donors opposed to the war and to the American military in general.&amp;quot; Citation definitely needed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You have several good sections in here: &amp;quot;Senate career&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;Foreign policy experience&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;Published criticism&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;Religious affiliations&amp;quot;. These are high-quality and reflect well on Conservapedia. The others do not.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
See the reply from hsmom below as the kind of constructive, factual accuracy this page needs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::This sounds like you're standard liberal bellyaching.  The fact is that no real conservative Christian can vote for this man.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::??!?! Trying to hold this article to some kind of standard is bellyaching? Would you like to address any of my points?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Nation of Islam==&lt;br /&gt;
''Obama's pastor of twenty-years, Rev. Wright, was originally a member with the Nation of Islam (likely always has been, see [[taqiyya]])''  Let's be careful not to confuse the Nation of Islam with the traditional Muslim faith - they are two quite different things. --[[User:Hsmom|Hsmom]] 10:10, 7 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==57 Islamic states==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I attempted to make this article better by noting, as several other Conservapedia writers have, that &amp;quot;57 states&amp;quot; could be a reference to Heinz ketchup or simple a misstatement (Obama had visited 47 states), as well as the fact that there were not 57 Islamic states when Obama attended an Indonesian school. It was reverted. Why? Is this an encyclopedia, or a liberal hate blog? [[User:Egen|Egen]] 10:42, 8 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: Your edit was baseless, and probably politically motivated.  The entry is factual and will remain that way.  Obama has likely remained a Muslim long after attending grade school.  Godspeed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 10:52, 8 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: On the subject, I think someone should add the following line to your page: &amp;quot;The odds against Aschlafly's claim to be named 'Andrew Schlafly' being truthful are less than 1 billion to one, as fewer than 6 people in the world are named Andrew Schlafly.&amp;quot; Don't put malarkey like this on a serious encyclopedia page and defend it as being &amp;quot;factual&amp;quot;. I remind you of Conservapedia Commandments 1, 2, and 5. [[User:Egen|Egen]] 11:04, 8 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: In any case, I fail to see how it is &amp;quot;baseless&amp;quot; to note, as other Conservapedia writers have, that &amp;quot;57 states&amp;quot; cannot possibly be a reference to &amp;quot;57 Islamic states&amp;quot; and probably has a more benign origin. It does not to any good to assert that anyone who disagrees with you probably does so because they are &amp;quot;politically motivated&amp;quot; (read: liberal) when many conservatives have expressed disdain for this point. I doubt that the majority of Conservapedia editors would disagree with my edit. This encyclopedia is not a personal blog for you or for anyone else. Therefore, I am reinserting the edit. If anyone can provide proof that Obama was referring to the &amp;quot;57 Islamic states&amp;quot; which did not exist when he was growing up '''and''' provide proof that that is what he was referring to, I'll retract this. [[User:Egen|Egen]] 12:16, 8 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: Egen - I entirely agree with you. A lot of people here think this is a redstate comments thread rather than, as it says in the top left corner, &amp;quot;the trustworthy encyclopedia&amp;quot;. Snopes on this one: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/57states.asp&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Biased==&lt;br /&gt;
Isn't this site supposed to be unbaised?-[[User:Red4tribe|Red4tribe]] 16:46, 8 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:Welcome to Conservapedia[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 18:19, 8 October 2008 (EDT)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=531993</id>
		<title>Barack Hussein Obama</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=531993"/>
		<updated>2008-10-08T03:29:38Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;''&amp;quot;Obama&amp;quot; redirects here.  For other uses see [[Obama (disambiguation)]].''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Barack Hussein Obama, II''' (born, allegedly in Honolulu,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for [[President of the United States of America|president]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] since 2004. On August 23 he chose [[Senator Joseph Biden]] as his running mate. In 2007, Obama was rated the most [[liberal]] Senator by the National Journal, who had rated [[Senator John Kerry]] the most liberal senator during his presidential run as well.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  If elected, Obama may become the first [[Muslim]] [[President]] of the [[United States]].&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot;&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails miserably at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet, as displayed in the Saddleback Forum.  The first McCain-Obama debate was held in Mississippi on September 26 and, without a teleprompter, Obama stumbled further. The second McCain-Obama debate was held on October 7, and had a Town Hall format.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, &amp;quot;Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Islam==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is likely to be Muslim because:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's background and education are [[Muslim]]&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's middle name remains [[Muslim]], which most Christians would not retain&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;See, e.g., [http://islam.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&amp;amp;sdn=islam&amp;amp;cdn=religion&amp;amp;tm=4&amp;amp;f=10&amp;amp;tt=2&amp;amp;bt=0&amp;amp;bts=0&amp;amp;zu=http%3A//www.sudairy.com/arabic/masc.html]  After Obama became politically ambitious, he declared himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] name &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot; with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion.  For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to &amp;quot;Paul&amp;quot;; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Muslim name of [[Muhammad Ali]].  &amp;quot;It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion&amp;quot;[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama recently referred to his &amp;quot;Muslim faith&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama declared, &amp;quot;John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zQK_EhDhZQ]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama uses the Muslim Pakistani pronunciation for &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; rather than the common American one&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama repeatedly pronounced &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; in the first presidential debate.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
*Obama, in his autobiography &amp;quot;Dreams from My Father&amp;quot; (1995), descibes Muslim Malcolm X as his favorite black leader&lt;br /&gt;
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The odds of Obama being truthful in his claim that he converted to Christianity are less than 100 to 1 against it, as fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;  [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He could never explain where the false number of 57 came from, but it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islamic]] states and Obama was educated at an [[Islamic]] grade school while he lived in an [[Islamic]] country.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama downplays his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a &amp;quot;confirmed [[atheist]]&amp;quot; before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991.  Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.&lt;br /&gt;
__TOC__ &amp;lt;!--Please do not remove this. We want to keep the &amp;quot;insights&amp;quot; on the first screen of viewing--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Elitism==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied &amp;quot;it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I &amp;quot;didn't say it as well as I should have.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he &amp;quot;worked his way through college and Harvard Law.&amp;quot; This claim was an exaggeration as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Insights==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago; in fact, he held the position of &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; For most of his time there he was regarded by the university as a professor.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004.[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams of my Father'', Obama admitted using illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as &amp;quot;blow&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;pot&amp;quot; respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before claiming to choose a different path in life.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him.  In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians.&amp;quot; [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama said that &amp;quot;[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.&amp;quot;  In fact, Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma march took place in 1965.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as &amp;quot;the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In his famous 2002 speech&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; at an anti-war rally, Obama said that he was against &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot; and expressed some reservations about the Iraq War because he disagrees with the ideological agendas of the Bush administration, but he did not explicitly oppose the war. In his 2004 Democrat Convention speech, Obama said that he did not know how he would have voted on the Iraq War.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's campaign &amp;quot;is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life and education==&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Hussein Obama II was allegedly born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years.  Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. However, clearly Obama would have taken days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays, just as he would have taken days off from his previous school in observance of Catholic holidays. After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.&lt;br /&gt;
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For college, Obama initially attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science.  Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School.  He became a member of the ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&amp;amp;scp=3&amp;amp;sq=Obama%201990&amp;amp;st=cse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Legal career==&lt;br /&gt;
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill &amp;amp; Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today.  During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education.  ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Senate career==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.  Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004.  Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].&lt;br /&gt;
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A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and 16th most liberal in 2005.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published.  Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that &amp;quot;racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run ....  We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics.  ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&amp;amp;oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a &amp;quot;new strategy&amp;quot; in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&amp;amp;page=NewsArticle&amp;amp;id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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According to a Fox News report on October 5th, Obama has taken more than $126,000. in campaign contribution from [[Fannie Mae]] in a little over three years. This ranks him second, only Chris Dodd has received more campaign contribution dollars from Fannie Mae.&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Bills co-sponsored ===&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
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Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://thomas.loc.gov/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===&lt;br /&gt;
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In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.  This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website&amp;lt;obamasenate2010.gov&amp;gt; is now defunct.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Presidential campaign==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama began his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois.  His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future.  It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html &amp;quot;Obama declares he's running for president&amp;quot;] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general.  Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11. &lt;br /&gt;
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By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million from over 100,000 contributors.  $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an &amp;quot;articulate&amp;quot; spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Chicago Sun-Times, &lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet, &lt;br /&gt;
April 29, 2007,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.  From his remarks, he states that he has &amp;quot;one more to go&amp;quot; and stated he couldn't visit Hawaii and Alaska, indicating he meant to say, &amp;quot;forty-seven states&amp;quot;.  &lt;br /&gt;
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During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
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In reality, the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.&lt;br /&gt;
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By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing.  After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted.  First, Obama said he would have face-to-face meetings with two of Florida's most feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]].  Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions.  Then Obama claimed that he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation.  Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era.  The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, and went on to become the unofficial Democratic nominee.&lt;br /&gt;
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At a campaign event in Elkhart, Indiana, a seven-year-old girl asked Barack Obama why he wants to be President. He replies, &lt;br /&gt;
'''&amp;quot;America is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children.&amp;quot;''' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/09/mostly-mia-obamas-downer-america-delivered-7-year-old Media Mostly MIA on Obama's 'America No Longer What It Once Was' Downer Delivered to 7 Year-Old] Newsbusters.org, August 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.&lt;br /&gt;
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On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Healthcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. &amp;quot;Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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On June 6th, an [[AP]] article &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&amp;amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; presented the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama visited U.S. troops in Iraq in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops in Iraq]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and in Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2008&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops and officials in Afghanistan and Kuwait]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's tax plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, while cutting taxes for the middle class.  According to the non-partisan [[Tax Policy Center]], most Americans would pay less taxes than under Senator McCain's plan.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749 An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Updated September 12, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to another non-partisan group, Americans for Tax Reform, tax-payers would clearly be burdened by an Obama presidency.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.atr.org/content/html/2008/june/0616-obama_mccaintaxes.html McCain vs. Obama on Taxes] Americans For Tax Reform, June 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Campaign financing=== &lt;br /&gt;
Obama is the first presidential candidate to reject public financing. He broke his promise to accept it in the hope that his powerful fund-raising machine would generate far more money than the $84.1 million McCain is getting in public funding. Indeed, on August 14th, the Obama campaign announced it had received donations from 2 million individuals, setting new records. Obama raised $272 million for the primaries and expects to raise $300 million for the general election. However the Republican National Committee has been raising much more than the Democratic National Committee and each candidate had about $100 million in cash on September 1. Each expects to spend about $300 million by November. However, Obama is obliged to devote much of his time to fund raising among supporters rather than campaigning among undecided voters.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; see [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/09/was-obama-right-to-opt-out-of-public-financing.aspx Andrew Romano, &amp;quot;Was Obama Right to Opt Out of Public Financing?,&amp;quot; ''Newsweek'' (Sept. 9, 2008) online]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
===Secrecy=== &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Democratic party feels it necessary to keep all questions about Obama at a safe distance. It is an unprecedented move to keep secrets about a Presidential candidate. The following questions remain sealed from the public. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-sent-obama-why-has-he-refused-to.html Who sent Obama? Why has he refused to release these basic documents?] ObamaWTF.blogspot.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Certified Copy of original Birth certificate(see certificate controversy below)&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia Thesis paper&lt;br /&gt;
# Campaign donor analysis requested by 7 major watchdog groups&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Harvard]] College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Illinois State Senate records&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Illinois]] State Senate schedule&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Law]] practice client list and billing records/summary&lt;br /&gt;
# Locations and names of all half-siblings and step-mothers&lt;br /&gt;
# Medical records (only the one page summary released so far)&lt;br /&gt;
# Occidental College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Parent's [[Marriage]] Certificate&lt;br /&gt;
# Record of baptism&lt;br /&gt;
# Selective Service Registration&lt;br /&gt;
# Trips schedules for trips outside of the United States before 2007&lt;br /&gt;
# Scholarly articles&lt;br /&gt;
# Access to his Grandmother&lt;br /&gt;
# List of all campaign workers that are lobbyists&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Positions and Qualifications ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. Obama said &amp;quot;the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  That bill &amp;quot;would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the  mother's womb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.&lt;br /&gt;
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In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|&amp;quot;If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.&amp;quot;}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|175px|thumb|right|[[Weather Underground]] co-founder Bill Ayers&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; stomps on the American flag in this 2001 pose for Chicago Magazine.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama, having been asked about his associations with [[William Ayers]], an unrepentant [[terrorist]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own.  Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]], hosted a fundraiser for Obama in their home in 1995 at the start of Obama's political career. Obama compares his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take &amp;quot;extreme&amp;quot; positions or would use terrorist tactics.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has no military or executive experience and little foreign policy experience.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ...  Mr. Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman.&amp;quot;[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site &amp;quot;MoveOn.org&amp;quot; for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise Hillary Clinton refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   &lt;br /&gt;
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He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]].  Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that &amp;quot;Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe, for whom Obama worked as a research assistant, wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama's &amp;quot;research&amp;quot; for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the [[Constitution]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the &amp;quot;best student I ever had&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;most exciting research assistant.&amp;quot; [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Throughout his career, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in a transparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office.  In example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted &amp;quot;present&amp;quot; rather than &amp;quot;aye&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;nay&amp;quot; nearly an astounding 130 times.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed.  A newspaper that favored Obama  took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]].  &amp;quot;Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ...  The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;  The [[New York Times]] noted that &amp;quot;Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&amp;amp;ex=1358485200&amp;amp;en=bb179297e5f61acb&amp;amp;ei=5090&amp;amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;amp;emc=rss&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut,&amp;quot; the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama often makes reference to his &amp;quot;two decades of experience&amp;quot; in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book, or organizing community events.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Political views ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's political views have been subjected to controversy even before he put himself forward as a presidential candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist&amp;quot;.]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David Kopel, &amp;quot;The Democrats and Gun Control,&amp;quot; Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he &amp;quot;never saw or approved the questionnaire,&amp;quot; and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.&lt;br /&gt;
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After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has said, &amp;quot;Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as &amp;quot;an age-appropriate manner&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten.&amp;quot; [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama, in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way.  In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot;. At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama, has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraeus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him [[George W. Bush|President George Bush]] or even Mr. George Bush. Obama has also disrespectfully called him 'George Bush'.  Oddly, when Bill Clinton spoke with Obama on September 11th, 2008 predicting he would win handily, Obama responded, &amp;quot;There you go, you can take it from the president of the United States.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/campaign.wrap/index.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  It appears Obama will use the term for a former President, but will not do the same for the actual President. Examples of Obama's treatment of our current President: &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy,&amp;quot; Obama said &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies,&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mccain/] Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to &amp;quot;John McCain's president, George W. Bush&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_mccain/2008/08/18/122924.html No More Hugs: Obama Tears Into McCain] AP, August 18, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Side note, George W. Bush is also Barack Obama's President.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Foreign policy experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
In his presidential campaign, Obama bragged&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; that &amp;quot;foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident&amp;quot; and then cited &amp;quot;having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa&amp;quot;. He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other kids in Africa.&lt;br /&gt;
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While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Religious affiliations==&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and his wife (reared a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.tucc.org/about.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in Chicago. The church embraces black liberation theology and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons. &lt;br /&gt;
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blames the media and not the rhetoric on display &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|“It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...&amp;quot;}}  Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements &amp;quot;G-d damn America&amp;quot; and describing the September 11th attacks, he said &amp;quot;We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying &amp;quot;We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside.&amp;quot;}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.  &lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.&lt;br /&gt;
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And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Books ==&lt;br /&gt;
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* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Published criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who made a racially insensitive remark&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, &amp;quot;The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as &amp;quot;miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of &amp;quot;mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners&amp;quot; on the campaign trail.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set &amp;quot;an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Birth Certificate Controversy===&lt;br /&gt;
There has been some controversy over the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate and his Constitutional eligibility to hold the office of President.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as &lt;br /&gt;
authentic.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, an analyst at the Israel Insider website, has concluded based on a photographic analysis of the document that the birth certificate has been altered and is likely not Obama's true birth certificate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The site stated, &amp;quot;FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship.&amp;quot;  In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number.  The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/obama-was-born-in-hawaii-wrong-can-of-worms/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls &amp;quot;dual loyalties&amp;quot; due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of &amp;quot;multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries&amp;quot; remains on the table. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama] Newsbusters.org, August 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and put the matter to rest, they seek to have the lawsuit dismissed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/29/fight-smears-website-admits-obama-was-kenyan-citizen-wheres-msm 'Fight the Smears' Website Admits Obama was Kenyan Citizen: Where's the MSM?] NewsBusters.org, September 29, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous &amp;quot;Breaking News&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[The_Honorable_James_David_Manning]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Black_Liberation_Theology]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&amp;amp;in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Sources==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{2008 presidential candidates}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Liberals]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Muslims]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=529541</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=529541"/>
		<updated>2008-10-05T01:44:52Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*In 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*The sculptor Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book. 'Were I wrong,' he said, 'one professor would have been enough.' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent wth Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not invent the term &amp;quot;relativity theory&amp;quot;, and did not even like the term. He called it the &amp;quot;so-called relativity theory&amp;quot; until 1911. Einstein did not banish the ether from Physics. In a 1920 lecture, he said, &amp;quot;More careful reflection teaches us, however, that the special theory of relativity does not compel us to deny æther.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Quoted by Tulane astrophysicist Frank J. Tipler, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1271310&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; equation was fairly popular. According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=527812</id>
		<title>Barack Hussein Obama</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=527812"/>
		<updated>2008-10-02T00:17:25Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Obama and Islam */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;''&amp;quot;Obama&amp;quot; redirects here.  For other uses see [[Obama (disambiguation)]].''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Barack Hussein Obama, II''' (allegedly born in Honolulu,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for [[President of the United States of America|president]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] since 2004. On August 23 he chose [[Senator Joseph Biden]] as his running mate. In 2007, Obama was rated the most [[liberal]] Senator by the National Journal, who had rated [[Senator John Kerry]] the most liberal senator during his presidential run as well.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  If elected, Obama would be the first [[Affirmative Action President]].&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot;&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails miserably at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet, as displayed in the Saddleback Forum.  The first McCain-Obama debate was held in Mississippi on September 26 and, without a teleprompter, Obama stumbled further.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, &amp;quot;Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Islam==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's background and education are [[Muslim]], his name remains [[Muslim]], he recently referred to his &amp;quot;Muslim faith,&amp;quot; and he uses the Muslim Pakistani pronunciation for &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; rather than the common American one.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama repeatedly pronounced &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; in the first presidential debate.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The odds against Obama being truthful in his claim that he converted to Christianity (after he became politically ambitious) are greater than 100 to 1, as fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;  [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He could never explain where the false number of 57 came from, but it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islamic]] states and Obama was educated at an [[Islamic]] grade school while he lived in an [[Islamic]] country.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Obama had been to 47 states, not 57.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama declared, &amp;quot;John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zQK_EhDhZQ&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's middle name, &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot;, means &amp;quot;a descendant of the Prophet [[Muhammad]].&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;See, e.g., [http://islam.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&amp;amp;sdn=islam&amp;amp;cdn=religion&amp;amp;tm=4&amp;amp;f=10&amp;amp;tt=2&amp;amp;bt=0&amp;amp;bts=0&amp;amp;zu=http%3A//www.sudairy.com/arabic/masc.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After he became politically ambitious, he declared himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] names (&amp;quot;Barack&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot;; &amp;quot;Obama&amp;quot; is an African surname of the [[Luo tribe]]) with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to &amp;quot;Paul&amp;quot;; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Arabic name of [[Muhammad Ali]].  &amp;quot;It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion&amp;quot;[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; casting doubt on his politically self-serving claim.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama downplays his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a &amp;quot;confirmed [[atheist]]&amp;quot; before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991.  Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.&lt;br /&gt;
__TOC__ &amp;lt;!--Please do not remove this. We want to keep the &amp;quot;insights&amp;quot; on the first screen of viewing--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Elitism==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied &amp;quot;it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I &amp;quot;didn't say it as well as I should have.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he &amp;quot;worked his way through college and Harvard Law.&amp;quot; This claim was an exaggeration as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Insights==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago; in fact, he held the position of &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; For most of his time there he was regarded by the university as a professor.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004.[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams of my Father'', Obama admitted using illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as &amp;quot;blow&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;pot&amp;quot; respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before claiming to choose a different path in life.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him.  In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians.&amp;quot; [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama said that &amp;quot;[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.&amp;quot;  In fact, Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma march took place in 1965.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as &amp;quot;the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In his famous 2002 speech&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; at an anti-war rally, Obama said that he was against &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot; and expressed some reservations about the Iraq War because he disagrees with the ideological agendas of the Bush administration, but he did not explicitly oppose the war. In his 2004 Democrat Convention speech, Obama said that he did not know how he would have voted on the Iraq War.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's campaign &amp;quot;is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life and education==&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Hussein Obama II was born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years.  Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. However, clearly Obama would have taken days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays, just as he would have taken days off from his previous school in observance of Catholic holidays. After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For college, Obama initially attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science.  Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School.  He became a member of the ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&amp;amp;scp=3&amp;amp;sq=Obama%201990&amp;amp;st=cse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He was &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer in the Law&amp;quot;, which is not a professor-level position, at the [[University of Chicago]] Law School as of 2004&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041103.obama.shtml&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and is no longer active at the school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Legal career==&lt;br /&gt;
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill &amp;amp; Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today.  During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education.  ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Senate career==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.  Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004.  Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].&lt;br /&gt;
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A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and 16th most liberal in 2005.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published.  Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that &amp;quot;racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run ....  We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics.  ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&amp;amp;oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a &amp;quot;new strategy&amp;quot; in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.&lt;br /&gt;
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As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&amp;amp;page=NewsArticle&amp;amp;id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Bills co-sponsored ===&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
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Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://thomas.loc.gov/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.&lt;br /&gt;
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*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===&lt;br /&gt;
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In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.  This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website&amp;lt;obamasenate2010.gov&amp;gt; is now defunct.&lt;br /&gt;
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==Presidential campaign==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama began his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois.  His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future.  It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html &amp;quot;Obama declares he's running for president&amp;quot;] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general.  Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11. &lt;br /&gt;
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By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million from over 100,000 contributors.  $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an &amp;quot;articulate&amp;quot; spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Chicago Sun-Times, &lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet, &lt;br /&gt;
April 29, 2007,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.  From his remarks, he states that he has &amp;quot;one more to go&amp;quot; and stated he couldn't visit Hawaii and Alaska, indicating he meant to say, &amp;quot;forty-seven states&amp;quot;.  &lt;br /&gt;
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During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
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In reality, the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.&lt;br /&gt;
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By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing.  After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted.  First, Obama said he would have face-to-face meetings with two of Florida's most feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]].  Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions.  Then Obama claimed that he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation.  Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era.  The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, and went on to become the unofficial Democratic nominee.&lt;br /&gt;
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At a campaign event in Elkhart, Indiana, a seven-year-old girl asked Barack Obama why he wants to be President. He replies, &lt;br /&gt;
'''&amp;quot;America is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children.&amp;quot;''' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/09/mostly-mia-obamas-downer-america-delivered-7-year-old Media Mostly MIA on Obama's 'America No Longer What It Once Was' Downer Delivered to 7 Year-Old] Newsbusters.org, August 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.&lt;br /&gt;
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On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Healthcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. &amp;quot;Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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On June 6th, an [[AP]] article &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&amp;amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; presented the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama visited U.S. troops in Iraq in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops in Iraq]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and in Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2008&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops and officials in Afghanistan and Kuwait]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's tax plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, while cutting taxes for the middle class.  According to the non-partisan [[Tax Policy Center]], most Americans would pay less taxes than under Senator McCain's plan.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749 An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Updated September 12, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to another non-partisan group, Americans for Tax Reform, tax-payers would clearly be burdened by an Obama presidency.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.atr.org/content/html/2008/june/0616-obama_mccaintaxes.html McCain vs. Obama on Taxes] Americans For Tax Reform, June 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Campaign financing=== &lt;br /&gt;
Obama is the first presidential candidate to reject public financing. He broke his promise to accept it in the hope that his powerful fund-raising machine would generate far more money than the $84.1 million McCain is getting in public funding. Indeed, on August 14th, the Obama campaign announced it had received donations from 2 million individuals, setting new records. Obama raised $272 million for the primaries and expects to raise $300 million for the general election. However the Republican National Committee has been raising much more than the Democratic National Committee and each candidate had about $100 million in cash on September 1. Each expects to spend about $300 million by November. However, Obama is obliged to devote much of his time to fund raising among supporters rather than campaigning among undecided voters.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; see [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/09/was-obama-right-to-opt-out-of-public-financing.aspx Andrew Romano, &amp;quot;Was Obama Right to Opt Out of Public Financing?,&amp;quot; ''Newsweek'' (Sept. 9, 2008) online]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
===Secrecy=== &lt;br /&gt;
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The Democratic party feels it necessary to keep all questions about Obama at a safe distance. It is an unprecedented move to keep secrets about a Presidential candidate. The following questions remain sealed from the public. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-sent-obama-why-has-he-refused-to.html Who sent Obama? Why has he refused to release these basic documents?] ObamaWTF.blogspot.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
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# Certified Copy of original Birth certificate(see certificate controversy below)&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia Thesis paper&lt;br /&gt;
# Campaign donor analysis requested by 7 major watchdog groups&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Harvard]] College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Illinois State Senate records&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Illinois]] State Senate schedule&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Law]] practice client list and billing records/summary&lt;br /&gt;
# Locations and names of all half-siblings and step-mothers&lt;br /&gt;
# Medical records (only the one page summary released so far)&lt;br /&gt;
# Occidental College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Parent's [[Marriage]] Certificate&lt;br /&gt;
# Record of baptism&lt;br /&gt;
# Selective Service Registration&lt;br /&gt;
# Trips schedules for trips outside of the United States before 2007&lt;br /&gt;
# Scholarly articles&lt;br /&gt;
# Access to his Grandmother&lt;br /&gt;
# List of all campaign workers that are lobbyists&lt;br /&gt;
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== Positions and Qualifications ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. Obama said &amp;quot;the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  That bill &amp;quot;would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the  mother's womb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.&lt;br /&gt;
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In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|&amp;quot;If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.&amp;quot;}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|175px|thumb|right|[[Weather Underground]] co-founder Bill Ayers&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; stomps on the American flag in this 2001 pose for Chicago Magazine.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama, having been asked about his associations with [[William Ayers]], an unrepentant [[terrorist]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own.  Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]], hosted a fundraiser for Obama in their home in 1995 at the start of Obama's political career. Obama compares his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take &amp;quot;extreme&amp;quot; positions or would use terrorist tactics.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has no military or executive experience and little foreign policy experience.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ...  Mr. Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman.&amp;quot;[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site &amp;quot;MoveOn.org&amp;quot; for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise Hillary Clinton refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   &lt;br /&gt;
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He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]].  Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that &amp;quot;Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe, for whom Obama worked as a research assistant, wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama's &amp;quot;research&amp;quot; for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the [[Constitution]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the &amp;quot;best student I ever had&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;most exciting research assistant.&amp;quot; [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Throughout his career, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in a transparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office.  In example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted &amp;quot;present&amp;quot; rather than &amp;quot;aye&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;nay&amp;quot; nearly an astounding 130 times.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed.  A newspaper that favored Obama  took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]].  &amp;quot;Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ...  The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;  The [[New York Times]] noted that &amp;quot;Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&amp;amp;ex=1358485200&amp;amp;en=bb179297e5f61acb&amp;amp;ei=5090&amp;amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;amp;emc=rss&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut,&amp;quot; the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama often makes reference to his &amp;quot;two decades of experience&amp;quot; in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book, or organizing community events.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Political views ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's political views have been subjected to controversy even before he put himself forward as a presidential candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist&amp;quot;.]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David Kopel, &amp;quot;The Democrats and Gun Control,&amp;quot; Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he &amp;quot;never saw or approved the questionnaire,&amp;quot; and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.&lt;br /&gt;
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After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has said, &amp;quot;Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as &amp;quot;an age-appropriate manner&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten.&amp;quot; [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
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Barack Obama, in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way.  In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot;. At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama, has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraeus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him [[George W. Bush|President George Bush]] or even Mr. George Bush. Obama has also disrespectfully called him 'George Bush'.  Oddly, when Bill Clinton spoke with Obama on September 11th, 2008 predicting he would win handily, Obama responded, &amp;quot;There you go, you can take it from the president of the United States.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/campaign.wrap/index.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  It appears Obama will use the term for a former President, but will not do the same for the actual President. Examples of Obama's treatment of our current President: &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy,&amp;quot; Obama said &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies,&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mccain/] Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to &amp;quot;John McCain's president, George W. Bush&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_mccain/2008/08/18/122924.html No More Hugs: Obama Tears Into McCain] AP, August 18, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Side note, George W. Bush is also Barack Obama's President.&lt;br /&gt;
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== Foreign policy experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
In his presidential campaign, Obama bragged&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; that &amp;quot;foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident&amp;quot; and then cited &amp;quot;having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa&amp;quot;. He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other kids in Africa.&lt;br /&gt;
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While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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==Religious affiliations==&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and his wife (reared a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.tucc.org/about.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in Chicago. The church embraces black liberation theology and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons. &lt;br /&gt;
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blames the media and not the rhetoric on display &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|“It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...&amp;quot;}}  Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements &amp;quot;G-d damn America&amp;quot; and describing the September 11th attacks, he said &amp;quot;We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying &amp;quot;We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside.&amp;quot;}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.  &lt;br /&gt;
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{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.&lt;br /&gt;
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And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Books ==&lt;br /&gt;
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* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary)&lt;br /&gt;
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==Published criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who made a racially insensitive remark&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, &amp;quot;The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as &amp;quot;miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of &amp;quot;mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners&amp;quot; on the campaign trail.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set &amp;quot;an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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===Birth Certificate Controversy===&lt;br /&gt;
There has been some controversy over the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate and his Constitutional eligibility to hold the office of President.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as &lt;br /&gt;
authentic.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, an analyst at the Israel Insider website, has concluded based on a photographic analysis of the document that the birth certificate has been altered and is likely not Obama's true birth certificate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The site stated, &amp;quot;FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship.&amp;quot;  In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number.  The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/obama-was-born-in-hawaii-wrong-can-of-worms/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls &amp;quot;dual loyalties&amp;quot; due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of &amp;quot;multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries&amp;quot; remains on the table. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama] Newsbusters.org, August 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and put the matter to rest, they seek to have the lawsuit dismissed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/29/fight-smears-website-admits-obama-was-kenyan-citizen-wheres-msm 'Fight the Smears' Website Admits Obama was Kenyan Citizen: Where's the MSM?] NewsBusters.org, September 29, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous &amp;quot;Breaking News&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[The_Honorable_James_David_Manning]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Black_Liberation_Theology]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&amp;amp;in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Sources==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{2008 presidential candidates}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Liberals]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Muslims]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=526420</id>
		<title>Barack Hussein Obama</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Barack_Hussein_Obama&amp;diff=526420"/>
		<updated>2008-09-30T01:10:33Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;''&amp;quot;Obama&amp;quot; redirects here.  For other uses see [[Obama (disambiguation)]].''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Barack Hussein Obama, II''' (allegedly born in Honolulu,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for [[President of the United States of America|president]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] since 2004. On August 23 he chose [[Senator Joseph Biden]] as his running mate. In 2007, Obama was rated the most [[liberal]] Senator by the National Journal, who had rated [[Senator John Kerry]] the most liberal senator during his presidential run as well.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  If elected, Obama would be the first [[Affirmative Action President]].&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot;&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails miserably at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet, as displayed in the Saddleback Forum.  The first McCain Obama debate was held in Mississippi on September 26.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, &amp;quot;Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Islam==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's background and education are [[Muslim]], his name remains [[Muslim]], he recently referred to his &amp;quot;Muslim faith&amp;quot; and he pronunces &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; in a way which differs from that used by most residents of the USA.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama repeatedly pronounced &amp;quot;Pakistan&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;Pokiston&amp;quot; in the first presidential debate.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The odds against Obama being truthful in his claim that he converted to Christianity (after he became politically ambitious) are greater than 100 to 1, as fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;  [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He could never explain where the false number of 57 came from, but it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islamic]] states and Obama was educated at an [[Islamic]] grade school while he lived in an [[Islamic]] country.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama declared, &amp;quot;John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zQK_EhDhZQ&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's middle name, &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot;, means &amp;quot;a descendant of the Prophet [[Muhammad]].&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;See, e.g., [http://islam.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&amp;amp;sdn=islam&amp;amp;cdn=religion&amp;amp;tm=4&amp;amp;f=10&amp;amp;tt=2&amp;amp;bt=0&amp;amp;bts=0&amp;amp;zu=http%3A//www.sudairy.com/arabic/masc.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After he became politically ambitious, he declared himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] names (&amp;quot;Barack&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Hussein&amp;quot;; &amp;quot;Obama&amp;quot; is an African surname of the [[Luo tribe]]) with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to &amp;quot;Paul&amp;quot;; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Arabic name of [[Muhammad Ali]].  &amp;quot;It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion&amp;quot;[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; casting doubt on his politically self-serving claim.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama downplays his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a &amp;quot;confirmed [[atheist]]&amp;quot; before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991.  Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.&lt;br /&gt;
__TOC__ &amp;lt;!--Please do not remove this. We want to keep the &amp;quot;insights&amp;quot; on the first screen of viewing--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Obama and Elitism==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied &amp;quot;it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I &amp;quot;didn't say it as well as I should have.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he &amp;quot;worked his way through college and Harvard Law.&amp;quot; This claim was an exaggeration as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Insights==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago; in fact, he held the position of &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&amp;amp;type=politics&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&amp;amp;address=132x4238307&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; For most of his time there he was regarded by the university as a professor.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004.[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams of my Father'', Obama admitted using illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as &amp;quot;blow&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;pot&amp;quot; respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before claiming to choose a different path in life.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.&lt;br /&gt;
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In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him.  In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians.&amp;quot; [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama said that &amp;quot;[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.&amp;quot;  In fact, Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma march took place in 1965.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as &amp;quot;the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's campaign &amp;quot;is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life and education==&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Hussein Obama II was born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years.  Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. However, clearly Obama would have taken days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays, just as he would have taken days off from his previous school in observance of Catholic holidays. After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For college, Obama initially attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science.  Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School.  He became a member of the ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&amp;amp;scp=3&amp;amp;sq=Obama%201990&amp;amp;st=cse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He was &amp;quot;Senior Lecturer in the Law&amp;quot;, which is not a professor-level position, at the [[University of Chicago]] Law School as of 2004&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041103.obama.shtml&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and is no longer active at the school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Legal career==&lt;br /&gt;
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill &amp;amp; Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today.  During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education.  ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Senate career==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.  Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004.  Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].&lt;br /&gt;
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A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and 16th most liberal in 2005.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&amp;amp;o2=desc]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published.  Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that &amp;quot;racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run ....  We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics.  ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&amp;amp;oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a &amp;quot;new strategy&amp;quot; in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.&lt;br /&gt;
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In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.&lt;br /&gt;
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Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&amp;amp;page=NewsArticle&amp;amp;id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Bills co-sponsored ===&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://thomas.loc.gov/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.  This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website&amp;lt;obamasenate2010.gov&amp;gt; is now defunct.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Presidential campaign==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama began his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois.  His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future.  It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his &amp;quot;House Divided&amp;quot; speech.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html &amp;quot;Obama declares he's running for president&amp;quot;] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general.  Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million from over 100,000 contributors.  $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an &amp;quot;articulate&amp;quot; spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Chicago Sun-Times, &lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet, &lt;br /&gt;
April 29, 2007,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.  From his remarks, he states that he has &amp;quot;one more to go&amp;quot; and stated he couldn't visit Hawaii and Alaska, indicating he meant to say, &amp;quot;forty-seven states&amp;quot;.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In reality, the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing.  After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted.  First, Obama said he would have face-to-face meetings with two of Florida's most feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]].  Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions.  Then Obama claimed that he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation.  Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era.  The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, and went on to become the unofficial Democratic nominee.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At a campaign event in Elkhart, Indiana, a seven-year-old girl asked Barack Obama why he wants to be President. He replies, &lt;br /&gt;
'''&amp;quot;America is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children.&amp;quot;''' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/09/mostly-mia-obamas-downer-america-delivered-7-year-old Media Mostly MIA on Obama's 'America No Longer What It Once Was' Downer Delivered to 7 Year-Old] Newsbusters.org, August 9, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Healthcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. &amp;quot;Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On June 6th, an [[AP]] article &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&amp;amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; presented the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama visited U.S. troops in Iraq in 2006&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops in Iraq]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and in Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2008&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;amp;id=3794382 Obama visits troops and officials in Afghanistan and Kuwait]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's tax plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, while cutting taxes for the middle class.  According to the non-partisan [[Tax Policy Center]], most Americans would pay less taxes than under Senator McCain's plan.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749 An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Updated September 12, 2008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to another non-partisan group, Americans for Tax Reform, tax-payers would clearly be burdened by an Obama presidency.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.atr.org/content/html/2008/june/0616-obama_mccaintaxes.html McCain vs. Obama on Taxes] Americans For Tax Reform, June 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Campaign financing=== &lt;br /&gt;
Obama is the first presidential candidate to reject public financing. He broke his promise to accept it in the hope that his powerful fund-raising machine would generate far more money than the $84.1 million McCain is getting in public funding. Indeed, on August 14th, the Obama campaign announced it had received donations from 2 million individuals, setting new records. Obama raised $272 million for the primaries and expects to raise $300 million for the general election. However the Republican National Committee has been raising much more than the Democratic National Committee and each candidate had about $100 million in cash on September 1. Each expects to spend about $300 million by November. However, Obama is obliged to devote much of his time to fund raising among supporters rather than campaigning among undecided voters.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; see [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/09/was-obama-right-to-opt-out-of-public-financing.aspx Andrew Romano, &amp;quot;Was Obama Right to Opt Out of Public Financing?,&amp;quot; ''Newsweek'' (Sept. 9, 2008) online]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
===Secrecy=== &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Democratic party feels it necessary to keep all questions about Obama at a safe distance. It is an unprecedented move to keep secrets about a Presidential candidate. The following questions remain sealed from the public. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-sent-obama-why-has-he-refused-to.html Who sent Obama? Why has he refused to release these basic documents?] ObamaWTF.blogspot.com&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Certified Copy of original Birth certificate(see certificate controversy below)&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Columbia Thesis paper&lt;br /&gt;
# Campaign donor analysis requested by 7 major watchdog groups&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Harvard]] College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Illinois State Senate records&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Illinois]] State Senate schedule&lt;br /&gt;
# [[Law]] practice client list and billing records/summary&lt;br /&gt;
# Locations and names of all half-siblings and step-mothers&lt;br /&gt;
# Medical records (only the one page summary released so far)&lt;br /&gt;
# Occidental College records&lt;br /&gt;
# Parent's [[Marriage]] Certificate&lt;br /&gt;
# Record of baptism&lt;br /&gt;
# Selective Service Registration&lt;br /&gt;
# Trips schedules for trips outside of the United States before 2007&lt;br /&gt;
# Scholarly articles&lt;br /&gt;
# Access to his Grandmother&lt;br /&gt;
# List of all campaign workers that are lobbyists&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Positions and Qualifications ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. Obama said &amp;quot;the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  That bill &amp;quot;would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the  mother's womb.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|&amp;quot;If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.&amp;quot;}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|175px|thumb|right|[[Weather Underground]] co-founder Bill Ayers&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; stomps on the American flag in this 2001 pose for Chicago Magazine.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama, having been asked about his associations with [[William Ayers]], an unrepentant [[terrorist]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own.  Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]], hosted a fundraiser for Obama in their home in 1995 at the start of Obama's political career. Obama compares his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take &amp;quot;extreme&amp;quot; positions or would use terrorist tactics.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has no military or executive experience and little foreign policy experience.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ...  Mr. Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman.&amp;quot;[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site &amp;quot;MoveOn.org&amp;quot; for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise Hillary Clinton refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]].  Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that &amp;quot;Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe, for whom Obama worked as a research assistant, wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama's &amp;quot;research&amp;quot; for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the [[Constitution]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the &amp;quot;best student I ever had&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;most exciting research assistant.&amp;quot; [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Throughout his career, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in a transparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office.  In example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted &amp;quot;present&amp;quot; rather than &amp;quot;aye&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;nay&amp;quot; nearly an astounding 130 times.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed.  A newspaper that favored Obama  took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]].  &amp;quot;Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ...  The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;teleprompter&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;  The [[New York Times]] noted that &amp;quot;Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&amp;amp;ex=1358485200&amp;amp;en=bb179297e5f61acb&amp;amp;ei=5090&amp;amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;amp;emc=rss&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;amp;oref=slogin&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut,&amp;quot; the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama often makes reference to his &amp;quot;two decades of experience&amp;quot; in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book, or organizing community events.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Political views ==&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's political views have been subjected to controversy even before he put himself forward as a presidential candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist&amp;quot;.]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;David Kopel, &amp;quot;The Democrats and Gun Control,&amp;quot; Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he &amp;quot;never saw or approved the questionnaire,&amp;quot; and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has said, &amp;quot;Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as &amp;quot;an age-appropriate manner&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten.&amp;quot; [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Barack Obama, in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way.  In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to &amp;quot;dumb wars&amp;quot;. At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama, has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraeus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him [[George W. Bush|President George Bush]] or even Mr. George Bush. Obama has also disrespectfully called him 'George Bush'.  Oddly, when Bill Clinton spoke with Obama on September 11th, 2008 predicting he would win handily, Obama responded, &amp;quot;There you go, you can take it from the president of the United States.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/campaign.wrap/index.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  It appears Obama will use the term for a former President, but will not do the same for the actual President. Examples of Obama's treatment of our current President: &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy,&amp;quot; Obama said &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies,&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mccain/] Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to &amp;quot;John McCain's president, George W. Bush&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_mccain/2008/08/18/122924.html No More Hugs: Obama Tears Into McCain] AP, August 18, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Side note, George W. Bush is also Barack Obama's President.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Foreign policy experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
In his presidential campaign, Obama bragged&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; that &amp;quot;foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident&amp;quot; and then cited &amp;quot;having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa&amp;quot;. He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other kids in Africa.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious affiliations==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama and his wife (reared a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.tucc.org/about.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in Chicago. The church embraces black liberation theology and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons. &lt;br /&gt;
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blames the media and not the rhetoric on display &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;{{QuoteBox|“It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...&amp;quot;}}  Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements &amp;quot;G-d damn America&amp;quot; and describing the September 11th attacks, he said &amp;quot;We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying &amp;quot;We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside.&amp;quot;}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.&lt;br /&gt;
  &lt;br /&gt;
And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Books ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin)&lt;br /&gt;
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Published criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who made a racially insensitive remark&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, &amp;quot;The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as &amp;quot;miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of &amp;quot;mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners&amp;quot; on the campaign trail.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set &amp;quot;an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Birth Certificate Controversy===&lt;br /&gt;
There has been some controversy over the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate and his Constitutional eligibility to hold the office of President.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as &lt;br /&gt;
authentic.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; However, an analyst at the Israel Insider website, has concluded based on a photographic analysis of the document that the birth certificate has been altered and is likely not Obama's true birth certificate.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  The site stated, &amp;quot;FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship.&amp;quot;  In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number.  The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/obama-was-born-in-hawaii-wrong-can-of-worms/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls &amp;quot;dual loyalties&amp;quot; due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of &amp;quot;multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries&amp;quot; remains on the table. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama] Newsbusters.org, August 22, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and put the matter to rest, they seek to have the lawsuit dismissed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/29/fight-smears-website-admits-obama-was-kenyan-citizen-wheres-msm 'Fight the Smears' Website Admits Obama was Kenyan Citizen: Where's the MSM?] NewsBusters.org, September 29, 2008&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous &amp;quot;Breaking News&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[The_Honorable_James_David_Manning]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Black_Liberation_Theology]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&amp;amp;in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Sources==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{2008 presidential candidates}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:United States Senators]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Liberals]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Muslims]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=519506</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=519506"/>
		<updated>2008-09-18T12:34:44Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King famously called on America to live out the full meaning of its creed, including a declaration that all men are created equal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sadly, also remaining from that era is [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]] supported by [[liberal]] courts. However, America is more of a democracy than before the Civil Rights Movement.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fred Shuttlesworth]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ralph Abernathy]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=519503</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=519503"/>
		<updated>2008-09-18T12:33:25Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King famously called on America to live out the full meaning of its creed, including a declaration that all men are created equal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sadly, also remaining from that era is [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]] supported by [[liberal]] courts. However, America is more of a democracy than before the Civil Rights Movement.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fred Shuttlesworth]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519148</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519148"/>
		<updated>2008-09-18T01:31:17Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* E=mc2 */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent wth Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, Einstein's explanation for the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; equation was fairly popular. According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519147</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519147"/>
		<updated>2008-09-18T01:30:29Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* E=mc2 */ clarified&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent wth Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's explanation of the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, Einstein's explanation for the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; equation was fairly popular. According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519086</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519086"/>
		<updated>2008-09-17T22:24:04Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent wth Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to popularize the formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;, which was then used by others to help measure the release of energy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, Einstein's explanation for the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; equation was fairly popular. According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519085</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=519085"/>
		<updated>2008-09-17T22:22:01Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */ Trying not to go too far here.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Most scientists had accepted atomic theory a century earlier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also published a heuristic explanation of the photoelectric effect in which light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, light is a wave so one might expect that increasing the intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein argued that the experiment was consistent wth Max Planck's hypothesis that light is quantized and different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was Planck's formula e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Planck and Lénard also received Nobel Prizes for related work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to popularize the formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;, which was then used by others to help measure the release of energy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. Einstein only published faulty and incomplete proofs.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius, by Hans C. Ohanian, http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Mistakes-Human-Failings-Genius/dp/0393062937&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/01-einstein.s-23-biggest-mistakes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, Einstein's explanation for the E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2 equation was fairly popular. According to Einstein, a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using non-Euclidean geometry&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;His friend Paul Ehrenfest pointed out the need for curved space. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516708</id>
		<title>Talk:Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516708"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T22:17:25Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This article is largely incorrect.  Gravitons aren't predicted by the General Theory of Relativity.  GPS satellites are 1) Useful and 2) Built with control systems that make relativistic corrections to compensate for the curvature of space caused by the earth.  Predictions made by relativity which have been verified include: Black Holes, Gravitational Lensing, Spatial Twisting by Rotating Bodies, Extreme Time Distortions Near Black Holes, and Time Dilation by Spatial Curvature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gravitational Interferometers are also built to measure the gravity waves that are predicted by the general theory.  They also have the inconvenient property of, you know, working.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Along those lines, I don't know whether particle accelerators are considered &amp;quot;useful&amp;quot; but if built according to Newtonian physics I don't think any of them built since about the 1940s would have worked. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 13:17, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thank you, JoshuaZ, for correcting the urban legend. Even most Christians concede Einstein's beliefs resembled a form of Deism. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 02:56, 5 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In 1905 he obtained his doctor's degree.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good grief, this sentence sounds like something from a Junior High term paper.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The article isn't locked is it Robrob? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 18:34, 30 July 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein's fame==&lt;br /&gt;
Someone reverted my edits without comment. My version was:&lt;br /&gt;
: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German born Nobel Prize winning physicist famous for being regarded as a great genius. He is perhaps best known for work on the theories of [[Special Relativity]] and [[General Relativity]], ...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I say this because Einstein's fame with the general public is not really for his &amp;quot;several great works of theoretical physics&amp;quot;. Hardly anyone even knows what those were. But everybody knows Einstein as a great genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Also, the phrase &amp;quot;his theories&amp;quot; is inaccurate. Einstein did well-known work on relativity, but it wasn't Einstein's theory. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:09, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: I didn't do the reversion, and I only agree with half of the reversion.  Special Relativity was not &amp;quot;his [Einstein's] theory&amp;quot;, so that should not have been reverted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: But I do agree with reverting the claim that Einstein was &amp;quot;regarded as a great genius.&amp;quot;  The media promotes people as geniuses for a variety of their own reasons, and it often has no basis in fact.  [[Henry Kissinger]] is also regarded as a genius.  Is he?  No.  Robert McNamara was regarded as a genius.  Was he?  No.  The statement about what people are led to think is meaningless.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:17, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: Whether you think that Einstein was a genius or not, it is a fact that he is popularly regarded as a great genius. Perhaps as much as anyone in history. Go ask some random person to name a great genius, and you are apt to get the name Einstein. Saying that Einstein is regarded as a great genius is like saying that Babe Ruth is regarded as a great baseball player. &lt;br /&gt;
::: Maybe you'd like to add a later paragraph on the limits to Einstein's genius. Eg, he is often quoted on subjects where he had no expertise. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:57, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::: I agree that many people, who know nothing about what Einstein did, regard him as a great genius.  I don't dispute the truth of that claim.  I do dispute the significance of it.  An encyclopedia or other intelligent resource does not report on what most (ignorant) people think.  Most people may think there is life on Mars.  Should an entry about Mars begin with, &amp;quot;Most people think there is life on Mars&amp;quot;?  Of course not.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:07, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
::::: But Andrew you thought that it was relevant enough what fraction of the US population rejected evolution?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::: JoshuaZ has a good point. I would also say that biographies of Kissinger and McNamara should say that they were popularly regarded as being extremely smart. Even if you don't think that they were really so smart, you need to know that they were regarded as smart if you want to understand stuff that was written about them. So yes, what people think matters. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:49, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: I agree. It goes beyond Kissinger and McNamara, because Einstein has the status of being the popular exemplar of &amp;quot;a genius.&amp;quot; There are a number of questions to which everybody knows &amp;quot;the answer&amp;quot; even though the questions are silly and so are the answers. Do this test. Answer the following questions quickly in your head and see if you don't immediately know what the &amp;quot;right&amp;quot; answers are... even if you disagree with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: Who's the greatest composer? What is the greatest painting? Who's the greatest playwright? Who's the greatest American inventor?&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Beethoven. The Mona Lisa. Shakespeare. Edison. Mozart is gaining on Beethoven, but I think Beethoven is still ahead. But you definitely lose points for &amp;quot;The Night Watch,&amp;quot; George Bernard Shaw, or Tesla!&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
::::::::OK, The first person I thought of on each question was: Mozart, Mona Lisa, Shakespear, Edison. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 13:23, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mona Lisa was a painter?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:ATB|ATB]] 18:02, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: In the same way, Einstein is &amp;quot;the brand name,&amp;quot; the universal popular answer to the question &amp;quot;who was the greatest 'genius'&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;who was the most intelligent person.&amp;quot; Arguably  others might have been greater, but they didn't get the PR. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:30, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please forgive me if I make any wiki-type or style mistakes here, I'm a complete newb at this, and I'll learn more as I go.&lt;br /&gt;
I wanted to make a comment regarding the question his genius, I think his fame is incontrovertible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not many who understand even a little about the circumstances and the problem-space would argue as to whether or not Isaac Newton was a genius.  I think all agree he was.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However any peer-review commentary in the literature that addresses this question of Einsteins abilities that I've ever seen qualifies the Tensor Calculus that he personally invented to solve the space-time theorems of General Relativity as the most fiercely difficult mathematics in existence--before or since.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would consider that pretty high praise coming from the likes of Hawking, Penrose, et al.  Just my $.02.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 03:48, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: No, Einstein did not invent the Tensor Calculus. It was Marcel Grossman who gave Einstein the idea of applying tensor calculus to relativity. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 11:54, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==re:Cosmological Constant ne: Dark Energy==&lt;br /&gt;
The term was readopted in 1998 after the observations of accelerating expansion.  It has since been dropped outside of popular press.&lt;br /&gt;
BTW, can someone point out to me how to correctly create references as footnotes.  I'm new to wiki editing, and can't seem to pull it off properly.  thx.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 13:50, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
I don't like some of the recent additions. Why talk about views that Einstein &amp;quot;seemed&amp;quot; to hold? Did he or didn't he? Einstein wrote a great deal, and there is no reason to speculate about his politics. Either cite something with his political views, or ignore it.&lt;br /&gt;
Why does it say &amp;quot;though he held dual U.S. and Swiss citizenships&amp;quot;? Isn't that just what you would expect from someone who believed in World Government?&lt;br /&gt;
The next paragraph contradicts itself. It says, &amp;quot;he in fact had nothing whatsoever to do with the project&amp;quot;, and then it describes the crucial role that Einstein played. Yes, he did have something to do with it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:10, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I apologize for my writing gaucheries.  I was merely attempting to give the subject the benefit of the doubt.  I will re-word to be more affirmative on the facts.  In fact, Einstein's minimal encouragement to FDR played very little role in the actual outcome of the Administrations decisions regarding the Manhattan Project, and was certainly not crucial. It had almost no affect at first. The choice to devise and move ahead with the Atom Bomb plans were made as a result of intelligence efforts on the part of the Allies during WWII. I will acknowledge your point about citizenship.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This content page is an embarrassment to Conservapedia.  It's filled with opinions, unjustified claims, self-contradictions, misleading statements and liberal bias.  Any student reading this content page is going to misled and confused.  This is the kind of stuff that permeates Wikipedia.  Users who like this stuff can enter it on Wikipedia at any time.  Actually, I don't think even Wikipedia's entry about Einstein is this substandard.  A rewrite is essential here.  Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:14, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::With all due respect sir, I do not find the flaws in this article that you mentioned.  Particularly concerning a liberal bias, there certainly is no trace of that in this writer.  Quite the contrary.  Accurately reporting the actual facts *without* the liberal spin so typical in today's media is one of my primary goals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I am not afraid of the truth.  Whether it comes from the Bible, or from Creation.  They are both the handiwork of God, and there can be *no* variance between them.  In the course of human endeavor, if we uncover fuller knowledge of that handiwork, it's in our best interest to understand it.  Jesus Christ is Lord of all Creation, and the more we know about science the plainer that truth will become to the whole world.  Proverbs 4:7 says, &amp;quot;Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.&amp;quot;  I hope you will understand my heart in this.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, &amp;quot;For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.&amp;quot; --[[User:Koalitis|Koalitis]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::Don't forget &amp;quot;Thou shalt not bear false witness.&amp;quot; --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.&amp;quot;''  Like what?  Just have it say &amp;quot;Einstein was not a Christian, so we plan to ignore him.&amp;quot;, and then mod-lock the article forever?  --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not to mention the conservative bias :P --[[User:Trekie9001|trekie9001]] 18:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Picture ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Are you sure that picture ain't too small?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:BillyBoy|BillyBoy]] 14:14, 31 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==False attributions==&lt;br /&gt;
I do not agree with the E=mc2 edits. It suggests that there was something wrong with Poincare's derivation, and that Einstein's is now accepted. But that is not correct. Einstein's derivation was a crude approximation, and had errors. Maybe Planck's view is closer to the modern view, I don't know. But I don't see any justification for the current edit, and I plan to revert it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:54, 13 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:The point has less to do with the formula itself than what it means, or how to explain it. Poincare didn't even agree with his own attempts to explain it. In fact, what you complain about makes it clear that Poincare's formula was mathematically the same as Einstein's. Maybe you misread it.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 13:55, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:: What do you mean by &amp;quot;Poincare didn't even agree with his own attempts to explain it&amp;quot;? Can you prove that? That could be said of Einstein, as he published corrected derivations several times. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 16:52, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::Poincare tried out hypothetical explanations involving the aether, but wasn't convinced that such explanations were correct.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 17:27, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::: So you want to give Einstein more credit because he was more confident of his explanation? That does not make his explanation correct or first. Do you have any source to prove that Einstein's explanation was any better than either Poincare's or Planck's? [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 18:14, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::The current version correctly credits Poincare for the math. Poincare undoubtedly was a great physicist. However, few modern scientists believe in the aether, and even Poincare wasn't certain about this explanation.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 18:17, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516689</id>
		<title>Talk:Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516689"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T21:27:54Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This article is largely incorrect.  Gravitons aren't predicted by the General Theory of Relativity.  GPS satellites are 1) Useful and 2) Built with control systems that make relativistic corrections to compensate for the curvature of space caused by the earth.  Predictions made by relativity which have been verified include: Black Holes, Gravitational Lensing, Spatial Twisting by Rotating Bodies, Extreme Time Distortions Near Black Holes, and Time Dilation by Spatial Curvature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gravitational Interferometers are also built to measure the gravity waves that are predicted by the general theory.  They also have the inconvenient property of, you know, working.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Along those lines, I don't know whether particle accelerators are considered &amp;quot;useful&amp;quot; but if built according to Newtonian physics I don't think any of them built since about the 1940s would have worked. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 13:17, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thank you, JoshuaZ, for correcting the urban legend. Even most Christians concede Einstein's beliefs resembled a form of Deism. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 02:56, 5 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In 1905 he obtained his doctor's degree.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good grief, this sentence sounds like something from a Junior High term paper.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The article isn't locked is it Robrob? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 18:34, 30 July 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein's fame==&lt;br /&gt;
Someone reverted my edits without comment. My version was:&lt;br /&gt;
: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German born Nobel Prize winning physicist famous for being regarded as a great genius. He is perhaps best known for work on the theories of [[Special Relativity]] and [[General Relativity]], ...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I say this because Einstein's fame with the general public is not really for his &amp;quot;several great works of theoretical physics&amp;quot;. Hardly anyone even knows what those were. But everybody knows Einstein as a great genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Also, the phrase &amp;quot;his theories&amp;quot; is inaccurate. Einstein did well-known work on relativity, but it wasn't Einstein's theory. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:09, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: I didn't do the reversion, and I only agree with half of the reversion.  Special Relativity was not &amp;quot;his [Einstein's] theory&amp;quot;, so that should not have been reverted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: But I do agree with reverting the claim that Einstein was &amp;quot;regarded as a great genius.&amp;quot;  The media promotes people as geniuses for a variety of their own reasons, and it often has no basis in fact.  [[Henry Kissinger]] is also regarded as a genius.  Is he?  No.  Robert McNamara was regarded as a genius.  Was he?  No.  The statement about what people are led to think is meaningless.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:17, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: Whether you think that Einstein was a genius or not, it is a fact that he is popularly regarded as a great genius. Perhaps as much as anyone in history. Go ask some random person to name a great genius, and you are apt to get the name Einstein. Saying that Einstein is regarded as a great genius is like saying that Babe Ruth is regarded as a great baseball player. &lt;br /&gt;
::: Maybe you'd like to add a later paragraph on the limits to Einstein's genius. Eg, he is often quoted on subjects where he had no expertise. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:57, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::: I agree that many people, who know nothing about what Einstein did, regard him as a great genius.  I don't dispute the truth of that claim.  I do dispute the significance of it.  An encyclopedia or other intelligent resource does not report on what most (ignorant) people think.  Most people may think there is life on Mars.  Should an entry about Mars begin with, &amp;quot;Most people think there is life on Mars&amp;quot;?  Of course not.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:07, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
::::: But Andrew you thought that it was relevant enough what fraction of the US population rejected evolution?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::: JoshuaZ has a good point. I would also say that biographies of Kissinger and McNamara should say that they were popularly regarded as being extremely smart. Even if you don't think that they were really so smart, you need to know that they were regarded as smart if you want to understand stuff that was written about them. So yes, what people think matters. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:49, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: I agree. It goes beyond Kissinger and McNamara, because Einstein has the status of being the popular exemplar of &amp;quot;a genius.&amp;quot; There are a number of questions to which everybody knows &amp;quot;the answer&amp;quot; even though the questions are silly and so are the answers. Do this test. Answer the following questions quickly in your head and see if you don't immediately know what the &amp;quot;right&amp;quot; answers are... even if you disagree with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: Who's the greatest composer? What is the greatest painting? Who's the greatest playwright? Who's the greatest American inventor?&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Beethoven. The Mona Lisa. Shakespeare. Edison. Mozart is gaining on Beethoven, but I think Beethoven is still ahead. But you definitely lose points for &amp;quot;The Night Watch,&amp;quot; George Bernard Shaw, or Tesla!&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
::::::::OK, The first person I thought of on each question was: Mozart, Mona Lisa, Shakespear, Edison. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 13:23, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mona Lisa was a painter?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:ATB|ATB]] 18:02, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: In the same way, Einstein is &amp;quot;the brand name,&amp;quot; the universal popular answer to the question &amp;quot;who was the greatest 'genius'&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;who was the most intelligent person.&amp;quot; Arguably  others might have been greater, but they didn't get the PR. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:30, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please forgive me if I make any wiki-type or style mistakes here, I'm a complete newb at this, and I'll learn more as I go.&lt;br /&gt;
I wanted to make a comment regarding the question his genius, I think his fame is incontrovertible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not many who understand even a little about the circumstances and the problem-space would argue as to whether or not Isaac Newton was a genius.  I think all agree he was.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However any peer-review commentary in the literature that addresses this question of Einsteins abilities that I've ever seen qualifies the Tensor Calculus that he personally invented to solve the space-time theorems of General Relativity as the most fiercely difficult mathematics in existence--before or since.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would consider that pretty high praise coming from the likes of Hawking, Penrose, et al.  Just my $.02.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 03:48, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: No, Einstein did not invent the Tensor Calculus. It was Marcel Grossman who gave Einstein the idea of applying tensor calculus to relativity. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 11:54, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==re:Cosmological Constant ne: Dark Energy==&lt;br /&gt;
The term was readopted in 1998 after the observations of accelerating expansion.  It has since been dropped outside of popular press.&lt;br /&gt;
BTW, can someone point out to me how to correctly create references as footnotes.  I'm new to wiki editing, and can't seem to pull it off properly.  thx.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 13:50, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
I don't like some of the recent additions. Why talk about views that Einstein &amp;quot;seemed&amp;quot; to hold? Did he or didn't he? Einstein wrote a great deal, and there is no reason to speculate about his politics. Either cite something with his political views, or ignore it.&lt;br /&gt;
Why does it say &amp;quot;though he held dual U.S. and Swiss citizenships&amp;quot;? Isn't that just what you would expect from someone who believed in World Government?&lt;br /&gt;
The next paragraph contradicts itself. It says, &amp;quot;he in fact had nothing whatsoever to do with the project&amp;quot;, and then it describes the crucial role that Einstein played. Yes, he did have something to do with it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:10, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I apologize for my writing gaucheries.  I was merely attempting to give the subject the benefit of the doubt.  I will re-word to be more affirmative on the facts.  In fact, Einstein's minimal encouragement to FDR played very little role in the actual outcome of the Administrations decisions regarding the Manhattan Project, and was certainly not crucial. It had almost no affect at first. The choice to devise and move ahead with the Atom Bomb plans were made as a result of intelligence efforts on the part of the Allies during WWII. I will acknowledge your point about citizenship.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This content page is an embarrassment to Conservapedia.  It's filled with opinions, unjustified claims, self-contradictions, misleading statements and liberal bias.  Any student reading this content page is going to misled and confused.  This is the kind of stuff that permeates Wikipedia.  Users who like this stuff can enter it on Wikipedia at any time.  Actually, I don't think even Wikipedia's entry about Einstein is this substandard.  A rewrite is essential here.  Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:14, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::With all due respect sir, I do not find the flaws in this article that you mentioned.  Particularly concerning a liberal bias, there certainly is no trace of that in this writer.  Quite the contrary.  Accurately reporting the actual facts *without* the liberal spin so typical in today's media is one of my primary goals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I am not afraid of the truth.  Whether it comes from the Bible, or from Creation.  They are both the handiwork of God, and there can be *no* variance between them.  In the course of human endeavor, if we uncover fuller knowledge of that handiwork, it's in our best interest to understand it.  Jesus Christ is Lord of all Creation, and the more we know about science the plainer that truth will become to the whole world.  Proverbs 4:7 says, &amp;quot;Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.&amp;quot;  I hope you will understand my heart in this.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, &amp;quot;For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.&amp;quot; --[[User:Koalitis|Koalitis]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::Don't forget &amp;quot;Thou shalt not bear false witness.&amp;quot; --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.&amp;quot;''  Like what?  Just have it say &amp;quot;Einstein was not a Christian, so we plan to ignore him.&amp;quot;, and then mod-lock the article forever?  --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not to mention the conservative bias :P --[[User:Trekie9001|trekie9001]] 18:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Picture ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Are you sure that picture ain't too small?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:BillyBoy|BillyBoy]] 14:14, 31 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==False attributions==&lt;br /&gt;
I do not agree with the E=mc2 edits. It suggests that there was something wrong with Poincare's derivation, and that Einstein's is now accepted. But that is not correct. Einstein's derivation was a crude approximation, and had errors. Maybe Planck's view is closer to the modern view, I don't know. But I don't see any justification for the current edit, and I plan to revert it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:54, 13 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:The point has less to do with the formula itself than what it means, or how to explain it. Poincare didn't even agree with his own attempts to explain it. In fact, what you complain about makes it clear that Poincare's formula was mathematically the same as Einstein's. Maybe you misread it.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 13:55, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:: What do you mean by &amp;quot;Poincare didn't even agree with his own attempts to explain it&amp;quot;? Can you prove that? That could be said of Einstein, as he published corrected derivations several times. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 16:52, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:::Poincare tried out hypothetical explanations involving the aether, but wasn't convinced that such explanations were correct.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 17:27, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516566</id>
		<title>Talk:Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516566"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T17:58:23Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This article is largely incorrect.  Gravitons aren't predicted by the General Theory of Relativity.  GPS satellites are 1) Useful and 2) Built with control systems that make relativistic corrections to compensate for the curvature of space caused by the earth.  Predictions made by relativity which have been verified include: Black Holes, Gravitational Lensing, Spatial Twisting by Rotating Bodies, Extreme Time Distortions Near Black Holes, and Time Dilation by Spatial Curvature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gravitational Interferometers are also built to measure the gravity waves that are predicted by the general theory.  They also have the inconvenient property of, you know, working.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Along those lines, I don't know whether particle accelerators are considered &amp;quot;useful&amp;quot; but if built according to Newtonian physics I don't think any of them built since about the 1940s would have worked. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 13:17, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thank you, JoshuaZ, for correcting the urban legend. Even most Christians concede Einstein's beliefs resembled a form of Deism. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 02:56, 5 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In 1905 he obtained his doctor's degree.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good grief, this sentence sounds like something from a Junior High term paper.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The article isn't locked is it Robrob? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 18:34, 30 July 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein's fame==&lt;br /&gt;
Someone reverted my edits without comment. My version was:&lt;br /&gt;
: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German born Nobel Prize winning physicist famous for being regarded as a great genius. He is perhaps best known for work on the theories of [[Special Relativity]] and [[General Relativity]], ...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I say this because Einstein's fame with the general public is not really for his &amp;quot;several great works of theoretical physics&amp;quot;. Hardly anyone even knows what those were. But everybody knows Einstein as a great genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Also, the phrase &amp;quot;his theories&amp;quot; is inaccurate. Einstein did well-known work on relativity, but it wasn't Einstein's theory. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:09, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: I didn't do the reversion, and I only agree with half of the reversion.  Special Relativity was not &amp;quot;his [Einstein's] theory&amp;quot;, so that should not have been reverted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: But I do agree with reverting the claim that Einstein was &amp;quot;regarded as a great genius.&amp;quot;  The media promotes people as geniuses for a variety of their own reasons, and it often has no basis in fact.  [[Henry Kissinger]] is also regarded as a genius.  Is he?  No.  Robert McNamara was regarded as a genius.  Was he?  No.  The statement about what people are led to think is meaningless.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:17, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: Whether you think that Einstein was a genius or not, it is a fact that he is popularly regarded as a great genius. Perhaps as much as anyone in history. Go ask some random person to name a great genius, and you are apt to get the name Einstein. Saying that Einstein is regarded as a great genius is like saying that Babe Ruth is regarded as a great baseball player. &lt;br /&gt;
::: Maybe you'd like to add a later paragraph on the limits to Einstein's genius. Eg, he is often quoted on subjects where he had no expertise. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:57, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::: I agree that many people, who know nothing about what Einstein did, regard him as a great genius.  I don't dispute the truth of that claim.  I do dispute the significance of it.  An encyclopedia or other intelligent resource does not report on what most (ignorant) people think.  Most people may think there is life on Mars.  Should an entry about Mars begin with, &amp;quot;Most people think there is life on Mars&amp;quot;?  Of course not.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:07, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
::::: But Andrew you thought that it was relevant enough what fraction of the US population rejected evolution?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::: JoshuaZ has a good point. I would also say that biographies of Kissinger and McNamara should say that they were popularly regarded as being extremely smart. Even if you don't think that they were really so smart, you need to know that they were regarded as smart if you want to understand stuff that was written about them. So yes, what people think matters. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:49, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: I agree. It goes beyond Kissinger and McNamara, because Einstein has the status of being the popular exemplar of &amp;quot;a genius.&amp;quot; There are a number of questions to which everybody knows &amp;quot;the answer&amp;quot; even though the questions are silly and so are the answers. Do this test. Answer the following questions quickly in your head and see if you don't immediately know what the &amp;quot;right&amp;quot; answers are... even if you disagree with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: Who's the greatest composer? What is the greatest painting? Who's the greatest playwright? Who's the greatest American inventor?&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Beethoven. The Mona Lisa. Shakespeare. Edison. Mozart is gaining on Beethoven, but I think Beethoven is still ahead. But you definitely lose points for &amp;quot;The Night Watch,&amp;quot; George Bernard Shaw, or Tesla!&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
::::::::OK, The first person I thought of on each question was: Mozart, Mona Lisa, Shakespear, Edison. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 13:23, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mona Lisa was a painter?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:ATB|ATB]] 18:02, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: In the same way, Einstein is &amp;quot;the brand name,&amp;quot; the universal popular answer to the question &amp;quot;who was the greatest 'genius'&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;who was the most intelligent person.&amp;quot; Arguably  others might have been greater, but they didn't get the PR. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:30, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please forgive me if I make any wiki-type or style mistakes here, I'm a complete newb at this, and I'll learn more as I go.&lt;br /&gt;
I wanted to make a comment regarding the question his genius, I think his fame is incontrovertible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not many who understand even a little about the circumstances and the problem-space would argue as to whether or not Isaac Newton was a genius.  I think all agree he was.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However any peer-review commentary in the literature that addresses this question of Einsteins abilities that I've ever seen qualifies the Tensor Calculus that he personally invented to solve the space-time theorems of General Relativity as the most fiercely difficult mathematics in existence--before or since.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would consider that pretty high praise coming from the likes of Hawking, Penrose, et al.  Just my $.02.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 03:48, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: No, Einstein did not invent the Tensor Calculus. It was Marcel Grossman who gave Einstein the idea of applying tensor calculus to relativity. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 11:54, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==re:Cosmological Constant ne: Dark Energy==&lt;br /&gt;
The term was readopted in 1998 after the observations of accelerating expansion.  It has since been dropped outside of popular press.&lt;br /&gt;
BTW, can someone point out to me how to correctly create references as footnotes.  I'm new to wiki editing, and can't seem to pull it off properly.  thx.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 13:50, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
I don't like some of the recent additions. Why talk about views that Einstein &amp;quot;seemed&amp;quot; to hold? Did he or didn't he? Einstein wrote a great deal, and there is no reason to speculate about his politics. Either cite something with his political views, or ignore it.&lt;br /&gt;
Why does it say &amp;quot;though he held dual U.S. and Swiss citizenships&amp;quot;? Isn't that just what you would expect from someone who believed in World Government?&lt;br /&gt;
The next paragraph contradicts itself. It says, &amp;quot;he in fact had nothing whatsoever to do with the project&amp;quot;, and then it describes the crucial role that Einstein played. Yes, he did have something to do with it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:10, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I apologize for my writing gaucheries.  I was merely attempting to give the subject the benefit of the doubt.  I will re-word to be more affirmative on the facts.  In fact, Einstein's minimal encouragement to FDR played very little role in the actual outcome of the Administrations decisions regarding the Manhattan Project, and was certainly not crucial. It had almost no affect at first. The choice to devise and move ahead with the Atom Bomb plans were made as a result of intelligence efforts on the part of the Allies during WWII. I will acknowledge your point about citizenship.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This content page is an embarrassment to Conservapedia.  It's filled with opinions, unjustified claims, self-contradictions, misleading statements and liberal bias.  Any student reading this content page is going to misled and confused.  This is the kind of stuff that permeates Wikipedia.  Users who like this stuff can enter it on Wikipedia at any time.  Actually, I don't think even Wikipedia's entry about Einstein is this substandard.  A rewrite is essential here.  Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:14, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::With all due respect sir, I do not find the flaws in this article that you mentioned.  Particularly concerning a liberal bias, there certainly is no trace of that in this writer.  Quite the contrary.  Accurately reporting the actual facts *without* the liberal spin so typical in today's media is one of my primary goals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I am not afraid of the truth.  Whether it comes from the Bible, or from Creation.  They are both the handiwork of God, and there can be *no* variance between them.  In the course of human endeavor, if we uncover fuller knowledge of that handiwork, it's in our best interest to understand it.  Jesus Christ is Lord of all Creation, and the more we know about science the plainer that truth will become to the whole world.  Proverbs 4:7 says, &amp;quot;Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.&amp;quot;  I hope you will understand my heart in this.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, &amp;quot;For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.&amp;quot; --[[User:Koalitis|Koalitis]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::Don't forget &amp;quot;Thou shalt not bear false witness.&amp;quot; --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.&amp;quot;''  Like what?  Just have it say &amp;quot;Einstein was not a Christian, so we plan to ignore him.&amp;quot;, and then mod-lock the article forever?  --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not to mention the conservative bias :P --[[User:Trekie9001|trekie9001]] 18:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Picture ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Are you sure that picture ain't too small?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:BillyBoy|BillyBoy]] 14:14, 31 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==False attributions==&lt;br /&gt;
I do not agree with the E=mc2 edits. It suggests that there was something wrong with Poincare's derivation, and that Einstein's is now accepted. But that is not correct. Einstein's derivation was a crude approximation, and had errors. Maybe Planck's view is closer to the modern view, I don't know. But I don't see any justification for the current edit, and I plan to revert it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:54, 13 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:The point has less to do with the formula itself than what it means, or how to explain it. Poincare didn't even agree with his own attempts to explain it. In fact, what you complain about makes it clear that Poincare's formula was mathematically the same as Einstein's. Maybe you misread it.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 13:55, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516564</id>
		<title>Talk:Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516564"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T17:55:52Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This article is largely incorrect.  Gravitons aren't predicted by the General Theory of Relativity.  GPS satellites are 1) Useful and 2) Built with control systems that make relativistic corrections to compensate for the curvature of space caused by the earth.  Predictions made by relativity which have been verified include: Black Holes, Gravitational Lensing, Spatial Twisting by Rotating Bodies, Extreme Time Distortions Near Black Holes, and Time Dilation by Spatial Curvature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gravitational Interferometers are also built to measure the gravity waves that are predicted by the general theory.  They also have the inconvenient property of, you know, working.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Along those lines, I don't know whether particle accelerators are considered &amp;quot;useful&amp;quot; but if built according to Newtonian physics I don't think any of them built since about the 1940s would have worked. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 13:17, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thank you, JoshuaZ, for correcting the urban legend. Even most Christians concede Einstein's beliefs resembled a form of Deism. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 02:56, 5 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In 1905 he obtained his doctor's degree.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good grief, this sentence sounds like something from a Junior High term paper.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The article isn't locked is it Robrob? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 18:34, 30 July 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein's fame==&lt;br /&gt;
Someone reverted my edits without comment. My version was:&lt;br /&gt;
: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German born Nobel Prize winning physicist famous for being regarded as a great genius. He is perhaps best known for work on the theories of [[Special Relativity]] and [[General Relativity]], ...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I say this because Einstein's fame with the general public is not really for his &amp;quot;several great works of theoretical physics&amp;quot;. Hardly anyone even knows what those were. But everybody knows Einstein as a great genius.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Also, the phrase &amp;quot;his theories&amp;quot; is inaccurate. Einstein did well-known work on relativity, but it wasn't Einstein's theory. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:09, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: I didn't do the reversion, and I only agree with half of the reversion.  Special Relativity was not &amp;quot;his [Einstein's] theory&amp;quot;, so that should not have been reverted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:: But I do agree with reverting the claim that Einstein was &amp;quot;regarded as a great genius.&amp;quot;  The media promotes people as geniuses for a variety of their own reasons, and it often has no basis in fact.  [[Henry Kissinger]] is also regarded as a genius.  Is he?  No.  Robert McNamara was regarded as a genius.  Was he?  No.  The statement about what people are led to think is meaningless.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:17, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: Whether you think that Einstein was a genius or not, it is a fact that he is popularly regarded as a great genius. Perhaps as much as anyone in history. Go ask some random person to name a great genius, and you are apt to get the name Einstein. Saying that Einstein is regarded as a great genius is like saying that Babe Ruth is regarded as a great baseball player. &lt;br /&gt;
::: Maybe you'd like to add a later paragraph on the limits to Einstein's genius. Eg, he is often quoted on subjects where he had no expertise. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:57, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::: I agree that many people, who know nothing about what Einstein did, regard him as a great genius.  I don't dispute the truth of that claim.  I do dispute the significance of it.  An encyclopedia or other intelligent resource does not report on what most (ignorant) people think.  Most people may think there is life on Mars.  Should an entry about Mars begin with, &amp;quot;Most people think there is life on Mars&amp;quot;?  Of course not.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:07, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
::::: But Andrew you thought that it was relevant enough what fraction of the US population rejected evolution?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::::: JoshuaZ has a good point. I would also say that biographies of Kissinger and McNamara should say that they were popularly regarded as being extremely smart. Even if you don't think that they were really so smart, you need to know that they were regarded as smart if you want to understand stuff that was written about them. So yes, what people think matters. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:49, 6 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: I agree. It goes beyond Kissinger and McNamara, because Einstein has the status of being the popular exemplar of &amp;quot;a genius.&amp;quot; There are a number of questions to which everybody knows &amp;quot;the answer&amp;quot; even though the questions are silly and so are the answers. Do this test. Answer the following questions quickly in your head and see if you don't immediately know what the &amp;quot;right&amp;quot; answers are... even if you disagree with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: Who's the greatest composer? What is the greatest painting? Who's the greatest playwright? Who's the greatest American inventor?&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Beethoven. The Mona Lisa. Shakespeare. Edison. Mozart is gaining on Beethoven, but I think Beethoven is still ahead. But you definitely lose points for &amp;quot;The Night Watch,&amp;quot; George Bernard Shaw, or Tesla!&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
::::::::OK, The first person I thought of on each question was: Mozart, Mona Lisa, Shakespear, Edison. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 13:23, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mona Lisa was a painter?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:ATB|ATB]] 18:02, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::::::: In the same way, Einstein is &amp;quot;the brand name,&amp;quot; the universal popular answer to the question &amp;quot;who was the greatest 'genius'&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;who was the most intelligent person.&amp;quot; Arguably  others might have been greater, but they didn't get the PR. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:30, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please forgive me if I make any wiki-type or style mistakes here, I'm a complete newb at this, and I'll learn more as I go.&lt;br /&gt;
I wanted to make a comment regarding the question his genius, I think his fame is incontrovertible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not many who understand even a little about the circumstances and the problem-space would argue as to whether or not Isaac Newton was a genius.  I think all agree he was.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However any peer-review commentary in the literature that addresses this question of Einsteins abilities that I've ever seen qualifies the Tensor Calculus that he personally invented to solve the space-time theorems of General Relativity as the most fiercely difficult mathematics in existence--before or since.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would consider that pretty high praise coming from the likes of Hawking, Penrose, et al.  Just my $.02.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 03:48, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: No, Einstein did not invent the Tensor Calculus. It was Marcel Grossman who gave Einstein the idea of applying tensor calculus to relativity. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 11:54, 7 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==re:Cosmological Constant ne: Dark Energy==&lt;br /&gt;
The term was readopted in 1998 after the observations of accelerating expansion.  It has since been dropped outside of popular press.&lt;br /&gt;
BTW, can someone point out to me how to correctly create references as footnotes.  I'm new to wiki editing, and can't seem to pull it off properly.  thx.&lt;br /&gt;
--[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 13:50, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Criticism==&lt;br /&gt;
I don't like some of the recent additions. Why talk about views that Einstein &amp;quot;seemed&amp;quot; to hold? Did he or didn't he? Einstein wrote a great deal, and there is no reason to speculate about his politics. Either cite something with his political views, or ignore it.&lt;br /&gt;
Why does it say &amp;quot;though he held dual U.S. and Swiss citizenships&amp;quot;? Isn't that just what you would expect from someone who believed in World Government?&lt;br /&gt;
The next paragraph contradicts itself. It says, &amp;quot;he in fact had nothing whatsoever to do with the project&amp;quot;, and then it describes the crucial role that Einstein played. Yes, he did have something to do with it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:10, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I apologize for my writing gaucheries.  I was merely attempting to give the subject the benefit of the doubt.  I will re-word to be more affirmative on the facts.  In fact, Einstein's minimal encouragement to FDR played very little role in the actual outcome of the Administrations decisions regarding the Manhattan Project, and was certainly not crucial. It had almost no affect at first. The choice to devise and move ahead with the Atom Bomb plans were made as a result of intelligence efforts on the part of the Allies during WWII. I will acknowledge your point about citizenship.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This content page is an embarrassment to Conservapedia.  It's filled with opinions, unjustified claims, self-contradictions, misleading statements and liberal bias.  Any student reading this content page is going to misled and confused.  This is the kind of stuff that permeates Wikipedia.  Users who like this stuff can enter it on Wikipedia at any time.  Actually, I don't think even Wikipedia's entry about Einstein is this substandard.  A rewrite is essential here.  Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:14, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::With all due respect sir, I do not find the flaws in this article that you mentioned.  Particularly concerning a liberal bias, there certainly is no trace of that in this writer.  Quite the contrary.  Accurately reporting the actual facts *without* the liberal spin so typical in today's media is one of my primary goals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::I am not afraid of the truth.  Whether it comes from the Bible, or from Creation.  They are both the handiwork of God, and there can be *no* variance between them.  In the course of human endeavor, if we uncover fuller knowledge of that handiwork, it's in our best interest to understand it.  Jesus Christ is Lord of all Creation, and the more we know about science the plainer that truth will become to the whole world.  Proverbs 4:7 says, &amp;quot;Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.&amp;quot;  I hope you will understand my heart in this.  --[[User:Knowthetruth|Knowthetruth]] 21:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, &amp;quot;For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.&amp;quot; --[[User:Koalitis|Koalitis]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:::Don't forget &amp;quot;Thou shalt not bear false witness.&amp;quot; --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''&amp;quot;Somebody please rewrite this in a way that respects our standards.&amp;quot;''  Like what?  Just have it say &amp;quot;Einstein was not a Christian, so we plan to ignore him.&amp;quot;, and then mod-lock the article forever?  --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 00:21, 16 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not to mention the conservative bias :P --[[User:Trekie9001|trekie9001]] 18:17, 8 March 2007 (EST)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Picture ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Are you sure that picture ain't too small?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:BillyBoy|BillyBoy]] 14:14, 31 March 2007 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==False attributions==&lt;br /&gt;
I do not agree with the E=mc2 edits. It suggests that there was something wrong with Poincare's derivation, and that Einstein's is now accepted. But that is not correct. Einstein's derivation was a crude approximation, and had errors. Maybe Planck's view is closer to the modern view, I don't know. But I don't see any justification for the current edit, and I plan to revert it. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 23:54, 13 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;br /&gt;
:The point has less to do with the formula itself than what it means, or how to explain it. Poincare didn't even agree with his own attempts to explain it.[[User:Pluto|Pluto]] 13:55, 14 September 2008 (EDT)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516486</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516486"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T15:34:04Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also explained the photoelectric effect in a way that proved that light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, increasing the &lt;br /&gt;
intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist &lt;br /&gt;
Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein explained that different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different from the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, while Poincare's version of E = mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; was mathematically the same as Einstein's, [[Poincare]] couldn't explain this without referring to a fictitious fluid or an ether in order for the motion of the [[center of mass]] of energy to remain uniform. Einstein's theory that a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass is the one that's currently accepted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516485</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516485"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T15:33:17Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also explained the photoelectric effect in a way that proved that light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, increasing the &lt;br /&gt;
intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist &lt;br /&gt;
Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein explained that different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also recognized the value in work done by the physicist Bose when others did not, and helped Bose develop what is now referred to as Bose-Einstein statistics. A simplified explanation is that the statistics for bosons (including light) are different than the statistics for fermions which make up solid matter in that there is no way to tag or differentiate one boson from another for statistical comparisons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, while Poincare's version of E = mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; was mathematically the same as Einstein's, [[Poincare]] couldn't explain this without referring to a fictitious fluid or an ether in order for the motion of the [[center of mass]] of energy to remain uniform. Einstein's theory that a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass is the one that's currently accepted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516478</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516478"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T15:12:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also explained the photoelectric effect in a way that proved that light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, increasing the &lt;br /&gt;
intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist &lt;br /&gt;
Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein explained that different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, pages 306-309&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, while Poincare's version of E = mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; was mathematically the same as Einstein's, [[Poincare]] couldn't explain this without referring to a fictitious fluid or an ether in order for the motion of the [[center of mass]] of energy to remain uniform. Einstein's theory that a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass is the one that's currently accepted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516476</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516476"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T15:10:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also explained the photoelectric effect in a way that proved that light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, increasing the &lt;br /&gt;
intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist &lt;br /&gt;
Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein explained that different particles of light or photons have different frequencies. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, while Poincare's version of E = mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; was mathematically the same as Einstein's, [[Poincare]] couldn't explain this without referring to a fictitious fluid or an ether in order for the motion of the [[center of mass]] of energy to remain uniform. Einstein's theory that a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass is the one that's currently accepted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516474</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=516474"/>
		<updated>2008-09-14T15:08:57Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */ photoelectric effect&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also explained the photoelectric effect in a way that proved that light has particle like &lt;br /&gt;
properties as well as wave like properties. According to Maxwell's equations, increasing the &lt;br /&gt;
intensity of light should increase the number of electrons emitted from metal. The German physicist &lt;br /&gt;
Lénard did an experiment proving that this was not true. Einstein explained that different particles of light or photons have different frequencies or intensities. Therefore, increasing the intensity of low frequency photons has no effect, while using a higher (blue or ultra violet) frequency of light does cause more electrons to be emitted. The formula Einstein used to explain this was e = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae24.cfm?CFID=8792067&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36662276] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Einstein won a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, Lénard was bitter and wrote antisemitic books claiming that German physics was superior to the Jewish physics of Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, while Poincare's version of E = mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; was mathematically the same as Einstein's, [[Poincare]] couldn't explain this without referring to a fictitious fluid or an ether in order for the motion of the [[center of mass]] of energy to remain uniform. Einstein's theory that a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass is the one that's currently accepted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Affirmative_Action_President&amp;diff=515902</id>
		<title>Affirmative Action President</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Affirmative_Action_President&amp;diff=515902"/>
		<updated>2008-09-13T16:35:32Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: Again, this is not only true but Republicans were clearly the good guys on this issue.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;An '''Affirmative Action President''' is someone selected for that office based partly or entirely on the person's race or gender.  As of 2008, [[affirmative action]] has not yet been successfully used to fill the position of President of the [[United States]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, before the [[American Civil War]], Democrats supported slavery and the Dred Scott decision, which did create a bias that favored whites over blacks even in issues far less than Presidential elections. It was the Republican [[Abraham Lincoln]] who led opposition to slavery and the Dred Scott decision.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An Affirmative Action President is strongly supported by some [[liberals]] who favor [[affirmative action]].  As they support [[affirmative action]] for other positions, it is a logical extension for them to favor it for the presidency also.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These supporters of an Affirmative Action President are likely to support a candidate based in part on the candidate's race or gender in order to bring historical [[diversity]] to the position and promote broader acceptance of [[affirmative action]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Under [[affirmative action]], a candidate's race or gender is as important as, and perhaps more important, than traditional criteria of qualifications and experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On Feb. 4, 2008, ten days after this entry appeared here, Michael Savage commented that, if elected, [[Barack Obama]] will be the first Affirmative Action President, as he has such a small amount of political (or military) experience.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;For example, popular radio commentator [[Michael Savage]] observed, &amp;quot;We have a woman and a multi-ethnic man running for office on the Democrat side. Is this not akin to a -- an affirmative action election? Isn't that why the libs are hysterical, tripping over themselves to say [[amen]] and yes to this affirmative election vote?&amp;quot; Savage added, &amp;quot;America's not ready for an affirmative action presidency.&amp;quot; [http://mediamatters.org/items/200802040008]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On March 12, 2008, Joseph Farah, founder of Worldnetdaily.com, published a column entitled, &amp;quot;The affirmative-action president.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=58632&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See Also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Barack Obama]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Reference ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:politics]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=515897</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=515897"/>
		<updated>2008-09-13T16:22:57Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* False attributions */ This isn't a swipe at Poincare, it only mentions the contributions of both Einstein  and Poincare&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. However, while Poincare's version of E = mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; was mathematically the same as Einstein's, [[Poincare]] couldn't explain this without referring to a fictitious fluid or an ether in order for the motion of the [[center of mass]] of energy to remain uniform. Einstein's theory that a body losing energy through heat or [[radiation]] was losing mass is the one that's currently accepted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Einstein, A., 1905, [http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von dessen Energieinhalt abhängig?], Annalen der Physik, volume 18, pages 639–643. See also [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www English translation].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=514294</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=514294"/>
		<updated>2008-09-11T01:48:32Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */ This does reflect what the referenced article says.&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2004, NASA launcheded the satellite Gravity Probe B to test general relativity. The main purpose was to test relativistic frame dragging, but the results have been inconclusive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when some scientists argued against it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=513580</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=513580"/>
		<updated>2008-09-10T03:02:26Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King famously called on America to live out the full meaning of its creed, including a declaration that all men are created equal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sadly, also remaining from that era is [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]] supported by [[liberal]] courts. However, America is more of a democracy than before the Civil Rights Movement.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=513572</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=513572"/>
		<updated>2008-09-10T02:58:17Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King famously called on America to live out the full meaning of its creed, including a declaration that all men are created equal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sadly, also remaining from that era is [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]] supported by [[liberal]] courts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=513563</id>
		<title>Civil Rights Movement</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Civil_Rights_Movement&amp;diff=513563"/>
		<updated>2008-09-10T02:46:31Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The '''civil rights movement''' was a movement towards racial equality and an end to segregation of [[African Americans]] that occurred in the [[United States]] from about 1953 to 1968, as courts and [[Congress]] changed laws for this purpose and to ensure that all African Americans could vote. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[Reconstruction]], Radical Republicans tried to guarantee equal rights for emancipated slaves after the [[American Civil War]]. They succeeded in passing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which in theory required equal protection of the laws and an equal right to vote. However, these amendments were nullified by Jim Crow laws, Klan violence and massive Southern resistance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Rights leader [[Martin Luther King]] advocated nonviolent resistance and a Christian but activist approach to winning equal rights, beginning with leading a bus boycott to desegregate buses. This approach led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1960s and 1970s, many [[activist judge]]s ordered busing of children in a largely unsuccessful attempt to integrate public schools. Some busing from that era continues to the present.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sadly, also remaining from that era is [[affirmative action]] and [[reverse discrimination]] supported by [[liberal]] courts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Civil Rights Leaders ====&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Martin Luther King]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:United States History]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&amp;diff=512197</id>
		<title>Franklin D. Roosevelt</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&amp;diff=512197"/>
		<updated>2008-09-07T19:00:00Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: The economy got better after the 1930's&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{President&lt;br /&gt;
|image=509px-FDR in 1933.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|seq=32&lt;br /&gt;
|term_start=March 4, 1933&lt;br /&gt;
|term_end=April 12, 1945    &lt;br /&gt;
|party=Democratic    &lt;br /&gt;
|vp= John N. Garner&lt;br /&gt;
|vp_dates=1933-1941          &lt;br /&gt;
|2vp=Henry A. Wallace          &lt;br /&gt;
|2vp_dates=1941-1945          &lt;br /&gt;
|3vp=Harry Truman          &lt;br /&gt;
|3vp_dates=1945          &lt;br /&gt;
|4vp=          &lt;br /&gt;
|4vp_dates=          &lt;br /&gt;
|previous=Herbert Hoover&lt;br /&gt;
|next=Harry Truman      &lt;br /&gt;
|seq2= &lt;br /&gt;
|term2_start=    &lt;br /&gt;
|term2_end=    &lt;br /&gt;
|party2=    &lt;br /&gt;
|vp2=          &lt;br /&gt;
|vp2dates=          &lt;br /&gt;
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|previous2=&lt;br /&gt;
|next2=          &lt;br /&gt;
|birth_date=January 30, 1882 &lt;br /&gt;
|birth_place=Hyde Park, New York&lt;br /&gt;
|death_date=April 12, 1945&lt;br /&gt;
|death_place=Warm Springs, Georgia&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse=[[Eleanor Roosevelt]]&lt;br /&gt;
|spouse2=&lt;br /&gt;
|religion=[[Episcopalian]]&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Franklin Delano Roosevelt''' was the 32nd [[President of the United States of America]], and is most often recalled in association with his [[socialist]] [[New Deal]] economic policies and his leadership during most of the [[Second World War]].  He was the first and only President to be elected four times, exceeding the traditional two-term-limit precedent established by [[George Washington]].  A [[Democrat]], Roosevelt was first elected due to the crisis of the [[Great Depression]], a severe economic depression that continued throughout the 1930's.  A [[Republican]] Congress subsequently passed the [[22nd Amendment]] to prevent anyone from serving more than two full terms, as Roosevelt had.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage, due partly to the crippling [[disease]], [[polio]]myelitis, which physically disabled him during his presidency.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although Mr. Roosevelt was very popular, it has been argued by scholars and analysts then and now that many [[New Deal]] relief efforts actually helped to prolong the [[Great Depression]].  Mr. Roosevelt started the second wave of the massive expansion of the Federal Government and greatly increased American foreign aid.  Some of these policies were coupled with a persistent high level of unemployment in the 1930s.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/32_f_roosevelt/printable.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
However, the Depression ended when government spending increased during [[World War II]] as military spending pumped money into the economy. Programs such as FDIC were created to increase financial stability and reduce the risk of another [[Great Depression]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1937, Roosevelt proposed &amp;quot;packing&amp;quot; the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] so that he could enact more government controls over the economy.  But even [[Democrats]] were outraged at his power grab, and Roosevelt never enjoyed his past political power again. However, the Court's subsequent ''Wickard'' decision increased the President's powers under the [[Commerce Clause]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt's [[Lend-Lease Act]] authorized arming Britain and the Soviet Union even before [[Pearl Harbor]] was attacked by [[Japan]]. It was the Pearl Harbor attack that ended anti-war isolationism in the U. S.  The result was island hopping attacks against Japan, followed by war against fascists in North Africa, and then victory in [[Europe]] after a D-Day ([[Operation Overlord]]) attack on Germany from France in conjunction with Red Army attacks on Germany from the East. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From his second term the people were told that Roosevelt was the only man who could keep the US out of war.  Later, it was asserted that he was the only man who could successfully fight the war that which he alone could keep the US out of. Then it was said that he was the only man who was capable of facing [[Josef Stalin]] on equal terms. Finally, he was said to be the only man who could guarantee against the ruthlessness of Stalin in the post-war era. However, Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, which was four months before the war ended with Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Early life==&lt;br /&gt;
Franklin Roosevelt studied law at Columbia University where he failed to graduate.  Secretary of Labor [[Frances  Perkins]], the first woman ever appointed to a cabinet post and knew FDR from his early manhood up to his death, says he was not a student, that he knew nothing of economics and that he admitted he had never read a book on the subject. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt I Knew,'' Frances Perkins, New York, Viking Press, 1946. p. 34.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Election of 1932 ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Democrats made Government non-intervention under the Hoover administration an issue in the campaign of 1932, charging that Hoover's laissez faire approach was not working.  After Roosevelt had taken office, former Democratic New York Governor Al Smith, saw Roosevelt's ultimately expansive policies as a departure from the ideals of Conservatives and supported Republican candidates in subsequent elections. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the Democrats were damning Hoover as a big spender, at the same time he was refusing to be drawn into big spending, the Democratic House passed a bill appropriating $1,500,000,000 for old-fashioned [[pork-barrel]] outlays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Because of Hoover's hesitance to utilize government spending to bail the nation out of the depression, he became incredibly unpopular, paving the way for Roosevelt's landslide victory in the presidential election of 1932, winning 472 electoral votes (nearly 90% of the total) and 22,800,000 popular votes (57% of the total) to defeat incumbent president Herbert Hoover.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;1932 Presidential Election Results http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?f=0&amp;amp;year=1932&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was running primarily on the platform that he would help the country recover from the Great Depression with his New Deal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== First Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
===Foreign policy===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On November 16, 1933, when the Roosevelt administration granted diplomatic recognition to the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]], the USSR pledged itself to refrain &amp;quot;from interfering in any manner in the internal affairs of the United States.&amp;quot;  This occurred three weeks after the founding of the [[Comintern]] affiliated [[American League for Peace and Democracy]]. The process of Communist “influence” in American life was accelerated.  This “influence,” as described by [[Communist party]] defector [[Louis Budenz]], was to “infiltrate key government posts, undermine the patriotism of well meaning people in strategic or confidential positions, and win over those whose words, spoken and written, have an effect on American [[public opinion]];” it was checked “partially during the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact|Hitler-Stalin alliance]], it went all out in the course of the [[Second World War]].&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Men Without Faces, The Communist Conspiracy in the U. S. A., By Louis Budenz, New York  Harper &amp;amp; Brothers, 1950, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=//PDFsml_AD/Men_Without_Faces-Louis_Francis_Budenz-1950-315pgs-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=238&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pg. 2] pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Numerous [[Attorney General's list|Comintern affiliate]] organizations sprung up in the ensuing years, including the [[American Youth Congress]] in 1934 and the [[League of American Writers]] in 1935.  [[KGB]] officers traveled the country in the guise of diplomatic and consular officials, conducting [[espionage]] activities &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/10.gif Anonymous letter to Hoover], undated (received 7 August 1943), National Security Agency Venona Collection. &amp;quot;[[SEMENOV]] works in AMTORG, is robbing the whole of the war industry in America. SEMENOV has his agents in all the industrial towns of the U.S.A., in all aviation and chemical war factories and in big industries.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; freely and offering bribes.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On February 28, 1934, Elliott Roosevelt, son of the President, and [[Anthony Fokker]] each received half a million dollars for selling fifty military aircraft to the Soviet government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756770-2,00.html ''Son's Scheme''], Time magazine, Oct. 19, 1936,&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===New Deal===&lt;br /&gt;
:''For Main Article see '''[[New Deal]].'''''&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Flatgrowth.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Real Output and Growth remained stagnant throughout the New Deal largely due to government involvement. The Depression came back with a vengeance in 1937-1938 because of the [[economic planner]]s over emphasis on consumption, and deemphasis and persecution of producers--the people who make the economy work. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;''Source:New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression.''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis, ''Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, Journal of Political Economy, volume 112 (2004), pages 779–816.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;]]&lt;br /&gt;
FDR is also famous for his [[New Deal]], a set of [[economic planning]] experiments that were instilled in the hope of ending the [[Great Depression]]. After many years, unemployment was finally brought down to reasonable levels as World War II began and the draft opened up more opportunties for people to move into the workforce. [[Economic growth]] was generally occurring, but the nation wasn't back on its feet until the war progressed.&lt;br /&gt;
Enforcement of the [[Anti-trust Act]] was considered as an essential instrument to prevent [[cartel]]s and trusts in restraint of trade which had been viewed as deadly to the system of [[free enterprise]]. On the campaign trail Roosevelt called loudly for its strict enforcement. Yet immediately upon Roosevelt's accession to office the Anti-trust Act was suspended in order to cartelize every industry in America on the Italian [[fascist]] corporative model. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt Myth'', John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 1, Chapter 4, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/cgi-bin/framed/2767/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Four___The_New_New_Deal.htm ''The New New Deal''].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The National Recovery Act (NRA) and the [[Agricultural Adjustment Act]] (AAA) were plans to take the whole industrial and agricultural life of the country under the wing of the government, organize it into vast farm and industrial cartels, as they were called in Germany, cooperatives as they were called in Italy, and operate business and farms by economic planning schemes dictated and carried out under the supervision of government. It is also worth noting that World War II was total warfare on both sides.  Even the Allied Powers such as the British took control of the nation's economy.  Such intervention was very much necessary in order to gain every advantage possible against the enemy.  Centralized planning allowed for greater efficiency, yet some civil liberties were suppressed in the effort. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=420&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The AAA reported to the Secretary of Agriculture but was independent of the Department of Agriculture bureaucracy. [[Harold Ware]] was a [[Communist Party USA]] (CPUSA) official in the AAA and founded the [[Ware group]]. The group consisted of young lawyers and economists, had about 75 members in 1934 and was divided into about eight cells. The AAA was later found [[unconstitutional]], but by that time the Communist operatives had established jobs in government employment. [[Alger Hiss]], [[Lee Pressman]], [[John Abt]], [[Charles Kramer]], [[Nathan Witt]], [[Henry Collins]], [[George Silverman]], [[Marion Bachrach]], [[John Herrmann]], [[Nathaniel Weyl]], [[Donald Hiss]] and [[Victor Perlo]] were all members of the Ware group.  [[Harry Dexter White]], who was involved in the most auspicious policy [[subversion (political)|subversion]] as Director of the Division of Monetary Research in the [[Treasury Department]], was also affiliated with the group. The Ware group was the CPUSA's covert arm at this time.   Each of these agents not only provided classified documents to Soviet intelligence, but was involved in political influence operations as well.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1934, a Congressional Investigation was held to examine statements by Dr. William A. Wirt, who headed the U.S. [[Department of Education|Office of Education]]. Dr. Wirt had attended a dinner party with several Brain Trusters at the home of his secretary, [[Alice Barrows]].  Barrows began working for the Office of Education in 1919 and was secretly a member of the [[Communist Party of the United States]] (CPUSA) which advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Constitution.  Several of the Brain Trusters present at the dinner revealed to Wirt they were CPUSA members. Wirt testified,&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|I was told they believe that by thwarting our then evident economic recovery, they would be able to prolong the country’s destitution until they had demonstrated to the American people that the Government must operate business and commerce.  By propaganda, they would destroy institutions making long term capital loans—and then push Uncle Sam into making these loans. Once Uncle Sam becomes our financier, he must also follow his money with control and management. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Hearings, House Select Committee To Investigate Certain Statements of Dr. William Wirt, 73rd Congress, 2nd Session, April 10 and 17, 1934. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Dr Wirt faces the cameras and tells all'', Literary Digest v. 117 (April 21 1934) p. 7.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Silvermaster file [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster053.pdf Volume 53 June 1946], p. 78 pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A June 1945 [[Venona project]] decryption of Soviet [[KGB]] wartime cables from the Washington D.C. KGB Office to Moscow's Eighth Department, the political intelligence wing, relayed information on matters regarding Attorney General Francis Biddle.  KGB agent [[Charles Kramer]], who served on the staff of several U.S. Senate Subcommittees, and Barrows are the sources of the information. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Venona 3706 KGB Washington to Moscow, 29 June 1945.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Mary Van Kleek who headed the Russell Sage Foundation and also served on the Board of the National Council, visited Washington weekly to meet with Barrows and [[Greg Silvermaster|Nathan Gregory Silvermaster]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During [[World War II]] Barrows was the Executive Secretary of the the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship.  This organization was declared in 1953 to be a [[Glossary_of_espionage_terms#Fronts_and_cutouts|Communist front]] organization by the [[Subversive Activities Control Board]] (SACB). In its Findings of Fact, the SACB said the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, &lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|advances positions...markedly pro-Soviet and...anti-United States Government...is a Communist-action organization which has as its primary purpose to advance the objectives of the world Communist movement under the [[hegemony]] of the Soviet Union; it has the policy to support and defend the Soviet Union under any and all circumstances...We conclude that the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Inc., is substantially directed, dominated, and controlled by the Communist Party of the United States...and is primarily operated for the purpose of giving aid and support to...the Soviet Union, a Communist foreign government.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;United States. Subversive Activities Control Board. [http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=usfexec;cc=usfexec;q1=Barrows;rgn=full text;idno=81242.0001.001;didno=81242.0001.001;view=image;seq=511;page=root;size=s;endseq=3;frm=frameset Reports of the Subversive Activities Control Board.] Washington. United States Government Printing Office. 1966. Vol. 1, p. 501.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
====Civilian Conservation Corps====&lt;br /&gt;
:''Main article [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Soon after President Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933, he announced the establishment of the CCC camps to take the boys off the street corners and out of the transient camps and to get money for their families. Of the New Deal innovations, perhaps the most generally applauded was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), adapted from German predecessors.  That was a year after Hitler had coordinated all work camps under [[Nazi]] leadership. In 1934 the German university student organization voted that the work camps should be compulsory before matriculation and in 1935, Hitler decreed that the work camps be compulsory for both sexes. That same plan under the prompting of [[Harry Hopkins]] was announced by Roosevelt. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Getting Us into War'', Porter Sargent Publisher: P. Sargent, Boston, 1941. [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=/PDFsml_AD/Getting_Us_Into_War-Porter_Sargent-1941-640pgs-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=218&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 In the Footsteps of Hitler], pg. 492 pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Ralph Ingersoll's ''PM'' newspaper reported the President's statement that training in the conscript camps will remove those elements in the thinking of youth which makes them &amp;quot;critical of their elders.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''PM'', June 20, 1940. &amp;quot;that training in the conscript camps will remove those elements in the thinking of our youth which makes them 'critical of their elders'...We should hold little hope for the future of any nation whose young people had ceased to be critical of their elders.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''American Youth'', Kenneth Holland, Harvard University Press, 1940, pg. 103. &amp;quot;As the camps and resident centers are established on a permanent basis they should be carefully integrated with educational, vocational, employment and adjustment activities of institutions already in existence. It is to be hoped that established schools and other training institutions in the United States will see in the [[labor camp]]s a new technique for providing youth with practical experience better adapted to its needs and interests than the present academic school courses.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Social Security===&lt;br /&gt;
An Old Age Social Security Bill was passed during his first term which provided for workers who reach the age of 65 a pension of $8 a week at most. The plan had to be pushed through against his procrastination until finally in the 1934 congressional elections the Republicans denounced him for his tardiness. When he did finally consent to a bill, it contained a plan for building a huge reserve fund that would extract billions from the workers' payrolls without any adequate return. Over the protest of the President, the Congress finally took that provision proposed by Roosevelt out of the law. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; ''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Chapter 14, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Fifteen___The_Roosevelt_.htm ''The Roosevelt Myth''], John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Taxation===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR, in a letter to journalist Roy W. Howard, wrote, &lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;What is known as consumer taxes, namely the invisible taxes paid by people in every walk of life, fall relatively much more heavily upon the poor man than on the rich man.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Franklin D. Roosevelt, letter to Roy W. Howard, September 2, 1935. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Robert H. Jackson]], then serving as [[Internal Revenue Service]] General Counsel, observed in Congressional testimony that prior to FDR’s election, &amp;quot;we find those taxes bearing most heavily on the well-to-do contributed 68% per cent of the government's total internal revenue and customs receipts, while miscellaneous taxes and customs receipts, bearing most heavily upon the consumer contributed only 31.8%”  By 1935 the situation was reversed with “taxes based on ability to pay contributed 38.7% . . . there has been an increase in the proportion of revenues contributed by taxes on consumption to 61.3%.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Testimony of Robert Jackson, Assistant General Counsel, Treasury Department, Committee on Finance, U . S. Senate, August 6, 1985.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Economic growth===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New capital made available for investment amounted to $348,000,000 in 1935. This was less than 1/10th of the amount available in 1929.  By contrast, the British economy had nearly recovered to its 1929 levels by 1935, and the amount available for investment was almost twice as much as the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{| style=&amp;quot;background:white; color:blue&amp;quot; border=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot; class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
! Year&lt;br /&gt;
! United States &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Standard Statistics Co., ''New Honey for Operating and Producing.''&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
! Great Britain &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Midland Bank, London, ''New Issues for British Companies,'' converted from £ to $ at $4.8665.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1927&lt;br /&gt;
| $3,201,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| $710,509,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1928&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,062,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 983,033,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1929&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,668,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 759,174,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1930&lt;br /&gt;
| 3,039,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 394,186,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1931&lt;br /&gt;
| 1,006,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 155,728,000 &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1932&lt;br /&gt;
| 321,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 248,191,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1933&lt;br /&gt;
| 177,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 296,856,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1934&lt;br /&gt;
| 356,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 350,388,000&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| 1935&lt;br /&gt;
| 348,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
| 666,710,500&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Congress of Industrial Organizations===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By 1935 membership in labor unions had sunk to a low figure as a result of [[unemployment]].  There were men around the President at this time that saw the tremendous possibilities of organizing labor as a political force. An industrial union is one in which all the people engaged in a single industry are included without regard to the type of skills at which they work.  The industrial union was the one great instrument by which all labor could be organized and the President was urged to promote this idea as the starting point in building up a powerful political labor movement. There were three large industrial unions at that time, [[John L. Lewis]]’s [[United Mine Workers]] (UMW), the International Ladies Garment Workers Union of David Dubinsky and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of [[Sidney Hillman]].&lt;br /&gt;
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Roosevelt tried to sell the plan to John L. Lewis of the UMW, and William Green, head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Green and the AFL opposed the idea of industrial unions and refused, but under the leadership of Lewis, a new group of unions was formed called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).  The Comintern directed [[Lee Pressman]] &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Report, [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster082.pdf Underground Soviet Espionage (NKVD) in Agencies of the United States Government], October 21, 1946, United States Government, pgs. 298 - 300 pdf. &amp;quot;Leon Pressman, alias Lee Pressman, served as General Counsel for the [[Agricultural Adjustment Administration]] from 1933 to 1935; in 1935 he was appointed General Counsel for the [[Works Progress Administration]]. In 1937 he was appointed to the General Counsel for the National [[Congress of Industrial Organizations]] (CIO). Pressman was also associated with various Communist front organizations.  Pressman was a known contact of [[Anatoly Gorsky]], New York [[KGB]] Rezident, and KGB Agents [[Alger Hiss]] and [[Harry Dexter White]]. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; of the [[Ware group]] to assume the position of general counsel&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FBI Silvermaster file, [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster132.pdf Vol. 132, pg. 109] pdf. &amp;quot;Pressman is said to have run arms to Spain during the Civil War via Mexico and to have worked with General Mark Moren in the project. Moren was involved in the [[Rubens Robinson]] passport case in 1938.&amp;quot;  See also Underground Espionage Agent, Adolf Berle notes, September 2, 1939. [http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page100.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789421,00.html ''32,000 &amp;amp; Mrs. Rubens''], Time magazine, Feb. 07, 1938. &amp;quot;In the first years of the Soviet Union, to escape from Russia was difficult and dangerous. Today it has become almost impossible, an attempt tantamount to suicide. Barbed and electrically charged wire, searchlight-equipped watch towers. 24-hour frontier patrols aided by bloodhounds and police dogs guard every mile of border. .... Weak from [[scurvy]] and [[dysentery]], Konarski told correspondents: 'The camp contains about 32,000 prisoners. They are kept there until [[death]] results from hard work, bad food and consequent sickness. I met two [[American citizen]]s in the camp, Arthur Hanley, a chemical engineer from California, and Edward Rose, a machinist from Boston, Mass. They said they came to Russia in 1921 as volunteer workers. Rose said he was [[arrest]]ed in Leningrad in 1923. Hanley was caught trying to escape from Russia to Latvia in 1925. Each was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but, although they have served out their sentences, they are still being held. They told me they know of three other native-born Americans who are held prisoner in other Soviet camps.'...Mrs. Ruth Marie Rubens (alias Robinson), one U. S. citizen officially known to be in jail in Moscow (TIME, Dec. 27 [1938]). In Moscow on December 9 able, active U. S. Charge d'Affaires Loy W. Henderson learned that Mrs. Rubens had &amp;quot;disappeared&amp;quot;' from the big Hotel National next door to the U.S. Embassy. On January 18 the Soviet Foreign Office finally admitted that Mrs. Rubens was under arrest, failed to say on what charge.... hundreds of Germans are today in Soviet jails and for years German diplomatic &amp;amp; consular officials have not been allowed to see them.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; where he became known as &amp;quot;Comrade Big.&amp;quot;  The year 1936 was a period of furious organizing work by it among the unskilled workers of the country. As Lewis,  Dubinsky, and Hillman set about organizing millions of workers they were immediately up against the problem of finding skilled organizers to promote and manage the new unions.&lt;br /&gt;
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There had been in the United States a [[Communist]] labor organization known as the Trade Union Unity League which took its instructions directly from [[Moscow]]. It is estimated that ten or fifteen thousand Communists were in these unions. In 1934, Moscow directed the Communist party in the United States to dissolve the Trade Union Unity League unions and to march the members of those unions into the American Federation of Labor. The purpose was not to advance the cause of labor unions or to get better working conditions for the members, but to use the apparatus of the labor union as an instrument of [[revolution]]. The Communist leaders saw in the rise of the CIO a better opportunity for their own revolutionary objectives than in the AFL and instructed their members to withdraw from the AFL and go into the CIO where they achieved disproportionate influence. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Soviet World of American Communism'', Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Kyrill M. Anderson, Yale University Press, 1998,  Document 13, pp. 58-68. ISBN 0-300-07150-7. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Lewis was interested in bringing into existence industrial unions like his own, in which he had always believed. Roosevelt was interested in bringing into American labor unions as many voters as possible and in capturing their leadership to build a powerful labor faction which could control the Democratic party and which he and his allies could control through the vast power of the government and the vast powers of labor leaders, along with the immense financial resources that so great a labor movement would have. The Communists were interested in getting into key positions as union officers, statisticians, economists, etc., in order to utilize the apparatus of the unions to promote the cause of revolution.  By the early part of 1938, over three million workers had been organized.  Lewis was later to split with FDR. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Communists and the CIO: From the Soviet archives'', Harvey Klehr and John E. Haynes, Labor History, Volume 35, Issue 3 Summer 1994 , pages 442 - 446. [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a772103056~db=all?tab=references]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,788129-4,00.html ''Turning Point?''], Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 12, 1937.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Second Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
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{{Cquote|Planning will become a function of the federal government; either that or the planning agency will supercede the government, which is why, of course, such a scheme will be assimilated to the State. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Principle of Planning and the Institution of Laissez Faire,'' Rexford G. Tugwell, The American Economic Review, vol. 22, no. 1, March 1932. [http://www.bartleby.com/73/147.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
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On August 13, 1938, John P. Frey, president of the Metal Trades Department of the AFL, appeared before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]]. Frey, in a presentation lasting several days, laid before the Committee a complete documented account of CPUSA penetration of the CIO. He gave the names of 280 organizers in CIO unions under salary who were CPUSA members. He charged that John Brophy who was the director of the CIO, was expelled by the United Mine Workers some years before for disloyal activities and while he was not directly a CPUSA member, he was assisted in his work by two active members of the Party. He had gone to Russia as a member of a delegation sponsored by the Party and approved by Moscow and when he returned the UMW accused him of being a paid agent of the Soviet government. Brophy at a meeting said that the condition of workers in the Soviet Union &amp;quot;should be a source of inspiration to workers in America.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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Frey named union after union in the CIO, giving names of the Communists who were holding positions of leadership and trust. He charged, for instance, that they dominated the United Office and Professional Workers Union, that the president of that organization was a CPUSA member and through that organization they had infiltrated the government with numerous Party members in almost all the bureaus in Washington.&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Thomas Corcoran]] &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;After World War II Corcoran employed Soviet agent [[Duncan Lee]] in his Washington law firm, Corcoran and Youngman. FBI Silvermaster file biographical details on [[Duncan C. Lee]], [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s allegations concerning him, his contacts with [[Donald Wheeler]] and [[Mary Price]], [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster092.pdf Vol. 92, pgs. 20 - 21] pdf, January 26, 1947.  On June 6 1945, 6 persons, including U.S. government officials [[Andrew Roth]] and [[John Stewart Service]], were arrested on [[conspiracy]] and [[espionage]] charges related to possession of roughly 1000 stolen classified Government documents in the offices of ''[[Amerasia]]'' magazine.  ''Amerasia'', edited by [[Philip J. Jaffe]], had published classified materials verbatim from the United States wartime intelligence service, the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS). ''Amerasia's'' chief financial benefactor was [[Frederick V. Field]].  [[Joseph Milton Bernstein]], a [[GRU]] contact between Soviet agents in the OSS and the [[Board of Economic Warfare]], was also an employee. Others connected with the ''Amerasia'' scandal were [[T.A. Bisson]] and [[Owen Lattimore]]. Corcoran worked with the [[Truman administration]] to cover up the scandal.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; moved from the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]] to the White House and was instrumental in securing numerous appointments for friends and colleagues to [[New Deal]] agencies.  Eventually he was pushed out in favor of [[Harry Hopkins]] for the position of Roosevelt's right-hand man.&lt;br /&gt;
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===Court packing plan===&lt;br /&gt;
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Tommy Corcoran was given the task by Roosevelt to persuade Congress to pass the proposed legislation.  [[I. F. Stone]] of the ''New York Post'', who later was to agree to work for the [[KGB]], wrote speeches for Corcoran on this issue. &lt;br /&gt;
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===Crash of 1937===&lt;br /&gt;
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When FDR was inaugurated for his second term [[national income]], [[payroll]]s, and [[industrial production]] &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;League of Nations Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, June, 1936. Percentage change 1929 to March 1936, United States -21.8%, rank number 13.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; were still 20 per cent below the 1929 figure and construction was still only about one third what it had been in 1929 when the nation had a booming economy due to massive speculation that would ultimately lead to the stock market crash. By June, 1937 the Treasury boasted relief payments were less than in the same period the preceding year. But this was not so. The Treasury made a practice of cooking the books and producing phony numbers. It merely shifted relief payments to other accounts. They were, in fact, larger than the year before. Stock prices declined and by September the reality could be no longer hidden. By the end of October the market crashed. The budget was running a [[deficit]] at the time $300,000,000 a month. &lt;br /&gt;
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[[Robert H. Jackson]], Assistant Attorney General, and Secretary of the Interior [[Harold Ickes]] in December made speeches inspired by the President on the [[conspiratorial]] ''America's 60 Families.'' &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''New Deal Chorus'', Time magazine, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758849-1,00.html pg. 1][http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758849-2,00.html pg. 2], Jan. 17, 1938.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In January, John D. Biggers staggered the administration with a report Roosevelt had commissioned that stated there were 10,870,000 people out of work. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758790,00.html ''Two Schemes''], Time magazine, Jan. 10, 1938.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Roosevelt realized that all the “pump priming” and spending $17 billion had failed. Despite the billions added to the debt, the Depression was back. He was now at the center of a tug-of-war with advocates of spending like [[Harry Hopkins]], [[Leon Henderson]] and [[Rex Tugwell]] on one side, and opponents like [[Henry Morgenthau]] on the other. DNC Chairman [[Jim Farley]] reports he had a talk on the subject with Roosevelt on March 28, 1938. &lt;br /&gt;
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FDR told Farley he would have &amp;quot;to go in for pump priming or relief,&amp;quot; then Roosevelt confessed to a difficulty that is little understood: what could he spend on?  There is only a limited number of things which the federal government can spend. The federal government can build schools, hospitals, roads, institutions of all sorts. But they are built in cities, counties, states and the activities which go on in these buildings are within the jurisdiction of the states. And the continuing perpetual maintainance of such things, like payroll, is the in the purview of the states. The federal government can spend money on agricultural experimentation, on scientific research, on national parks, on power dams, etc. But in the end the outlays on these things are limited. The one big thing the federal government can spend money on is the army and navy. Roosevelt explained to Farley that he could not spend on local projects because the states and cities did not want any more buildings and institutions which they would have to support. They were having trouble enough paying the bills of those already built. Roosevelt revealed to Farley that many [[WPA]] projects approved by the government were abandoned because the states and cities could not raise the money to support them. In the 1938 Congressional elections Harry Hopkins was spending as fast as he could without any regard to utility to meet the immediate political necessities of an election but couldn't go on indefinitely. And the whole problem was complicated by pressure from within his own party to balance the budget.&lt;br /&gt;
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The country now reached a greater crisis than in 1933. The public debt, which was $22 billion when Roosevelt took office and was a heritage of [[World War I]], now was $37 billion. Taxes had been more than doubled by Roosevelt. By April 1938 unemployment reached several thousand more than when Roosevelt was elected in 1932. This was not Hoover’s Depression but Roosevelt’s Depression. Voices began to speak up suggesting after all Hoover may have known what he was doing, but here, nine years after the Depression began the fundamental condition of the country was no further advanced than it was at the end of Hoover's three year struggle with it.&lt;br /&gt;
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Making provision for war increased business profits.  In 1936 Roosevelt had said, &amp;quot;If we face the choice of profits or peace, the nation will answer – must answer - 'We choose peace'.  It is the duty of all of us to encourage such a body of public opinion in this country that the answer will be clear.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Getting Us into War'', Porter Sargent Publisher: P. Sargent, Boston, 1941. [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=/PDFsml_AD/Getting_Us_Into_War-Porter_Sargent-1941-640pgs-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=218&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 ''No More Millionaires''], pg. 372 pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  By 1938 Roosevelt embarked on a massive defense appropriations buildup; the Administration would advance 30% to a defense contractor when placing an order. The National City Bank reported an increase of overall business profits in the year 1939 over 1938 of 63.6%, and in its December 1940 Bulletin showed for 284 companies &amp;quot;directly affected by war and defense program&amp;quot; a rise of 79.2%. The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported, &amp;quot;Betterment in profits was naturally more pronounced, as a rule, in those industries benefiting directly or indirectly from the European conflict.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Wall Street Journal'', May 3, 1940.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Curtiss-Wright Aircraft]], to enlarge its plant, received a loan of $92 million at 4%. [[I. F. Stone]] of ''[[The Nation]]'' magazine wrote, &lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Offered as a non-recourse loan . . . the government would have no claim against the Wright company if it failed to repay the loan. All the government could do in that case would be to take the factory. Since the plant would be financed entirely by the government, the government would really be taking back its own property if the Wright company for some reason wanted to drop it. ...The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported on August 2 that while the loan was for $92,000,000, 'the cost of the proposed plant and its equipment is understood to be only $37,000,000 or $38,000,000'. When asked by the ''Journal'' correspondent about 'this apparent discrepancy', Jesse Jones said, 'We don't believe it would be in the public interest to break down that total at this time'....As this is being written, the Wright contract has yet to be signed.  The company is now asking for five-year amortization instead of eight.  Incidentally, a vice-president of this finicky company, T. P. Wright, was assigned to the Defense Commission on June 8 to help speed up production&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Defense Commission was the same commission that would determine and approve the terms of the loan.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Getting Us into War'', Sargent, 1941, pg. 433.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; ''PM'' noted &amp;quot;For an $18,000,000 plant to command a $92,000,000 credit from any bank, including a federal one, may make financiers blink, but that is what has been arranged&amp;quot;. The Curtiss-Wright loan was only a little over five times the value of the plant. But Boeing Aircraft, with a plant worth $3,000,000 was awarded a loan of $32,000,000, more than ten times. And Boeing was to own it in five years.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Roger Ingersoll, ''PM'', August. 9, 1940.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== Third Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
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It is fairly certain that early in 1939, if not a little sooner, FDR made up his mind to seek a third election in the [[United States presidential election, 1940|presidential election of 1940]].  FDR realized the political difficulties involved in a third nomination so he wanted to make it appear as a &amp;quot;draft Roosevelt&amp;quot; movement. He discussed other candidates with his aids, among the names were Democratic National Committee Chairman [[James Farley]], whom FDR rejected because he was [[Roman Catholic]].  The name of Paul McNutt was urged; FDR was angry McNutt would even permit his name to be discussed. FDR told Farley: &amp;quot;I consider it bad taste on his part to be letting his name be used when he is still a member of my administration.&amp;quot; Roosevelt sent him as High Commissioner to the Philippines and jokingly asked: &amp;quot;Is that far enough?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Roosevelt Myth'', Book 1, Ch. 6, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Seven___The_Third_Term.htm  ''The Third Term''], John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Historian [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]] in her book ''No Ordinary Time'' explored the decision to seek a third time and concludes FDR probably decided to enter the war at the same time he decided to run again, although he was politically unable to enter the war until the [[Japanese]] [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].&lt;br /&gt;
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Administrative Assistants to Roosevelt included [[James Forrestal]], [[Lauchlin Currie]]&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Committee on Un-American Activities, &amp;quot;The Shameful Years: Thirty Years of Soviet Espionage in the United States,&amp;quot; 82d Congress, 2d Session, 1951, pp. 15-17; [http://www.counterintelligencetraining.com/BK/ci_centre_bibliography.htm Required Reading List for Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Security Professionals,]The Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, Alexandria, VA.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and [[David K. Niles]]. Their function was &amp;quot;to get, information and to condense and summarize it for [Roosevelt's] use.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt and Hopkins : An Intimate History'', Robert E. Sherwood, New York Harper and Brothers, 1948, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&amp;amp;photo=/PDFsml_AD/Roosevelt_and_Hopkins-An_Intimate_History-Robert_E_Sherwood-1948-1034pgs-GOV-POL.sml.pdf&amp;amp;id=252&amp;amp;PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pg. 226] pdf.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Forrestal later was to jump from a 16th story window of Bethesda Naval Hospital psychiatric ward. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People'', John Loftus and Mark Aarons, New York : St.Martin's Press, 1994. [http://yamaguchy.netfirms.com/vegyes_/secretwar_06.rtf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Currie and Niles were to be found working for the [[KGB]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Uncovering Stalin's Spies'' Julius W. Friend, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, (2000) Vol. 13 No. 3, pgs. 381 - 384. [http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/index/UN1VH8U16UMXEFGF.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00039.cfm ''The Venona Story''], Robert L. Benson, Center for Cryptological History, National Security Agency.  One of the special reports issued in July 1948 (1948 was a presidential election year) gives the earliest translation found that mentions friends of [[David Niles]], an important advisor to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, &amp;quot;will arrange anything for a bribe.&amp;quot;  Venona message 786 New York KGB to Moscow, 1 June 1944, [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/releases/01_Jun_1944_R3_m1_p1.gif pg. 1], [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/releases/01_Jun_1944_R3_m1_p2.gif pg. 2]).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Currie alerted his KGB controllers that &amp;quot;the United States was on the verge of breaking the Soviet code.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors'',  Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, Washington, DC, Regnery, 2000, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC&amp;amp;pg=PA27&amp;amp;lpg=PA27&amp;amp;dq=lauchlin+currie+break+code&amp;amp;source=web&amp;amp;ots=Yj2NHYwgxB&amp;amp;sig=sbZ3789Tz0jd7xPRiC6EEdeuJ48 pg. 27.] Herbert Romerstein was the Chief, Office to Counter Soviet Disinformation and Active Measures, U.S. Information Agency from (1983-1989), Staff member, U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (1978-1983), and Minority Chief Investigator, House Committee on Internal Security (1971-1975). [http://www.iwp.edu/faculty/facultyID.9/profile.asp]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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=== Commander in Chief === &lt;br /&gt;
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[[John P. Davies]] was assigned to Gen. [[Joseph Stilwell]] as Stilwell's adviser in China. Hopkins made a note at the time: &amp;quot;The President indicated his strong dissatisfaction with the way the whole show was running in China. He stated that Stillwell obviously hated the Chinese and that his cablegrams are sarcastic about the Chinese and this feeling is undoubtedly known to the Generalissimo.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 739.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Roosevelt and Hopkins biographer [[Robert Sherwood]] wrote that Gen. [[George C. Marshall]] told Hopkins his only serious disagreement with&lt;br /&gt;
Hopkins was on the issue of Stilwell. Sherwood adds that &amp;quot;he was unquestionably a serious nuisance to Roosevelt and there were many times when he was on the verge of recalling him.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 740.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Roosevelt was determined to help [[England]] against [[Germany]] and at one point [[Winston Churchill]] even moved into the [[White House]] while [[Britain]] was at war.  Roosevelt said in May 1941:  &amp;quot;You know I am a juggler, and I never let my right hand know what my left hand does ... I may have one policy for Europe and one diametrically opposite for North and South America. I may be entirely inconsistent, and furthermore I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help win the war.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/05/deception_for_country_not_for.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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On May 19, 1942, pressured by Communist union officials of the American Communications Association, [[CIO]], Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, informed Rear Admiral Adolphus Staton that Communist radio operators were not to be removed from their ships. Less than six months earlier, Congress, with the lone dissenting vote of [[Vito Marcantonio]], enacted Public Law 351, which authorized the Secretary of the Navy to have all radio operators with a [[subversion (political)|subversive]] background taken off their ships. Rear Admiral Staton had recommended the removal of a number of Communists. In the presence of Rear Admiral S. C. Hooper and others, Knox instructed Rear Admiral Staton &amp;quot;that, in the opinion of the President, membership or suspected membership in the CPUSA was not sufficient to deprive a radio operator of his job.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''America's Tragedy-Today'', Major Hamilton A.  Long, (NY: Post Printing), pgs. 15-25.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Expounding a memorandum bearing President Roosevelt's initials, Knox brushed aside the objections of Staton and Hooper, declaring that the order came from the President himself. Because the presidential command defied the law of the land, it was not put into writing. Consequently, the Communist radio operators returned to their ships and Rear Admirals Hooper and Staton were put on the inactive list.&lt;br /&gt;
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Stalin publicly disbanded the [[Comintern]] in 1943. A Moscow message to all stations on 12 September 1943, message number 142, relating to this event is one of the most interesting and historically important messages &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00008.cfm Venona 142(a) Moscow to Canberra 12 September 1943]. Text reads: &amp;quot;change in circumstances - and in particular the dissolution of the [[Comintern]] - necessitates a change in the method used by the workers of our residencies to keep in touch with the leaders of the local [[Communist_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America#Secret_apparatus|Communist]] organizations on intelligence matters. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
2. Our workers, by continuing to meet the leader of the Communists, are exposing themselves to danger and are giving cause [''orgs of''] local authorities to suspect that the Comintern is still in existence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
3. We propose: &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
a. That personal contact with leaders of the local Communist organizations should cease and that Communist material should not be accepted for forwarding to the Comintern. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
b. That meetings of our workers may take place only with special reliable undercover [ZAKONSPIRIROVANNYJ] contacts of the Communist [D% organizations], who are not suspected by the [''orgs of''] local authorities, exclusively about specific aspects of our intelligence work (acquiring [1 group unidentified] contacts, leads [NAVODKI], rechecking of those who are being cultivated, etc.). For each meeting it is necessary to obtain our consent. &amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Representative of the Soviet Union.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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No. 4084 &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Lt. Gen. [[P.M. Fitin]]. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Notes: [a] This message is known to have been sent also to NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, and OTTAWA.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; in the entire corpus of [[VENONA]] translations. This message clearly discloses the [[KGB]]'s connection to the Comintern and to the national Communist parties. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Counterintelligence Reader'', National Counterintelligence Center, United States,  [http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci2/2ch4_a.htm Vol. 2, Ch. 4], n.d.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Shortly afterwards Rear Admiral Staton, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, was asked to testify before the Cox Committee of House of Representatives on the [[White House]] efforts to protect Communists in the Armed Forces. Staton complied in executive session. Before he could appear in public hearings, [[Adlai Stevenson]], assistant to Secretary Knox, instructed him that &amp;quot;there were White House orders&amp;quot; forbidding him to testify. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777835,00.html ''Cox's Circus''], Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 19, 1943.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By that time Counter-Intelligence officers had obtained irrefutable proof that the CPUSA had developed an extensive plan to abolish the Armed Forces' counter-subversive system. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt himself was responsible for the order of January 1, 1944 which abolished the entire setup of the Counter-Intelligence Corps in the [[War Department]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  On February 19 the War Department issued the order which purposely disorganized the counter-subversive  reporting system of the Armed Forces. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pg. 13&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  On May 19, the day after learning of the secret order to destroy the War Department records on subversives, Senator [[StyIes Bridges]], a member of the Military Affairs Committee, demanded an explanation from Secretary of War [[Henry Stimson]]. Lieutenant General McNarney, Army Chief of Staff deputy, was &amp;quot;vague, evasive and obstructive.&amp;quot; Bridges told McNarney &amp;quot;he could forgive an officer who makes a mistake or loses a battle, but that an officer who betrays the security of his country should be taken out and shot.&amp;quot;  McNarney admitted the order had been issued from &amp;quot;higher authority.&amp;quot; After much wrangling, Secretary Stimson in a letter of May 27 promised to prevent the destruction of records on subversives. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Long, op.cit., pgs. 28-31.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The War Department, on December 30, 1944, issued a secret order which expressly condoned &amp;quot;divided loyalty&amp;quot; and established as a guiding rule that &amp;quot;the subversive-suspect should be given the benefit of all reasonable doubt.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Big Three conferences===&lt;br /&gt;
:''See also '''[[Teheran conference]]'''''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the [[Teheran conference]] it was secretly agreed to let the Soviet Union have not only eastern Poland but also part of Finland, the Baltic States and parts of Romania. It was secretly agreed to support the Yugoslav Communist, [[Joseph Broz Tito]], and desert the pro-Western, anti-totalitarian friend, General Mihailovich.  Roosevelt told a joint session of Congress upon his return to the United States that no secret arrangements had been made. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:''See also '''[[Yalta conference]]'''''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the [[Yalta conference]] a [[reparations]] commission was set up. The Soviet Union wanted the amount to be 20 billion dollars of which the USSR would take half. It was agreed that labor might be taken as a possible source of reparations. This was a way of authorizing the seizure of human beings to work as [[slave]]s and is the basis of the crime perpetrated after hostilities ceased to which Franklin Roosevelt agreed. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Speaking Frankly'', James F. Byrnes, New York: Harper &amp;amp; Bros., 1947, p. 29.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt also agreed at Yalta to have all fugitive Soviet nationals or citizens of satellite nations and tens of thousands of [[POW]]'s who elected to stay this side of the [[Iron Curtain]], returned to the Soviet Union. This was in contravention of the Geneva Convention.  The ''Saturday Evening Post'' commented:&lt;br /&gt;
{{Cquote|With this shameful agreement as their authority, Russian [[KGB|MVD]] agents strode through the displaced-persons camps after the war and put the finger on thousands who had managed to escape the Soviet tyranny. These miserable victims were herded into boxcars and driven back to death, torture or the slow murder of the Siberian mines and forests. Many killed themselves on the way. Also under a Yalta agreement, the Russians were permitted to use German prisoners in forced labor as an item in 'reparations account.' For such inhumanities there is no excuse.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Saturday Evening Post'', Editorial, April 11, 1953, pg. 12.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt not only made agreements secret from the American people but secret from his closest advisers in the government. He made agreements with Stalin hostile to the objectives of Churchill and kept secret from Churchill. He made secret agreements with [[Chiang Kai-shek]] secret from both Churchill and Stalin. He made secret agreements in derogation of Chiang Kai-shek's interests without Chiang Kai-shek's knowledge. And he made many secret agreements which no one in the U.S. State Department knew about until after his death and then learned about only at embarrassing moments from Soviet Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 13, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Thirteen___The_Final_Bet.htm ''The Final Betrayal''], Flynn, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fourth Term ==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Fbisilvermasterfilevol15p4.JPG|right|250px|thumb|CPUSA defector [[Louis Budenz]] testified he could name 400 individuals involved in the [[CPUSA#Secret_apparatus|Communist conspiracy]]; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft296nb15t&amp;amp;chunk.id=d0e6193&amp;amp;toc.depth=1&amp;amp;toc.id=d0e4718&amp;amp;brand=eschol FBI Headquarters File 100-63, Louis Francis Budenz, Internal Security—C, Serial 122.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; others testified there may have been over 1000.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations ([http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/McCarthy_Transcripts.htm McCarthy Hearings 1953-54]).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The Silvermaster group had 27 high level infiltrators still employed in the US government well after the War ended.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster015.pdf  FBI Silvermaster file Vol. 15, pg. 4 pdf.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
]]&lt;br /&gt;
In February 1944 Congress rejected Roosevelt's demand for a $10,500,000,000 tax increase and cut it to $2,300,000,000. Roosevelt vetoed it saying this was a &amp;quot;bill not for relief of the needy but of the greedy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Senator [[Alben Barkley]], Democratic leader, rose on the floor of the Senate to say the veto was &amp;quot;a calculated and deliberate assault upon the legislative integrity of every member of Congress.&amp;quot; The entire Senate united in a roar of applause. Barkley declared that after seven years of carrying the [[New Deal]] banner for Roosevelt, he would resign his post as Democratic majority leader and he called on every member of the Congress to preserve its self respect and override the veto. The Senate overrode it 72 to 14 and the House 299 to 95. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the [[Comintern]] was disbanded Roosevelt was offered the nomination of the [[Communist]] dominated [[American Labor Party]] and he had accepted their nomination in the [[Presidential election of 1944]].  It was 825,000 votes from  [[Earl Browder]] and [[Sidney Hillman]]'s American Labor Party that gave him his majority. His administration was now the hopeless prisoner of these demanding and ruthless radical labor leaders,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 12, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Twelve___The_Atlantic_Ch.htm ''The Atlantic Charter Is Scrapped''], Flynn, 1948.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; who had shown their ability to elect or defeat the Democratic party, who had filled all the departments and bureaus with their agents and who had insinuated their experts into the CIO labor unions and their propagandists into the radio, the movies and all the great instruments of communication and opinion - a fact which Mr. Roosevelt's successors would have to face when the war ended. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.archive.org/web/20060820054409/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/review/2000/summer/re2-su0.htm ''The Venona Progeny''], Hayen B. Peake, Naval War College Review, Summer 2000, Vol. LIII, No. 3. &amp;quot;[[Venona]] makes absolutely clear that they had active agents in the U.S. State Department, Treasury Department, Justice Department, Senate committee staffs, the military services, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the [[Manhattan Project]], and the [[White House]], as well as wartime agencies. No modern government was more thoroughly penetrated.&amp;quot; [[Hayden B. Peake]] is the curator of [[Central Intelligence Agency]]’s (CIA) Historical Intelligence Collection. [http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/P_folder/peake.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So thorough was [[KGB]] penetration of the Roosevelt Administration, that when [[Army Signals Intelligence]] cryptographer [[Meredith Gardner]] extracted the names of [[Hans Bethe]], [[Niels Bohr]], [[Enrico Fermi]], [[Harold Urey]], [[Edward Teller]] and 11 other scientists working on the [[Manhattan Project]] from a December 2, 1944 KGB encypherment,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00014.cfm Venona 1699 New York to Moscow, December 2, 1944].&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; KGB agent [[William Weisband]] watched him do it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;VENONA: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1957, Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., (Washington, D.C.: [[National Security Agency]], Central Intelligence Agency, 1996) [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/preface.htm]; The ''Baltimore Sun'' (Laura Sullivan, &amp;quot;SPY'S ROLE LINKED TO US FAILURE ON KOREA,&amp;quot; 6/29/00) reported that a report newly declassified by the US National Security Agency (NSA) shows that [[William Weisband]] alerted the Soviets to extensive US eavesdropping in 1948, resulting in a complete blackout of information from the communist bloc for more than two years. This crippled the NSA's intelligence gathering efforts in the late 1940s and begins to explain why the US was caught unprepared for the [[DPRK]]'s 1950 invasion of the [[ROK]]. NSA historian David A. Hatch, who authored the report, said, &amp;quot;This report answers several significant questions. Up until now, there has been a great lack of knowledge surrounding some of these events ... and this should help sharpen [the public's] understanding.&amp;quot; [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news service for June 29, 2000.] [http://www.nautilus.org/archives/napsnet/dr/0006/JUN29.html#item8] &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Strom Thurmond]] also supported FDR's decision to seek a fourth term, and referred to Roosevelt as having been the world’s greatest leader. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.kevinbaker.info/c_wtm.html What Trent Meant], Kevin Baker.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Reflections on Christianity ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR said this about the Bible in an address on October 6, 1935: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the [[Bible]] has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Quoted in DeMar, ''The Untold Story'', p. 60 and Gabrial Sivan, ''The Bible and Civilization'' (New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., 1973), p. 178.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
FDR became famous for delivering &amp;quot;fireside chats&amp;quot; over the new medium of [[radio]], and on March 9, 1937 he declared: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;I hope that you have re-read the [[United States Constitution| Constitution]] of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be read again and again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While running for his third time in a Brooklyn speech, Roosevelt said,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;I am certain that the rank and file of patriotic Republicans do not realize the nature of this threat. They should remember, and we must remember, what the collaborative understanding between Communism and Nazism has done to the processes of democracy abroad...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Those forces hate democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization. They oppose democracy because it is Christian. They oppose Christianity because it preaches democracy. Their objective is to prevent democracy from becoming strong. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''Roosevelt and Hopkins'', Sherwood, 1948, pgs. 193-194 (pgs. 211 - 212 pdf).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As [[World War II]] broke out in Europe, FDR warned:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:&amp;quot;Those forces hate [[Democracy]] and [[Christianity]] as two phases of the same civilization.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The following year, on May 27, 1941, FDR stated in one of his radio addresses: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:The Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In his second inaugural address, FDR pledged to do his utmost by 'seeking Divine guidance.' He took that mission further on January 25, 1941, when he wrote a personal prologue to a special edition of the [[New Testament]], which was distributed to millions of U.S. soldiers. 'As Commander-in-Chief,' Roosevelt wrote, 'I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States.' He believed that all American soldiers should have the opportunity to read the words of [[Christ]] in preparing for battle. Once, when joining those soldiers aboard a warship with Winston Churchill, FDR asked the crew and prime minister to join him in singing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' In his final inaugural address, FDR affirmed, &amp;quot;So we pray to Him for the vision to see our way clearly ... to achievement of His will.' &amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 176&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When American soldiers were landing on the beaches of Normandy, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer during a radio broadcast. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum,  [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odddayp.html Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer], June 6, 1944.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Legacy==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Dcrosmor.jpg|right|thumb|330px]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt is an admired but still hotly debated president. Many credit Roosevelt with helping the United States survive the Great Depression and with providing solid leadership during World War II. Others, especially conservatives, assert that he uselessly expanded the welfare state, abused executive powers, and badly botched diplomacy before and during World War II.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Roosevelt's image now appears on the [[Dime]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See also==&lt;br /&gt;
*[[New Ordeal]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Michael Whitney Straight]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Further reading==&lt;br /&gt;
*Charles Maclaurin, ''Post Mortem'' and ''Mere Mortals'' (New York: Doran, 1923, 1925).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;small&amp;gt;{{reflist|2}}&amp;lt;/small&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External Links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;small&amp;gt;* [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=176 &amp;quot;The Mythology of Roosevelt and the New Deal,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.onpower.org/history_greatdepression.html/ Great Depression]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=12&amp;amp;articleID=139 &amp;quot;On the Brink of World War II: Justus Doenecke’s ''Storm on the Horizon'',&amp;quot; by Ralph Raico]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/working_papers/article.asp?id=1499 &amp;quot;Government and the Economy: The World Wars,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=113 &amp;quot;How War Amplified Federal Power in the Twentieth Century,&amp;quot; by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=65 ''Depression, War and Cold War'', by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=138 &amp;quot;Wartime Prosperity?&amp;quot;, by Robert Higgs]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/issues/article.asp?id=1431 Pearl Harbor]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1468 FDR: The Man, the Leader, the Legacy], Ralph Raico, Future of Freedom Foundation, April 1, 2001. Retrieved from The Independent Institute.org 06/17/07.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/small&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{USPresidents}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Franklin D.}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:World War II]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Democratic Party]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=512112</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=512112"/>
		<updated>2008-09-07T17:24:51Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */ The atomic theory was old, but doubters existed among scientists&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2007, NASA reported early results from their satellite Gravity Probe B, confirming 'to a precision of better than 1 per cent' Einstein's assertion that large objects such as the Earth distort the fabric of space and time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2057529,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The Gravity Probe B project, a joint mission between NASA and Stanford University, used the most precise gyroscopes ever manufactured to detect minute distortions in the fabric of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped confirm the atomic theory at a time when it was in doubt.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society said: 'From the most esoteric aspects of time dilation through to the beautiful and simple equation, E=mc², the vast bulk of Einstein's ideas about the universe are standing up to the test of time,'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=512109</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=512109"/>
		<updated>2008-09-07T17:22:58Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: This was pretty accurate&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2007, NASA reported early results from their satellite Gravity Probe B, confirming 'to a precision of better than 1 per cent' Einstein's assertion that large objects such as the Earth distort the fabric of space and time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2057529,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The Gravity Probe B project, a joint mission between NASA and Stanford University, used the most precise gyroscopes ever manufactured to detect minute distortions in the fabric of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped prove the atomic theory at a time when it was in doubt.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society said: 'From the most esoteric aspects of time dilation through to the beautiful and simple equation, E=mc², the vast bulk of Einstein's ideas about the universe are standing up to the test of time,'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not prove that matter was made of atoms. That had been known for a century when Einstein published his 1905 paper on Brownian motion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=508078</id>
		<title>Albert Einstein</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&amp;diff=508078"/>
		<updated>2008-08-31T19:48:24Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Pluto: /* Works */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anecdotes==&lt;br /&gt;
*IN 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down. The young man, the Institute declared, &amp;quot;showed no promise&amp;quot; as a student. By 1905, he had formulated his special [[theory of relativity]]. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*Einstein came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would require for his study. he replied: &amp;quot;A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://oaks.nvg.org/sa5ra17.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*THE SCULPTOR Jacob Epstein tells this story:&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his theory of relativity in a book.&lt;br /&gt;
*:&amp;quot;Were I wrong,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;one professor would have been enough.&amp;quot; [ibid]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Works ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].  &lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, resulting in [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Eddington popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test.  Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919.  Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;On November 8, 1919, for example, the ''London Times'' had an article headlined: &amp;quot;The Revolution In Science/Einstein Versus Newton.&amp;quot; Two days later, ''The New York Times''' headlines read: &amp;quot;Lights All Askew In The Heavens/Men Of Science More Or Less Agog Over Results Of Eclipse Observations/Einstein Theory Triumphs.&amp;quot; [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result.  No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In April 2007, NASA reported early results from their satellite Gravity Probe B, confirming 'to a precision of better than 1 per cent' Einstein's assertion that large objects such as the Earth distort the fabric of space and time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2057529,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The Gravity Probe B project, a joint mission between NASA and Stanford University, used the most precise gyroscopes ever manufactured to detect minute distortions in the fabric of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein compared the effects of large objects on space and time to the way that a large ball placed on a sheet of rubber stretches the material and causes it to sag, and drew the analogy with the way stars and planets warp space-time. A smaller ball rolling along the sagging fabric will be drawn towards the larger ball, in the same way that the Earth is drawn towards the sun, but will not fall into it as long as it continues to move at sufficient speed. This was a change in thinking from the Newtonian cosmos, in which gravity was viewed purely as an attractive force between bodies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein's statistical explanation of Brownian motion (the random movement of microscopic particles mixed in with pollen) helped prove the atomic theory at a time when it was in doubt.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay-brownian.htm Einstein on Brownian Motion]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society said: 'From the most esoteric aspects of time dilation through to the beautiful and simple equation, E=mc², the vast bulk of Einstein's ideas about the universe are standing up to the test of time,'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;===&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The connection E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Cosmological Constant===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a 'fudge-factor' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Edwin Hubble]], in whose name [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named, later convinced him otherwise.  At one point he had Einstein actually making direct observations alongside him, and Hubble's findings showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed expanding, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant.  Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He later said of his Cosmological Constant, &amp;quot;It was the biggest blunder of my life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an accelerating expansion for the universe&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the phenomenon the 'Cosmological Constant' as well.  For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Writings ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Special Theory of Relativity (1905)&lt;br /&gt;
*Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950) &lt;br /&gt;
*General Theory of Relativity (1916) &lt;br /&gt;
*Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926) &lt;br /&gt;
*The Evolution of Physics (1938) &lt;br /&gt;
*About Zionism (1930)&lt;br /&gt;
*Why War? (1933), &lt;br /&gt;
*My Philosophy (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*(The World As I See It) (1934)&lt;br /&gt;
*Out of My Later Years (1950)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
''...the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Honors ==&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many American and European universities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the Photoelectric Effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein told a friend in 1930, &amp;quot;To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue38/einstein.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He gained the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925 and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#president]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but respectfully declined because he believed his life-long scientific attitude of objectivity made him an inappropriate candidate for such a high political position, he was also strongly opposed to nationalism. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1999, he was named &amp;quot;Person of the Century&amp;quot; by &amp;quot;Time&amp;quot; magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein and the A-bomb==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1939 research done by several leading scientists including [[Enrico Fermi]] regarding chain reactions of nuclear fission prompted [[Leo Szilard]] to persuade Einstein to write a letter to President &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[Roosevelt]] [http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, to warn the President about the possibility of nuclear weapons and that Nazi [[Germany]] had already taken an interest in this technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein himself had never been involved in the [[Manhattan project]]. He was considered a security risk, as he was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937 and 1954.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Later he condemned the use of nuclear weapons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Controversy Surrounding His Death==&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein in the [[Princeton Medical Center]] several hours after his death.  Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and eyes &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.  There is controversy about whether or not Harvey had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it, though letters from Otto Nathan, executer of the Einstein estate, suggest that Harvey did indeed have permission to keep the brain, as long as research performed on it was only described in scientific journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied.  Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as &amp;quot;genius&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remained with Harvey for over 40 years. His once-ambitious plans for doing research on Einstein's brain were never actualized, though there were at least two controversial studies performed which suggested a physical reason for Einstein's intellegence. In 1996 Harvey entrusted Elliot Krauss, cheif [[pathologist]] at the Princeton Medical Center, with the brain. The brain now sits in a secret location, possibly only a few feet away from where it was first removed from Einstein's head. Krauss loans out pieces of the brain for scientific research, but he is very discriminating in deciding whom shall receive a piece.  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Abraham, Carolyn. ''Possessing Genius''. Icon Books Ltd (2005)&amp;lt;/reF&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Religious views==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einstein inshul1930.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein wearing a kippah in a Berlin Synagogue, 1930.|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
There is some controversy surrounding the religion of Albert Einstein.  &lt;br /&gt;
He explained his religious views to [[Time Magazine]] in this manner: &amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;“I'm not an [[atheist]]. I don't think I can call myself a [[pantheist]]. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1607298,00.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein also said &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fanatical atheists, are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who--in their grudge against traditional religion as the 'opium of the masses'-- cannot hear the music of the spheres.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;God does not play dice with the universe.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/878&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind&amp;quot; &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264738&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;as quoted in &amp;quot;Albert Einstein - The Human Side&amp;quot;, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press, 1979 from a letter on March 24th, 1954&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Taken as a whole, it appears Einstein rejected the literal stories of God's personal involvement with the Hebrews, but he did believe in the existence of a higher power.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Views On Judaism and Zionism==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Einst 22.jpg|right|thumb|Einstein with [[David Ben-Gurion]].|300px]]&lt;br /&gt;
In 1920, in a letter to the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am neither a German citizen, nor is there in me anything that can be described as ‘Jewish faith.’ But I am happy to belong to the Jewish people, even if I do not consider them in any way God's elect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein do not view fellow Jews as co-religionists, but as tribal companions.&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was made an honorary citizen of [[Tel Aviv]] during his visit in 1923.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1952, Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel by the 1st prime minster of [[Israel]] David Ben-Gurion, but declined the offer.  Before his death in 1955, Einstein wrote to the Zionist leader Kurt Blumenfeld:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thank you, even at this late hour, for having made me conscious of the Jewish soul.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein willed that all his scholarly work be archieved in Israel's Hebrew University after his death.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever his views on Zionism were, Einstein has always expressed his anti-war views and staunchly opposed nationalism:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;&amp;quot;He who joyfully marches to rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so a base of action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Einstein on Germany and the rise of Hitler==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1944, in a message to a bulletin run by Polish Jews in New York, Einstein wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The Germans as an entire people are responsible for the mass murders and must be punished as a people if there is justice in the world and if the consciousness of collective responsibility in the nations is not to perish from the earth entirely. Behind the Nazi party stands the German people, who elected Hitler after he had in his book [Mein Kampf] and in his speeches made his shameful [genocidal] intentions clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== False attributions == &lt;br /&gt;
Many ideas and quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. He did not invent very much of we now call [[special relativity]]. The Principle of Relativity, that the law of physics should be the same in all inertial frames, had already been published before Einstein.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408077]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the [[Lorentz transformation]], or the Lorentz invariance of [[Maxwell's equations]] for electromagnetism.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002307/]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to propose that the [[speed of ligh]]t is constant for all observers, or that &amp;quot;[[the aether]]&amp;quot; is superfluous and not observable.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Lost in Einstein's Shadow, American Scientist, 2006. [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49611/page/1]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He was not the first to recognize and explain how special relativity causes an ambiguity in defining simultaneity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.everythingimportant.org/relativity/Poincare.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not combine space and time into a four-dimensional [[spacetime]] in his special relativity papers until others had been doing it for a couple of years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein was not the first to observe the equation E=mc&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;H. Poincare published it in 1900. [http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ein.htm]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; as a consequence of special relativity, or to foresee its application to [[nuclear binding]] energies or [[antimatter]] annihilation. He did not foresee a nuclear [[chain reaction]] and had to be persuaded about the possibility of an [[atomic bomb]]. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein did not originate the idea of using [[metric tensor]]s to reconcile gravity with special relativity.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/DepPhilo/walter/papers/b4.pdf] It was not his idea to describe gravity in [[covariant equations]], and he published papers supposedly showing that it was impossible.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/decades_re-set.pdf]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He did not discover the Lagrangian formulation of [[general relativity]], and was not the first to publish the field equations. He did not foresee the [[expansion of the universe]] (although this expansion is consistent with the field equations), the possibility of black holes, or [[dark energy]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Einstein never developed a [[unified field theory]] of any significance. He published papers on [[quantum mechanics]], but always insisted on a deterministic interpretation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Many quotes are falsely attributed to Einstein. Here are a few. &amp;quot;If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We use only 10% of our brains.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Evil is simply the absence of God.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Originality is the art of concealing your sources.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;!-- please show location of quotes attributed to Einstein and who said them if they are to be attributed to another individual --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
{{reflist|2}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921&amp;quot;[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?&amp;quot;[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf&lt;br /&gt;
*Michael Paterniti, &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein&amp;quot; [http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html]&lt;br /&gt;
*&amp;quot;Confusion regarding Einstein's Religion&amp;quot;[http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2004/04/confusion.html]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Albert}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physicists]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:German People]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Pluto</name></author>
	</entry>
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