Project 1.6: Fill & Download for Free

In 1970, a Zambia-based nun named Sister Mary Jucunda wrote to Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, then-associate director of science at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in response to his ongoing research into a piloted mission toMars. Specifically, she asked how he could suggest spending billions of dollars on such a project at a time when so many children were starving on Earth.Stuhlinger soon sent the following letter of explanation to Sister Jucunda, along with a copy of "Earthrise," the iconic photograph of Earth taken in 1968 by astronaut William Anders, from the Moon (also embedded in the transcript). His thoughtful reply was later published by NASA, and titled, "Why Explore Space?"(Source: Roger Launius, via Gavin Williams; Photo above: The surface of Mars, taken by Curiosity today, August 6th, 2012. Via NASA.)May 6, 1970Dear Sister Mary Jucunda:Your letter was one of many which are reaching me every day, but it has touched me more deeply than all the others because it came so much from the depths of a searching mind and a compassionate heart. I will try to answer your question as best as I possibly can.First, however, I would like to express my great admiration for you, and for all your many brave sisters, because you are dedicating your lives to the noblest cause of man: help for his fellowmen who are in need.You asked in your letter how I could suggest the expenditures of billions of dollars for a voyage to Mars, at a time when many children on this Earth are starving to death. I know that you do not expect an answer such as "Oh, I did not know that there are children dying from hunger, but from now on I will desist from any kind of space research until mankind has solved that problem!" In fact, I have known of famined children long before I knew that a voyage to the planet Mars is technically feasible. However, I believe, like many of my friends, that travelling to the Moon and eventually to Mars and to other planets is a venture which we should undertake now, and I even believe that this project, in the long run, will contribute more to the solution of these grave problems we are facing here on Earth than many other potential projects of help which are debated and discussed year after year, and which are so extremely slow in yielding tangible results.Before trying to describe in more detail how our space program is contributing to the solution of our Earthly problems, I would like to relate briefly a supposedly true story, which may help support the argument. About 400 years ago, there lived a count in a small town in Germany. He was one of the benign counts, and he gave a large part of his income to the poor in his town. This was much appreciated, because poverty was abundant during medieval times, and there were epidemics of the plague which ravaged the country frequently. One day, the count met a strange man. He had a workbench and little laboratory in his house, and he labored hard during the daytime so that he could afford a few hours every evening to work in his laboratory. He ground small lenses from pieces of glass; he mounted the lenses in tubes, and he used these gadgets to look at very small objects. The count was particularly fascinated by the tiny creatures that could be observed with the strong magnification, and which he had never seen before. He invited the man to move with his laboratory to the castle, to become a member of the count's household, and to devote henceforth all his time to the development and perfection of his optical gadgets as a special employee of the count.The townspeople, however, became angry when they realized that the count was wasting his money, as they thought, on a stunt without purpose. "We are suffering from this plague," they said, "while he is paying that man for a useless hobby!" But the count remained firm. "I give you as much as I can afford," he said, "but I will also support this man and his work, because I know that someday something will come out of it!"Indeed, something very good came out of this work, and also out of similar work done by others at other places: the microscope. It is well known that the microscope has contributed more than any other invention to the progress of medicine, and that the elimination of the plague and many other contagious diseases from most parts of the world is largely a result of studies which the microscope made possible.The count, by retaining some of his spending money for research and discovery, contributed far more to the relief of human suffering than he could have contributed by giving all he could possibly spare to his plague-ridden community.The situation which we are facing today is similar in many respects. The President of the United States is spending about 200 billion dollars in his yearly budget. This money goes to health, education, welfare, urban renewal, highways, transportation, foreign aid, defense, conservation, science, agriculture and many installations inside and outside the country. About 1.6 percent of this national budget was allocated to space exploration this year. The space program includes Project Apollo, and many other smaller projects in space physics, space astronomy, space biology, planetary projects, Earth resources projects, and space engineering. To make this expenditure for the space program possible, the average American taxpayer with 10,000 dollars income per year is paying about 30 tax dollars for space. The rest of his income, 9,970 dollars, remains for his subsistence, his recreation, his savings, his other taxes, and all his other expenditures.You will probably ask now: "Why don't you take 5 or 3 or 1 dollar out of the 30 space dollars which the average American taxpayer is paying, and send these dollars to the hungry children?" To answer this question, I have to explain briefly how the economy of this country works. The situation is very similar in other countries. The government consists of a number of departments (Interior, Justice, Health, Education and Welfare, Transportation, Defense, and others) and the bureaus (National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and others). All of them prepare their yearly budgets according to their assigned missions, and each of them must defend its budget against extremely severe screening by congressional committees, and against heavy pressure for economy from the Bureau of the Budget and the President. When the funds are finally appropriated by Congress, they can be spent only for the line items specified and approved in the budget.The budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, naturally, can contain only items directly related to aeronautics and space. If this budget were not approved by Congress, the funds proposed for it would not be available for something else; they would simply not be levied from the taxpayer, unless one of the other budgets had obtained approval for a specific increase which would then absorb the funds not spent for space. You realize from this brief discourse that support for hungry children, or rather a support in addition to what the United States is already contributing to this very worthy cause in the form of foreign aid, can be obtained only if the appropriate department submits a budget line item for this purpose, and if this line item is then approved by Congress.You may ask now whether I personally would be in favor of such a move by our government. My answer is an emphatic yes. Indeed, I would not mind at all if my annual taxes were increased by a number of dollars for the purpose of feeding hungry children, wherever they may live.I know that all of my friends feel the same way. However, we could not bring such a program to life merely by desisting from making plans for voyages to Mars. On the contrary, I even believe that by working for the space program I can make some contribution to the relief and eventual solution of such grave problems as poverty and hunger on Earth. Basic to the hunger problem are two functions: the production of food and the distribution of food. Food production by agriculture, cattle ranching, ocean fishing and other large-scale operations is efficient in some parts of the world, but drastically deficient in many others. For example, large areas of land could be utilized far better if efficient methods of watershed control, fertilizer use, weather forecasting, fertility assessment, plantation programming, field selection, planting habits, timing of cultivation, crop survey and harvest planning were applied.The best tool for the improvement of all these functions, undoubtedly, is the artificial Earth satellite. Circling the globe at a high altitude, it can screen wide areas of land within a short time; it can observe and measure a large variety of factors indicating the status and condition of crops, soil, droughts, rainfall, snow cover, etc., and it can radio this information to ground stations for appropriate use. It has been estimated that even a modest system of Earth satellites equipped with Earth resources, sensors, working within a program for worldwide agricultural improvements, will increase the yearly crops by an equivalent of many billions of dollars.The distribution of the food to the needy is a completely different problem. The question is not so much one of shipping volume, it is one of international cooperation. The ruler of a small nation may feel very uneasy about the prospect of having large quantities of food shipped into his country by a large nation, simply because he fears that along with the food there may also be an import of influence and foreign power. Efficient relief from hunger, I am afraid, will not come before the boundaries between nations have become less divisive than they are today. I do not believe that space flight will accomplish this miracle over night. However, the space program is certainly among the most promising and powerful agents working in this direction.Let me only remind you of the recent near-tragedy of Apollo 13. When the time of the crucial reentry of the astronauts approached, the Soviet Union discontinued all Russian radio transmissions in the frequency bands used by the Apollo Project in order to avoid any possible interference, and Russian ships stationed themselves in the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans in case an emergency rescue would become necessary. Had the astronaut capsule touched down near a Russian ship, the Russians would undoubtedly have expended as much care and effort in their rescue as if Russian cosmonauts had returned from a space trip. If Russian space travelers should ever be in a similar emergency situation, Americans would do the same without any doubt.Higher food production through survey and assessment from orbit, and better food distribution through improved international relations, are only two examples of how profoundly the space program will impact life on Earth. I would like to quote two other examples: stimulation of technological development, and generation of scientific knowledge.The requirements for high precision and for extreme reliability which must be imposed upon the components of a moon-travelling spacecraft are entirely unprecedented in the history of engineering. The development of systems which meet these severe requirements has provided us a unique opportunity to find new material and methods, to invent better technical systems, to manufacturing procedures, to lengthen the lifetimes of instruments, and even to discover new laws of nature.All this newly acquired technical knowledge is also available for application to Earth-bound technologies. Every year, about a thousand technical innovations generated in the space program find their ways into our Earthly technology where they lead to better kitchen appliances and farm equipment, better sewing machines and radios, better ships and airplanes, better weather forecasting and storm warning, better communications, better medical instruments, better utensils and tools for everyday life. Presumably, you will ask now why we must develop first a life support system for our moon-travelling astronauts, before we can build a remote-reading sensor system for heart patients. The answer is simple: significant progress in the solutions of technical problems is frequently made not by a direct approach, but by first setting a goal of high challenge which offers a strong motivation for innovative work, which fires the imagination and spurs men to expend their best efforts, and which acts as a catalyst by including chains of other reactions.Spaceflight without any doubt is playing exactly this role. The voyage to Mars will certainly not be a direct source of food for the hungry. However, it will lead to so many new technologies and capabilities that the spin-offs from this project alone will be worth many times the cost of its implementation.Besides the need for new technologies, there is a continuing great need for new basic knowledge in the sciences if we wish to improve the conditions of human life on Earth. We need more knowledge in physics and chemistry, in biology and physiology, and very particularly in medicine to cope with all these problems which threaten man's life: hunger, disease, contamination of food and water, pollution of the environment.We need more young men and women who choose science as a career and we need better support for those scientists who have the talent and the determination to engage in fruitful research work. Challenging research objectives must be available, and sufficient support for research projects must be provided. Again, the space program with its wonderful opportunities to engage in truly magnificent research studies of moons and planets, of physics and astronomy, of biology and medicine is an almost ideal catalyst which induces the reaction between the motivation for scientific work, opportunities to observe exciting phenomena of nature, and material support needed to carry out the research effort.Among all the activities which are directed, controlled, and funded by the American government, the space program is certainly the most visible and probably the most debated activity, although it consumes only 1.6 percent of the total national budget, and 3 per mille (less than one-third of 1 percent) of the gross national product. As a stimulant and catalyst for the development of new technologies, and for research in the basic sciences, it is unparalleled by any other activity. In this respect, we may even say that the space program is taking over a function which for three or four thousand years has been the sad prerogative of wars.How much human suffering can be avoided if nations, instead of competing with their bomb-dropping fleets of airplanes and rockets, compete with their moon-travelling space ships! This competition is full of promise for brilliant victories, but it leaves no room for the bitter fate of the vanquished, which breeds nothing but revenge and new wars.Although our space program seems to lead us away from our Earth and out toward the moon, the sun, the planets, and the stars, I believe that none of these celestial objects will find as much attention and study by space scientists as our Earth. It will become a better Earth, not only because of all the new technological and scientific knowledge which we will apply to the betterment of life, but also because we are developing a far deeper appreciation of our Earth, of life, and of man.The photograph which I enclose with this letter shows a view of our Earth as seen from Apollo 8 when it orbited the moon at Christmas, 1968. Of all the many wonderful results of the space program so far, this picture may be the most important one. It opened our eyes to the fact that our Earth is a beautiful and most precious island in an unlimited void, and that there is no other place for us to live but the thin surface layer of our planet, bordered by the bleak nothingness of space. Never before did so many people recognize how limited our Earth really is, and how perilous it would be to tamper with its ecological balance. Ever since this picture was first published, voices have become louder and louder warning of the grave problems that confront man in our times: pollution, hunger, poverty, urban living, food production, water control, overpopulation. It is certainly not by accident that we begin to see the tremendous tasks waiting for us at a time when the young space age has provided us the first good look at our own planet.Very fortunately though, the space age not only holds out a mirror in which we can see ourselves, it also provides us with the technologies, the challenge, the motivation, and even with the optimism to attack these tasks with confidence. What we learn in our space program, I believe, is fully supporting what Albert Schweitzer had in mind when he said: "I am looking at the future with concern, but with good hope."My very best wishes will always be with you, and with your children.Very sincerely yours,Ernst StuhlingerAssociate Director for Science

Interesting that you should ask. Just a week or so ago, I ran across a list of Trump’s accomplishments in just 24 months in office. Just to compare, I also looked up Joe Biden’s record of accomplishments made in 44 years of service.I’ll list Joe’s first…1960: “[O]ne of the best pass receivers I had in 16 years as a coach.” — E. John Walsh, football coach at Archmere Academy.1965: Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware in Newark, with a double major in history and political science and a minor in English.1968: Graduated from Syracuse University College of Law with a law degree.1969: Admitted to the Delaware bar.1970-72: Served on New Castle County Council.1972-77: Single parent to two sons, commuting on Amtrak 75 minutes each way between his home in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, D.C.Joe Biden: Senate accomplishments1973-2009: U.S. Senator from Delaware, initially focussing on consumer protection, environmental issues, government accountability, and arms control. In his 6 terms as a senator, Joe Biden sponsored or co-sponsored 348 pieces of legislation that became law.1981-97: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years.1986: Introduced his Global Climate Protection Act, one of the first bills aimed at addressing climate change.1990s: Authored every major piece of crime legislation this decade, including the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.1992-1995: Strongly guided Balkans policy in the mid-1990s during the Bosnian War, producing a successful NATO peacekeeping effort.1994: Spearheaded the Violence Against Women Act, criminalizing violence against women and creating unprecedented resources for survivors of assault, which was followed by a 64% drop in domestic violence from 1993 to 2010.1997-2009: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, leading legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.1997: Led the Senate to approve ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.1998: Led the Senate to approve NATO enlargement and passage of bills to streamline foreign affairs agencies and punish religious persecution overseas.1999: Co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on President Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions in Kosovo.2000: Sponsored the Kids 2000 Act, establishing a public-private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet access, and technical training to young people, particularly low-income and at-risk youth.Joe Biden: Vice President accomplishments-2017: Vice President of the United States.2009: Implemented and oversaw the $840 billion stimulus package in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.2009: Chaired the Middle Class Working Families Task Force.2010: Fought for Congressional approval of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which inserted accountability into the financial sector and fortified the stability of the financial system.2011: Led negotiations between Congress and the White House in resolving federal spending levels for the rest of the year and avoiding a government shutdown. Negotiated with Mitch McConnell to agree on deficit-reducing Budget Control Act of 2011.2012: Headed the Gun Violence Task Force in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.2012: Negotiated a deal with Mitch McConnell that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, averting a fiscal cliff and implementing the largest middle-class tax cut in history.2014: Co-chaired White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.2014: Served as the Obama administration’s emissary to Eastern European governments like Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine worried over Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in the region.Here’s Trumps list…..Economic Growth4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.Jobs4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.Unemployment claims at 50 year lowAfrican-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.American IncomeMedian household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.American OptimismSmall business optimism has hit historic highs.NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.Manufacturers are more confident than ever.95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.American BusinessInvestment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.DeregulationAchieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.Tax CutsBiggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into lawProvided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.Worker DevelopmentEstablished a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.Domestic InfrastructureProposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.Health CareSigned an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 statesProposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.Combating OpioidsChaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.$6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.$485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.Law and OrderMore U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the ConstitutionNominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.$137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.Border Security and ImmigrationSecured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible forOver 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.More than 48,000 with assault offenses.More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.TradeNegotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policiesWithdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTOOpened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-centuryAmerican beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decadeOK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.EnergyPresidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American historyUnited States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategyHeld a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.Foreign PolicyMoved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods ForceSince enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.DefenseExecutive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.$700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.Released an America first National Security Strategy.Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.Every member state has increased defense spending.Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.Veterans affairsSigned the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.Funding for the Veterans Choice program.Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Editor's Note: These were originally published on www.tagtheflag.co in the daily trivia section. If you haven’t been able to find nonpartisan news, don’t worry - we couldn’t either, which is why we’ve created our own. Mixed together with a little history and trivia, it's all a part of a balanced media diet. One newsletter for all Americans. Sign up here1: The Broadway show “The Book of Mormon” makes 19 million every month As of 2013, the “Book of Mormon” had already grossed over $200 million and was showing no signs of slowing down. According to Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes, who was citing figures from the producers, “the New York production [was making] $1.6 million a week. A touring version of the show [was making] about $1.6 million a week, and another production in Chicago [was grossing] $1.5 million a week.” At the time, another show was also scheduled to go into production in London. “That works out to about $19 million per month”Also, if you didn’t know, the script, lyrics, and music for “The Book of Mormon” were written by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are best known for creating the animated comedy South Park.2. Abraham Lincoln almost brought Elephants to the U.S. “When Abraham Lincoln’s administration moved into the White House, they turned down what could have been the greatest gift of all: the chance to populate the United States with wild elephants.” [Erin Blakemore / Mental Floss]“The elephant is Thailand’s national animal, so it’s only natural that King Mongkut in 1861 offered to send a pair to the United States as a gift of the friendship between the two countries. President Abraham Lincoln, likely bemused and relieved at the distraction from America’s then-raging Civil War, politely declined, saying his country uses the steam engine and would have no use for the working animals.” [NY Daily News]“Thai monarchy expert Tongthong Chandransu said the offer of elephants reveals that Mongkut wanted to be part of building the young United States.” [Kaweewit Kaewjinda / Indy100]“There’s no telling what would have happened if the Lincoln administration had said yes to Mongkut’s gift. Perhaps to this day, the United States would be a place where herds of wild elephants roamed free.” [Erin Blakemore / Mental Floss]3. Benjamin Franklin willed $5 million to the city of Boston. “Toward the end of his life, Franklin wanted to give back to Boston and Philadelphia, the cities that he called home, and to those who looked up to him — the apprentices and tradesmiths of America. When he died April 16, 1790, he left 1,000 pounds sterling (roughly $4,500 at the time) to each city — but that money came with one big stipulation.” [Franklin Templeton Investments / NYT]Each amount had to be put in a trust in order to take advantage of compounding interest. After 100 years 75% could be taken out to fund projects around the cities, specifically as they related to helping tradesmen. After the first 100 years, the trusts in Boston and Philadelphia were worth almost $400,000 and $100,000, respectively.“By 1990, the remaining amounts had grown to $4.5 million for Boston and $2 million for Philadelphia, as a result of compounding interest.” [Franklin Templeton Investments / NYT]“The large difference in value can be traced to the wiser handling of investment in Boston, said Whitfield Bell, a historian and curator of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.” [Fox Butterfield / NYT]“A penny saved is a penny earned.” – Benjamin FranklinNote: the answer includes both distributions after the first 100 years ($400,000) and second 100 years ($4.5 million)4. President Harry Truman was enrolled as Medicare’s first beneficiary. “At the bill-signing ceremony, which took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, former President Harry Truman was enrolled as Medicare’s first beneficiary and received the first Medicare card. The Medicare program, providing hospital and medical insurance for Americans age 65 or older, was signed into law as an amendment to the Social Security Act of 1935. Some 19 million people enrolled in Medicare when it went into effect in 1966.” – History5. Teen births decreased after MTV’s show “16 and Pregnant” premiered on TV. According to a 2014 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research “16 and Pregnant” ultimately led to a 5.7% reduction in teen births in the 18 months after its premiere on TV. This would account for about one-third of the overall decline in teen births in the United States during that period” [Jacque Wilson / CNN]“The research, coauthored by Wellesley College economist Phillip B. Levine and University of Maryland economist Melissa Schettini Kearney, found that despite concerns that turning teen moms into reality TV stars would glamorize teen pregnancy, MTV’s 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom had a more powerful impact in the opposite direction” [Wellesley Press Release]Melissa Kearney spoke with NPR’s Audie Cornish about the findings, saying:“The biggest takeaway from this study is that what teenagers are watching can make a really big difference in what they think, and ultimately how they behave and really important life decisions.“6. There are 2 million acres of golf courses are there in the U.S. “A Bloomberg analysis of American land use found that of the 1.9 billion acres that make up the 48 contiguous states, 654 million acres are pasture and range, 588.6 million acres are forest, 391.5 million acres are cropland, 168.6 million acres are special use (national parks, highways airports and Defense Department land), 69.4 million acres are urban and 68.9 million acres are miscellaneous.” [Walt Hickey / Numlock News]“Much of U.S. land serves specific purposes, such as the 2 million acres devoted to golf courses or the 3 million acres for airports.” [Dave Merrill and Lauren Leatherby / Bloomberg]“Gathered together, cropland would take up more than a fifth of the 48 contiguous states. Pasture and rangeland would cover most of the Western U.S., and all of the country’s cities and towns would fit neatly in the Northeast.” [Dave Merrill and Lauren Leatherby / Bloomberg]7. The average American adult consumes 11.1 hours of media every day. “US adults are spending more than 11 hours a day on average—or about two-thirds of their waking time—consuming media in some form, Nielsen showed in its first-quarter 2018 report on US media consumption today (July 31). It measured, based on its representative panels of TV, radio, and digital households and consumers, activities like watching TV and DVDs, listening to the radio, visiting apps on a smartphone or tablet, and using the internet and game consoles. (The study did not include print formats like books or magazines.)” [Ashley Rodriguez / Quartz]8. The average American adult sends 40 emails every day. According to an email statistics report from the Radicati Group, the average working American will send around 40 e-mails every day. This really isn’t that surprising seeing as how 86% of professionals name email as their preferred means of business communication.9. Only 20 percent of American students are learning a foreign language. According to a 2017 report from the non-profit, American Councils for International Education, only 20% of K-12 students are enrolled in foreign languages classes in the United States. This includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia.10. One in Eight Americans have worked at a McDonald’s. That’s right, according to Reader’s Digest one in eight U.S. workers has been employed by McDonald’s at some point in their careers. This list includes Rachel McAdams, Pink, Macy Gray, Jay Leno, Carl Lewis, Jeff Bezos, and Andie MacDowell. The Oxford Dictionary even has a term for being employed by the Golden Arches, “McJob”, which is defined as “A low-paid job with few prospects.” Hey, you have to start somewhere, might as well get a few free fries and burgers while you’re at it.You can read more by visiting www.tagtheflag.co