text:
Penobscot River

The Penobscot River (Abenaki: Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ) is a 109 mi river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to 264 mi, making it the second-longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains 8610 sqmi.

It arises from four branches in several lakes in north-central Maine, which flow generally east. After the uniting of the West Branch with the East Branch at Medway (45.604°N, -68.531°W), the Penobscot flows 109 mi south, past the city of Bangor, where it becomes navigable. Also at Bangor is the tributary Kenduskeag Stream. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Penobscot Bay. It is home to the Penobscot people that live on Indian Island, and considered to be The People's lifeblood.

Norumbega
Most historians have accepted the Penobscot region as Jean Allefonsce's source for Norumbega, though the matter was hotly contested by some nineteenth century antiquarians, who argued that the name should be identified with their own river or region.

Navigation
The Penobscot River was an early trade corridor to interior Maine from the Atlantic coast. Ocean ships could navigate upstream to Bangor. The cities of Rockland, Belfast, Brewer and Bangor, and the towns of Rockport, Camden, Northport, Searsport, Stockton Springs, Castine, Bucksport, Frankfort, Winterport, Orrington, and Hampden developed adjacent to the Penobscot River estuary. The river upstream of Bangor became an important transportation corridor for log driving to bring wooden logs and pulpwood from interior forests to sawmills and paper mills built to use water power where the city of Howland and the towns of Veazie, Orono, Old Town, Milford, Passadumkeag, West Enfield, Lincoln, Winn, Mattawamkeag, Medway, and Millinocket developed.

European colony
The first European known to have explored the river in 1524 was Estêvão Gomes, a Portuguese navigator who sailed in the service of Spain in the 1520s. The Spaniards, led by Gomez, were the first Europeans to make landfall in what is now Maine, followed by the Frenchman Samuel de Champlain in 1605. A few years later French Jesuit priests came among the Penobscot people as missionaries and converted them to Catholicism. The French settlement of Pentagouet, now Castine, was founded at the point where the river becomes Penobscot Bay, and the Penobscot people made a permanent settlement at Indian Old Town, Maine on an island above the head of navigation, around the Catholic mission. Throughout the first half of the 17th centuries, these were likely the only permanent settlements on the river, although the Penobscots considered the entire river and bay their hunting ground and maintained other seasonal villages along its banks.

In 1669, the Mohawk made several raids from the west that were very destructive to the Penobscot people. During Father Rale's War, New England settlers from Massachusetts also sent periodic raiding parties to the Penobscot, destroying the primary native village in 1723. In a treaty of 1752, however, Massachusetts laid claim to the entire Penobscot watershed, and in 1759 the Pownall Expedition, led by Governor Thomas Pownall, established Fort Pownall on Cape Jellison in what is now Stockton Springs. This signaled the end of French influence over the Penobscot, and the incorporation of the Penobscot River valley into New England.

British colony
The first permanent settler from British North America on the river was Joshua Treat (1726–1802), who was initially the armorer and translator at Fort Pownall. His oldest son, Joshua Treat, Jr., built a log house and sawmill at Marsh Bay in what is now Frankfort, and other members of their extended family, joined by additional settlers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, pushed ever further up-river, eventually restricting the Penobscot people to Indian Island (Old Town, Maine), the present Penobscot Indian Reservation.

American Revolution and modern history
During the American Revolutionary War, the river and bay were the site of the disastrous 1779 Penobscot Expedition, where an entire American fleet was destroyed in a botched attempt to retake Maine from the British. During the War of 1812, the British again invaded Maine and defeated an American force at the Battle of Hampden, sacking the town of Bangor in the process. To prevent this from happening a third time, and because the nearby boundary between the United States and British Canada was still contested into the 1840s, the Federal government in 1844 began constructing a huge granite fort, Fort Knox, opposite the town of Bucksport, near the mouth of the river. The fort never fired a shot in anger, but remains one of the Penobscot's major man-made landmarks.

In the 19th century the river was a conduit for the transport of logs from Maine's Great North Woods, to be sawed into lumber at mills around Old Town and Orono, and transported on ships from Bangor, at the head of tide. (The average high tide at Bangor is 13 ft as of 2009. ) A secondary economic use made of the river late in the century was as a source of sawed ice for urban markets.

In 1931 the Waldo-Hancock Bridge was opened to carry US Route 1 across the river at the Penobscot Narrows between Prospect, in Waldo County, and Verona Island just below Bucksport.

During the 20th century, lumbering was largely supplanted by papermaking, in the form of large wood pulp and paper mills located all along the river from Millinocket and East Millinocket in the north, to South Brewer and Bucksport in the south. Wood pulp and paper mills create dioxins as a byproduct of the chlorine bleaching process in making paper. This substance was discharged from seven mills located close to the Tribal community of Penobscot people, along the Penobscot river. Dioxins, which are highly potent toxic chemicals that may cause cancer and other health problems, were being poured daily into this adjacent river, the Penobscot. Rebecca Sockbeson, a Penobscot, is quoted saying that her people have survived on fish from this river, but "now we are dying from it." She continued on to say that "neither dioxin nor cancer is indigenous to the Penobscot people, however they are both pervasive in my tribal community." As an Indigenous community trying to maintain traditional subsistence living and eating such as fishing or foraging, their way of life and their physical bodies are unequally burdened by issues of water quality and pollution. The health and survival of the Penobscot people is further threatened by the impact that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have on reproduction and the health of their children. The 2015 collaborative report, The Penobscot River and Environmental Contaminants: Assessment of Tribal Exposure Through Sustenance Lifeways, confirms through a four-year quantitative study that these unequal burdens and harmful level of toxins are very real threats and realities faced by the community’s indigenous people. Sockbeson concludes that a treaty is required to ensure that "the breast and spoon we feed our babies with is not filled with cancer, diabetes, learning disabilities, and attention deficit [disorder]."

Paper making was an industry which was responsible for a large amount of the contamination in the Penobscot River. The problem was traced back to HoltraChem, a chemical plant located in Orrington, Maine HoltraChem was responsible for producing many of the chemicals used in papermaking, such as chlorine and mercury. Beginning in 1967, HoltraChem dumped up to 13 tons of mercury into the Penobscot river rather than safely disposing of the chemicals. These chemicals were dumped both legally and illegally, resulting in mass contamination of the river. HoltraChem was the company behind 11 massive chemical spills into the Penobscot River in only 12 months, from 1998 to 1999. Because the Penobscot Tribe is a river based tribe, their culture is directly tied to the River which has become polluted. Through hunting, trapping, fishing, and many other traditional practices, the culture is sustained. Without the continuation of these activities, their culture will begin to become lost. Due to the pollution of the Penobscot river, the waterways, plants, and environment which the nation relies on for their way of life have become contaminated. The Penobscot Nation dates back to more than 9,500 years, and because of the constant pollution, their way of life is soon to be lost. June Sapiel, an activist and member of the Penobscot Nation, is quoted describing the importance of the river, saying “Our water is sacred. That was our highways and our byways…It’s our relative.” Pollution has been gathering in the Penobscot River for at least 150 years, making the consumption of various fish toxic to those who eat them, such as members of the Penobscot nation. In 1987, recommendations for limited fish consumption were given to the Penobscot Nation. It is recommended that members of the Penobscot Nation eat no more than a single serving of fish from the Penobscot River each month.

The development of cheap hydropower also attracted other types of light manufacturing, like textiles and shoes.

21st century
In the 21st century, with the continuing decline of the Maine paper industry, and the divestiture of its woodlands, the Penobscot watershed has become more and more associated with recreational use (fishing, hunting, boating, and tourism) and less with manufacturing.

In 2001, the Old Town Paper Mill won a case against the Penobscot Nation, under the Maine Freedom Access Act, where they were given access to documented tribal correspondence with the EPA in regards to the regulations of water quality. It was announced in 2007 that a study would be conducted by the EPA in regards to the Penobscot river system. This study would examine the levels of contamination from PCBs, mercury, and dioxin in various culturally important species.

In 2006 the Waldo-Hancock Bridge was closed and replaced by the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, a 2,120 foot long, $85,000,000 structure with 135 feet between the water and the bridge’s deck, and the original bridge was subsequently demolished in 2013. A bridge observatory in the support tower on the Waldo County side 420 feet above the surface of the river is open to the public, the only bridge observatory in the United States, and only one of four bridge observatories in the world. The two 447 foot tall granite towers of the bridge are patterned after the Washington Monument which had been largely built with granite quarried from nearby Mt. Waldo.

As part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project, several dams were modified or removed to improve river conditions. Demolition began on the Great Works Dam in 2012, and the Veazie Dam in 2013. A fish ladder was installed at Milford Dam. A fish bypass was installed at Howland Dam. This led to an increase in the number of Atlantic Salmon, Shad, and other fish species in the river.

The Old Town Paper Mill, located in Old Town, Maine, has had a long history of environmental issues. The mill has a long history of environmental concerns and has been cited for numerous violations of environmental regulations, including air and water pollution, hazardous waste management, and chemical spills. The mill has also been the subject of numerous citizen complaints and legal actions over the years. On October 7th, 2020, it was discovered that the Nine Dragons (ND) Paper Mill in Old Town, Maine had spilled chemicals into the Penobscot River. The spill was discovered after elevated pH levels were discovered in the water, in which ND decided to investigate further. It was found that over 30,000 gallons of chemicals, which were used for pulping, had spilled into the river due to a ruptured sewer line. ND Paper Mill reported the spill to the Department of Environmental Protection who assisted in cleanup and repairs to the damaged sewer line. The DEP conducted an investigation into the incident, and found that the spill was caused by a failure in the mill's equipment. It was also found that the mill had failed to properly train employees on the correct way to  handle and store hazardous materials. The spill occurred when a pipeline carrying a mixture of chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide, ruptured, releasing an estimated 15,000 gallons of the mixture into the Penobscot River. The spill created a large plume of foam and smoke, and local residents reported a strong chemical odor in the air. The spill was leaking into the Penobscot river from approximately September 29th to October 7th 2020. It was also noted that the leak was occurring intermittently for about 56 days during 2021 before being discovered. In response to the issue, ND Paper replaced multiple failed floor drains and about 400 feet of steel piping for the sewer system. Since these issues, the company has decided to complete more routine maintenance and inspections in order to prevent future occurrences. Alongside routine inspections, shut-off valves were installed along with alarms to detect the flow of any chemicals which might come through. Finally, unused pipes were sealed off, as they were helping the chemicals to flow through into the river. While ND Paper has taken steps to improve its environmental performance since the spill, concerns remain about its impact on the environment and the local community. The Penobscot River is an important resource for fishing, boating, and a food source, and the spill posed a threat to the river's ecosystem. The chemicals released in the spill can cause significant harm to aquatic life, and can also contaminate drinking water supplies. The spill also had a significant impact on the local economy, as many businesses rely on the river for their livelihoods. The lasting effects that this spill has had on the Penobscot Nation has caused them to lose one of their main food sources, as it has been recommended that less fish be consumed from the river.

The introduction of mercury into the Penobscot River is extremely dangerous and was described as “imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and the environment,” as this watershed is a main source of shellfish and fish alike. Mercury is a neurotoxin which is extremely dangerous to ingest, especially for young, developing children or fetuses. Because of this, the elderly, children, and pregnant women must be extremely careful about ingesting anything which could potentially contain mercury. A court ordered study was completed by the company Mallinckrodt, which over the course of nine years found that the Penobscot River had levels of mercury which were up to 20 times higher than the surrounding areas. From this study, high levels of mercury were detected in wildlife as well, such as ducks, fish, and snapping turtles. Because of these extremely high levels of mercury which were discovered, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), recommend that members of the Penobscot Indian Nation, (PIN), limit consumption of fish and snapping turtles caught in the river to 1-2 meals per month. Due to this recommendation, the overall consumption rates of fish have decreased for the Penobscot Nation The pollution of the Penobscot River has taken a very large toll on the amount of food and resources which can be collected from the river. Mauian Dana, a Tribal Ambassador, said “[T]he pollution has taken a toll on the vitality of our people. We have sustenance fishing rights but cannot live on the fish. When I was a child, the river was thick with foam, had an odor at all times, and if you swam in it, your clothing would be stained and skin would break out.”

The Penobscot River Restoration Trust was a nonprofit organization consisting of many organizations including the Penobscot Nation, Maine Audubon, and many more. From this, the Penobscot River Restoration Project was created, with the goals of a cleaner, healthier river, supporting the PIN culture as well as traditions, and restoring the ecosystem for native plants and animals. The project was discontinued in 2016, however they were able to help the river’s ecosystem and the health of the areas around it. The Penobscot Nation has been fighting big polluters to help restore the Penobscot River back to its original condition. This is being done through lawsuits against big pollution companies, restoring water quality, and removing dams. In 2018, the Penobscot River was voted to become a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, as the river is viewed as a relative to the tribe, with its own fundamental rights. Member of the Penobscot Nation John Banks highlighted the importance and value of the river, saying “It was our life source. For thousands of years, it provided a means for the tribe to sustain itself. And our history, traditions, and cultural identity are very much intertwined with it,” In 2021, a cleanup plan was set into place 22 years after a lawsuit was filed against Mallinckrodt US LLC. This cleanup plan consists of long term monitoring as well as cleaning up the area, along with providing funding to projects for communities and environments which have been affected by this pollution.

In 2022, after more than a half century of mercury contamination, Maine’s longest river is finally getting cleaned up.

River flow and gauges
The United States government maintains three river flow gages on the Penobscot river. The first is on the East Branch in Grindstone (an unincorporated settlement approximately 10 mi south of Stacyville) (45.73028°N, -68.58944°W) where the rivershed is 1086 sqmi. Flow here has ranged from 400 to 1,300 cuft/s. The second is in West Enfield (45.23667°N, -68.64917°W) where the rivershed is 6671 sqmi. Flow here has ranged from 4,410 to 9,660 cuft/s. The third is in Eddington (45.23667°N, -68.64917°W), 0.4 mi downstream from the Veazie Dam where the rivershed is 7764 sqmi.

Angling
Angling, including fly fishing, is common on the river. The West Branch is known as a world class landlocked salmon river, while the East Branch is known for its smallmouth bass fishery. In 2008, the Atlantic Salmon Commission opened the main stem of the river to catch and release fly fishing for Atlantic salmon.

The West Branch is home to landlocked salmon and Brook Trout. There are many deep pools within the river, due to the many slate ledges, making the river ideal for fishing from shore, though there are still areas that are good for canoe fishing. With the Ripogenus Dam by Chesuncook Lake, the West Branch is able to sustain the large landlocked salmon found there, with twelve miles of heavy rapids, deep runs, large pools, and slower moving water in some sections. Baxter State Park is located to the north.

Some of the river's rapids are class IV or even V, making this one of the roughest rivers in the area, and attracting whitewater rafters. Until 1971 the West Branch was a main thoroughfare for the Great Northern Paper Company to sluice its logs to its mill in Millinocket, Maine. In 1971 Great Northern opened the Golden Road (Maine) for transporting the logs. The road parallels the river. The paper industry has been greatly diminished and the Millinocket mill was torn down in 2013. The Golden Road, still a private road, continues to be used by logging trucks and also people using the Penobscot.

May to June are usually when mayflies begin their first hatch. Caddisflies also start their massive hatch around this time, but it can extend into the fall at times. Stoneflies tend to hatch throughout the season. In the West Branch, fishermen are often required to use a variety of different techniques.

Popular culture

 * Henry David Thoreau published an account of travelling up the Penobscot from Bangor in 1846, to climb Mount Katahdin in his work, Ktaadn.
 * Author Stephen King placed his fictional town of Derry, Maine on the Penobscot.
 * The Penobscot is also featured in the film adaptation of the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October as the location chosen in which to hide the Soviet Typhoon class submarine from spy satellites.
 * Part of the Annie Proulx novel Barkskins takes place in Penobscot bay.
 * In Margaret Atwood's The Testaments, Baby Nicole and Aunt Victoria escape Gilead to Canada on the Penobscot River.

title: Penobscot River


text:
Met

Met, MET, The Met or The MET may refer to:

Arts venues

 * Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Met, in New York City
 * Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, or MET, in New York City
 * Metropolitan Opera, or the Met, in New York City
 * Metropolitan Opera House (disambiguation), various buildings
 * The Met (arts centre) in Bury, Greater Manchester
 * Manila Metropolitan Theater in Manila, Philippines

Sports venues

 * Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota
 * Met Park in Norfolk, Virginia
 * MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
 * Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota

Other buildings

 * Metropolitan Bible Church ("The MET"), Ottawa, Canada
 * Metropolitan Building (Minneapolis), until 1961
 * Metropolitan Miami (development), Florida, US
 * Metropolitan Theatre (Winnipeg), Canada
 * The Met (skyscraper), Bangkok, Thailand

Arts, entertainment, and media

 * Met, a fictitious character in Mega Man (v-game) series
 * Met 107, a radio station in Bangkok
 * Mind's Eye Theatre, a live-action role-playing game
 * The Met: Policing London, BBC documentary series

Brands and enterprises

 * MetLife, insurance provider
 * Metropolitan Stores, former Canadian chain
 * Met Foods, American grocery store group
 * MET Group, a Hungarian-Swiss energy company

Education

 * Budapest Metropolitan University, formerly Budapest College of Communication and Business
 * Manchester Metropolitan University, England, UK
 * Michigan English Test, U.S./British language exam
 * Muslim Educational Trust

Meteorological agencies

 * Met Éireann, Ireland
 * Met Office, UK

Policing

 * Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK

Biology and medicine

 * Mesenchymal–epithelial transition
 * MET (gene), encoding hepatocyte growth factor receptor
 * Met, hypermethioninemia
 * Microbial electrochemical technologies

Chemical species

 * Methionine, amino acid abbreviated as Met, or M
 * Methylethyltryptamine, hallucinogen

Patient-focused terms

 * Metabolic equivalent of task, the physical intensity of an activity
 * Motivational enhancement therapy
 * Muscle energy technique, clinical neuromuscular protocol

Space missions

 * Mission Elapsed Time, a method of timekeeping during space missions
 * Modular Equipment Transporter (Apollo program), lunar handcart

Other science and technology, and mathematics

 * Met, the category of metric spaces having metric maps
 * Met, unit of metabolic rate
 * MET Matrix, materials, energy, and toxic emissions
 * Missing transverse energy in particle physics
 * Microwave electrothermal thruster, a form of electric spacecraft propulsion

Transport

 * Nash Metropolitan automobile
 * London Underground:
 * Metropolitan line
 * Metropolitan Railway, originating company
 * Metropolitan Electric Tramways, tram company in London
 * Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County in Waterloo, Iowa, United States
 * Modesto and Empire Traction Company, a shortline railroad
 * Metropolitan Transit Authority (Victoria), colloquially known as The Met, the former metropolitan public transport marketing agency for Melbourne, Australia
 * Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad, one of the predecessors of the Chicago "L" system

Other uses

 * Mediterranean Editors and Translators association
 * Middle European Time or Central European Time

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Met


text:
Gallia Narbonensis

Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first Roman province north of the Alps, and as Gallia Transalpina ("Transalpine Gaul"), distinguishing it from Cisalpine Gaul in Northern Italy. It became a Roman province in the late 2nd century BC. Gallia Narbonensis was bordered by the Pyrenees Mountains on the west, the Cévennes to the north, the Alps on the east, and the Gulf of Lion on the south; the province included the majority of the Rhone catchment. The western region of Gallia Narbonensis was known as Septimania. The province was a valuable part of the Roman Empire, owing to the Greek colony and later Roman Civitas of Massalia, its location between the Spanish provinces and Rome, and its financial output.

Names
The province of Gallia Transalpina ("Transalpine Gaul") was later renamed Gallia Narbonensis, after its newly established capital of Colonia Narbo Martius (colloquially known as Narbo, at the location of the modern Narbonne), a Roman colony founded on the coast in 118 BC. The name Gallia Narbonensis most likely originates in the Augustan era. Its first recorded use was in a census conducted by Gnaeus Pullius Pollio. The Romans had called it Provincia Nostra ("our province") or simply Provincia ("the province"). The term has survived in the modern name of Provence for the eastern part of the area (French Provence, Occitan Provença), now a region of France.

Founding
By the mid-2nd century BC, Rome was trading heavily with the Greek colony of Massalia (modern Marseille) on the southern coast of Gaul. Massalia, founded by colonists from Phocaea, was by this point centuries old and quite prosperous. Rome entered into an alliance with Massalia, by which it agreed to protect the town from local Gauls, nearby Aquitani, sea-borne Carthaginians and other rivals, in exchange for a small strip of land that it wanted in order to build a road to Hispania, to assist in troop transport. The Massalians, for their part, cared more for their economic prosperity than they did for territorial integrity.

During this period, the Mediterranean settlements on the coast were threatened by the powerful Gallic tribes to the north, especially the tribes known as the Arverni and the Allobroges. In the First Transalpine War (125–121 BCE), the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus (later additionally named Allobrogicus) campaigned in the area and defeated the Allobroges and the Arverni under king Bituitus in the Battle of the Isère River. This defeat substantially weakened the Arverni and ensured the further security of Gallia Narbonensis. The area became a Roman province in 121 BCE.

The province had come into Roman control originally under the name Gallia Transalpina (Transalpine Gaul), which distinguished it from Cisalpine Gaul on the near side of the Alps to Rome. In this strip of land, the Romans founded the town of Narbonne in 118 BC. At the same time, they built the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, connecting Gaul to Hispania, and the Via Aquitania, which led toward the Atlantic through Tolosa (Toulouse) and Burdigala (Bordeaux). Thus, the Romans built a crossroads that made Narbonne an optimal trading center, and Narbonne became a major trading competitor to Massalia. From Narbonne, the Romans established the province of Transalpine Gaul, later called Gallia Narbonensis.

During the Sertorian War (80–72 BCE) against the breakaway state of former Roman senator and general Sertorius, Gallia Narbonensis was an important base for military activities. This was an important event in the Romanization of Narbonese Gaul, as it resulted in the Romans organizing the province.

Later history
Control of the province, which bordered directly on Italia, gave the Roman state several advantages: control of the land route between Italy and the Iberian peninsula; a territorial buffer against Gallic attacks on Italy; and control of the lucrative trade routes of the Rhône valley between Gaul and the markets of Massalia. It was from the capital of Narbonne that Julius Caesar began his Gallic Wars. Caesar rebuilt Narbo and built the cities of Forum Julium and Arles. Julius Caesar also granted many communities in Gallia Narbonensis citizenship. In 49 BC, the city of Massalia sided with the Pompeians during the civil war. After the war ended, the city of Massalia lost all of its independence and was fully subject to Roman rule.

In 40 BC, during the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus was given responsibility for Narbonese Gaul (along with Hispania and Africa), while Mark Antony was given the balance of Gaul. After becoming Emperor, Augustus made Gallia Narbonensis a senatorial province governed by a proconsul.

Emperor Diocletian's administrative reorganization of the Empire in c. AD 314 merged the provinces Gallia Narbonensis and Gallia Aquitania into a new administrative unit called Dioecesis Viennensis (Diocese of Vienne) with the capital more to the north in Vienne. The new diocese's name was later changed to Dioecesis Septem Provinciarum (Diocese of the Seven Provinces), indicating that Diocletian had demoted the word "province" to mean a smaller subdivision than in traditional usage.

Galla Narbonensis and surrounding areas were incorporated into the Visigothic Kingdom between AD 462 and 477, permanently ending Roman political control. After the Gothic takeover, the Visigothic dominions were to be generally known as Septimania, while to the east of the lower Rhone the term Provence came into use.

List of proconsular governors of Gallia Narbonensis
(This list is based on A.L.F. Rivet, Gallia Narbonensis (London: Batsford, 1988), pp. 79, 86f.)

 * Gnaeus Pullius Pollio—between 18 and 16 BC
 * Marcus Cincius Saturninus—under Augustus
 * Titedius Labeo—under Tiberius
 * Manius Vibius Balbinus—15–17 AD
 * Torquatus Novellus Atticus—30–34
 * Titus Mussidius Pollianus—34–37
 * Titus Vinius—under Nero
 * L. V[...]dius Bassus—c. 77
 * Gaius Iulius Cornutus Tertullus—before 78
 * Aulus Larcius Priscus—103–109
 * Marcus Acilius Priscus Egrilius Plarianus—118–120
 * Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus—c. 124
 * Lucius Aurelius Gallus—124–127
 * Lucius Novius Crispinus Martialis Saturninus—144–145
 * Gaius Seius Calpurnius Quadratus Sittianus—before 150
 * Lucius Cestius Gallus—between 165 and 183
 * Gnaeus Cornelius Aquilius Niger—between 138 and 192
 * Lucius Fabius Cilo Septiminus Catinius Acilianus Lepidus Fulcinianus—between 180 and 192
 * ...]dius T.f.—2nd century
 * Lucius Ranius Optatus Novatus—between 197 and 214
 * Ignotus, allegedly killed for supporting Geta—c. 210
 * ...]us—between 210 and 230
 * Tiberius Claudius Paulinus—216–217
 * Gaius Aemilius Berenicianus Maximus—between 222 and 235
 * Iulianus—between 222 and 235
 * C. Seius Calpurnius Quadratus Sittianus—middle 3rd century

title: Gallia Narbonensis


text:
DnaB helicase

DnaB helicase is an enzyme in bacteria which opens the replication fork during DNA replication. Although the mechanism by which DnaB both couples ATP hydrolysis to translocation along DNA and denatures the duplex is unknown, a change in the quaternary structure of the protein involving dimerisation of the N-terminal domain has been observed and may occur during the enzymatic cycle. Initially when DnaB binds to dnaA, it is associated with dnaC, a negative regulator. After DnaC dissociates, DnaB binds dnaG.

The N-terminal has a multi-helical structure that forms an orthogonal bundle. The C-terminal domain contains an ATP-binding site and is therefore probably the site of ATP hydrolysis.

In eukaryotes, helicase function is provided by the MCM (Minichromosome maintenance) complex.

The DnaB helicase is the product of the dnaB gene. DnaB is expressed as a monomer and oligomerises into hexamer through N-terminal interactions. Replicative helicases have a central ring and that feature is conserved across bacterial to eukaryotes. The energy for DnaB activity is provided by NTP hydrolysis. Mechanical energy moves the DnaB into the replication fork, physically splitting it in half.

E. coli dnaB
In E. coli, dnaB is a hexameric protein of six 471-residue subunits, which form a ring-shaped structure with threefold symmetry. During DNA replication, the lagging strand of DNA binds in the central channel of dnaB, and the second DNA strand is excluded. The binding of NTPs causes a conformational change and subsequent hydrolysis allows the dnaB to translocate along the DNA, thus mechanically forcing the separation of the DNA strands.

Mechanism of initiation of replication
At least 10 different enzymes or proteins participate in the initiation phase of replication. They open the DNA helix at the origin and establish a prepriming complex for subsequent reactions. The crucial component in the initiation process is the DnaA protein, a member of the AAA+ ATPase protein family (ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities). Many AAA+ ATPases, including DnaA, form oligomers and hydrolyze ATP relatively slowly. This ATP hydrolysis acts as a switch mediating interconversion of the protein between two states. In the case of DnaA, the ATP-bound form is active and the ADP-bound form is inactive.

Eight DnaA protein molecules, all in the ATP-bound state, assemble to form a helical complex encompassing the R and I sites in oriC. DnaA has a higher affinity for the R sites than I sites, and binds R sites equally well in its ATP or ADP-bound form. The I sites, which bind only the ATP-bound DnaA, allow discrimination between the active and inactive forms of DnaA. The tight right-handed wrapping of the DNA around this complex introduces an effective positive supercoil. The associated strain in the nearby DNA leads to denaturation in the A:T-rich 'DUE' (DNA Unwinding Element) region. The complex formed at the replication origin also includes several DNA-binding proteins- Hu, IHF and FIS that facilitate DNA bending.

The DnaC protein, another AAA+ ATPase, then loads the DnaB protein onto the separated DNA strands in the denatured region. A hexamer of DnaC, each subunit bound to ATP, forms a tight complex with the hexameric, ring-shaped DnaB helicase. This DnaC-DnaB interaction opens the DnaB ring, the process being aided by a further interaction between DnaB and DnaA. Two of the ring-shaped DnaB hexamers are loaded in the DUE, one onto each DNA strand. The ATP bound to DnaC is hydrolyzed, releasing the DnaC and leaving the DnaB bound to the DNA.

Loading of the DnaB helicase is the key step in replication initiation. As a replicative helicase, DnaB migrates along the single-stranded DNA in the 5'→3' direction, unwinding the DNA as it travels. The DnaB helicases loaded onto the two DNA strands thus travel in opposite directions, creating two potential replication forks. All other proteins at the replication fork are linked directly or indirectly to DnaB.

title: DnaB helicase


text:
Talk:2005

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 4 one external links on 2005. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit User:Cyberpower678/FaQs for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/31/content_473921.htm
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article563052.ece
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1826434,00.html
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1529329.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 04:43, 8 June 2016 (UTC)

US Presidential inauguration
We've the US presidential inaugurations in the Year articles up to 2001 article. Why can't we do so here? GoodDay (talk) 03:20, 19 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Per WP:RY, the main year articles of 2002 and more recent years are limited to international events. Jim Michael (talk) 14:01, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

2005 Lake Tanganyika earthquake
The justification for adding this item was that there are few earthquakes in Africa. The intent was to give some recognition in this area (in that deadly earthquakes do happen there). This particular article is also on the small side so I didn't feel like it was one more useless item being added to an already bloated page. I did not think twice about listing a deadly and (very) high intensity shock. Dawnseeker2000 00:56, 20 November 2016 (UTC)

First YouTube video
I can see arguments both for and against it being appropriate. If anything were to be included, the date when YouTube first opened for uploads other than from staff might be better. — Arthur Rubin (talk) 19:50, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
 * There's nothing important about the video. We don't include the first videos, articles, posts etc. of other sites on main year articles. YT is very popular, but that doesn't mean the uploading of it first video is an important international event. Jim Michael 2 (talk) 16:41, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I don't think that's right. For one, YouTube isn't "other sites." It is the second-most visited site on the entire Internet, worldwide. Like it or not, the site has had an enormous impact on world events. Sure, that might not have been known in 2005, but we also didn't know in 1789 that the Constitution signed by a handful of representatives would last more than 200 years. This video is the beginning of something internationally momentous and is of general interest to those who want to know what happened in 2005. agt x  16:54, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * It's pop culture rather than an important international event. There are plenty of sites for people who want to find out about such things. Why should only YT be listed? Many sites are popular, influential etc. Jim Michael 2 (talk) 17:23, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * No, that's not correct. YouTube's influence in the global political sphere is extremely well documented:, , , , , , . Respectfully, the view that YouTube is just pop culture is simply outdated. agt x  17:45, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * How does that make the uploading of the first video to YT important? Jim Michael 2 (talk) 11:01, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

Exclude. Purely immaterial and childish. Nothing noteworthy about the video. Why not include the first ever Instagram post too? Or the first ever Tweet? It's a regrettable slippery slope that should definitely be avoided. 146.200.180.251 (talk) 19:58, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Eclipses
See WT:YEARS for a matter relevant to this page. Arthur Rubin (alternate) (talk) 23:09, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
You guys will be adding Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is for March 29. ArekSmith (talk) 01:58, 19 December 2020 (UTC)
 * No, I don't think we will. It would be CRYSTAL ball gazing at the moment, and not a significant event anyway.  Certes (talk) 12:01, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

June 2005 events?
Is there nothing of significance that happened in June? Even if it's just like two or three events, I think the page is just incomplete without events from all months. I don't know, maybe I'm just being pedantic. (User:Jtayl132) 22:21, 11 August 2021
 * There's also no April in the Events section of 2008. If events of substantial international notability happened in those months, they shouldn't be omitted. Jim Michael (talk) 19:34, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

Hariri
@4me689  Which Hariri are you referring to in the collage/caption? The ganymedian (talk) 08:42, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

 * , Hariri refers to Rafic Hariri who was Assassination of assassinated in 2005 4me689 (talk) 16:22, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

Collage thoughts
Please let me know if anyone has any disagreements on the images included in the collage, and I will put it up for vote. Thanks The ganymedian (talk) 22:47, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

Avatar the Last Avenger and blink-182
I understand that these events did happen in 2005, but I don't think these events are significant event to be a major event for the year. 172.242.128.103 (talk) 04:47, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Collage depreciation
At Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Years, a discussion on whether to depreciate collages in general in going on. Please share your thoughts. Koopinator (talk) 07:41, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:2005


text:
Bill Weld

William Floyd Weld (born July 31, 1945) is an American attorney, businessman, author, and politician who served as the 68th Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. A Harvard graduate, Weld began his career as legal counsel to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary before becoming the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and later, the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. He worked on a series of high-profile public corruption cases and later resigned in protest of an ethics scandal and associated investigations into Attorney General Edwin Meese.

Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1990. In the 1994 election, he was reelected by the largest margin of victory in Massachusetts history. In 1996, he was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in Massachusetts, losing to Democratic incumbent John Kerry. Weld resigned as governor in 1997 to focus on his nomination by President Bill Clinton to serve as United States Ambassador to Mexico; due to opposition by socially conservative Senate Foreign Relations committee Chairman Jesse Helms, he was denied a hearing before the Foreign Relations committee and withdrew his nomination. After moving to New York in 2000, Weld sought the Republican nomination for Governor of New York in the 2006 election; when the Republican Party instead endorsed John Faso, Weld withdrew from the race.

Weld became involved in presidential politics in later years. In 2016, he left the Republican Party to become the Libertarian Party running mate of former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson. They received nearly 4.5 million votes, the highest number for a Libertarian ticket, and the best for any third-party ticket since 1996 with Ross Perot's Reform Party.

Returning to the Republican Party, Weld announced in April 2019 that he would challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primaries, launching his campaign. He won his first and only delegate of the primaries in the Iowa caucus in February, making him the first Republican since Pat Buchanan in 1992 to win a delegate while running against an incumbent president. Weld suspended his campaign on March 18, 2020, shortly after Trump's delegate count made him the presumptive Republican nominee, and ultimately placed second in 22 states and second overall with 2.4% of the popular vote, collecting relevant percentages of up to 13% in protest-votes against Trump in several states. He endorsed Democrat Joe Biden seven months later.

Early life and family
Weld was born in Smithtown, New York. Weld's father, David (1911–1972), was an investment banker; his mother, Mary Nichols Weld (1913–1986), was a descendant of William Floyd, a signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. His ancestor Edmund Weld was among the earliest students (Class of 1650) at Harvard College; eighteen other Welds have attended Harvard, and two Harvard buildings are named for the family. A distant cousin, General Stephen Minot Weld Jr., fought with distinction in the Civil War.

Weld attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, graduated with an Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in classics from Harvard College in 1966. He studied economics at University College, Oxford. On return to the US he graduated with a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1970.

His siblings are Francis "Tim" Weld, David Weld, and Anne (married name Collins). His maternal grandfather was the ichthyologist and ornithologist John Treadwell Nichols, and his first cousin is the novelist John Nichols.

Nixon impeachment inquiry
Weld began his legal career as a junior counsel on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry staff during the 1974 impeachment process against Richard Nixon. He contributed to the groundbreaking "Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment" report, which detailed the historical basis and standards for impeachment of a president. He also worked on researching whether impoundment of appropriated funds was an impeachable offense. Among his colleagues was Hillary Clinton.

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts
Weld's experience serving on the impeachment inquiry staff sparked his interest in criminal law. He returned afterward to Massachusetts, where he ran unsuccessfully for Massachusetts Attorney General in 1978. He lost to Democratic incumbent Francis X. Bellotti by 1,532,835 votes (78.4%) to 421,417 (21.6%).

In 1981, Weld was recommended to President Reagan by Rudy Giuliani, then Associate U.S. Attorney General, for appointment as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. During Weld's tenure, the Attorney General's office prosecuted some of New England's largest banks in cases involving money laundering and other white-collar crimes. Weld expanded an ongoing public corruption investigation of the administration of Boston Mayor Kevin White. More than 20 city employees were indicted, pleaded guilty, or were convicted of a range of charges, including several key political supporters of the Mayor. In 1985, The Boston Globe said Weld "has been by far the most visible figure in the prosecution of financial institutions."

Weld gained national recognition in fighting public corruption: he won 109 convictions out of 111 cases.

In 1983, The Boston Globe stated: "The U.S. Attorney's office has not lost a single political corruption case since Weld took over, an achievement believed to be unparalleled in the various federal jurisdictions."

Promotion to Justice Department
In 1986, President Reagan promoted Weld to head of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington, where Weld oversaw 700 employees. Serving from September 15, 1986, until March 29, 1988, Weld was responsible for supervising all federal prosecutions, including those investigated by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as the work of the 93 U.S. Attorneys (who by then included Rudy Giuliani in Manhattan). During this time, Weld worked on some of the Reagan administration's most significant prosecutions and investigations, including the capture of Panama's Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges. Bill Weld was on the prosecution team against James Beggs, Administrator of NASA, and General Dynamics that caused Beggs to take a leave of absence shortly before the Challenger Disaster. After the trial completely exonerated Beggs, Weld was asked to apologize to Beggs. He refused.

While serving as the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department Criminal Division, Weld wrote a memorandum in 1988 to the House Judiciary Committee that formally reviewed the recommendations of the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations final report and reported conclusions of active investigations on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. In light of investigative reports from the FBI's Technical Services Division and the National Academy of Sciences Committee determining that "reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman" in the Kennedy assassination, and that all investigative leads known to the Justice Department for both assassinations had been "exhaustively pursued", the Department concluded "that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy in either the assassination of President Kennedy or the assassination of Dr. King."

In March 1988, Weld resigned from the Justice Department, together with United States Deputy Attorney General Arnold Burns and four aides, in protest of improper conduct by United States Attorney General Edwin Meese. In July 1988, Weld and Burns jointly testified before Congress in favor of a potential prosecution of Edwin Meese for his personal financial conduct, following a report by a special prosecutor investigating Edwin Meese. Meese resigned from office in July 1988 shortly after Weld's and Burns's testimony.

Weld was a senior partner at Hale and Dorr from 1988 until 1990.

Governor of Massachusetts (1991–1997)
In 1990, Weld announced his candidacy for Governor of Massachusetts to replace the outgoing Michael Dukakis. Although Republicans made up under 14% of the Massachusetts electorate and a Republican had not won the gubernatorial election since 1970, Weld's liberal stances on social issues made him a viable candidate for office in the heavily Democratic state. At the state Republican convention, party officials backed Steven Pierce over Weld, and initial polling had Pierce ahead by 25 percentage points. However, Weld gained enough support to force a primary, and in an upset election, he won the Republican nomination over Pierce by a 60–40% margin.

In the general election, he faced John Silber, the president of Boston University. Polls showed Weld anywhere from a statistical tie to trailing by as many as ten points. Voter dissatisfaction with the state's Democratic majority gave Weld support for his promises to reduce the state deficit, lower the unemployment rate, and cut taxes, while Silber's statements to the right of Weld on social issues caused many Democratic voters to vote for Weld. On November 6, 1990, he was elected as the 68th Governor of Massachusetts by a 50–47% margin, to become the first Republican governor of Massachusetts since Francis W. Sargent left office in 1975. Governor Weld is generally considered to have been a moderate or liberal Republican Governor. He is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

The business community reacted strongly to Weld's leadership. In a 1994 survey of chief executives conducted by the Massachusetts High Technology Council, 83% of those polled rated the state's business climate as good or excellent – up from 33% at the beginning of his term. Proponents might claim that Weld's leadership changed the minds of 50% of the CEOs surveyed while others would note the national economic trends or other factors might play a part. Weld also reaped the benefits of the 1990s' prosperity, as the state's unemployment rate fell by more than 3 percentage points during his first term, from 9.6% in 1991 to 6.4% in 1994. As a result, Weld received grades of A in 1992, B in 1994,  and B in 1996  from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, in their biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors. In 1993 he supported adoption of a gun control bill in Massachusetts that included limits on gun purchases under age 21, as well as prohibiting certain types of weapons, which was not ultimately passed. He has since renounced this proposal. Weld is pro-choice and helped to introduce legislation to make it easier for women to access abortion procedures. As Governor, he supported gay and lesbian rights. In 1992, he signed an executive order to recognize domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples. In 1993, he signed into law legislation protecting the rights of gay and lesbian students. He also said he would recognize same-sex marriages that might be performed out of state following a court decision in Hawaii. Weld signed into law the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 that created the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and the legal framework for charter schools in Massachusetts. During his term, he launched a successful effort to privatize many state's human services, laying off thousands of state employees. One of the social services Weld opposed and eventually ended was a program providing higher education to prison inmates. He also worked to expand Medicaid access by requesting more federal funding and, then, allowing more residents to qualify for the plan to both solve budget problems and increase access to health care in the state. After cutting state spending year-over-year for his first two years, the Republican Party lost its ability to sustain a veto in the legislature due to losses in the Massachusetts State Senate, forcing Weld to make greater concessions to Democratic legislators.

In 1994, Weld won reelection with 71% of the vote in the most one-sided gubernatorial contest in Massachusetts electoral history. Weld carried all but five towns in the whole state, even carrying Boston.

In 1995, Weld eulogized one of his longtime supporters, former Massachusetts House member Mary B. Newman, stating, "Mary Newman, for years the grande dame both of Cambridge and its Republican party, launched me in politics by serving as chair of my statewide campaign in 1978."

Following his landslide victory as governor, Weld briefly considered running for the presidency in 1996.

1996 Senate election
On November 30, 1995, Weld announced that he would challenge incumbent Democratic Senator John Kerry in the 1996 election. Weld, who was among the first reasonably well-funded Republican Senate candidates in Massachusetts since Edward Brooke was unseated in 1978, said of the race, "I've spent some time recently considering where I can do the most good for the people of Massachusetts, and right now the fights that matter most to the people of this state are in another arena, Congress."

The race was covered nationwide as one of the most closely watched Senate races that year. Noted for how civil their respective campaigns were of one another, Kerry and Weld negotiated a campaign spending cap and agreed to eight separate debates leading up to the election. Though facing a traditional uphill battle in a state where Democrats outnumbered Republicans 3-to-1, and running the same year as the presidential election, Weld was a popular incumbent governor and polled even with Kerry throughout the election.

In the end, Senator Kerry won re-election with 53 percent to Weld's 45 percent – the last seriously contested Senate race in Massachusetts until the special election for Ted Kennedy's seat in 2010. Notably, President Bill Clinton won Massachusetts in 1996 with 61.5% of the vote.

Ambassadorship nomination and resignation
In July 1997, Weld was nominated to become United States Ambassador to Mexico by President Bill Clinton. His nomination stalled after Senate Foreign Relations committee Chairman Jesse Helms refused to hold a hearing on the nomination, effectively blocking it. Helms was also a Republican and their party held the majority in the chamber, but Helms objected to Weld's moderate stance on social issues such as his support for gay rights, abortion rights, and the legalization of medical marijuana. This refusal to hold hearings was also rumored to be at the request of former Attorney General and friend of Helms, Edwin Meese. Meese reportedly had a long-standing grudge against Weld stemming from Weld's investigation of Meese during the Iran–Contra affair. Meese denied the speculation, asserting that he wished to keep his distance from Weld. Weld publicly criticized Helms, which the White House discouraged him from doing, but Weld relished the opportunity, saying: "It feels like being in a campaign. I feel newly energized. I love to stir up the pot. I seem to click on more cylinders when the pot is stirred up." Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said that Weld's chances of being confirmed weren't "very good, and that he hurt himself by attacking the chairman unfairly and with political rhetoric that was just uncalled for." There was speculation that the White House would let his nomination "die", but he refused, saying that he hoped President Clinton "does not plan to give in to ideological extortion" and that "I wanted to send a message that I wanted to be captain of my ship [the nomination] even if it's going to bottom." Some speculated that attacking the more conservative Helms was a way to position him to pick up votes from fellow moderate Republicans in a potential run for president in 2000, but he rejected this, saying that "I've had a lot of people come up to me on the street and say, 'Give 'em hell. That's the Bill Weld we know and love.'"

Weld resigned the governorship on July 29, 1997, to devote his full attention to campaigning for the ambassadorship, even though few thought he would be successful; there was speculation that he was really resigning because he had become tired of serving as governor. A bipartisan majority of Senators signed letters demanding that Helms advance his nomination, but Helms refused. After an intensive six-week battle, Weld conceded defeat and withdrew his nomination on September 15, 1997. He commented, "I asked President Clinton to withdraw my name from the Senate so I can go back to New England, where no one has to approach the government on bended knee to ask it to do its duty."

Law firm, lobbyist, private equity partner, and 2004 election
Weld was a partner in the Boston and Manhattan offices of the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery from 1997 to 2001, and head of the New York office from 2000 to 2001. Weld was registered as a lobbyist for McDermott Will & Emery. Between 2007 and 2011, Weld was a lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon, CNX Gas Corporation, Sony Electronics and shoemaker New Balance. In December 2000, the private equity firm Leeds Equity Partners announced that Weld would join the firm, to be renamed Leeds Weld & Co., as a general partner, effective on January 1, 2001. At the private equity firm, Weld later "reduced his role to a senior advisor while considering a run for New York governor" in 2005. Weld rejoined McDermott Will & Emery in 2006. Weld was admitted to the bar in New York in 2008. In 2012, Weld moved to the Boston law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, becoming a partner there and a principal with the firm's government relations affiliate, ML Strategies LLC.

During the re-election campaign of President George W. Bush, who was running against Weld's old foe John Kerry, Weld helped Bush to prepare for the debates.

Kentucky college management
From January to October 2005, Weld was chief executive of Decker College in Louisville, Kentucky. His term ended as the college was closing under bankruptcy protection following a disagreement with the U.S. Department of Education about accreditation of its construction-related courses and online instruction. This matter would follow Weld into the 2006 race for Governor of New York, with former U.S. Senator from New York Alfonse D'Amato asserting that Weld was responsible and oversaw "multimillion dollar looting".

On March 27, 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported as part of an opinion article that "Bankruptcy trustee Robert Keats alleged [Ralph] LoBosco", a Department of Education employee, "was trying to exact revenge against Decker CEO William Weld". The article continued: "Education Department administrative law judge Robert Layton recently affirmed a 2012 bankruptcy court finding that the Council on Occupational Education had failed to tell the truth in stating that Decker's online programs were never accredited. The Council's 'factually erroneous' assertion caused the Education Department to withdraw federal student aid in 2005, which precipitated Decker's bankruptcy."

Candidacy for Governor of New York, 2005–06
After being Governor of Massachusetts, Weld moved to New York in 2000. On April 24, 2005, it was reported that he was in talks with the New York Republicans to run for Governor of New York in 2006, against likely Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer. Incumbent GOP Governor George Pataki announced on July 27 that he would not seek a fourth term. On August 19, 2005, Weld officially announced his candidacy for Governor of New York, seeking to become the second person after Sam Houston to serve as governor of two different U.S. states.

In December 2005, Weld received the backing of the Republican county chairs of New York State during a county chairs meeting. On April 29, 2006, Weld received the Libertarian Party's nomination for Governor Of New York. Weld reportedly offered his chief rival for the nomination, former Republican Assembly leader John Faso, the chance to join his ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor, an offer Faso reportedly declined. Faso gained increasing support from party leaders in various counties, including Westchester and Suffolk, both of which had large delegate counts to the state convention.

On June 1, 2006, the Republican State Convention voted 61% to 39% to endorse Faso over Weld. On June 5, Stephen J. Minarik (the chairman of the state Republican Party, and Weld's most prominent backer), called on Weld to withdraw from the race in the interest of party unity. Weld formally announced his withdrawal from the race the following day and returned to private life. Spitzer would go on to defeat Faso by the largest margin in New York gubernatorial history.

Later political involvement
Weld publicly endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the presidency on January 8, 2007; he was a co-chairman for Romney's campaign in New York State. On the same day that Weld endorsed Romney, Gov. and Mrs. Weld also raised $50,000 for Romney's exploratory committee. Weld personally made a donation of $2,100, the maximum allowed per person per election at the time. After the maximum allowed rose to $2,300, Weld donated another $200.

Weld was also active in campaigning for Romney in New Hampshire, where both governors have been known to travel together. Weld went on to endorse Barack Obama over John McCain in the general election. Weld endorsed Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

In February 2016, Weld endorsed Ohio Governor John Kasich for the Republican presidential nomination.

2016 Libertarian vice presidential nomination

On May 17, 2016, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's 2012 presidential nominee and the leading candidate for its 2016 nomination, announced his selection of Weld to be his choice for running mate. The vice-presidential candidate is formally nominated separately from and after the presidential candidate under the Libertarian Party's rules, although as the presidential nominee Johnson was first allowed to speak about his endorsement of Weld. Both candidates won their nominations on a second ballot after narrowly failing to attain an absolute majority on the first ballot. Weld accepted the Libertarian Party's nomination for vice president at the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando, Florida on May 29.

During the campaign, Weld took the lead on fundraising operations, as well as appearing on national television and at campaign rallies across the nation. Together, Johnson and Weld were the first presidential ticket to consist of two Governors since the 1948 election when Thomas Dewey of New York ran as a Republican with Earl Warren of California and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina ran as a States' Rights Democrat with Fielding L. Wright of Mississippi. Despite polling higher than any third-party campaign since Ross Perot in 1992, Johnson and Weld were excluded from the debates controlled by the Commission on Presidential Debates and their poll numbers subsequently declined.

Nationwide, the Johnson/Weld ticket received 4,488,919 votes (3.3%), breaking the Libertarian Party's record for both absolute vote total (previously 1,275,923 for Johnson in 2012) and percentage (previously 1.1% for Ed Clark and David Koch in 1980).

2020 presidential campaign
On January 17, 2019, Weld rejoined the Republican Party, increasing speculation that he would run for president. On February 14, 2019, Weld announced that he was launching a presidential exploratory committee for the 2020 Republican primary, against incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. Appearing on Bloomberg News, Weld suggested that he could beat Trump in 2020 with help from independent voters. He accused Trump on CNN the same weekend of having "showed contempt for the American people." Weld challenged Trump on the issue of climate disruption, saying that he had made no effort to combat the effects of global warming. "We've got the polar ice cap that's going to melt with devastating consequences if we don't get carbon out of the atmosphere," Weld told America's Newsroom, noting that he would plan ahead for an "environmental catastrophe."

On April 15, 2019, Weld formally announced his candidacy for President of the United States on The Lead with Jake Tapper. Weld received 1.3% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses and one pledged delegate on February 3.

Weld suspended his campaign on March 18, 2020.

After ending his campaign, Weld announced that he voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Other activities

Weld is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He co-chaired its Independent Task Force on North America, which studied the liberalization of markets and free trade between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He was a principal at Leeds, Weld & Co., which describes itself as the United States's largest private equity fund focused on investing in the education and training industry. Weld serves on the board of directors of Acreage Holdings. For a time, he wrote thrillers and works of historical fiction.

In February 2013, Weld publicly supported legal recognition for same-sex marriage in an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Weld joined Our America Initiative's 2016 Liberty Tour a number of times, speaking alongside other libertarian leaders and activists such as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition executive director and former Baltimore Police Chief Neill Franklin, Free the People's Matt Kibbe, Republican activists Ed Lopez and Liz Mair, Conscious Capitalism's Alex McCobin, Reason Foundation's David Nott, Foundation for Economic Education's Jeffrey Tucker, and the Libertarian Party's Carla Howell (as well as some speakers not ordinarily associated with libertarianism, such as author and journalist Naomi Wolf); the tour raised "awareness about third party inclusion in national presidential debates" and "spread the message of liberty and libertarian thought."

Throughout 2017 and 2018, Weld appeared at several state Libertarian Party conventions and endorsed various Libertarian candidates in the 2018 United States elections. In January 2019, Weld changed his party affiliation back to Republican, in preparation for his presidential run as a Republican.

Weld currently works as a lobbyist for ML Strategies. Weld's primary areas of focus as a lobbyist are helping c-level executives navigate competition, white collar investigation and litigation, and "dealing with government at all levels". Weld also specializes in ESG consulting at ML Strategies.

Weld also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.

Personal life
Weld married Susan Roosevelt Weld, a great-granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt, on June 7, 1975. Susan Roosevelt Weld was a professor at Harvard University specializing in ancient Chinese civilization and law, and she later served as General Counsel to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The Welds had five children: David Minot (born 1976), a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Ethel Derby (born 1977), a physician; Mary Blake (born 1979), an attorney; Quentin Roosevelt (born 1981), an attorney; and Frances Wylie (born 1983), who has worked for the San Francisco Giants. The couple divorced in 2002.

Weld's second and present wife is writer Leslie Marshall. They live in Canton, Massachusetts.

Weld is an Episcopalian.

Writings
Weld has written three mass market novels:
 * Stillwater (2003) ISBN 0-15-602723-2
 * Mackerel by Moonlight (1999) ISBN 0-671-03874-5
 * Big Ugly (2002) ISBN 0-7434-1037-8

title: Bill Weld


text:
Baluran National Park

Baluran National Park is located in Situbondo Regency, East Java, Indonesia. It has a relatively dry climate and mainly consists of savanna (40%), as well as lowland forests, mangrove forests and hills, with Mount Baluran (1,247m) as its highest peak.

Baluran National Park is situated at the north-eastern extremity of Java, close to the islands of Bali and Madura. The park is bordered by the Madura Strait to the north, the Bali Strait to the east, the river Bajulmati (Wonorejo village) to the west and the river Klokoran (Sumberanyar village) to the south. The park is a rough circle, with the extinct volcano, Baluran, at its centre. Its total area is 25,000 ha. It consists of five zones: the Main Zone (12,000 ha), the Wilderness Zone (5,537 ha, comprising 1,063 ha water and 4,574 ha land), the Intensive Utilization Zone (800 ha), the Specific Utilization Zone (5,780 ha) and the Rehabilitation Zone (783 ha).

Flora and fauna
There have been 444 plant species recorded in the park, including some endangered plant species such as: Ziziphus rotundifolia, Tamarindus indica, Dioscorea hispida, Aleurites moluccanus and Corypha utan.

Baluran National Park hosts 26 mammal species, including the endangered Banteng, Sumatran dhole, Indian muntjac, Java mouse-deer, Sunda leopard cat, Javan leopard and Javan lutung. The banteng population decreased from 338 in 1996 to just 26 in 2012. This is caused by invasive species such as Acacia nilotica and the water buffalo. However, intensive breeding efforts have increased the population to around 200 individuals by 2020.

Avifauna in the park include the green peafowl, red junglefowl, Malabar pied hornbill, rhinoceros hornbill and lesser adjutant. Until 2010 there had been 155 species of bird recorded in the park, but following a bird photography competition in 2012, the number of species was revised to 196.

Extinct
Javan tigers survived in the protected area until the mid-1960s.

Conservation and threats
The area has been protected since 1928, first initiated by the Dutch hunter A.H. Loedeboer. In 1937 it was declared a wildlife refuge by the Dutch colonial government. In 1980 the area was declared a national park.

Poaching poses a major threat to the wildlife in the park, especially to the decreasing banteng population. According to ProFauna Indonesia, not only locals but also members of the military have been involved in poaching.

The thorny acacia, which occupied at least 6,000 hectares of savannah at the Baluran National Park, has made it increasingly difficult for bantengs to find food. In 2013, there were only 35 bantengs, while in 1996 there were still 320 bantengs.

title: Baluran National Park


text:
Baluran

Baluran is a stratovolcano located on the island of Java. It is at the very northeast of the island and is overshadowed by its much larger neighbour Ijen. The mountain has not erupted in historical times, although it is considered to be of Holocene age.

title: Baluran


text:
User:Jfactotum67

Jump to
WikiProject Categories/Current subprojects

Village Pump

Lists of stubs
To find a stub, use the following lists: (to see what links to this and similar pages):

Automated: Most wanted stubs || Stubs w/o stub-msg || Shortpages || Special:Shortpages (static, rarely updated)

By what links to special stub pages: MW:stub || Wp:ff/stub (A list of 500) || Stub || Wp:Stub || || Stub article

By full-text search for  : http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?search=

title: User:Jfactotum67


text:
Sign function

In mathematics, the sign function or signum function (from signum, Latin for "sign") is a function that has the value $−1$, $+1$ or $0$ according to whether the sign of a given real number is positive or negative, or the given number is itself zero. In mathematical notation the sign function is often represented as $$\sgn x$$ or $$\sgn (x)$$.

Definition
The signum function of a real number $$x$$ is a piecewise function which is defined as follows: $$ \sgn x :=\begin{cases} -1 & \text{if } x < 0, \\ 0 & \text{if } x = 0, \\ 1 & \text{if } x > 0. \end{cases}$$

The law of trichotomy states that every real number must be positive, negative or zero. The signum function denotes which unique category a number falls into by mapping it to one of the values $−1$, $+1$ or $0,$ which can then be used in mathematical expressions or further calculations.

For example: $$\begin{array}{lcr} \sgn(2) &=& +1\,, \\ \sgn(\pi) &=& +1\,, \\ \sgn(-8) &=& -1\,, \\ \sgn(-\frac{1}{2}) &=& -1\,, \\ \sgn(0) &=& 0\,. \end{array}$$

Basic properties
Any real number can be expressed as the product of its absolute value and its sign function: $$ x = |x| \sgn x\,.$$

It follows that whenever $$x$$ is not equal to 0 we have $$ \sgn x = \frac{x}{|x|} = \frac{|x|}{x}\,.$$

Similarly, for any real number $$x$$, $$ |x| = x\sgn x\,. $$ We can also be certain that: $$\sgn (xy)=(\sgn x)(\sgn y)\,,$$ and so $$\sgn (x^n)=(\sgn x)^n\,.$$

Some algebraic identities
The signum can also be written using the Iverson bracket notation: $$\sgn x = -[x < 0] + [x > 0] \,.$$

The signum can also be written using the floor and the absolute value functions: $$\sgn x = \Biggl\lfloor \frac{x}{|x|+1} \Biggr\rfloor - \Biggl\lfloor \frac{-x}{|x|+1} \Biggr\rfloor \,.$$ If $$0^0$$ is accepted to be equal to 1, the signum can also be written for all real numbers as $$\sgn x = 0^ \left ( - x + \left\vert x \right\vert \right ) - 0^ \left ( x + \left\vert x \right\vert  \right ) \,.$$

Discontinuity at zero

Although the sign function takes the value $−1$ when $$x$$ is negative, the ringed point $(0, −1)$ in the plot of $$\sgn x$$ indicates that this is not the case when $$x=0$$. Instead, the value jumps abruptly to the solid point at $(0, 0)$ where $$\sgn(0)=0$$. There is then a similar jump to $$\sgn(x)=+1$$ when $$x$$ is positive. Either jump demonstrates visually that the sign function $$\sgn x$$ is discontinuous at zero, even though it is continuous at any point where $$x$$ is either positive or negative.

These observations are confirmed by any of the various equivalent formal definitions of continuity in mathematical analysis. A function $$f(x)$$, such as $$\sgn(x),$$ is continuous at a point $$x=a$$ if the value $$f(a)$$ can be approximated arbitrarily closely by the sequence of values $$f(a_1),f(a_2),f(a_3),\dots,$$ where the $$a_n$$ make up any infinite sequence which becomes arbitrarily close to $$a$$ as $$n$$ becomes sufficiently large. In the notation of mathematical limits, continuity of $$f$$ at $$a$$ requires that $$f(a_n) \to f(a)$$ as $$n \to \infty$$ for any sequence $$\left(a_n\right)_{n=1}^\infty$$ for which $$a_n \to a.$$ The arrow symbol can be read to mean approaches, or tends to, and it applies to the sequence as a whole.

This criterion fails for the sign function at $$a=0$$. For example, we can choose $$a_n$$ to be the sequence $$1,\tfrac{1}{2},\tfrac{1}{3},\tfrac{1}{4},\dots,$$ which tends towards zero as $$n$$ increases towards infinity. In this case, $$a_n \to a$$ as required, but $$\sgn(a)=0$$ and $$\sgn(a_n)=+1$$ for each $$n,$$ so that $$\sgn(a_n) \to 1 \neq \sgn(a)$$. This counterexample confirms more formally the discontinuity of $$\sgn x$$ at zero that is visible in the plot.

Despite the sign function having a very simple form, the step change at zero causes difficulties for traditional calculus techniques, which are quite stringent in their requirements. Continuity is a frequent constraint. One solution can be to approximate the sign function by a smooth continuous function; others might involve less stringent approaches that build on classical methods to accommodate larger classes of function.

Smooth approximations and limits
The signum function coincides with the limits $$\sgn x=\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{1-2^{-nx}}{1+2^{-nx}}\,.$$ and $$\sgn x = \lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{2}{\pi}{\rm arctan}(nx)\, = \lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{2}{\pi}\tan^{-1}(nx)\,.$$as well as,

$$\sgn x=\lim_{n\to\infty}\tanh(nx)\,.$$Here, $$\tanh(x)$$ is the Hyperbolic tangent and the superscript of -1, above it, is shorthand notation for the inverse function of the Trigonometric function, tangent.

For $$k>1$$, a smooth approximation of the sign function is $$\sgn x \approx \tanh kx \,.$$ Another approximation is $$\sgn x \approx \frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + \varepsilon^2}} \,.$$ which gets sharper as $$\varepsilon\to 0$$; note that this is the derivative of $$\sqrt{x^2+\varepsilon ^2}$$. This is inspired from the fact that the above is exactly equal for all nonzero $$x$$ if $$\varepsilon=0$$, and has the advantage of simple generalization to higher-dimensional analogues of the sign function (for example, the partial derivatives of $$\sqrt{x^2+y^2}$$).

See .

Differentiation and integration
The signum function $$\sgn x$$ is differentiable everywhere except when $$x=0.$$ Its derivative is zero when $$x$$ is non-zero: $$ \frac{\text{d}\, (\sgn x)}{\text{d}x} = 0 \qquad \text{for } x \ne 0\,.$$

This follows from the differentiability of any constant function, for which the derivative is always zero on its domain of definition. The signum $$\sgn x$$ acts as a constant function when it is restricted to the negative open region $$x<0,$$ where it equals $-1$. It can similarly be regarded as a constant function within the positive open region $$x>0,$$ where the corresponding constant is $+1.$ Although these are two different constant functions, their derivative is equal to zero in each case.

It is not possible to define a classical derivative at $$x=0$$, because there is a discontinuity there. Nevertheless, the signum function has a definite integral between any pair of finite values $a$ and $b$, even when the interval of integration includes zero. The resulting integral for $a$ and $b$ is then equal to the difference between their absolute values: $$ \int_a^b (\sgn x) \, \text{d}x = |b| - |a| \,.$$

Conversely, the signum function is the derivative of the absolute value function, except where there is an abrupt change in gradient before and after zero: $$ \frac{\text{d} |x|}{\text{d}x} = \sgn x \qquad \text{for } x \ne 0\,.$$

We can understand this as before by considering the definition of the absolute value $$|x|$$ on the separate regions $$x<0$$ and $$x<0.$$ For example, the absolute value function is identical to $$x$$ in the region $$x>0,$$ whose derivative is the constant value $+1$, which equals the value of $$\sgn x$$ there.

Because the absolute value is a convex function, there is at least one subderivative at every point, including at the origin. Everywhere except zero, the resulting subdifferential consists of a single value, equal to the value of the sign function. In contrast, there are many subderivatives at zero, with just one of them taking the value $$\sgn(0) = 0$$. A subderivative value $0$ occurs here because the absolute value function is at a minimum. The full family of valid subderivatives at zero constitutes the subdifferential interval $$[-1,1]$$, which might be thought of informally as "filling in" the graph of the sign function with a vertical line through the origin, making it continuous as a two dimensional curve.

In integration theory, the signum function is a weak derivative of the absolute value function. Weak derivatives are equivalent if they are equal almost everywhere, making them impervious to isolated anomalies at a single point. This includes the change in gradient of the absolute value function at zero, which prohibits there being a classical derivative.

Although it is not differentiable at $$x=0$$ in the ordinary sense, under the generalized notion of differentiation in distribution theory, the derivative of the signum function is two times the Dirac delta function. This can be demonstrated using the identity $$ \sgn x = 2 H(x) - 1 \,,$$ where $$H(x)$$ is the Heaviside step function using the standard $$H(0)=\frac{1}{2}$$ formalism. Using this identity, it is easy to derive the distributional derivative: $$ \frac{\text{d}\sgn x}{\text{d}x} = 2 \frac{\text{d} H(x)}{\text{d}x} = 2\delta(x) \,.$$

Fourier transform
The Fourier transform of the signum function is $$\int_{-\infty}^\infty (\sgn x) e^{-ikx}\text{d}x = PV\frac{2}{ik},$$ where $$PV$$ means taking the Cauchy principal value.

Complex signum
The signum function can be generalized to complex numbers as: $$\sgn z = \frac{z}{|z|} $$ for any complex number $$z$$ except $$z=0$$. The signum of a given complex number $$z$$ is the point on the unit circle of the complex plane that is nearest to $$z$$. Then, for $$z\ne 0$$, $$\sgn z = e^{i\arg z}\,,$$ where $$\arg$$ is the complex argument function.

For reasons of symmetry, and to keep this a proper generalization of the signum function on the reals, also in the complex domain one usually defines, for $$z=0$$: $$\sgn(0+0i)=0$$

Another generalization of the sign function for real and complex expressions is $$\text{csgn}$$, which is defined as: $$ \operatorname{csgn} z= \begin{cases} 1 & \text{if } \mathrm{Re}(z) > 0, \\ -1 & \text{if } \mathrm{Re}(z) < 0, \\ \sgn \mathrm{Im}(z) & \text{if } \mathrm{Re}(z) = 0 \end{cases} $$ where $$\text{Re}(z)$$ is the real part of $$z$$ and $$\text{Im}(z)$$ is the imaginary part of $$z$$.

We then have (for $$z\ne 0$$): $$\operatorname{csgn} z = \frac{z}{\sqrt{z^2}} = \frac{\sqrt{z^2}}{z}. $$

Polar decomposition of matrices
Thanks to the Polar decomposition theorem, a matrix $$\boldsymbol A\in\mathbb K^{n\times n}$$ ($$n\in\mathbb N$$ and $$\mathbb K\in\{\mathbb R,\mathbb C\}$$) can be decomposed as a product $$\boldsymbol Q\boldsymbol P$$ where $$\boldsymbol Q$$ is a unitary matrix and $$\boldsymbol P$$ is a self-adjoint, or Hermitian, positive definite matrix, both in $$\mathbb K^{n\times n}$$. If $$\boldsymbol A$$ is invertible then such a decomposition is unique and  $$\boldsymbol Q$$ plays the role of $$\boldsymbol A$$'s signum. A dual construction is given by the decomposition $$\boldsymbol A=\boldsymbol S\boldsymbol R$$ where $$\boldsymbol R$$ is unitary, but generally different than $$\boldsymbol Q$$. This leads to each invertible matrix having a unique left-signum $$\boldsymbol Q$$ and right-signum $$\boldsymbol R$$.

In the special case where $$\mathbb K=\mathbb R,\ n=2,$$ and the (invertible) matrix $$\boldsymbol A = \left[\begin{array}{rr}a&-b\\b&a\end{array}\right]$$, which identifies with the (nonzero) complex number $$a+\mathrm i b=c$$, then the signum matrices satisfy $$\boldsymbol Q=\boldsymbol P=\left[\begin{array}{rr}a&-b\\b&a\end{array}\right]/|c|$$ and identify with the complex signum of $$c$$, $$\sgn c = c/|c|$$. In this sense, polar decomposition generalizes to matrices the signum-modulus decomposition of complex numbers.

Signum as a generalized function
At real values of $$x$$, it is possible to define a generalized function–version of the signum function, $$\varepsilon (x)$$ such that $$\varepsilon (x)^2=1$$ everywhere, including at the point $$x=0$$, unlike $$\sgn$$, for which $$(\sgn 0)^2=0$$. This generalized signum allows construction of the algebra of generalized functions, but the price of such generalization is the loss of commutativity. In particular, the generalized signum anticommutes with the Dirac delta function $$\varepsilon (x) \delta(x)+\delta(x) \varepsilon(x) = 0 \, ;$$ in addition, $$\varepsilon (x)$$ cannot be evaluated at $$x=0$$; and the special name, $$\varepsilon$$ is necessary to distinguish it from the function $$\sgn$$. ($$\varepsilon (0)$$ is not defined, but $$\sgn 0=0$$.)

title: Sign function


text:
Wedge issue

A wedge issue is a political or social issue which is controversial or divisive within a usually-united group. Wedge issues can be advertised or publicly aired in an attempt to strengthen the unity of a population, with the goal of enticing polarized individuals to give support to an opponent or to withdraw their support entirely out of disillusionment. The use of wedge issues gives rise to wedge politics.

Political campaigns use wedge issues to stoke tension within a targeted population. A wedge issue may often be a point of internal dissent within an opposing party, which that party attempts to suppress or ignore discussing because it divides "the base". Typically, wedge issues have a cultural or populist theme, relating to matters such as crime, national security, sexuality (e.g. same-sex marriage), abortion or race. A party may introduce a wedge issue to an opposing population, while aligning itself with the dissenting faction of the opposition. A wedge issue, when introduced, is intended to bring about such things as:

 * A debate, often vitriolic, within the opposing party, giving the public a perception of disarray.
 * The defection of supporters of the opposing party's minority faction to the other party (or independent parties) if they lose the debate.
 * The legitimising of sentiment which, while perhaps popularly held, is usually considered inappropriate; criticisms from the opposition then make it appear beholden to special interests or fringe ideology.
 * In an extreme case, a wedge issue might contribute to the actual fracture of the opposing party as another party spins off, taking voters with it.

To prevent these consequences from occurring, the opposing party may attempt to take a "pragmatic" stand and officially endorse the views of its minority faction. However, this can lead to the defection of supporters of the opposing party's majority faction to a third party, should they lose the debate.

Australia
A case study of the use of wedge issues in practice comes from the 2001 federal election campaign in Australia. In early and mid-2001, a great deal of public attention was focused on boat people (asylum seekers arriving on unauthorised vessels), there having been several widely publicised landings of hundreds of people. On August 24, 2001, a ship illegally bearing 460 such people became distressed, and its passengers were picked up by the Norwegian cargo vessel MV Tampa.

The governing Liberal Party of Australia took the opportunity to appear tough on asylum seekers. The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) had a slight majority of people strongly favouring more sympathetic treatment, and was hence perceived as internally split. This provoked a fierce debate within the ALP on the relative merits of siding with national opinion (in favour of the Government's actions) or standing on party principle (opposing). But with over 90% of some television polls supporting the government's stance, the leader of the ALP Kim Beazley chose to silence the majority and agree to the tougher policy—though it ended up opposing certain elements of proposed legislation, which the Liberal Party blasted as "weak on border security".

The damage was done, with the party appearing inconsistent and divided. The Liberal Party campaigned largely on a platform of border security and increased its support at the federal election that November despite being the incumbent. Some who would typically vote Labor voted instead for the Greens and the Democrats in protest against what they saw as the ALP's complicity.

It was later claimed that the controversial campaign strategists Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor had an active role in making the Tampa incident a wedge issue for Howard to exploit.

United States
For example, some Republican strategists have hoped that African Americans, a traditionally Democratic voting bloc, yet also one that possesses some of the most conservative views on matters of homosexuality, may be more inclined to vote for the Republican Party because of their opposition to gay marriage. In 2012, internal National Organization for Marriage memos dating to 2009 were released that stated that they sought "to drive a wedge between gays and blacks" by promoting "African American spokespeople for marriage", thus provoking same-sex marriage supporters into "denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots", and to "interrupt" the "assimilation" of Latinos into "dominant Anglo culture" by making the stance against same-sex marriage "a key badge of Latino identity".

Likewise, Democratic strategists have hoped that the issue of stem cell research could be used as a wedge issue against the right, since some Republicans support the research while others are morally opposed to the use of embryonic cells in research.

The well known political science mantra "God, guns and gays" typifies the Republican wedge strategy crafted alongside other famous wedge issues beginning in the Nixon era, aiding the party in winning the South from the Democrats.

Reform of the laws regarding illegal immigration to the United States operated as a wedge issue in 2007. Some Republican legislators, with the backing of President George W. Bush, sought to address the dual issues of ongoing illegal immigration to the United States and the illegal status of an estimated 12 million people currently living in America. Other Republicans bitterly opposed any "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, out of fear that their constituents were unsupportive of immigration reform. Some Democrats pitched in to keep the issue alive as they recognized the issue was deeply dividing the Republican party between advocates of reform and advocates of the status quo. The result was a bitter division in Republican ranks and a stalled bill in Congress. After the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the views of American voters shifted to align more closely with their parties along partisan lines, reducing immigration policy's status as a wedge issue.

title: Wedge issue