DEMOCRACYOLOGY DEPARTMENT, WAS                      The little character Hope was the last one out of Pandora's infamous box after all of the evils of the world escaped. Pandora, overcome by her curiosity, had opened the lid in the first place - against wishes of the gods (sound familiar with the Eden story?).  After the evils had escaped, Pandora, seeing her big mistake, slammed the lid shut.  However, Hope was trapped inside!  Hope pounded on the lid and yelled "let me out" Finally, Pandora lifted the lid, and Hope escaped.  So, there is always Hope in Greek mythology. And, of course, Jesus offers the ultimate hope - God Spirit.  And Democracy is the greatest political Hope for mankind. However, the King of Evil, Satan sends every trick in his dumb arsenal to stop this good. Democracy is at the top of his list.         Democracy - self rule - is a great invention (really God ordained in the first place as Jefferson pointed out!), but as many have said, it is hard to keep. The main problems to retention being it requires individual thinking, discipline, research, adherance to law, strength to fight aggressors who would destroy it,  and plain old work, sweat and sacrifice....and battling Satan mentioned above who hates good, and democracy is good.   Many people are ignorant about democracy (often the fault of those who have gone before who didn't explain it thoroughly and the terrible cost of not having it....dreaded slavery)  and opt out leaving all the thinking and hard work  to some aggressive tyrant(s), who is always more than happy to take over (this type loves power and control and being the slave-master; they themselves are slaves of the Devil). And, aggressive controlling tyrants breed as flies. The new slave and master situation works for about 15 minutes (if that long)...when the people suddenly learn that they have become slaves...one of the worst possible disasters on earth. As we speak right now, many around the world are becoming slaves!      And, even if a group has democracy they have to watch out for slavery.  The Athenians had slavery, so, it could be argued that they didn't have a true democracy.  Our Founding Fathers had slaves.  It took over 100 years to get rid of it. But still, today, we have to watch it.  In a number of countries today the people are slaves. And there are even slaves in families. But it is tough to turn the minds of slave-masters. Meanwhile, there is unbelievable suffering. There needs to be education about democracy....the good and the failures of history. Different types of democracy need to be studied. The point where government becomes too oppressive in a democracy. The anatomy of aggression must be studied...also its history. The forces that hurt democracy - various unhealthy political/social/religious movements.       And, of course, our Congress needs a course too. Besides a Parliamentarian which they have, they need a democracy parliamentarian on the floor also. Each day this person needs to take notes. If something is off base with democracy they need to interrupt immediately, then, next moring, first thing, read their notes with democracy comments.         There is lots of work to be done to prevent becoming zombies. Hopefully, a study of the history of democracy will help. We need all the help we can get here at the WAS on our own study.  Gifts of all types appreciated.  RM - - - - -ronwriterartist@aol.com ....or send checks made out to Ron S. Miller and mail to: Ron S. Miller, 120 Lakewood Drive, Hollister, MO 65672.  Thanks. As my Grandmother used to say if someone did something good. "You will definitely receive another jewel in your crown in Heaven."       Speaking of Hope, the WAS has a book available: HOPE AND THE HEALERS OF MT. PELION, written and illustrated by Ron. This is a collection of hopeful short stories.  Know someone who needs a lift, is ill, or has some other problem, then, this is the book.  We are working on the second revised edition. Since the printing will be limited, the cost is a little more than desired.  Cost: $35.00.  S&H $5.00 in U.S., $10.00 all other countries. Members receive a $5.00 discount.   Place orders now to be sure and get in on this printing. Make checks payable to Ron S. Miller.  Address: Ron S. Miller, 120 Lakewood Dr. Hollister, MO. 65672.        Still another publication off our press is: A Short History of Meetings and Trade Shows.  Spec. Pub. No. 19.  This one even has some ideas for peace in the Near and Middle East. Price: $15.00 plus $5.00 S&H ($10.00 S&H all other countries).  Members get a $5.00 discount.                           - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -                                                       QUOTES                  "The individual can be trusted.  Leave him alone."  Pericles, leader of Athens in its Golden Age.  Reported by Thucydides.  Told by Edith Hamilton in her book: The Echo of Greece.  "Annuit coeptis" (L)                 He (God) has favored our undertakings. Motto on reverse of the great seal of the United States.                   "Humanum est errare." (L)  To err is human. (added later -"To forgive is Divine").                   "I lifted up the banner of democracy as soon as the revolution began and determined that we should found a republic.  When we have a real republic, who will be king?  The people, our four-hundred millions, will be king."  Dr. Sun Yat-sen, San Min Chu I.  The three Principles of the People, with two Supplementary Chapters by Chiang Kai-shek. Lecture I, p. 65.                  "Adde parum parvo, magnus acervus erit" (L) Add little to little and there will be a great heap.                       "Know thyself."...and "Nothing in Excess,"  Inscriptions at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece.  Reported by Edith Hamilton in her book: Echos of Greece.               "Of two evils the least must be chosen."  Erasmus                "Satan is a liar and the Father of all lies." (Bible)  Jesus of Nazareth.  Note: Jesus ignored both evils of Erasmus and turned to good God instead for the perfect answer.               "A bore majori diselt arare minor." (L).  From the older ox the younger learns to plow.                "Citius venuit periculum cum contemnitur" (L)  Danger comes the more quickly for being made light of.                "No halfway measures will solve this problem....we are in this thing for keeps." - General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing....said as he led American forces into WW I...and in combination with Allies, victory.                  "There ain't nothin' that can be broken that can't be fixed." - Old Ozark hillman.                 "God is going to reveal things to us that He never revealed before if we put our hand in His," he  said. "No books ever go into my laboratory.  The thing that I am to do and the way of doing it come to me.  I never have to grope for methods; the method is revealed at the moment I am inspired to create something new.  Without God to draw aside the curtain I would be helpless."  George Washington Carver; An American Biography by Rackham Holt.                                                                                     - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   PRAYER OF HEALING FOR DEALING WITH GLOBAL GOVERNMENTAL/SOCIAL PROBLEMS        Dear Readers:  It is very important that we commence such a subject as the study of democracy and all the other connected political science subjects, including Man and Womankind themselves and their culture, with a prayer.  We need all the help we can get and especially the help of God.  In fact, our Founders of the U.S. set up our country under God...not as a Theocracy but for guidance.  They were afraid of "organized-establishments" churches running things...as the disasters in France and England right before their eyes.        Jesus of Nazareth the great healer (and we have much in government and society that needs healing) when entering the worst diseased situation would not dwell on the materiality of the scene, but would immediately turn His attention to His great, unlimited, perfect, loving Father-Creator  God.  He knew that this good, loving God was really the spiritual control panel behind the material, and it was necessary to recognize this omnipotent, omnipresent "quickening Spirit" (as described by St. Paul the Apostle).  Jesus, therefore, prayed to this God for help, and He was positive that God would answer His prayer, no matter how bad in a human material sense the situation looked...and His prayers were answered.   He knew the situation was not the true God scene.  The Spiritual Godly picture was (is) perfect, for after all , He created everything in the first place and it was good, and especially Man who He created in His very own spiritual likeness...and he was good.  Therefore, we ask God to give all of us the ability to look at, and appreciate, God's true spiritual picture.  With this spiritual thinking the bad must melt away into its true nothingness.  Yes, the evil one "the liar and father of all lies" as Jesus described him, and who is always right there with his empty briefcase and promoting bad, will slink away - beaten by good - Jesus and God - Jesus being the only one who is "the wayshower."  He is the one we must  go to first.   Therefore, in the name of Jesus we ask that He and God with their true, good, everlasting, spiritual qualities guide our studies.  Amen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - GREAT NEWS FOR THOSE STARTING A DEMOCRACY.  Don't get upset if you are overwhelmed by all the rigamaroo, complicated constitutions, bobble heads on TV analyzing government, etc., etc. when starting a democracy.  Wonderful news.  Relax.  I remember a book THE ROMANCE OF MINING by T.A. Rickerd in which he tells about some of the best democracies were in little mining camps of the Gold Rush Days - the 49ers and those of the Klondike.  All you have to do is vote on something - yeahs and neys.  This is pure democracy. The decisions are made by the people.  It is self rule....democracy.   Then, later if you want to get into it, work up a constitution.  Make copies, or do as the Romans, set up the simple laws in the Forum. Simple as pie.  Or do as Moses, get the Laws of God carved on stone slabs. Those are great rules.  Keep them safely in an ark.  Or keep everything in your head as tribal elders of democratic tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy.  You can do some fancy oratory as the tribal leaders did or Demosthenes of Athens  and Cicero of Rome long before them....or some simple, plain talk (probably better) of miners in the old mining camps. They were a great composite variety of citizens, farmers, teachers, mechanics, etc. (according to T.A. Rickard, they had a great democracy).  What a wonderful concentration of horse sense!! We need this basic democracy right now.  Anyway, the thing to do is just start!   Entered June 15, 2010 - RM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -       IRAQ AND DEMOCRACY. As I speak the new "parliament" in Iraq is in a deadlock.  Really, what they have now as a government - and it hasn't been jump started yet - is a Theocratic Moiety...two theocratic governments sorta coexisting (just barely). If they are going to keep up with this, they will need two main chiefs. That is the way the Osage operated their moiety, although the Osage had only one God - Wakonda, and their religion was intricately woven into their tribal system. The Osage ruled an area as large as the country of France.  This area is now known as The Ozarks in the U.S. In the case of Iraq, remember, that a Theocracy is not a democracy. A Theocracy is top heavy...a no no in a democracy which is self-rule.  So, they are coming at democracy in the wrong top heavy way.       One possible answer.  A government under Allah, not a government under organized sects.  This is how our Founders set up our country....a country under God, not under organized church.  They were scared to death of organized church as they had seen what happened in Europe with a corrupt church.  So, Iraq would ideally be under Allah the all powerful, not Sunni or Shiite. That would make them very strong, although the way things are, it looks as a recipe for disaster.  "A house divided can't stand." I hope they can pull it off the way things stand, but, get ready for more fun and games down through the years in Iraq. Who will pick up the pieces? There are many sinister vultures of the world roosting on branches just waiting. However, if they should agree to submit themselves to the one God and keep the sects in a straight jacket, they might be able to agree to that and get on with building a great nation...otherwise it's more death and destruction (just what the Devil wants).        I hate to think about it, but Aristotle said that the people of Asia are basically slaves. He said this 2,300 years ago.  Aristotle was the teacher of Alexander the Great.  Alexander simply conquered them and became the slave master, even though he did establish some Greek thinking, although that faded away after several hundred years. Do you suppose that today they are just waiting for someone to rule them? If so, more complications! I hope not. I hope they have learned about the horrors of tyrants and being slaves. Americans come out of a fiercely independent background. And the Founders were influenced by fiercely independent, democratic, Indian tribes (ex. the Iroquois Confederacy). Praying for the best; maybe the old Phoenix can rise out of the ashes? (revised and updated, Aug. 20th, 2010 - RM).                                                - - - - - - - - - - - -   GENERAL MCCRYSTAL.  THERE IS MORE HERE THAN MEETS THE EYE.  AN ANALYSIS FROM OUR DEMOCRACYOLOGY LAB.           TRUE, GROUSING OR MAYBE EVEN UNDERLYING TRUE SYMPTOMATIC GOVERNMENTAL PROBLEMS CAN GET OUT OF CONTROL AND NEEDS DELT WITH, BUT THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF HANDLING THE SITUATION...ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF FIGHTING WHEN GOOD EXPERIENCED FIGHTERS ARE NEEDED. Your writer when in Army training had an excellent instructor...a First Lieutenant.  He was just back from heavy fighting in Korea.  He had lost three fourths of his men killed because of his boner of not protecting his flank. What a hard way to learn.  However, instead of kicking him out of the service, the brass reduced his rank from Captain to First Lieutenant...and gave him a teaching job.  He was an excellent teacher.  His bum experience was put to good use.  He was thankful to have been given a second chance.  Again, the brass could have gone the righteous scapegoat route, but didn't. I always thought that their action was sharp.  So, the First Lieutenant had been blind-sided. General McCrystal and staff also were blind-sided.  McCrystal had clearly stated that he and men were in a king's X situation (yes, too trusting).  Varus, the Roman General completely trusted the German Prince Hermon and his brother. The Romans thought that the two brothers were totally Romanized.  But, no, Herman was plotting to catch Varus and his legions in a trap north of the Rhine.  The Romans got caught in the rough Teutonberg forest thinking Herman had the Germans all under control. Wrong.  The German horde attacked catching the Romans out of their element. Their precision maneuvers worked better on flatter land. The upshot was that two crack Roman legions were lost due to blindsiding and treachery.  When Rome heard of this they were devastated.  Augustus Caesar is said by Senaca to have banged his head against a wall wailing: "Varus, give me back my legions!" Big cracks were forming in Roman expansion! You have to watch other things in a thinking democracy.  In Alexander the Great's Army if someone said something that Alexander felt was out of line and insubordinate (he had probably been drinking heavily), the offender might get a spear in his chest.  Even in Athen the seat of democracy, Socrates the great philosopher had to drink the hemlock. The officials felt threatened. Too much to ask of the moguls to swallow ego and put the great mind to use.  Demosthenes, perhaps the greatest orator of all time, had to commit suicide. He was a thorn in side of Philip of Macedon and had to go. Too much to ask of a power ego.  Aristotle the father of science and logic felt it better to retire to a peaceful island.  Cicero the great orator, lawyer, philosopher of the last days of the Roman Republic was killed by the moguls who he had antagonized unmercifully.  The moguls usually have to simply blot out any threat. That's the easy way...out of sight, out of mind.  Look what happened to Jesus, the classic example. But, I should note that Alexander just may have learned something about all this, probably from Aristotle, as he would sometimes be forgiving of powerful opponents. The forgiving of King Porus in India is an example.   To add to the General McCrystal situation we are in a terrific war, yet, the war hasn't been declared as per the Constitution.  We only have a strange up-graded "war powers" situation pieced together by politicians. This weakens the whole situation reducing it to a half-way operation in many ways. When a kid I remember in WWII that posters said "loose lips sink ships!"  Again, consider, we were in all out declared war then, and all citizens in our democracy participated...even we kids gathering newspapers and bundling and putting out on the curb. We also bought ten cent bond stamps. Everyone knew exactly where we all stood - together - and what we must do. Even we kids were instructed on loose lips. The slogan was everywhere, in movies, posters, writings.  So, halfway wars are not good in many ways, and many suffer and  die because of it.   We must watch selfish politicos ...and there are a bunch of them in Washington. Where's the reality; where's the logic; where's the character? where are the readers of history??? Also, another factor.  If we were to take every miltary outfit on earth and put them in an Irish bar and give them plenty of Irish whiskey, then, may God have mercy on all of our souls! This should have been considered.   work. Still another factor.  If the American people - the bosses of President Obama - were as hard on Obama as he was on General McCrystal - then for his, Obama's,  constantly dropping of the American flag (he's the head flag-bearer) and abandonment of the states (borders) (and treating allies bad), being lovey dovey with Hitler types...the abandonment of a day of prayer (violating wishes of Founders and most Americans right now)...all easily treason - he should be quickly impeached.  I have always tried to be fair with Obama, but I believe he has committed much worse boo boos than McCrystal...and the strange list just keeps growing!   Knowing such things, a suggestion in the case of General McCrystal and Staff would be to demote them a rank, because it is true there must be chain of command discipline...then, put them in charge of a division or some other outfit and put the division on the front line. He would then be a three star general so could actually command an Army.   They can earn their rank back and help the cause greatly...and keep in there with their buddies.  So, put them to work.  They are needed....if they can stand such an idea.  Also, watch the governmental liaison. They don't seem to be on the same page with the military.  The Commander in Chief must watch this stuff.   And, to add to the problem, unfortunately, Obama is a total political operator with strange radical agendas and has dropped the flag so much I'm beginning to lose count. It is agonizing for students of American history and knowing the great importance of the flag-bearer. This is definitely not good Commander-in-Chief SOP (standard operating procedure).    So, the whole thing I regret to say has a terrible smell to it. And as the old lady said - the smell of the fish comes from the head.  The McCrystal affair I am afraid is only symptomatic. Aristotle holding his manuscript on logic wouldn't like it. People on the street don't like the indecision, the loving of other countries more than the President's own,  the telegraphing of strategy -letting all enemies around the world know when we are getting out and how many troops we have, and, again,  the constant dropping of the American Flag (the Flag is never supposed to touch the gound!). It smells of weakness; it smells of other allegiances; it just smells. Moreover, the anti-win faction is so powerful...and has divided our house.   This encourages the enemy enormously. Strange surrealistic antics going on. Rome began to be surrealistic.  Miltiades leading the Greeks couldn't have beaten the Persian horde at Marathon with such a stupid weak approach. Am sure all aggressors around the world are watching carefully as vultures, gloating and benefiting greatly, encouraged to keep on fighting.  They have better eyesight and are smarter than many think.  We need to get real.    Entered June 28, 2010,  RM.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  DEMOCRACY A GREAT STUDY - THE SECOND CONSTITUTION!  WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE ON THIS SITE TO STUDY  SOME OF THE MOST PRACTICAL SUBJECTS TO HELP MANKIND...AND WOMANKIND ...AND KIDKIND TOO AND DEMOCRACY IS ONE OF THEM!        Among other things, we get into Race & Cultural Relations. This is a big part of practical "applied anthropology" (the study of humankind). This field helps in Democracyology Studies WAS.   We like to study art - a big part of people, culture and history.  This gets into good stuff as aesthetics.  Humans are normally bursting with creative art expression. However, when creativity in general and art are strangled someway it is a disease that must be healed in order for society to grow. Various governments like to use art to get messages across, but watch out for brain-washing!  And there are other elements that need healing sometimes too.  Society must give itself chiropractic and osteopathic treatments to limber up the cultural/biological  osteological nerves and muscles.        It is fascinating to excavate, say, ancient Athens, a great lab for us today.  While sometimes studying Edith Hamilton's  analyses of Athens and Rome, I suddenly think in wonder that Thomas Jefferson and others of the Founders  studied the same old manuscripts, only in Greek and Latin!  There are many old classical manuscripts available, translations and in ancient language. Thanks to the old Monks!  We are very fortunate.   We can also study Edward Gibbon's monumental research on the downfall of Rome.  Of course, we must remember that he was an atheist, so, we have to constantly fill in  what he might have ommitted about Christianity. Atheism pops up all over the place. Braidwood of the famed Oriental Institute in Chicago and expert on Near East, and who wrote the college text "Conquest of Civilization" (unfortunately used by your writer), was a big time atheist-humanist. He coined the phrase: Fertile Crescent. But, again, we have to watch it. What did he leave out about Christianity? Braidwood, by the way was one of the founding icons of the humanist movement in the early 1900s. That base, of which he was part, also Dewey, the educational guru (and another founder of the Humanist movement) that much of education still worships, paved the way to invalidate God and get the 10 Commandments out of schools and courthouses. It is not about "seperation of church and state" (the Founders hated organized church running the country), it's all about Atheism vs. God.  Very important that we study these historical catastrophes.  The Atheists took over the U.S. slick as a whistle with their pseudo-god Man.   Likewise, psychology is one of the five main branches of the study of Man, anthropology.  Here we have the founder of psycho-analysis Herr Dr. Professor Freud, M.D. - another Atheist. When we excavate this we discover that Jesus of Nazareth was 2,000 years ahead of the good professor.  Then, too, Darwinism practiced as a pseudo-religion in many "cathedrals" of ivy walls has been drawn into the vortex of materialism - totally missing the other side of the coin - in fact, the entire coin of Paul's "quickening spirit." (God made the metal in the coin, and, of course, keeps the planets spinning).  Moses is up on a cloud constantly pointing to the very First Commandment of God..."Thou shall have no other Gods before me."  So, Theology and Metaphysics become important studies for us, no matter what area we get into.  Everything invariably gets into the final common denominator of God-Spirit.  Ah yes, the smorgasbord table of democracy and our other studies in anthropology needs one extra leaf after another, but it is exciting and helpful. Hopefully, we can encourage students to excavate.    Entered: July 1, 2010.....RM    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  THE THREE MOST POWERFUL BUTTONS IN THE WORLD...AND THEY ARE ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S DESK....AND HE HASN'T PRESSED THEM.     The  buttons are Democracy ....Judaeo-Christian religion (for him personally) and Patriotism.  Democracy involves our Constitution, Declaration of Independence ...and the study of democracy and history. This would free up the individual businessman - the old free wheeling spirit and start re-generating $$$. Cut the puppet strings from Washington.  Free the slaves!     Next, President Obama is not reflecting that ole' time religion. He is being so careful to keep neutral and not offend Islam that he has dulled out. He doesn't know which is the best and most important for the US heritage.  There is a big reason our Founders wanted our country "under God" (not organized religion such as the old corrupt church of France and the Church of England right before their eyes during the founding. God of our forefathers is electric powerful and guides character.        The third button is patriotism.  President Obama, the head flag-bearer, keeps dropping the flag!  Very strange and downright embarrassing. Patriotism is one of the most powerful, good tools in the president's kit bag.  Use it.   One wonders what planet Obama has come from! We can't withstand this continuous dropping of the flag.  The nation wants to see a gung ho, U.S., Yankee Doodle, flag-waving  Dandy.  The nation doesn't want other countries first, narrow, selfish, political party interest, strange ideologies picked up at Harvard or Chicago running our country...but the entire U.S., old-fashioned democracy, country under God, action  first and foremost. The 4th of July every day. He acts ashamed of America.  In other words, he needs to get with it fast....then, he won't need to worry about getting elected again.  It is really simple. He is smart; can he figure this out? Can he admit he has been wrong?         OIL DISASTER IN GULF - AND KATRINA - ONE REASON WHY THE DISASTROUS REACTION.          Our U.S. government after 9/11 got tricky and divided the Department of Defense.  Rumsfeld took one half - Iraq and Afghanistan...and Ridge took "Homeland Security."  If the US homeland had been retained under Department of Defense, we would have had the power of the Pentagon and its Operations Branch and other branches and resources.  The Operations people in the military are the organizers, planners, contingency thinkers. They are ready and organized to go at all times.  The operations planners are the world of greats such as George C. Marshall.  When he was on Pershing's staff in WW I he planned the massive Argonne offensive. Then, in WW II he was Chief of Staff of the Army - Eisenhower's boss.  What a fortunate break. Can you imagine all the planning and intertwined logistics neccessary?  George Marshall no doubt is up in heaven shaking his head at Katrina and the oil disaster.  Anyway, there is a great old tradition in Operations. And each branch of service has its own operations.  So, with Katrina and the oil disaster in Gulf there was just a floundering around.  And, really both situations should have been on a war footing with much mobilization going on.  In a democracy, every citizen is important and needs to pitch in.  In ancient Athens when the Persian horde attacked on the plains of Marathon, all the Athenians pitched in and helped and amazingly they won!  It is great what free people can do when they all pitch together. We all pitched together in WW II and won!  Our Constitution says, if invaded, declare war!  We need to get real.  Entered June 15, 2010 - RM. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -      FOR MEMORIAL DAY (or Veterans Day) THE STORY OF THE FAMOUS POEM - IN FLANDERS FIELDS.      This poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Lt. Colonel John McCrea, M.D. is a world favorite and especially in Canada, England, Australia and new Zealand because McCrea was Canadian.     I thought I would first tell you about my own interest in the work before getting into the story of Lt. Colonel MCreas' writing of the poem. I had heard of the poem, but didn't know much about it until I had the interesting opportunity of giving a Veterans Day program for the Hollister,  Middle School here in southwest Missouri.  Hollister, my hometown, the little town with its unique olde English architecture in the older town is located in a valley two miles from its famous neighbor Branson with all of its theatres and stars and millions of tourists. Many of the people who work in Branson  live in Hollister.  As a result, the Hollister school system is a large one with much going on.  In connection with military things I am a member of the Harry S. Truman Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association in the Branson, Hollister area. I have also had a long interest in military history because of the ancient history, archaeological vocation.     So, there I found myself in the gymnasium of the Middle School. The students were all packed on the bleachers on one side and I was on the floor. They had provided me with a lecturn and a table for various materials.  Just before things commenced, a little girl down on the end, shouted: "Johnny just fell off the bleachers!"  I shouted back: "Is he verticle?"  She looked down and shouted back..."Yes, he's verticle!" Everyone laughed.      And, so we commenced.  I had some student volunteers that helped show how the flag was folded. They were the ones who raised the flag each day there at school and knew all about it. I was happy to learn that they knew flag care details and were very patriotic. I had been on a flag-raising and lowering detail a number of times when a member of a headquarters company in the Army and truly did appreciate the sharp students. It is a great thrill to raise Old Glory with bugle blowing and cannon firing getting the troops up and at 'em.      One of the students eagerly led the Pledge of Allegiance. This area is very patriotic. All of the shows recognize the Vets. Tony Orlando the "Yellow Ribbon" guy performs in the area! There is even a full time Veterans Task force in Branson and many veterans visit the area year round but especially for Veterans Homecoming  leading up to and including Veterans Day (November 11th).      For the student program, I had brought along a copy of In Flanders Fields ,and I read this grand old poem, written on the bloddy battlefield of the Ypres salient in World War I in 1915.  This was before the U.S. entered the war.  You could have heard the proverbial pin drop....                        In Flanders fields the poppies blow                      Between the crosses, row on row,                       That mark our place; and in the sky                       The larks, still bravely singing, fly                      Scarce heard amid the guns below.                         We are the Dead.  Short days ago                      We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,                      Loved, and were loved, and now we lie                      In Flanders fields.                         Take up our quarrel with the foe:                       To you from failing hands we throw                       The torch; be yours to hold it high.                       If ye break faith with us who die                        We shall not sleep, though poppies grow                           In Flanders fields.          The scene where the poem was written was  miserable. The good Dr. McCrea was at a  medical station for seventeen days treating wounded and dieing. The carnage was horrific there in Belgium in the Ypres Salient where thousands were killed by artillery, machine gun fire, gas and miserable conditions.  This was the second of three battles of Ypres and the first time that gas was used by the Germans. To add to the Doctor's problems, a good friend and former student of McCraes Lt. Alexis Helmer from Ottawa, Canada was brought in but couldn't be saved. He was buried that same day nearby the medical station. The Chaplain couldn't preside, so McCrea conducted the service.  One can only imagine the exhaustion of the medical staff and the shock to the senses of the horrific situation, no doubt too much for even the stalwart medical staff.  McCrea later described it as:  "17 days of Hades."        The medical station was on the very north edge of the town of Ypres and close by a canal "Canal de l'Yser".  The next day after burying his friend, McCrea, during a short twenty minute break, went out near the station and set on the back of an ambulance and composed the poem in his notebook...fifteen lines.  He looked about him and saw fields of poppies that grew in abundance, in soil that had been plowed  by all the artillery fire and various trench and other diggings.  It was truly a remarkable phenomenon that the many fields of poppies appeared in this tortured land.  Poppies are red and symbolic of much blood lost in this soil. If you ever see a veteran today selling poppies you will know why.  Be sure and be a "Poppy Buddy" and buy one and wear proudly and remember the Vets.     Fortunately for historians and us today, there was a young Sgt. Cyril Allinson delivering mail that day. With the Dr's mail in hand, he waited and watched the Dr. intensely lost in thought. The 22 year old Sgt. described the scene. He said the Dr. looked up when he first appeared but  then lost himself again in his writing.  He said that McCrea's "...face was very tired but calm as he wrote."  He would look up every now and then, with "his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."       The Dr. was finally handed his mail, and he in turn then gave his notebook with the poem to the Sgt. He read it, and later said that it was "an exact description of the scene."  The poppies really were blowing, bent by "a gentle east wind."       The poem was published in the December 8th, 1915 issue of Punch, although it had been first rejected by the London Spectator. It is of literary note that WW I produced a great number of poems. It has been said that poems express deep feeling of the heart  better than any other form of writing as well demonstrated by In Flanders Fields.  And no doubt, right now as many are engaged in another terrible war, there are countless more poems being written.       It is ironic that Afghanistan, one of those wars, has many fields of poppies blowing in the wind.  The thought occurred to me, why not pick poppies there and encase the flowers in plastic someway, or even press and dry them and sell all over the world in memory of those lost and the futility of war?  maybe the vets and military could help?  This would be a much better industry than selling opium and do some good in the process..."making lemonade out of lemons."       There is a famous museum "The Flanders Field Museum", on the second floor of ancient Cloth Hall, at Ieper (Ypres), Belgium.  The grand, old, medieval Cloth Hall has been reconstructed on the site once rubble caused by artillery fire of WW I.  This is a beautiful structure, and the museum tells the story of WWI.  All who visit are greatly impressed by the state -of- the- art exhibits.  Museum visitors are assigned the identify of someone from old WWI days thereabouts.  It should be mentioned that the theme of the museum is the futility of war.              Sources: Arlington Cemetery Website.                  The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century. PBS                   Virtual Tourist (on the web)                  Wikipidia    Entered on this site: May 11th, 2011 -  Ron Miller ----------------------------------------         I realize that President Obama has a full plate right now, one of the highest piled plates in our history, (and like me, all the food has slid off on his lap...and his plate is much much bigger than mine!), but he and the rest of us can get through it if we go back to the drawing board and get first things first.  He needs to take off a day, sit down with pad and pencil and list the following:   Put God first in all endeavors...not Rom Emanuel or any of the other power operators. God is the biggest power operator. Utilize the wisdom of the ages.  The atheist/humanist/materialists will scream bloody murder as they have taken over and had their way for far too long, running schools, government, media, etc.  However, their rule has been disastrous. President Obama needs to find some denomination that works. But, in a democracy it is each citizen who must get right with God. President Obama needs to study all the inspired leaders in the Bible. Moses is a good example. Things were constantly falling apart at the seams for him...but he persevered. He was constantly dealing with his followers who turned to Baal instead of Yahweh.  The same thing is happening today. Then, strangely, the President recently treated the followers of Moses terribly.  The Israeli head flag-bearer was shunned on a recent visit to Washington by our head flag-bearer (who has a weird habit of dropping our flag)!          Genesis tells about Man being stewards.  With this approach we will care more about the environment - God's environment. Knowing how to pray will solve the Gulf oil disaster. God has got it all figured out already. "He knows what you want before you even ask."  I have a hunch that the lack of prayer is what caused this and other problems in the first place. Pray and look for God thought answers. And, oh yes, be sure and thank God, or how can we expect for Him to give us anything?        Next, put the USA Flag above all other flags. Pres. Obama and his family need to take turns running up the colors at the White House. Set an example for the nation.  The USA is THEIR country and they are leading it, and this is their/our symbol,  so, lead.  Study Flag protocol.       Have a crash program for studying democracy and the history of democracy. Study Edith Hamilton's works on Athens and Rome. See why they went down the tube. This will be shocking, because we are doing many of the same things today as they did over 2,000 years ago.  We are not socialism/Marxism, capitalocracy (although business is extremely important, the individual citizen is more important, and many businesses are owned by a single individual; ex. individual M.D,s often own their own practice), a lobbyocracy, humanistocracy (a false religion), Darwinocracy (another false religion), pragmaticsocracy (still another false Man religion), sick mediaocracy and a number of other false religions...but rather we are a democracy - self-rule...and each of these self-rulers must have their own individual true God.   Entered: May 24, 2010, RM.                       - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -             DEMOCRACY IS A THINKING FORM OF GOVERNMENT. News is in that there have been a number of threats to law-makers in Washington.  Violence is a no no in a democracy. Our USA democracy allows for peaceful demonstration, but that is as physical as it gets. Even then demonstrators must watch out for the mob instinct to take over, and it is back to the jungle fast...and the jungle is the opposite of democracy. When the mob phenomenon takes over - and it can happen quickly - the individual loses His or Her brain, and the mob brain takes over quick as a wink - an unthinking vicious pack instinct. Think of a pack of craven, vicious wolves.  How civilized is that? How non-human is that? It's a sub-Zinjanthropus group.  In fact, I believe you have to go clear back to those maddened wolves to get anything similar. But now, up the long hard climb to Democracy and the top rung on the civilized ladder...the golden rung of civilization.  This is what we want. But it is not easy to get there or stay there. It draws on each individual's thinking power and character. Every known devil force you can think of wants to take over and be the individual or state or societal slave-master and control the power....control that "pack." Poor pack!  But, why not try for the golden rung? It is work, yes, and thinking yes, but good work. Falling down the ladder to the heap at the bottom (there are many there!), society might as well be on the rock pile of the prison. By not trying to go up, the only thing to lose is misery, and some cases hell. There is a phenomenon, we can call cultural gravity always pulling one and society down the civilized ladder. This form of gravity is a control trick of the Devil. He is behind all bad. And, the only way to beat him is with ultimate ethics, the Scriptures...full of good mountain climbing methods.      It should be mentioned,  Democracies do believe in self-defense, in fact, a federalism is a group of democracies or republics mostly set up for defense to protect against those wolf packs and leaders of wolf packs that always seem to be lurking nearby.  But as far as the internal situation goes, democracies are a thinking form of government...brain over brawn.  Democracy is also self-rule.  The citizen "boss"must be a high type person; there is tremendous responsibility being boss. These citizens must respect each other; harming some other free very important citizen brother or sister would be hurting THEIR democracy...THEIR precious country, THEIR freedom.  Citizens must turn all the aggression, frustration and energy to building their country and society in free, creative ways, and, of course, setting a good democracy example to the young and others around the world.  So, he or she citizen has to keep up on news (and promote good news)  and study history and prehistory (history written by the archaeologists) and have good character.    I have always had this theory that George Washington picked up some of his dignity and high character sitting in Indian lodges, watching the great tribal elders, orators conduct their meetings. They were something else.  Benjamin Franklin noticed the great  qualities of tribal leaders at the famed Albany Convention (one of the milestones of our democracy).  Washington fought in the Indian Wars out on the frontier of the Colonies and knew the Indian leaders and their governmental processes well. He even had to fight against the Iroquois democracy in the Revolution! Washington also had to have observed the religious ceremonies in the lodges...the smoking of the peace pipe, the sacred Calumet. The smoke went up to heaven and The Great Spirit. The peace pipe was a friendly thing...and this pipe with its smoke and the Great Spirit gave strong cohesian and dignity to assemblies. Interestingly the Founders followed suit placing our country "Under God." The Indian dignity and high character is something we need to stress. What a great example we have here! We really must be thankful for such wisdom.  The Native Americans gave us not only many foods, place names and other words, highways (old trails), but tribal democracies - maybe even going back before Athens! (it's a possibility)- and great orators with much dignity. Archaeologists have great work before them. If we don't learn from all this, we go back to the bottom of the civilized ladder in a heap of stupidity (it is very crowded down there, a place of much violence, chaos and misery).  The idea, which escapes many,  is to climb UP the ladder of civilization!       Democracy also means Freedom, but as Edith Hamilton the noted classicist pointed out about Athens, there must be control.  With that much freedom things could go wild (back to the pack and jungle again) without some kind of lid....the Greeks had a word for wild abandon  "chaos."  So, citizens have to cool it. This is where law comes in.  Lincoln was so big on law that he said that "law should be the religion of the land."  This is also why other ethics is important.  I believe that even higher than the ethics of the philosophers is religious ethics and the Law of God, the Ten Commandments and other teachings.  When analyzing this high type, hard earned thing called: "democracy," the student has to look at the entire culture. The individual first must come from a high type culture. Their representatives in government will reflect them. Is citizen religion materialism? (a false religion). And money is a material thing. Horses must be placed before the proverbial carts.  So, one of the peaceful things citizens must do is re-build culture.  Build up the culture of ladies and gentlemen and good quality,  everything that builds up character.  General Swartzkoff said at a local appearance that the failures of the U.S. the past 100 years have been that of character. We also must build up  high type  arts. I believe that the main problem, though,  is that people lost knowledge of Grandma's Bible, the Master Plan with the Wisdom of the Ages,  written by the Ultimate Being through His inspired men and women. The great "treasure map" was lost, trampled on, ridiculed...and look around us at the results! The great treasure was lost because citizens were ignorant of it. It was easy for the atheist/humanists to take over. This was the worst blow ever suffered by our country.  So, the one best thing we should do is get back to Sunday School things, and its great rules , including loving neighbors.       The Bible says that parents shouldn't provoke their children; likewise, Washington shouldn't provoke citizens.  The way to get rid of bad things in government is vote the scoundrels out; look closely at character. Check associates of candidates. If you associate with skunks you will pick up some of the smell. Another way to oust clinkers in office is to impeach them.  The rules are in the Constitution.  One of the major problems we have is that we keep voting, but structure isn't changed. Where's the glitch? Lobbyists still rule (they represent organizations that are groups...not individuals who run things in a democracy).  Money still rules (money is great; the capitalist system is great, but it must have control. "The love of money" is the problem.  This makes us a capitalocracy. Self-control by individuals is best...vastly better than control by government). However, humans need help with self-control; they need the right kind of guidance (again, here is where Sunday School things come in; the First Commandment says we must have only the true God, not pseudo gods.). If citizens don't have control, they look to Governmental power above for guidance (another false god). But, unfortunately, material power above becomes more important than the individual citizen; hence, it takes over, assumes power and results in the loss of democracy (again, it also breaks the !st Commandment). Yes, there are major problems.  I have been writing on democracy for forty years...first in the WAS Newsletter, then, here on this site. This study was an outgrowth of studies in classical archaeology and the Iroquois Confederacy. We have been losing our democracy for a long time. There are many factors, power operators in Washington,  business which is crucial needs spiritual control, which builds and doesn't overbear, businesses lost overseas due to relentless power down from Washington that doesn't encourage business here. Technology as a god resulting in downsizing. There needs to be care of the small business spirit. Many businesses are one man one woman operations, and they are individual citizens, therefore, the most powerful.  The humanist/atheist/materialist invasion in schools, Washington and Wall Street is like the dark fog of ancient Egypt. The weakening factor after wars (known by the ancient Romans), lack of ethics and logic in society are problems. Again, add lack of ultimate ethics, the Scriptures. Egoists and their strange political and philosophical religions who believe they are smarter than the Declaration of Independence and Constitution must be voted out. Mechanics of the art/science of debate must be studied. The aggressive over-talking of each other, loud mouthed, talking heads on TV need to study debate, a high form of civilization. Their programs are chaotic. The bobble heads crave dramatics for TV ratings, and devolve into strange loud, wild scenes, however, real debate is much more exciting...and fair...and civilized. The shouters need to have time clocks. It isn't good to act like a bunch of wild nuts; they are teaching kids to be loud mouthed, dumb weirdos. We want to build up civilization in order to have a better government. Much work to be done. One last way to battle Washington is to study democracy. You will find that this study can really be condensed into our Declaration of Independence and Constitution...and vice versa, the Declaration and Constitution can be condensed into the study of democracy. It's fascinating. And, when you get into it, you quickly see how brilliant our Founders were! It's spectacular. They had to have studied the classics. But the study of the history of democracy and democracy in general is a very interesting way to study our government...our real government, not the government of revisionists. They have brain-washed many. Lot's of work to do.  So, apply  angry frustrated energy to solving the problems peacefully and intelligently:  Run for office, debate, write articles and have peaceful demonstrations. Study history.  Think!  Mar. 25th, 2010 -  Ron Miller.       I should add that people can train themselves and learn from others to think negatively and do nothing but dwell on the hole in the doughnut. The human mind is so powerful that if people are trained to think doom and gloom - guess what they will get? By the same token, if one thinks UP and cheerful and positive and successful, guess what they will get?  Also some want to build themselves up too by dwelling on wild catastrophic, doomy gloomy things. True, in a democracy, the boss, us, needs to know and think about the leaky pipe back in the governmental factory. We need a good media. Our rule here at the WAS is Walter Williams' Code of Ethics. He set up the first school of journalsism in the world at the University of Missouri, Columbia. You writer when a little campus brat explored these halls. Think positive and cheerful. Fix things that need fixing.  Also pro invalidators (to make themselves bigger) often use the handy phenomenon of "the scape-goat". (there always has to be a scape-goat;  social psychologists know all about this device often employed in power government grabs).  Hitler was a past master of this device, using the Jews as the scapegoat.  Other tin-horn dictators use the USA. Our own politicians use the device to the hilt!  Many terrorists now are using this method for their own gain.   Hitler could charm a cobra...telling all about the "bad" Jews...a temporary dumb way to get false - relief from the citizen's many problems. How terrible - using people's misery for personal gain!  Again, the greatest social psychologist of all time Pogo said: "we have met the enemy, and he is us." (one of my favorite quotes). So, I would personally advise ignoring the snake-charmers in the media and in rabble-rousing groups, and set about the hard task of building up one's own piece of society/family/culture/government/personal character and learning, in a thinking peaceful way,  and all these jigsaw pieces will make a great, beautiful picture of the puzzle. The late Rev. Berg of Spf'd. Mo., a missionary in deep Africa who I am sure witnessed much misery, told me one time: "You will derive a great deal of satisfaction if you will think cheerfully on the dark things of life."  We have many uplifting tools to help us plunge in and fix society, not just political society but all society and especially ourselves.   Entered Apr. 2, 2010.  Some additional additions Apr. 3.  RM        - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -                 CULTURAL UPGRADE. We must get out of the cultural Zinjanthropus mode. This will require thinking (ouch!), study, discipline and practice.       A Crash project is needed to upgrade the culture of the U.S. The first thing to do is instigate a Presidential Cabinet Chair for Culture.  There are advisors and committee heads down the line, but a top notch highly visible cabinet member is needed.  Just look at what has happened with Wall Street culture and Governmental culture! Look at crime in schools and on the street and in a lot of homes too!  It is as if a bunch of Zinjanthropi have escaped from a cave some place and taken over! This is giving me an idea for a science fiction horror movie! Look at sewer mouthed entertainment. People might as well go out to the city sewage-processing plant and sit on bleachers and watch and smell stuff. Also stuff is spilling out of TV sets in a steady flow.  And, as far as music, one might as well sit and listen to stattic on a radio. The creative quotient of song-writers and their customers is not quite up to that of a colony of ground sloths. All of this weird micro-cephalic culture is being produced by homes, schools, the media, and weird philosophical, non-Bible, pseudo-religious movements.  There is nothing else to blame. The Ten Commandments - the greatest ethical sledge-hammers - and foundation of western law have been taken out of courthouses and schools. Duh! Our country under God (not under organized establishments of religion) has been lost due to some slick con artists..atheists. Citizens weren't learned enough. The wisdom of the ages was tossed in the dumpster. So, a human, material culture took over, and look at the results.  One doesn't have to be an Oxford anthropologist to see the cultural disasters. Moreover, reading, once the great foundation of high culture has been reduced to cryptic text-messaging, the language of lazy culture. Ancient Egyptian hieratic, a form of speed writing or cursive, is light years ahead.  The rear view mirror of history is scoffed at by many. Not exciting enough? Try not having a rear view mirror when driving down the street or highway!  Try back to the jungle. If we had only to contend with  only one disaster, we might be able to rectify the situation (even that wouldn't be easy), but with multi-disasters, we really have our hands full. The Devil has a vicious grip.  Edith Hamilton the late, great, classicist, Head Mistriss of Bryn Mawr, who I often quote to the rescue. Thank God this tremendous scholar was interested in studying the old Athenians and their culture and that of the Romans too in hopes of helping our modern culture. I believe she could see where we were heading.  She pointed out that when the Athenians commenced going down hill in the 4th Century, that they lost their creativity. Just think, all that brain power that created the Parthenon, democracy, drama, philosophy lost!  And we are going the same way. Again, look around today. Washington isn't creative enough to pull itself out of messes. Writer's in the media produce non-creative sewege mouth material...and so on. The media is just self-promotion, not democracy promotion. The media formerly known as the 4th Estate is now the Duh Estate.  So, commence being creative. Don't let the dullies kill creativity and high culture.  Entered April 22nd, 2010 - Ron Miller    SIDEWAYS ECONOMICS...another idea. This is just purely experimental, something for the economics lab...a working theory so to speak...a jab out there at something...anything.  For years there has been outsourcing, downsizing, cut backs, early retirements, layoffs. I began to put some things together.  An idea hit me to have a separate branch, maybe two separate branches from the main branch - in total three branches in businesses. One I'll call the "Journeyman Branch," the lower branch.  Employees here would be drawn immediately from ranks of unemployed; receive basic pay and be financed and helped in a number of ways by the community and government. Business structures are already there.  If the government is going to give stimuli $, give it to this journeyman-woman branch; everyone would know that it is getting down there and actually helping people...and businesses too without breaking the bank at Monte Carlo.  If the gov't continues to give stimuli to gov't operations or biggies, probably just a little bit will get down there. On the other hand, if the Journeymen and women are working for a business, they are actually helping the business, and, then, they are spending more money in the community. People must work; it's necessary as food and water, and this would be a good way to get many great helpers back in the work force. This must be a crash project; Congress should meet immediately and go! Citizens are suffering; that shouldn't be in a democracy...maybe in a Darwinian society, but we are above that..."a country under God" the civilized rung on the ladder...the golden rung.  And, if business picks up, the journeymen and women could be phased into the main workforce body. Also, have an intermediate group or upper eschelon of Journeymen "Top Class of the  Journeymen or Women" in businesses for people who were going to get downsized or early retirement. This group would also be helped out by the community. If possible, the business might be able to help a little on these two groups, but I know it is rough now...but I believe it would be a tremendous help to them and people...all important citizens of a democracy. They would have practically free help. But, hopefully, the businesses could even get some funds for extra bookkeeping. I would think the infusion of all this would boost sales and business. Quality of products and more personal contact with customers would have to help. Then, all those new workers would commence buying products out in the community! Isn't that the idea!  One of the things I keep thinking about is when cousin Glennon Price was some kind of leader at a CCC Camp in southwest Missouri during the Great Depression. He told Mom that many of the workers were mal-nourished, and the staff had to go easy with them and build them out.  I have heard also that the pay they received saved their folks and families back home. They saved a little expense money for themselves. This was all a God-send. There are people suffering like this right now. These folks couldn't start businesses, and they were down and out through no fault of their own. Not everyone is cut out to be a business person. And, too, they built things at parks that we all enjoy today. Our culture was improved greatly in many ways. But back to the present experiment...people need help right now. Like Jerry Clower up in the tree battling a wild cat and shouting below - "I need help now!"  This plan is really "A people investment," and money and other help are loans. It really fits into the capital system.   It would be thinking of OUR workers too. A jungle operation of throwing people to the wolves "Natural Selection of Darwin." God made people better than this (see Genesis). With this plan we could spread things out sideways; the journeymen group would spend in the marketplace.  Likewise, the Journeymen and an upper  branch could help the business and themselves by having a business garden and diversify in other ways; they have the help now.  Always think Aristotle's Golden Mean - a balance. Entered - April 22, 2010 - Ron Miller   AGRICULTURE HAS SOME CRUCIAL NEEDS. The government is going to have to do much more to help agriculture and the all important individual citizen and "cultivate" citizens along with crops! The needs are so massive that I am not sure that they can do it. It is staggering, but, again, anything is possible. If we love democracy, freedom of the individual, we must do it.  A herd of cattle has crashed through the barn door.  But maybe they can be crammed back in, especially if it is realized it is a life and death matter for society and I believe it is.  First, big business combines are taking over the family farm. The little farmer has too many crushing forces pressing down on him.  Yet, the country needs the little farmer.  He takes better care of the soil and everything else on the farm.  He or she and their family provide a tremendous strength for the country. They are individual free citizens, another type of individual free business owner (they own a farm), although now in bondage and an endangered species.  I would restore at least about three fourths of agriculture to the family farm. Lift the burdens from their backs. Any one who believes this isn't important look at what happened to ancient Rome.  They had the very same thing happen - big operators took over the family farms. And there went the family cohesive unit with their devotion to the Lares and Penates  - gods of the hearth and home.  Then, when Rome really needed protection, these farmers who knew how to accept responsibility and were strong, made excellent soldiers. That would have been good if they stayed in for only a little while. There was only one problem here.  At times when they were in the service for long times, their farms went down the tube...and, again, the biggies took over.  Then, the people of the countryside, couldn't find any work and had to move to the big city Rome.  Now, it was bread and circuses!  A very big crack in Rome's foundation was forming.  It was the beginning of the end. Will government now do something about this massive problem? Do they have the courage?  Do they care about people and the future of our country? The writing is on the wall. Will logic prevail?  Don't hold your breath.  Entered April 22nd, 2010 - Ron Miller.   CONSERVATION OF WATER & SOIL - A BIG PROJECT HERE. An Agricultural Connection.   What with global warming creeping upon us and vast areas becoming deserts, we really have to jump on this one...especially considering humans like to eat and drink and use water in a number of necessary ways. Plants and animals also like to eat and drink!  The vast Great Plains Aquifier in the western U.S. is going dry.  Oh oh!   When I read the article yesterday on AOL I had a flashback to Soils Class at Mizzou taught by the Head of the Department William Albrecht.  He was a soils anthropologist thinking about the connection of soils and humans.  I recall he said that rich soil is granular soil and that granular soil holds water.  Organic matter makes soil rich, and this gives it that classic black look,  So, we have got to work in much organic matter into soil. If farm fields have become as hardpan and require monster plows to work, then, there isn't enough organic matter.  Next, construct terraces if in hilly country.  The Inca did this as Asians are doing today.  I recall that the old inhabitants of Petra in Jordan were geniuses at saving water with all kinds of cisterns and drainage systems. We need to research them heavily. Also, the Indians of the S/W US were sharp at saving water. We are not only wasting and losing water - washing away to the sea, but soil particles (amounting to acres and acres of wealth) are going with it.  So, dam up all gullies.  Both the soil and water are as gold. Also, save water coming off roof tops and channel into barrels and other cisterns. An old cistern saved us one time when Hollister was flooded. The water had been in the cistern a long time, but it was o.k.  We may have boiled it, but it worked.  In any case the ancients can help us greatly with the water and soils problem. Another crash project! Entered Apr. 23rd, 2010 - Ron Miller.  More later --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEED FOR OUR LEADERS TO GET A REST.  This won't be easy, but it must be done somehow. There is so much on our plate right now with tearing back and forth, and seems like an unusually amount of dumb stuff going on and everyone thinks their deal is super important.  Our President Obama can't just turn everything over to VP Joe Biden. He can do a lot, but as things are set up, there can be only one final leader.  On the surface this appears to be a dilmema. Aristotle analyzed dilemas. Jesus went to God who has no dilemas. There are many emergencies one after the other, but commence using God to whittle away on them.  He will have to go to God (he probably is already).  It may take a few tries to get right what God wants, but keep at it. Why not get the entire country to help him with this? He's a good salesman. Begin to get things more on a spiritual basis. Jesus said His yoke is light. True God has unlimited strength...and the Administration and Congress are His children. God also has no friction.  The true answer is really there right now....this could be an instantaneous healing...if everyone realized it.   Entered April 28, '10 - Ron Miller--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- De je vous all over again" as Yogi Bera said. What is going on globally now is very eerie for your writer.  I have the same feeling now as I had when a kid in the Great Depression - right before World War II.  It was a rough time in many ways, with much family struggles...and on top of everything, ominous storm clouds were forming in Europe and elsewhere. We kids were well aware of everything.  I kept my ear glued to the radio, and I watched every newsreel at the theatres. Dad worked at three theatres in town (Columbia, Missouri - a college town) doing advertising art. He had a great loft studio next to the Varsity. Later, he set up the Design Dept. at Stephens College.  We lived out in the country north of town (Vandiver Drive - named by my Mom) and had a man working for us named "Royal." He was from an old Russian family that had escaped the Bolschevics.  He played soldiers with me - I collected little lead soldiers. I was the Finnish - the soldiers had white ski uniforms, and he had to be the Russians. The aggressive Russians had just attacked Finland. The Fins fought back courageously.  Their ski troops gave the Russians fits, but, finally, they were overwhelmed. But to this day, I admire the Finns greatly. The whole world was watching that war. Western and Eastern Europe was very unsettled.  We kids could buy  dirigibles or Zepphlins - balloons shaped as these sinister ships. We would glue on the cardboard cutout cabin. I remember getting these balloons and tin soldiers at a dime store on Broadway.       Royal had been a U.S. Marine and had taught me such delicate arts as how to throw a bayonet (at age 7). He was a cook also and happily prepared my sack lunch - with highly curry flavored food, that I couldn't hardly stand. Royal was proud of some machine gun bullet scars across his stomach. These were received battling pirates in the south China Sea. I don't know what ever happened to Royal, although I bet he tried to enlist when Pearl Harbor hit...if the Marines took victims of bullets in the stomach and they probably did!       A little later, we had an apartment on the campus of Mizzou. A visiting professor from Germany, his wife and two young sons, lived in the house also. The sons were little Nazi brown shirts...always spouting Nazi balogna. They were very aggressive, especially the older one. They were thoroughly brain-washed on Naziism. The older son kept pushing and pushing me in the most arrogant way.  He ran down our country, and I stood up for our country. Eventually, the older brother and I tangled with fist fights, knock down drag out affairs. I believe I was one of the first Americans to fight Nazis for our country! What an education! I did o.k. thanks to training by Royal the Marine and also my Aunt Lavon who was a good friend of Babe Diedrickson Zaharias; they had been team mates on a pro basketball team here in midwest. Lavon taught me how to box and also how to get off the blocks in track...all with a win attitude.           At the same time in the news, some other Americans could see big threats but not everyone. Washington D.C. seemed paralyzed in denial. General MacArthur at that time was Chief of Staff of the Army in Washington and pleaded with Congress and President to do something.  Brittain was in desperate need of ships and other help, and Nazi U-boats were picking off our merchant marine.  Yes, our ships and those of the British and others, and we just diddle-daddled around. It was scandalous how we didn't help England. Meanwhile, our government increased some production of war supplies, but not near enough. There were some military maneuvers.  A tank outfit came through Columbia and bivouaced in a park along hwy 40 ( a main east west artery).  Mom Dad and I went out and visited. This was not far from the Hartley Banks home; he and I were school mates in the lab school. One tank crew let me crawl down inside.  These were very tiny tanks. They had little rounded turrets. We invited one of the crew members to our home for dinner.  He was a corporal. Mind you at the same time, the Nazis were making highly sophisticated, giant Tiger and Panther tanks and studying blitzkriegs and pincers - advanced ideas of Guederian and others...although not new  really (Thutmosis III of Egypt employed the blitz over a thousand years before Christ and he and his chariots and troops made it all the way up to the present Mosul area in Iraq..and Alexender the Great in 300 B.C. employed the pincer in practically every battle (including a big battle near Mosul - Arbella or Guagamilla as some call it...the Nazis panzer commanders studied antiquity very well!).      Cousin Glennon Price of Neosho, Mo. was accepted into a new national, Navy, pilot, training program...but there were only 40 such trainees...and the Navy had to cut back drastically due to lack of funding after the program was underway just a little while...and this was just before Pearl Harbor. Funds were tight and the military was obviously getting the short end of the stick. Glennon would land in a shiny silver trainer at the Columbia airport, and we would have him for dinner. He was getting in flight hours out of St. Louis or some field not far away. Well, of course, when Pearl Harbor hit, he was grabbed fast. I'm sure the Navy wished they had many more like him. But it wasn't their fault I can guess, but the fault of Congress. He would go on to become an aircraft carrier Commander, and he and crew would guard the Atlantic coast from Nazi submarines that would sneak around the west coast of South America and elsewhere. Glennon would also go on to command Pearl Harbor and Pensacola.       We lived at Hollister, Missouri when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Some neighbor kids and I came back from church, climbed big Taneycomo Hill and learned the news from our parents.    We could look down in the valley at night and during the day and see fires on each end of the Turkey Creek Bridge. Eerie!  Hard reality had hit Americans  square in the face like a cold towl. Local volunteers were diligently guarding the bridges with deer rifles...and it was cold that night (Dec. 7th) and for nights to come.   I remember everyone was worried - a form of fearful shock really -...were they going to attack the mainland too?  No one knew for sure! Later, there were scares of baloons with bombs floating over to our mainland (a few did make it)...and also sightings of submarines off our coasts.  Nazi saboteurs (terrorists)  were taken prisoner in a war plant out east; they were executed. No playing around in war.        The Nazis had blitzed courageous Poland, and pushed the British to Dunkirk on the Channel. 130 thousand troops managed to escape in little private boats and naval ships to England.  Later, we kids would have a Scout Master for a summer at Hollister, Gary Owen from England (nephew of some local folks, the Owen family that had a bank in Branson). He had been a Seaman on a naval ship at Dunkirk.  He told us how he and his mates pulled men out of the water up on their sloping deck (their ship had been hit too).  He said a number of men died because they were pulled up head first on the sloping deck and should have been pulled up feet first so the water would drain out of their lungs. He very emphatically impressed this life-saving trick on us.  And to add to the ordeal, he and everyone else at Dunkirk were attacked by Nazi, Stuka, dive bombers whineing out of the sky on he and the other sailors and escaping men struggling frantically below.  The Stukas had sirens attached to their wings. Don't ever forget Dunkirk. Many military escaped to fight another day.  Study the history that led up to it carefully. Neville Chamberlain, the notorious British appeaser earlier said that there was really no problem with the Germans! Lots of hard lessons there. Today I see many appeasers and history-twisters. How do you get blindfolds off and look at things with reality?      During the war we moved to Kansas City where Dad and Mom worked in the North American Aviation plant where they made B-25 Billy Mitchel bombers. Dad was too old to be in the military.  Mom worked in the accounting office and Dad became Head of the Dept. of Technical Illustration.  He crawled around in planes doing 3-D drawings for other engineers to solve "Gremlins." He was often around our great secret weapon, the Norton Bomb Sight. He did wonderful illustrated manuals for Rosy the Riveters.  He was an all 'round artist and had been political cartoonist for the noted country editor Mitchell White of the Mexico Mo. Ledger.  But now it was a very serious time believe you me. We were all worried about friends, neighbors and relatives going in the service. We carefully followed along on their draft status...then, so and so received Uncle Sam's greetings. And many had volunteered...some while in High School. Stars representing those serving were on little banners hung in neighbor's windows. Some of the stars were gold!!! Then, I remember going down to see a captured Nazi Tiger Tank downtown (probably a bond drive thing). I crawled all over and in it.  What a giant, and I thought of that pitiful little tin can I had also crawled around in. Another great lesson! This Nazi tank had goughed places where .50 cal tracers had richocheted. They didn't penetrate. These spots looked like one had taken a hot poker and pushed in some soft material.  Awesome protection. By the way, why don't we have Bond Drives now? Strange! We kids even bought .10 cent bond stamps sold by teachers!  Now, we have really become weak...and dumb.        And as usual, my ear was glued to the radio.  I was first to hear the awesome scarey news that Hitler and Von Rundsted did a big counterattack in Belgium: "The battle of the bulge."  That was indeed scarey.  Everyone thought we had it in the bag! No. One never has it in the bag in war! I anxiously told the folks when they came home. We listened to developments with great anticipation.  The 101st and remnants of an other outfit were holding miraculously at Bastogne, Belgium against everything the Nazis could throw against them.  The 101st Commander, General Anthony McAulif replied cryptically "Nuts" to the German order to surrender.        Meanwhile, our military and allies were battling it out in the Pacific. We kids saw movie newsreels showing the rape of Nanking.  How someone got those pictures out I don't know. Some troops become animals; terrorists today are animals.  We saw the Royal family of England down in the ruins of London talking with survivors. Princess Elizabeth and her sister were young girls but standing tall and giving hope. I could identify with young folks like that. The Nazi Luftwaffe was throwing everything they had at them...and the Royal Air Force and factory workers and civies  not only hung on...but won the battle of Brittain!  Roosevelt finally came through with some old destroyers. Roosevelt had lead in his drawers. What is this dumb political thing about denial - which we are greatly suffering from right now? All old military commanders know about it.  Napoleon warned his marshals about it, and to look at things the way they really are not as one wants things to be,  then, he himself marched off with 500,000 troops into Russia with a Russian winter on the horizon. . Then,  in WW II, Herr Hitler was about to do the same dumb thing and charge into the Russian brick wall.  But the US and many other free people around world are in the same  state of denial right now. Yes, we are fighting terrorism - but not in a total mobilize the home front and everyone pitch in way as it should be in a democracy where the individual is running the country (or supposed to).  General Pershing who warned against half way measures is probably groaning right now.  So, how do we get the half-way (if that much) politicians to wake up. Of course the military is doing great; it's the politicians that have problems.  I noticed they recently balked at building some more of the super super fighter planes.  I know, funds are short. But funds were even shorter during the Great Depression and before WWII...and then when Pearl Harbor hit, funds magically appeared!  Washington now has also cut space travel (we must keep technology going, because others are certainly keeping it going!).  If the politicians get scared enough they might act (but precious time is a luxury and slipping away; civilizations have fallen because of denial). One of the best ways to get beat is to plug up creative channels with denial.  Pearl Harbor really shook us up, and the next day, Pres. Roosevelt stood before Congress and declared all out war (not a present glorified War Powers upgrade that we have now). The politicians are scared at the wrong things; they are scared they won't get the votes of the anti-war faction...plus scared of this and that, trained to not rock the political vote, guarding their good salaries, etc. "Security?" But a word to the wise.  Storm clouds are everywhere. Better be prepared as the Scouts say.  If an 8 year old kid can stand up for his country and actually fight for his country at that, a President and the rest of Washington can do likewise.  It's de je vous all over again!  A word to the wise.   (entered Feb. 5, 2010,  Ron Miller).    IRAN & THE NAZI CONNECTION - As many others when the Iranian leader Akhmadinijad announced to the world that the Holocaust didn't happen, I thought he was simply nuts. And only last week he announced another whopper that 9-11 was just a figment of the imagination. How outrageous!  Then, it hit me like the whole excavation wall of history caved in on me!  He knows exactly what he is doing!  What he is doing is using Adolf Hitler's "Big Lie" psychological technique.  Tell a big enough whopper, and while some won't believe, some will!  That's it! Pure Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbles leading up to and during World War II.  It's the Nazi propaganda and war machine all over again.  I am sure I am right on this; the evidence is right there before us. And, by the way, Chavez of Venezuela is using the same highly sophisticated propaganda technique.   Such propaganda got the Nazis a long way, but of course they finally hit the Allied brick wall. But it is fascinating - deadly fascinating - that these aggressive 8-balls today are studying this stuff.       But, here is something else in this discussion that we must deduce and face a hard fact in so doing.  Since the Iranians so hate the Jews, look who they go to to battle the Jews in Israel....none other than the greatest Jew- hater of all time...Herr Hitler! They really do hate them!  No telling what other devil stuff they are learning from the Nazis - besides the big lie. I don't know if they have meetings but watch out for any  "Munich "beer" Hall" meetings. Moslems don't drink, of course, (except coffee) but watch those gatherings...and get ready for any "crystal nachts." The Iranians have been killing and imprisoning their own people right and left. The Nazis ruthlessly did the same thing with the Jews. And, Joseph Stalin and Mau did the same thing with their people. The nutballs are ruthless; they don't have any ethical controls to stop them.  Also watch out for little and big Brown Shirts (or similar brain-washed kids).  Watch for words and phrases such as "National Socialism."  Keep an eye on their industrial plants.  Are they really making farm machinery there?  The Nazis were prohibited from having fighter planes after WW I.  But notice they commenced having gliders, and, then, magically, came up with Messerschmidt ME 109s and Heinkel bombers, etc. And, the Krupt Industrial complex of the Ruhr was really making big tanks in those "innocent" factories...buzzing away out of sight.  The Iranians say they are not making atomic materials for bombs!  Again, I bet they are reading Hitler.  Notice, as Hitler, they just go right on pushing their Jew-hating cause.  As Hitler they utilize the sick device that there must be  a scapegoat in hard times (see the section on this site: Race and Cultural Relations)...this is the scroungyest phenomenon that aggressors use for their own benefit. Works like a charm, though,  especially in hard times! People have to have scapegoats in hard times, and the grissle-brains use this for their own benefit. And, here is where it really gets scarey, just as in those 1930 days of Hitler, Europe developed a massive case of denial.  And, we did too here in the U.S.  The anti-war movement over here was very strong. And, the politicians as usual wanted votes and were trained to not rock the political boat anyway. Most politicians are masters of the halfway approach. Forget about what is really right - their political "religion" must come first (and, so, they break the first Commandment). As incredible as it may seem to some, I believe we have a situation now very similar to the 1930s.  The actors are all there, although have different names. And, some big country vultures are remaining silent on dead tree limbs nearby just waiting for the carrion.       Hypothetically, let's say that my analysis is totally wrong.  Very well, but shouldn't we at least make contingency plans just in case the dominoes commence falling?  I would say yes.  I have a hunch that various Operation Branches of each branch of our military have contingency plans drawn up...and probably likewise with the military branches of our allies. Before WWII an unknown Major named Weidemeir was assigned the job of working up a plan just in case there was war. He came up with Operation Liberty. When war hit, this plan was grabbed fast. It underwent much revision, but we had something. If General George Marshall the Operations genius of WWI and II had been alive and had a plan for Katrina and better yet had been in charge, that whole situation would have been different. But the moguls in Washington had already cut up the Dept. of Defense and assigned the U.S. to (political) civies...and let the Dept of Defense have Iraq and Afghanistan.  If Washington and private operations haven't made plans, they  better get on it....and also use Yale's Cross-cultural Index (used in WWII to study island cultures) or something similar to study other cultures. Hopefully, I am wrong, but I am afraid I am right. It's all there time and again in the historical pages and levels of archaeology; aggressive, grissle brained, slave-master types breed like flies and are constantly coming out of the wood work. Keep those fly-swatters handy.  Entered Mar. 10, 2010, Ron Miller. - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - DEMOCRACY & NUTRITION.  This is more important than one might think. First, there are two kinds of nutrition...good food with vitamins, trace-elements, enzymes, great taste, etc....and then there is spiritual food. I'll cover the latter another time, but right now I want to tell a little about the importance of good food for our country. This is especially important, because each citizen is running things - self-governed - and there are a lot of them out there.  They must keep in good shape.  I want to tell you about an adventure at the University of Missouri, Columbia, that got me interested in nutrition.  It all really started back when I was a little boy and we had an apartment on Wilson St. near campus and right across the street from Sanborne Research Field, Dept. of Ag. I used to watch the icon soils expert Dr. William Albrecht and his students with their clipboards in little mini-plots conducting various soils experiments.  Then, later, when I was attending Mizzou I had a free elective course, and, I thought I would just take Dr. Albrecht's famous Soils I course. Quite extraordinary, the Head of the Department teaching Soils I. I figured that since I would be excavating in the soil in archaeology, it would be good to find out as much about it as I could, and old kid memories must have been in my subconsious too. Anyway, the course was fantastic with his special creative, soils anthropological approach.  Practical science helping Man and Woman and Child! This had to have had influence on this practical site as well.        I knew things weren't going to be all chemistry and test tubes right off the bat.  Things were going to be creative! He announced first day that he was out to make us think! (no easy task!).  What! No just note- taking.  Oh boy.  Here was the scientist who helped discover the anti-biotic Aureomycin (he had dug up the soil sample in Sanborne Field!)...and also as Dr. George Washington Carver who had built up the soils of the south after heavy mining of nutrients by King Cotton, Albrecht had helped in a major way building up soils of the midwest. They both used crop rotation (plowing under legumes that had fantastic little nitrogen producing nodules on their roots)...and, too, they both were big believers in organic matter....as Albrecht described that black nitrogen rich substance.  Albrecht, who had travelled the world studying soils, told about he and his students studying cows who were standing in high "rich looking grass" poking their heads through a fence eating rather stubby unglamorous looking grass on the other side.  They were getting some nutrient there that wasn't in the better looking grass.  They also experimented growing tomatoes on poor soil and the resulting fruit had less nutrition than the parent seed!  I wonder how many mass produced veggies today have less nutrition than the parent seed. Yes, growers add "the big three" as Albrecht explained - Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium - but what about all the trace elements needed?  The sea has all the trace-elements - even gold!  This is why fish is so great. Dr. Albrecht took kelp pills.  But, of course, now we are polluting the sea and fish.        Speaking of fish and the importance of nutrients on human character he told of the contented catfish that lived in the Mississippi Delta where wonderful rich alluvium dumps from the midwest.  Then, in stark comparison he pointed out that sharks and barracuda live off the sandy (non-fertile) shores of Florida!  By the way, that alluvium that washes down the Mississippi has eroded off farmer's fields! They are letting all this wealth of the nation litterally go down the "Big Tube."  But, I have been thinking...what lousey soil there is in Saudi Arabia (original home of Osama Bin Laden).  Could the aggressive "sharks" attacking us just need some good food?  And, places on earth that are so crowded with humanity and there is so much misery probably also need a good square meal.  And, if Uncle Ralph, Pa and brother Joe are sprawled out on couches drinking a case of beer and watching TV..and the alcohol is destroying vitamins and cells in their livers...and brain cells...are they going to feel like going down to the town hall meeting?  I am being rough on people here, but they won't think much of me if I am easy on them. As I think of more on this subject of nutrition and democracy will add along.  Entered Mar. 11, 2010....Ron Miller.  Democracy and Food cont.  Here's another reason why nutrition is important for a democracy....the necessity of getting back to the individual farmer.  Big biz combines have taken over agriculture, and the little farmer has been crowded out.  This is all fascinating from an archaeological/ancient history standpoint.  The same thing happened in ancient Rome...and you know what happened to them.  I have been jumping up and down on my archaeological stepladder for a long time on this one but to no avail.  Yes, the little farmers of Rome got crowded out; the soil, plants and nutrition suffered, and so did the city of Rome, because the little farmers had to move to the big city...and, then, it was "bread and circuses."  The answer is quickly revert to democracy (which we unfortunately have lost).  This is self-rule of course.  What we have now is Corporateocracy.  They rule everyone including Washington. Actually, big business is great - a great money-generating machine, but it requires a sledge-hammer of ethical control, and the best sledge-hammer is spiritual ethical control - the Bible and the Ten Commandments.  The Founders knew all this, and that is why they wanted "Our Country Under God."  (not under "organized" "established religion, of course...they really feared that and could easily see disasters of organized church down through history and especially of France and England of the time).  The Founders knew their history well.  But, we have to get back to the Founder's brilliance.  Free the people; let them run things.  People now are getting squashed by giant half-dead dinosaurs above them.  East Germany that was oppressed by "big above" - attached to Marxism/socialism is still recovering from that disaster. So, get those little farmers back fast.  They really care about the soil of their forefathers...they want to pass it along in good shape to descendents. They want to worship their God. They are truly, literally down-to-earth people...and also of importance they are practical and creative - another thing we need right now - especially in Washington. The Farmers have to figure out how to repair tractors with bailing wire!  So, we must do everything possible to help these people and re-populate the little farms. Help their economical system; help their religious social systems.  This would be great news for the basic family - theirs and others.  Nutrition would be upgraded...the wealth of the land would be protected.  And, this is all tremendous soil wealth of the country literally coming right up from the rich soil of God.  Dr. Albrecht quoted the Bible  often:  "Look ye unto the Rock from whence ye are hewn."  And never forget the disaster of Rome - where we are heading right now as a runaway freight train going right for the bluff.  If we can't learn these things we are truly slipping back to pre-Zinjanthropus days.  Entered Mar. 13, 2010, Ron Miller.             - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DEMOCRACY; ITS NATURE -       Democracy is self rule. A group of democracies or republics is a federalism (what we have). It is also freedom from power above (or should be). Democracy is hated by all slave- masters and other power operators of many shapes and sizes.  Slave -masters take the form of kings, human trafficers,  dictators, powerful government bureaucracies, even some committee chairmen and women, and, too, chairmen of countries. Big financial organizations can become slave-masters and subjugate vast sectors of population. "Keep those dummy amoebas out there eating that Hydrogenated oil," and we'll clean up; we have the politicians bought off, so, no one will ever know. "Make our subjects pay through the nose for pharmaceuticals and other medical expenses. We rule the slaves down there!!" "Make the dummies fill our coffers of the Priests of New Thebes here in Washington. We'll keep them in awe with our elaborate hieroglyphics and priestly riggamaro.  Educational slave masters can even control minds of inhabitants of little cities behind ivy walls. Baalism as in days of Moses still reigns with sacred phallic poles and golden calves and other material objects of devotion. So, priests of Baal are alive and well...and even in Hollywood and the media.   Slave masters even operate in families. Thus, sadly, and in a living hell many poor souls get stuck as slaves. Right now there is untold misery suffered by many kinds of slaves around the world.  Many slaves have no idea how to escape to freedom.  Some become so numbed to their loss of freedom that they believe their existence is all there is, and they become trained as animals in the circus to do as the slave-master with his whip wants.  East Germany freed from the slavery of Marxism is still having trouble getting on their feet. It's a tragedy.  Dr. George Washington Carver and Dr. Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee were faced with the monumental challenge of still having to deal with the aftermath of slavery in the early 1900s Southland. The Athenians, who we respect greatly for their democracy had slaves. In fact, at one point, so many citizens were going into debt (just as today) that they had to actually become slaves to the debtors.  The icon of democracy Solon was called in to solve the problem, and the first thing he did was to absolve all debt. He well knew there can be no slaves in a democracy. Women in Athens were kept.  All of us constantly have to battle sliding into some form of slavery-bondage. The old Jews in the days of Isaiah suffered slavery in Babylon at the hands of the slave master Nebuchanezzer a King. Finally, Cyrus freed them, and they returned to their "Promised Land." Today Israel is a democracy, although they are constantly on verge of martial law, which always takes something from democracy, a necessary evil sometimes. Even Abraham Lincoln, that giant of freedom, had to restrict habaes corpus in the Civil War.  Keeping freedom is certainly a constant battle.  The domineering slave-masters - even if they live on the other side of the globe from a democracy are driven bats by it. How can they be master controller/dominators?  All of us must be constantly on guard.  Just a few hours before writing this, a report came in from our National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. that an ad appeared, apparently o.ked by some university that said the Holocaust really didn't happen!  The ad cost $75.00.  The Director of the Museum is asking that folks contribute $75.00 good dollars to the museum to battle such stuff.  This museum, in case you don't know, is our museum, founded by an act of Congress. We have to really battle to keep democracy. "Freedom isn't free" as the vets say.  Entered here Mar. 14, 2010.  Ron Miller.                 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - U.S. SUPREME COURT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND DEMOCRACY; HENCE, DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE CONSTITUTION, THE GREATEST REFLECTION OF DEMOCRACY...AND AS A RESULT ARE PASSING TOP HEAVY RULINGS.  A terrible ruling from a democracy standpoint just came down from the U.S. Supreme Court. They just allowed big business to have the power of an individual and contribute funds for elections. If you understand democracy this will send you into shock.  First, big corporations aren't individuals, and it is individuals who rule.  Always keep that in mind...it's not power from anything big above that rules.  The individual is the power and is above. Big corporations have great power with their big money, and this big power must be controlled with a firm hand.  But now the Supreme Court has opened the flood gates of big powerful corporations from above. It is unbelievable what has happened.  But the Supreme Court has given single individual citizen power to the big corporate masses earlier.  This is probably one of their precedents in the present ruling. Our Founders were absolutely brilliant when they came up with our Constitution and the Declaration of Independece also - both great reflections of democracy.  If one understands democracy they understand our Constitution and vice-versa, if they understand the Constitution they understand democracy. But look what has happened, Washington D.C., including the Supreme Court, has let strange pseudo-religious doctrine seep into its thinking and culture.  See article on down about "The Priests of New Thebes," (in Washington).  Strange doctrine is coming from many different sources. I believe some of it is coming out of business schools. Some other whacky doctrine  is coming out of elsewhere behind the ivy walls.  Humanistic, material thinking saturating Washington goes all the way back to "The Age of Enlightenment." The atheist philosophers of France in the 1700s were having a big ball. Ultimate ethical guidance was attacked viciously.  The material man methods ruled.  The free citizen "under God" idea was obliterated.  Now, we have the present mess.  Just look around. The scientific proof is in the news every day.  We have lost our course.  And now even the Supreme Court is a victim.  It is going to be hard to change such rulings - they have to be over-ruled. And the Justices are in there for life. How do we get them to study democracy...and get the basics of democracy into their psyches?  Term limits for these "Gods" of Mt. Olympus might be one idea.  And before they get on the job, give them a basic test on democracy and the Constitution.  A Congressional screening doesn't dig deep enough.  The American people have got a lot of work to do.  The first job is to study democracy and educate "The Priests of New Thebes."   (entered Jan. 21, 2010...Ron Miller).  It was just learned that the vote on the above was close - 4 to 5!  It should have been 9 all in favor of democracy. The 5 have an ideology of capitalism instead of democracy. Capitalism is important of course, and does need to be heard, but democracy and the individual are all important.  But it can be seen how easily democracy can be eroded and slip away from a society.  We must fill up the little gullies (this is a big gully) or they will just keep getting bigger. Jan. 22, 2010. RM.   HOW TO GET PRESIDENT OBAMA STRONG. President Obama is faced with more problems than a centipede with fallen arches! I sympathize and know it is a brutal job, and admittedly there are many unknown factors in the White House that make it difficult to analyze. I have to use a lot of deduction, but also there is much history and ancient history and personal experiences that can be used in the analysis.  Really, all of us have the problems too as actually we are his bosses. He could have fewer problems if he would just revert to democracy, gradually lost over the years in Washington.  Trust in the individual Americans; let democracy reign! After all, democracy is self rule, and it is freedom from power and aggression above. He and the others in Washington D.C. have got it all flip-flopped. A student of democracy as your writer - up to his chin all day long in the study of democracy - is totally aghast at what is happening!  Relax and let the hard-working, smart individual citizen, and the Constitution of our democracy do the work. What a novel concept! I believe citizens  need to get back in training. Anyway, democracy is another crucial story analyzed shortly here.  It is obvious that President Obama needs to get strong to face all the present messes, much of which is caused by not having a democracy...and add "under a True God" (not any of the man, material, pseudo gods that abound today more than in an Egyptian temple).  He sometimes, not always, comes across as fearful, hesitant, confused and a believer in pseudo-god philosophies. He is a brilliant speaker, possibly the best since Cicero and Demosthenes, but something is missing.  Carefulness is good, but sometimes Commanders-in-chiefs must act fast and firmly when the battle rages. Read about the sharp-heads-up Roman Centurions and Tribunes in fierce battle in Caesar's "Gallic Wars." Also  peace and talking at the table are good, and that needs to be tried...and "blessed are the peace-makers,"  but that is when one is dealing with nice people... not charging tigers with deadly fangs stained with the blood of millions of good people.  Daniel went in the Lion's den and wasn't eaten. But lions are animals; terrorist humans use the high frontal area of the brain for devious aggressive means. They have invaded our precious land; if 9-11 wasn't enough to qualify for "invasion" in the Constitution I don't know what is. They are super mean animals from an anthropological standpoint.  They are masterpiece creations of the Devil.          How does one deal with all this global mess...plus dozens of problems on the home front, unemployment, the country is broke, in debt to foreigners, riddled with crime, school dropouts, lack of character in Washington and on Wall Street, etc.? Don't give up prayer; keep that going, but also face the realistic facts.  First, of all, and this will be radical surgery, is push the democracy button. Regain the "Lost spirit of democracy," as classicist Edith Hamilton pointed out, and that was lost by the ancient Athenian city state. She believed this loss of the spirit of democracy is what caused their downfall.  Get back to the democracy set up by the Founders. They were absolutely brilliant and sharper than anyone in Washington today. Just admit it.  Get off arrogant high horses in Washington.  Release the latent atomic energy of the individuals who were once free citizens, the bosses.  We have gotten so far away from this - I'll call it cultural drift  or cultural gravity - that people in Washington don't have a clue. I believe that the citizens believe and feel that something is drastically wrong, but they feel powerless. The foxes and blacksnakes are in the chicken house! How strange for citizens to feel powerless in a democracy!   There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth of the priests of New Thebes (see another article on down), but it has to be done. Vote them out. Make new contenders swear on a stack of Bibles that they will revert to democracy. (but if they are humanist/atheists, which many of them must be, then what do we get them to swear on?). What's right is right.  Free the little business people.  Get buracracy off their backs...off everyone's backs.  One of the big failures of weak leadership is trying to command a big machine...forgetting that the individual cogs are what needs to get moving.  There are too many strange monkey wrenches - pseudo-religions - clogging the gears.  Don't just keep pouring gas into the big stalled machine; fix the cogs first. General Swartzkoff would send new Second Lieutenants down to stand in front of a tank and give it orders!!! (talk he gave at a local college).  Also, President Obama must do as Jesus at the Temple - overturn the tables of the money-changers.  Money is important but not God and must have ultimate ethical control.  Then, we must face the fact of how to get Obama strong enough to push the democracy button in the first place.  If I could wave a magic wand I would send him immediately down to Ft. Campbell Ky. and enroll him in a training platoon of the 101st Airborne.  This is ultimate reality fast. Have him study the background of the 101st and the "Bad Bastards of Bastogn" and what it took to beat off everything the Nazis could throw at them including the awesome Tiger Tanks. Study the history of the Screaming Eagle patch going back to the Iron Brigade of the Civil War (of the 8th Wisconsin) and their black iron shield emblem...and then "Old Abe" the pet mascot American Bald Eagle that was carried out front (not apologized for in the back). It was quite a history.  Old Abe would fly around over the battle sites such as at Corinth, etc. and somehow was missed by Reb sharp shooters). Then, once when marching in a parade with the Iron brigade on his tether up front , he flew up, grabbed the corner of the American flag and helped hold it high!.  Also, in the Civil War the Stars and Stripes had to be carried high. If the flag-bearer fell, someone else would pick it up and carry it high (General McArthur's father Arthur did this in battle charging on and received The Medal of Honor.  THE AMERICAN FLAG MUST ALWAYS BE CARRIED OUT FRONT AND OFF THE GROUND. Obama has got to pick it up and charge! He's the nation's top flag-bearer!  Have him carefully watch the training Platoon Sgt. He should also be assigned to the Flag Detail of the Headquarter's Company on post and raise the American Flag every morning. There must be a Flag pole around the White House; he can start there.  He has to get that kind of courage and reality and the USA first.  He's not getting it in his office. Kick the Machiavellianism- as -a -religion 8-balls out. He is undergoing much on-the-job-training but has missed out on a lot of basic, practical, down home learning and experience.  He is so desperate that he is relying on pseudo-religions - socialism, radicalism, moneyism, Machiavellianism, as well as those around him (for too much input), etc., etc. A smorgasbord of advice is good...if their religion is democracy, the Constitution, the USA and God.  He must rely on democracy..tempered by the ultimate ethics God.  Even though he taught the Constitution, he missed it! This is unbelievable, but it has happened.  Old false doctrines of some kind have got him.  He's got to shake it off and push the button...and fast.      Now, for foreign aggressive grissle-brains.  Immediately call into his office the ghosts of the following:  Generals John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, Eisenhower, Grant, Sherman, Washington (he had to do a lot of on-the-job training too), Alexander the Great, Fredrich the Great, Geo. Patton (you have to put the fear of God in grissle brains and also realize that the offensive is better than the defensive), and also inspire one's own troops. And also call on that Platoon Sgt. from Ft. Campbell.  I would make him Chair of the Committee.  Especially study General Pershing from Missouri.  He had to face terrorists in the Philippines - the Moros. They were so fanatic that they wrapped their bodies in cloth so that when wounded they wouldn't bleed so fast.  The famous Colt 45 pistol was invented with its terrific knockdown power to help stop Moros.  We need some newer Colt 45s. General Pershing, by the way, was also sent down to the border to keep order. He even went below the border! Why isn't this being done now? Obama has got to radiate strength. General Patton (one of Pershing's lieutenants on Mexican border and during WW I)  was feared more than any of our generals by the Nazis. He believed that "the other poor bastards should be the ones to die for their country." Intellectualization is good, but this is down and dirty war on many fronts. The Romans had the win mind set of salting the earth (sometimes symbolical) of the vanquished city and plowing a trench all around the city.  Charge and lead up ahead. Alexander did this, and would make a surprise pincer movement around the right and come in behind the enemy and his old general Parminio leading his main left flank. You can't fake it.  Pres. Bush charged into Iraq but forgot to study anthropological contingencies. Check (and don't overrule or overlook the contingency plans of the Operation's Branch - G-4). Leaders must lead and be creative.   Immediately form a type of French Foreign Legion that accepts people from all over the globe.  Obama would be amazed at how many would volunteer...and from timid countries of NATO at that.  Next, stand up in front of Congress as did Roosevelt the day after Pearl Harbor, and declare War per the Constitution; don't politically and fearfully dance around the Constitution with some kind of up-graded war powers (half way approach, which Pershing abhorred). The Constitution says if invaded, declare war.  Mobilize. Real war would shut up many of in rank dissenters.  If they spouted off as the terrorist major at Ft. Hood they would be out fast.  Build another Quantanamo; let it be known that you expect to fill that one up fast. Don't be ruled by others; think for one's self. War means prisoners of war not civilian court treatment.  State clearly that The Geneva Convention would be in full effect. War is the Iron Trade; quit running from this reality. The enemy is going to use any prison or anything else to help recruit. Care about the USA over anyone else...and realized the hard logic that this is war.         Each week the White House should call in a group of Ministers of different faith.   Have new ones each week. These are present day Theologians; then, call in the ghosts of the past Theologians.  How did we get away from "Under God?" brilliantly set up by our Founders?  Our Founders ignored the so-called "Age of Enlightenment" - the atheist philosphers commencing in France (at the same time our Founders were founding our country), but this Atheism (humanism another name...or materialism still another name..or we could even call it Manism) obviously finally took hold and would infiltrate schools and now Washington.  The Founders would be absolutely horrified at what has happened. Our Founders were so sharp in the Scriptures that they weren't influenced by the Age of Enlightenment (atheism-humanism).      So, in many positive ways, ignite power of all the individual citizens including kids. As a kid in WWII I was glad to bundle newspapers, do without and buy 10 cent War Bond Stamps. Our school teacher sold these in class. Our great country of America has been attacked (many times). We know who the enemy is. It is war against the terrorists (and that includes pirate terrorists).   The Constitution is with us. We are either with the Constitution or not. Yes, if we go the Constitutional War route, we will no doubt lose some democracy - such as loss of habeas corpus as Lincoln had to sacrifice during the Civil War, but we will still be ahead on democracy in many ways. We can set up a Democracy Watchdog Committee to always guard and keep track, so that after we win we can hit the ground running again in the democracy way. Entered: Jan. 4, 2010, RM.  HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!!!  Lots of things cooking on the Democracy stove.   And we here at the WAS are right in the middle of it with our Democracyology Dept. WAS.  Abraham Lincoln said that Law should be the religion of the land.  And, democracy is law.  Everything in our form of democracy (and there are many forms of democracy) revolves around our great Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence.  We citizens - the bosses in our democracy (self-rule) have to be constantly on guard.  We are in the main office of the factory, and we must know immediately if there is a pipe leak in building no. 82, so, we can fix it. Our communication/info/news/message center must be on the ball - totally accurate, unbiased and thorough. If the news dept. is biased or fouled-up we must send the ghost of Walter Williams who founded the first school of Journalism in world at Mizzou and make everyone in the dept. memorize his Journalist's Creed.  Then, we must send some technician (representative) to fix the leak, but we have to keep checking on him or her to see that they actually get the job done and aren't side-tracked in building 81...or aren't fixing some machine instead of a leaky pipe.  This is why we managers don't get as much sleep as others with different management systems (but it is well worth it!).  We have to keep on the situation(s) as hound dogs.  Yes, it is a lot of work and aggravation; this is the price we pay for all of our precious freedom, otherwise, "leaks" grow as the proverbial little hole in the Dutch dam, and pretty soon we can have a gushing mess that can take down the entire factory!  I know, being a Mgr. is hard.  This is why many democracies have gone under, and it is also why many countries get stuck with various forms of dictatorships/slave operations.  Even the fabled Athenian democracy went under.  They got side-tracked in a number of crucial ways.  Some of our technicians we have sent to fix leaks today have gotten themselves into the wrong buildings and fouled up in a number of ways.  They didn't understand our system.   They have danced around our factory rules.   They believe BIG things above the individual citizens should rule.  They believe BIG  money should rule the individual. They believe politics itself as a pseudo-government should rule.  They are greatly overpoweringly impressed by anything big.  They aren't very sharp. Salesmen have sold them off base methodology.  They have bought Bermuda shorts in Alaska in January. Their tool boxes contained sharp attire and great tools provided by our Founding Fathers, but they haven't used.  Also, the main problem why our "Technicians" get lost back in the factory complex is that they don't have a map of the factory complex (our democracy is a big factory).  They are trying to find their way around and tackle problems using cheap tools they have bought themselves. They are rubes and way over their heads; again, they don't utilize the simple effective tools provided by our  founders of the corporation.  They don't rely on tried and true road maps such as the wisdom of the ages in the Scriptures (the God plan with things such as The Ten Commandments)...again provided by the Founders but lost down in the tool box someplace.  Our technicians actually trample on these great rules...and wonder why they are lost!  Strangely, they perform a dance all around these laws. One wonders what is being taught in their technical colleges of law  and  business schools and also in high and grade schools?   The Man/human approaches they have learned are woefully indadaquate - disasters.  Now, we bosses have got to form rescue units and send them out to find our delegated technicians back somewhere in the factory, and give them spiritual/democracy CPR and restore them to life (both life with a little l - basic democracy and law - and Life with a Big L...Spiritual Life). Our poor technicians tried to take on a big job with poor preparation...including character preparation to withstand all kinds of temptations.  If they can't learn fast, we will have to fire them.  Fortunately, our Founding Fathers were intellectually and spiritually prepared when they set up our democracy under God, which by the way worked great for a long time - making us leaders of the world.  But, unfortunately, things have degenerated the past hundred years or so. Humans became enamored with themselves and materialism and their own philosophies and money and all kinds of other human god temptations (the Garden of Eden all over again!). There was no control.  The First Commandment was (and still is) shattered time and again.  A regression of history occurred...back to the days of materialism and false Gods in days of Moses. Moses had a similar monumental fight on his hands.  His people were heck bent on worshipping Bal and the Golden Calf and a pole set in the ground (a sexual phalic symbol).  He had a very difficult time getting them to focus on the greatest unseen power Yahweh.  No sooner would he turn his back than they would head right back to these material, humanistic, false gods.  Then, along came Jesus. He studied Moses carefully, and constantly taught spiritual things - Life, Light, Love.  Without such a true road map, our poor technicians back in the factory complex are easily lost.  And, of course, our entire factory depends on them.  So, we have got to watch them like hawks.  Make sure they have a true Godly road map, and a true democracy road map, otherwise, they will wreck the entire factory. Obviously, they have picked up some weird factory maps...socialocracy, lobbyocracy, bigocracy, humanism/atheismocracy, political partyocracy, mushocracy (halfway, don't- rock- the boat politicoocracy), survival-of-fittestocracy (which includes Eugenicsocracy), and the list of false gods goes on and on.  They are really lost.  Some of the factory is actually collapsing! Send out the cadaver dogs fast! Hopefully, we can get our technicians restored back to democracy under God life/Life!!! (entered Jan. 1, 2010....Ron Miller).  GLOBAL-WARMING - AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL/ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW.      There are very few scientists as close to the earth as archaeologists. We actually excavate in the earth.  We go down to "sterile soil" as it is called where there isn't any more cultural material or clues.  We often live out in the boonies in tents for a long time.  It is a unique experience.  I know that this helps when analyzing the Global-warming issue.  To give you an example.  Back in the 1950s we were doing salvage archaeology along the White River that commences in Arkansas and bends up into Missouri and then down into Arkansas.  We were in the Missouri bend area.  One summer one of our crew members was a biology student.  He made a great biological spotting - A Road Runner - common to the warm southwest U.S.....but up here in Missouri now!  He sent a card in with his spotting to the Missouri Conservation Dept. in Jefferson City.  He received a reply getting credit for a first spotting!  Since I live in the area, everyone began to notice another biological phenomenon...the incursion of Texas road bumps - Armadillos!  Now they are all over the place here in southern Missouri (I don't know how far they have migrated north).  This is all "wildly" fascinating for me having grown up here, camping, fishing, hunting, surface collecting artifacts, swimming, gardening and always close to the great outdoors.  Something big is definitely going on.  Also I noticed when gardening that the past 35 years or so has been harder and harder to put out a Fall garden (must be planted in July and early August). Last summer was better, but for the most part it keeps getting warmer and warmer.  This is all a lot of evidence.  This all presents a major problem for citizens and government.  Denial is a tough nut to crack.  So, is tradition. The sociologists and anthropologists know these blocks.  Also, change is going to require creativity...and here the past 40 years or so we have been training ourselves to be non-creative - let other countries do the thinking and manufacturing.  Forget about independence and self-reliance.  Money is God and will take care of everything!  We have gotten ourselves in a box...when we need to be thinking out of the box as the saying goes.  Get ready for wild fun and games; something will have to give.  Glaciers keep on melting.  Temperature demographics keep on moving.  Biology keeps on moving.  Natural neon warning signs keep flashing.  There should at least be contingency plans.  The Operation Branches (G-4) in all military branches do the contingency planning.  I hope they are at least doing contingincy planning on the warming issue. But really much more should be done.  Reality is tough.  Even ancient Athens with all its philosophers got itself in unreal ruts.  They did wonderful things but as Nebuchanezzer's Son couldn't see the writing on the wall.  Societies always face dangers.  Many can often see warning signs.  Sometimes there are no warning signs such as sudden 8 point earthquakes and tsunamies.  Right now there is much denial.  Napoleon told his 12 Marshals to look at things the way they really are not as you want them to be.  Then, he marched his giant army into Russia with winter on the horizon - a Russian winter!  Denial is a tough thing.  We have got to do a lot of structural tradition changing in society.  If we are creative and democracy holds up (we are losing fast), and the individual remains free and can create we have a good chance of making it through and even coming out smelling as roses!  So, think denial-busting, think real, think creativity...don't cling to traditional concrete "life-preservers."  Keep flexible.  I doubt that Washington can do it. The Flat Earth Society can't do it.  So, individual citizens need to get on this.   A word to the wise.   Entered Jan. 1st, 2010 - Ron Miller     THE PRIESTS OF NEW THEBES - WASHINGTON, D.C.   Today I was watching C-Span and the reading of the Senate version of the new Health Bill (a stall method). I almost turned off it was so complicated, dull and hard to understand.  Suddenly, it hit me as a ton of bricks.  That's it; that's the problem.  Right before my eyes; right before the whole nation's eyes we are all watching the modern  priests of Thebes right out of ancient Egypt. They are still alive and well...and ruling us all...the peasants of the countryside.  Washington D.C., as the Priests of ancient Thebes, has created this fantastic gobbledygook writing and priestly system - that no one understands but them. They go through their priestly motions in magnificent temples of stone with impressive statues all about.  This is how the Priests controlled everything. Also, the people were more king oriented than self-rule oriented, so, easily fell into the awe thing. They were well trained/programed.  It is really a kind of puppydogocracy.       Now, it's modern Hieroglyphics and Hieratics inscribed on long winded Bills - big scrolls kept hidden in Temple vaults, behind massive doors of cedar of Lebanon with shiny brass hinges.  These ultimate controlling priests wear business suits instead of linen tunics.  American people would be shocked at how many of them there are in the halls of marble!  It takes tremendous knowhow to do all this priestly stuff. The peasants along the modern Nile Rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, Hudson, Rio Grand) are in awe, hypnotized by it all.  Scribes of the ancient temples had to study many years.  It takes a complicated, secret  language and intricate rigamaro. It is a religious culture that knows all about the political cosmos.  It is a closed club; they rule.  They let students out in the populace know about The Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, but then they practice the real, secretive, priestly religion of New Thebes under the cover of this now obsolete "old politics".  The same thing goes on in university and college departments with gobbledygook scholarship "scholarly, priestly Hieroglyphics|" (three fourths of it never gets over the ivy walls to the Demos ).  How tremendously powerful is language and false religion with awe-inspiring secrets.  It rules the roost.  Serfs, who don't know the difference between a true or pseudo-religion, say, "it must be good because it is all so awesome; they must know what they are doing, so, let us bow to it all." So, this is how the Priests of New Thebes hang on to their "superiority," and "their land."  And, they fiercely protect their religious, priestly culture - THEIR realm and THEIR land - with great zeal. They fully intend to retain their priestly power for four-thousand years as did their forebearers of ancient Egypt.        Anthropologically speaking it is a special ruling culture.  Who can break into this?  Who can break out?  How can democracy be retrieved? "Tradition dies hard" as the sociologists say.  In a democracy where the citizen is supposed to rule, these true rulers should be able to change it.  Theoretically, it is possible.  Vote the rascals out.   Get candidates in who promise to restore  the great old English language - reduce gobbledygook to a few pages of down home understandable logic. And once they are in, citizen rulers must watch them as hawks, so they don't fall into old priestly ways.  By the way, this would save a fortune$$$$.  Ancient Rome was able to do it.  They got the Laws of Rome reduced to twelve tablets which they posted in the Forum for all to see.  Of course, the law went down hill when the Emperors took over just before the birth of Christ, and they became the Law! There is a constant attraction to powerful priesthood. The emperors of Rome tied themselves into the power of religion; some even became high priests and a few even became deified. Rome lasted around one-thousand years. Hitler, a self-anointed Emperor tried unsuccessfully for another one-thousand years.  The ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, lasted for four-thousand years. They brought new meaning to highly structured, priestly, secret, gobbledygook culture.  But that kind of rigidity and false religion is brittle.  The Egyptians were so rigid that when the Romans came along with a superior more rigid culture in fourty-four B.C., the Egyptians were one big glass jaw.  Of course, they had other problems too, but the priestly rigidity had to have been a main problem.  The Head Priest - in this case Cleopatra - ruled when it all came tumbling down.       Today, in Washington, the Priests of Thebes shield themselves under  supposed "Democracy." discarding true God for the pseudo-god religion Humanism/Atheism...Man becomes the god!  Disastrous!  They are arrogant. They have not only gone against the wishes of the Inspired Characters of the Scriptures but gone against the Founders' wishes...a democracy under God. The New Priests dance around the Constitution reverting to their own Book of the Dead, their priestly culture.  They repeatedly violate the First Commandment of God!  Who do they think they are...anyway!?  Do we sense industrial strength ego here?        Moreover, the Priests of Thebes must keep "their" temple coffers filled. They need a lot of money to keep their culture going. Lobbyists, a type of priest attached to the priestly bodly,  love to fill their chests. The main priesthood also borrows much money and prints it too.  They can't keep the presses going fast enough. The priests also painfully squeeze more and more money out of the peasants, who really should be running things in the first place.  This priestly culture devours money by the train car load.  They are as priestly vampires.          The Priests of Thebes are too slick for words!  All the Priests and sub-priests - including the god-like Pharoah himself or herself - the Presidents (who are easily sucked into the false religious vortex hook line and sinker) - love and must have all that power and keep their neat deal and that of the masses of underling priests going at all costs...and be sure their particular factions keep succeeding inpower.  As long as they can hang on to their secret gobbledygook heiroglyphics and priesty duties - and snow the "dummy" peasants - keep them in religious awe (with help of media) and dole out a few loaves of bread every now and then to them, they can maintain their Priestocracy.  But, really, shown by history, Priestocracy is so introverted, secretly structured that it has a brittleness that is very dangerous for society.  True democracy, with a good set of rules (Constitution, gathering dust in some temple) on the other hand, is  very powerful and flexible, with each person a thinker and important and working for THEIR GOVERNMENT, THEIR PEOPLE - NOT THEIR PRIESTLY CULTURE OF NEW THEBES.         There is much to study about the Priests of New Thebes. They have two factions - going back to the founding. These factions became more and more complicated and began to adopt a false religious character (breaking the First Commandment and governmental rules and some others too.   The Founders of our country would be horrified at the loss of democracy and the country under God and the takeover by the Priests of New Thebes (entered Dec. 19th - 22nd, 2009 - Ron Miller).  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   ECONOMY PROBLEM, EASY TO SOLVE. The economy problem is easy to solve.  Solution:  Immediately revert to Democracy...where the individual is free and the one governing the country. In other words, get the horrendous, ruling dinosaurs of government and emperor/priests of Thebes complexes off the backs of the free citizen....thus freeing the fantastic hydrogen power of the individual to create, work and be happy.  This could be accomplished in a second.  It is remarkable how our mogul politicians in Washington have danced around our U.S. Constitution and what our brilliant Founders set up for us.  It is all unbelievable arrogance at work today.  Human arrogance has come up with all kinds of man philosophies ...but in the process, the arrogant moguls completely forgot the Founder's philosophy...a democracy under God.      Dominating people have fought democracy for centuries and are still fighting. It is because some always want to be slave-masters. And some want to be slaves...until they find out how horrible it is...but then it is too late to change.   Shakespeare would have written a tragedy about it.      So, the solution is immediately get back to democracy...not mogulocracy, duhocracy, lobbyocracy, humanisticocracy, creeping Politicalocracy "political creeps", Darwinismocracy, Eugenicsocracy, Marxismocracy, etc., etc.  When the slaves are freed,  stand back world!  Of course, as poined out by Edith Hamiliton the Dean of the classicists and especially referring to Athens, there must be some control in a democracy. The philosophers knew this.   Entered Dec. 4th, 2009.  Ron  Miller      By the way, Congress and the Administration are great actors deserving of Academy Awards. They go through acting scenes in committee meetings and on TV, and look very official. They dance all around the reality of simple democracy under God.  While they are acting they are breaking the 10 Commandments - having all kinds of Gods besides the true God.  Nothing wrong with money, unless one worships it, which they do (ruled by the Lobby Priests of big business). They are  soooo slick. (entered Dec. 8, '09 - RM)     NO. 1 RULE LEARNED FROM STUDYING DEMOCRACY. Each citizen in a democracy (self-rule form of government) MUST study history.  The citizen must keep their rear view mirrors of history attached  when travelling down the freeway of life, otherwise, they are in for some very rude awakenings....as we are all observing all around us right now!  Many answers are all there in history  - with, of course, some creative adapting to present situations.  I run into students who believe history is soooo dull. How wrong they are!  This should be their NO. 1 study, and I will show you why.  Example 1.  While the so-called "Age of Enlightenment" was flourishing in Europe - especially France (beginning in 1700s) - with the Atheist philosophers having a field day....our Founding Fathers here in the US were carefully observing it - but thanks be to God they weren't conned into it.   They founded our country Under God.  Our Founders - founding our country at that same time - were absolutely brilliant.  They were students of history. Jefferson could read the classics in original languages...Latin, Greek. They knew the Scriptures well.  They held fast to "Our country under God," but not under (organized) Church. They could well see the organized church disaster in France at that time.  They didn't confuse God, which they knew we must have, with the possibility of an organized church taking over. They knew their Scriptures well - much much better than the Atheist philosophers.  Today, citizens of Europe and U.S. aren't that sharp, and have been taken to the cleaners.  They don't know their history, especially the Scriptures, and now the humanist/atheists have a ring in their noses.  Our Supreme Court has a ring in their noses and so does Congress.  So, how are you going to get the ring out?  Read history (and the Scriptures are the greatest history of all).       Big earth-shaking events were going on then that would affect us today...the commencing of the atheist/humanist movement on one side of "the pond" and our country under God on the other side. The Atheists were jubilent when various Man methods of solving problems came along and they latched on to them with religious devotion, i.e., Darwinism, Pragmatics, etc. Their big mistake was that they completely missed the really True Power - "the quickening spirit" so described by St. Paul the Apostle. And proof of God's existence is always right there - the greatest help of all time. Just follow God methodology and one can see that it works. Jesus used God methodology all day long for three years doing all sorts of wondrous things; it worked!  Jesus tried hard to show people.      Here's some more history to help visualize what happened.  The Atheist-humanist movement, beginning with the Age of Enlightenment, began to adopt...Marxism-Leninism-socialism....Darwinism and its off-shoot Eugenics...then, the philosophy of Pragmatism (the humanists loved this Man-thinking as they love all Man solutions, "Man" being their God)...then, more great flowering of humanism/atheism in 20th Century (led by the educator Dewey (one of signers of original Humanist Manifesto).  The education field practically worshipped Dewey.  All of this humanist thinking set up our country for the invalidation of God...and look at the tragic results of what Man-thinking has done. Look all around.  It's a disaster.  God and His Ten Commandments is invalidated in schools; look at the results in families, on the street (including Wall Street)...and worst of all Washington D.C...and even our inner-sanctum of inner-sanctums "Guard Dogs" -The Supreme Court!!!  We don't have a democracy any more; we have a Zinjanthropusocracy...or a Duhocracy.  We have gone backwards as fast as a Jules Verne governmental time machine.      This whole period of history from the misnomer "Age of Enlightenment" to the present time is one of the worst disasters of history.  Just think, the philosophers of "enlightenment" tried to out think and out do Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul, John, Matthew, Peter and all the rest.  What an arrogant goose egg the humanist philosophers produced!        But, they rule today. They have invaded most of the university, college and high school and grade school campuses.  They knew right where to go first - education. I have to say, the atheists are very sharp. They were (and still are) working at night when the rest of the country slept.       Another example:  Recently 8 of our CIA people were killed in Afghanistan by a double agent.  They thought they had won him over!  A very similar thing happened in old Rome, although on a larger scale of devastation.  The Romans thought for sure that they had Romanized the German princes Herman and his brother.  He was slick.  While putting on his act, he was mobilizing German forces north of the Rhine.  Two crack Roman Legions were lured across the Rhine into the Teutonberg Forrest and destroyed.  It was a disaster for Rome.  Still another example:  George Washington in he middle of the Revolution narrowly missed being assasinated by one of his staff who everyone had believed to have defected from the British.  No!  It was a close call.  It shook Washington up so that he became suspicious of foreigners on his staff from then on.           - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    DEMOCRACY AND WAR.                               It is interesting to look at various historical and prehistorical events concerning warfare and apply to the present.  Citizens of a democracy must face the cold hard fact that they better be up on military things and must all participate some way.  Each individual citizen is a boss-leader, therefore leaders can't sit back, they must lead. The time for loyal opposition-dissention has come to an end when there is war (but it must be properly declared war per our Constitution. See below). When war comes, the time for banding together has arrived. A house divided can wipe out the whole force.  The individual free-spirits working together creatively gives a tremendous, powerful advantage and can overcome anything.  Also, the society must have a win attitude or else prepare for slavery or death.  It's all there, one example after another in history.      So, citizens of a democracy must also study history. How did the free ancestors handle war? How did others handle war? These citizens can't afford to take off the rearview mirrors on the freeway of life. Can't be in denial here and be self-obsessed with one's own "great" ability. Politicians have tried this with various strategic and tactical theories, business school approaches, economic approaches, high tech philosophy as a religion approaches, etc. resulting in terrible disasters.       Also, realize democracy "self-rule" is a gem, and it will make many hostile-aggressives insanely jealous. These aggressors want people to be slaves and they the master.  Give them an inch, and they will take a country.  So,  "Rally 'round the flag, boys and girls."  The institution of democracy - our country - is at stake.  And, to save freedom also, unfortunately, means war. We haven't made it to utopia yet.  Keep trying, of course, but face the real facts.  George Washington knew that to prepare for war is the best way to keep from having war.         Of course, as mentioned above, a free democracy must make sure in the first place whether they should go to war or not. Big decision.  If so, "no halfway measures will solve this problem" as Gen. Pershing warned. The President must stand up before Congress and declare war as Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt did in WW II - the very day after Pearl Harbor (he actually should have declared war on Axis sooner when Nazi subs were blowing our ships and British ships  out of the water. Americans have it so good they have a hard time going to war - facing such tough reality. Napoleon said to look at things the way they really are, not as you want them to be (then, he turned right around and marched 400,000 men into Russia with a Russian winter on the horizon).              Strangely, one thing to watch is a victory!  A democracy can go down hill very fast after a victory.  I know, it's an odd phenomenon.  But the democracy can become soft, lazy, dull, non-creative and decadent.  Citizens have it so good, that they become overconfident and forget the reality of life....aggressors...outside and in that breed like flies.  Citizens ignore the tough ethical checks and basic character development.. Denial sets in.  The  writer Velleius Paterculus (first century AD) analyzing the fall of the great Roman Republic (a democracy for 450 years, ), pointed out that the Romans after their great win over Carthage (after battling for a hundred years), started going down hill, degenerating, and set themselves up for the dictator Caesar...and next, his nephew Augustus who proclaimed himself Emperor, and  a line of other Emperors followed (see: CAESAR by Adrian Goldsworthy, p. 10).  During the time of the Emperors, Rome,  slowly went down hill...so, "Big Brother" isn't the answer. Big citizen is the answer.      A Greek, Polybius in his HISTORY, who was right in the middle of the last of Rome's Republic - before the time of Christ - believed that the success of the Republic was due to its balanced Constitution.  No one person or part of the country could dominate (again, see the above mentioned source, p. 11).       The dean of all of the classical scholars, the late Edith Hamiliton said that the Athenians with their great democracy went down hill because "they lost the spirit of democracy."  Today we have lost much of the spirit of democracy.  We have exchanged democracy for other forms of government and religion....lobbyocracy being the leader here in the U.S.  Also, the philosophy-religion of humanism has, unfortunately, marinated into all,  especially in Europe and U.S.....as has one of it's flock,  the humanist philosophy of Pragmatism (promoted by the famous educational guru John Dewey who was one of the signers of The Humanist Manifesto).  Eugenics, an off-shoot of Darwinism - Man's speeding up of Natural Selection - is also popular (influence from  this philosophy can be seen in the present health care reform legislation). Other humanistic-material philosophy-religions are strongly entrenched around the world: Marxism-Leninism-Socialism... Maoism and Leninism...worship of leaders (as seen in last U.S. campaign)...and also worship of media stars...not to mention science (if worshiped as a religion).  All of this  as a religion is a form of modern Baalism in the days of Moses.  Moses battled this materialism non-God stuff constantly.  He knew that it all broke the First Commandment. You think Baalism is some ancient foreign nothing thing?  They worshipped the golden calf (as does Wall St)...and also a pole planted in ground (a phalic object). Look at all the sexual religion in the media.  So, there are Cultural Wars also.  I believe we are loosing most of these cultural wars now because of our Duhocracy.         In order to strengthen the U.S. Fort, the citizens must definitely, first, have a true religion.   It's not too late, although the clock of historical time is clicking away. The cuckoo could pop out at any time, we are becoming that weak!  Concerning, the problems after victory.  We had a big success in WWI...and commenced going down hill in the Roaring 20., but, then, had a very sobering time in the Great Depression before WW II hit.  We had a great victory in WW II....then, another big victory with the cold war.  Looks to this culture-watcher that we are going down hill culturally.  Moreover, we are in two draining wars - Iraq and Afghanistan...,neither resolved. The half-way approach that General John J. "Black Jack Pershing" warned against in war, isn't working.  We also have the problem of having the wrong pseudo-religions mentioned above.            Later on in this section I tell about what I call being "techno-dulled."  Relying too much on technology. Paradoxically, this is the Age of Technology. Technology is great, and you want to be ahead of the cutting edge, but not all situations can be solved by technology..or the present technology;  new creative thinking and technology may be needed immediately.  Constant creativity is a must.  In Afghanistan, we keep sending out convoys and the enemy keeps picking them off.  Castro in his Cuban campaign did the very same thing. Batista (with limp help from U.S.) couldn't adjust.  He just kept sending trucks out.  Batista and U.S. and rest of the world lost.          In the time of Agustus Caesar of Rome, the legions couldn't adjust either, and two of them were lured by the Germans into their battleground, the rough Teutonberg Forest, just north of the Rhine.  The legions of Varus were wiped out much to the shock of all Rome.  After that loss it was very hard for Rome to raise troops. Romes better make sure they win (go all out).  If the Romans could have only fought the rough Germans out on level ground where they could have used all of their high tech formations and seige engines.  They were the high tech leaders of the world, but the Teutonberg Forrest was the beginning of the end of the extension of the borders of the Roman Empire. We have several Teutonberg Forests going on right now.          Alexander the Great and his Army arrived at what is now Afghanistan in 300 B.C.  He didn't have the luxury of taking a long time trying to decide what to do, or being ruled by politics.  What did he do?  He simply invaded the country.  Then, he was in control and could imposed Greek culture on them.  Of course, there is a hard fast military rule that kicks in.  It is harder to control a country than take it over.  But Alexander Hellenized his conquered lands, and in some cases it lasted for several hundred years, but in most places Hellinization was finally lost.  We are trying to have instant Hellenization in Afghanistan now without even conquering.  But, remember, lives of our allied troops are being lost because of this "historical knowledge weakness."  We should bring in the spirit of General Pershing (that is, if we really decide to declare all out war).         A great example of how democracies should go about war takes us back to Athens when word came in that a massive horde of Persians was heading for Attica....specifically a beach and plain called: "Marathon."  ALL the male citizens, playwrites, philosophers, stone-masons, et al,  immediately pitched in, grabbed swords, spears and shields and headed for that legendary place. A brilliant fellow named "Miltiades" was the leader, and figured out a neat plan of defense.  The Athenians were greatly outnumbered but pulled off a great victory.         The Founders of our country knew the need of the military and defense and put in the Constitution "the right to bear arms"  and, "if invaded, declare war."  We did this in WW II with President Franklin  Roosevelt standing before Congress.  Since then the politicians have figured out various degrees of "War Powers."  If we had really declared war, there would be no problem with Quantanamo.  Prisoners would simply be prisoners of war as in WW II.  There would be a total pitching in as in WWII and "the battle of Marathon."  However, we can't expect many victories with the "halfway" approach cautioned againts by Pershing.        Creativity is one of the keys.  Alexander the Great was very creative.  On top of this, he had the courage to put creativity into action.  He had a good teacher...Aristotle....and his father the late King Phillip.  He also had some tough smart troops.  They managed to last for 8 or 9 years on the campaign into Asia.  But, one must watch it after 8 or 9 years.  Even the tough Macedonians wore out.        Thutmoses III of ancient Egypt was great at the blitz three thousand years before the Nazi tank expert Guderian.   Thutmosis and his troops and charioteers made it all the way up to  present Mosul the old land of the Mitanni in northern Iraq.  Ramases was a great general also. He rewarded valliant soldiers by throwing them strings of golden beads from his balcony.  Always reward the troops.  Medals are great, but gold beads are not bad either!        I noticed only this week a couple of our convoys in Afghanistan forgot to have flanking guards and were attacked. The old Greek generals knew this need. One of my instructors in the Army had lost most of his company, because he didn't post flank guards.  He lost his Captain's rank, being demoted to 1st Lt., but, fortunately, they kept him in to instruct us, and boy did he instruct us. Those guys who have learned the hard way are the best teachers.  I would never fall into the scape goat mode (see our WAS Sect. "Race & Cultural Relations" on this site for a discussion of the scapegoat phenomenon).  Make teachers out of those who make mistakes.         And, all the ancient generals knew that high ground was the best place to camp. This was ignored - disastrously - recently in Afghanistan.         Fighting using anthropological knowledge.  The underlying problem of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is Sex.  Yes, here we have two Patriarchial cultures (so determined by religion).  Men dominate.   Men see their women being lost to western culture....a free democratic culture.   They are becoming demasculated.  This is why they fight so ferociously!  Men's very manhood is going down the drain and they are maddened by it.  Herr Dr., Professor Freud, M.D.  would be writing papers constantly today on this situation.  The free world's best weapon is just keep pouring on all the good things.  Sooner or later they are going to implode.  One problem, however, atomic bombs in Pakistan.  Here India would play a big part. Declare peace if bombs shipped to a neutral U.N. facility.  All countries pitch in to help. Put UN troops on borders. Also, women help by insuring men are very important, but they the women must be free, can go to schools and not be intimidated in any way.       More later on the military and democracy.    (entered Oct. 27, 2009 and Nov. 1, '09 - RM). PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AGONIZINGLY LONG DELAYED SPEECH ON AFGHANISTAN FINALLY RHETORICIZED.     I was especially waiting to see if President Obama would violate General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing's rule "No halfway measures will solve this problem" (when leading the 1st Div. into WWI).  Obama was going along just fine...then BOING!  He did it!  He said we will retreat in 18 months!  But there are many other things he is violating:  He must stand up in front of Congress and declare all out war (if it is deserving) per the Constitution (no war-powers dancing around the Constitution). In a democracy, everyone participates.  Mobilize! War Bonds! Kids gathering paper for recycling, etc., etc. Win philosophy...not halfway politico philosophy.  You know what happens to a house divided!  Use leadership skills to charge.  Gen. George Patton was eccentric, but he was feared more by the Nazis in WWII than any other General.  Obama really wimped out with his politicalocracy.  His on the job training is a pain.  RM, entered Dec. 6, '09. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    DEMOCRACY (i.e., self-rule - freedom) UNDER SEVERE THREAT FROM GLOBAL WARMING/CARBON POLLUTION ....AND OTHER TOXIC FORCES (i.e., MIND POLLUTION & FOOD POLLUTION).  The big environmental meeting of nations at Copenhagen, Denmark is near (Dec.) as this is being written.  It is imperative that nations get hold of themselves, shake off denial, face reality, exercise constructive character and culture and stop carbon pollution of atmosphere causing global warming. Democracy - freedom - is at stake.  Democracy - self-rule can't work if the individual citizen is crushed by overpowering forces in the environment and quite possibly crazed people who have come to the end of their rope.  Not only do we have to stop carbon pollution but we must also stop mercury pollution (caused by smoke pollution),  which is fouling the food supply from the sea and some commercial fish farms on land.       Mind pollution must also be cleansed.  In fact, mind pollution must come first.  Man has put a lot of human limitation on himself, but remember, God is not limited. So, it is easy to see that Man must reclaim his basic spiritual birthright before he can act in a Godlike free, creative fashion and do what he has to do. This is the true reality that He must face. He is in denial, because he doesn't really know what to do; he can't be creative. His own human methods aren't good enough. He needs a higher, perfect, mental approach.  Again, remember that God isn't in denial, limited or indecisive and knows exactly what He is doing. See the next section on why Man has lost His true spiritual identity.  What is going on around us right now isn't the first time that Man has tried to outsmart the wise-in-God characters of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, which has always ended tragically.  Really, what we see is Man arrogance, laughing at spiritual wisdom and rightful, correct stewardship of the land (see: Genesis). And it is easy to see how destructive this human ego is. Just look around. Also, down through history, scholars have seen terrible results of this arrogance, war being the most noteable example. However, as terrible as war is, as well as other problems, financial, medical, etc., what faces us now, global warming, the fouling of our global nest,  is much worse. It is really a war with ourselves!       If participants at Copenhagen have hurt any of their brothers and sisters around the world in any way, they need to get square with God. They first need to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. An amazing thing will happen when all that Love-Life-Good-Right enters one's heart. They also need to  ask forgiveness of God, forgiveness of their sins. They need to ask for guidance and courage to do what is right... what God knows is right.  Just turn the problem  over to God. Ask Him what to do. An answer will come, and it will be good. It may not be what is expected. Oct. 8, 2009, Ron Miller.                                                                                                             THE SIMPLE ANSWER TO THE CONFLICTS, MISERIES, SELF-DESTRUCTION AND PERPLEXITIES OF SOCIETY. It is obvious that humans love misery. The answers are right before them, yet, they ignore! It is a strange situation.      Many of our problems today commenced back in the 1700s in France during a time called "The Enlightenment," when the Atheist-humanist philosophers missed a major turn in the road of life...and went the humanistic/atheist/material way. Here was the beginning of a great invasion of Christianity...what historians Will and Arial Durant called "The Attack on Christianity," in their AGE OF VOLTAIRE. As they explain the situation, a lot of the problem was because the Church of France and also the Patricians -the upper crust - were so corrupt. The Church had some good features and there was great art, but much was rotten to the core. The Durants said it was a time when people cared more for Madame Pompadore than the Mother Mary!      The Atheist Philosophers or "Philosophes" missed one crucial thing. They saw all the bad and blamed it on Christianity and Church, not exploring things deeper, not exploring the Scriptures - God's Text - deep enough and seeing that wonderful "base" wasn't at fault, but humans and human thinking.  They obviously didn't know enough about the Scriptures; they should have delved into that great old Spiritual wisdom to see how they should have really gone. But humans have this cursed arrogance/ego thing, and want and think they can do it all themselves. They want to look at things, the way they want to....me, me, me, I, I, I (a narcissistic philosophy...a pseudo-religious approach).  The humanist proclaims  "Man is perfectly able to solve his problems himself,"  and, besides, they believe there is no God anyway..."look at all the dumb results...caused by Religion! " Again, ignoring the Scriptures.  Of course, it is the humans who are the problem.  As that wisest of all philosophers Pogo said: "We have met the enemy, and he is us!"        Man today is no smarter than the Pharisees of old...who stood by and witnessed Jesus heal time after time all day and sometimes at night for three years. Here was scientific proof that there was (is) God, because Jesus used God and God methods to heal. He wanted to show everyone that He had this God connection and knew how to call upon God for all kinds of help, and God answered, simple as pie, obvious as the nose on the critics faces. And Jesus told followers to go and do likewise! And millions are being helped right now using these same God methods...and demonstrating scientifically that there is God. He is always there, but has to be reached out to and tapped into. The doubters obviously don't know how.  Some, fortunately, can just give themselves to God and benefit enormously in many ways, but other cannot.            And, of course, our US democracy won't work unless "under God," as the Founders well knew. And Christianity was the religion of the land. Jesus had the "methodology."       Critics also often get off the trail by latching on to human doctrine - wrong interpretations (not proven right scientifically) that has attached itself to the Scriptures. Some of this is very gloomy, which is just the opposite of Loving/God Jesus methodology and being, which is more powerful than the Hydrogen atom.       Critics today have no idea how much Theological and archaeological work has been done the past two-hundred years, especially the past one-hundred years...and going on right now...and throwing great light on the Scriptures! Now, is really the Age of Spiritual Enlightenment.  It is a shame that they have to miss all this good; it is all right there for the taking and use. For a good example... Jesus is helping many connect with the very real "quickening Spirit," as St. Paul termed it and helping them enormously. The humanists don't attend the services (some enormous) or read journals. The Bible scholar, Reverend Henry Haley, who wrote: HALEY'S BIBLE HANDBOOK, called the Bible "The Old Anvil," because it has worn out countless hammers of criticism down through the ages, yet, goes right on helping countless people." Personally, I can think of at least three other things I would rather do than go up against Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and Luke the Physician and all the rest of the inspired characters of the Bible.       The French philosophers really had a massive ego problem. Ah yes, human wisdom "knowledge" is heady stuff (explained in the Garden of Eden episode...and also by wise Solomon - "All is vanity.") So, the philosophers (who are supposed to be wise...duh!) got off on their own highway.  And, guess what? Look around...all the Man stuff - leaving God out - has resulted in what we are experiencing today. It's a philosophical/political/Theological/anthropological/social disaster. The Ten Commandments - the greatest ethical "Sledge-hammer" of all time has been thrown out of courthouses and schools. Our country "Under God" has been thrown out of schools, families and Washington, D.C., trampled on by humanist/material/atheist thought that has seeped in everywhere. This is the story of the Age. Where's the media? The humanist movement had a heyday in the 20th Century.  Academia and Washington, D.C. needed a religion and constructed giant churches dedicated to Darwinism, Marxism/socialism, Pragmatism, Eugenics, Capitalism (as a religion), Political Partyism, Lobbyism and anything material, with countless devotees and priests. Yet, many right now are standing around wondering what has hit them. They have been hit by a material, worldly, humanist semi-truck and have no idea how to heal themselves or their country...or take that giant step of at least looking at the spiritual world...other side of the scientific coin. So, amazingly, American citizens and citizens of Europe and citizens elsewhere have graciously given away the wisdom of the ages, the greatest possesion they ever had, given to them by their forefathers and God...fabulous Spiritual wealth. These ultimate loosers make the Zinjanthropus Race look like a bunch of geniuses.  Again, everyone has to have some kind of religion. Here's hoping people pick the true religion; the false religions are disastrous. Entered: Sept. 29, 2009 - with a few additions Oct. 8th, 2009 - Ron Miller       One of the sharpest things I have ever seen in my excavations of history is the fact that our Founding Fathers knew all about "The Enlightenment," and they didn't go along with all that Atheism.  They were specific that our country would be "Under God."  Jefferson and Franklin and others were actually over there in France as Ambassadors, surrounded by the Patricians and all the opulent materialism. It must have been quite an experience for these down-to-earth highly intelligent (sharp as could be) Americans witnessing French culture and its philosophers.  Again, they didn't go for it. They were specific in the Constitution that our country would not be under (organized) church. They were sick of the church of France.  I have to take off my hat to our Founding Fathers.       But, look what happened to all of Europe.  They fell for it, and to this very day humanism is still lodged in their culture.  Church attendance is way down. I don't believe to this very day they know what has happened to them.  And, sadly, the philosophy did begin to lodge over here in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Americas.  Marxism is a very atheistic, humanistic, pseudo religion that had its roots in the Enlightenment.  Darwinism is also a big pseudo-religion as is science in general for the humanists.  Darwinism as a pseudo-religion had its roots in the Enlightenment also.  There is never any mention of the other, more powerful, Spiritual side of the scientific coin.         I mention all the above because there is a big encroachment of the humanist-atheist movement globally right now as I write. They operate while others sleep.  It is making big headway. It has infected our government, schools and families.  Most people don't have a clue what has happened to them, and the Atheists love it. But just look at the terrible results around us.        Entered: Oct. 19, 2009.  Ron Miller.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9/11 REMEMBERED WITH A LASTING IDEA: A Living Working Museum of Democracy in the Stylized shape of a Peace Pipe, a Calumet, the head piece made of stone, Catlinite, earth red in color with symbolic peace smoke constantly issuing upward to Heaven and The Great Spirit. The living working area of the museum would have an amphitheatre (modelled after the Greek theatre of Epidauros the greatest of the theaters(near the healing center of Asklepios). At the Memorial students and others would conduct debates. In so doing, people worldwide could learn how to conduct intelligent discussion of issues (not shouting matches of bobble heads on TV nor terrorist killing of opponents!). There would be daily debates. There would be displays of the history of worldwide democracy (self rule by citizens). There would be sub- amphitheatres where scholars would lecture on democracy...and thespians would perform plays on freedom. There would be special displays on Law (what Lincoln said "should be the religion of the land." There would also be displays on downfalls of democracy in history and why they fell. This would include the Athenian and Roman Republic downfalls. Also a display on our U.S. form of government (a lobbyocracy) that is now, unfortunately, just a semi- democracy (only a shadow democracy) having succumbed to powerful big business, one of the great tragedies of history. Big business is great, but it must be controlled by ethics and law. There would be a display on importance of having a strong military and defense. Aggressive, grissle-brained tyrants become insanely jealous of democracies, and there are always plenty of them around. There would also be a giant 3-dimensional art exhibit showing the democracy, governmental anatomy of the U.S., England and other democracies including Indian tribes that made up the Iroquois Confederacy one of the most famous democracies and which served in great part as a pattern for the U.S. democracy and federalism (a combination of democracies). Also have an exhibit on the Peace Pipe of American Indians. It was a "white flag" among warring tribes. The smoke going up to Heaven had great meaning. The sole site in Minnesota where the sacred stone Catlinite was mined was a peace area where bows and tomahawks of all were laid down. Many of the tribes were involved in war culture. Have an exhibit on the famed, universal, sign language of the Plains' Indians. This sign language overcame different languages and war cultures and promoted trade and relations. How about a universal "sign language" today...elements all warring cultures could understand? If not a language per se, assemble other understandable elements? There would be an exhibit and also a department on the study of terrorism...and other forms of aggression and pathology of tyrants. There would also be a department on the study of prejudice and cultural relations. In fact, all exhibits would have their own study departments...and individual Curators I should add in this prospectus. Then there would be the overall Dirctor. There would also be a special Docent Center with several types of Docents...Docents connected with the Center and free-lance "civilian" docents...and student docents in training. And as with a University (which in a way this is...The University of Democracy if the title hasn't been used), each department would have its own library, and, then, there would be a big central library. Speaking of the similarity with a university, students could receive degrees and certificates for their study. This Center would bring together the best scholarly minds, historians and ancient historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, Theologians, psychologists, medical, museologists... any study even remotely helpful. We don't want to miss a thing. Your writer has proposed this idea before to the powers that be, but no response. We will keep working on it. All help appreciated. We may have to take the project on ourselves. We are very low budget here, but anything is possible. We would need a Mgr. and other volunteers. We are not even set up for non-profit here at the WAS, so, we would have to start from scratch on this. Anyone interested? In a way, this Department here within our WAS site, is a working, written Museum of Democracy, but there needs to be a living place as described above. Thinking of all those who were lost on 9-11 and also thinking of their families. Sending a lot of Love. Entered 9-11-'09 - Ron Miller, WAS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TSAR MEANS CAESAR IN THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE (found in the book NAPOLEON; A Political Life by Steven Englund). There is much comment in the news now about Tsars in the Obama administration. The word Tsar is really bad usage - especially in a democracy. Something as "Lieutenant" might be better. There has to be delegation, especially in our U.S. massive bureaucracy. As always make sure there are checks and double checks. Ask: is Tsar in the Constitution? I don't believe so! Pare down. The big, hungry dinosaurs above want to run things..."they MUST eat to maintain their weight" as Bass expert the late Robert Page Lincoln said of lunker Bass in his classic book: Black Bass Fishing. A democracy is self-government. Study basic democracy. NOTE: BEFORE COMMENCING OUR SMORGASBORD OF STUDIES ABOUT DEMOCRACY...WE CALL..."DEMOCRACYOLOGY," IT SHOULD BE MENTIONED THAT AMERICANS DO A LOT OF GOVERNMENTAL CRITIZING HERE IN THE U.S., AND OTHERS OF FOREIGN LANDS MIGHT THINK OUR RAMPARTS ARE CRUMBLING AND THE BASTILE IS ABOUT TO BE STORMED (we don't want this, and will have more to say about the ghosts of the philosopers of "The Enlightenment" causing much of out trouble today). BUT THIS ISN'T THE CASE. AND, IF SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD CRITIZE OR MISTAKINGLY THINK IT A WEAKNESS AND TRY AND BASH US, A CURIOUS PHENOMENON KICKS IN. WE IMMEDIATELY DROP OUR POLITICO IN-FIGHTING AND JOIN TOGETHER TO FACE WHATEVER IT IS. AMERICANS GET MISJUDGED ON THIS A LOT. REALLY, POLITICO CRITICISM IS A STRENGTH IN A DEMOCRACY. SO, HERE WE GO WITH POLITICO ANALYSIS, AND, YES, SOME CRITICISM...BUT, HOPEFULLY, SOME CREATIVE SOLUTIONS AS WELL. NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN. THE ANSWER IS REALLY VERY SIMPLE. FIRST, RESTORE DEMOCRACY, AND IN THE PROCESS EACH INDIVIDUAL WILL BE ALL-IMPORTANT AND CARED FOR FIRST CLASS AND BILLIONS$$$ WILL BE SAVED. YES, HORRORS, WE HAVE LOST OUR DEMOCRACY! WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON HERE GRADUALLY IN U.S. FOR A HUNDRED YEARS OR SO IS NOT GOING TO LOOK GOOD IN THE HISTORY BOOKS. ALSO, REMEMBER THAT INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL PEOPLE ARE CITIZENS TOO, AND THEY AND THEIR PRACTICES - SMALL BUSINESSES - MUST BE CARED FOR. IN FACT, FREE UP ALL FREE ENTERPRISE...HOWEVER, BIG BIG BUSINESS NEEDS MUCH ETHICAL CONTROL. THEY ARE TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT AND NEED TO BE HEARD BUT ARE NOT INDEPENDENT CITIZENS. DEMOCRACY IS INDEPENDENT CITIZEN RULE. First, wrest power in Washington away from big money powers - the Lobbyists and any other big powerful thing, any dinosaur squashing life out of the free ctizen who is really the boss...and get rid of any politico power-operator who is in cahoots with any dinosaur. This may make Washington D.C. a ghost town for a while, but it must be done. In the meantime, do as the old Athenians, let citizens draw lots to fill administrative roles. Pick them out of some Wal-Mart. They would be much less contaminated...for a while, then, they would probably get the power bug...maybe the greed bug too, so, keep terms short. In any case, Congress and the Administration must be weaned from their dinosaur money mommas and any other non-democracy belief system. It will be painful for them - children in the crib dependent on Big Momma(s). Can they do it? Can they erase the dollar signs from their pupils? I doubt it. U.S. citizens - ultimate opthalmologists - will have to vote them out. Then, put straight jackets on big money. It must be controlled. Capitalism is a great and helpful money machine, but it has to have sledge-hammer control...ethics (self-control) and Laws (state controlled ethics). Capitalism and all the other isms don't rule the country, the citizen does. Athenian philosophers knew that democracy was great, but it must have discipline such as laws and high personal ethics (see: Edith Hamilton's writings on Athens). The Athenians would be aghast at our rule by giant corporate business. So would people of the Roman Republic (before dictators). Our government was set up as a democracy. Anything big above trying to rule, influence, control the citizen is bad. That isn't democracy. So, drag all big government off of citizens. Again, this is a democracy...not an internal revenueocracy or a lobbyocracy. Instruct Washington on principles of democracy. Have crash classes. Utilize TV and the internet for democracy education....the big historical study of democracy picture and also the study of our special type of U.S. democracy with our Declaration of Independence, Constitution (and Preamble and Bill of Rights). The restoration of democracy will immediately free up vast sums of money that can be used for health, military, fixing infrastructure, etc. Just think, enormous sums can be saved on campaigning, medical ads on TV (now making good citizens sick and brain-washed), high priced drugs, insurance fees, tax paper work, etc., etc. Cut the balogna. Free up the fantastically powerful individual machine that will create all kinds of wealth and will be more healthy in process just being free alone! So, the basic democracy superstructure must first be fixed, "and all things will be added unto us!" The true provider of wealth God must be respected above all else (don't break the First Commandment). Good luck. Entered Aug. 18, '09 - RM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DEMOCRACY LOST. Yes, we have lost our treasured democracy. Washington D.C. has become a strange crazy quilt culture, with pieces glued together, stapled, nailed fragments of odd, political and other strange secular humanist culture..with a few tiny elements of democracy exposed but not many. And wonderful unlimited spiritual things "the wisdom of the ages" swept under the rug of ignorance. This weird transformation has been going on for a long time, actually with roots going back to the age of atheism in France, 1700s. What is really weird is that newly elected persons to Washington D.C. are instantly absorbed into this culture - I'll call it "Oddocracy," so fast that it is shocking. They become scarey android/zombie characters - mesmerized by this culture. People back home want them to do things in down home, practical, logical, Sunday School ways, but these curious android/zombies barely turn their head and just keep on zombieing along...crashing blindly into walls. The two android/zombie armies (political parties) often fight with each other as something out of a gross Halloween movie. It's eerie. The poor American people have got themselves a humongous problem. But it is their own fault for not studying and being on guard agaisnt diabolical pseudo-religions. They will have to dig deeply into this morass of oddocracy. Bring along the hip boots and gas masks. A clue. Sitting in high ivory towers are control rooms with the true masters of these android/zombies. These controllers (Priests of the numerous pseudo-religions) know exactly what they are doing...but it isn't what American citizens really want and need and plead for. These controllers of many different selfish persuasions are operating strange levers and buttons manipulating politicians and others (including the Media) to do their own bidding. The poor citizens become minor players. These priest in the ivory towers know how to control America; they go for the political primordial brain. Good luck freeing the android/zombies from their powerful controllers and thus restoring great old American democracy under God. When lacking of courage, remember..."All things are possible with God." And..."God has not given thee the power of fear...." Entered Aug 27, '09 - RM - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HUMANISM-ATHEISM INFLUENCE IN HEALTH CARE PLAN NOW ON THE TABLE. The humanist/atheist movement has made much headway and infiltrated minds of much of America this last century. This has been disastrous. They are big devotees of any material, non-god, Man, pseudo religion to solve problems with never mention of the Spiritual all powerful Loving God other side of the coin. Look for all this in the present Health Care proposal. I believe you will begin to spot this influence. Clue. Natural Selection within Darwinism (a pseudo-religion) is a deep-rooted belief of many humanist/atheists. So is Eugenics an off-shoot of Evolutionary theory (Eugenics is Man speeding up Natural Selection...the Nazis loved this). Look for influence in population control movement. The Marxists-Leninist-Socialists, by the way, also love Darwinism. What strange "religions." By the way, where is any mention of Bible/Spiritual Healing in the new Plan? This is the greatest healing methodology of all time...both for social problems and medical. Understanding is growing every day (see our Spiritual Healing Research Dept. WAS). Talk about cost-effectiveness. This would save gillions of dollars. Entered Aug. 25, '09 - RM - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ARENA DESENSITIVITY PHENOMENON - ONE OF BIGGEST GLOBAL PROBLEMS. This is something we have been following here at the WAS for a long time...The Arena Desensitivity Phenomenon. This phenomenon goes back to old Roman arenas and no doubt having roots going on back in antiquity. People of Rome got so used to gore that it didn't bother them...in fact it was as a drug every bit as bad as cocaine...and they wanted more! Majno the Harvard Pathologist writing in his Healing Hand (a history of ancient medicine) tells of Roman arena spectators in North Africa, crazed, running out on the arena floor after a gladiator had been killed and eating his spilled organs. They believed this would give them the power of the gladiator. This arena phenomenon builds up with more and more desensitivy until the crowd becomes sub-animal. You can't have a civilization with this stuff going on. A lot of desensitivity is going on globally now, lopping off heads in combat and drug war killings, killings in streets, suicide bombers, plane bombings and other mass killings, torture, family abuse, etc. Stop it cold with major media, standard educational ways. We must look at causes and neutralize arena stuff...in TV games, calm down sports events (Majno cited football with more deaths than many realize...(your writer will add brain injuries also)...with fans becoming more and more desensitized...(and owners also)...TV and movies (they keep getting more gory). Dirty language is becoming more desensitized. High type language expresses high type civilization...really the soul of civilization. Study old language experts such as Max Muller. Kids and others are becoming programed in the wrong direction. Language, the very heart and soul of civilization...corrupted and weakened! Can it be changed for good without a true religion to help the problem is doubtful. So, the weakening and degenerating of culture continues. Robert Louis Stevenson the great writer of Treasure Island and many more classics, said that he had to be creative and change filthy language of the Spanish Main pirates and their sea chants, so that a mother could read the story to a child on her lap. So, one of the problems here is lack of creativity. Demand top creativity. It takes much more work. Don't let the sewer mouths run you. Build up civilization any way possible. Stop the Arena desensitivity phenomenon in its tracks. Don't play the low life's game. Play the high type civilized game...otherwise humanity will keep going down the drain! Media and others must do what they must do now. Be creative. Don't play the gore-monger's game on their battlefield. Fight with TV programs using high type mind methods. Explain what is going on...and that we must go up the civilized ladder...not down. Civilized people will not play the gore game. If necessary they will be strong and hold gore-mongers at arm length...but always thinking "up the civilized ladder." Entered Aug. 22, '09 - RM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BUSINESS CRASH IN ANCIENT ROME. Would you believe that there was a business disaster in ancient Rome very much as the one from which we are suffering right now? See: "The Annals" of Tacitus, Book VI, chaps 16-17. The comparisons are eerie. The Roman business world hit the wall thanks to the usury operators, especially the ones in real estate. Greed running amok got under the fence of old protective laws of the Republic, and the financial dominoes began to fall. There was much widespread loss of money resulting in much misery. This business crisis of Rome occurred in 33 A.D. Interestingly, this was about the time of the Crucifixion! (there is another research project!). The crisis first fell upon the shoulders of the praetor Gracchus. Of course, it was all too big for him - the Empire going down the sewer of Rome - and he had to turn things over to the Senate to solve things. But guess what? Each of the Senators was corrupt! What an amphora full of worms! The old problems of usury and greed were totally out of hand. Real Estate loans with high interest were at the heart of things (again, sound familiar?). Now, the supposed solution fell upon the Emperor, Tiberius, an unsavory character himself. Something had to be done fast, as Romes financial system was coming apart at the seams. Tiberius, who was probably luxuriating at his idyllic villa on the Isle of Capri, Near Naples, proposed a moratorium of a year and a half for everyone to get their acts together under the law. Yes, there were old Roman Laws made back in the tough old days of the Republic (a democracy), but somehow were ignored with the entrance of dictator-emperors upon the scene (does this sound more and more like "de je vous all over again" as Yogi Bera said?) Ye gads, today it looks as if we have ourselves more emperors, and have had a bunch of them for a long time. Just what we need in a democracy - emperors! Solid old ethics of Rome, the laws posted in the Forum, rules of the powerful gods - especially the Lares and Penates who watched over the hearth and homes) had been slowly forgotten. This was one of the most tragic denials of history. Again, does all this sound familiar today..."our country under God" in Washington and schools invalidated...the sledge-hammer ethical controls needed for government, economy and daily life...character development! The moratorium of Tiberius in ancient imperial Rome didn't work. Now, the Emperor was forced to inject mucho dinero into banks...to the tune of 100,000,000 sesterces out of the imperial coffers. This was equivalent to $4,000,000 of our money (reckoned in the early part of our last century - the time when my source was published, READINGS IN ANCIENT HISTORY by Davis). Desperation time! Next, Tiberius tried a plan whereby borrowing could be done without any interest at all (notice - the financial Moguls in Washington have just reduced interest on loans!! Overall, they are keeping interest very low...but all very similar to the catastrophe remedy in ancient Rome). This no interest plan lasted for three years. Apparently, things finally worked out, but exactly how long recovery took I am not sure, but I would guess about four years. A lot of research is needed on this old catastrophe. Much can be learned to help today. It could be that financial cracks were beginning to form right there in the foundation of Rome? Interestingly, I am wondering...have our financial Moguls been reading these old methods? It sure looks like they have! The repair methodology is so similar! It's eerie! If not, these present methods and the old ones of Rome are so similar -common logical remedies "the psychic unity of Man" as anthropologists might say - that it is a case of delayed action "parallel development" another anthropological term. In any case, we need to chuck the imperial dictatorial stuff post haste going on today, and get back to "the Republic" - the free individual governing themselves, with good, proven ethical controls...laws - both governmental, plus character development and spiritual wisdom of the ages. Help the little businessman. Get back to "Our country under God."...not under Imperial God. Re-post The Ten Laws of God...great ethical sledge-hammers....and also post human law, which works if not dodged. Discourage the garbage - Neanderthal non-creativity - in media - sewage - flowing into living rooms. Inject starch in the backbones of newspapers. We need them and other media for a check. Now, they don't want to offend advertisers...in other words they have a don't- rock- the- boat, greed, fear, philosophy...and wonder why they are having problems. If the media goes along with people who are breaking the First Commandment right and left - worshipping other gods, greed, power, politics, etc. what do they expect? Notice again, the Romans did have protective laws right between everyone's eyes, but they were ignored due to everyone being character challenged. Yes, it was a widespread character challenged disease. The cultural infrastructure had been greatly weakened, no doubt because of loss of the strong old Republic. The philosophy became, let big daddy dictator do it. The Romans did make an earlier mistake; they had an old device whereby a dictator could be called in for a while to set things straight, but precedent was set, and the power-operators loved it and decided to stay! And lazy plebes and patricians said, "great, we won't have to do anything, la, la, la, and have a wild ball with usury, and go to the free circuses." Today we must run like heck from anything that is remotely similar to dictatorship - before it begins to catch hold. Unfortunately, it is catching hold right now as we speak right before our very eyes. And how did the Romans appease the masses if they became restless? Give them "bread and circuses." Big Daddy Emperor was the one giving out all kinds of doles (see the next article re. "Stimulus Plans of Rome)." Also some of the very rich put on circuses to gain points with the plebes and these god-men built impressive structures all supposedly to secure eternal glory and again impress the masses. Most of those structures are in ruins today. But, financial matters overall were controlled better in the tough old Republic where Senators had more character and the Tribunes were tough representing the tough plebian citizenry...and all were thinking about their beloved Rome first, it's laws and gods. There were rough spots even then, of course - democracy is never quite perfect, but as Churchill said "better than anything else." There had always been a problem with usury. Citizens must constantly be alert in any kind of democracy. There must be strong ethical sledge-hammers and laws (enforced). Also, again, notice that the action taken in 33 A.D. was by an emperor (king, dictator if you prefer). So, again, I hate to be the one reminding you that today we have the President of the U.S. assuming power of a king/dictator/emperor, which is about as opposite as you can get from democracy, which we are supposed to be. And we can't accept "benevolent dictator" because a dictator is a dictator. The people and laws should be solving the problems. Power should be coming down from people, not going down from dictators or various and sundry varieties of dictatorial clones. Our dictatorial moguls in Washington and of other financial centers around the world, who also hit the wall, should have been studying their history...and especially history of democracy, and Theology. And, better yet, the citizens (the bosses) especially should have been studying their history in the first place and holding official's noses to the grindstone. Well, of course, that couldn't happen in top heavy non- democratic governments, but all could have read history....and studied character. In a democracy you can't really blame the elected officials, for they are merely employees of the citizenry, who are the true bosses. They can't really waste valuable time blaming the character challenged individuals (apparently reflecting their own character challenged personalities), but must set to work immediately patching up their democracy. One problem is that we keep losing so much of it, that it gets harder and harder to restore. Right now, we've just got a semi-democracy...and keep getting more top heavy by the minute. The Roman citizens of their fading Republic became lazy and welcomed the dictators with open arms. It is weird to see this happening all over again...two-thousand years later - masses adulating glorified Caesar! The concept of dictator can be a slow monster trudging along silently, working its way up to present generations and then devouring these poor people who didn't bother to once look behind. They didn't believe in historical rearview mirrors. We have a gigantic democracy problem - even overshadowing the financial problem (just a symptom). Overshadowing the democracy problem is an even bigger "dumbing down" cultural problem. We need crash programs in the study of democracy, history and ancient history as well as ethical character development...and also studies in the arts and sciences...high cultural things. Funds spent on these studies would do more good for our country than anything else the moguls are doing now, although books can be checked out free at the library and purchased for a pittance at used book sales and garage sales. Parents can instruct children - no charge. Entered July 2nd, 2009, and July 4th, '09 RM P.S. Any students out there looking for a college major, here are several of the most important ones for you...history, including ancient history, and study of ethics and political science and any smartening up studies. Please....for all of our sakes!!!!! This could be our last chance; we are losing democracy fast. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - STIMULUS PACKAGES IN ANCIENT ROME. Tiberius, who had to "stimulate" banks of ancient Rome, 33 A.D. with tons of sesterces has already been covered in the previous article. But, before Tiberius there was the emperor Augustus who handed out money along with grain to the grumbling citizenry. He had two ministers, Maecenas and Agrippa who kept their fingers on the pulse of the plebes for him. They reported to Agustus when the citizens needed another infusion. Here in the U.S. the citizens have already had one stimulus check (last Spring) and another one is supposedly scheduled shortly. So, these "checks" were (are) really hush money. Hopefully, they will do a little "stimulating," but the emperors know that it won't do much. Today our President (who has become an Emperor in tradition of old Rome) has his own ministers who advise him when to do another infusion to shut up the masses out there, until something else can be tried. And, of course, our Emperor today has already tried gigantic infusion of banks. Some is being paid back, but trillions of dollars are still owed. And still trillions have been lost down that mysterious black hole of oblivian! What the Emperor needs to do is restore democracy. Get business machines working full steam by simply getting the behemouth of government off their backs. Get the behemouth off backs of all citizens. Restore excitement and competiveness. Study the basic workings of democracy and people. We could have untold wealth. Utilize the individual, (this is free!!!!) atomic powerful citizens of a democracy. Of course, promote good ethics. Before restoring democracy, be sure and let the people know how much work will fall in their lap. They must attend town hall meetings rain or shine, vote, study issues, smarten up. My source re. handouts of Agustus is Famous Men of Rome by John H. Haaren, LL.D. and A.B Poland, Ph.D., Am. Book Co. 1904. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TECHNO-DULLED, A CONCEPT. Here is a term I created in a collection of articles on the first Iraqi War...Desert Shield/Desert Storm..."The Iraqi War Series." This was published right at the beginning of "Desert Storm." This term might be useful for you. I keep tinkering with it. A synonym would be Technology Overconfidence. This technology overconfidence can lead to disasters. Technology is good, of course, but it can be as much of a problem as it does good...maybe even more of a problem. Of course, any culture, especially in war and business, wants to be ahead of the cutting edge. But you have to watch it carefully or you can get complacent and put too much stock in it and run into a myriad of problems that engulf you. Some battlefield weapons, if too complicated, might require you having to send to M.I.T. or Japan to get them fixed! Then, there is a money problem. The more complicated the more repair or replacement expense. A college is eager to build a fancy new structure on campus. Along comes a good contributor with funds...but everyone forgets one important detail. The benefactor doesn't provide a substantial endowment to take care of overhead, repair, etc. far into the future. The Roman Army was very high tech with fancy field machines. The Legionaires were highly trained in field maneuvers. But then the rough Germans lured two crack Legions into the rough and rocky Teutonberg Forest just north of the Rhine River. The Romans and their leader Varus were totally annihilated. It was a disaster for Rome; it just couldn't have happened! Nobody could beat a Roman Legion! The Romans were techno-dulled. The Americans in Viet Nam had highly technical weapons such as helicopters and jets but were beaten by North Vietnamese with less technology. We couldn't adjust or come up with an answer. We were techno-dulled. And it seems that techno-dulling has magnified. Technology looks sooo good. Business schools love technology. Theoretically, there can be fewer employees. Of course, what happenes due to techno-dulling that didn't work, the fewer employees ended up doing more work. The business school technocrats said, that's o.k., when those fewer employees wear out, there are plenty more in line. Our techno-theories can't be wrong. Then, more money has to be squeezed up to the top by-passing middle class. This techno-dulling had to have contributed to the present mess. Then, in Iraq, the gurus in Washington said we can do o.k. with fewer troops. We have an abundance of technology. But the business school overconfidence in technology wasn't working. Finally, more troops were brought in...but is all still a massive problem due to techno-dulling. Some things learned. No matter how much tecnology, don't forget people. Don't forget money to pay for all the fancy technology and far into the future too. Technology is great if you don't get techno-dulled. One answer is to get technology that is as simple as possible. The transister is one example. Ron Miller, July 21, 2009 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - POLITICAL GRIDLOCK...OR ANY KIND OF GRIDLOCK...AN ANSWER FROM THE REPUBLIC OF ROME. Have a gridlock problem? Republicans vs Democrats in Congress can't get together? Demonstrators in streets of Iran want more rights, but government is intransient? Gridlock! People of China are in gridlock with Government. Global Warmers vs non-global warmers. It's all gridlock and looks impossible to figure it out. But, gridlocks can be resolved...have actually been done...in the early days of the old Roman Republic (before the dictators and emperors took over). HOW THE PEOPLE OF THE OLD ROMAN REPUBLIC OBTAINED POWER IN GOVERNMENT. This is a great story, one of the greatest of all political or any stories. It is about how the Plebes (the citizens) gained power of their own within the Senate (Patricians) system. The people were suffering all kinds of injustices and the Senate simply wasn't paying any attention to them. It was political gridlock. The people had no power at all. So, they demonstrated - peacefully - better termed a strike. The Senate became worried, but weren't about to give up any of their long held power. No sir. Heals were dug in all around. But the Plebes kept up their discontent. It took quite a while. But it was a major problem for Senate, mainly because now they couldn't go to war and defend themselves because of the gridlock. To make a long story short there was an outstanding man named Menenius Agrippa, whose name now should be posted on a sign in halls of Congress and government offices around the world. He was sent by Senate to the camp of the Plebians. He then told them a story which I will relate now thanks to Livy the historian: "Once upon a time the parts of the human body did not agree together, but the various members had each their own policy; and it befell that the other parts were indignant that everything was procured for the belly by their care, while the belly did nothing but enjoy the pleasures they afforded it. So they conspired: - the hands should no more carry food to the mouth, the mouth would not receive it, nor the teeth chew it. But while they wished to subdue the belly by famine, these parts themselves, and the whole body, were reduced to the last degree of emaciation. Thus it became evident that the services of the belly was by no means a slothful one (but that it had a most important purpose). This caring type man sent from Senate signalled that the Senate was beginning to bend. This loosened the rusted nut so to speak and a reconciliation was thus put in order. Note: both sides dearly loved Rome; this was the key. They loved Rome more than themselves. The Plebes didn't take up arms; the Patricians didn't send guards. The Senate conceeded some points and even went further. The Plebes could have two elected Tribunes to represent them Licinius and Lucius Albinus. Here was the beginning of "The House of Commons" and our U.S. "House of Representatives." It was momentous in history. The "common people" just can't be denied. It may take time to loosen mental "nuts" "tradition dies hard" as the sociologists say, but the oppressed must keep at it. And, of course, top heavy governments who have intransient pseudo-religions such as Marxism/Leninism are harder "nuts" to loosen. However, "the writing is on the wall" as Nebuchanezzer's son saw in ancient Babylon. The Plebes had one other hurdle and that was getting one of their own to be a Consul (Roman gov't had two Consuls). This finally did happen not too long after. And I should mention that the Tribunes (a few more were later added to represent the people) were a vigorous bunch and had the powerful "Veto" coming from the people - for any laws passed by the Senate. Today our President has this power, and various branches can check "veto" each other, but you can see where our Founders got the idea. Our Founders as you can see were very well read on Roman history. They obviously studied Livy. So, any gridlock can be broken. "The parts of the body just won't ever feed the stomach if separate from each other." Thanks to Livy's "History", book II, chaps. 23-24 and 32-33. My secondary source is READINGS IN ANCIENT HISTORY, II. Rome and the West. by William Stearns Davis, Allyn and Bacon, 1913. Entered July 5th, 2009, RM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IRAN AND DEMOCRACY. PRESIDENT OBAMA'S, POLITICAL, GOSSAMER CLOTH COVERS STATUE OF LIBERTY. A quick note for the courageous Iranian people. We salute the freedom-demonstrators in the streets this very moment, standing up to oppressive dictatorship (and there are many others around the world also out in the streets). The freedom demonstrators definitely have right on their side. It's unfortunate that tyrants/dictators/super-controllers/slave-masters of all shapes and sizes - as now running Iran (and also in China and Burma as we speak) - have to be dragged kicking and screaming from their power thrones. The people have to be counted. They must have rightful power. God created individuals first not governments...or lobbies. The Iranians aren't the only country seeking freedom. There are millions of slaves in China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Burma and elsewhere that can't stand the oppressive, controlling dictators in power and long for freedom and self-government too. Who wants to be a slave? Who wants a slave-master? Slavery has been tried countless times down through history and failed miserably. Freedom and self-government is the answer. However, it is very difficult to get out from under slavery once the slave-masters have taken over. Dictators will stop at nothing to keep power...and they control the military! At the moment, our own government - home of the Statue of Liberty no less - is being very meek in standing up to this oppression in Iran...and also being nicey nicey to dictatorial Cuba...and where is the vociferous opposition to Burma..and the tyrants there holding freedom lover Ang San Su Chi prisoner? The free world needs to be battling this every day. President Obama is a mush type politician... a classic halfway -don't- rock- the- boat operator. Washington is full and running over with these dime a dozen politicos. Strangely, when the pre-politicos get power, they start playing the halfway politico game instead of the 100% democracy game. And the democracy game is really much easier, more effective and logical ("logic" the great ingredient needed in a democracy as reminded of by the classicist Edith Hamilton). All the elected officials have to do is steer the democracy rudder..whatever form of democracy they have. "They" the massive egos, believe "they" must do everything. I actually was pulling for the new administration to do something as something needed doing, but after being deeply involved in democracy here lately...I look up and go into shock stareing squarely at dictatorship and emperorism. I have to call it as I see it. And just look what has happened. He, Pres. Obama, with all of his brilliance, has been outfoxed by the Iranian leadership that has him buffaloed. Obama's fear and politico methodology can be smelled easily thousands of miles away by hostile aggressives...and by strong freedom fighters too. Obama doesn't realize it, but he is in a real war. The enemy is throwing word bullets (psychological warfare) at him (and also supplying real bullets to others to fight and kill us and friends). They have Obama checked on the chess board...simply because he is playing on their board, with their pieces and by their rules. Talking and meetings are great, but impossible with charging tigers. In the cold war, Pope John Paul II and President Reagan had much strength behind them...Scriptural right, many people, economic power, powerful military. As we speak, Sec'y of State Clinton is in the Middle East demanding the Iranians get with it now and come to the table or else there will be sanctions. They will come to the table if they can play their game. She does have them in a way - for they are embroiled in internal gridlock. Now is the time for Statue of Liberty talk. Obama could easily battle back in other ways. One example... Re. the Iranian leadership's denial of the Holocaust. Tell them and world the Iranian leadership has been reading Adolf Hitler who came up with the Big Lie technique. Tell a big enough whopper and some will believe. The world has had enough of Hitler types. By the way, this Hitler type lie definitely shows their true motive toward Israel as they have obviously been carefully studying the dictators's methodology. Another one of Iran's Big Lies is that the U.S. was running all the freedom seekers in the streets of Iran. Again, this is right out of Hitler's and Goebbels' text book. Goebbels was Hitler's Propaganda Minister. This sick duo was slinging such balogna leading up to and including WWII. Churchill fortunately was one of few who caught on early. Neville Chamberlin, the infamous appeaser didn't. I will say this, western culture, especially with freedom for women has no doubt influenced street demonstrators, but I don't believe there has been any focused conscious attack of any kind. Iran's leadership is also using the nefarious device of the scapegoat phenomenon so prevailent in prejudice and a device used by Hitler. Social psychologists study this in detail. (see: our section on this site: Race & Cultural Relations, WAS). People have to have a scapegoat for their own pitiful shortcomings when times are hard. The horrible classic example was the Nazis making the Jews scapegoats. And, with Iran reading Hitler...look out! In this case, today, the Jews, U.S. and Brittain are the "scapegoats." The aggressors use the device for their own aggrandisement and domination. Hitler was an expert at it. Iran is using the scapegoat device to the hilt, so are other terrorists. Incidentally, on the subject of propaganda and psychological war, the Russians contributed some nefarious methods to this pot of sewage based on Dr. Pavlov's studies using his famous dog (Pavlov could control dog's drooling with a piece of meat...then, this is transferred over into human drooling). Combine Pavlov methodology with the Hitler/Goebells'stuff and you have some deadly mind warfare. Many other Marxists/Leninists picked up on it (moreover, they have conflict built into their ideology, a really sick combination, i.e. Hegel's (teacher of Karl Marx) theorum: Thesis/antithisis/synthesis)...especially the North Koreans who refined this psychological stuff greatly and are utilizing it right now, saber-rattling, etc. Ask any Korean War vet. The Marxists poured it on during the Cold War. Obama needs to expose all this balogna, brain-washing, mind-weapon stuff. Zap them back. Obama must be very careful that he himself isn't affected by such brain saber-rattling...and doesn't start drooling. I notice that the terrorists in Afghanistan are also using advanced psychological warfare. The weapons of psychological warfare in Middle and Near East look to be as powerful as atomic bombs. They are consistently setting them off. What Obama is doing as we speak is covering The Statue of Liberty with a political gossamer cloth. You can partially see the inspiring sculpture....but not quite. How weak and confusing. Obama needs to take the cloth off the Statue of Liberty and let it proudly shine. Put a big map of the world at the base of the statue and put Xs on the countries that don't have freedom. Invite aggressors to meet right there at the foot of the statue. And the whole country pray for these countries of slavery. Don't be afraid of bad. "Don't hide one's light under a bushel." The Statue of Liberty isn't in some sculptor's studio in a corner, a halfway work in progress, covered up much with wet cloths to keep the clay wet. It is complete and great! I will say this in defense of Obama. A later news report said that he was misinformed by the CIA re Iranian voting outcome. Still, he should have known enough basic philosophy and history of democracy to know "Freedom isn't free," and one really has to be tough defending it. Ask any vet. And recently in Africa, in Pres. Obama's defense he spoke strongly of democracy. Great. Keep on keeping on. Many people had complained of his soft approach on Iran. There were many towns in the way of tyrant aggressor Ghenghis Khan who was sweeping across the Steppes with his horde. The town officials came out meekly to appease him, and would bow down. They wanted to be nice and talk things over. The Khan would just lop their heads off. Talk is great if both sides have some kind of similarity as in old Republic Rome where the Plebes and Patricians dearly loved their common Republic and Rome. (see above article). The Plebes had peaceful strikes asking for representation, and the Patricians didn't call out the guard. And even earlier, Daniel was able to survive unscathed in the Lion's Den, but are you (we) this advanced spiritually? True, Theology/Spirituality is incredibly powerful but must be studied and applied. The old African saying: "walk softly but carry a big stick" (borrrowed by Teddy Roosevelt) is not bad at all. How do we get Washington toughened up? Pres. Obama has a Marine advisor, a general, in the White House, which gives me some hope. But Obama's religion is politico (again, a half-way approach), so, the Marine has himself a job. General Pershing said: "No halfway measures are going to solve this problem," when first entering WW I with the First Division. Obama needs to study Lt. Steven Decater who fought the Barbary Pirates. Decater said: "Our country, right or wrong!" By the way, Decater's boss was President Thomas Jefferson. Those men knew a thing or two about our country. Pres. Obama does try mightily in many ways, works hard and does some good things, and is very talented. He's probably the greatest orator since Demosthenes and Cicero. He is a good person, and many around the world want this goodnes and like him very much. All that is a great asset and needed, but, aggressors don't understand good...only divisions and money, and Obama is short of both. Unfortunately, he and his advisors are creating havoc in our system. His dictatorial approach is horrible for a democracy. He needs to let business fly (FREE it up); get government totally off its back (and off the backs of individuals too; they form businesses}). True, there have been bad eggs -character challenged individuals, but let our great law deal with them. Also, promote character development, patriotism, democracy in the home and at school. This is the real problem. But what do you expect with the takeover of schools and Washington and Wall St. by the Humanist/atheist movement the past century? Tap the atomic free spirit and true biblical spirit of individuals! We would have untold wealth. Creativity would be released...and fear squashed...creating wealth. Free people could breath again and do better than ever. If we are going to spend any money, spend it on Character Development Programs. Of course, one can buy a used bible at a garage sale for .50 cents. Same for books on American history. Re. Obama being a dictator. He is doing exactly what Napoleon did when he took the crown in his own hands and placed it ceremoniously on his own head (he couldn't find anyone else with enough authority other than himself!!). So, Obama has become Emperor I of the U.S. and over many others around globe who are mesmerized by his rhetoric. I have explained many times that the Romans goofed when they provided a red carpet for a dictator to come in, quickly fix something, then, supposedly, get out. Guess what? Caesar just decided to stay! This was the beginning of the end. The Roman Senate (representing the Patrician Class) and the Tribunes (representing the Plebes), had become so weak, they just let all this happen...as we are today! As mentioned above, once the tyrants get a foothold even it is extremely difficult to get them out. And couple this phenomenon with our star struck citizens...and look out. Obama needs to just relax, take the crown off, and let our democracy work. He's scareing this student of democracy. It's actually simple and cheap. Where did the politicos get it in their heads that they have to revise our great democracy? Reverting to democracy would be the most radical thing of all. It would save trillions of $$$; in fact, make trillions. We need to mobilize; have a crash project to restore democracy throughout the system; it would immediately save gillions of $$$ and be a great example for others. The real dictator now that has taken over our country is Corporate America. It is a powerful machine and needed, but the supposed handlers in Washington let it get out of control...and they got swallowed up in it. The exact same thing happened in Rome with the dictator Caesar. Did you notice that Congress passed a bill to supposedly control credit card banks. But these banks immediately figured out ways to re-zap the citizenry...and Congress did nothing about it? Look for more re-zapping if Congress passes a new medical bill. Washington is totally ruled by this dictator...and it is like a baby dinosaur - young and still growing...and becoming more powerful by the minute. But, there is a catch with the freedom for business approach, which I must include here. We have to counter the Karl Marx phenomenon and not play into his hands. Marx predicted that money rises up to the top and stays there. For many years his prediction was controlled. The middle class got some and so did the poor. I believe it ($) then began drifting up more toward the top...via bad loans, other incredible money grabbing, etc. And, again, lack of controlling character and ignoring of laws was missing. To develop character one has to have the ethical sledge-hammers of fear of God, and study of history with good examples, good laws (enforced) and good examples in the family and society. What a strange experience for your writer, an archaeologist/anthropologist...writing and researching a pet subject democracyology (a term your writer came up with) and having to witness dictator/emperors in the USA! I can hardly believe it. It's surrealistic (and surrealism was one of the cracks in the Roman Empire!). But it really is happening. Our Founders up on clouds are jumping up and down and pulling their wigs off! Cicero of old Rome, who battled the dictators is also jumping up and down. "You've let the power operators in the door!" Cicero won against the Cataline Conspiracy, but lost to Caesar and Mark Antony (one of those who took over after Caesar). The grand old Republic of Rome (a democracy) was over! It can happen here right now (is happening!). Re. Dictatorial corporate America. What about elected representatives to control busines, say, business tribunes? They do have needs and are important. And there has never been anything like it...anything this giant. The election should be by the people to exert control. Individuals who work in business are free individual citizens, but not the business mass. The President can do a lot, of course, with help from Congress. Restore power to the people. Many other countries are suffering the same affliction. The Executive/Legislative/Judicial needs to get together and quickly restore democracy. By the way, just a thought...in the case of Iran, Obama's wishy-washy, halfway politics could be a kind of "projection" of his very own fear...fear of "tea party" movements in the streets here at home? But, back to the Iranians. Remember, Athens went down the tube in a relatively short time, and I believe that one reason (other than fighting grissle brained Spartans, over-extending their empire, jealousy of philosophers by big shots, plague, etc.) ... was that half the population - women - were short changed! The men wanted to control everything. So, even though Athens had a great thing "democracy" they had a man-contol thing - a patriarchy - patriarchial system. So, President Obama needs to direct all his energy into restoring democracy and seeing to it that there are sledge-hammer ethical controls. One big control is character development. Another is law. Another control is Sunday School things. Good things that everyone wants will fall into place. It's really very easy and not expensive at all! Ron Miller, June 20th, 2009 (and some added June 23, '09..and June 25, '09..and July 5, 2009...also July 17, '09). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CIVILIZATION PROMOTION CAMPAIGN. Here's an idea that developed from our studies of democracyology/archaeology/anthropology/art history...and some other studies. We need to promote CIVILIZATION. There are many people and cultures around the globe who can be considered civilized (there are many degrees of civilization)...but many are not. Some haven't even made it to the bottom rung and are wildly killing their poor neighbors and even their own brethren. They are the problem and not the solution. Civilization is the solution. Everything boils down to the fact: Are we civilized or not? Are we climbing up the rungs of the civilized ladder...or going down? So, let's do everything we can to promote climbing UP the civilized ladder. Here are some qualifications...the bare minimum - basic elements - just jotted down by your writer (if readers can think of any more, let us know). 1) NON-SELF. Think of neighbors and others. What are people and their cultures doing to think of and help others? Of course, "charity begins at home," but what's the non-self quotient? This one is rough on the "Me" generation, but it requires much maturity to think of others. A little baby is thinking Me, Me, Me...gimme the bottle." Society has a tremendous challenge getting this little me character out of the baby mode. Sometimes it never happens! This selfish little baby can't be considered civilized. If someone is thinking of harming their neighbor, including invalidating (mental hurting) their neighbor or aggressing across any border, they FLUNK. Very often a person or culture's problem is not thinking of others. Ask - what can I do to help others...provide some good service for others? Prejudice is not thinking of others. What is one's prejudice quotient would be one thinking of others test. Definitely, ladder rungs are given for supplying food, medicine, shelter, helpful uplifting thoughts (include prayers). Do citizens give little gifts and do good thing for friends and neighbors? Or, are they lost in themselves? Of course, don't forget: "charity begins at home." Note: Unfortunately, but true, many weak, hostile aggressives will misjudge and look at caring people as weak. Thinking of others is really strength and maturity. So, sometimes you have to think of others and at the same time fend off negative forces. Be strong. "No good deed goes unpunished." The Evil One doesn't like good. So, examine if the society has caring people. Lot involved here. 2) HAVING A TRUE RELIGION...AN ULTIMATE ETHICS. Related to above. Does the society have a LOVING philosophy/religion? There are a lot of philosophies out there, but most can be classified as pseudo-religions. 3) CREATIVITY QUOTIENT. Is the society creative? And does the culture promote creativity? If a person and their culture are creative, great! They are constantly restoring and building up themselves, others and their culture. They aren't standing still immobilized on some rung...there is some movement...some new action...and working upward. They can creatively get themselves out of fixes. Many politicians and execs are brilliant, but not creative, and beyond that, even if there is creativity, many don't have the courage to follow through on any creativity. And, there may be a creative person nearby, but such person often gets steamrolled due to jealousy or dullness of the exec. or politician. The creativity rung is made of hard hickory...strong and flexible, but very hard to attain. Look for new inventions...creative ideas in Congress. Check for non-creative stagnation. 4) ART QUOTIENT. Arts. Connected with the above is the Arts. The arts must be right up there on the top few rungs - one of the great prizes of civilization and necessary ...a tremendous civilizing thing. Yet, the arts is ignored by many..and barely on the bottom rung, if at all! Unbelievable! The U.S. doesn't even have a Chair or Presidential Cabinet position for the Arts! Arts is being cut back in schools! Hard to believe in the 21st Century. This knocks us down many rungs on the civilized ladder. The Athenians knew that the arts were crucial...drama, painting, ceramics, sculpture, architecture, dance, music, etc. When they knew this they had a Golden Age. So, what is the Arts/Creative quotient of a culture? Do governments, (city, county, state and national) as old governments of Paris, think art and promote? Maybe contests, symphonies, shows and statues in the park, etc? If financially broke, at least pats on the back? Governments doing so would be thinking art. This takes high type cultural thinking. Look at all the strip malls of the U.S. How dull! They all look the same. Many a creative architect (including landscape architects, of course) is chomping at the bit to do some great creative art to be appreciated for centuries. Why not turn them loose? Get out of the dull- architecture- on- the- back- of- an- envelope, copy cat, mentality, which is many rungs down the ladder. Look at the beautiful cave paintings of Altamira and Lascau 25,000 years old. Those artist/cultures "Cro-Magnon" are far ahead of today's, dull, Strip Mall Culture. Art lasts. "Life is short, but art is long." (old Roman saying). Art/Creativity will actually save the culture; without it the culture is very feeble and can't last long. 5) FREEDOM QUOTIENT. Citizens should be free...not slaves (There are many ways to be slaves...at work, in the home (sometimes a dungeon!!!)(not just women, but men and kids can be slaves also)...mental ideological slavery at schools and colleges and in government). Of course, "freedom really isn't free" as the saying goes. It is a hard battle. Soldiers of a democracy well know this. There must be discipline...control, defense, otherwise, there would be chaos. As I speak, there is a move in Washington DC that is definitely dictatorial. See, in a democracy you can't go to sleep a second! The controllers love to start doing stuff...stuff the free citizen and representatives should be doing. Ancient Rome went to sleep and the dictators took over. They had a clause for a dictator to come in for a short time, get things straightened out and then get out...but it set a disastrous "precendent" as the lawyers say. Then, here came the arrogant dictators full force. They believe with their "superior intelligence" they know exactly how to solve the problem(s). If you don't believe it, just ask them! The powerful energy of the individual is immediately snuffed out. (the powerful energy of the individual should actually be encouraged). Here we have arrogant termites working away on the wooden ladder of civilization. By the way, the ladder should be stainless steel. Actually, come to think about it, our ladder is stainless steel...the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. We've covered it up with some kind of gook! Anyway, serious stuff going on as we speak...and not healthy for a democracy. We are carefully noting as we analyze civilizations. Another Note: re. freedom in old Athens. Half the population - women - weren't free and couldn't participate in government! This had to have contributed much to the demise of this famous old city state. They didn't last long, just a few hundred years...a short time really in all of history and prehistory. So, this brings up another qualifying factor: 6) LAW. This is a kind of higher ruling or philosopy as mentioned above, but deserves closer examination. Law is the great foundation of democracy. Abraham Lincoln said: "Let Law be the religion of the land." Our Constitution is our main law and supposedly guarded by the Supreme Court (hopefully...but easy for egocentrisim and ethnocentrism to seep in!). Democracies have the basic legal document of a Constitution...and in our U.S. case, add The Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence...very unique documents. And to judge if the laws are good, are they fair laws? Some dictatorships have constitutions, but, of course, are unfair. They favor the tyrants and government above the citizen who must be free as our U.S. Founders well knew...in fact, God Ordained free individuals...as mentioned in our Declaration of Independence. And do citizens know the law? The ancient Romans posted the basic 12 laws in the Forum for all to see. Easy to follow. Everyone knew. So, what is the citizen's law quotient? Our laws are becoming too complicated. Medical Drs are burdened with complicated law. Have a medical committee of three Drs and three non pro citizens study liability cases. Want to save money in medicine? AN IDEA. The Athenians drafted "ordinary" citizens to participate in government. How about some community experimenting with this today? Today women would be involved; things would be twice as good! 7) GOOD MANNERS. Are men women and kids acting as ladies and gentlemen? Add manners. The old knightly code of chivalry had some good points. Open doors for the other person. If such cultural codes are present, proceed up several rungs on the ladder. Again, this is thinking of others but should be stressed. The British I believe are leaders in this area, maybe going back to old chivalry? But there are other well mannered countries also. Kids must learn manners instead of growing up to be ill-mannered klinkers and abusing others, themselves and society. 8) WORK. Do people have good work to do? Work is very important in many ways. If out of work, look around the place. Plenty to do if one self starts. George Washington Carver said: "start with what you have, make the most of it, and don't stop." And what is the craftsmanship quota of a culture? Are products of quality? Carpenters in old novice class in Europe had to first make their own tools of beautiful rose wood. Many of these great craftsmen came to America. Solid stuff. Have we lost it? It would seem so, but hope I am wrong. Check museums for these inspirational tool gems. Can jewelers still make their own brooch and cameo settings? Or their own cameos? Work solves many problems. Is it a busy bee society? Promote small business. Get the oppressive dead dinosaur of government off their backs totally and let them breath. Let work/production/creativity/non-fear/incentive/craftsmanship soar! These products are valuable. Get ready for untold wealth! So, what is the present work quotient? Stiffled? Languishing? Non-existent? Fearful of being crushed by the dinosaur? 9) EDUCATION. Is education available...and how many are getting this education? How many are leaving in the middle of high school? Education is very important in a democracy. Individual citizens are running themselves, so, they have to be up on many things. Citizens must be educated or they are doomed to have a stupidocracy...and the culture plummets down the civilized ladder. Thank Heavens for libraries. Help them! Put track shoes on and head for the library. Our motto here at the WAS Info. Ctr. comes from Poor Richard: "Put a patch on your coat and buy a book." Thank heavens for teachers. So, how are schools and teachers doing? Does the society have libraries, and does the society help libraries? How are colleges and universities doing? Is knowledge soaring over the ivy walls to help society? Or stuck, hidden in the enclave gathering dust? Learning is exciting. Young George Washington Carver loved to learn...and found plenty of interesting things around him. Start looking. 10) IS THERE PLENTY OF FOOD & WATER? The Osage hunt chiefs made sure that if some hunter out on the group hunt didn't get any game, that he was given some to take home. It was a kindly gesture. There was no humiliation. Some hunter who might be unlucky, would be lucky the next hunt. It's not communism, it's care. Take care of the land and water. Small landowners and farmers will do this best; they care about handing things down to descendents in good shape. Unfortunately, big farm operations are taking over (the same thing happened in Rome!!). Study soils science. Rich soil with organic material is granular soil, and granular soil holds water (thanks to old Soils I prof., Dr. William Albrecht of Missou; he helped discover Aureomycin..the "golden mould"). Vegetation holds moisture; blacktop doesn't. Terraces holds water and soil. Albrecht said that catfish in rich Mississipppi Delta are good natured, whereas sharks living off sandy (low nutrition) beaches are mean. 11) MEDICAL QUOTIENT? Can everyone get medical help? If it costs too much they can't get it. Is it high quality? Even in "primitive" societies, everyone has access to the Shaman. They pay what they can.  Is medical research progressing? Are big pharmaceuticals and insurance companies running individuals or vice versa? Again, there must be tempering with a high philosophy. Shamans have to work hard, say, digging up snake root to help anesthesize their throats for their arrow-swallowing routine. But not all patients can pay. It may be a bad year for pelts. There needs to be a special fund for medical researchers; most citizens just can't handle the added expense (high drugs, super equipment, etc.). Don't forget the mental quotient in healing. Good mind things are very healing and save tons of money. Spiritual healing needs to be developed. Very cost effective. 12) DEBT QUOTIENT. Watch the debt (a form of slavery mentioned above) thermometer. Also this item is related to the financial quotient section. This and several other sections might be combined at a future time. In early Athens, many citizens were in debt to "big lenders." They couldn't pay, so, had to become slaves to the big lenders. The genius Solon (democracy founder) was called in. He absolved all debt! Very simple, and in a democracy it is the citizen (really the big guy) who was helped. He was thinking in terms of democracy re. the problem. Today, our leaders are totally reversed from Solon's approach! What's going on now in much of world is a total ignorance of fundamentals of Democracy. It worked o.k. for Athens (for a while) for they went on to their Golden Age (but later went down the tube). 13) HISTORY/PREHISTORY QUOTIENT. Preservation of History and Prehistory (written by archaeologists and various historians) and studied. Societies must care about their past...the heirlooms of society...the written records - history...the big, data, memory bank. It would be horrible for a culture to have to suddenly start "from scratch," with no knowledge how to do things learned from those who went before. This knowledge is priceless. It is the knowledge bank, every bit as important as a financial bank. The ancient Greeks believed that if a culture had museums and could look at their culture, it was a great civilized accomplishment (Pausanius). This means funding for maintenance of structures "restoration" and research. Descendents of ours, hundreds, even thousands of years from now, will greatly appreciate all we can do to save it. They will naturally want to know all about their ancestors. If we loose it, destroy it, cover it up with concrete and asphalt, we will be villified forever. Descendents will learn from us and hopefully it will help them from going down the tube. Cicero, the great Lawyer, Philospher, Orator, Writer of ancient Rome said that the past, present and future are all related and important. Knowledge of the past just may very well not only save us but save people and cultures of the future...with a treasure chest of ideas...and also seeing what didn't work. A 4-8 wheeler "The Disaster Special" is thundering down the track..if we don't learn from history and save it. So, check the history appreciation quotient, which will also be a check on how close that train is coming down the track. Hint. You can hear the steam whistle right now! Tough laws will probably be needed. Remember, democracy requires much discipline. Edith Hamilton pointed this out with studies on Athens. 14) WRITING QUOTIENT. Related to the above and several other areas is Writing. Basic tool of humanity and civilization! Needed for history, records, stories. What is being done to encourage? Among other things, study literature. What is the publishing situation? Books, Newspapers, Magazines? Much is going digital, but that is o.k....quite a jump from old papyrus and parchment! Can it be saved as well as paper? Preserve the records? 15) PHYS ED. Physical exercise and phys Ed. The Athenians believed - sound body = sound mind. Strangely, phys ed. has been cut back first in schools! It doesn't take a lot of equipment. The person leading class doesn't even have to be a great athletic type. So, rate exercise and phys ed on the civilized rung. It is very important for a healthy, moving upward civilization. Simply, is society in shape? 17) ADVANCED CUSTOMS. The Arunta of Australia have a very complex cross-cousin marriage system. A diagram on the blackboard looks like one in a nuclear chemistry lab. The Arunta of Australia have a much more advanced marriage system than our simple/primitive living together culture. Thus, the Arunta are higher up the civilized ladder! 18) HAPPINESS QUOTIENT. A good indicator of other elements in society. If there are a lot of bread lines there can't be happiness. 19) STEWARDSHIP OF LAND AND ENVIRONMENT QUOTIENT. (Related to Food & Water above). God created everything and it was good, and humans are in charge of taking care of it. Today, even though big powers as U.S. and China have many good things they are destroying the environment of the earth and thus have dropped many rungs down the ladder. "You don't get something for nothing!"). This gets back to the very first rule - thinking of others...and having a true religion. Sad to say that the big powers and many others have flunked. There may have been a few pitiful attempts...but "Mushocracy - fearful politics" rules. There will have to be a reckoning. This leads to.... 20) DENIAL QUOTIENT. Related to facing reality quotient and a number of other "quotients" listed here. Politics is saturated with denial. Politics can't come to grips with major problems. Politics might do a halfway "solution" but seldom seems to do a complete job. There are always countless strings still dangling that cause much confusion and strife down the line. Denial is not solid logic. Fear is involved. The word "pragmatic" is used a lot today. Logic is great, but here's a catch. Pragmatism is a full fledged philosophy - a man/material philosophy. The humanist/atheist movement loves it. The education guru Dewey loved Pragmatism. He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto - and right in the middle of education and worshipped by many educators (one big reason God invalidation easily slipped into schools and Washington). So, logic is great, but simply don't make it a Man religion. Check reality...but also check Real Reality. 21) ADMIT WHEN WRONG AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT...THE FLEXIBILITY QUOTIENT. How fast can society turn on the proverbial dime (without a dictator)? Don't hold your breath. It will probably take years of slow learning. The Roman Army was great out in the open field with all of its maneuvers and ability to haul in heavy seige equipment, etc....but couldn't change suddenly to the rough Teutonberg Forest of Germany and rough Germanic fighters. I call this being techno-dulled (WAS Iraqi War Series - Desert Shield/Desert Storm). As a result, the Germans lured them in and annihilated two crack Legions along with their general Varus. The impossible had happened. Agustus back in Rome is said by Senaca to have banged his head against the wall ...saying "Varus, where are my legions!" I believe we have some leaders in Washington right now banging their heads against the wall. (they did this in Viet Nam war also). They are going the business school "MBA Model" of downsizing military (as a department store)with high tech supposedly filling in the gap...and in a department store fewer employees do more work for the higher up theorists! Strange. But we can't quite win wars, and we have depressions, and no one can figure out why. Meanwhile, the enemies constantly lure us into their Teutonberg Forests. This only confuses and demoralizes populace...and the "House is divided" even more. Some cultures learn and work and some don't. Some are in a torturous purgatory. Some are self-destructing as we speak. Some are moving up, well oiled. And the really hard thing, is that even if one advances up some rungs on the ladder, keeping an advanced position is really tough. It is very difficult to keep from falling back down after a while of cultural lethargy and neglect. It's like the rungs are greased with lazyness, self-satisfaction, ignorance, arrogance, hostile-aggresson, selfishness, non-creativity, illogic, no art ability or appreciation of finer things, non-discipline, denial, non-adaptability and dullness. Takes a lot of constant work and good cultural machinery to keep the fine Swiss watch of culture/society going and advancing. There are many fine parts. Civilization is tough. The basic idea then is to protect one's civilized position and then work up even higher...not to slide down the ladder as many are doing as we speak! "The sky's the limit!" It's a tall ladder! 22) GOOD NEWS/MEDIA. How else are citizens "the true bosses in a democracy" going to know the truth unless they have good objective news media. Much of news media today has devolved into slanted news per wants of big owners. There has been slanted political ownership for a long time, but still they held to better ethics than today. The Journalist's Creed written by the country editor Walter Williams who founded the first school of Journalism in the world at the University of Missouri, Columbia, should be studied. Many papers are just politically mushing to NOT rock the boat and get by and not offend advertisers. Pure selfishness/fear/lack of knowledge of democracy, as mentioned earlier. They are slowly heading for the edge of the bluff...when they should be fighting mightily for the truth and protecting society. Good media takes much courage. Tyrants hate good media and will try their best to get control of it. Looks like they have succeeded!! Presently, Pres. Obama is courting the liberal press, re. the new medical program. He needs to invite the conservatives into his sessions too. Hard, hard, hard I know, but, again, this is supposed to be a democracy! So, let's democ. 23) MONEY GENERATING MACHINE/FINANCE/ECONOMIC DEPT. Is this department working without misery for populace and those in business? Is it top-heavy. Does it benefit all? Of course, some will make more $ than others, but it shouldn't mean the others will be in slavery for it. Greed can actually be put to work for good...and has created much for the world, but it must be controlled...with ethical sledge- hammers. Our Founders knew that "Our country under God," was the way. 24) BUCHENWALD FACTOR. The Buchenwald concentration camp in WWII shows the worst side of humanity. Check to see if a society has a propensity to subjugate others to this misery? If so, they get totally kicked off the ladder of civilization. Does a society believe that Buchenwald and the other dreadful places of the Holocaust didn't really exist? Denial listed above plays in here. Has a society forgotten Buchenwald, Aushwitz and the others? If so, they are incredibly ignorant and can't possibily survive as a civilization. This section could also be called: "The Aggression Factor"...but your writer happened to see the ceremony at Buchenwald on TV yesterday (June 5, '09) with Pres. Obama, Elie Wassel (survivor of Buchenwald) and Chancellor Angela Merkle of Germany...and went ahead and named this area after the camp. There are different degrees of aggression as pointed out by Anthony Storr in his Human Aggression. There is actually some good aggression that might even save one's life. Much has been written on the subject. But the Nazis went completely bananas, and some societies even today haven't learned an iota and are charging away in the same Nazi direction. Some as Iran are using Hitler's Big Lie technique (tell a big enough whopper (as Holocaust didn't exist) and a few will believe it!). I know, it is moronic, but must be faced. At first the Nazis were appeased by Neville Chamberlain of England. So, you can't reason with charging, ignorant tigers...and denial will just get you eaten! But carefully check the Aggression-Buchenwald Factor...which also includes the denial factor of the population. The Germans just went along with Hitler, la, la. So, how sheeplike is the population? How aggressive are the movements? Lots and lots of detailed study in this project. This leads to the need of help. 25) THE STUDY OF THIS CIVILIZATIONOLOGY IN A SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZED WAY. There are many degrees in the above analysis of civilization. Societies get complicated, and study help is needed. Science can help much....but as mentioned earlier there must be overriding Theological guidance. The great creative scientist George Washington Carver said that he didn't want anything to do with anything, including science, that wasn't connected with God (Newsletter of the Carver Birthplace Assoc.). 26) TWO THINGS TO CHECK (AND MUCH OF ABOVE FACTORS IN HERE)...LOGIC & CHARACTER. Edith Hamilton the classicist said logic is a societal important factor. General Norman Swartzkoff said in a lecture at a nearby college that a breakdown in character has led to most leadership problems in Washington. Swartzkoff is a great student of leadership. Are young folks being taught good character in family...at school...and in community? They watch adults (example). What are they watching? There are some great civilized examples. The U.S. has some good examples but also some bad examples. It wouldn't hurt to have a Civilization Office in upper eschelons of gov't to keep tabs on the above. There are some watchdog groups I believe, but there needs to be a high level coordinating group in government. Show demographic map charts of the above. Media should publish weekly or possibly daily reports. Good luck. Let's encourage civilization...true civilized wealth...the material wealth will follow. Ron Miller. Entered Apr. 6th, 2009. NOTE: I need to explain that while Americans might criticize their government, it is surprising to many around the world, that the USA citizens still will stand up for their country in final analysis. Lt. Steven Decatur who fought the Barbary Pirates said it best: "Our country right or wrong!" RM - June 21, 2009. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MANY PROBLEMS WITH SOCIETY TRACED BACK TO 18TH CENTURY. The very first paragraph of famous historians Will and Arial Durant's monumental work: "The Age of Voltaire" is the Rossetta Stone for solving the many problems facing society today. They ask "How come is it that a major part of the educated classes in Europe and America has lost faith in the theology (that "for fifteen centuries") supported the moral code upon which Western civilization has been based? This is where the downfall commenced..."The Age of Voltaire." This hefty volume is Part IX of their famous THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION. Humans simply have outsmarted themselves. Humans were and still are just positive that the old characters of the Bible were off base. Humanism materialism is the answer they proclaimed. How could anything one can't see be so powerful? This is humanity's biggest loudest blunder of all time. Takes a lot of arrogance to go against Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, John, Paul and all the rest, but humans are never in short supply of this negative ingredient. Your writer is more excited stumbling across the above mentioned "first paragraph" of "The Age of Voltaire" than if I had discovered the second tomb of King Tut (and that is saying a lot for an archaeologist). One of the great things about the Durants is that they are not adverse to talking about religion. Thank heavens! (Entered May 6th, 2009 - RM) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DEMOCRACYOLOGY - IMPORTANCE. Your writer keeps saying that this or that department of this WAS site is the most important, but this one on the study of democracy - democracyology (coined by your writer) - has to be right up there at the top. Look around us right now - one governmental disaster after another - and most of it is the result of not understanding our democracy...and the history of democracy...and the study of Man...and history in general, including military history...all elements of democracyology. Most of the answers are all there, chiseled in stone...the good and bad experiments of society. (For thoughts on new problems in democracy since Rome and Athens, scroll down). History is priceless. Many young people scoff at the study of history...and prehistory (history written by the archaeologists)...and the character called: "Man" (anthropology...and groups - sociology). Again, look around, and see the results of your scoffing! Look at your bank account! Look at the dumbing down of society. Look at the people out of work. Look at the needless suffering. Every day students of democracy have to endure looking at the meltdown and knowing that much of what is happening, happened in ancient Athens and Rome, and that the inspired characters of the Scriptures have been there and done that! And that old military commanders are pleading with us to study their failures and successes. Washington D.C. has ignored many hard learned axioms of military science in Iraq and Afghanistan..."No halfway measures,"(Gen. Pershing)..."A house divided will not stand," (Scriptures, then, Lincoln)..."Look at things the way they really are, not as you want them to be," (Napoleon)..."Secure the area" (universal military axiom)..."Weakness kills troops," (universal)..."Weakness makes cowards of us all," (Gen. Patton, then, Vince Lombardi)..."Guard your flanks," (universal ancient axiom), "if attacked, declare war" (not half-way war powers), U.S. Constitution. If our U.S. Constitution had been followed and all out war declared, there would be no problems with Quantanamo. They would be Prisoners of War. And, anthropologists are pointing emphatically to cultural elements that work..and don't work - from the world laboratory. Study Edith Hamilton's classic: THE ECHO OF GREECE. The Athenians began fighting amongst themselves (they were "dumbing down"). Many of the philosophers - especially Plato - believed that there must be learning...a higher type, knowledgeable, logical person-citizen. Creativity was (is) extremely important. And courage to follow through with creative ideas as Pericles. Politics today is don't -rock- the- boat- go- the- safe- route-so-voters-won't-be-fearful-and-vote-for-me-again- politics. Reality became warped. I've noticed in art history that Surrealism creeps in...not just graphics but in other cultural elements. Romans began painting human heads on vines instead of flowers. Civilization goes down the rungs of the ladder instead of up. Look at unimaginative foul-mouthed commedians on TV, appealing to jungle instincts. Robert Louis Stevenson, the master, said it takes more creativity to clean up foul mouthed pirate sea chants. This high civilized creativity was applied to his Treasure Island. Unfortunately, though, society is going backwards to the jungle and the crib and Me, Me, Me...I want my bottle now...and, anything for the bottle! I want stimulated now! I must have everything now! A very immature jungle culture. Cultural drunkenness has come upon us. But, back to the Athenians. They continued on their dumbing down slide (after all they had accomplished in their Golden Age with great thinking things!). Socrates, one of the greatest thinkers of all time and mentor of Plato, another fantastic brain, had to drink the hemlock (for "corrupting" society with thinking!)...and so did the great orator Demosthenes have to go the hemlock route! Thinking and talking drives aggressive grissle-brains crazy. Put down thinking as a very important rung on the civilized ladder. So, the Athenians lost their wonderful creativity and what Edith Hamilton called "the spirit of democracy." (democracy takes much thinking and work, which lets out millions). Also, their empire became too greedy, and they overextended their empire. They were falling apart in many ways. We have a saying for it: "overdriving one's headlights." Democracy is when the individual citizen governs his or her self. The Athenians lost that drive..."the spirit of democracy." There are many insidious enemies of culture that try and destroy that democracy spirit. They are very jealous of it, and they want to bring it down ...and put themselves on the pedastal instead. So, the Athenians became weak and greedy and over-confident, and, empire crazy, then, the grissle-brained Spartans helped them down the tube during the Pelopenisian War. An epidemic also helped (an unexpected out-of-the-blue factor - as our Katrina). You've got to plan ahead with contingency thinking, and sometimes as an epidemic, you can't control it. Reality is cold, hard and ruthless. It was too much, and the Athenians began to get away from reality. They lost it. Boy Scouts have a great rule: "Be prepared." But, being prepared takes planning, organizing, creating...work!...and, yes, money! And, that takes more work to obtain. So, there is such a thing as a cultural brain meltdown. The Romans picked up on democracy in their early days with their Republic...but, then, they let that get away from them. In its beginning, they dearly loved their Republic. Yet, creeping in - as it always does - there was too much top heavy control with the Senate. They did make a stab with representation of the Plebes by Tribunes, but there was always this top heavy factor, and they even inserted a diabolical "little" clause that there could be a dictator if things got too bad. The Athenians had brought in a man, Solon with dictatorial powers, but he loved democracy. The U.S. as I speak says our President fired the President of GM the car manufacture. Dictatorial is anathema to a democracy. We are seeing democracy shot down before our eyes. We are really watching some monumental democracy dumbing down before our very eyes! The dictatorial element - only one negative element - is downright scarey for the student of democracyology. But, with Rome the big and bad took over permanently. And, the Romans of the Republic hated kings, but look what happened...look how far they slid down the slippery slope! Dictators by the thousands -super aggressors -always want desperately to take over...then and now. We need to find them some other hobby. They invariably get in over their heads. Nevertheless, citizens hand the great gem of freedom to them on a golden platter! Most people apparently are followers. They love kings. The U.S. is handing it over right now in many ways. Let the new "king" or "queen" or "Big Brother" solve the problems. Much of South America loves strong men and women. They and other follower types are tasty morsels for dictators. Yum..yum. The Romans, too, lost their "spirit of democracy." A few champions of their old Republic such as Cicero tried to save it, but it was too late. The "golden platter" of power had been handed over by the citizens, and the dictators were all to glad to receive it. It is an old story. We better watch and jealously guard basic democracy principles. As a student of democracyology I can guarantee you that Democracy is definitely under siege...and some of the walls are even being breeched! Government is now taking over big business. It's a giant gobbleing machine. But big government is a dictatorial dinosaur itself, and its knees have arthritis. Run for cover! Look around...then take charge as a Roman Centurion eyeing the entire battlefield in the midst of battle (Caesar's Gallic Wars); you are the boss in a democracy. No excuses for bad government. Scapegoating won't cut it. The citizen is the problem in the democracy. Back to work and thinking and imagination and doability again. Ouch! And above all, study democracyology so that you know what you (we) are doing...and won't be conned by the big and the bad. And the biggest bad thing is ignorance. By the way, be careful of studying Gibbon's DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. It has much good research, of course, but you must know that he was an atheist and omitted chapters and volumes. Students, you must be on your toes. Braidwood of the Oriental Institute, Chicago, was famous for his college text and coining the phrase: "Fertile Crescent," in the Near and Middle East, for, yes, he was also an atheist and a leader of the Humanist/Atheist/Man-can-solve-all-problems by-himself-doesn't-need-a-"non-existant"-God movement (be sure and check out William Foxwell Albright's book: History, Archaeology and Christian Humanism - McGraw Hill. So, Braidwood also ommitted volumnes! I know from hard experience having had his text in class...Ancient & Medieval History at Mizzou taught by the Grandfather of Missouri archaeology, campus icon, "Prof" Wrench. It took me 30 years to find out I had been conned. This is only one such reason that we are on our own and lovin' it here at the WAS. Also, by the way, check out Albright's: "From the Stone Age to Christianity". Albright, who spotted Braidwood's, humanist, activities, was the dean of all biblical archaeologists and champion of the scientific approach for archaeology and language scholarship. He was Head of the Dept. of Near Eastern Languages at Johns Hopkins). The American School of Oriental Research named the "Albright Center" in Jerusalem after him. We collect his publications here at the WAS Information Center. Some of them are pretty hard reading, but you might commence with a more easy reading: "The Archaeology of Palestine." It is old, but still has much good. Also dig into the roots of the field of Pragmatism a philosophy adored by atheists such as the big educational guru Dewey one of the main leaders of the humanist/atheist movement in America . He was one of the orginal signers of the Humanist Manifesto and cozy with the Red Chinese and many others who loved the human philosophy of Pragmatism. And, of course, Dewey was idolized in American education. A real toxic bomb in exactly the wrong place! You can see how easy it was for God to be invalidated in schools and then the toxicity spread as a cultural pandemic to main street and Washington...and Wall St. too. We are paying for much of this materialism right now. Useage of the word "pragmatic" is thrown around much today by Presidents, and TV talk show "bobbing heads"...and users have no idea of its atheistic origins ...and that they are actually helping validate the atheist movement by not qualifying each time they use. Logic is great..wonderful..a helpful tool...but is not a true religion. You've got to keep first things first and qualify. Be a thinker. We are witnessing a number of great cultural tragedies right before our eyes....more sliding down the hard earned rungs. The Founders didn't want organized religion...but they loved "Under God." They knew better than to worship materialism...which actually is a religion and which breaks the church state rule! The dumb genie was let out of the bag. More key ommissions and arrogant trampling of spiritual values (ultimate ethics) proven to work better than anything else in the "Laboratory of History," as anthropologist Kroeber called it. The characters in the bible were ahead of the Athenian philosophers. The Humanist/Atheist/Materialists have done a slick job of moving society toward the material - out of the Spiritual, which is really the most powerful of all and affects the material. Material things and studies are fine...but not as religions unto themselves. Aristotle's material logic is fine, but the spiritual logic of Moses and Jesus is vastly superior. Research it yourself. Just look at the mess out there. Think. What can human methods do?(look around)... Then, what can invisible God Love do? Look at results of God/Love. You can find a lot of it. So, it's a scholary minefield out there. I ache for most students and citizens who have been taken to the cleaners...and still are being taken to the cleaners. The thing is, ignorance drags all of us down the tube...back to the jungle. Americans will buy Bermuda Shorts in Alaska in January. Universities have become swamps of materialism and great cathedrals of secular humanism... and everyone wonders why so many problems in government, Wall Street and with youngsters now...and in the home...and on main street. What's really the cause? Darwinism, Pragmatism, Eugenics, Marxism-Leninism-Socialism, Progressiveism  and more are all material philosophies worshipped by many devotees in government, Wall Street...and many in the ivory towers too...and globally as well. All are false religions...worshipped exclusively unto themselves...obviously everyone has to have a religion. Moses tried to tell everyone that Yahweh gave him Ten Tablets with rules for mankind, and the first one (very strategically placed) was: "Thou shall have no other gods before me." And the various religions of materialism are gods. Baalism in the days of Moses was a material religion. The Baal's worshipped material things - a golden calf and a pole stuck in the ground (a phalic symbol). Sound like America right now?! We have slipped back two-thousand years on the civilized ladder! If we apply the common denominator method of math to the situation, invariably we get down to the Scriptures...the ultimate ethics...answers being in the metaphysical-spiritual world - as opposed to being in the material world. The Atheist-Humanist movement, of course, believes that the material world and Man holds the answers (without true religion. It's a free country. Take your pick...but before you do, be sure and study democracyology carefully. Look around at the results of material thinking. It's crucial, because you (we) may not be free very much longer. It's fleeting...especially if the hourglass has some big cracks in it! The cracks keep getting bigger and bigger. There is much much to study in this section besides importance of spiritual tempering. We must not only look at Athenian Democracy for help....but other little city states in Africa that were democratic...some Native American tribes that were (still are) democratic. Some tribes in the northeast even went a step farther and formed a confederacy or federalism for defense ("The Iroquois Confederacy"). This was borrowed by our Founders...as were Native American democratic principles as Chiefs are servants of the people. And, by the way, women were very important in these Native American democracies. If the women didn't like the Chief, it was outsville for him. Many migratory desert-people of the Near and Middle East were and still are fiercely free. Why not put this great free element - more powerful than atom bombs - to work? The Founders had a great smorgasboard of democracy right in front of them to study. Great orators in the lodges. George Washington - a cool character as the cool chiefs was in some of those council lodges. He had to have learned much from them. Remember the above when the Marxists point to the Native Americans and say "Communism." And, of course, the U.S.A. Founders were very well read and studied the classics too, and knew about the Magna Carta and much more, including the problems with (organized) church in Europe, not God. This is what the Founders were afraid of..."organized" church taking over. God is great, but should the organization part of it take over, things become a Theocracy, not a democracy. The Founders wanted democracy where the citizens ran their own show. We must study all this also; the Founders certainly did in depth. They had the translated classics and some as Jefferson could do his own translating! How great to get at those true meanings as seminary students who study Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and more. It's all fascinating...great lessons right in front of us in the books - with great learning experiences...and answers still in the soil too(there is still much historical archaeology to do...the kind as at Williamsburg). Your writer can't wait. Stick around. And, if you have any comments let us hear from you. Write: ronwriterartist@aol.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HOSTILE AGGRESSIVES ARE THE SAME NOW AS IN DAYS OF GHENGHIS KHAN. It is fascinating for students of democracyology to observe the hostile aggressives of the world. They are alive and sick as ever and as aggressive as ever with their genes going back to the days of the barbarians. They are bound and determined to take over the other guy, the neighbor and his and her neighbor and so on. And, then, they are still not happy. This hostile aggressiveness is ingrained...but much is learned. In any case, all the dumb wrong elements converge, and here they come. And, even more fascinating, is the reaction of good people to these hostile biological/cultural aggressivies. We need to study the psychological phenomenon of denial. Or call it "the- ostrich- head- in- the- sand- phenomenon," as some students have called it. Some good people simply give up and wilt - whether the aggressor is upon them...or even far away. This reaction is related to the famed Stockholm Syndrome...where bank employees actually joined the bank-robbers in Stockholm Sweeden! It has much to do with not facing reality. But a lot of people will simply not dig in their heals and fight. Many politicians are so programmed with a don't rock the boat syndrome that they simply can't see the big picture. Many free citizens will say...it just isn't all that bad. Yet, the hostile aggressors are proven aggressors. They and their miserable thinking are not going to dissolve. The free citizens should at least take contingency action ...preparations for defense...just in case. But, that still is too much reality. So, we students of democracyology are often dealing with denial. Ron M. (entered Apr. 2, 2009) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WITNESSING AN ENORMOUS EVENT IN HUMAN HISTORY...the Giant Money Organism imploding. This economic mess affecting all of us is definitely a job for students of democracyology. So, roll out the stainless steel dissecting table in the pathology lab of democracy, and let's see what we can see. By the way, I hope you have strong stomachs? And a cool, objective, steady hand to hold the anthropological/archaeological/Theological scalpel. Yes, it is amazing, we are getting to witness a giant phenomenon as no one has ever seen in history...the unique money organism that has grown to enormous proportions...is imploding before our very eyes. It's anatomy is so complex that it baffles many students who study it closely. Most students just study bits and pieces, but we must look at the entire anatomy. It is very weird looking. It has tubes running to each citizens bank account and has just about sucked all their money into its body. But, it also has tubes running out of it to other monsters in countries all over the world. We must tag all these tubes as electricians tag a tangle of wires. Some of the tubes also run to very greedy managers of the beast who are riding it on top. They have had a very shaky ride, as the beast was in its death throes. They are filling buckets of money as fast as they can, getting ready to escape, before everything collapses totally - this beast and its symbiotic citizens. Strange, it was an organism that was originally meant to help mankind, and, in fact did when it was properly harnessed and controlled, but, unfortunately, it kept growing and growing, (it needed a diet) until now it has collapsed under its own weight as a strange dinosaur with arthritic knees. And caught beneath it are countless poor citizens. Can it and the crushed citizens be revived? Can the monster actually be put to work again, harnesed to society, to help humanity instead of harm it? This monster money organism is so unique. There has always been business...and hardball business at that. The first primitive traders wanted to get a good profitable amount from some pot or chipped flint item. Joe wanted to get as many horses as he could to trade for his new bride. The Father wanted to pay an honorable bride price (more accumulation and hard ball trading). So, there has been trade, and still is, and it kept growing and became unbelievably complicated down through the millenia. Even though it has signs of life, note, it, the beast, is not a human being. It is a mechanical tool, yet, so complicated it is as something from outer space. Yet, humans of America believe in democracy a system where the individual citizen rules. There can not be anything that isn't human serve as ruler. Yet, strangely, this mechanical beast became a leader! And, not only that, but a leader that became a worshipped divinity. Good Heavens! Society really devolved back to the days of the material Baalism and the phallic pole stuck in the ground that Moses had to constantly pull his followers away from! Well, now our similar beast has a magnetic pull! And to add to the complexity, it has a horde of people - nicely dressed in suits - with ropes tied to them (firmly tied to the beast) going out and trying very hard to get the U.S.A. government to do what it wants. These people called "Lobbyists" (with golden dollar signs stenciled on their suits..or should have) carry buckets of money (sucked from the citizens in the first place) that is very desired by representatives of the citizens. The citizens of the long gone democracy, in fact, have lost complete control of all this. They have blinders on and can't see what is happening...and have lost their democracy form of government. The form of top heavy government now is Capitalocracy. And the citizens are now slaves! This is one of the most tragic developments in all of history. There have been kings and dictators and priests rule but now Capitalocracy run by greedy devotees rules with an iron hand. And, the beast rules even though it is very sick and on its last legs. The citizens hardly know what to do with their collapsing idol. In a way it is all too bad. The beast has proven very helpful to society when controlled. But control was lost. The monster has actually controlled the humans who became so attached that they are termed "symbiotic." But now they are whipping the beast and that isn't working. They are trying to deprive it of its lifeblood money and that isn't working. Yet, the beast is very important. It has usually kept the democracy farm growing and surviving supplying life- money nutrients, and is desperately needed by citizens. So, the citizens are very dependent on the beast, but the beast as all human/material things is fallible. It is not the true ruler. The true God Yahweh is the true ruler, but the citizens and beast managers can't see this. Can the citizens reclaim their good, true identies and society and democracy and control the beast? Hopefully, yes, but it is going to take a lot of rehabilitation and training of the beast...and training. But the citizens must be trained first, and the beast and it's handlers won't submit easily. Won't be pretty, but it must be done for the survival of democracy and civilization. "Won't be a rose garden" as the Marines say. Yes, the citizens must first rehabilitate themselves, so, they can appoint good ethical controllers of the beast. They weren't very good bosses of their democracy government in the first place and let lousey handlers take over. The founders of their country in fact had told them over and over that the country must be "under God" - not under some material, dumb beast. The citizens must overcome the magnetic pull of greed, self, power and be observant and tough with their U.S. business. When working, even in the best of times, the beast is very strong willed. And, the citizens can't do it by themselves. They need ultimate ethics for guidance...grand, old, true religions. Man religions didn't work. They gave the wrong thing - the beast - power. But,it just kept growing and becoming more complicated, until it became sick and collapsed on the ground. It was like it was in a candy shop of money and went bananas. Many are trying to ressusitate it in material ways - trying to cram its own life blood - money - down its throat...but it is so bloated with many tares and gashes and broken tubes that there doesn't seem to be enough "food." It's all leaking out! And, these human/material methods just aren't working. It needs different nutrients...character, thinking of others, Boy and Girl Scout things, things that should have been learned in homes and hearths of the land...basic things in the Bible. It is a desperate moment in human history. We are actually witnessing a biggie. It will definitely be in the books (if there are any history books!). Can we the citizens rise to the occasion, and completely turn around on a dime? It is going to take much study of true life..hard reality, reading of good ethical things...thinking (ouch!) Won't be easy! The ancient Roman government was faced with a giant problem. The Patricians, the upper class ruled. They had senators but no "House of representatives." The Senators became selfish and spoiled. Yet, the Plebes, the common people kept clammoring and clammoring for representation. Finally, they were given representatives...called "Tribunes." They proved to be great representatives - and fought hard for the Plebes. You may remember from Cecil B DeMille movies that Tribunes wore the fancy red crests on their helmets. The Tribunes and the Centurions were the battlefield commanders who were right in the thick of things - looking around the entire field of battle. If they saw a weakness someplace they went there to help out (learned from Cesars's Gallic Wars). They would make good models for representatives today. So, today we have a new kind of massive problem - the giant Money machine, but will take major governmental system attention. The machine is needed, because it has done much good at times, when harnessed just right, so, must be controlled. It is very sick. Should it have representation in a democracy, this giant sick beast? In a way, government and citizens know of its needs. But, its representatives - Lobbyists aren't elected! Oddly, it is like a giant new state that has been formed...the 52nd state, and it is throwing its weight around as a state. We can't have this. But, the regular representative are very weak in its presence. They need its money (the Lobbyists carry buckets of bills) for their campaigns and they probably invest in the beast. And, it is impossible to get them to vote against this "life blood." It would take tremendous character! Citizens are going to have to rise up and make such a commotion that it finally gets their attention. But they are stubborn mules. It sure is a sick psuedo state, and it can't be allowed to gobble up all the other states and the citizens too...or the rest of the world for that matter! Our regular states are material entities composed of people. If the new "money state," had state laws/rules/ethics...under the country's main law the Constitution, that might control things. But, it is a powerful monster, and will take much control....and so will citizens of the 50 states need much control to deal with it. Good luck! Ron, entered Mar. 16, 2009). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NO EXCUSES FOR HAVING A DEMOCRACY or taking a long time to get it under way! One reason this study of democracyology is so fascinating is that you don't have to have a group of people who are highly organized and have a very complex culture to have a democracy. T.A. Rickard in his book: THE ROMANCE OF MINING said that some of the very best democracies ever, could be found in old mining camps in the Gold Rush days of 1849. First, think of each individual as important. Thomas Jefferson was right on...but Genesis was even more detailed and thousands of years earlier. The individual was created by God himself in His (spiritual) image and likeness. God said the creation "was good." Dictators and other power operators didn't create Man and Woman and Child, although they want too and in their image and likeness. The dictators in many different varieties are demigods. They are so desperate to be gods but eventually fail miserably. It is also important to study all the different kinds of democracies as touched on above. Strong willed, power-operating, hostile-aggressive, dictatorial, controlling, dominating, invalidating characters don't like all this study of democracy with the individual being important. They want to be the boss-god. They say, "I must control those "dummies."" "I don't want them ruling themselves!" "They are not as smart as I am." "I have to be superior at all costs, even if it means war, enslavement, torture, starvation, degradation of all kinds." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ECONOMICS: Anthropologists love the study of economics. They dissect cultures by important areas "cultural organs"... warfare...arts & crafts...religion....socio-political...economy. All are tremendously important...each are keystones. Right now the economy is front and center in our culture with the global meltdown. It's amazing to this writer that the Moguls in Washington are just throwing money at the problem. This is what many parents are doing with their kids...just throwing money at their problems. The truth is that many solutions cost little if any...but apparently not as spectacular to the politicians and constituints. How about setting up a crash study program for Character? We could do the outline and post on the internet. Some 5th grade class could do the same thing. That would save gillions of dollars in the future. Solon the great founder of democracy in ancient Athens did a free trick when the Athenians were so debt- ridden. Instead of throwing $$$ at the big owners of notes...he absolved all debt!!!! There was probably much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst the big lenders, but everything worked out o.k....with the eventual Athenian Golden Age. Of course, it didn't last, because of general human weakness. Another free help - maybe the best of all for instant help for everybody is to remove government from backs of small business - or any business- or individual for that matter. It would be wilder than the "Days of 49" gold rush or the Klondike. People are desperate for a start in life. This would do it. I have marvelled at the boom town effect at nearby Branson, Missouri. People crave a start in life. So, open up the flood gates. But why hasn't Washington done this? They don't want to turn loose of their secure power and money. Actually, there would be so much money generated that Washington would do fantastically better. But now we are back to Character studies (for both Washington and Wall Street...and the individual businesses themselves). But this would be exciting. Ridiculous costs in medicine and insurance must be reduced. But don't forget M.D., Osteopaths, Chiropractors and others are really small business operators. So, they, too, need to get government off their backs. I have a hunch that would help a lot. Have a special fund set up to take care of ridiculously high space age medicine. Encourage research with help from this fund. But watch it carefully. Another free help. This one is being done a little bit now with a new adm., and that is control Lobbyists. They need to be controlled even more...and politicians totally weaned from them. This also means controlling campaign funds. Restrict budgets and campaign times. Citizens are really going to have to raise cane to get their attentions to wean politicians. Entered Feb. 12, 2009. Ron - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- PALESTINIAN PROBLEM; A SOLUTION: I presented an idea for the Near and Middle East back in the days of the First Gulf War. I wrote a series of articles right in the middle of that conflict. The first phase of the war was called: "Desert Shield," and the second part: "Desert Storm." I put my articles together under the title: "The WAS Iraqi War Series." This was run as a WAS Special Publication. One of these articles was about a peace idea. Essentially, the idea was to set up a Research Center of Scholarship/Science/Theology somewhere in the Near and Middle East - and make it a center of neutrality. This would be very much on the order of the Native American's sacred "Pipestone Quarry" in the state of Minnesota in the U.S. of North America. They made Calumets "Peace Pipes," from the reddish stone found there. Smoke from the peace pipes went up to the Great Spirit. Many tribes came to the quarry, and everyone declared "king's X" there. Calumets also were carried as a kind of white flag through hostile villages. This peace method, the quarry and the pipe itself was astounding really when you consider that most of the Native Americans were involved in a constant war culture. One tribe attacks another, then, that tribe must retalliate and it goes back and forth and on and on ad infinitum. There must be revenge in this war culture system, and no one ever wins, and everyone suffers in one way or another. There is some glory, but, so hard earned, and more misery than glory. It's a bad deal. War culture is a virulent disease. In any case, set up a great neutral center of learning (respected by many) where scholars and scientists of all types can work in peace and develop "mine" good things for that vast area...and the rest of the world while they are at it. The Palestinians, Israelis, Christians and other religions there can set aside a piece of neutral land for this super place of learning. Not only could scholar-scientists from that area participate, but send out a call for scholar-scientists from all over the world to participate. It would be quite an honor to participate. Set it up in departments. Be sure and have enough ground for agriculture test plots and other experimenting...then, keep expanding the borders of this area...and expanding and expanding! It's a fact, that there are many fine scholars and scientists over there now in that God-forsaken land of brainless killing. They just don't get the press coverage. Cave Man clubbing of each other appears to the TV viewers to be more dramatic (much in-depth education by press is necessary). As things stand, the aggressors, politicians (and many are aggressors), the dramatic, gory stuff now, gets all the notoriety. The press is as mindless as the hostile aggressives. Welcome to the Colosseum of Rome all over again! The death and destruction are right in our living rooms at that! Disease and pollution at home! We haven't made an inch of headway in 2,000 years! It is the citizens of the world responsible for much blame for what we see today in the Near and Middle East. True, many fine scholars have left to avoid the killing and destruction by the grissle brains. But, I believe they would return to their homelands if they had a peaceful place to work and create...and make their homelands cost effective. This proposed Center would be a great work of architecture. It would cover many miles, so, there would be many miles of peace. It would be funded by many foundations and individuals too from all over the world. Now, individuals can take charge and be part of the answer. This place would be composed of many cultures. These scientists and associated helpers working in blessed peace would create wonderful things to help farming in dry areas, the conservation of water, medical things and much more...including peace studies. Don't forget there is much to build on going back to great days of the Arabs when they were leaders in medicine, astronomy, math, etc. The Hellenistic culture before this was very erudite also. There were wonderful libraries in the Near and Middle East. There is much in old Sumerian and Babylonian Culture as well...but don't be like Sadaam who wanted to be the reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar, who was a dictatorial type king. People need freedom...but, of course, as Hamilton points out "Freedom requires discipline." Then, of course, Egypt has great scholarly roots going back to Imhotep the physician/architect. And, the Persians of old Iran have a wonderful rich history of learning and culture also. The Israelis from all over the world bring wonderful traditions of learning and culture. As the song goes: "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative." So, why not commence using brains instead of brawn? Why not creativity - massive innoculations of it - to help mankind instead of tearing it down? Why not peace instead of killing? This would at least be a start. Palestine/Israel would be a good start. Those people deserve good. While at it, why not tear down the barbed wire surrounding them? Iraq could bring together the hostile groups as well, with the universal language of scholarship, in a neutral center to help all. Put all that scholary brain power to work! Retrieve those who have left. Relax, let the brains be important. Beating up bodies definitely hasn't worked. And, Afghanistan has a great heritage also. Build on the good. Set up a center for good. True, you can't argue with a charging tiger. Defensive muscle must be kept at the ready. Zinjanthropus types can go bananas any minute. But, at least try, and keep trying. And, by the way, the Palestinians are slaves right now. They are slaves in a compound. How incredibly ironic, a compound as a hellish concentration camp of Europe. Israel is also a compound. They are a defensive fort surrounded by barbed wire and walls, but trapped inside. They are a democracy, yet, on a constant war footing, which cuts down on democracy. The Many power operators - inside and out of the Israeli/Palestinian area - want to control everybody. The opposite of slavery is freedom. They need free air. Everybody needs free air! That's one of the global glitches - not enough freedom. Someone always wants to be the slave-master. The area also has the problem of Patriarchial issues in religion. I know it is sensitive, but if someone is the master, then, someone has to be the slave. The whole area needs to get hold of itself and think freedom for all. For a sum up. If we interviewed both sides of the Israel/Palestinian conflict they would state adamantly that the other side did something bad first and they had to retalliate. However, we must go deeper than this. The next layer of the onion is really a war culture problem. Then, another layer down we find that much of their war culture has to do with the old nemisis of mankind prejudice... cultural and human prejudice. And, as we dissect culture we find a lot of different "strange" things (about the other side)including religion, appearances, other "odd" ways of doing things, old hatreds, etc. Why not, as the Osage wise men, make use of other culture elements to help one's own culture? And, of course, when times are bad, the social psychologists know that one of the axioms of prejudice is that the person or culture having a hard time must have a scapegoat to blame. No one wants to blame themselves for Heavens sake! Although the words of Pogo the great social psychologist reminds, nevertheless, that "we have met the enemy and he is us!" So, to solve this apparent dilemma we must do something as the Native Americans of the U.S.A. They latched onto a basic thing in common that was more powerful than all of them, all tribes, and that was the Great Spirit. The smoke from all of their universal (needs) peace pipes went up to Heaven. Now, the smoke from all the ruins and bomb crematoria of the Near and Middle East can symbolically go up to the great Spirit Allah, Yahweh, Jehova. The universal spirit wants to help but must be crying. And, the needs of all are universal...food (from improved agriculture methods), health from medical, psychological and spiritual research, good relations from social/anthropological/spiritual research and all important the need for God/Love. The neutral "Pipestone Quarries" idea of the Near and Middle east would be transferred to a number of research centers...starting with one in the middle of Israel and Palestine. Give them plenty of room for a peace area with research grounds, restful parks (researchers and other citizens need these nice areas for rest and inspiration during creative research). Do everything possible to promote creativity. And anyone who interfers with this good would be a dumbbell. Forget the methodology of the socialist/Marxists/Leninists and their "Thesis/antithisis/synthesis" (pure conflict) cooked up by Marx's teacher Hegel and stolen by Marx. Only have a creative aggression to solve the needs of humanity - not just for the Near and Middle East. They could lead the way. Also, forget material Darwinism as a religion with its survival of the fittest (more conflict)...and Darwinism speeded up by Man (Eugenics...one of the favorite methods of the Nazis)...unwittingly practiced by Israelis and Palestinians. Building a little more on the above line of thinking, call it something like a "Universal Research Center". This would combine all God terminology. And, there could be a symbolic stream of smoke going up, so, as never to forget the people killed and wounded and that the Universal Spirit is all important. Good luck...and God is luck! Entered here Jan. 8th, 2009. A little added the 10th, 11th and 12th - Ron Miller - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DEPRESSION/RECESSION ANSWERS. Here are some notes I have jotted down to help get the U.S. and some other countries out of the present depression. 1. The ancient Romans were the strongest when they had little families that believed in hearth and home...and also believed in the gods of hearth and home called: "the Lares and Penates." They had a great home culture. We still use some of their ideas of the wedding ring on the second finger of the bride and carrying the bride over the door step. These hearth and home husbands, who were very responsible made excellent soldiers, and helped Rome rule the world. However, big land operators began to buy up little farms, and the hearth and home folks had to move to the city. Then, the cities became crowded, and it wasn't long before it was "bread and circuses," to pacify them. The big shots just threw things at them "bread and circuses," which, of course, didn't really solved the problem. Today the same thing is happening. Small farms need to be restored. Won't be easy, because much farmland has been covered by strip malls. But the problem needs to be addressed. There will have to be some radical cultural surgery here. 2. Restore democracy. We are fortunate that we have a democracy, however, it is only being operated on a couple of cylinders. True democracy is atomic powerful. Citizens need to participate more in local government, however, husbands and wives are working two jobs and come home worn out. More radical surgery needed. 3. Lobbyists in Washington and State Capitols are running things, because the politicians need their money to run their campaigns. Sad. Corporations and big organizations are made up of individual citizens, but they aren't citizens themselves. And, they do deserve representation. Their information/needs must be sent to individual Representatives and Senators but taken out of the election process...analyzed objectively...perhaps sifted thru an elected committee. Senator McCain tried to block the lobby money for campaign needs, but was defeated...in the senate and with his presidential election bid. Again, more radical surgery is needed. Won't be easy as the foxes must pass bills and save the chicken (democracy and country) yet, are in the hen house!~ 4. Re-establish character. This one personal trait could have saved our country from the present depression. The Lares of the Hearth & Home and field could have kept character high. 5. Along this line, high type culture is needed. High art of all types is needed, and we don't even have a Secretary of Culture in the President's Cabinet. Also needed in schools is not only massive doses of the arts, but also much gym. The Athenians well knew this, yet, these two subjects are being cut back drastically. Science, along with its great logic, would make Aristotle proud, but the arts are needed just as much. So, upgrade schools. America's greatest teacher was Dr. George Washington Carver. He had a practical hands-on-creative approach that was super. His methods are being used to great effect in over 40 school districts here in Missouri. (check with Head Ranger, Lana Henry at the Natl. Carver Birth Center at Diamond, Missouri. Carver was a scientist and artist. This will get us back in the international science leadership position. Carver also protected the peanut growers of the south when foreign markets began encroaching. He even testified before the Senate. 6. "START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE...MAKE THE MOST OF IT...AND DON'T STOP." This was the advice that George Washington Carver gave to young folks....but also good advice for anyone...especially now in this depression. 7. Think of others. Carver was always thinking of others. He and his students and sometimes even Booker T. Washington himself would load up the Jessup Wagon pulled by a pony or mule and head out in the country side to show folks how to enrich soil, plant, preserve crops... and even have nice little homes in the midst of poverty. He saved the south with his knowledge of soils and plants. The Boll Weaveel had arrived and cotton (a heavy feeder) had worn out the soil. It was time for the peanut and sweet potatoes and crop rotation...and many new products for each to help economy...diversification! Think diversification around your place and country! Green is big. How many diversified jobs can be squeezed out of Green? More later along this line. Entered Jan. 19, '09 Ron Miller - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - An article on Kings. The early Romans hated kings. They had the type of dictatorial kings. There are types of Constitutional Monarchies today that have parliaments and are democracies, but the first Romans weren't so fortunate. Finally, they were fed up with it. They had heard of a new thing way off in a place called Athens whereby the individuals ran their own government! What a revolutionary thing. Who ever heard of such a thing? But it did sound good, because they were fed up with kings. So, they sent a delegation over to Athens to talk with a fellow named "Solon" who was behind this radical movement. There had been a terrible financial disaster in Athens where the big shot lenders - greedy blood-sucker types - were actually making slaves of the poor folks who couldn't pay their debts. Solon had been elected to solve this miserable crisis. The first thing he did in office was to absolve all debts. He just wiped the slate clean!! He wasn't into economic theory; he was into democracy. This was totally opposite of what is happening in our U.S./Global crises today...where the biggies are the ones bailed out! Well, you can imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the big financial money-lending community of Athens! But, things worked out o.k. Little Athens went on to become one of the greatest cities on the face of the earth...with fabulous building, play-writing, sculpture, philosophy, painting, ceramics, cameo and intaglio cutting, sports - "the Olympics" and more. The world looks up to them today. Oh yes, the fact-finding contingent from Rome went back home, and they were now on the way to a great democracy - known as the Republic of Rome. That lasted for several hundred years until around 40 B.C. when the dictators began to rule. And, by the way, once the power operators get in, it is nearly impossible to get them out. Society finally has to grind down to a halt. Entered Dec. 14, 2008, Ron Miller - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NEW PROBLEMS IN DEMOCRACY SINCE DAYS OF ANCIENT ROME AND ATHENS. We do have some unusual problems with which to deal in our modern democracy. First, we have a highly complex variety of capitalism. It is able to keep spinning with much borrowing of capital. There has always been borrowing, but we have the borrowingest form of all. We have borrowed ourselves blind, and have even borrowed from foreign governments, who now own us. And, strangely, these governments, as the Chinese, could clamp down any second and demand payment...or do other strong arm things around the world, and we in our weak state, could do nothing. And, what is worse, they have conflict built into their Marxist ideology. This is surely the age of denial...blinded by greed...anything goes and forget about the future. Pure self-destruction...pure lack of character and patriotism for our country. Also, we are playing into Marxist hands in another way. Marx said, "money will rise to the top and stay there." Second thing new. Our massive intricate capital system has spawned hordes of lobbyists. They are thick as flies in halls of states and the national capital. Actually, they deserve to be heard, but in a very strong way, because money is involved. Third thing new. Our technology has snowballed at such a fantastic rate that we have super technology and can barely keep up with it. And many worship it. We have become techno-dulled. If we can feed the beast with techno-repairs by super technicians, o.k. But this requires vast sums of money and giant organization...that sometimes must travel thousands of miles and across oceans. Fourth thing new. Climate out of control - caused by Man. Hopefully, it is not too late to reverse things. Entered Dec. 19th, 2008 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE EFFECTS OF OUT-OF-THE-BLUE-CATACLYSMS ON THE CITIZENS OF A DEMOCRACY AND THE SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS ON THE DEMOCRACY There is something I constantly have in the back of my mind - a constant worry - as I observe democracy from my often rickety step ladder...and that is, what if we are suddenly hit by an out-of-the-blue catastrophy? Naturally we are so deeply involved in all of the present problems and dangers, but something sudden could really rock the boat - maybe swamp it completely. The hurricane Katrina is one example. New Orleans is still trying to get back on its feet. If homeland defense had been under the Dept of Defense, Washington could have called on the Operations expertise of the Pentagon and organized Katrina relief. Just think, all of that knowhow in the tradition of Gen. George Marshall fame, who had organized the Ardenne offensive for Pershing in WWI ...and with his WWII experience...and experience with the Marshal Plan? I live close to the New Madrid Fault in S/E Missouri. The fault runs from Illinois down thru Memphis and into Arkansas. It's a monster. I have written much on it. In 1812 there were several 8 pointers, and heavy after shocks went on all winter. The Mississippi flowed backwards! Giant geysers of fumes and earth shot out of the ground. Hugh crevices opened in the earth. Church bells rang in New England. Reel Foot Lake was formed. It was literally hell for the few residents of the pioneer village of New Madrid. And mind you it was cold winter! Experts have pointed out that today there are major gas pipe lines crossing the fault and going up to New England. There are big populated cities nearby. Memphis would be hit hard if a big one kicked off. There are constant small seizmic recordings on the seizmographs. We monitor these recordings via the USGS reports here at the WAS Hq. at Hollister, Mo. If there should be another 8 pointer, we would get a 6 pointer here. Chimneys would topple here. So, the question arises, can the Gov't keep functioning some way? We have economic disasters rocking us right now...but always be ready for that block-buster natural disaster...or something else out of the blue. Do you have a tent, sleeping bag, extra water and food, personal things, batteries, a radio, etc.? The more the individual citizen is prepared the better the overall gov't will survive. Then, there are the disasters of unforseen aggressors. The barbarians suddenly appear at the gate. Where did they come from? Rome was finally taken over by aggressors...but Rome was weak internally and couldn't resist. Avoid the old House Divided syndrome. We've got it now. Get off that self introverted kick fast. Athenians began to fight among themselves. Non-creative people resort to this sort of thing. So, a lot to think about here. Starting a democracy is one thing, but keeping it is another. Natural disasters are one thing that weakens the super structure if not prepared. We have 2X4s getting knocked out right and left. We've got to keep them propped up...and replace them with steel girders. Above all, protect and care for the free individual. Entered Dec. 15, 2008. Ron Miller - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE DEMOCRACY EDUCATION OF OUR FOUNDERS. It had to be a great democracy education for young George Washington during his frontier days when he witnessed the tribal council proceedings of the Native Americans. The tribes were democratic. They were very dignified and smart. You couldn't get anything past those tribal leaders, nor past the women who had a great, final, matriarch sayso about their chiefs. If these chiefs bombed out in some way, the women got them out fast. The femminists would love that system! But, can you just imagine Washington sitting there in the Council lodge soaking up the analytical procedings - very democratic procedings, with everyone getting their say so...and no doubt George had his chance to say something too...after smoking the peace pipe. It had to have been quite an experience for him. But to really appreciate how sharp these chiefs were and what an intricate democratic system they had, you really have to get the feeling how cool and sharp they really were. Forget the whooping injuns chasing the stage coach. Reconstruct the Albany Conference one of the milestones leading up to the forming of our U.S. None other than wise old Ben Franklin was present and highly impressed with these speakers (May Bush in the DAR Magazine). Washington and Franklin were really getting an education. But in other ways the colonists were receiving a gradual aculturation of high type Native American Culture. True, the Iroquois became allies of the British and were a thorn in the side of Gen. Washington later on in the Revolution. But, the colonists absorbed much high type culture from them. I mentioned above things like "Chiefs are servents of the people." (May Bush article). And, the colonists could see first hand the 5 tribes "The Confederacy," working together for defense...a federalism. It all fit together with what the Founders had learned reading the classics. Some of them as Jefferson were lawyers. They had to have studied the laws of Rome...the twelve tablets of law in the Forum...and the early Republic of Rome. Jefferson's library is being reconstructed at the Library of Congress. We need to check the classical titles. And, of course, some speeches of Demothsenis and other eloqutionists survived...as well as some speeches of Isocrates. Works of Plato and Aristotle survived as did the works of Cicero the lawyer, philosopher, consul of Rome. I'm sure that Jefferson well knew the Republic of Plato, the works of Cicero and the others. Cicero battled negative elements trying to bring down the Roman Republic. And, of course, they well knew the bible with it's 10 Commandments, the very root of our law. The Scriptures have much on freeing the individual from negative oppression...the deep miseries of mankind, fear, bad of many kinds, etc. Fantastic high quality analytical thinking with deep roots of Native American culture and the classics - all the cream of the ages - was shaping our country. What a miracle! We need to do every thing we can, and quickly, to save it. First thing, read history to appreciate it and to learn about and correct elements that get out of line. Entered Dec. 17, 2008 - Ron Miller