text:
"My lungs burn, and my heart pounds as death itself bites at my ankles. I should be dead right now. Why aren’t I? Oh right, I’m none other than Cordella Motorian, of course. Universally famous explorer, voyager, expeditionist, however you want to dress it up. And this is nothing but another one of my adventures.

Now let’s cut to the chase. (Pun intended.) At this point I’m beginning to regret stealing all that treasure from the natives. Four muscular men sporting grass skirts and head-dresses continue to pursue me through the thick, tropical forest. Sweat beads down my forehead, my traditional leather jacket and cargo pants wasn’t exactly a fit choice for the weather. Still, I leap over root after root, slice vine after vine, desperately needing a way out of this. If I don’t find bullets for my revolver, I’m done for. After what must be a couple miles of running, I have some distance between me and the natives. But they’ll be caught up any moment.

Thinking fast, I grab a few vines and tie together a thick rope. I tightly tie it around a nearby boulder, and begin climbing a thick tree, shaped like a Y. With a little struggle, I use the notch in the tree, pulling the vine to hoist the boulder into the air. I’ve successfully created a makeshift pulley, with time to spare. I jump off of the tree, still holding the vine, and knot the end to a stump. The men’s chants and cries get closer, and I can hear their footsteps stomping through the soil.  After a silent countdown in my head, my knife comes down on the vine, and with a crash, three of four men are crushed underneath the boulder.

The last comes charging forward. After sheathing my knife, I’m ready for a confrontation. He seems to be unfazed by the death of his three friends, surprisingly. I was hoping on that, my plan was to catch him by surprise, but no matter. He lunges his spear forward, and I send it downwards with a high kick, quickly following up with a punch to the face. He doesn’t even flinch. His spear comes slicing again, and I have to jump backwards to avoid my throat being cut open. Odd, these natives usually have more honor than to go for a cheap shot like the throat. Guess he was a little more mad about his friends than I thought.

He throws away his spear and draws a machete previously sheathed in the back of his skirt. We begin a dance, him mirroring every one of my steps, standing low to the ground like a snare waiting for prey. I’m scanning every possible opportunity for a strike, with my fists at the ready in front of my chest. He gets impatient and slices for my neck again. I duck, and land a slice on the side of his torso, to which he responds with a low growl. He throws a hit with the butt of his machete, which I block with my forearm, and I go for a stab in the chest. But now he’s faked me out, and he draws a smaller knife from his hip, and swiftly sticks the blade through--"

“Hey! Get yer head out of that book, Elizabeth. Ya oughta know better by now.”, Otto scolds, knocking one of my favourite of Cordella Motorian’s books out of my hands. “And if yer gonna read in my shop, read something, I dunno, not written by a shameless fraud. Mr. Hallmond wants his bike fixed by Monday, by th’ way.”

Begrudgingly, I stand out of my seat, and walk over to my workbench. Working for Otto in Nimbia City’s repair shop isn’t challenging work, but it’s still tedious. This has to be the sixth time Hallmond has busted his bike, all the same problem. A manufacturing bug, of the Headland Solstice Propeller Bike, where the rudder would get stuck every so often. These things were recalled years ago, but Hallmond’s too cheap to buy a new one. It’s got a ton of other problems too, his rusty chains, the warped propellors, but I don’t get paid for that. The real reason I even work here is Otto himself.

It’s not as if he needs the extra hand, he’s pretty well capable for his age. He’s a short, round old man, but strong as an ox. Kinda looks like one too. I wouldn’t even call him my boss, more like a less professional babysitter. My parents hire him to build the famous inventions they design, and I’m stuck around to watch. So he puts me to work.

I tighten up the screws, and fix up a couple of other problems, and Mr. Hallmond’s bike is ready two days early. I call out to Otto, “You know, we should just teach Mr. Hallmond to fix his own bike, eh?”. “Oh no, no, no. Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and ya just ruined a perfect business opportunity.”, he calls back. That’s the kind of stuff I love Otto for, he’s stock full of pseudo-wisdom, I could listen to him for hours.
“I was talking to yer mother earlier.”, Otto says, coming over to talk to me.

“That’s unfortunate.”, I mutter.

“She wants ya to come along for dinner with Captain Samuels, of the Royal Guard? Ya know the one.”, he responds, clearly not liking the fact himself. “Talk ta her later, I don’t know th’ details.”.

An alarm goes off in the back, marking the end of my shift. “Well, pleasure to see you as always, Otto, but I’ll be off.”, I say, slipping on my beaten-up leather jacket. He silently dismisses me with an absent minded wave. I clock out, as the repair shops’ garage doors open. Sunlight strikes my eyelids, leaving a stinging pain after hours at the workbench, er, the desk where I read. I slip my flight goggles off of the top of my untidy blonde hair, and onto my eyes and step out into the Sky City of Nimbia.

A perplexing city of huge bronze skyscrapers, suspended in the air with a combination of jets and propellers, rotating at amazing speeds. It might seem like a tangled mess of steel bridges, connecting building after building, but the city actually forms a perfect hexagon. Virgus Tower, home of parliament, visible from almost anywhere in the city,  marks the exact center of the city. Though we’re not unique. We’re one of many Sky Cities, such as Cirria, Cumula, and-- Well, you get the point.

Nimbia floats above Tirus Forest, which is in fact, the setting of Cordella’s book “The Tirus Tyrant”, the one I was reading in the shop. Spoiler: She gets hauled back to the Native’s camp, where she escapes and makes off with even more treasure. Genius, I know. Cordella’s something of an idol to me, if you hadn’t noticed. Running off, and living on the surface? Yeah, that’s always been a fantasy of mine. Steal treasure from whoever I wanted. Instead, I’m stuck up here, repairing Mr. Hallmond’s bike every week, having parents that couldn’t care less what I do, (unless it involves anything I like, of course). But I’m getting off track.

I stick my keys into the ignition of my plane, and hear the familiar sound of the propeller starting to spin. This biplane was a gift from Otto, the first thing he ever taught me to fix. He wanted to start from the most complex, and work down. Some more wisdom, I guess. This thing’s packed with the most powerful engine on the market, top of the line wings, and topped off with two red leather seats and a kicking stereo. Otto originally wanted to put a turret in the back seat, but my Mother wouldn’t have it. But still, my plane is what makes the work all worth it.

Wind forces my hair behind me, as I soar around the city. No boundaries, no limits but the sky itself. Here, I’m free to do what I want. Before I’m in the air for nearly enough time for my own liking, I arrive home.

After parking in a nearby hangar, I take the elevator up to my room. Presidential suite of Horus Hotel, a building owned by my parents. Did I mention they have buckets of money? Well, they move around a lot, so I’m left in this building. Easier than buying me my own place, right? I’m exhausted, so I flop onto my bed, and stick my face in another book. Cordella Motorian and The Desert Destroyer. I don’t particularly like this one, she spends too much time describing almost starving to death, walking 50 miles of sand. Not enough action in my opinion. She eventually gets around to a battle with a rogue miner, who steals a bunch of equipment and threatens to destroy his whole facility. You can’t really blame her for not enough action though, because all her books are taken from personal experience. Asking her for more action is asking her to lie.

The sound of high heels daintily stomps down the hallway, and my Mother storms in. She begins to yell at me, and immediately I tune out. Probably nagging about Otto’s daily report, and I catch her mentioning the grease stains on my face. I’ve been told I have an attractive face, but I don’t really care. I’m just your standard bushy blonde hair, brown eyed, freckled girl. I snap out of my daze, and Mom’s pulling a fancy blue dress out of my closet, nothing compared to what she’s wearing. She apparently wants me to wear this blue one for dinner tomorrow night, with that captain fellow.

She continues lecturing me, “The Captain wants your father and I to design some new weaponry for the Guard, mainly planes and other vehicles. We’ll be discussing this over dinner tomorrow night. So, when you get back from work, you’re going to wash all the dirt I know is going to be on your face. Then you’ll wear this, Sue designed it specifically for this dinner.. This is something big for us, and you’re not going to mess this one up. You remember what happened with Vice President Bloom? None of that. Now get some sleep.”.

She walks out, probably going to go work some more with my Dad. I can’t believe her, this dress is probably the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. All filled with frilly flowers and curves. Probably goes down to my ankles too.  Why do I even have to go to this thing? Wouldn’t they be better off without me? I mean, with Bloom, he left that night with a broken arm. Um, that’s a long story.

Well, I oughta know better by now. This is usually how it is, and I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon. Unless some miracle falls out of the sky, I’m going to keep on repairing Hallmond’s bike every week, and getting pushed around by my parents.

I like to keep low expectations on these things, that way no matter what, everything’s a surprise.

title: Hi there, I'm also a thirteen year old writer, just looking for some feedback. I'm not even sure what to call this, whether it's a short story or not. But here's the first chapter.

question: Explain what happens when the narrator is pursued.

answer: While reading one of Cordella Motorian's books, the narrator envisions himself within the story where he is being pursued by natives for stealing their treasure. Through the thick and tropical forest, four muscular men in grass skirts and head-dresses go after the narrator. He creates some distance between them and is able to build a makeshift trap which crushes three of the four men under a boulder. The narrator now battles the last of the men before he is interrupted from reading the book.


split: test

text:
[ Spinoloricus nov. sp., a metazoan that metabolises with hydrogen, lacking mitochondria and instead using hydrogenosomes.] An ANAEROBIC ORGANISM or ANAEROBE is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth. It may react negatively or even die if free oxygen is present. In contrast, an aerobic organism (aerobe) is an organism that requires an oxygenated environment. Anaerobes may be unicellular (e.g. protozoans,[1] bacteria[2]) or multicellular.[3] Most fungi are obligate aerobes, requiring oxygen to survive, however some species, such as the Chytridiomycota that reside in the rumen of cattle, are obligate anaerobes; for these species, anaerobic respiration is used because oxygen will disrupt their metabolism or kill them.

First observation

In his letter of 14 June 1680 to The Royal Society, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek described an experiment he carried out by filling two identical glass tubes about halfway with crushed pepper powder, to which some clean rain water was added. Van Leeuwenhoek sealed one of the glass tubes by using a flame and left the other glass tube open. Several days later, he discovered in the open glass tube 'a great many very little animalcules, of divers sort having its own particular motion.' Not expecting to see any life in the sealed glass tube, Van Leeuwenhoek saw to his surprise 'a kind of living animalcules that were round and bigger than the biggest sort that I have said were in the other water.' The conditions in the sealed tube had become quite anaerobic owing to consumption of oxygen by aerobic microorganisms.[4]

In 1913 Martinus Beijerinck repeated Van Leeuwenhoek's experiment and identified Clostridium butyricum as a prominent anaerobic bacterium in the sealed pepper infusion tube liquid. Beijerinck commented:

  'We thus come to the remarkable conclusion that, beyond doubt, Van Leeuwenhoek in his experiment with the fully closed tube had cultivated and seen genuine anaerobic bacteria, which would happen again only after 200 years, namely about 1862 by Pasteur. That Leeuwenhoek, one hundred years before the discovery of oxygen and the composition of air, was not aware of the meaning of his observations is understandable. But the fact that in the closed tube he observed an increased gas pressure caused by fermentative bacteria and in addition saw the bacteria, prove in any case that he not only was a good observer, but also was able to design an experiment from which a conclusion could be drawn.' [5]

Classification

[Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria can be identified by growing them in test tubes of thioglycollate broth:
1: Obligate aerobes need oxygen because they cannot ferment or respire anaerobically. They gather at the top of the tube where the oxygen concentration is highest.
2: Obligate anaerobes are poisoned by oxygen, so they gather at the bottom of the tube where the oxygen concentration is lowest.
3: Facultative anaerobes can grow with or without oxygen because they can metabolise energy aerobically or anaerobically. They gather mostly at the top because aerobic respiration generates more adenosine triphosphate (ATP) than either fermentation or anaerobic respiration.
4: Microaerophiles need oxygen because they cannot ferment or respire anaerobically. However, they are poisoned by high concentrations of oxygen. They gather in the upper part of the test tube but not the very top.
5: Aerotolerant organisms do not require oxygen as they metabolise energy anaerobically. Unlike obligate anaerobes however, they are not poisoned by oxygen. They can be found evenly spread throughout the test tube. ]

For practical purposes, there are three categories of anaerobe:

-   OBLIGATE ANAEROBES, which are harmed by the presence of oxygen.[6][7] Two examples of obligate anaerobes are _Clostridium botulinum_ and the bacteria which live near hydrothermal vents on the deep-sea ocean floor.
-   AEROTOLERANT ORGANISMS, which cannot use oxygen for growth, but tolerate its presence.[8]
-   FACULTATIVE ANAEROBES, which can grow without oxygen but use oxygen if it is present.[9]

However, this classification has been questioned by the fact that recent research showed that human “obligate anaerobes” (such as _Fineglodia magna_ or the methanogenic archaea _Methanobrevibacter smithii_) can be grown in aerobic atmosphere if the culture medium is supplemented with antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, glutathione and uric acid.[10][11][12][13]

Energy metabolism

Some obligate anaerobes use fermentation, while others use anaerobic respiration.[14] Aerotolerant organisms are strictly fermentative.[15] In the presence of oxygen, facultative anaerobes use aerobic respiration; without oxygen, some of them ferment; some use anaerobic respiration.[16]

Fermentation

There are many anaerobic fermentative reactions.

Fermentative anaerobic organisms mostly use the lactic acid fermentation pathway:

    C₆H₁₂O₆ + 2 ADP + 2 phosphate → 2 lactic acid + 2 ATP

The energy released in this equation is approximately 150 kJ per mol, which is conserved in regenerating two ATP from ADP per glucose. This is only 5% of the energy per sugar molecule that the typical aerobic reaction generates.

Plants and fungi (e.g., yeasts) in general use alcohol (ethanol) fermentation when oxygen becomes limiting:

    C₆H₁₂O₆ (glucose) + 2 ADP + 2 phosphate → 2 C₂H₅OH + 2 CO₂↑ + 2 ATP

The energy released is about 180 kJ per mol, which is conserved in regenerating two ATP from ADP per glucose.

Anaerobic bacteria and archaea use these and many other fermentative pathways, e.g., propionic acid fermentation, butyric acid fermentation, solvent fermentation, mixed acid fermentation, butanediol fermentation, Stickland fermentation, acetogenesis, or methanogenesis.

Culturing anaerobes

Since normal microbial culturing occurs in atmospheric air, which is an aerobic environment, the culturing of anaerobes poses a problem. Therefore, a number of techniques are employed by microbiologists when culturing anaerobic organisms, for example, handling the bacteria in a glovebox filled with nitrogen or the use of other specially sealed containers, or techniques such as injection of the bacteria into a dicot plant, which is an environment with limited oxygen. The GasPak System is an isolated container that achieves an anaerobic environment by the reaction of water with sodium borohydride and sodium bicarbonate tablets to produce hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen then reacts with oxygen gas on a palladium catalyst to produce more water, thereby removing oxygen gas. The issue with the Gaspak method is that an adverse reaction can take place where the bacteria may die, which is why a thioglycollate medium should be used. The thioglycollate supplies a medium mimicking that of a dicot, thus providing not only an anaerobic environment but all the nutrients needed for the bacteria to thrive.[17]

Recently, a French team evidenced a link between redox and gut anaerobes [18] based on clinical studies on severe acute malnutrition.[19] These findings led to the development of aerobic culture of “anaerobes” by the addition of antioxidants in the culture medium.[20]

Multicellularity

Except for three species of anaerobic loricifera, all known complex multicellular life is aerobic, i.e. needs oxygen to survive. In February 2020, the journal PNAS published the discovery of a new 10-celled anaerobic organism: Henneguya salminicola _Henneguya zschokkei_.[21]

In 2010 three species of anaerobic loricifera were discovered in the hypersaline anoxic L'Atalante basin at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. They lack mitochondria which contain the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, which in all other animals combines oxygen with glucose to produce metabolic energy, and thus they consume no oxygen. Instead these loricifera derive their energy from hydrogen using hydrogenosomes.[22][23]

Some organisms metabolise primarily using glycogen, for example the Nereid (worm)s and some polychaetes,[24] or the juvenile form of the pork parasite _Trichinella spiralis_ which causes trichinosis.[25]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4] Gest, Howard. (2004) _The discovery of microorganisms by Robert Hooke and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Fellows of the Royal Society_, in: 'The Royal Society May 2004 Volume: 58 Issue: 2: pp. 12.

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17] “GasPak System” . Accessed May 3, 2008.

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21] Scientists discovered the first animal that doesn't need oxygen to live

[22] Oxygen-Free Animals Discovered-A First, National Geographic news

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: Anaerobic organism

question: How were anaerobic bacteria discovered

answer: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek filled two identical glass tubes about halfway with crushed pepper powder, to which he added clean rain water. He left one open and sealed the other. The aerobic bacteria consumed all the oxygen in the sealed tube. Yet small creatures thrived in this solution. This is because they were anaerobic.

question: Why do scientists have a problem with growing anaerobic organisms and how do they overcome these

answer: Oxygen exists in the normal laboratory setup. Anaerobic organisms won't grow in such an environment. So, scientists must create oxygen-free environments using gases like nitrogen to keep the oxygen out.


text:
[Side, front, and top view of a djenging] [Fishing boats in Jolo, Sulu (c.1917). A djenging is visible on the upper left.] DJENGING is a type of large double-outrigger plank boat built by the Sama-Bajau people of the Philippines. It is typically used as a houseboat, though it can be converted to a sailing ship. It was the original type of houseboat used by the Sama-Bajau before it was largely replaced by the lepa after World War II. Larger versions of djenging were also known as BALUTU or KUBU, often elaborately carved with bifurcated extensions on the prow and stern.[1]

Description

The djenging is made from a dugout keel (_baran balutu_) built up at the sides with two planks (_tapid_ and _lingkam_) attached by dowels. It is usually around long, though it can commonly reach up to in length. It is usually equal-ended, with the prow and the stern indistinguishable from each other. It has two to four outrigger booms (_batangan_) attached to bamboo floats (_katig_) which are parallel to the main hull. The tips of the floats do not extend beyond the prow and stern. Secondary booms (_sa'am_) also extend from the hull and function as extensions of the removable deck (_lantay_) made of split bamboo. A central house-like structure known as the _palau_ is located in the middle, similar to the _vinta_ and the _lepa_. The _palau_ can be taken down to erect a mast and convert the ship into a sailing ship for transport or fishing.[2]

Larger versions of djenging are known as balutu or kubu. They are often permanently moored around anchorages (_sambuangan_). They were elaborately carved with _okil_ designs painted with bright colors, with the typical bifurcated extensions on both the prow and the stern known as _buaya_ (“crocodile”). The house structure of the balutu is known as the _kubu_ (hence the name), and unlike in smaller djenging, it is permanently attached. They are propelled by poling or by paddling.[3]

Djenging and balutu are very similar to the vinta, but differs mainly in the shape of the hull section and the relative lengths and placement of the outriggers.[4]

Conservation

As of the 1990s, _balutu_ have almost completely disappeared among the Sama-Bajau of Tawi-Tawi and the Sulu Archipelago. Djenging have also started to disappear. They are replaced by the outrigger-less lepa, which are easier to sail, as they do not require the house structure to be taken down.[5]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

title: Djenging

question: What is a Djenging?

answer: Djenging is a type of large double-outrigger plank boat built by the Sama-Bajau people of the Philippines. Typically used as a houseboat, it can be converted to a sailing ship or a fishing boat.

question: What are larger, more elaborately carved versions of the Djenging called?

answer: Balutu or Kubu

question: Describe the Djenging.

answer: The Djenging is made from a dugout keel built up at the sides with two planks attached by dowels. The boat us equal-ended with the prow and stern indistinguishable from each other. It has two outrigger booms attached to bamboo floats which are parallel to the main hull and don't exceed beyond the prow and stern. Secondary booms extend from the hull and act as extensions of the removable deck. A central house-like structure is located in the middle and can be taken down to erect a mast to convert the ship into a transport or fishing ship.

question: Which boat is the Djenging very similar to?

answer: The Vinta

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The Djenging is a type of large double-outrigger plank boat built by the Sama-Bajau people of the Philippines. Typically used as a houseboat, it can be converted to a sailing ship or a fishing boat. Larger, more elaborately carved versions are called balutu or kubu. As of the 1990s, the balutu have almost completely disappeared among the Sma-Bajau of Tawi-Tawi and the Sulu Archipelago. The Djenging have also started to disappear, replaced by outrigger-less lepa, which are easier to sail and comes with a more permanent house structure.


text:
SHIGELLOSIS is an infection of the intestines caused by _Shigella_ bacteria.[1][2] Symptoms generally start one to two days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and feeling the need to pass stools even when the bowels are empty.[3] The diarrhea may be bloody.[4] Symptoms typically last five to seven days and it may take several months before bowel habits return entirely to normal.[5] Complications can include reactive arthritis, sepsis, seizures, and hemolytic uremic syndrome.[6]

Shigellosis is caused by four specific types of _Shigella_.[7] These are typically spread by exposure to infected feces.[8] This can occur via contaminated food, water, or hands or sexual contact.[9][10] Contamination may be spread by flies or when changing diapers (nappies).[11] Diagnosis is by stool culture.[12]

The risk of infection can be reduced by properly washing the hands.[13] There is no vaccine.[14] Shigellosis usually resolves without specific treatment.[15] Sufficient fluids by mouth and rest is recommended.[16] Bismuth subsalicylate may help with the symptoms; however, medications that slow the bowels such as loperamide are not recommended.[17] In severe cases antibiotics may be used but resistance is common.[18][19] Commonly used antibiotics include ciprofloxacin and azithromycin.[20]

Globally shigellosis occurs in at least 80 million people and results in about 700,000 deaths a year.[21] Most cases occur in the developing world.[22] Young children are most commonly affected.[23] Outbreaks of disease may occur in childcare settings and schools.[24] It is also relatively common among travelers.[25] In the United States about half a million cases occur a year.[26]

Signs and symptoms

Signs and symptoms may range from mild abdominal discomfort to full-blown dysentery characterized by cramps, diarrhea, with slimy-consistent stools, fever, blood, pus, or mucus in stools or tenesmus.[27][28] Onset time is 12 to 96 hours, and recovery takes 5 to 7 days.[29] Infections are associated with mucosal ulceration, rectal bleeding, and drastic dehydration. Reactive arthritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome are possible sequelae that have been reported in the aftermath of shigellosis.

The most common neurological symptom includes seizures.[30]

Cause

Bacteria

Shigellosis is caused by a bacterial infection with _Shigella_,[31] a bacterium that is genetically similar to and was once classified as _E. coli_.[32] There are three serogroups and one serotype of _Shigella_:

-   _Shigella flexneri_
-   _Shigella boydii_
-   _Shigella dysenteriae_ and
-   _Shigella sonnei_ (serotype)[33]

The probability of being infected by any given strain of _Shigella_ varies around the world. For instance, _S. sonnei_ is the most common in the United States, while _S. dysenteriae_ and _S. boydii_ are rare in the U.S.[34]

Transmission

_Shigella_ is transmitted through the fecal-oral route of individuals infected with the disease, whether or not they are exhibiting symptoms.[35][36] Long-term carriers of the bacteria are rare.[37] Apart from humans, the bacteria can also infect primates.[38]

Mechanism

Upon ingestion, the bacteria pass through the gastrointestinal tract until they reach the small intestine. There they begin to multiply until they reach the large intestine.[39] In the large intestine, the bacteria cause cell injury and the beginning stages of Shigellosis via two main mechanisms: direct invasion of epithelial cells in the large intestine and production of enterotoxin 1 and enterotoxin 2.[40]

Unlike other bacteria, _Shigella_ is not destroyed by the gastric acid in the stomach. As a result, it takes only 10 to 200 cells to cause an infection.[41] This infectious dose is several order of magnitudes smaller than that of other species of bacteria (e.g. Cholera, caused by the bacterium _Vibrio cholerae_, has an infectious dose between 10⁸ and 10¹¹ cells).[42]

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of shigellosis is made by isolating the organism from diarrheal fecal sample cultures. _Shigella_ species are negative for motility and are generally not lactose fermenters, but _S. sonnei_ can ferment lactose.[43] They typically do not produce gas from carbohydrates (with the exception of certain strains of _S. flexneri_) and tend to be overall biochemically inert. _Shigella_ should also be urea hydrolysis negative. When inoculated to a triple sugar iron slant, they react as follows: K/A, gas -, and H₂S -. Indole reactions are mixed, positive and negative, with the exception of _S. sonnei_, which is always indole negative. Growth on Hektoen enteric agar produces bluish-green colonies for _Shigella_ and bluish-green colonies with black centers for _Salmonella_.

Prevention

Simple precautions can be taken to prevent getting shigellosis: wash hands before handling food and thoroughly cook all food before eating. The primary prevention methods are improved sanitation and personal and food hygiene, but a low-cost and efficacious vaccine would complement these methods.[44]

Since shigellosis is spread very quickly among children, keeping infected children out of daycare for 24 hours after their symptoms have disappeared, will decrease the occurrence of shigellosis in daycares.[45]

Vaccine

Currently, no licensed vaccine targeting _Shigella_ exists. Several vaccine candidates for _Shigella_ are in various stages of development including live attenuated, conjugate, ribosomal, and proteosome vaccines.[46][47][48] _Shigella_ has been a longstanding World Health Organization target for vaccine development, and sharp declines in age-specific diarrhea/dysentery attack rates for this pathogen indicate that natural immunity does develop following exposure; thus, vaccination to prevent the disease should be feasible. Shigellosis is resistant to many antibiotics used to treat the disease,[49] so vaccination is an important part of the strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality.[50]

Treatment

Treatment consists mainly of replacing fluids and salts lost because of diarrhea. Replacement by mouth is satisfactory for most people, but some may need to receive fluids intravenously. Antidiarrheal drugs (such as diphenoxylate or loperamide) may prolong the infection and should not be used.[51]

Antibiotics

Antibiotics should only be used in severe cases or for certain populations with mild symptoms (elderly, immunocompromised, food service industry workers, child care workers). For _Shigella_-associated diarrhea, antibiotics shorten the length of infection,[52] but they are usually avoided in mild cases because many _Shigella_ strains are becoming resistant to common antibiotics.[53] Furthermore, effective medications are often in short supply in developing countries, which carry the majority of the disease burden from _Shigella_. Antidiarrheal agents may worsen the sickness, and should be avoided.[54]

In most cases, the disease resolves within four to eight days without antibiotics. Severe infections may last three to six weeks. Antibiotics, such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin may be given when the person is very young or very old, when the disease is severe, or when the risk of the infection spreading to other people is high. Additionally, ampicillin (but not amoxicillin) was effective in treating this disease previously, but now the first choice of drug is pivmecillinam.[55]

Epidemiology

Insufficient data exist,[56] but it is estimated to have caused the death of 34,000 children under the age of five in 2013, and 40,000 deaths in people over five years of age.[57] _Shigella_ also causes about 580,000 cases annually among travelers and military personnel from industrialized countries.[58]

An estimated 500,000 cases of shigellosis occur annually in the United States.[59] Infants, the elderly, and the critically ill are susceptible to the most severe symptoms of disease, but all humans are susceptible to some degree. Individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are more frequently infected with _Shigella_.[60] Shigellosis is a more common and serious condition in the developing world; fatality rates of shigellosis epidemics in developing countries can be 5–15%.[61]

Orthodox Jewish communities (OJCs) are a known risk group for shigellosis; _Shigella sonnei_ is cyclically epidemic in these communities in Israel, with sporadic outbreaks occurring elsewhere in among these communities. “Through phylogenetic and genomic analysis, we showed that strains from outbreaks in OJCs outside of Israel are distinct from strains in the general population and relate to a single multidrug-resistant sublineage of _S. sonnei_ that prevails in Israel. Further Bayesian phylogenetic analysis showed that this strain emerged approximately 30 years ago, demonstrating the speed at which antimicrobial drug–resistant pathogens can spread widely through geographically dispersed, but internationally connected, communities.”[62]

[1]

[2]

[3]

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[6]  Shigella – Shigellosis {{!}} CDC|url=https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html%7Cwebsite=www.cdc.gov%7Caccessdate=20 April 2017|language=en-us|date=3 August 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416130145/https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html%7Carchivedate=16 April 2017}}

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title: Shigellosis

question: What does the article say about symptoms of Shigellosis?

answer: Signs and symptoms may range from mild abdominal discomfort to full-blown dysentery characterized by cramps, diarrhea with slimy-consistent stools, fever, blood, pus, or mucus in stools or tenesmus. Infections are associated with mucosal ulceration, rectal bleeding, and drastic dehydration. Symptoms typically last five to seven days and it may take several months before bowel habits return entirely to normal. Reactive arthritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome are possible sequelae. The most common neurological symptom includes seizures.

question: What does the article say about the treatment of Shigellosis?

answer: Treatment consists mainly of replacing fluids and salts lost because of diarrhea. Antibiotics shorten the length of infection and should only be used when the person is very young or very old, when the disease is severe, or when the risk of the infection spreading to other people is high. Ampicillin was effective in treating this disease previously, but now the first choice of drug is pivmecillinam.

question: What does the article say about the prevention of Shigellosis?

answer: Precautions that can be taken to prevent getting shigellosis are washing hands before handling food and thoroughly cooking all food before eating. The primary prevention methods are improved sanitation and personal and food hygiene. Since shigellosis is spread very quickly among children, keeping infected children out of daycare for 24 hours after their symptoms have disappeared, will decrease the occurrence of shigellosis in daycares. No licensed vaccine targeting Shigella exists. Several vaccine candidates for Shigella are in various stages of development.

question: What does the article say about the U.S healthcare system?


text:
MCCOLLEN NTSIKELELO JACK (8 March 196512 August 2020), known as MAC JACK, was a South African educator and politician. A member of the African National Congress, Jack was appointed to the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in June 2013. He served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Transport, Safety and Liaison from June 2013 until May 2014, when he was appointed the MEC for Health. Following a cabinet reshuffle in March 2016, he was appointed the MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism. Jack held the position until his appointment as MEC for Education in May 2019, despite him briefly being demoted from the Executive Council in May 2017.

Early life and education

McCollen Ntsikelelo Jack was born on 8 March 1965 in the town of Graaff-Reinet, then part of South Africa's Cape Province.[1] He matriculated from Thubalethu State High School in Fort Beaufort in 1984. He went on to study at the Masibulele College of Education where he received a teacher's diploma. He then obtained a further diploma in educational management from the Rand Afrikaans University.[2] From the University of the Witwatersrand, he attained a CPMD-Finance certificate, completed a Housing Policy Development Programme (HPDP), and received a certificate in governance and leadership. In 2013, Jack received his honours degree in public administration from the University of Stellenbosch.[3] At the time of his death, he was busy fulfilling his master's degree from Wits University.[4]

Career

Jack was first employed as a teacher at Isibane Primary School in his hometown.[5] Later on, he began working as the principal at the Lillian Noveve Combined School in Victoria West. Not long after, the Eastern Cape Department of Education appointed him as an assistant chief education specialist.[6] In 1997, the Northern Cape government appointed him as the deputy director-general of the provincial Department of Housing and Local Government in De Aar. He was also the municipal manager of the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality.[7]

Political career

Jack was a long-standing member of the African National Congress. He served on the party's regional structure as an additional member, the treasurer, the secretary, prior to being elected chairperson of the region, a post he held for a decade. Jack had also served as a member of both the ANC's provincial executive committee and the provincial working committee.[8]

Provincial government

On 4 June 2013, Jack was appointed a member of the provincial legislature. Newly elected premier Sylvia Lucas appointed him the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Transport, Safety and Liaison on 5 June, succeeding Patrick Mabilo.[9][10] He held the position until after the 2014 general election, when Lucas moved him to the Health portfolio of the executive. Jack succeeded Mxolisa Sokatsha on 30 May, while Martha Bartlett became the new Transport, Safety and Liaison MEC.[11] Lucas reshuffled her cabinet on 1 March 2016 and appointed him the MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, succeeding John Block. Lebogang Motlhaping succeeded him as Health MEC.[12] In May 2017, Lucas removed him from the Executive Council and replaced him with Gail Parker.[13] She reversed her decision on 1 June 2017.[14] Following the 2019 general election, Zamani Saul was elected the provincial premier. He named him the MEC for Education. He was sworn in 29 May and succeeded Martha Bartlett. Maruping Lekwene took over as Finance MEC.[15]

Death

In August 2020, Jack tested positive for COVID-19. He died from it[16] on 12 August at Mediclinic Gariep in the provincial capital Kimberley, at 55 years old. He was survived by his wife, seven children and nine grandchildren.[17][18][19] His funeral was held on 16 August in his hometown.[20]

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title: Mac Jack

question: Summarize the early life of Jack.

answer: Jack was born in Graaff-Reinet in South Africa on 8th March 1965. He studied in Thubalethu State High School and matriculated in 1984. He studied at the Masibulele College of Education to get a teacher's diploma. He obtained another diploma from Rand Afrikaans University and then got a CPMD-Finance certificate from the University of the Witwatersrand. Jack also completed an HPDP and received a certificate for leadership and governance. In 2013, he got his honors degree in public administration from the University of Stellenbosch. Even when he died, he was doing his master's degree from Wits University.

question: Summarize Jack's career before politics.

answer: Jack started his career as a teacher at Isibane Primary School and then became the principal of the Lillian Noveve Combined School in Victoria West. He was soon appointed the assistant chief education specialist at the Eastern Cape Department of Education. The North Cape government also appointed him as the deputy director-general of the provincial Department of Housing and Local Government in De Aar. He also served as the municipal manager in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality.

question: Summarize Jack's political career.

answer: Jack was a member of African National Congress. He served at various posts in the party but was finally elected the chairperson of the region. He held this position for a decade. Jack also played a major role in the party's provincial government. He was appointed a member of the provincial legislature and worked in many roles until he tested positive for COVID-19 and passed away.

question: Summarize Jack's family life.


text:
There are laws in place to protect you from being misled about the products and services you buy.

-   Creating a false or misleading impression
-   Examples of false or misleading claims
-   False or misleading advertising
-   If you think you have been misled
-   More information

Businesses are not allowed to make statements that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression.

This rule applies to their advertising, their product packaging, and any information provided to you by their staff or online shopping services. It also applies to any statements made by businesses in the media or online, such as testimonials on their websites or social media pages.

For example, businesses cannot make false claims about:

-   the quality, style, model or history of a product or service
-   whether the goods are new
-   the sponsorship, performance characteristics, accessories, benefits or use of products and services
-   the availability of repair facilities or spare parts
-   the need for the goods or services
-   any exclusions on the goods and services.

It makes no difference whether the business intended to mislead you or not. If the overall impression left by a business’s advertisement, promotion, quotation, statement or other representation creates a misleading impression in your mind—such as to the price, value or the quality of any goods and services—then the behaviour is likely to breach the law.

There is one exception to this rule. Sometimes businesses may use wildly exaggerated or vague claims about a product or service that no one could possibly treat seriously or find misleading. For example, a restaurant claims they have the ‘best steaks on earth’. These types of claims are known as ‘puffery’ and are not considered misleading.

Some examples of business behaviour that might be misleading are:

-   a mobile phone provider signs you up to a contract without telling you that there is no coverage in your region
-   a real estate agent misinforms you about the characteristics of a property by advertising 'beachfront lots' that are not on the beach
-   a jewellery store advertises that a watch 'was' $200 and is 'now' $100 when the store never sold the watch for $200
-   a business predicts the health benefits of a therapeutic device or health product but has no evidence that such benefits can be attained
-   a transport company uses a picture of aeroplanes to give you the impression that it takes freight by air, when it actually sends it by road
-   a company misrepresents the possible profits of a work-at-home scheme, or other business opportunity.

These are some of the most common types of false or misleading advertising reported to the ACCC.

Fine print and qualifications

It is common practice for advertisements to include some information in fine print. This information must not contradict the overall message of the advertisement. For example, if an advertisement states that a product is ‘free’ but the fine print indicates some payment must be made, the advertisement is likely to be misleading.

Comparative advertising

Some advertisements or sales material may compare products or services to others on the market. These comparisons may relate to factors such as price, quality, range or volume.

Comparative advertising can be misleading if the comparison is inaccurate or does not appropriately compare products.

Bait advertising

Bait advertising takes place when an advertisement promotes certain (usually ‘sale’) prices on products that are not available or available only in very limited quantities. It is not misleading if the business is upfront in a highly visible, clear and specific manner about the particular product ‘on sale’ being in short supply or on sale for a limited time.

Environmental (‘green’) claims

Environmental claims may appear on small household products such as nappies, toilet paper, cleaners and detergents through to major white goods and appliances. They may include statements about environmental sustainability, recycling, energy and water efficiency or impact on animals and the natural environment, for example 'green', 'environmentally safe' or 'fully recycled'.

Businesses making these claims must be able to substantiate them.

Country of origin
Drip pricing
Organic claims
Prices & receipts
Social media
Your consumer rights – environmental claims
Your consumer rights – Indigenous art and craft

Share

question: Summarize how businesses might make an incorrect or false statement in advertising.

answer: Businesses are barred from making false claims about any aspect of the product. That includes the superficial and cosmetic aspects of the product, such as height or weight. It also extends to the functionality of the product-for example, a business cannot sell you a cell phone and plan knowing you will not be able to have coverage with it in your area. They also cannot tell you that something was sold for more than the price tag when it was never sold at that price by them. Real estate agents are barred from selling properties under false premises such as location-a home could not be shilled as a lakefront home if it is not in fact on a lake.

question: What are some questionable tactics in business advertising that are still legal?

answer: One is that you can be sold a product under the assumed guise of its being perfectly usable without any additional parts or services. If a cell phone company offers to sell you a phone and nowhere does it state you are also getting a contract and/or sim card, the cell phone will not work, but the company is not obligated to make it work for free. Businesses can also deceive you by selling you a fish tank that does not work without a pump without stating it is necessary-it is sufficient to state on the packaging that a pump is sold separately. This goes for services (in the case of the cell service) and products (the fish tank example).

question: Summarize how a business might profit off claiming to be "green", "organic", or "clean".

question: Summarize what might happen if an unscrupulous company sells a weight loss tea without much scientific backing or FDA approval.

answer: This would fall under the category of false claims if the business cannot substantiate their promises. If the product promises to aid in weight loss but there is no evidence to support the claim, the user might be entitled to some money back. However, that depends on the fine print-a business can use that space to cite statistics that are either nebulous or true but unsavory or both. For example, they might say something with an asterik along the lines of, "three percent of users see a one pound weight loss in the first five months". Therefore the product does technically work according to their loose guidelines, but that's not a result with which very many users would be happy.


text:
"It hit a very special nerve for me," Kennedy said in an interview with NBC 5

By Mary Ann Ahern and Brendan Pedersen •  Published January 15, 2018 • Updated on January 16, 2018 at 7:24 am

Gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy left the stage during a forum on Monday after Republican State Rep. Jeanne Ives argued the solution to gun violence in Illinois was having “more fathers in the home.”

Kennedy, a Democrat, replied by pointing out he had grown up without a father before standing up and walking out of the venue.

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For the Winnetka businessman and politician, gun violence is personal. Both his father and uncle – Sen. Robert Kennedy (D) and President John F. Kennedy (D), respectively – were shot and killed during the turbulent 1960s.

Kennedy has made gun violence a top priority of his campaign since he declared his candidacy last February, earning endorsements from African-American Congressmen Bobby Rush and Danny Davis in the process.

U.S. & World

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"It hit a very special nerve for me," Kennedy said in an interview with NBC 5. "I lost my father to someone with a gun. For someone to say simply the solution is to have a father-in-law – I don’t know. How shall I react? What should my family have done?"

Kathleen Murphy, a spokesperson for Ives, said in a statement Monday night that the representative did not mean to offend Mr. Kennedy during the forum.

However, Murphy also reiterated the importance of fathers in domestic life, citing "similar statements" like President Barack Obama's 2008 Father's Day speech at the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side. In his speech, the then-candidate said, "too many fathers also are is missing — missing from too many lives and too many homes."

"Those are President Obama's words, and that was what she was echoing today," Murphy said. "She certainly meant no offense to Mr. Kennedy."

Kennedy made the decision to leave after watching the 2016 Republican primary debates, where he said, “the Republican Party allowed Donald Trump to say racist and simplistic things.” Kennedy argued that Republicans should have vacated the stage in protest like he did when he heard “simplistic solutions to tragic problems.”

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Kennedy’s running mate, Ra Joy, has also been personally stricken by gun violence. His son Xavier was killed by gunfire in Hyde Park last June. After returning home from college for the summer, his family believes he was killed for his cell phone just two blocks from his home.

Kennedy quoted his running mate when it came to tackling violence.

“As Ra points out, hurt people hurt people,” he said. “We need to be sensitive to that; think in terms of empathy and not in terms of punishment, and that’s not what I was hearing today.”

question: Who is Chris Kennedy?

answer: Chris Kennedy is a Winnetka businessman and politician, a Democrat, and a Gubernatorial candidate.

question: What is the top priority of Kennedy's campaign?

answer: The top priority of Kennedy's campaign is gun violence.

question: What does motivate Kennedy to focus on gun violence?

answer: Kennedy has been personally stricken by gun violence - both his father (Sen. Robert Kennedy) and uncle (President John F. Kennedy) were shot and killed.

question: Who is Ra Joy?

answer: Ra Joy is Kennedy’s running mate whose son Xavier was killed by gunfire in Hyde Park.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Chris Kennedy is a Winnetka businessman and politician, a Democrat, and a Gubernatorial candidate. The top priority of Kennedy's campaign is gun violence because he has been personally stricken by gun violence - both his father (Sen. Robert Kennedy) and uncle (President John F. Kennedy) were shot and killed.


text:
The COSMIC DAWN CENTER is an Astronomy/Cosmology research center, founded as a collaboration between the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen and DTU Space of the Danish Technical University (DTU). The center is led by center director and NBI Professor Sune Toft and center co-director Thomas Greve, Professor at DTU and UCL.[1] The main objective of the center is to investigate the period known as the Cosmic Dawn (the transition period following the Cosmic Dark Ages[2]), i.e. the reionization of the Universe and the formation of the first galaxies, through observations as well as through theory and simulations.[3][4][5] The Cosmic Dawn Center also runs two summer programs for mainly U.S. undergraduates, the DAWN-IRES program, funded by National Science Foundation,[6] and a SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship)[7] program for California Institute of Technology students.[8]

Research

Research conducted at the center is focused on the specific period in the history of the Universe known as the Cosmic Dawn. This largely unexplored period, 300-600 million years after the Big Bang is when the first stars, black holes and galaxies are believed to have formed.[9][10] Many of the observations used by the center originate from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), one of the more powerful telescopes in the world.[11][12] In the future, the center aims to mainly use the James Webb Space Telescope[13][14] (planned to start operating in 2021[15][16][17] Work on the telescope was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]), the Euclid Telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA) (planned to start operating in 2022[19]), but is also involved with many other missions.

Major publications and collaborations

Accurate as of 2020-04-17. Taken as the highest impact papers with participation of at least one DAWN affiliate.[20]

Major papers

-   Observation of inverse Compton emission from a long γ-ray burst:[21]
-   Identification of strontium in the merger of two neutron stars:[22]
-   Signatures of a jet cocoon in early spectra of a supernova associated with a γ-ray burst:[23]
-   Stellar Velocity Dispersion of a Massive Quenching Galaxy at z = 4.01:[24]

As per 18 April 2020, DAWN authors have published at least 187 refereed papers garnering 1602 citations, which, among others, can be found at the NASA/ADS library.[25] A paper library including all papers written by DAWN members since the official inauguration can be found here.

Collaborations

-   James Webb Space Telescope: DAWN scientists have partaken in the construction of three instruments (NIRSpec, MIRI and NIRISS),[26] and will be involved in the analysis of the first data from the telescope.[27]
-   Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)[28]
-   Euclid[29]
-   Cosmic Evolution Survey[30]
-   Hubble Frontier Field
-   Buffalo Led by DAWN PI Charles Steinhardt[31]
-   3DHST
-   SMUVS
-   Ultravista
-   Splash

Other

A short summary of research conducted by the 2019 SURF students at The Cosmic Dawn Center can be found on the Caltech Student-Faculty program website.[32]

Funding

The Cosmic Dawn Center is a DNRF Center of Excellence.[33]

Senior academic staff

As of 15 April 2020[34][35]

-   Center Director, Professor Sune Toft
-   Center Co-Director, Professor Thomas Greve[36]
-   Professor of Astronomy, Johan Peter Uldall Fynbo[37]
-   Professor of Astronomy, Georgios Magdis (dually employed at the Niels Bohr Institute and DTU)[38]
-   Associate professor, Gabriel Brammer
-   Associate professor, Charles Steinhardt
-   Associate professor, Darach Watson

Besides these, DAWN employs a number of Affiliate Professors, Postdocs and PhDs, as well as the administrative staff.

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title: Cosmic Dawn Center

question: Explain the reason for the the Center's name.

answer: The Cosmic Dawn Center is named as such since the main objective of the center is to investigae the period known as the Cosmic Dawn -which refers to the reionization of the universe and the formation of the first galaxies during the transition period that followed the Cosmic Dark Ages.

question: How many people work at the Cosmic Dawn Center?

question: What tangible results has the Center produced?

answer: As of April 2020, they have published at least 187 refereed papers which are accessible in a paper library in the facility. Among these are 4 notably major papers.


text:
As the Watergate scandal unfolded, Republican allies of President Richard Nixon raised questions about the partisan leanings of investigators and sought to undermine some of their conclusions.

One thing they didn’t do: Investigate the investigators.

But as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election progressed over the past two years, GOP lawmakers sought to defend President Donald Trump in part by digging into the investigation itself, something historians say is unprecedented in American politics.

As documented in the New York _Times_ this week, the president’s allies in Congress have opened investigations into the FBI’s handling of investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, received private texts from the Justice Department between two FBI officials involved in the Russia case, gone after sensitive Justice Department documents about the start of the investigation and trusted informants, and threatened to hold the deputy attorney general in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide certain documents.

Historians say this marks a new era of hyperpartisanship that will likely erode trust in traditionally independent law enforcement agencies.

“What Republicans have done recently is to take the whole thing to a totally new level, in that they have not just said that the Congress is being pushed by partisan incentives, but they’ve really gone hard after the law enforcement institutions,” says Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

This is all evidence of “partisanship on steroids in terms of how you defend a president who is being investigated,” adds Zelizer. “It’s not just they’re even saying this on television, they’ve been investigating. They’ve been trying to use oversight as an arm of the president’s own agenda.”

Since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January, Republican lawmakers have found these investigations curtailed. But unconfirmed reports that Mueller may be finishing up his work soon have renewed questions about how Congress will respond if Trump is found to have been involved in some wrongdoing.

The rhetoric has been remarkably similar to the Watergate era.

Nixon’s allies in Congress levied some of the same criticism against Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox that Republicans use today about Mueller, explains Ken Hughes, an expert on Watergate at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

Pennsylvania Sen. Hugh Scott, the Republican Senate leader at the time, referred to Cox’s team as a “hostile adversary staff” and said they should be questioned about their “loyalty.” In a 1973 Senate Judiciary hearing, Republican South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond asked Cox (who had been fired before the hearing), “Is it true that 11 members of your staff worked for Kennedy and Johnson?” referring to the former Democratic Presidents. “I’m wondering how the special prosecutor’s office could conduct an objective investigation.” A 1973 New York _Times_ article about the hearing said it “fell into partisan bickering … as two Republicans tried to portray Mr. Cox and his staff as indiscreet Democrats out to get the President.”

It’s hard not to hear echoes of Scott’s comments Thurmond’s questions in today’s climate. House Republicans have accused Mueller of bias: for example, “It’s just outrageous to see this biased Mueller probe continue,” GOP Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has said. Trump himself has made repeated assertions that Mueller’s investigation is “rigged” and a “witch hunt” and that his team is composed of “13 angry Democrats.”

The defense also has an echo: Cox noted at the time that about half of the top men in his department had served under Republican attorneys general; while Mueller himself is a registered Republican.

Many Republicans stuck by Nixon until irrefutable evidence emerged of his guilt: a taped conversation in which Nixon told his chief of staff to ask the acting director of the FBI to halt the investigation into the Watergate break-in. “For a very long time, when there was a whole lot of evidence of wrongdoing going up to the presidential level, a majority of Republicans stuck with President Nixon for partisan reasons,” says Hughes, who spoke with TIME as part of a presidential history partnership.

But historians note that congressional Republicans under Nixon didn’t use their oversight powers to try to interfere with the Watergate investigation as some House Republicans are doing today with Mueller, in part because they weren’t able to: Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress during Watergate.

“Nixon did not have congressional attack dogs,” says Timothy Naftali, history professor at New York University and co-author of the 2018 book “Impeachment: An American History.” “He had defenders, who were quite vocal in their defense of him, but they did not engage in smear tactics in the kind of aggressive crusade that [GOP California Rep.] Devin Nunes and Gaetz and [GOP Ohio Rep. Jim] Jordan and [GOP North Carolina Rep. Mark] Meadows apparently have engaged in.”

The assertive use of oversight to go after investigators has fed the distrust of Mueller’s work along partisan lines.

A Washington _Post_/Schar School poll from February 2019 found a majority of respondents — 56% — said they think Mueller is more credible than Trump. But the partisan split is stark: 86 percent of Democrats polled said they trusted Mueller, while 74% of Republicans said they would believe Trump. It’s highly unlikely Mueller’s final report will include the same type of smoking gun that Nixon’s tapes provided in the Watergate probe. Which means faith in the integrity Mueller’s work will, in many ways, be the ultimate deciding factor in whether Trump is impeached.

“What this has done is really poisoned the way in which many Republicans think about the investigation, and it will make it harder when a report comes out, if it is damning, to build political support for doing anything about it,” says Zelizer. “It’s not as if these attacks are going to stop. They’re going to accelerate the closer we get to the report.”

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WRITE TO Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.

question: What are the similarities between the Mueller investigation and the Watergate scandal?

answer: In both cases, a Republican president is under investigation for a scandal. In Nixon's case, it was the Watergate break-in while in Trump's case, it's the Russian involvement in the presidential elections. The partisan reactions to the investigation are also similar. In both cases, the Republicans claimed the investigators were out to discredit a Republican president because they were Democrats.

question: What parts of the backlash against the investigations does the author point out as non-sensical or otherwise problematic?

answer: The erosion of trust toward investigative agencies is the biggest issue. In addition, the author points out that the lead investigator, Mueller, is a registered Republican, which contradicts the claim that he's biased against Trump on partisan grounds. Similarly, half of the Watergate investigation team had served under Republican attorneys general. The use of congressional oversight to investigate Mueller is another problematic tactic that's likely to fuel partisan concerns.

question: What does the text say about the separation of powers in government?


text:
A year ago you came in to my life. I can still remember that day. It was the 18th of June, late at night for me. I was talking with friends and then there you where, from all the rooms you could have choosen, you picked the one I was in
You came in to the room and started talking. We hit it off from the first word. Minutes became an hour, 1 hour became many. We must have talked straight through the night. After that night we both knew that it was something special. The following day we talked the entire day again. It was the 19th and we said to eachother this must be faith. Now it's the 20th, the day I will always cherish. We said we loved eachother. That was the day we started being more then just friends. Time flew by and August came around. We had to see eachother. And out of the blue you had the best news I got in a long time. You booked a ticket. You where coming to visit me. She must have gone through so much, just so we could meet. From that moment on I knew, I was right from day 1. You where the one. It was mid august when you came. I waited for you at Heathrow airport and there you where. We both didn't know how to act. In a short time that day our nerves settled and we shared our first kiss. It was a little peck but also the biggest kiss of my life. We grew so close to eachother and started to see different sides from us. But yet our love grew stronger. September 5th. How I still hate that day. It was the day you had to leave. Our time was up our moments had to pass. I drove you back to London. That drive was painfull. We arrived at the airport, we walked in. I hugged you and said everything will be fine. You cried l, she didn't want to go. I said you had to without shedding a tear. I couldn't cry even though I wanted to. I had to remain strong for her. I know she got hurt by that. We walked to the elevator. We hugged eachother again, the pain was unbearable. The time had come for you to go back home. She got in to that elevator with tears in her eyes. The doors started to close, she said she loved me one last time, the doors closed, that was it. You where gone. September 6th my birthday. All I wanted was you by my side. We kept it going to following months, but it went down hill. I kept pushing you to far. My own insecurity and paranoïde behaviour where destroying what we had. It's now December. Our feelings our still strong. You tell me you got a surprise. I wonder what it is. You send me a video recording on Skype. I can hear and see her so happy. She shows me a ticket. Your coming down for Christmas and not only that, this time for a month. I get extatic. I can't believe she did this. After everything I put her through, she still comes down. It's December the 15th, you land in Brussels. I'm waiting for you at the gate. We see eachother, we hug and know everything is gonna be ok.we spend a month together. This time it doesn't go to we'll. We fight,we argue. It's the fact That I'm 25 and haven't achieved anything, the Fact that I don't trust you even after everything she did for me. She is right about everything she said. I know this but don't want to accept it. You realise this and still don't give up. She still gives me all her love and support. We make up. We spend Christmas and new years together. The best I ever had. Time goes by to fast. The month is over before I realize it. It's januari 16th she has to leave again. We get in the car and start driving to the airport. I'm cold and distant. I don't want to feel pain, have to stay strong. You see me being distant and cold when you needed love and support. This is a scar I can never heal again. We arrive at Brussels. I say we have to be fast, we go in. You check your bag. A quick hug and a kiss. No nice words of comfort this time. I can't say it. I can't do it. I don't want to cry. I leave you, you watch me walk away. I can never know how much pain I caused her there. It's the day after. We talk, I get to see the pain I did to her. Your hurt and don't understand. I am an ass and say I needed to be strong, things start getting worse. You tell me get a job, get your life together, she is right about everything again. I do nothing but give her empty promises. Days turn in to weeks, weeks become months. I still haven't changed. It's now 5months later. It's June the 20th our 1 year anniversary. I got her nothing, didn't have a job, my own doing. I see how much it hurts you, I push it away. You tell me you need to see me. It's been to long, I feel the same way. I love her with all my heart. But I don't change myself,you notice and get sad. I tell you I will change, promise you the world and more.Again nothing but empty promises. You start to question is this really the man I can have a future with. Days go by. You see no change. You realise we are not gonna see eachother.Your heart bleeds, tears come to your eyes. Pain overwhelmed your mind. She tells me everything. Every thought,worry,problem and emotion. She empty her heart. You tell me you are scared, scared that I'm not gonna do what needs to be done. My mind tells me she is right, my heart tells me I love her. Pain comes to me when i see the woman I love in so much hurt. I still don't do what needs to be done. She knows he will never change.it's now June the 28th, your 18th birthday. I have nothing,only empty hands and a happy birthday. I feel horrible, and I should. She calls me and says I bought you a ticket. Your coming over her for 2 months. I feel horrible and happy at the same time.I don't know what yo do. Thoughts race through my mind,emotions flare,I accept. We are both happy. June 31st, I get up and leave for the airport. Time goes fast,16 hours fly by. I land in Ottawa, it's late and dark outside. I'm nervous, I walk down te get my bag, your not there. I freak out, destructive thoughts enter my.mind. I get mad and then I hear my name, there you are. The most beautiful woman I have seen. We hug, we kiss, we spend the night together in a very long time. It was the perfect first night. Next day, I meet her family. I'm scared, start thinking to myself, they won't accept me. They will think I'm a free loader. We arrive at her place, my heart is racing, we step inside. I couldn't have been more wrong about everything. They treat me like they known me my whole life. My eyes open. Days pas and it goes good at first, then the fights begin again. Everything she tells me is spot on. I start to change my thinking. I'm still stuck in my old habits. I decline a lot of things she wants to do. I'm an idiot. A month flys by. Things start to escalate. one night it happens. It's long overdue. She snaps, after everything she has done for me, you can't take it any longer. Pain, grief and anger take hold, she empty her mind. I lose it,get mad, Try to convince myself and her it's not like that. She makes up her mind it's over. My heart sinks, pain and anger take over. I know she is right about it all. A new day begins, I talk to her. Try to convince her she is wrong. I'm lying to her and myself. Another day passes by. She gives in, says we could try it again,but on a slow pace. My heart fills with joy, I didn't lose her. I start to see who I am,what I did, it.finally gets in my mind that she is right about everything. I want to change for her. August 11th the hardest day. It's my turn to leave. I cry, I don't want to leave. You tell me I have to. She is right, we get to the airport. We hug, kiss. I tell her I love her more then anything. She starts crying. I whisper in her ear. Il come back, before you know il be back. I ask her not to forget about me. You tell me you never will. It's time, I walk in, get to security. I hear a voice. It's her she screams that she loves me, I yell it back. That was the last time we spoke face to face. I'm a wreck, I go back home with that Image burned in my mind. We talk over skype. She sees me doing nothing,she snaps, she has had enough. you can't take it anymore. the bomb hits, reality sets in, me heart gets shredded. I promise her i will change, you have heard it all before, she doesn't believe it anymore. i can't blame her. 2 months have passes since that day. I got a job, changed my way of thinking, my habits and i got my life together. The only thing missing is her love.

title: [RO] lost my through love

question: Where are the man and the woman in this story and where do they meet?

answer: The narrator lives in Brussels and his girlfriend lives in Ottawa. They meet in a chatroom on the Internet. Eventually, she flies to Brussels to meet him.

question: Draw a timeline for the story.

answer: The narrator met the girl on the 18th of June. On the 20th they expressed their love for one another. Mid August, she flew to Brussels, leaving on the 5th of September. She spends a month in Brussels over Christmas arriving on the 15th of December. It is her 18th birthday on the 20th of June. She buys him a ticket and he flies to Ottawa on the 31st of June, which doesn't exist. He flies back on the 11th of August. That was at least 2 months ago.

question: What is the point of conflict between the narrator and his girlfriend?

answer: The narrator is 25 and has achieved nothing in life. He keeps making her promises that he will change his habits. He fails to do so. Eventually, she breaks up with him. Too late, he gets a job and changes his ways.


text:
NORMAN FRANCIS VANDIVIER (March 10, 1916 – June 4, 1942) was a United States Navy aviator during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for action during the Battle of Midway.

Biography

Norman Vandivier was born on March 10, 1916 in Edwards, Mississippi. He entered the Indiana National Guard in 1935 and was promoted to corporal before he completed his enlistment on July 1, 1938. He enlisted in the Navy on July 6, 1939 at Grosse Ile, Michigan, for aviation training and was enrolled as a seaman second class. On October 20, Vandivier took the oath of office as an aviation cadet in the United States Naval Reserve and soon began pilot training at Pensacola, Florida. He received his wings on May 21, 1940 when he was designated a naval aviator. At the completion of additional training, he was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve on June 28, 1940. That same day, he was assigned to Bombing Squadron 6 (VB-6) on board the aircraft carrier _Enterprise_ (CV-6), to which he reported on August 1.

Pacific Ocean operations

Ens. Vandivier served in _Enterprise_ throughout his brief naval career. Between August 1940 and December 1941, he flew training missions from her flight deck and cruised between the islands of the Pacific Ocean. However, during those relatively idyllic months, relations between the United States and Japan steadily deteriorated. On the morning of December 7, 1941, events came to a head when the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor.

At that time, Ens. Vandivier was on board the _Enterprise_ which was some 200 miles (400 km) from the battle and on her way back to Hawaii after ferrying United States Marine Corps Fighter Squadron 211 (VMF-211) to Wake Island. Rather than return to port, _Enterprise_ conducted a fruitless search for the attacking enemy force. She finally put into Pearl Harbor on the afternoon of December 8 to refuel and replenish before again getting underway the next morning to resume patrols which continued through the end of the year.

On January 11, 1942, the carrier departed Pearl Harbor to assist the (CV-5) task force in protecting a reinforcement convoy which safely disembarked its marines at Samoa on the 23d.

Two days later, the _Enterprise_ task force was ordered to head for the Marshall Islands and begin America's first offensive action against the Japanese Empire. Bombing Squadron 6 flew off _Enterprise_ just before dawn on February 1, and its three divisions winged toward Kwajalein. Ens. Vandivier and his comrades reached that atoll just before 07:30, divided themselves into two flights, and immediately began their attack. Vandivier flew the second plane in the 2d division, and so his was probably the 7th or 8th plane to dive on the ships and installations located near and on Kwajalein islet at the extreme southeastern end of the atoll. Because of the fires and smoke caused by his predecessors' bombs and the dangerously low altitude to which he dove before dropping his bombs, the results of Ens. Vandivier's drop were not readily discernible. However, the fact that he continued his dive until almost the last possible moment makes it highly probable that his attack was successful. Later, he was credited with a near miss on a cargo ship. Subsequently, he destroyed a barracks and received the Air Medal for “... meritorious conduct ...” during the raid.

Ens. Vandivier landed on _Enterprise_ around 09:00. Within 45 minutes, his plane was rearmed, refueled, and back in the air making for Maloelap Atoll. At 10:30, he followed his division leader into a steep dive on Taroa islet and delivered another successful attack on enemy installations. After that raid, Vandivier returned to his ship which rapidly moved out of the area.

Bombing of Wake Island

The young Navy pilot's next action came on February 25 when Bombing Squadron 6 and Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6) flew off _Enterprise_ to bomb Wake Island, by then in Japanese possession. A week later, he rose from _Enterprise_'s flight deck to strike Marcus Island. While this attack, like the one on Wake Island, was of limited strategic value, the entire series of raids offered Ens. Vandivier and his comrades invaluable flying experience.

In April, _Enterprise_ provided air cover for _Hornet_ (CV-8) which was carrying 16 Army, twin-engine B-25s under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle. Ens. Vandivier made his closest approach to Japan on April 18 when the bombers rose from _Hornet_ to make their daring one-way raid on Tokyo. Immediately after the launch, the two carriers and their escorts reversed course and cleared the area. Vandivier reentered Pearl Harbor on April 25. Five days later, _Enterprise_ took the flyer to sea once more and raced to reinforce carriers _Lexington_ (CV-2) and (CV-5) in the South Pacific. However, time and distance conspired to prevent Ens. Vandivier from participating in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which ended before his ship could reach the area. _Enterprise_ was ordered back to Hawaii to ready herself for an even more important mission.

The _Enterprise_ returned to Pearl Harbor on May 26. Ens. Vandivier and his shipmates began feverish preparations to meet an expected Japanese thrust at Midway Island. Two days later, his ship headed back to sea to take station off Midway Island. On the 30th, _Yorktown_ put to sea to join _Hornet_ and _Enterprise_ some 235 miles (435 km) northeast of Midway. Planes from the three carriers searched diligently for the enemy force during the next three days; but it was a Midway-based PBY Catalina flying boat that made first contact with the Japanese invasion force on the morning of June 3, about 700 miles (1,300 km) from the island.

Battle of Midway Island

While Midway-based bombers attacked the enemy transport force that afternoon, Ens. Vandivier waited with the other pilots for news of their own special targets — the Japanese carriers. At 05:45 the following morning, another Catalina from Midway Island found the enemy flattops. _Enterprise_ and _Hornet_ raced to close the Japanese while _Yorktown_ recovered search planes.

At about 07:05, _Enterprise_ planes began rumbling down her flight deck and wobbling into the air. By 07:30, the whole attack group was aloft. As they made off to attack the enemy, Ens. Vandivier formed his SBD Dauntless dive bomber up with the other planes of Bombing 6's 3d Division. Led by the carrier's group commander, Lt. Comdr. Wade McClusky, the formation winged its way toward the enemy carrier striking force, composed of four of the six carriers which had attacked Pearl Harbor.

At 09:20 when the planes reached the point where they expected to find the enemy carriers, the airmen gazed down upon empty ocean. At this point, the air group commander made a hard decision. His planes were low on fuel; and, if they initiated a search, some aircraft might not make it back to the carriers. On the other hand, if the strike returned to _Enterprise_ and missed the enemy carriers, Midway Island might fall. Worse yet, Japanese bombers might knock out _Enterprise_, _Hornet_, and _Yorktown_, leaving little or nothing between America and the forces of the Japanese Empire. Therefore, the American pilots ignored their fuel problem and began searching for the enemy. At 10:05, they spied, on the horizon to the northwest, the silhouettes of three large carriers and a number of escorts. At first, several pilots thought that their leader had brought them back to their own ships; but closer inspection revealed pagoda masts and yellow flight decks. These ships could only be Japanese.

As the attack commenced, the Dauntless dive bombers of Bombing 6 jockeyed for position with those of Scouting 6. Vandivier's division followed the 2d division whose commander saw that many of Scouting 6's bombs were missing the “left hand” aircraft carrier — now known to have been Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's flagship _Akagi_. Rather than follow the 1st division in its attack on _Kaga_, which seemed well taken care of with critical hits, the 2d and 3d divisions bore down on _Akagi_. In due course, it was Ens. Vandivier's turn. Over he went and then down, toward the flagship of the Pearl Harbor attack force. He released his bomb — whether or not it was a hit or a near miss will never be known — and pulled out of the dive. He banked his plane and headed home. He later reported by radio that he was making a water landing, but he and his gunner were never seen nor heard of again.

Awarded Navy Cross

In spite of a critical fuel shortage, Vandivier had pressed home his attack against the flagship of Japan's main carrier strength. His bravery is indicative of the spirit and determination which, perhaps above all else, won the crucial Battle of Midway for America and paved the way for ultimate victory. For his selfless contributions to that victory, Ens. Vandivier — promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on June 30, 1942 retroactively to April 15, 1942 — was awarded the Navy Cross, posthumously, for “... extraordinary heroism and distinguished service. ...”

Namesake

In 1943, the United States Navy named the destroyer escort USS _Vandivier_ (DER-540) in honor of Vandivier and his heroic efforts. _Vandivier_ (DER-540) was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard on November 8, 1943 as a _John C. Butler_-class destroyer escort DE-540; launched on December 27, 1943; and was sponsored by Mrs. Mary Hardin Vandivier.

Film

His story was told via the 2019 movie Dauntless: The Battle of Midway.

title: Norman Francis Vandivier

question: What does the text say about Enterprise?

answer: Enterprise is a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Enterprise was active during World War II in Pacific Ocean operations. Enterprise ported in Hawaii and traveled between places such as Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, the Marshall Islands, Midway Island, and Japan.

question: Summarize the cast of Dauntless: The Battle of Midway.


text:
The Democrats need a unifier. It could be the Vermont Socialist.

-   Nov. 30, 2019

[Senator Bernie Sanders at an October campaign rally in Queens.]

Credit...Christopher Lee for The New York Times

The Democratic Party needs a nominee, but right now it has a train wreck instead. The front-runner seems too old for the job and is poised to lose the first two primary season contests. The woman who was supposed to become the front-runner on the basis of her policy chops is sliding in the polls after thoroughly botching her health care strategy. The candidate rising in her place is a 37-year-old mayor of a tiny, not-obviously-thriving city.

Meanwhile several seemingly electable alternatives have failed to catch fire; the party establishment is casting about for other options; and not one but two billionaires are spending millions to try to buy delegates for a brokered convention … which is a not-entirely-unimaginable endgame for the party as it prepares to face down Donald Trump.

The state of the Democratic field reflects the weaknesses of the individual candidates, but it also reflects the heterogenous nature of the Democratic coalition, whose electorate has many more demographic divisions than the mostly white and middle-class and aging G.O.P., and therefore occasionally resembles the 19th-century Hapsburg empire in the challenge it poses to aspiring leaders.

_[__Listen to “The Argument” podcast every Thursday morning, with Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt.__]_

The theory of the Kamala Harris candidacy, whose nosedive was the subject of a withering pre-mortem from three of my colleagues over Thanksgiving, was that she was well suited to accomplish this unification through the elixir of her female/minority/professional class identities — that she would embody the party’s diversity much as Barack Obama did before her, and subsume the party’s potential tensions under the benevolent stewardship of a multicultural managerialism.

That isn’t happening. But it’s still reasonable for Democratic voters to look for someone who can do a version of what Harris was supposed to do, and build a coalition across the party’s many axes of division.

And there’s an interesting case that the candidate best positioned to do this — the one whose support is most diverse right now — is the candidate whom Obama allegedly promised to intervene _against_ if his nomination seemed likely: the resilient Socialist from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.

Like other candidates, Sanders’s support has a demographic core: Just as Elizabeth Warren depends on very liberal professionals and Joe Biden on older minorities and moderates, Bernie depends intensely on the young. But his polling also shows an interesting better-than-you-expect pattern, given stereotypes about his support. He does better-than-you-expect with minorities despite having struggled with them in 2016, with moderate voters and $100K-plus earners despite being famously left-wing, and with young women despite all the BernieBro business.

This pattern explains why, in early-state polling, Sanders shows the most strength in very different environments — leading Warren everywhere in the latest FiveThirtyEight average, beating Biden in Iowa and challenging him in more-diverse Nevada, matching Pete Buttigieg in New Hampshire and leading him easily in South Carolina and California.

Now, I have stacked the argument slightly, and left out a crucial axis of division where Sanders does worse than you expect: He struggles badly with his fellow Social Security recipients, the over-65. This weakness and Biden’s strength with these same voters are obvious reasons to doubt the case for Bernie as the unifier, Bernie as the eventual nominee.

Especially since Sanders has thus far ignored my advice (I know, the nerve) that he reassure skeptics by telling them that he has a record as a dealmaker, that he can moderate on certain issues, so they can feel safe supporting him even if they aren’t ready for the revolution.

But still: If you are a wavering Democrat concerned about both party unity and ultimate electability, about exciting all the diverse factions of your base while also competing for the disaffected, both the relative breadth of Bernie’s primary coalition and his decent polling among non-voters and Obama-Trump voters are reasons to give him another look.

That decent polling, I suspect, reflects a sense among voters drawn to populism that Bernie is different from not only the more centrist candidates — latecomers Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick especially, but Buttigieg as well — but also from his fellow left-winger, Warren, who has fully embraced the culture-war breadth of the new progressivism while Sanders remains, fundamentally, an economic-policy monomaniac.

He’s still a social liberal, of course, and he isn’t _in_ the culturally conservative/economic populist quadrant where so many unrepresented voters reside. But for the kind of American who is mostly with the Democrats on economics but wary of progressivism’s zest for culture war, Sanders’s socialism might be strangely reassuring — as a signal of what he actually cares about, and what battles he might eschew for the sake of his anti-plutocratic goals. (At the very least he’s no more radical on an issue like abortion than a studied moderate like Mayor Pete.)

This is why, despite technically preferring a moderate like Biden or Amy Klobuchar, I keep coming back to the conservative’s case for Bernie — which rests on the perhaps-wrong but still attractive supposition that he’s the liberal most likely to spend all his time trying to tax the rich and leave cultural conservatives alone.

_The Times is committed to publishing_ _a diversity of letters_ _to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some_ _tips__. And here’s our email:_ _letters@nytimes.com__._

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question: Who is the Vermont Socialist?

answer: Bernie Sanders

question: What is the main argument being put forth by this article?

answer: The article is arguing that Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for the Democratic Party.

question: What are the problems with the front-running candidate?

answer: He is too old for the job and is poised to lose the first two primary season contests.

question: What are the candidates running for?

answer: For the Democratic Party nomination.

question: When was this article published?

answer: November 30, 2019

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This article argues that Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for the Democratic Party nomination. This is because in addition to his demographic core of the young, he also does better than would be expected with minorities, moderate voters, and young women. He also poses less of a threat to the culturally conservative, since he is likely to focus more on economic policies than on waging a culture war.