1.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
2.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
3.
Florida's 8th congressional district
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NOTE, This districts boundaries were changed in 2016. This map is not presently accurate, Floridas 8th congressional district is an electoral district for the U. S. Congress and was reassigned in 2012, effective January 2013, from inland central Florida to the central Atlantic coast. The district includes all of Brevard County, as well as all of Indian River County, currently, the residents of the Eighth District are represented by Republican Bill Posey who has held the seat since 2013. Incumbent Republican Bill McCollum won over Democrat Chuck Kovaleski, McCollum, who previous served in FL-5 since 1981, was shifted to the 8th District after the redistricting. Incumbent Republican Bill McCollum ran unopposed in the mid-terms and his re-election was part of the 1994 Republican Revolution. Incumbent Republican Bill McCollum won easily over progressive Democrat and actor Al Krulick, incumbent McCollum faced Krulick for the second time. McCollum won 66%-34%, an identical margin from 1996. He won his seat for the tenth time, despite some minor losses in the midterm for the GOP, McCollum was among the 15 Florida Republican incumbents who all won re-election. Twenty year veteran Republican incumbent Bill McCollum retired from the seat, the open seat in District 8 would be fought between former Orange County Commission Chairwoman Linda Chapin and attorney Ric Keller. Keller endured a rough primary, which went to a runoff between himself and state representative Bill Sublette, Sublette had received the most votes in the September 5th primary, but not enough to avoid a runoff. On October 3rd, Keller flipped the results, and won the two-man primary 51. 94%-48. 06%, Chapin quickly raised over $1.4 million in campaign contributions, more than Sublette and Keller combined. In the general election, Chapin touted her public experience over Keller, who was political newcomer, Keller attacked Chapin as anti-gun rights, and for a record of fiscal irresponsibility. He famously cited her spending of $18,500 in county funds for a sculpture of a frog. Keller narrowly won the traditionally republican-leaning district by a margin of 51% to 49%, after the 2001 Congressional re-apportionment, Floridas 8th District was redistricted from a near equal representation to one that included seven percent more Republicans than Democrats. Keller readily won the 2002 Congressional election against Democrat Eddie Diaz, in 2004 Keller won his third term with 60% of the vote against Democratic challenger Stephen Murray. In the 2006 election, Ric Keller was elected to his fourth term, defeating Democrat Charlie Stuart, Independent Wes Hoaglund. Keller managed to hold on to his seat in the midst of a Democratic wave that was swept the country that November, Keller had been slipping in popularity, winning by lower margins in two consecutive elections. He also had been mildly lampooned by local media with the nickname Cheeseburger Ric, for introducing the Cheeseburger Bill to the floor in 2003
4.
Florida's 15th congressional district
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NOTE, This districts boundaries were changed in 2016. This map is not presently accurate, the district includes many of the eastern suburbs of Tampa including Brandon, Plant City, Lakeland and Bartow. From 2003–2012, the prior 15th district contained most of Brevard County south of the city of Cocoa, all of Indian River County, most of Osceola County, the district took in the cities of Kissimmee, Melbourne and Vero Beach, and Patrick Air Force Base. The district is represented by Republican Dennis A. Ross. As of January 2017, there are three members of the U. S. House of Representatives from Floridas 15th congressional district who are currently living at this time. The most recent representative to die was E. Clay Shaw Jr. on September 10,2013,2008 Race Tracker Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
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Dave Weldon
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David Dave Joseph Weldon is an American politician and physician. S. Weldon was born on Long Island, New York to Anna and Dave Weldon and his father was a combat-decorated World War II veteran. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from SUNY Stony Brook in 1978 and he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha. Weldon served in the United States Army from 1981 to 1987 and he practiced as a physician in Florida after becoming an MD. 1994 Weldon decided to run in Floridas 15th congressional district, vacated by Democratic U. S and he was one of seven Republicans to file for the primary. On September 8, he ranked first with 24% of the vote, in the October 4 run-off election, he defeated Carole Jean Jordan 54–46%. In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Sue Munsey 54–46%,1996 Won re-election to a second term defeating John L. Byron 51–43%. 1998 Won re-election to a term with 63% of the vote. 2000 Won re-election to a term with 59% of the vote. 2002 Won re-election to a term with 63% of the vote. 2004 Won re-election to a term with 65% of the vote. 2006 Former presidential candidate Bob Bowman, a Democrat, challenged Weldon in 2006, the incumbent raised significantly more campaign funds than Bowman. By the end of September, Weldons total was $673,321 versus $21,944 for Bowman, Weldon also refused to debate Bowman during the campaign. In the November election, Weldon received 125,596 votes to Bowmans 97,947, Weldon won re-election to a seventh term with 56% of the vote. 2008 On January 25,2008, Dave Weldon claiming He never wanted to be a career politician announced he would not seek an eighth term and he endorsed state Senator Bill Posey to succeed him. In response to the battle over the removal of the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo. Weldon, who has a degree, believed that Schiavo was not in a vegetative state. He supported his belief saying, She responds to stimuli, she attempts to vocalize, she tracks with her eyes, she emotes
6.
Florida Senate
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The Florida Senate is the upper house of the legislature of the U. S. state of Florida. Along with the House of Representatives, it comprises the Florida Legislature, the Senate has 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of about 470,000. The Senate meets at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, senators generally serve four-year terms and are restricted by term limits, barring them from running for re-election if they have served in office for the past eight consecutive years. This ordinarily limits senators to two four-year terms, the Florida Constitution establishes the legislature’s powers and duties, which include passing laws, developing an annual state budget, and making investigations. Additionally, the Senate has the power to try officials impeached by the House. The Senate has its origins in Florida’s territorial period, when the Florida Territorial Council was made bicameral in 1838, the Florida Constitution requires state senators to be elected to staggered, four-year terms. Senators in odd-numbered districts are elected in U. S. presidential election years, while senators in even-numbered districts are elected in midterm election years. However, to reflect the results of the U. S. Census, thus, senators in even-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms in 2012, and senators in odd-numbered districts will be elected to two-year terms in 2022. All terms were truncated again in 2016, with all 40 seats up for election, State senators must be at least 21 years of age, an elector and resident of their electoral district, and a Florida resident for at least two years prior to election. The Florida Constitution authorizes the state legislature to create and amend the laws of the U. S. state of Florida, State senators propose legislation in the forms of bills drafted by a nonpartisan, professional staff. The entire Florida Legislature meets every year in a beginning on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Special sessions may be called either by the governor or by the leaders of both chambers acting jointly
7.
Thad Altman
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Thad Altman is a Republican politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of the Melbourne area in central Brevard County since 2016. Previously, he represented an area in the House from 2003 to 2008. Altman was born in Macon, Georgia in 1955, and moved to Florida in 1957, in 1984, Altman ran for the Brevard County Commission in the 5th District. He faced Eldon Moen, Norm Crank, and J. Preston Silvernail in the Republican primary, and received the most votes, winning 47% of the vote. However, because no candidate won a majority, Altman and the finisher, Moen, competed in a runoff election that Altman won by a wide margin. In the general election, Altman was opposed by Ed Rainis, Altman won his first term in a landslide, winning 61% of the vote to Rainiss 39%. When Altman ran for re-election in 1988, he was opposed by Ed Washburn, a city planner, Washburn attacked Altman for irresponsibly squandering the countys $18 million reserve fund, noting, Theyve mishandled the financial situation. We need to reduce government spending and subsequent tax increases. Altman only narrowly won re-election over Washburn, receiving 52% of the vote to Washburns 48%, the decision to maintain the complex and to not hold a referendum was controversial, and led to Altmans decision not to seek re-election to his County Commission seat in 1992. Instead, Altman ran for Brevard County Supervisor of Elections and he lost in the Republican primary to Fred Galey by a wide margin, winning only 38% of the vote to Galeys 62%. Following his departure from the County Commission, he received a position working in government affairs for the South Brevard Chamber of Commerce and he faced Bob Allen Pat Harrison, David Hobbs, and Mark Cook in the Republican primary. Though Altman ended up placing first in the primary, winning 28% of the vote to Allens 23%, because no candidate won a majority and this time, however, Altman lost to Allen, winning only 45% of the vote to Allens 55%. Following the death of State Senator Howard Futch in 2003, State Representative Mike Haridopolos ran in an election to succeed him. Altman ran in the election to succeed Haridopolos in the 30th District. Altman faced a crowded Republican primary, and was opposed by Ritch Workman, Joe Steckler, Palm Bay Mayor Ed Geier, Eric Boritzki, and Jerry M. Abrams. During the primary, Altman campaigned on his support for management, environmental protection. We need to give teachers the ability to teach to the needs of the students, Altman won the general election convincingly, receiving 72% of the vote to Wechslers 28%. Running for re-election in 2004, Altman was opposed by former West Melbourne City Councilwoman Shirley Bradshaw and he ended up winning re-election by a large margin, receiving 63% of the vote to Bradshaws 37%
8.
Florida House of Representatives
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The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U. S. state of Florida. Along with the Senate, it comprises the Florida Legislature, the House has 120 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of about 157,000. The House meets at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, members serve two-year terms and are restricted by term limits, limiting them to four consecutive two-year terms, but after sitting out one term may run again. The Florida Constitution establishes the powers and duties shared by the House and Senate, which include passing laws, developing a state budget. Additionally, the House has the power to impeach state officials. State representatives are elected to two-year terms during even-numbered years, once elected, representatives are limited to four consecutive terms but can run again after sitting out one election. The entire Florida Legislature meets every year in a beginning on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Special sessions may be called either by the Governor or by the leaders of both chambers acting jointly, the Speaker of the House is elected by the representatives for a two-year term. The Speaker pro tempore presides if the Speaker leaves the Chair or if there is a vacancy
9.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
10.
Republican Party (United States)
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The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, the dominant value during the American Revolution and it was founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854. The Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932, there have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one party. The Republican Partys current ideology is American conservatism, which contrasts with the Democrats more progressive platform, further, its platform involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense, deregulation, and restrictions on labor unions. In addition to advocating for economic policies, the Republican Party is socially conservative. As of 2017, the GOP is documented as being at its strongest position politically since 1928, in addition to holding the Presidency, the Republicans control the 115th United States Congress, having majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures, the main cause was opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise by which slavery was kept out of Kansas. The Northern Republicans saw the expansion of slavery as a great evil, the first public meeting of the general anti-Nebraska movement where the name Republican was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20,1854, in a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. The name was chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jeffersons Republican Party. The first official party convention was held on July 6,1854, in Jackson and it oversaw the preserving of the union, the end of slavery, and the provision of equal rights to all men in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877. The Republicans initial base was in the Northeast and the upper Midwest, with the realignment of parties and voters in the Third Party System, the strong run of John C. Fremont in the 1856 United States presidential election demonstrated it dominated most northern states, early Republican ideology was reflected in the 1856 slogan free labor, free land, free men, which had been coined by Salmon P. Chase, a Senator from Ohio. Free labor referred to the Republican opposition to labor and belief in independent artisans. Free land referred to Republican opposition to the system whereby slaveowners could buy up all the good farm land. The Party strove to contain the expansion of slavery, which would cause the collapse of the slave power, Lincoln, representing the fast-growing western states, won the Republican nomination in 1860 and subsequently won the presidency. The party took on the mission of preserving the Union, and destroying slavery during the American Civil War, in the election of 1864, it united with War Democrats to nominate Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket. The partys success created factionalism within the party in the 1870s and those who felt that Reconstruction had been accomplished and was continued mostly to promote the large-scale corruption tolerated by President Ulysses S. Grant ran Horace Greeley for the presidency. The Stalwarts defended Grant and the system, the Half-Breeds led by Chester A. Arthur pushed for reform of the civil service in 1883
11.
Eastern Florida State College
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Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public state college on Floridas Space Coast, in Brevard County, Florida. A member institution of the Florida College System, it has four campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as an Aerospace program at Kennedy Space Center, since its inception, the college has served more than a half-million students. About 35,000 students take courses annually on the Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne and Palm Bay campuses, in 2010, the college reported 25,000 students enrolled for courses. There were 1,200 employees in 2011, including support personnel, Eastern Florida State College is ranked 19th among more than 1,200 community colleges in the nation in awarding associate degrees. Then called Brevard Junior College, the school opened with 768 students in the fall of 1960 in the former Cocoa High School on Forrest Avenue in Cocoa. At the time, it was segregated, and a separate Carver Junior College for African-American students was opened the same year. The college was renamed Brevard Community College in 1970 when the state of Florida created a system of two-year colleges, in 1966, the enrollment reached 4,335. The college experienced a 51% increase in enrollment for online classes from 2007 to 2010, in September 2012, a professor was placed on paid leave, and an investigation was started, after the professor allegedly made students sign a pledge to vote for Barack Obama. An investigation concluded that the professor violated policies and should be fired, on July 1,2013, it was officially named Eastern Florida State College. It now offers four degrees in health care management and general business management. The college offers nearly 100 degree and certificate programs, including career, in 2009, there were 19.7 students per class, average. Most of EFSCs students take part in its Associate in Arts transfer program, in 2007, EFSC was listed 21st in the nation in the number of AA degrees awarded. The EFSC-UCF partnership also involves the sharing of facilities and services with UCF on EFSCs campuses, the presidents office is on the Melbourne campus. The Registrars Office is on the Cocoa Campus with a main college mailing address for Eastern Florida State College of 1519 Clearlake Rd, Cocoa, there are admissions and advising offices on each of the four campuses. The college is directed by a five-member Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor, the current chair is Alan H. Landman, a Melbourne attorney. Dr. James H. Richey is president of the college, Richey also previously served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. They participate in the Southern Conference of the Florida State College Activities Association, the mens golf program has won seven National Junior College Championships since 1969. The college include the Law Enforcement Academy which trains people for employment in local law enforcement positions, the 2, 000-seat Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts, on the Melbourne campus, offers performances and cultural art events
12.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
13.
McDonnell Douglas
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McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produced a number of commercial and military aircraft such as the DC-10 airliner. The corporation was based at Lambert–St, the company was formed from the firms of James Smith McDonnell and Donald Wills Douglas in 1967. Both men were of Scottish ancestry, graduates of MIT and had worked for the aircraft manufacturer Glenn L. Martin Company, Douglas had been chief engineer at Martin before leaving to establish Davis-Douglas Company in early 1920 in Los Angeles. He bought out his backer and renamed the firm the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1921, McDonnell & Associates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1926. His idea was to produce an aircraft for family use. The economic depression from 1929 ruined his ideas and the company collapsed and he worked at three companies with the final being Glenn Martin Company in 1933. He left Martin in 1938 to try again with his own firm, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, World War II was a major earner for Douglas. The company produced almost 30,000 aircraft from 1942 to 1945, both companies suffered at the end of hostilities, facing an end of government orders and a surplus of aircraft. After the war Douglas continued to new aircraft, including the DC-6 in 1946. The company moved into jet propulsion, producing its first for the military – the conventional F3D Skyknight in 1948, in 1955, Douglas introduced the first attack jet of the United States Navy with the A4D Skyhawk. Designed to operate from the decks of the World War II Essex class aircraft carriers, the Skyhawk was small, reliable, variants of it continued in use in the Navy for almost 50 years, finally serving in large numbers in a two-seat version as a jet trainer. Douglas also made commercial jets, producing the DC-8 in 1958 to compete with the Boeing 707, the Korean War-era Banshee and later the F-4 Phantom II produced during the Vietnam War helped push McDonnell into a major military fighter supply role. Douglas created a series of experimental high-speed jet aircraft in the Skyrocket family, Douglas also gained contracts from NASA, notably for part of the enormous Saturn V rocket. The two companies were now major employers, but both were having problems, Douglas was strained by the cost of the DC-8 and DC-9, while McDonnell suffered lean times during any downturns in military procurement. The two companies began to sound each other out about a merger, inquiries began in 1963, Douglas offered bid invitations from December 1966 and accepted that of McDonnell. The two firms were merged on 28 April 1967 as the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. The two companies were a fit for each other
14.
Delta (rocket family)
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Delta is an American versatile family of expendable launch systems that has provided space launch capability in the United States since 1960. There have been more than 300 Delta rockets launched, with a 95% success rate, two Delta launch systems – Delta II and Delta IV – are still in use, though the Delta II will soon be retired. Delta rockets are manufactured and launched by the United Launch Alliance. The original Delta rockets used a version of the PGM-17 Thor. The Thor had been designed in the mid-1950s to reach Moscow from bases in Britain or similar allied nations, subsequent satellite and space probe flights soon followed, using a Thor first stage with several different upper stages. The fourth upper stage used on the Thor was the Thor Delta, delta being the letter of the Greek alphabet. Eventually the entire Thor-Delta launch vehicle came to be called simply, the Delta name stems from its position as the fourth, or D version, of the Thor based rocket combination. The vehicle has been both as Thor-Delta and simply Delta. NASA intended Delta as a general purpose vehicle to be used for communication, meteorological. The plan was to replace Delta with other rocket designs when they came on-line, pressure fed UDMH/nitric acid powered Aerojet AJ-10-118 engine producing 7,700 lbf. This reliable engine cost $4 million to build and is flying in modified form today. A spin-stabilized at 100 rpm by two rocket motors before separation. One ABL X-248 solid rocket motor provided 2,800 lbf of thrust for 28 seconds, the stage weighed 500 pounds and was largely constructed of wound fiberglass. These vehicles would be able to place 650 pounds into a 150 to 230 miles LEO or 100 pounds into GTO, eleven of the twelve initial Delta flights were successful and until 1968, no failures occurred in the first two minutes of launch. The high degree of success achieved by Delta stood in contrast to the parade of failures that dogged West Coast Thor launches. The total project development and launch cost came to $43 million, an order for 14 more vehicles was made before 1962. MB-3 Block II engine,170,000 lbf vs.152,000 lbf 13, ePE3 Upgraded AJ10-118D upper stage—3-foot tank stretch, higher energy oxidizer, solid-state guidance system Delta program goes from interim to operational status. Relay 1, second NASA communications satellite, NASAs first active one 16, syncom 1, Thiokol Star 13B solid rocket as apogee kick motor 20
15.
Apollo program
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Five subsequent Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the Moon, the last in December 1972. In these six spaceflights, twelve men walked on the Moon, Apollo ran from 1961 to 1972, with the first manned flight in 1968. It achieved its goal of manned lunar landing, despite the setback of a 1967 Apollo 1 cabin fire that killed the entire crew during a prelaunch test. After the first landing, sufficient flight hardware remained for nine follow-on landings with a plan for extended lunar geological and astrophysical exploration, Budget cuts forced the cancellation of three of these. The crew returned to Earth safely by using the Lunar Module as a lifeboat for these functions, Apollo set several major human spaceflight milestones. It stands alone in sending manned missions beyond low Earth orbit, Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to orbit another celestial body, while the final Apollo 17 mission marked the sixth Moon landing and the ninth manned mission beyond low Earth orbit. The program returned 842 pounds of rocks and soil to Earth, greatly contributing to the understanding of the Moons composition. The program laid the foundation for NASAs subsequent human spaceflight capability, Apollo also spurred advances in many areas of technology incidental to rocketry and manned spaceflight, including avionics, telecommunications, and computers. The Apollo program was conceived during the Eisenhower administration in early 1960, while the Mercury capsule could only support one astronaut on a limited Earth orbital mission, Apollo would carry three astronauts. Possible missions included ferrying crews to a station, circumlunar flights. The program was named after the Greek god of light, music, and the sun by NASA manager Abe Silverstein, who later said that I was naming the spacecraft like Id name my baby. Silverstein chose the name at home one evening, early in 1960, in July 1960, NASA Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden announced the Apollo program to industry representatives at a series of Space Task Group conferences. Preliminary specifications were laid out for a spacecraft with a mission module cabin separate from the module. On August 30, a feasibility study competition was announced, and on October 25, meanwhile, NASA performed its own in-house spacecraft design studies led by Maxime Faget, to serve as a gauge to judge and monitor the three industry designs. In November 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president after a campaign that promised American superiority over the Soviet Union in the fields of space exploration and missile defense. Beyond military power, Kennedy used aerospace technology as a symbol of prestige, pledging to make the US not first but, first and, first if. Despite Kennedys rhetoric, he did not immediately come to a decision on the status of the Apollo program once he became president and he knew little about the technical details of the space program, and was put off by the massive financial commitment required by a manned Moon landing. On April 12,1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly in space, Kennedy was circumspect in his response to the news, refusing to make a commitment on Americas response to the Soviets
16.
Kennedy Space Center
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The John F. Kennedy Space Center is one of ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration field centers. Since December 1968, Kennedy Space Center has been NASAs primary launch center of human spaceflight, Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and even own facilities on each others property. Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial missions, researches food production and In-Situ Resource Utilization for off Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, there are about 700 facilities grouped across the centers 144,000 acres. There is also a Visitor Complex open to the public on site, the military had been performing launch operations since 1949 at what would become Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel, President John F. Kennedys 1961 goal of a manned lunar landing before 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1,1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center, therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island. NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles, the major buildings in KSCs Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, on November 29,1963, the facility was given its current name by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnsons order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station under the designation John F. Kennedy Space Center, spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean and it is 34 miles long and roughly six miles wide, covering 219 square miles. KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is one hours drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center, Center workers can encounter bald eagles, American alligators, wild boars, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, the endangered Florida panther and Florida manatees. From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, the first of two unmanned flights, Apollo 4 on November 9,1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn Vs first manned launch on December 21,1968 was Apollo 8s lunar orbiting mission, the next two missions tested the Lunar Module, Apollo 9 and Apollo 10. Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16,1969, Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970–1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17, on May 14,1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A
17.
National Association of Realtors
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The National Association of Realtors, whose member brokers are known as Realtors, is a North American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry. It has over 1.1 million members, including NARs institutes, societies, NAR also functions as a self-regulatory organization for real estate brokerage. The organization is headquartered in Chicago, the National Association of Realtors was founded on May 13,1908 as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges in Chicago, Illinois. In 1916, the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges changed its name to The National Association of Real Estate Boards, the current name was adopted in 1972. Members belong to one or more of some 1,600 local Realtor boards or associations and they are pledged to a code of ethics and standards of practice, which were adopted in 1913. The National Association of Realtors is also a member of The Real Estate Roundtable, the use of the term realtor was first proposed by Charles N. Chadbourn, in an article in the National Real Estate Journal in March 1916. That this title be copyrighted and defended by the National Association against misuse, I therefore, propose that the National Association adopt and confer upon its members, dealers in realty, the title of realtor. The association adopted the term the following year, at its convention in New Orleans in April 1916. In 1949, the National Association of Real Estate Boards obtained U. S. registration no.515,200 for REALTORS as a trademark for real estate brokerage services. In 1950, it obtained a second registration, registration no,519,789, for REALTOR, in the same field. NAR has since obtained registrations for REALTOR in such fields as electronic lock-boxes, clothing, the 515,200 and 519,789 registrations have been subject to a number of cancellation proceedings. In June 1998, Arleen Freeman, an estate agent who had formerly been an NAR member. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel both registrations, on March 31,2004, the TTAB denied the petition, finding on the evidence before it that the term was not generic. In March 2015, Jeffrey Schermerhorn petitioned to cancel the 519,789 registration, Schermerhorn alleged fraud under Torres v. Cantine Torresella S. r. l. The NAR governs the hundreds of local Multiple Listing Services which are the information exchanges used across the nation by real estate brokers and these policies allowed participants—whether they were individual one-person brokers or large regional companies—to limit access to some or all of the MLS data by individual brokers. This system became the IDX system, the antitrust lawsuit was settled in May 2008. The agreement mandates that all Multiple Listing Service systems allow access to Internet-based competitors, the NAR will be required to treat online brokers the same as traditional brokers and cannot exclude them from membership because they do not have a traditional business model. The NAR admitted no wrongdoing, and it paid neither fines nor damages as part of the deal, the settlement will not be official until a federal judge formally approves it, most likely in 2008
18.
Accountability
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In ethics and governance, accountability is answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the sector, nonprofit and private. In governance, accountability has expanded beyond the definition of being called to account for ones actions. It is frequently described as a relationship between individuals, e. g. A is accountable to B when A is obliged to inform B about As actions and decisions, to justify them, Accountability cannot exist without proper accounting practices, in other words, an absence of accounting means an absence of accountability. There are various reasons why accountability fails, Accountability stems from late Latin accomptare, a prefixed form of computare, which in turn derived from putare. Bruce Stone, O. P. Dwivedi, and Joseph G. Jabbra list 8 types of accountability, namely, moral, administrative, political, managerial, market, legal/judicial, constituency relation, Leadership accountability cross cuts many of these distinctions. Political accountability is the accountability of the government, civil servants and politicians to the public, recall elections can be used to revoke the office of an elected official. Generally, however, voters do not have any way of holding elected representatives to account during the term for which they have been elected. Additionally, some officials and legislators may be appointed rather than elected, constitution, or statute, can empower a legislative body to hold their own members, the government, and government bodies to account. This can be through holding an internal or independent inquiry, inquiries are usually held in response to an allegation of misconduct or corruption. The powers, procedures and sanctions vary from country to country, the legislature may have the power to impeach the individual, remove them, or suspend them from office for a period of time. The accused person might decide to resign before trial. Impeachment in the United States has been used both for elected representatives and other offices, such as district court judges. In parliamentary systems, the government relies on the support or parliament, for example, some parliaments can pass a vote of no confidence in the government. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute found that citizens in developing countries to be able to hold their domestic governments to account was incredibly complex in practice. As such, more ways to achieve outcomes can hence be generated. Researchers at the International Budget Partnership found that civil society play an important role in achieving accountability outcomes
19.
Transparency (behavior)
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Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in other social contexts, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed and it has been defined simply as the perceived quality of intentionally shared information from a sender. Transparency is practiced in companies, organizations, administrations, and communities and it guides an organizations decisions and policies on the disclosure of information to its employees and the public, or simply the intended recipient of the information. In Norway and in Sweden, tax authorities release the skatteliste or tax list, official records showing the annual income. Regulations in Hong Kong require banks to list their top earners – without naming them – by pay band, in 2009, the Spanish government for the first time released information on how much each cabinet member is worth, but data on ordinary citizens is private. Recent research suggests there are three aspects of transparency relevant to management practice, information disclosure, clarity, and accuracy. To increase transparency, managers actively infuse greater disclosure, clarity, the strategic management of transparency therefore involves intentional modifications in disclosure, clarity, and accuracy to accomplish the organizations specific objectives. Alternatively, radical transparency is a management method where all decision making is carried out publicly. All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, all decisions. This approach has grown in popularity with the rise of the Internet, two examples of organizations utilizing this style are the GNU/Linux community and Indymedia. Accountability and transparency are of relevance for non-governmental organisations. Yet these same values are found to be lacking in NGOs. Signed in 2006 by 11 NGOs active in the area of humanitarian rights, in 1997, the One World Trust created an NGO Charter, a code of conduct comprising commitment to accountability and transparency. Media transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means, if the media and the public knows everything that happens in all authorities and county administrations there will be a lot of questions, protests and suggestions coming from media and the public. People who are interested in an issue will try to influence the decisions. Transparency creates an everyday participation in the processes by media. One tool used to increase participation in political processes is freedom of information legislation. Modern democracy builds on such participation of the people and media, there are, for anybody who is interested, many ways to influence the decisions at all levels in society
20.
Democratic Party (United States)
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The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, overall, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
21.
NASA
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29,1958, disestablishing NASAs predecessor, the new agency became operational on October 1,1958. Since that time, most US space exploration efforts have led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches. NASA shares data with various national and international such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite. Since 2011, NASA has been criticized for low cost efficiency, from 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1. In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch a satellite for the International Geophysical Year. An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard, after the Soviet launch of the worlds first artificial satellite on October 4,1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. This led to an agreement that a new federal agency based on NACA was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency was created in February 1958 to develop technology for military application. On July 29,1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, a NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959. Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA, earlier research efforts within the US Air Force and many of ARPAs early space programs were also transferred to NASA. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA has conducted many manned and unmanned spaceflight programs throughout its history. Some missions include both manned and unmanned aspects, such as the Galileo probe, which was deployed by astronauts in Earth orbit before being sent unmanned to Jupiter, the experimental rocket-powered aircraft programs started by NACA were extended by NASA as support for manned spaceflight. This was followed by a space capsule program, and in turn by a two-man capsule program. This goal was met in 1969 by the Apollo program, however, reduction of the perceived threat and changing political priorities almost immediately caused the termination of most of these plans. NASA turned its attention to an Apollo-derived temporary space laboratory, to date, NASA has launched a total of 166 manned space missions on rockets, and thirteen X-15 rocket flights above the USAF definition of spaceflight altitude,260,000 feet. The X-15 was an NACA experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force, the design featured a slender fuselage with fairings along the side containing fuel and early computerized control systems
22.
Gabriel Rothblatt
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Gabriel Rothblatt, born 1982, is a technoprogressive political activist, a 2014 congressional candidate, and a writer and speaker in the futurist and transhumanist movements. Rothblatt was born to Bina and transgender businesswoman Martine Rothblatt and his parents founded several companies, including Sirius Satellite Radio and United Therapeutics. He is married to Taj Rothblatt, and they have four children together, following his graduation from high school, Rothblatt attended the University of Vermont and earned a degree in political philosophy. In addition to activism, Rothblatt works for MIO, LLC as a property manager. Rothblatts great grandfather Isadore Rothblatt was an organizer and was beaten to death by anti-union thugs because of his union activities with the Leatherworkers Union of Chicago. Rothblatt is an advocate for human rights. He is Black, Jewish, and comes from a LGBTQ family, in the Dude Looks Like a Lady benefit for the Womens Center of Brevard, Rothblatt dressed as Oprah Winfrey to bring attention to womens rights. In his November 2014 campaign, Rothblatt was endorsed by the National Organization for Women, the Teamsters Local Union 769, Rothblatt is a Member Delegate of the Space Coast Progressive Alliance and Vice President of the Brevard Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In a congressional debate, Rothblatt stated that he believes missions to the moon, mars, and asteroids should be a priority, and under the right plan a 1,000 people could be in space within a decade. Space was such a significant part of Rothblatts campaign BBC News ran a story covering both candidates position on space and titled it Floridas space race, The politicians battling over the cosmos. Lisa Miller, from New York magazine, wrote that the first item on Rothblatts platform is space, Rothblatt has written on various space topics including spacesteading and panspermia. Rothblatt is a Pastor, Community Organizer, and member of the Board of Directors with the Terasem Movement, subscribers to the Terasem movement believe technology will one day make it possible to make digital copies of oneself. Peter Rothman, from Humanity+, wrote that Rothblatt may be the first openly transhumanist political candidate in the United States, Rothblatt writes and speaks on transhumanist topics, such as seasteading, cryonics, religion, mind uploading, and technological discrimination. During the 2014 Midterm elections, Rothblatt ran as a Democratic Party candidate against incumbent Bill Posey in Floridas 8th congressional district, Rothblatt qualified for the ballot through the petition method by gathering 4,936 signatures, the minimum required was 4,834. Issues of concern to Rothblatt were technological unemployment, protecting family values, promoting education, protecting the environment, developing space, Rothblatts belief in transhumanism and his family ties were both regularly covered by the media. Jessica Roy, from Time, reported that Rothblatts status as a member of Terasem may be just as difficult for his campaign as being a Democrat in the Republican majority district. During a campaign event, gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist introduced Rothblatt by saying “Gabriel is the messenger that God sent, other opinions of his campaign were more critical. Katie Prill, from the National Republican Congressional Committee, wrote his ideas are too extreme for Florida families
23.
Liberty Caucus
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The Liberty Caucus is a Congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It hosts a luncheon in Washington, D. C. The caucus has also characterized as conservative with a libertarian emphasis. The group, in association with the political action committee the Republican Liberty Caucus, support individual rights, limited government. In June 2014, the caucus supported Raul Labradors campaign for House Majority Leader
24.
Republican Study Committee
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The Republican Study Committee is a caucus of 172 conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. It has proposed an alternative budget every year since 1995 and its alternative budget proposals are regularly praised by the editors of National Review, a leading conservative journal of opinion. After over 10 years at RSCs helm, Executive Director Paul Teller was fired in December 2013 for divulging member conversations, the RSCs key legislative initiatives are detailed in the American Taxpayer Bill of Rights, unveiled in March 2007. Taxpayers have a right to have a government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it. Taxpayers have a right to back each dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement. Taxpayers have a right to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised, taxpayers have a right to a simple, fair tax code that they can understand. The RSC was founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich and other activists to keep a watch on the House Republican leadership. Their formation mirrored the rise of the Democratic Study Group, a force in the Democratic Caucus founded in 1959. The groups first chairman was Phil Crane of Illinois, the group briefly dissolved in 1995 after the Republicans won control of the House for the first time in 40 years when Newt Gingrich abolished it and other similar groups. However, it was almost immediately refounded as the Conservative Action Team by Dan Burton of Indiana, Sam Johnson of Texas, John Doolittle of California, the four founders alternated as chairmen throughout the next two Congresses until David McIntosh of Indiana became chairman in 1998. When he resigned from the chairmanship in 2000 to focus on his run for governor of Indiana, John Shadegg of Arizona became chairman in 2001, renaming it the RSC soon after taking over. Shadegg increased the membership from 40 members in 2001 to 70 members in 2003. Sue Myrick of North Carolina was the first woman to serve as chair from 2003 to 2005, Mike Pence of Indiana served as chairman from 2005 to 2007 and Jeb Hensarling of Texas served as chairman from 2007 to 2009. Tom Price of Georgia succeeded Hensarling in 2009, after the Republicans regained control of Congress in the 2010 elections, Jim Jordan of Ohio was elected chairman of the RSC. After the 2012 elections, Steve Scalise of Louisiana served as chairman until his election as House Majority Whip in July 2014 and he was replaced by Rob Woodall of Georgia. In November 2014, Bill Flores of Texas was elected chairman of the group for the 114th Congress, several members of the RSC have held high positions in the House leadership. Only two members of Republican leadership were not members of the RSC, Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Paul Teller spent over 10 years as Executive Director of RSC. He was fired in December 2013 by Chairman Steve Scalise for divulging member conversations, Teller had been working with two outside groups in opposition to a budget deal forged by Paul Ryan and Patty Murray
25.
Freedom Caucus
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The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative and libertarian Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It was formed in 2015 by what member Jim Jordan called a smaller, more cohesive, more agile, many members are also part of the much larger Republican Study Committee. The caucus is sympathetic to the Tea Party movement, the Freedom Caucus is considered the furthest-right grouping within the House Republican Conference. The origins of the lie at the mid-January 2015 Republican congressional retreat in Hershey. Nine conservative active Republican members of the House began planning a new Congressional caucus separate from the Republican Study Committee and apart from the House Republican Conference. During the crisis over the funding of the Department of Homeland Security in early 2015, the Caucus offered four plans for resolution, one of the caucus leaders, Labrador of Idaho, said the Caucus will offer an alternative that the most conservative Republican members could support. The House Freedom Caucus was involved in the resignation of Boehner on September 25,2015, and these members later created and became members of the Freedom Caucus when it was created in 2015. After Boehner resigned as speaker, Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader, was initially the lead contender to succeed him, however, McCarthy withdrew from the race on September 28,2015. On October 20,2015, Paul Ryan announced that his bid for the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives was contingent on an endorsement by the Freedom Caucus. While the group could not reach the 80% approval that was needed to give an endorsement, on October 21,2015. On October 29,2015, Ryan succeeded John Boehner as the Speaker of the House, on November 16,2015, Jim Jordan was re-elected chairman of the caucus. The group faced backlash from the Republican Party establishment during the 2016 election cycle, one of its members, Congressman Tim Huelskamp, a Tea Party Republican representing Kansas First District, was defeated during a primary election on August 2,2016, by Roger Marshall. Two days later, President Donald Trump publicly criticized the Freedom Caucus and other right-wing groups, such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action, that opposed the bill. Trump tweeted, Democrats are smiling in D. C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth, on the same day, Congressman Ted Poe of Texas resigned from the Freedom Caucus. On March 30,2017, Trump declared war on the Freedom Caucus, vocal Freedom Caucus member Justin Amash responded by accusing Trump of succumb to the D. C. The House Freedom Caucus does not disclose the names of its members, in the current Congress, the group has about three dozen members
26.
Global cooling
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Global cooling was a conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earths surface and atmosphere culminating in a period of extensive glaciation. The current scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth has not durably cooled, in the scientific papers which considered climate trends of the 21st century, less than 10% inclined towards future cooling, while most papers predicted future warming. The actual increase in this period was 29%, Paul R. Ehrlich mentioned climate change from greenhouse gases in 1968. In response to reports, the World Meteorological Organization issued a warning in June 1976 that a very significant warming of global climate was probable. The probability of this occurring is generally considered to be low. For example, in all AOGCM integrations where the radiative forcing is increasing, at the time there were two physical mechanisms that were most frequently advanced to cause cooling, aerosols and orbital forcing. Human activity — mostly as a by-product of fossil fuel combustion, in the early 1970s some speculated that this cooling effect might dominate over the warming effect of the CO2 release, see discussion of Rasool and Schneider, below. As a result of observations and a switch to cleaner fuel burning, orbital forcing refers to the slow, cyclical changes in the tilt of Earths axis and shape of its orbit. These cycles alter the amount of sunlight reaching the earth by a small amount and affect the timing. This mechanism is believed to be responsible for the timing of the ice age cycles, the paper of Hays, Imbrie and Shackleton Variations in the Earths Orbit, Pacemaker of the Ice Ages qualified its predictions with the remark that forecasts must be qualified in two ways. First, they apply only to the component of future climatic trends -. Second, they describe only the trends, because they are linked to orbital variations with periods of 20,000 years. Climatic oscillations at higher frequencies are not predicted, the results indicate that the long-term trend over the next 20,000 years is towards extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation and cooler climate. A strict application of the Milankovitch theory does not allow the prediction of an ice age onset since the fastest orbital period is about 20,000 years. Some creative ways around this were found, notably one championed by Nigel Calder under the name of snowblitz, firstly, because the lengths of previous interglacials were not particularly regular, see figure. Petit et al. note that interglacials 5.5 and 9.3 are different from the Holocene, during each of these two events, there is a warm period of 4 kyr followed by a relatively rapid cooling. In 1926, a Berlin astronomer was predicting global cooling but that it was ages away, Concerns that a new ice age was approaching was revived in the 1950s. During the Cold War there were concerns by Harry Wexler that setting off atom bombs could be hastening a new ice age from a nuclear winter scenario, J. Murray Mitchell showed as early as 1963 a multidecadal cooling since about 1940
27.
National Rifle Association
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The National Rifle Association of America is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun rights. Founded in 1871, the group has informed its members about firearm-related bills since 1934 and it is also the oldest continuously operating civil rights organization in the United States. Founded to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA continues to teach firearm competency and it instructs civilians and law enforcement, youths and adults, in various programs. The organization also publishes several magazines and sponsors competitive marksmanship events, membership surpassed 5 million in May 2013. Observers and lawmakers see the NRA as one of the top three most influential lobbying groups in Washington, over its history the organization has influenced legislation, participated in or initiated lawsuits, and endorsed or opposed various candidates. The NRA has several subsidiaries, the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund, the NRA Foundation Inc. the NRA Special Contribution Fund. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action is its lobbying arm, which manages its political action committee, the National Rifle Association was first chartered in the state of New York on November 16,1871 by Army and Navy Journal editor William Conant Church and Captain George Wood Wingate. On November 25,1871, the group voted to elect its first corporate officers, union Army Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, who had worked as a Rhode Island gunsmith, was elected president. Church was elected president, Captain Wingate was elected secretary, Fred M. Peck was elected recording secretary. When Burnside resigned on August 1,1872, Church succeeded him as president, the generals attributed this to the use of volley tactics, devised for earlier, less accurate smoothbore muskets. Recognizing a need for training, Wingate sent emissaries to Canada, Britain and Germany to observe militia. With plans provided by Wingate, the New York Legislature funded the construction of a range at Creedmoor, Long Island. The range officially opened on June 21,1873, Wingate then wrote a marksmanship manual. The NRA organized a team through a subsidiary amateur rifle club, remington Arms and Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company produced breech-loading weapons for the team. Although muzzle-loading rifles had long been considered more accurate, eight American riflemen won the match firing breech-loading rifles, publicity of the event generated by the New York Herald helped to establish breech-loading firearms as suitable for military marksmanship training, and promoted the NRA to national prominence. The NRA organized rifle clubs in other states, and many state National Guard organizations sought NRA advice to improve members marksmanship, wingates markmanship manual evolved into the United States Army marksmanship instruction program. Former President Ulysses S. Grant served as the NRAs eighth President, the U. S. Congress created the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice in 1901 to include representatives from the NRA, National Guard, and United States military services. A program of annual rifle and pistol competitions was authorized, and included a national match open to military, NRA headquarters moved to Washington, D. C. to facilitate the organizations advocacy efforts
