An often commented on problem in Darwin’s studies is the idea that he set his theory, chiefly, on his evidence of variation in domesticized animals and cultured plants. It has been a goal of mine to find a stable basis for the theory in the variations of species in a state of nature. Since the accurate amount and precise character of these variations is of paramount importance in the numerous problems that arise when we apply the theory to explain the facts of nature, it’s important to show the actual variations as they are observed to exist in a sufficient number of species. By doing this, we not only benefit from a better and more accurate estimate of variation, we will gain a foundation of fact by which to examine the arguments and objections usually put forth on the subject of specific variability. This will reveal that, throughout the work, I refer to to these charts and the facts they illustrate, even as Darwin tended to appeal to the facts of variation among dogs and pigeons.
I have also made what seems to me an important change in my approach of the issue. Rather than treat first the comparatively challenging and unfamiliar particulars of variation, I will start with the Struggle for Existence, which is really the key phenomenon on which natural selection depends. Then I will elucidate the particular facts which are relatively familiar and more intriguing. My report will have the additional advantage of looking specifically at how natural selection plays in natural environments.
I do admit that my theory contains departures from some of Darwin’s opinions, nonetheless my entire work tends to exemplify the overwhelming importance of Natural Selection over all other agencies in the creation of new species. In light of that, I take on Darwin’s early position, which he modified in later versions of his works. The fact of natural selection and its influence on the mutation and development of species is the Darwinian doctrine, and on that account, I am a devout advocate of pure Darwinism.
It’s interesting to note the emergence of scientists of the Christian faith who embrace intelligent design theory. Their theory dwells someplace between the Biblical notion of creation theory and Darwin’s theory of evolution. There is a particular demographic on the evolution creationism debate that is sociologically notable, which I mention as a friend and colleague of mine is interested in undertaking such a report.
Simply put, an optometrist is a healthcare professional who provides corrective lenses based on your prescription as judged by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Corrective lenses can come in the form of either contacts or spectacles. The job of the optometrist is to shift the prescription into a custom-designed opthalmic lens.
The explanation could be elementary however the actual transition takes an great amount of consultation, skill and craftsmanship. An optometrist will confer with patients to produce eyewear that best meet their needs by assembling information about the patient on the purpose of the specs, their level of physical activity, the necessity of protection and the configuration of facial features and the eye.
Opticians use a diverse range of instruments ranging from simple measuring gadgets to more complicated examination devices. This allows the optometrist to produce a custom design, fitting and dispensing of the eyewear to meet the unique needs of individual patients.
Using the prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist, the optometrist, they use a number of strategies and equipment that will give the necessary correction to an individual’s eyesight. Ophthalmic opticians also design and fit special lenses to correct cosmetic, traumatic or anatomical defects. Successful corrective eyewear hinges greatly on the skill and the craft of Optometrists to ensure comfort, taste preferences, functionality and design.
Opticians may practice in a variety of areas such as independent or joint practice, hospitals, eye care centers or retail stores. Nevertheless, registered Opticians must work hard to meet standards of practice and training, commit to ongoing education, hold professional liability insurance and are held to these standards by their respective regulating bodies.
The most advantageous arena is to locate Ophthalmic opticians who provide services within an eye care center and work along side other eye care professionals such as optometrists, ophthalmologists and technicians. These services are provided within the setting of larger eye care centers and also known as “on-site optical” units.
The advantages of an “on-site optical” department is that the optometrist has easy accessibility to other eye care professionals and co-workers, allowing the optometrist to troubleshoot any problems or obstacles that might arise from patients.
With the exception of Watergate, there has never been a scandal more egregious and with wider implications than the Teapot Dome affair during the presidency of Warren G. Harding. It involved the secret leasing to private companies of oil-containing tracts owned by the Navy, mainly in Wyoming and California.
“Domes” are natural reservoirs of crude oil. The “Teapot Dome” - named after a rock resembling the kitchen implement - was near Casper, Wyoming. It was “reserved” in 1920 for the future energy needs of American Navy vessels.
Senator Albert B. Fall of New Mexico - Harding’s secretary of the Interior - opposed this “conservation” policy. Hence his furtive attempt - in collusion with Secretary of the Navy, Edward Denby and others - to lease the domes to private extractors. Teapot Dome was leased to Harry F. Sinclair’s Mammoth Oil Company. The Elk Hills reserve in California was rented to Edward L. Doheny’s Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company. The two gave Fall and others gifts and “loans” amounting to $400,000 - an enormous fortune at the time.
The scandal was made public in 1922 in a long investigation by the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Public Lands led by Senator Thomas J. Walsh from Montana and Senator Robert M. Lafollette.
After much prevarication by Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty, Fall was brought to justice. He sentenced to one year in prison and $100,000 fine in 1929 and many officials were implicated. Daugherty himself resigned in 1924. When Harding died in 1923, he was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge and public outrage subsided. Coolidge acted resolutely and appointed special prosecutors under his personal supervision to protect the interests of the government.
The Supreme Court annulled both the Elk Hills and the Teapot Dome leases in 1927. But, though government officials were convicted of corruption and conspiracy - no oilman was found guilty of bribing (still, they paid damages). Sinclair refused to collaborate with a second Senate investigation and hired gumshoes to shadow members of the jury in his case. He served a short sentence for tampering with a jury and for criminal contempt.
The Democrats failed to capitalize on the affair and lost the presidential elections in both 1924 and 1928.
Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.
Visit Sam’s Web site at samvak.tripod.com
