The Republican Party, also commonly called the GOP (for "Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery activists in 1854, it dominated politics nationally for most of the period from 1860 to 1932. There have been 18 Republican presidents, the first being Abraham Lincoln, serving from 1861 to 1865, and the most recent being Donald Trump who began serving in 2017.

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870. Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of thought is as a instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics - such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science - are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes rather than in terms of representative accuracy.

"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." - Desiderius Erasmus

Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew.

The Scientific Services Bureau operates one of the largest full-service crime laboratories in the United States. A staff of 198 members provides forensic science support to all Los Angeles County law enforcement agencies, except the Los Angeles Police Department. Approximately one half of the nearly 70,000 cases submitted annually to the Crime Lab is from Sheriff's Department investigators , while the remainder is from local, state, and federal agencies. Since 1989 the Scientific Services Bureau has been an accredited laboratory through the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).