title: Sea monster

text: a most terrible creature, resembling nothing they saw before. The monster lifted its head so high that it seemed to be higher than the crow's nest on the mainmast. The head was small and the body short and wrinkled. The unknown creature was using giant fins which propelled it through the water. Later the sailors saw its tail as well. The monster was longer than our whole ship.


title: Sea monster

text: There is a Tlingit legend about a sea monster named Gunakadeit (Goo-na'-ka-date) who brought prosperity and good luck to a village in crisis, people starving in the home they made for themselves on the southeastern coast of Alaska.


title: Sea monster

text: Other reports are known from the Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans (e.g. see Heuvelmans 1968). Cryptozoologists suggest that modern-day monsters are surviving specimens of giant marine reptiles, such as an ichthyosaur or plesiosaur, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, or extinct whales like "Basilosaurus". Ship damage from Tropical cyclones such as hurricanes or typhoons may also be another possible origin of sea monsters.


title: Sea monster

text: In 1892, Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans, then director of the Royal Zoological Gardens at The Hague, saw the publication of his "The Great Sea Serpent", which suggested that many sea serpent reports were best accounted for as a previously unknown giant, long-necked pinniped.


title: Sea monster

text: It is likely that many other reports of sea monsters are misinterpreted sightings of shark and whale carcasses (see below), floating kelp, logs or other flotsam such as abandoned rafts, canoes and fishing nets.


title: Sea monster

text: Sea monster corpses have been reported since recent antiquity (Heuvelmans 1968). Unidentified carcasses are often called globsters. The alleged plesiosaur netted by the Japanese trawler "Zuiyō Maru" off New Zealand caused a sensation in 1977 and was immortalized on a Brazilian postage stamp before it was suggested by the FBI to be the decomposing carcass of a basking shark. Likewise, DNA testing confirmed that an alleged sea monster washed up on Newfoundland in August 2001, was a sperm whale.


title: Sea monster

text: Another modern example of a "sea monster" was the strange creature washed up in Los Muermos on the Chilean sea shore in July 2003. It was first described as a "mammoth jellyfish as long as a bus" but was later determined to be another corpse of a sperm whale. Cases of boneless, amorphic globsters are sometimes believed to be gigantic octopuses, but it has now been determined that sperm whales dying at sea decompose in such a way that the blubber detaches from the body, forming featureless whitish masses that sometimes exhibit a hairy texture due to exposed strands of collagen fibers. The analysis of the "Zuiyō Maru" carcass revealed a comparable phenomenon in decomposing basking shark carcasses, which lose most of the lower head area and the dorsal and caudal fins first, making them resemble a plesiosaur.


title: Sea monster

text: In May 2017, The Guardian published an article claiming a giant sea monster's corpse was found in Indonesia, and also published an alleged photograph of "it."


title: Menstrual cup

text: A menstrual cup is a menstrual hygiene device which is inserted into the vagina during menstruation. Its purpose is to collect menstrual fluid (blood from the uterine lining mixed with other fluids). Menstrual cups are usually made of flexible medical grade silicone, latex, or a thermoplastic isomer. They are shaped like a bell with a stem or a ring. The stem is used for insertion and removal, and the bell-shaped cup seals against the vaginal wall just below the cervix and collects menstrual fluid. This is unlike tampons and menstrual pads, which absorb the fluid instead.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Every 4–12 hours (depending on the amount of flow), the cup is removed, emptied, rinsed, and reinserted. After each period, the cup requires cleaning. One cup may be reusable for up to 10 years, making their long-term cost lower than that of disposable tampons or pads, though the initial cost is higher. As menstrual cups are reusable, they generate less solid waste than tampons and pads, both from the products themselves and from their packaging. Most menstrual cup brands sell a smaller and a larger size. Some menstrual cups are sold colorless and translucent, but several brands also offer colored cups.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups typically do not leak if used properly, though incorrect placement or inadequate cup size can cause some women to experience leakage. Menstrual cups are a safe alternative to other menstrual products; risk of toxic shock syndrome infection is similar or less with menstrual cups compared to pads or tampons.


title: Menstrual cup

text: The menstrual cup is first folded or pinched and then inserted into the vagina. It will normally unfold automatically and create a light seal against the cervix. In some cases, the user may need to twist the cup or flex the vaginal muscles to ensure the cup is fully open. If correctly inserted, the cup should not leak or cause any discomfort. The stem should be completely inside the vagina. If it is not, the stem can be trimmed. There are various folding techniques for insertion; common folds include the c-fold, as well as the punch-down fold.


title: Menstrual cup

text: If lubrication is necessary for insertion, it should be water-based, as silicone lubricant can be damaging to the silicone.


title: Menstrual cup

text: After 4–12 hours of use (depending on the amount of flow), the cup is removed by reaching up to its stem to find the base. Simply pulling on the stem is not recommended to remove the cup, as this can create suction. The base of the cup is pinched to release the seal, and the cup is removed. After emptying, a menstrual cup should be rinsed or wiped and reinserted. It can be washed with a mild soap, and sterilized in boiling water for a few minutes at the end of the cycle. Alternatively, sterilizing solutions (usually developed for baby bottles and breast pump equipment) may be used to soak the cup. Specific cleaning instructions vary by brand.


title: Menstrual cup

text: A 2011 randomized controlled trial in Canada investigated whether silicone menstrual cups are a viable alternative to tampons and found that approximately 91% of women in the menstrual cup group said they would continue to use the cup and recommend it to others. In a 1991 clinical study involving 51 women, 23 of the participants (45%) found rubber menstrual cups to be an acceptable way of managing menstrual flow.


title: Menstrual cup

text: In a randomized controlled feasibility study in rural western Kenya, adolescent primary school girls were provided with menstrual cups or menstrual pads instead of traditional menstrual care items of cloth or tissue. Girls provided with menstrual cups had a lower prevalence of sexually transmitted infections than control groups. Also, the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis was lower among cup users compared with menstrual pad users or those continuing other usual practice. After six months, menstrual cup users were free from embarrassing leakage or odor, and could engage in class activities and sport without humiliation or being teased.


title: Menstrual cup

text: When using a urine-diverting dry toilet, menstrual blood can be emptied into the part that receives the feces. If any menstrual blood falls into the funnel for urine, it can be rinsed away with water.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups collect menstrual fluid inside the vagina and generally do not leak (if emptied often enough and inserted properly). Some women experience leakage due to improper use or cup size. For example, a menstrual cup may leak if it is not inserted correctly and does not pop open completely and seal against the walls of the vagina. Some factors mentioned in association with leakage included menorrhagia, unusual anatomy of the uterus, need for a larger size of menstrual cup, and incorrect placement of the menstrual cup, or that it had filled to capacity. However, a proper seal may continue to contain fluid in the upper vagina even if the cup is full.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups are safe when used as directed and no health risks related to their use have been found.


title: Menstrual cup

text: No medical research was conducted to ensure that menstrual cups were safe prior to introduction on the market. Early research in 1962 evaluated 50 women using a bell-shaped cup. The researchers obtained vaginal smears, gram stains, and basic aerobic cultures of vaginal secretions. Vaginal speculum examination was performed, and pH was measured. No significant changes were noted. This report was the first containing extensive information on the safety and acceptability of a widely used menstrual cup that included both preclinical and clinical testing and over 10 years of post-marketing surveillance.


title: Menstrual cup

text: One case report noted the development of endometriosis and adenomyosis in one menstrual cup user. Additionally, one survey with a small sample size indicated a possible link. Therefore, two organizations have issued a combined statement that urged further research. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to remove menstrual cups from the market, saying that there was insufficient evidence of risk.


title: Menstrual cup

text: A 2011 randomized controlled trial measured urovaginal infection in a comparison of menstrual cup and tampon use, and found no difference.


title: Menstrual cup

text: No differences in the growth of "Staphylococcus aureus" or health harms were identified among school girls provided with menstrual cups compared to those using menstrual pads, or continuing their usual practice in rural western Kenya.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups can be used with an IUD; however, there is an unclear association with respect to IUD expulsion.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a potentially fatal bacterial illness. Scientists have recognized an association between TSS and tampon use, although the exact connection remains unclear. TSS caused by menstrual cup use appears to be very rare. The probable reason for this is that menstrual cups are not absorbent, do not irritate the vaginal mucosal tissue, and so do not change the vaginal flora in any measurable amount. Conversely, vaginal dryness and abrasions may occur if the tampon used is more absorbent than needed for the menstrual flow, and normal liquid that should line the vaginal wall is also absorbed. Research has shown that the cup has no impact on the vaginal flora, which means there is no effect on the presence of "S. aureus", the bacterium that can cause TSS. The risk of TSS associated with cervical caps used for contraception in the female barrier method is also very low. Cervical caps and menstrual cups both use mostly medical grade silicone or latex.


title: Menstrual cup

text: A widely reported study showed that "in vitro", bacteria associated with toxic shock syndrome (TSS) are capable of growing on menstrual cups.


title: Menstrual cup

text: A 2019 review found the risk of toxic shock syndrome with menstrual cup use to be low, with five cases identified via their literature search. Data from the United States showed rates of TSS to be lower in women using menstrual cups versus high-absorbency tampons. Infection risk is similar or less with menstrual cups compared to pads or tampons.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups are generally bell-shaped, with a few exceptions. Most brands use medical grade silicone as the material for the menstrual cup, although latex and thermoplastic elastomer are also options. Menstrual cups made from silicone are generally designed to last for 1–5 years.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Most menstrual cup brands sell a smaller and a larger size. The smaller size is typically recommended for women under 30 or women who have not given birth vaginally. The larger size is typically recommended for women over 30 or have given birth vaginally, or have a heavy flow. However, there have been no studies that show any need for a different sized cup base on age or parity. Cups with even smaller sizes are recommended for teenagers, as well as women and girls who are more physically fit, as those with stronger pelvic floor muscles may find a larger cup uncomfortable. If the cervix sits particularly low or is tilted, a shorter cup may be more suitable. Capacity is important for women who have a heavier flow. The average menstrual cup holds around 20 ml. Some cups are designed to be larger and hold 37–51 ml. Most sizes have a larger capacity than a regular tampon, which is 10–12 ml.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups also vary by firmness or flexibility. Some companies offer a range of firmness levels in their cups. A firmer cup pops open more easily after insertion and may hold a more consistent seal against the vaginal wall (preventing leaks), but some women find softer cups more comfortable to insert.


title: Menstrual cup

text: The silicone of which most brands of cups are produced is naturally colorless and translucent. Several brands offer colored cups as well as, or instead of the colorless ones. Translucent cups lose their initial appearance faster than colored – they tend to get yellowish stains with use. The shade of a colored cup may change over time, though stains are often not as obvious on colored cups. Stains on any color of the cup can often be removed or at least lightened by soaking the cup in diluted hydrogen peroxide and/or leaving it out in the sun for a few hours.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Most cups produced do not have any other additives to them, except for the colored cups. The coloring used is reported to be safe and approved by the FDA for medical use and food coloring.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual discs (also called cervical cups) are disc-shaped, like a diaphragm, with a flexible outer ring and a soft, collapsible center. They collect menstrual fluid like menstrual cups, but stay in place by hooking behind the pubic bone instead of relying on suction. Menstrual discs come in both disposable and reusable varieties.


title: Menstrual cup

text: The costs for menstrual cups vary widely, from US$0.7 to $47 per cup (based on a 2019 review of 199 brands of menstrual cups available in 99 countries).


title: Menstrual cup

text: Reusable menstrual products (including menstrual cups, but not disposable menstrual cups) are more economical than disposable products. Money will be saved using a menstrual cup, compared with other options such as tampons. A woman in a developed country spends an average of US$60 per year on pads and tampons. If a woman menstruates for 40 years, the lifetime expense for pads and tampons is US$2,400. If the average silicone menstrual cup lasts between one and five years, then between eight and 40 would be needed in 40 years. If a menstrual cup costs US$30 (costs vary by manufacturer), the lifetime cost for a menstrual cup would be between US$240 and US$1,200.


title: Menstrual cup

text: The up-front cost of a menstrual cup may be expensive for women from low-income households, especially in developing countries. Buying pads or using rags monthly may seem more affordable than purchasing a menstrual cup, though the lifetime cost is higher.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Since they are reusable, menstrual cups help to reduce solid waste. Some disposable menstrual pads and plastic tampon applicators can take 25 years to break down in the ocean and can cause a significant environmental impact. Biodegradable sanitary options are also available, and these decompose in a short period of time, but they must be composted, and not disposed of in a landfill.


title: Menstrual cup

text: When considering a 10-year time period, waste from consistent use of a menstrual cup is only a small fraction of the waste of pads or tampons. For example, if compared with using 12 pads per period, use of a menstrual cup would comprise only 0.4% of the plastic waste.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Each year, an estimated 20 billion pads and tampons are discarded in North America. They typically end up in landfills or are incinerated, which can have a great impact on the environment. Most of the pads and tampons are made of cotton and plastic. Plastic takes about 50 or more years and cotton starts degrading after 90 days if it is composted.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Given that the menstrual cup is reusable, its use greatly decreases the amount of waste generated from menstrual cycles, as there is no daily waste and the amount of discarded packaging decreases as well. After their life span is over, the silicone cups are put in landfills or incinerated.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups may be emptied into a small hole in the soil or in compost piles, since menstrual fluid is a valuable fertilizer for plants and any pathogens of sexually transmitted diseases will quickly be destroyed by soil microbes. The water used to rinse the cups can be disposed of in the same way. This reduces the amount of wastewater that needs to be treated.


title: Menstrual cup

text: In developing countries, solid waste management is often lacking. Here, menstrual cups have an advantage over disposable pads or tampons as they do not contribute to the solid waste issues in the communities or generate embarrassing refuse that others may see.


title: Menstrual cup

text: An early version of a bullet-shaped menstrual cup was patented in 1932, by the midwifery group of McGlasson and Perkins. Leona Chalmers patented the first usable commercial cup in 1937. Other menstrual cups were patented in 1935, 1937, and 1950. The Tassaway brand of menstrual cups was introduced in the 1960s, but it was not a commercial success. Early menstrual cups were made of rubber.


title: Menstrual cup

text: In 1987, another latex rubber menstrual cup, The Keeper, was manufactured in the United States. This proved to be the first commercially viable menstrual cup and it is still available today. The first silicone menstrual cup was the UK-manufactured Mooncup in 2001. Most menstrual cups are now manufactured from medical grade silicone because of its durability and hypoallergenic properties, though there are also brands made of TPE (thermoplastic elastomer). Menstrual cups are becoming more popular worldwide, with many different brands, shapes, and sizes on the market. Most are reusable, though there is at least one brand of disposable menstrual cups currently manufactured.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and companies have begun to propose menstrual cups to females in developing countries since about 2010, for example in Kenya and South Africa. Menstrual cups are regarded as a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to sanitary cloth, expensive disposable pads, or "nothing" – the reality for many females in developing countries.


title: Menstrual cup

text: While numerous companies all over the world offer this product it was still not well known in around 2010. It may be difficult for companies to make profit from this product as one single menstrual cup can last a girl or woman five years or longer. Most women hear of menstrual cups through the internet or word of mouth, rather than through conventional advertising on TV for example.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Menstrual cups can be useful as a means of menstrual hygiene management for women in developing countries where access to affordable sanitary products may be limited. A lack of affordable hygiene products means inadequate, unhygienic alternatives are often used, which can present a serious health risk. Menstrual cups offer a long-term solution compared to some other feminine hygiene products because they do not need to be replaced monthly.


title: Menstrual cup

text: The municipality of Alappuzha in Kerala, India has launched a project in 2019 and gave away 5,000 menstrual cups for free to female residents. This is to encourage the use of these cups instead of non-biodegradable menstrual pads to reduce waste production. In 2022, a village in Kerala named, Kumbalangi had said to become India's first sanitary napkin free panchayat under a project called 'Avalkkayi', which give 5,700 menstrual cups for free.


title: Menstrual cup

text: Feminine hygiene products that need to be inserted into the vagina can be unacceptable for cultural reasons. There are myths that they interfere with female reproductive organs and that they cause females to lose their virginity. Use of a menstrual cup could stretch or break the hymen. Since some cultures value the preservation of the hymen as evidence of virginity (see also virginity test); this can discourage young women from using cups.


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: The first season of "Narcos", an American crime thriller drama web television series produced and created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, follows the story of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who became a billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine, while also focusing on Escobar's interactions with other drug lords, DEA agents, and various opposition entities.


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: It stars Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar – a Colombian drug lord and the leader of the Medellín Cartel, with Boyd Holbrook, Pedro Pascal, Joanna Christie, Maurice Compte, André Mattos, Roberto Urbina, Diego Cataño, Jorge A. Jimenez, Paulina Gaitán, Paulina García, Stephanie Sigman, Bruno Bichir, Raúl Méndez and Manolo Cardona playing various real life based characters. The season was estimated to cost about $25 million dollars, with $2.5 million per episode.


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: All 10 episodes of the season became available for streaming on Netflix on August 28, 2015, and were met with generally favorable critical reception. Wagner Moura's portrayal of Pablo Escobar earned him widespread critical acclaim including a Best Actor – Television Series Drama nomination at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, while the season itself was nominated for Best Television Series – Drama at the ceremony and received , British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme and three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 2, 2016, with 10 episodes.


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: The first season received generally favorable reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes a review aggregator surveyed 45 reviews and judged 78% to be positive. The site reads, ""Narcos" lacks sympathetic characters, but pulls in the viewer with solid acting and a story that's fast-paced enough to distract from its familiar outline." On Metacritic, Season 1 holds a score of 77 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". IGN gave the first season a 7.8 out of 10 score calling it "Good" and reads "It's a true-to-life account, sometimes to a fault, of the rise of Pablo Escobar and the hunt that brought him down laced with stellar performances and tension-filled stand-offs. Its blend of archival footage reminds us that the horrors depicted really happened, but also manage to present an Escobar that is indefensible but frighteningly sympathetic."


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: The season received generally positive reviews from many media outlets. Writing for "The Philadelphia Inquirer", Tirdad Derakhshani reviewed the season positively, calling it "Intense, enlightening, brilliant, unnerving, and addictive, "Narcos" is high-concept drama at its finest." The "New York Post"s, Robert Rorke said, "Catching Escobar then becomes an exciting and suspenseful story arc, and makes "Narcos" the first cool show of the new season." Joshua Alston of "The A.V. Club" judged ""Narcos" is frequently funny and just stylized enough to amplify the entertainment value without minimizing the gravity of the subject matter. It’s an eminently bingeable show even as it makes a strong case for moderate consumption." Television critic, Tim Goodman of "The Hollywood Reporter" also reviewed the series positively saying, "The series begins to find its pacing not long after, and we see the strength of Moura’s acting, which to his credit never races, in the early going, toward over-the-top menace or the drug-lord cliches we're all used to at this point. Credit also the fact that Padilha brings a documentary feel to Narcos."


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: Nancy deWolf Smith of "The Wall Street Journal" wrote, "The omniscient-narrator device works very well for a complex story spanning many years and varied sets of players." Critic Neil Genzlinger of "The New York Times" said, "It’s built on sharp writing and equally sharp acting, as any good series needs to be." The "San Francisco Chronicle"s David Wiegand wrote, "Virtually every performance is equal to the quality of the script, but Moura is especially compelling as he manipulates the seeming incongruities of Escobar’s character to heighten his aura of unpredictable menace... Brancato does make one significant misstep by having the entire series heavily narrated by Murphy." Chief TV critic Brian Lowry of "Variety" also lauded the series saying, "The sparely told project weaves together a taut, gripping narrative, in stark contrast with the flatness of its characters and color scheme. All told, this Gaumont production is the kind of binge-worthy TV addiction that Netflix was born to import."


title: Narcos (season 1)

text: Some were more critical towards the show including chief television critic Mary McNamara of "Los Angeles Times" who wrote, "It's a grand if inconsistent experiment that, from the moment it opens with a definition of magic realism, wears its considerable ambitions on its sleeve." "New York Daily News"s David Hinckley, moderately reviewed the season and said, "One of the strengths of "Narcos" is its refusal to paint anyone as purely good or bad." Writing for "IndieWire", Liz Shannon Miller said, "An unlikeable character, no matter the circumstances, remains unlikeable, but an unlikeable character trumps a bland blonde man whose position of authority appears to be his only really interesting character trait, no matter how much voice-over he utters." Josh Bell of "Las Vegas Weekly" quipped, "Mostly the show is a breezy tour through history, sometimes informative but rarely affecting."


title: Ionization energy

text: In physics and chemistry, ionization energy (IE) (American English spelling), ionisation energy (British English spelling) is the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron of an isolated gaseous atom, positive ion, or molecule. The first ionization energy is quantitatively expressed as


title: Ionization energy

text: where X is any atom or molecule, X is the resultant ion when the original atom was stripped of a single electron, and e is the removed electron. Ionization energy is positive for neutral atoms, meaning that the ionization is an endothermic process. Roughly speaking, the closer the outermost electrons are to the nucleus of the atom, the higher the atom's ionization energy.


title: Ionization energy

text: In physics, ionization energy is usually expressed in electronvolts (eV) or joules (J). In chemistry, it is expressed as the energy to ionize a mole of atoms or molecules, usually as kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol) or kilocalories per mole (kcal/mol).


title: Ionization energy

text: Comparison of ionization energies of atoms in the periodic table reveals two periodic trends which follow the rules of Coulombic attraction:


title: Ionization energy

text: The latter trend results from the outer electron shell being progressively farther from the nucleus, with the addition of one inner shell per row as one moves down the column.


title: Ionization energy

text: The "n"th ionization energy refers to the amount of energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron from the species having a positive charge of ("n" − 1). For example, the first three ionization energies are defined as follows:


title: Ionization energy

text: The term "ionization potential" is an older and obsolete term for ionization energy, because the oldest method of measuring ionization energy was based on ionizing a sample and accelerating the electron removed using an electrostatic potential.


title: Ionization energy

text: The ionization energy of atoms, denoted "E", is measured by finding the minimal energy of light quanta (photons) or electrons accelerated to a known energy that will kick out the least bound atomic electrons. The measurement is performed in the gas phase on single atoms. While only noble gases occur as monatomic gases, other gases can be split into single atoms. Also, many solid elements can be heated and vaporized into single atoms. Monatomic vapor is contained in a previously evacuated tube that has two parallel electrodes connected to a voltage source. The ionizing excitation is introduced through the walls of the tube or produced within.


title: Ionization energy

text: When ultraviolet light is used, the wavelength is swept down the ultraviolet range. At a certain wavelength (λ) and frequency of light (ν=c/λ, where c is the speed of light), the light quanta, whose energy is proportional to the frequency, will have energy high enough to dislodge the least bound electrons. These electrons will be attracted to the positive electrode, and the positive ions remaining after the photoionization will get attracted to the negatively charged electrode. These electrons and ions will establish a current through the tube. The ionization energy will be the energy of photons "hν" ("h" is the Planck constant) that caused a steep rise in the current: "E" = "hν".


title: Ionization energy

text: When high-velocity electrons are used to ionize the atoms, they are produced by an electron gun inside a similar evacuated tube. The energy of the electron beam can be controlled by the acceleration voltages. The energy of these electrons that gives rise to a sharp onset of the current of ions and freed electrons through the tube will match the ionization energy of the atoms.


title: Ionization energy

text: Generally, the ("N"+1)th ionization energy of a particular element is larger than the "N"th ionization energy (it may also be noted that the ionization energy of an anion is generally less than that of cations and neutral atom for the same element). When the next ionization energy involves removing an electron from the same electron shell, the increase in ionization energy is primarily due to the increased net charge of the ion from which the electron is being removed. Electrons removed from more highly charged ions experience greater forces of electrostatic attraction; thus, their removal requires more energy. In addition, when the next ionization energy involves removing an electron from a lower electron shell, the greatly decreased distance between the nucleus and the electron also increases both the electrostatic force and the distance over which that force must be overcome to remove the electron. Both of these factors further increase the ionization energy.


title: Ionization energy

text: Large jumps in the successive molar ionization energies occur when passing noble gas configurations. For example, as can be seen in the table above, the first two molar ionization energies of magnesium (stripping the two 3s electrons from a magnesium atom) are much smaller than the third, which requires stripping off a 2p electron from the neon configuration of Mg. That 2p electron is much closer to the nucleus than the 3s electrons removed previously.


title: Ionization energy

text: Ionization energy is also a periodic trend within the periodic table. Moving left to right within a period, or upward within a group, the first ionization energy generally increases, with exceptions such as aluminium and sulfur in the table above. As the nuclear charge of the nucleus increases across the period, the electrostatic attraction increases between electrons and protons, hence the atomic radius decreases, and the electron cloud comes closer to the nucleus because the electrons, especially the outermost one, are held more tightly by the higher effective nuclear charge.


title: Ionization energy

text: On moving downward within a given group, the electrons are held in higher-energy shells with higher principal quantum number n, further from the nucleus and therefore are more loosely bound so that the ionization energy decreases. The effective nuclear charge increases only slowly so that its effect is outweighed by the increase in n.


title: Ionization energy

text: There are exceptions to the general trend of rising ionization energies within a period. For example, the value decreases from beryllium (: 9.3 eV) to boron (: 8.3 eV), and from nitrogen (: 14.5 eV) to oxygen (: 13.6 eV). These dips can be explained in terms of electron configurations.


title: Ionization energy

text: Boron has its last electron in a 2p orbital, which has its electron density further away from the nucleus on average than the 2s electrons in the same shell. The 2s electrons then shield the 2p electron from the nucleus to some extent, and it is easier to remove the 2p electron from boron than to remove a 2s electron from beryllium, resulting in a lower ionization energy for B.


title: Ionization energy

text: In oxygen, the last electron shares a doubly occupied p-orbital with an electron of opposing spin. The two electrons in the same orbital are closer together on average than two electrons in different orbitals, so that they shield each other more effectively and it is easier to remove one, resulting in lower ionization energy.


title: Ionization energy

text: Furthermore, after every noble gas element, the ionization energy drastically drops. This occurs because the outer electron in the alkali metals requires a much lower amount of energy to be removed from the atom than the inner shells. This also gives rise to low electronegativity values for the alkali metals.


title: Ionization energy

text: Ionization energy values tend to decrease on going to heavier elements within a group as shielding is provided by more electrons and overall, the valence shells experience a weaker attraction from the nucleus, attributed to the larger covalent radius which increase on going down a group Nonetheless, this isn't always the case. As one exception, in Group 10 palladium (: 8.34 eV) has a higher ionization energy than nickel (: 7.64 eV), contrary to the general decrease for the elements from technetium to xenon . Such anomalies are summarized below:


title: Ionization energy

text: The ionization energy of the hydrogen atom (formula_1) can be evaluated in the Bohr model, which predicts that the atomic energy level formula_2 has energy


title: Ionization energy

text: R is the Rydberg constant for the hydrogen atom. For hydrogen in the ground state formula_4 and formula_5 so that the energy of the atom before ionization is simply formula_6


title: Ionization energy

text: After ionization, the energy is zero for a motionless electron infinitely far from the proton, so that the ionization energy is


title: Ionization energy

text: According to the more complete theory of quantum mechanics, the location of an electron is best described as a probability distribution within an electron cloud, i.e. atomic orbital. The energy can be calculated by integrating over this cloud. The cloud's underlying mathematical representation is the wavefunction, which is built from Slater determinants consisting of molecular spin orbitals. These are related by Pauli's exclusion principle to the antisymmetrized products of the atomic or molecular orbitals.


title: Ionization energy

text: There are two main ways in which ionization energy is calculated. In general, the computation for the "N"th ionization energy requires calculating the energies of formula_8 and formula_9 electron systems. Calculating these energies exactly is not possible except for the simplest systems (i.e. hydrogen and hydrogen-like elements), primarily because of difficulties in integrating the electron correlation terms. Therefore, approximation methods are routinely employed, with different methods varying in complexity (computational time) and accuracy compared to empirical data. This has become a well-studied problem and is routinely done in computational chemistry. The second way of calculating ionization energies is mainly used at the lowest level of approximation, where the ionization energy is provided by Koopmans' theorem, which involves the highest occupied molecular orbital or "HOMO" and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital or "LUMO", and states that the ionization energy of an atom or molecule is equal to the energy of the orbital from which the electron is ejected. This means that the ionization energy is equal to the HOMO energy, which in a formal equation can be written as: formula_10.


title: Ionization energy

text: Ionization of molecules often leads to changes in molecular geometry, and two types of (first) ionization energy are defined – "adiabatic" and "vertical".


title: Ionization energy

text: The adiabatic ionization energy of a molecule is the "minimum" amount of energy required to remove an electron from a neutral molecule, i.e. the difference between the energy of the vibrational ground state of the neutral species (v" = 0 level) and that of the positive ion (v' = 0). The specific equilibrium geometry of each species does not affect this value.


title: Ionization energy

text: Due to the possible changes in molecular geometry that may result from ionization, additional transitions may exist between the vibrational ground state of the neutral species and vibrational excited states of the positive ion. In other words, ionization is accompanied by vibrational excitation. The intensity of such transitions is explained by the Franck–Condon principle, which predicts that the most probable and intense transition corresponds to the vibrationally excited state of the positive ion that has the same geometry as the neutral molecule. This transition is referred to as the "vertical" ionization energy since it is represented by a completely vertical line on a potential energy diagram (see Figure).


title: Ionization energy

text: For a diatomic molecule, the geometry is defined by the length of a single bond. The removal of an electron from a bonding molecular orbital weakens the bond and increases the bond length. In Figure 1, the lower potential energy curve is for the neutral molecule and the upper surface is for the positive ion. Both curves plot the potential energy as a function of bond length. The horizontal lines correspond to vibrational levels with their associated vibrational wave functions. Since the ion has a weaker bond, it will have a longer bond length. This effect is represented by shifting the minimum of the potential energy curve to the right of the neutral species. The adiabatic ionization is the diagonal transition to the vibrational ground state of the ion. Vertical ionization may involve vibrational excitation of the ionic state and therefore requires greater energy.


title: Ionization energy

text: In many circumstances, the adiabatic ionization energy is often a more interesting physical quantity since it describes the difference in energy between the two potential energy surfaces. However, due to experimental limitations, the adiabatic ionization energy is often difficult to determine, whereas the vertical detachment energy is easily identifiable and measurable.


title: Ionization energy

text: While the term ionization energy is largely used only for gas-phase atomic, cationic, or molecular species, there are a number of analogous quantities that consider the amount of energy required to remove an electron from other physical systems.


title: Ionization energy

text: Electron binding energy is a generic term for the minimum energy needed to remove an electron from a particular electron shell for an atom or ion, due to these negatively charged electrons being held in place by the electrostatic pull of the positively charged nucleus. For example, the electron binding energy for removing a 3p electron from the chloride ion is the minimum amount of energy required to remove an electron from the chlorine atom when it has a charge of -1. In this particular example, the electron binding energy has the same magnitude as the electron affinity for the neutral chlorine atom. In another example, the electron binding energy refers to the minimum amount of energy required to remove an electron from the dicarboxylate dianion OC(CH)CO.


title: Ionization energy

text: The graph to the right shows the binding energy for electrons in different shells in neutral atoms. The ionization energy is the lowest binding energy for a particular atom (although these are not all shown in the graph).


title: Ionization energy

text: Work function is the minimum amount of energy required to remove an electron from a solid surface, where the work function for a given surface is defined by the difference


title: Ionization energy

text: where is the charge of an electron, is the electrostatic potential in the vacuum nearby the surface, and is the Fermi level (electrochemical potential of electrons) inside the material.


title: Kate Brown

text: Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997, three terms as the state senator from the 21st district of the Oregon Senate from 1997 to 2009, three terms as majority leader of the Oregon Senate from 2003 to 2009, as well as two terms as Oregon Secretary of State from 2009 to 2015. She assumed the governorship upon the resignation of John Kitzhaber in 2015. She was elected to serve out the remainder of his gubernatorial term in the special election in 2016 and was reelected to a full term in 2018.


title: Kate Brown

text: As an openly bisexual woman, Brown has made history several times through her electoral success. In 2008, she became the first openly LGBT person elected secretary of state of a state in the United States. In 2016, she became the first openly LGBT person elected governor of a state in the United States, as well as the second woman elected governor of Oregon (after Barbara Roberts).


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown was born in Torrejón de Ardoz in Spain, where her father, Dr. James Paterson Brown, an eye doctor, was serving in the United States Air Force, at Torrejón Air Base. She grew up in Minnesota. She graduated from Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minnesota in 1978. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Conservation with a certificate in women's studies from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1981 and a J.D. degree and certificate in environmental law from the Lewis & Clark College Law School in 1985.


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1991, filling a vacancy in a Portland seat left by predecessor Judy Bauman, who took an executive appointment. She was elected to a second term before being elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1996. Two years later, she was elected Senate Democratic Leader. In 2003, she was elected Majority Leader of the Oregon Senate.


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown was a top fundraiser for her caucus, helping the Democrats tie the Republicans in the Oregon Senate in 2003. That same year she also won the position of caucus leader. Brown helped round up votes to pass a bill that year reforming the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System, although she ultimately voted against it to preserve her relationship with labor unions.


title: Kate Brown

text: In July 2007, Brown announced that she would give up her seat in the Oregon Senate to be a candidate for Oregon Secretary of State the next year. On May 20, 2008, Brown won the election for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State, and on November 5 she won the general election by a 51–46% margin against Republican candidate Rick Dancer.


title: Kate Brown

text: Coming into office, one of Brown's priorities was to perform rigorous performance audits to help balance the budget. In 2008, for every dollar the State spent, performance audits returned $8 in cost savings. In 2010 Brown reported she delivered $64 in cost savings and efficiencies for every dollar invested in the Division.


title: Kate Brown

text: In 2009 Brown introduced and passed House Bill 2005 to crack down on fraud and abuse in the initiative and referendum system. It gave the Secretary of State more power to prosecute fraud and enforce the constitutional ban on paying per signature on initiatives.


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown also implemented online voter registration. As of March 2010, a year after its introduction, Oregon Public Broadcasting noted nearly 87,000 Oregonians had already registered online to vote.


title: Kate Brown

text: In 2009 the Aspen Institute named Brown as one of 24 "Rising Stars" in American politics and awarded her a Rodel Fellowship. The program is a two-year fellowship designed to break down partisan barriers and explore the responsibilities of public leadership and good governance.


title: Kate Brown

text: In October 2012 "StateTech" magazine highlighted Brown's use of iPad and tablet technology to increase accessibility for voters with disabilities. In 2011 Oregon became the first jurisdiction in the country to use this technology to help voters with disabilities mark their ballots.


title: Kate Brown

text: In January 2015 Brown submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of the purchase of Time Warner Cable by Comcast that had been almost entirely ghostwritten by Comcast, a company that has made a total of over $10,000 in donations to her past election campaigns.


title: Kate Brown

text: On February 18, 2015, Governor John Kitzhaber resigned amid a public corruption scandal just three months after his reelection; Brown succeeded him since the Constitution of Oregon identifies the secretary of state as the successor when the governor leaves office prematurely.


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown named Brian Shipley, a lobbyist for Oregon Health & Science University and former deputy chief of staff to Governor Ted Kulongoski, as her chief of staff. She appointed Jeanne Atkins secretary of state.


title: Kate Brown

text: Upon taking office, Brown extended the moratorium on executions Kitzhaber had enacted. In 2015, she also signed a "motor voter" bill she had championed while secretary of state, to automatically register voters using their driver's license data. At Politico's "State Solutions" voter engagement conference, Brown said, "Registration is a barrier to people participating in this process" and "Voting is a fundamental right of being a citizen, and people across the country should have the ability to access this fundamental right without barriers like registration". Addressing critics of policies aimed at increasing voter turnout, such as Oregon's "motor voter" law, she said, "I think the good news is, in Oregon, we actually want people to vote in our state."


title: Kate Brown

text: In July 2016 Brown signed HB3402, which raised the maximum speed limit to 70 mph on I-82 and sections of I-84 and US-95. Previously the maximum speed limit on Oregon highways was 65 mph. This bill also raised speed limits on non-interstate highways in eastern Oregon from 55 mph to 65 mph.


title: Kate Brown

text: Oregon law required a special election in November 2016 for the two years remaining in Kitzhaber's unfinished term as governor. By April 2016 Brown had raised over $800,000 for her campaign in 2016 alone, while her closest Democratic primary competitor, Julian Bell, had raised $33,000. She defeated Bell, Chet Chance, Kevin M. Forsythe, Steve Johnson, and Dave Stauffer for the Democratic nomination. She won the general election against Republican Party nominee Bud Pierce, Independent Party nominee Cliff Thomason, Libertarian Party nominee James Foster, and Constitution Party nominee Aaron Donald Auer, receiving 51% of the vote.


title: Kate Brown

text: In January 2017 Brown named Nik Blosser her third chief of staff after the resignation of former chief of staff Kristen Leonard. In June 2017 Brown signed into law the Oregon Equal Pay Act, which banned employers from using job seekers' prior salaries in hiring decisions.


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown was reelected in November 2018, defeating Republican Knute Buehler 50.0% to 43.9%, with Independent Party nominee Patrick Starnes, Libertarian Party nominee Nick Chen, Constitution Party nominee Aaron Auer, and Progressive Party nominee Chris Henry taking the remaining votes. She had received 82% in the Democratic primary.


title: Kate Brown

text: In a November 2018 budget plan Brown proposed a 30-year plan to limit Oregon's greenhouse gas emissions via a cap-and-trade system. On June 20, 2019, Brown authorized state troopers to search for and return 11 Republican state senators after the Oregon Senate ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to compel them to attend a Senate session. The senators had left to prevent a quorum in the Senate and thereby block the passage of a sweeping climate change bill.


title: Kate Brown

text: In response to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, Brown publicly urged Oregonians to stay home to avoid spreading the virus, but was initially criticized for not issuing a shelter-in-place order. The order was officially issued on March 23, 2020.


title: Kate Brown

text: In August 2021, The Oregonian wrote, "Gov. Kate Brown signed a law to allow Oregon students to graduate without proving they can write or do math."


title: Kate Brown

text: In December 2022, Brown commuted the sentences of all 17 people on death row in Oregon, calling the death penalty "dysfunctional and immoral" and something that "had never been administered fairly or equitably in Oregon."


title: Kate Brown

text: As secretary of state, Brown faced political backlash over the scheduling of the election for labor commissioner between Democrat Brad Avakian and Republican Bruce Starr. The election for this position is typically held in May, but in 2009 the Oregon legislature passed bipartisan House Bill 2095, which required the election to be held in November 2012. Despite this, Starr accused Brown of pushing the election to November to help Avakian win. Brown called his accusations "unfounded and outrageous", saying her office was simply enforcing a "very clear" law, and that "this is an issue of election law, not politics". Starr filed a lawsuit attempting to force Brown to hold the election in May, but the lawsuit was denied because Starr could not show he was likely to prevail on the merits of his case.


title: Kate Brown

text: In March 2018, Brown was criticized for firing state librarian MaryKay Dahlgreen, a move that surprised members of the Oregon State Library Board of Directors. She was accused of mismanaging Oregon DHS Child Welfare in audits published in January 2018.


title: Kate Brown

text: In July 2018, Brown brokered meetings between several large Oregon-based companies, including Nike, and union leaders over campaigns to include Initiative Petition 25, a corporate transparency initiative, and Measure 104, geared toward limiting reductions in corporate tax breaks, on the November ballot. Brown's office said her goal was to prevent both initiatives from coming to fruition. She later faced complaints over the alleged brokering of an agreement—supposedly in exchange for financial support through a Nike PAC—in order to keep Petition 25 off the ballot. That year, Nike founder Phil Knight contributed over $1 million to Brown's Republican opponent's campaign, although the company itself gave financial support to Brown. Only a week after the submission of an official complaint, Oregon's Department of Justice found no grounds for an investigation, with the Department's Criminal Justice Division chief council writing, "there is no information that the proponents of [Initiative Petition 25] sought to qualify the petition for the ballot for an improper purpose." Brown and supporters later characterized the complaint as a political ploy. Initiative Petition 25's sponsors ultimately withheld it from the November ballot. Despite having obtained the requisite number of signatures before the submission deadline, union leaders cited an "internal decision", rather than Nike's or Brown's influence, in choosing not to proceed. With Measure 104 and several other anti-tax and anti-labor bills having already secured spaces on the ballot, AFSCME political director Joe Baessler called the issue a "question of resources".


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown's process in appointing Misha Isaak, formerly her general attorney, to the Oregon Court of Appeals in August 2019 caused concern among members of the State Bar Association. After the Public Records Advocate resigned and released correspondence damaging to Isaak, more people called on Brown to revoke the appointment, including former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Edwin Peterson.


title: Kate Brown

text: In November 2021, Brown had a 43% job approval rating, the lowest of any U.S. governor. The same poll found that her approval rating declined to 40% in October 2022, again the lowest in the country.


title: Kate Brown

text: In 2019, the Oregon Republican Party and an independent group, "Flush Down Kate Brown", attempted to remove Brown by recall petition, but fell 40,790 signatures short of the required 280,050.


title: Kate Brown

text: In 2020, Bill Currier, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party and mayor of Adair Village, launched another recall petition. It cited many of the concerns in the 2019 petition in addition to others, mostly focused on her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon. Wilsonville activist Kelsey Massey started another petition. One must collect at least 280,050 signatures to trigger a verification process, the first step toward a recall election. On August 31, Currier announced that the recall would not be on the ballot because it had not received enough signatures. For the Massey petition, no signatures were submitted by the July 31 deadline.


title: Kate Brown

text: Brown lives in Mahonia Hall. She lives with her husband, Dan Little and two stepchildren, Dylan and Jessie. She is the country's first openly bisexual statewide office holder and first openly bisexual governor.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over Democratic incumbent President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1984 election, he defeated Democrat former vice president Walter Mondale to win re-election in a larger landslide. Reagan was succeeded by his vice president, George H. W. Bush. Reagan's 1980 election resulted from a dramatic conservative shift to the right in American politics, including a loss of confidence in liberal, New Deal, and Great Society programs and priorities that had dominated the national agenda since the 1930s.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Domestically, the Reagan administration enacted a major tax cut, sought to cut non-military spending, and eliminated federal regulations. The administration's economic policies, known as "Reaganomics", were inspired by supply-side economics. The combination of tax cuts and an increase in defense spending led to budget deficits, and the federal debt increased significantly during Reagan's tenure. Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (which simplified the tax code by reducing rates and removing several tax breaks) and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (which enacted sweeping changes to U.S. immigration law and granted amnesty to three million illegal immigrants). Reagan also appointed more federal judges than any other president, including four Supreme Court Justices.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan's foreign policy stance was resolutely anti-communist; its plan of action, known as the Reagan Doctrine, sought to roll back the global influence of the Soviet Union in an attempt to end the Cold War. Under this doctrine, the Reagan administration initiated a massive buildup of the United States military; promoted new technologies such as missile defense systems; and, in 1983, undertook an invasion of Grenada, the first major overseas action by U.S. troops since the end of the Vietnam War. The administration also created controversy by granting aid to paramilitary forces seeking to overthrow leftist governments, particularly in war-torn Central America and Afghanistan. Specifically, the Reagan administration engaged in covert arms sales to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua that were fighting to overthrow their nation's socialist government; the resulting scandal led to the conviction or resignation of several administration officials. During Reagan's second term, he sought closer relations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and the two leaders signed a major arms control agreement known as the INF Treaty.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Leaving office in 1989, Reagan held an approval rating of 68%. This rating matches the approval ratings of Franklin D. Roosevelt and later Bill Clinton as the highest rating for a departing president in the modern era. Historians and political scientists generally rank Reagan as an above-average president. Due to Reagan's impact on public discourse and advocacy of American conservatism, some historians have described the period during and after his presidency as the Reagan Era.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Even prior to becoming president, Reagan was the leader of a dramatic conservative shift that undercut many of the domestic and foreign policies that had dominated the national agenda for decades. A major factor in the rise of conservatism was the growing distrust of government in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. While distrust of high officials had been an American characteristic for two centuries, Watergate engendered heightened levels of suspicion and encouraged the media to engage in a vigorous search for scandals. An unexpected new factor was the emergence of the religious right as a cohesive political force that gave strong support to conservatism.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Other factors in the rise of the conservative movement were the emergence of a "culture war" as a triangular battle among conservatives, traditional liberals, and the New Left, involving such issues as individual freedom, divorce, sexual freedom, abortion, and homosexuality. A mass movement of population from the cities to the suburbs led to the creation of a new group of voters less attached to New Deal economic policies and machine politics. Meanwhile, it became socially acceptable for conservative Southern whites, especially well educated suburbanites, to vote Republican. Though the civil rights legislation of the 1960s had been a triumphal issue for liberalism and had created a new, pro-Democratic black electorate, it had also destroyed the argument that whites had to vote Democratic to protect segregation in the South. Responding to these various trends, Reagan and other conservatives successfully presented conservative ideas as an alternative to a public that had grown disillusioned with New Deal liberalism and the Democratic Party. Reagan's charisma and speaking skills helped him frame conservatism as an optimistic, forward-looking vision for the country.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan, who had served as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, narrowly lost the 1976 Republican presidential primaries to incumbent President Gerald Ford. With the defeat of Ford by Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election, Reagan immediately became the front-runner for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination. A darling of the conservative movement, Reagan faced more moderate Republicans such as George H. W. Bush, Howard Baker, and Bob Dole in the 1980 Republican presidential primaries. After Bush won the Iowa caucuses, he became Reagan's primary challenger, but Reagan won the New Hampshire primary and most of the following primaries, gaining an insurmountable delegate lead by the end of March 1980. Ford was Reagan's first choice for his running mate, but Reagan backed away from the idea out of the fear of a "copresidency" in which Ford would exercise an unusual degree of power. Reagan instead chose Bush, and the Reagan-Bush ticket was nominated at the 1980 Republican National Convention. Meanwhile, Carter won the Democratic nomination, defeating a primary challenge by Senator Ted Kennedy. Polls taken after the party conventions showed a tied race between Reagan and Carter, while independent candidate John B. Anderson had the support of many moderates.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: The 1980 general campaign between Reagan and Carter was conducted amid a multitude of domestic concerns and the ongoing Iran hostage crisis. After winning the Republican nomination, Reagan pivoted to the center. Though he continued to champion a major tax cut, Reagan backed off of his support for free trade and the privatization of Social Security, and promised to consider arms control treaties with the Soviet Union. He instead sought to focus the race on Carter's handling of the economy. Mired with an approval rating in the low 30s, Carter also waged a negative campaign, focusing on the supposed risk of war if Reagan took office.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan and Carter met in one presidential debate, held just one week before election day. Reagan delivered an effective performance, asking voters, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" In response to a characterization by Carter of his record regarding Medicare, Reagan replied with a phrase that would help define the election and endure in the American political lexicon: "There you go again."


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Though the race had been widely regarded as a close contest, Reagan won over the large majority of undecided voters. Reagan took 50.7% of the popular vote and 489 of the 538 electoral votes. Carter won 41% of the popular vote and 49 electoral votes, while Anderson won 6.6% of the popular vote. In the concurrent congressional elections, Republicans took control of the Senate for the first time since the 1950s, while Democrats retained control of the House of Representatives.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan tapped James Baker, who had run Bush's 1980 campaign, as his first chief of staff. Baker, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver, and Counselor Edwin Meese formed the "troika," the key White House staffers early in Reagan's presidency. Baker quickly established himself as the most powerful member of the troika and the overseer of day-to-day operations, while Meese had nominal leadership of policy development and Deaver orchestrated Reagan's public appearances. Aside from the troika, other important White House staffers included Richard Darman and David Gergen.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan chose Alexander Haig, a former general who had served as chief of staff to Richard Nixon, as his first secretary of state. Other major Cabinet appointees included Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, a former Nixon cabinet official who would preside over an increase in defense spending, and Secretary of the Treasury Donald Regan, a bank executive. Reagan selected David Stockman, a young congressman from Michigan, as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. CIA director William J. Casey emerged as an important figure in the administration, as the CIA would figure prominently into Reagan's Cold War initiatives. Reagan downgraded the importance of the national security advisor, and six different individuals held that position during Reagan's presidency.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Haig left the cabinet in 1982 after clashing with other members of the Reagan administration, and was replaced by another former Nixon administration official, George P. Shultz. By 1982, National Security Advisor William P. Clark Jr., Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick, and CIA Director Casey had established themselves as the major figures in the formulation of the administration's foreign policy. Shultz eventually emerged as the administration's most influential foreign policy figure, moving the administration towards a less confrontational policy with the Soviet Union.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Baker and Treasury Secretary Regan switched positions at the beginning of Reagan's second term. Regan centralized power within his office, and he took on the responsibilities that had been held by Baker, Deaver, and Meese, the latter of whom succeeded William French Smith as attorney general in 1985. Regan frequently clashed with First Lady Nancy Reagan, and he left the administration in the wake of the Iran–Contra affair and Republican losses in the 1986 mid-term elections. Regan was replaced by former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan made four successful appointments to the Supreme Court during his eight years in office. In 1981, he successfully nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to succeed Associate Justice Potter Stewart, fulfilling a campaign promise to name the first woman to the Supreme Court. Democrats, who had planned to vigorously oppose Reagan's nominations to the Supreme Court, approved of the nomination of O'Connor. However, the Christian right was astonished and dismayed with O'Connor, whom they feared would not overturn the Supreme Court's decision in "Roe v. Wade", which had established the constitutional right to have an abortion without undue government interference. O'Connor served on the Supreme Court until 2006, and was generally considered to be a centrist conservative.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In 1986, Reagan elevated Associate Justice William Rehnquist to the position of Chief Justice of the United States after Warren Burger chose to retire. Rehnquist, a member of the conservative wing of the Court, was the third sitting associate justice to be elevated to chief justice, after Edward Douglass White and Harlan F. Stone. Reagan successfully nominated Antonin Scalia to fill Rehnquist's position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Scalia became a member of the Court's conservative wing.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan faced greater difficulties in filling the final Supreme Court vacancy, which arose due to the retirement of Lewis F. Powell Jr. Reagan nominated Robert Bork in July 1987, but the nomination was rejected by the Senate in October 1987. Later that month, Reagan announced the nomination of Douglas H. Ginsburg, but Ginsburg withdrew from consideration in November 1987. Finally, Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy, who won Senate confirmation in February 1988. Along with O'Connor, Kennedy served as the key swing vote on the Supreme Court in the decades after Reagan left office.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan appointed a combined total of 368 judges to the United States courts of appeals and the United States district courts, more than any other president. The vast majority of his judicial appointees were conservative white men, and many of the appointees were affiliated with the conservative Federalist Society. Partly because Congress passed a law creating new federal judicial positions in 1984, Reagan had appointed nearly half of the federal judiciary by the time he left office in 1989.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: On March 30, 1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy were struck by gunfire from would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Although Reagan was initially reported to be "close to death", he recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11, becoming the first serving president to survive being wounded in an assassination attempt. The failed assassination attempt had great influence on Reagan's popularity; polls indicated his approval rating to be around 73%. Many pundits and journalists later described the failed assassination as a critical moment in Reagan's presidency, as his newfound popularity provided critical momentum in passing his domestic agenda.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan used his White House staff to shape major domestic policies. His Chief of Staff made heavy use of the Office of Policy Development in supervising cabinet action on the Reagan initiatives.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan implemented economic policies based on supply-side economics, advocating a "laissez-faire" philosophy and free-market fiscal policy. Reagan's taxation policies resembled those instituted by President Calvin Coolidge and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon in the 1920s. Reagan's team was also strongly influenced by contemporary economists such as Arthur Laffer, who rejected the then-dominant views of Keynesian economists. Reagan relied on Laffer and other economists to argue that tax cuts would reduce inflation, which went against the prevailing Keynesian view. Supply-side advocates also asserted that cutting taxes would ultimately lead to higher government revenue due to economic growth, a proposition that was challenged by many economists.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Republican Congressman Jack Kemp and Republican Senator William Roth had nearly won passage of a major tax cut during Carter's presidency, but Carter had prevented passage of the bill due to concerns about the deficit. Reagan made passage of the Kemp-Roth bill his top domestic priority upon taking office. As Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, passage of any bill would require the support of some House Democrats in addition to the support of congressional Republicans. Reagan's victory in the 1980 presidential campaign had united Republicans around his leadership, while conservative Democrats like Phil Gramm of Texas (who would later switch parties) were eager to back some of Reagan's conservative policies. Throughout 1981, Reagan frequently met with members of Congress, focusing especially on winning support from conservative Southern Democrats. Reagan also benefited from a conservative majority in the House during his first two years as president, with an estimated 230 votes during the 97th Congress, although this changed after the Democratic gains in the 1982 election, with House control switching to liberals within the Democratic caucus.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In July 1981, the Senate voted 89–11 in favor of the tax cut bill favored by Reagan, and the House subsequently approved the bill in a 238–195 vote. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 cut the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 50%, lowered the capital gains tax from 28% to 20%, more than tripled the amount of inherited money exempt from the estate tax, and cut the corporate tax. Reagan's success in passing a major tax bill and cutting the federal budget was hailed as the "Reagan Revolution" by some reporters; one columnist wrote that the Reagan's legislative success represented the "most formidable domestic initiative any president has driven through since the Hundred Days of Franklin Roosevelt."


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Faced with concerns about the mounting federal debt, Reagan agreed to raise taxes, signing the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA). Many of Reagan's conservative supporters condemned TEFRA, but Reagan argued that his administration would be unable to win further budget cuts without the tax hike. Among other provisions, TEFRA doubled the federal cigarette tax and rescinded a portion of the corporate tax cuts from the 1981 tax bill. By 1983, the amount of federal tax had fallen for all or almost all American taxpayers, but most strongly affected the wealthy; the proportion of income paid in taxes by the richest one percent fell from 29.8 percent to 24.8 percent. Partly due to the poor economy, Reagan's legislative momentum dissipated after his first year in office, and his party lost several seats in the House in the 1982 congressional elections. Compared to other midterm elections, the losses were relatively small for the party holding the presidency, but conservative Democrats were less open to Reagan's initiatives after 1982. As deficits continued to be an issue, Reagan signed another bill that raised taxes, the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: With Donald Regan taking over as Chief of Staff in 1985, the Reagan administration made simplification of the tax code the central focus of its second term domestic agenda. Working with Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, a Democrat who also favored tax reform, Reagan overcame significant opposition from members of Congress in both parties to pass the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The act simplified the tax code by reducing the number of tax brackets to four and slashing a number of tax breaks. The top rate was dropped to 28%, but capital gains taxes were increased on those with the highest incomes from 20% to 28%. The increase of the lowest tax bracket from 11% to 15% was more than offset by expansion of the personal exemption, standard deduction, and earned income tax credit. The net result was the removal of six million poor Americans from the income tax roll and a reduction of income tax liability at all income levels. The net effect of Reagan's tax bills was that overall tax burden held steady at roughly 19 percent of gross national product.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan prioritized tax cuts over spending cuts, arguing that lower revenue would eventually require lower spending. Nonetheless, Reagan was determined to decrease government spending and roll back or dismantle Great Society programs such as Medicaid and the Office of Economic Opportunity. In August 1981, Reagan signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, which cut federal funding for social programs like food stamps, school lunch programs, and Medicaid. The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, which had provided for the employment of 300,000 workers in 1980, was also repealed, and the administration tightened eligibility for unemployment benefits. Notably absent from the budget cuts was the Department of Defense, which saw its budget bolstered.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan experienced several legislative successes in his first year in office, but his attempts to cut federal domestic spending after 1981 met increasing congressional resistance. Spending on programs like Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, the earned income tax credit, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children all increased after 1982. The number of federal civilian employees rose during Reagan's tenure, from 2.9 million to 3.1 million. Reagan's policy of New Federalism, which sought to shift the responsibility for most social programs to state governments, found little support in Congress.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In 1981, OMB Director David Stockman won Reagan's approval to seek cuts to Social Security in 1981, but this plan was poorly-received in Congress. In 1982, Reagan established the bipartisan National Commission on Social Security Reform to make recommendations to secure the long-term integrity of Social Security. The commission rejected Social Security privatization and other major changes to the program, but recommended expanding the Social Security base (by including exempt federal and nonprofit employees), raising Social Security taxes, and reducing some payments. These recommendations were enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1983, which received bipartisan support. While Reagan avoided cuts to Social Security and Medicare for most individuals, his administration attempted to purge many people from the Social Security disability rolls. Reagan's inability to implement major cuts to Social Security solidified its status as the "third rail" of U.S. politics, and future administrations would be reluctant to propose cuts to the popular program.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: As Reagan was unwilling to match his tax cuts with cuts to defense spending or Social Security, rising deficits became an issue. These deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue. Unable to win further domestic spending cuts, and pressured to address the deficit, Reagan was forced to raise taxes after 1981. Nonetheless, the national debt more than tripled between fiscal year 1980 and fiscal year 1989, going from $914 billion to $2.7 trillion, while national debt as a percentage of GDP rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent in 1989. Reagan never submitted a balanced budget during his time in office.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In an effort to lower the national debt, Congress passed the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act, which called for automatic spending cuts if Congress was unable to eliminate deficits through the regular budget-making process. However, Congress found ways around the automatic cuts and deficits continued to rise, ultimately leading to the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan took office in the midst of poor economic conditions, as the country experienced stagflation, a phenomenon in which both inflation and unemployment were high. The economy experienced a brief period of growth early in Reagan's first year in office, but plunged into a recession in July 1981. As the recession continued in the first two years of Reagan's presidency, many within Reagan's administration blamed the policies of Paul Volcker, the Chair of the Federal Reserve. But Reagan himself never criticized Volcker. Volcker sought to fight inflation by pursuing a policy of "tight money" in which interest rates were set at a high level. High interest rates would restrict lending and investment, which would in turn lower inflation, raise unemployment and, at least in the short term, reduce economic growth. Unemployment reached a high of nearly 11% in 1982, poverty rate rose from 11.7 percent to 15 percent. The country emerged from recession in 1983, but not all shared equally in the economic recovery, and economic inequality and the number of homeless individuals both increased during the 1980s. Fearful of damaging confidence in the economic recovery, Reagan nominated Volcker to a second term in 1983, and Volcker remained in office until 1987. Inflation dropped to approximately 3.5% in 1985, while the unemployment rate fell to about 5% in 1988. In 1987, Reagan appointed conservative economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Volcker, and Greenspan would lead the Federal Reserve until 2006. Greenspan raised interest rates in another attempt to curb inflation, setting off a stock market crash in October 1987 known as "Black Monday," but the markets stabilized and recovered in the following weeks.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In August 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), which consisted of federal employees, voted to go on a labor strike in hopes of receiving better pay and benefits. After the vote, Reagan announced that the strikers would be fired if they did not return to work within forty-eight hours. After the deadline passed, Reagan fired over 10,000 air traffic controllers, while approximately 40 percent of the union members returned to work. Reagan's handling of the strike was strongly criticized by union leaders, but it won the approval of his conservative base of voters and others in the public. The breaking of the PATCO strike demoralized organized labor, and the number of strikes fell dramatically in the 1980s. Many of the strikes that did occur, including the Arizona copper mine strike of 1983, the 1983 Greyhound bus driver strike, and the 1985–86 Hormel strike, ended with dismissal of the strikers. With the assent of Reagan's sympathetic National Labor Relations Board appointees, many companies also won wage and benefit cutbacks from unions, especially in the manufacturing sector. During Reagan's time in office, the share of employees who were part of a labor union dropped from approximately one-fourth of the total workforce to approximately one-sixth of the total workforce.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan sought to loosen federal regulation of economic activities, and he appointed key officials who shared this agenda. According to historian William Leuchtenburg, by 1986, the Reagan administration eliminated almost half of the federal regulations that had existed in 1981. The Federal Communications Commission aggressively deregulated the broadcasting industry, eliminating the Fairness Doctrine and other restrictions. The 1982 Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act deregulated savings and loan associations and allowed banks to provide adjustable-rate mortgages. Reagan also eliminated numerous government positions and dismissed numerous federal employees, including the entire staff of the Employment and Training Administration. Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt implemented policies designed to open up federal territories to oil drilling and surface mining. Under EPA Director Anne Gorsuch, the EPA's budget was dramatically reduced and the EPA loosely enforced environmental regulations.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: After the passage of the Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, savings and loans associations engaged in riskier activities, and the leaders of some institutions embezzled funds. In what became known as the Savings and loan crisis, a total of 747 financial institutions failed and needed to be rescued with $160 billion in taxpayer dollars. As an indication of this scandal's size, Martin Mayer wrote at the time, "The theft from the taxpayer by the community that fattened on the growth of the savings and loan (S&L) industry in the 1980s is the worst public scandal in American history...Measuring by money, [or] by the misallocation of national resources...the S&L outrage makes Teapot Dome and Credit Mobilier seem minor episodes."


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: The 1980s saw the highest rate of immigration to the United States since the 1910s, and the proportion of the foreign-born population reached its highest level since the 1940s. Reagan did not make immigration a focus of his administration, but he came to support a package of reforms sponsored by Republican Senator Alan Simpson and Democratic Congressman Romano Mazzoli, which he signed into law as the Immigration Reform and Control Act in November 1986. The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to approximately three million illegal immigrants who had entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and had lived in the country continuously. The bill was also contained provisions designed to enhance security measures at the Mexico–United States border. Upon signing the act at a ceremony held beside the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty, Reagan said, "The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans." The bill was largely unsuccessful at halting illegal immigration, and the population of illegal immigrants rose from 5 million in 1986 to 11.1 million in 2013.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Not long after being sworn into office, Reagan declared more militant policies in the "War on Drugs". He promised a "planned, concerted campaign" against all drugs, in hopes of decreasing drug use, particularly among adolescents. The "crack epidemic," which saw a large number of individuals become addicted to crack cocaine and may have played a role in numerous murders, emerged as a major area of public concern. First Lady Nancy Reagan made the War on Drugs her main cause as First Lady, founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Concerns about drug use prompted Congress to pass legislation such as the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the latter of which granted $1.7 billion to fight drugs and established a mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses. Reagan also signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which further increased criminal penalties for drug use and established the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Critics charged that Reagan's policies promoted significant racial disparities in the prison population, were ineffective in reducing the availability of drugs or crime on the street, and came at a great financial and human cost for American society. Supporters argued that the numbers for adolescent drug users declined during Reagan's years in office.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan was largely unable to enact his ambitious social policy agenda, which included a federal ban on abortions and an end to desegregation busing. With Reagan's support, conservative Republican Senator Jesse Helms led an effort to prevent the Supreme Court from reviewing state and local laws mandating school prayer, but Republican senators like Lowell Weicker and Barry Goldwater blocked passage of Helms' bill. Despite the lack of major social policy legislation, Reagan was able to influence social policy through regulations and the appointment of conservative Supreme Court Justices.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In 1982, Reagan signed a bill extending the Voting Rights Act for 25 years after a grass-roots lobbying and legislative campaign forced him to abandon his plan to ease that law's restrictions. He also reluctantly accepted the continuation of affirmative action programs and the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Justice Department both prosecuted far fewer civil rights cases per year than they had under Carter. In 1988, Reagan vetoed the Civil Rights Restoration Act, but his veto was overridden by Congress. Reagan had argued that the legislation infringed on states' rights and the rights of churches and business owners.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: No civil rights legislation for gay individuals passed during Reagan's tenure. Many in the Reagan administration, including Communications Director Pat Buchanan, were hostile to the gay community, as were many religious leaders who were important allies to the administration. Gay rights and the growing HIV/AIDS emerged as an important matter of public concern in 1985 after it was disclosed that actor Rock Hudson, a personal friend of President Reagan, was receiving treatment for AIDS. As public anxiety over AIDS rose, the Supreme Court upheld a state law that criminalized homosexuality in the case of "Bowers v. Hardwick". Though Surgeon General C. Everett Koop advocated for a public health campaign designed to reduce the spread of AIDS by raising awareness and promoting the use of condoms, Reagan rejected Koop's proposals in favor of abstinence-only sex education. By 1989, approximately 60,000 Americans had died of AIDS, and liberals strongly criticized Reagan's response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. On the 1980 campaign trail, Reagan spoke of the gay rights movement:


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan's strong preferences for limited federal involvement and deregulation extended to the environment. His main goal was to lessen the burden of regulation on businesses to promote more economic activity in the United States. Because of this policy, Reagan refused to renew the Clean Air Act during his administration. Reagan lessened existing regulations on pollution, cut funding to government environmental agencies, and appointed known anti-environmentalist individuals to key positions presiding over these organizations.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: When Reagan took office in 1981, he "attempted to reduce" money that was directed towards studying the burgeoning field of global warming and human-driven climate change. In the early 1980s, the study of the intersection between human activity and climate change was still in its infancy and scientists were far from a consensus on the topic.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In 1987, the Reagan administration signed the Montreal Protocol in an effort to reduce emissions that damage the ozone layer.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Citing national security concerns, the president's national security team pressed for more surveillance power early during Reagan's first term. Their recommendations were based upon the premise that the federal government's intelligence and counterintelligence capabilities had been weakened by presidents Carter and Ford. On December 4, 1981, Reagan signed Executive Order 12333. This presidential directive broadened the power of the government's intelligence community; mandated rules for spying on United States citizens, permanent residents, and on anyone within the United States; and also directed the Attorney General and others to create further policies and procedures for what information intelligence agencies can collect, retain, and share.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which had begun in 1979 after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Reagan feared that the Soviet Union had gained a military advantage over the United States, and the Reagan administration hoped that heightened military spending would grant the U.S. military superiority and weaken the Soviet economy. Reagan ordered a massive buildup of the United States Armed Forces, directing funding to the B-1 Lancer bomber, the B-2 Spirit bomber, cruise missiles, the MX missile, and the 600-ship Navy. In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, Reagan oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing missile in West Germany. The president also strongly denounced the Soviet Union and Communism in moral terms, describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire." Despite this heavy rhetoric, the Reagan administration continued arms control talks with the Soviet Union in the form of "START". Unlike the "SALT" treaties of the 1970s, which set upper limits on the size of nuclear arsenals, the proposed START treaty would require both sides to reduce their existing nuclear arsenals.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In March 1983, Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a defense project that would have used ground- and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. Reagan believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible. Many scientists and national security experts criticized the project as costly and technologically infeasible, and critics dubbed SDI as "Star Wars" in reference to a popular film series of the same name. Ultimately, the SDI would be canceled in 1993 due to concerns about its cost and effectiveness as well as a changing international situation. However, the Soviets became concerned about the possible effects SDI would have and viewed its development as a violation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. In protest of SDI, the Soviet Union broke off arms control talks, and U.S.-Soviet relations descended to their lowest point since the early 1960s. The Cold War tensions influenced works of popular culture such as the films "The Day After" and "WarGames" (both 1983), and the song "99 Luftballons" (1983) by Nena, each of which exhibited the rising public anxiety for the possibility of a nuclear war.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Under a policy that came to be known as the Reagan Doctrine, the Reagan administration provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Eastern Europe, the CIA provided support to the Polish opposition group, Solidarity, ensuring that it stayed afloat during a period of martial law. Reagan deployed the CIA's Special Activities Division to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the CIA was instrumental in training, equipping, and leading Mujahideen forces against the Soviet Army in the Soviet–Afghan War. By 1987, the United States was sending over $600 million a year, as well as weapons, intelligence, and combat expertise to Afghanistan. The Soviet Union announced it would withdraw from Afghanistan in 1987, but the U.S. was subjected to blowback in the form of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, two groups that arose out of the Mujahideen and that would oppose the United States in future conflicts.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: The Reagan administration placed a high priority on the Central America and the Caribbean Sea, which it saw as a key front in the Cold War. Reagan and his foreign policy team were particularly concerned about the potential influence of Cuba on countries such as Grenada, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. To counter the influence of Cuba and the Soviet Union, Reagan launched the Caribbean Basin Initiative, an economic program designed to aid countries opposed to Communism. He also authorized covert measures, such as the arming of Nicaragua's Contras, to minimize Cuban and Soviet influence in the region. The administration provided support to right-wing governments throughout Latin America, disregarding humans rights abuses in countries like Argentina and El Salvador.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: Tensions rose between the left-wing Grenadan government of Maurice Bishop and the U.S because Cuban construction workers were building an airfield on the island. On October 16, 1983, pro-Communist forces of Hudson Austin led a coup against Bishop, who was subsequently arrested and executed. Reagan dispatched approximately 5,000 U.S. soldiers to invade Grenada nine days after. After two days of fighting that resulted in the deaths of nineteen Americans, forty-five Grenadans, and twenty-four Cubans, Austin's government was overthrown. While the invasion enjoyed public support in the United States and Grenada, it was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Nations General Assembly as "a flagrant violation of international law".


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: In 1979, a group of left-wing rebels in Nicaragua known as the Sandinistas overthrew the president of Nicaragua and installed Daniel Ortega as the country's leader. Fearing that Communists would take over Nicaragua if it remained under the leadership of the Sandinistas, the Reagan administration authorized CIA Director William J. Casey to arm the right-wing Contras. Congress, which favored negotiations between the Contras and Sandinista, passed the 1982 Boland Amendment, prohibiting the CIA and Defense Department from using their budgets to provide aid to the Contras. Still intent on supporting the Contras, the Reagan administration raised funds for the Contras from private donors and foreign governments. When Congress learned that the CIA had secretly placed naval mines in Nicaraguan harbors, Congress passed a second Boland Amendment that barred granting any assistance to the Contras.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: During his second term, Reagan sought to find a way procure the release of seven American hostages held by Hezbollah, a Lebanese paramilitary group supported by Iran. The Reagan administration decided to sell American arms to Iran, then engaged in the Iran–Iraq War, in hopes that Iran would pressure Hezbollah to release the hostages. Secretary of Defense Weinberger and Secretary of State Shultz both opposed the arrangement, so it was handled by National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and McFarlane's successor, John Poindexter. The Reagan administration sold over 2000 missiles to Iran without informing Congress; Hezbollah released four hostages but captured an additional six Americans. On the initiative of Oliver North, an aide on the National Security Council, the Reagan administration redirected the proceeds from the missile sales to the Contras. The transactions became public knowledge by early November 1986. Reagan initially denied any wrongdoing, but on November 25 he announced that Poindexter and North had left the administration and that he would form the Tower Commission to investigate the transactions. A few weeks later, Reagan asked a panel of federal judges to appoint a special prosecutor who would conduct a separate investigation, and the panel chose Lawrence Walsh.


title: Presidency of Ronald Reagan

text: The Tower Commission, chaired by former Republican Senator John Tower, released a report in February 1987 that confirmed that the administration had traded arms for hostages and sent the proceeds of the weapons sales to the Contras. The report laid most of the blame for the operation on North, Poindexter, and McFarlane, but it was also critical of Regan and other White House staffers. In response to the Tower Commission report, Reagan stated, "Its findings are honest, convincing and highly critical...As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities." The Iran–Contra scandal, as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency, raising questions about Reagan's competency and the wisdom of conservative policies. A poll taken in March 1987 showed that 85 percent of respondents believed that the Reagan administration had engaged in an organized cover-up, and half of the respondents believed that Reagan had been personally involved. The administration's credibility was also badly damaged on the international stage, as it had violated its own arms embargo on Iran. Congressional Democrats considered impeaching, but decided that it would be an unwise use of political capital against a weakened president; Democrats were also somewhat mollified by Reagan's decision to replace Chief of Staff Regan with Howard Baker.