Author: Ben W. Huseman Cartographic Archivist,
The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
Date: 2021
The Gallery Guide for the exhibit featuring 190 items relating to the history of Africa, largely drawn from the map collection donated by Dr. Jack Franke (UTA Distinguished Alumnus, class of 1983). Items range in date from 1493 to 1916.
The guide introduces Dr. Franke’s collection, focusing upon the context of the maps’ and images’ production, with some minimal discussion of the African subject matter.
Richard Bruce Cheney (born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under president George W. Bush.
Cheney, often cited as the most powerful vice president in American history, ended his tenure as an unpopular figure in American politics. He is currently the oldest living former U.S. vice president, following the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney grew up there and later in Casper, Wyoming. He attended Yale University before earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Wyoming. He began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as White House chief of staff from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and represented Wyoming’s at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, briefly serving as House minority whip in 1989. He was selected as Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, and held the position for most of Bush’s term from 1989 to 1993. During his time there, he oversaw 1991’s Operation Desert Storm, among other actions. Out of office during the Clinton administration, he was the chairman and CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.
In July 2000, Cheney was chosen by presumptive Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election. They defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent Vice President Al Gore and Senator Joe Lieberman. In 2004 Cheney was reelected to his second term as vice president with Bush as president, defeating their Democratic opponents Senators John Kerry and John Edwards. During Cheney’s tenure as vice president, he played a leading behind-the-scenes role in the George W. Bush administration’s response to the September 11 attacks and coordination of the Global War on Terrorism. He was an early proponent of invading Iraq, alleging that the Saddam Hussein regime possessed a weapons of mass destruction program and had an operational relationship with Al-Qaeda; however, neither allegation was ever substantiated. He also pressured the intelligence community to provide intelligence consistent with the administration’s rationales for invading Iraq. Cheney was often criticized for the Bush Administration’s policies regarding the campaign against terrorism, for his support of wiretapping by the National Security Agency (NSA) and for his endorsement of “enhanced interrogation techniques” which several critics have labeled as torture. He publicly disagreed with President Bush’s position against same-sex marriage in 2004.
In Eminem’s 2002 single “Without Me”, where the lines “I know that you got a job, Ms. Cheney / But your husband’s heart problem’s complicating” refer to his health problems.
In The Day After Tomorrow, the character Raymond Becker (played by Kenneth Welsh) is intended to be a criticism of Dick Cheney.
In W. (2008), a biographical drama film directed by Oliver Stone, he is portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss.
In War Dogs (2016 film) where the line “God bless Dick Cheney’s America” refers to his support of American military presence in Iraq.
In Who Is America? (2018), a political satire series, Sacha Baron Cohen pranked Cheney into signing a makeshift waterboard kit.
In Vice (2018), a biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam McKay, Cheney is portrayed by Christian Bale, for which the latter won a Golden Globe and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. During an interview by Emmerson Sykes of the ACLU program, At Liberty, on January 31, 2019, McKay discussed the movie at length, his motivation to create the film, and the basis for his choices about portraying many aspects of Cheney’s life in the film.
In Mrs. America (2020), a historical drama television miniseries produced by FX, Cheney is portrayed by Andrew Hodwitz.
The US is receiving backlash from China—after Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites have reportedly had two close calls with China’s space station. China took its complaint to the United Nations while also raising concerns that space is becoming weaponized. RT America’s Natasha Sweatte has the story.
Noam Chomsky decries what he calls the torture of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He also critiques the Biden administration’s reckless foreign policy. “The trajectory is not optimistic,” Chomsky says. “The worst case is the increasing provocative actions towards China. That’s very dangerous.”
Noam Chomsky warns the Republican Party is “marching” the world to destruction by ignoring the climate emergency while embracing proto-fascism at home. Chomsky talks about the January 6 insurrection, how neoliberalism is a form of class warfare and how President Biden’s climate plans fall short of what is needed.
Today, a special broadcast: an hour with Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author, who just turned 93 years old. Chomsky spoke to Democracy Now! prior to the discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant, but he predicted new variants would emerge. “If you let the virus run rampant in poor countries, everyone understands that mutation is likely, the kind of mutation that led to the Delta variant, now the Delta Plus variant in India, and who knows what will develop,” Chomsky said.
How bad could climate change get?
Could the worst-cases result in global catastrophe, or even long-term human extinction? In this panel, leading scientists discuss what we know about the worst-case scenarios, what we don’t know, and how we can study the catastrophic risks of climate change.
With Catherine Arnold, Luke Kemp, Tim Lenton (University of Cambridge) and Goodwin Gibbins (University of Oxford).
Dirty Deeds (2004) This is the story of a tyrant, possibly the worst in the world. He’s vicious, he’s venal and he’s robbing his country blind. His country is the African hell hole called Equatorial Guinea. And no one would have even heard or cared about it – if they hadn’t discovered vast oil deposits just off shore. So much oil, in fact, that at the rate this tiny country is growing, in 10 years it could be the richest in the world. Trouble is, most of the oil money’s being pumped directly into the president’s pocket. He’s living like a king, while his people starve.
VICE on HBO looks at factors that led to the 2008 financial crisis and the efforts made by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner, and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to save the United States from an economic collapse. The feature-length documentary explores the challenges these men faced, as well as the consequences of their decisions.
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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