We Have Met the Aliens...

And they are US!

Those who have visited my website are familiar with the thesis I present there: that the earth was colonized about four million years ago by beings from another star system. To first time readers this might sound like science fiction: absurd, especially to so-called Christians who ridicule the proposition citing the Biblical account of Creation. Ironically, the Bible supports this idea as the Book, The Time of the End, on the website clearly shows. A quick summary for first-timers;

The Lords of the World as I call them were "moving across the abyss" when they discovered a lone star of the right size and containing the right elements to sustain life, The star also wobbled, indicating the presence of satellites, hopefully one at the right distance in what we call the Eco sphere. The first three days of Creation describe the steps these souls from afar took to to discover the earth. From day four on they are on the earth exploring and documenting the many wonders they found there.
Being aliens the Lords were careful to quarantine themselves until they became genetically acclimated to the new environment, and could be sure not to unleash epidemics among the denizens of this new world.

But there was one matter that had to be attended to, one that would determine their survival in this place: consanguinity, or inbreeding. The Lords had to find a source of fresh genes to augment their isolated genomic state.

They discovered a native species (Proto man) whom they "created in their own image and likeness", meaning that this native species had the equipment the Lords recognized as the keys to higher intelligence: binocular vision, stereo audition, and opposed thumbs. These creatures are what we call Homo Robustus, men but with the physical attributes of their simian ancestors: long arms and short, stubby legs. By the now-familiar process of genetic engineering the Lords elevated these creatures to their own physical stature and began mating with them (Genesis, chapter six. Some of these hybrids did not work out very well and had to be destroyed, but others went on to form civilizations based on agriculture (which the Lords taught them), governance, architecture, and socialization.
NOTE: It seems highly unlikely that man would have developed agriculture on his own. For two million years before the arrival of the Lords they had been hunter-gatherers and would have had no incentive toward farming, as all they required of fruits and vegetables were growing everywhere for the taking. Also, agriculture is a highly technical and involved discipline requiring a knowledge of the times to plant and harvest, irrigation, crop rotation, and the like; too much to contemplate man devising without aid and advice from a higher source.

What this all boils down to is that we are not native to this world. Being the offspring of Lords and human mothers we are hybrids, and the mix of the two cultures accounts for the dual spirituality of mankind; lofty, ideal, and aspiring one one side; base, mean, animalistic on the other: what we call the Tragicomic Nature of Man. Native species don't have this attribute. There are several ways in which mankind differs from native species, and it is the prupose of this article to make the case that we are aliens. The arguments;

1. We wear clothes. Native species are provided by Nature with physical attributes that enable them to survive (and thrive) without the need of any additional covering: fur, feathers, shells, and camouflage.
That we require clothing to protect us from the elements indicates that, not being adequately provided for in this respect, we are not natural to the earth.

2. Upright Stance. Man is the only biped vertebrate that maintains a fully upright stance. All others have proportionately longer arms and shorter legs, an arrangement far more efficient than out own body structure. These animals can assume upright positions when sitting, walking, or doing something with their upper limbs. But when running, their body configuration allows them to travel as four legged animals; this allows for greater speed, they tire less, and there is a more efficient weight distribution. Indeed, some medical anthropologists maintain that the human spine is not constructed to bear an upright position for great lengths of time. And isn't back pain one of the most common complaints of our kind?

3. Premature Births. Humans are also alone among biped vertebrates in this odd characteristic. All others bear viable young; whole and complete at birth, though still needing suckling at first. All human infants are blind, their skulls are not yet completely formed, they have no motor skills, are unable to stand, and at first must have their heads supported, as their necks are not yet strong enough to bear the weight alone. This condition is related to the upright stance which we inherited from our alien ancestors in that it calls for a narrower birth canal, hence babies are born sooner than is natural.

4. Indifference to Natural Science. Though we are coming aware of our place in the natural order of the earth, for all of recorded history we have plundered the natural resources of this world as if it were not our own - probably because it wasn't at first. We felt ourselves above the other creatures of the world and considered ourselves exempt from the Laws of Nature that govern all aspects of the earthly existence. This would be accounted for by the infusion of a Lordly consciousness: that we are not of this world and this would explain our preoccupation with the heavens. It's as though we feel ourselves visitors to this place, ultimately to go on from here to other worlds. Aren't we developing the technology to do just that?

5. Directed Organization. All of nature is organized; our world, the solar system, galaxies, the universe, and the infinite universes that comprise all of Creation. But all of this organization is natural, the way of things, how they work; absent this organization all would be chaos,lacking in cohesion, and would ultimately collapse.
We call our organization culture, a derived environment that is separate from and often at odds with the Natural Order. When the Lords arrived here "the dragon was loosed for another season"; the world was an untamed wilderness, the home of predator and prey, the quick and the dead. The higher sensibility infused into us by our Lordly sires, so lately the inhabitants of the perfect society that was the City of Heaven, instilled in early man the desire to replicate this Utopian model on earth. A culture is an ideal, an environment designed to ensure stability, protection, and preservation of the species.

6. Imagination: The term literally means the action of imaging and pertains to the visions we develop and store in our minds. Visions are a vital component of scientific prayer which we inherited from our Lordly ancestors. Indeed, everything that was ever made, every event that ever occurred, was initiated by a vision. Perhaps no characteristic separates us from other creatures of the earth more than our capacity for farsighted visioning, the ability to extend the imagination through a series of events and outcomes: planning.
But as we are hybrids humans are at once the beneficiaries of two distinct legacies: the inspired visions of our Lords, and the fear based imagery of our native progenitors. Therein lies the conflict. True spiritual growth is predicated on the need to grow in the aspiration of our Lordly legacy and to completely renounce the low and vile aspects of our nature. When in the Bible we read that "he who overcomes himself is mightier than he who conquers a city", that's the message exactly! Those of us who understand know that he who aspires to the good has no need of conquering a city; it's gates open wide in welcome. This of course is allegory, and it extends to all human contact, public and personal.

7. Dichotomy: The capability to turn on one's own kind is not unusual among the creatures of the earth, animals are territorial and once an area, a food or water source, is claimed the incumbent will defend its holding against all interlopers including members of its own species. But these are always, with few exceptions, momentary confrontations: the defender either vanquishes the challenger or is defeated. Seldom is deadly force used and the deposed party just goes off to find another roost. Not so with humans.
Man is dreadfully unique in his capacity to pit himself against his fellows on many bases of differentiation: race, religion, ethnicity, and nationalism. One can develop a pretty complete history of mankind just by studying the wars we have engaged in over six-thousand years (or more) of organized violence. Never has war resolved any issue permanently and often the outcome of one war sets the stage for another. One example is World War II which was fought to resolve problems arising out of World War I, particularly the humiliation the Germans suffered under the Versailles Treaty, and this was inspired by the defeat of France by the Prussians in 1870: the Franco-Prussian war - that France started!
Lao Tzu said, "Weapon after weapon conquers everything but chaos." War is insanity on two counts; it's making the same mistake over and over, expecting different results, and its effects outlast the causes cited for engaging in war. These latter have been shown in recent instances to have been based on lies (Gulf of Tonkin, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Nigerian 'yellow cake' uranium, etc.) and have caused grievous loss of life, hardship and suffering, dislocations and diasporas, and ruinous debt to all parties concerned. Creatures of the wild fight and kill each other in individual combats for survival: war pits citizens of one nation against citizens of another, in every case acting on second hand information(many of them lies), and goaded by propaganda into killing and wounding people whom they don't know, who are very much the same as themselves, and against whom neither has any personal enmity.
But war is but a symptom of the underlying spiritual malaise that is the source of all conflict: the dichotomy of the soul. From our Lordly ancestors we derive our visions of love, peace, and co-operation; from our fore bearers, treachery, violence, and divisiveness.

So, that's the argument. Is it true? That is a question you must answer for yourself. How can you tell if it's true? Truth does one of two things; either it strikes a chord or hits a nerve: you either love and embrace it, or you hate and attack it.

Which of these applies to you?

The Shroud of Turin - an Obvious Hoax

I recently traveled to Oklahoma on a trip that was part business, part recreation. After a busy and productive day I returned to my motel room and did something I seldom do - watched television. Twenty years ago when I gave my last television set away it was because I had been completely turned off by the intellectually vacant and inane fare that this once promising medium spewed out in a continuous stream to its chosen target audience - the typical twelve year-old. About the only two things I found that were worth watching were Animal Planet and the History Channel: it was on this latter that I watched a program on the famous Shroud of Turin.

This piece of linen that supposedly bears the imprint of the crucified body of Jesus is, in my opinion, proof that people are as gullible today as any Medieval churl. In my research into the realm of bizarre theories it seems to me that the most intensive research into one of these gems is carried out by those who want the theory to be true. In the case of the shroud they must really want it to be legitimate, considering the thousands of hours devoted to its study. But the so-called evidence just doesn't hold up and, again in my opinion, the evidence of obvious fraud goes entirely ignored and unremarked.

There are two items upon which the "faithful" rest their claim of authenticity; the origins of the linen and the blood evidence of the wounds in the man's head, wrists, trunk, and feet. But these so-called proofs are not conclusive by any means. Here we will examine each from a rational point of view. Concerning the linen itself, it is impregnated with pollen and dust found only in Palestine. While this may be true it doesn't prove that the shroud originated there. From the time of the First Crusade traffic between Europe and the Middle East brought many eastern artifacts west. The blood evidence is no more convincing, since all it proves is the presence of blood in all the right places, not the wounds alleged to be the source of these stains. That would make the shroud an antiquated example of "special effects" created to induce the belief in the reality of the representation. It just doesn't.

To present the argument of fraud it will be necessary to cite some quirks of the human psyche as demonstrated in the sub-conscious; acts and mindsets so deeply ingrained in the mind that people demonstrate them without realizing it. One example is that of a visitor to my home once who asked to use my bathroom. But his didn't use that word; instead he asked if he could use my "basement." Undoubtedly this man was educated in a Catholic parochial school (as was I )where he was indoctrinated into the belief that certain natural bodily functions are dirty, and should not even be mentioned. Nurses in Catholic hospitals, when told that one of their child patients needed to eliminate some waste, would ask "is it number one or number two?" And it's a safe bet that people so conditioned never realize what they are saying, how dumb it sounds. There are certain habits and practices in which people engage without any realization as to what they are doing or saying. At these deep levels of assimilation there is often little difference between intent and action.

Once, when answering machines were the sole means of recording incoming telephone calls, my girlfriend and I were leaving my apartment. She stood waiting with a puzzled look on her face as I dangled my keys on my right index finger and raised my right foot - and turned my answering machine on.
"Why did you do that?" she asked. I told her it was so I wouldn't experience the anxiety of wondering, after we had left, if I had turned the machine on. There were times when I truly couldn't recall this simple act, and there were also a couple of times when I was sure I'd turned it on but hadn't. Intending to turn it on, I was distracted by something, and thus didn't activate the device but was sure I had because I had thought to do so.

By citing these idiosyncrasies of word and deed we may come to understand the visual evidence that the Shroud of Turin is an out and out fraud. It boils down to the difference between a rational, clear thinking adult, and an ideologue. The intelligent adult's beliefs are conditioned by knowledge derived either from experience or study; the ideologue is the exact opposite: the ideologue's knowledge is conditioned by his beliefs, and when presented with any evidence counter to his a priori conclusions he will cling to those beliefs and absolutely deny the truth.

Let us return our attention to the figure on the shroud. Note the position of the hands. While it may conform to twelfth century sensibilities, the covering of the male genitalia in the manner shown on the shroud would be impossible if the man were truly dead. It is something that anyone can prove to him- or herself. Lie on the floor and cover yourself that way; you'll find that you must arch your shoulders forward and raise you elbows from the floor. This would require effort well beyond the capacity of a dead man. But once you relax your shoulders will fall back, causing your elbows to contact the floor, and your hands will pull away from the site, either coming to rest on your thighs or at your sides. There is no way a dead man could hold his position unless positioned that way at the onset of rigor mortis. Why would anyone bother to wait for the body to stiffen just to arrange the hands in this way unless they knew that the image would be transferred to the cloth? It just doesn't make any sense. The shroud is touted as a "miracle" and investigators still puzzle as to how the image was transferred, therefore the people who set this tableau must have known it would show up. If the body were coated with vinegar the pose would have to be held for time enough to allow the acidity to impregnate the cloth: after the imprint was made additional vinegar could have been introduced and allowed to set long enough to bring out the figure more clearly. But in any case no truly dead man could hold the position that the shroud shows even for an instant, much less the length of time it would take to transfer the imprint of his body to the cloth.

It seems from all this that the taboo against exposing male reproductive organs that was promoted in the twelfth century, and is still very much in evidence today, trumped the physiological truth that a limp, dead body would be unable to hold this position of false modesty at all. Didn't the pope order Michaelangelo Bounarotti to drape the nude male figures on the Sistine ceiling? Instead of asking how the shroud was created, a better question would be; Why?

The high water mark of the Roman Catholic church was the Medieval period. It was at this time that its grotesque, fear inspiring dogma found fertile ground in the ignorance and superstition of the illiterate masses who flocked to the cathedrals and parish churches of the day. There just wasn't very much diversion in the typical city or town of the Middle Ages, so church was a place to go to feel safe and perhaps to feel that life is worth living. Those who lived in cathedral towns were especially awed by the soaring grandeur and the rich appointments of such houses of worship. The church held its congregations spellbound and in fear of eternal damnation, subject to the whims of an angry, unforgiving God, whose love they were encouraged to treat. The church demanded sacrifices of its followers and occasionally rewarded them with some rare gift - such as the relic of a saint, or some other hokum that the con artists of the day dreamed up to further gull the gullible. Europe during this period was awash with bones, hair, blood stains, pieces of the "true cross" and any other artifact that could be claimed to have connection to a saint. These relics were of course for sale. One commentator wrote that there were enough pieces of the "true cross" in circulation to build a decent sized house.

The Shroud of Turin must have been the ne plus ultra of "holy relics", the cloth in which the precious body of Jesus was wrapped (false modesty and all) after his crucifixion, an event that is documented nowhere else but in the Gospels. And these accounts were written by men who weren't there at the time of this alleged execution; their essays are based solely upon hearsay. It is curious that no one at the alleged time of the crucifixion had anything to say about it, although the man being killed was one who; cleaned lepers, walked on water, raised the dead, drove out demons, and the like. Jesus should have been wildly popular, yet this seems not to have been the case. Yet the gullible, so easily convinced, probably ponied up top dollar for this "treasure" as they did for St. Geronimo's nose hairs, or St. Swithen's fingernail clippings.

Cluster Jokes?

Political satire has been with us from the beginning in cartoon and parody form since the Revolution. George Washington, the Father of Our Country, was also labeled the "stepfather of our country" as well, a harmless bit of opposition humor. It expressed the view of a segment of the population that did not agree with Washington's policies. The same is true today but in a more apparent form, and one more widely available. We see Jay Leno, Steve Colbert, and other funny men poking fun at Bush and his gang of thugs, and we take comfort in the illusion that free speech is alive and well. This is not free speech; it is entertainment pretending to be free speech.

It is, but what good is it in practical terms? Were the police in Portland, Oregon, trading one-liners with the anti-war demonstrators a couple of years back. Were the high school security guards who attacked the sixteen year-old girl in the school cafeteria, and broke her arm, just kidding around? No, friends, we are only kidding ourselves if we believe that joking about the evil political cancer that has stricken our nation will cure the malady: it going to take a lot of positive, definitive, and relentless action to recover the democratic principles that we have always held so dear, even though we may have sometimes been remiss in living up them to the fullest. As Thomas Jefferson said it, "When the government is afraid of the people, that is democracy; when the people are afraid of the government, that is tyranny."

It appears that we have both in America today. The tyranny of power corrupted beyond redemption contends with the deeply-ingrained love of liberty that is the hallmark of our society. There is no question as to who will win in the long run, history is replete with tales of empires that rose and fell, and the American Empire will fall in due course. But we the people have to wake up and start taking action.

What can we do?

First of all we can come to the understanding that the people have all the power. The lying, conniving, duplicitous, and cowardly, people who infest the highest offices in the land are scavengers. like rats who feed on unguarded, unsecured goods. They work behind the scenes, in secrecy; are we to suppose that that are proud of what they are doing? Let me ask some pointed questions and let us see how our leaders stack up.

Do you teach your children to lie? They do.
Do you teach your children to cheat? They do.
Do you teach your children to say hurtful things about others? They do.
Do you teach your children to cover up their misdeeds? They do.

Oh, I could go on. but you get the idea. Children learn from what they see, not just at home, not just at school, or in church - but everywhere! What good are all your moral teachings when they see deviant pond scum like Bush, Cheney, Perle, Rice, and the rest of the menagerie of megalomania, lie like troupers, often contradicting themselves on videos. YouTube has many examples of Bush, Cheney, and now McCain, denying that they had ever made such-and-such statement, followed by a video showing them clearly making that very same statement. Do you need a house to fall on you?

The Democratic National Convention is due to start tomorrow, the Republican to have theirs later on. Are you actually expecting an honest election? Nothing has changed since 2004; the same hackable voting machines are still out there, the local boards of the respective parties will still try to disqualify voters who oppose their party using every dirty trick in the book. And the candidates? They look different but with either one in the White House it will be business-as-usual; the money men will still call the shots, and we will still support Israel, something we should have stopped doing forty years ago.

John McCain is a certifiable nut case; just look at his videos on YouTube; he changes positions more often than I change socks. Remember the "Keating Five": he hopes you have forgotten about that little scandal. His fellow POWs in Viet Nam tell us that he was given special favors by the enemy in exchange for making propaganda films, for them and for informing on his fellow prisoners. Now he wants to be president? Bush was enough of a disaster, we can live very well without the likes of Mr. McCain.

What can we do as citizens to return our nation to constitutional principles, sound moral values, and the sovereign citizenship that the Constitution of the Unites States guarantees for us all. It is the supreme law of the land and we need leaders, and we need leaders who will uphold the Constitution, not trash it, who will put the interests of the American people first, and who will lead this nation to a new world of peace and prosperity, not the Hitlerian New World Order that the nepcom crazies have been trying to introduce. They have taken action, we therefore must also tke action.

Demonstrations do not work! All they accomplish is to give the bully boys another excuse to hurt people. They even plant agitators among the demonstrators to incite violence, and give the police an excuse to brutalize people who are just exercising their Constitutional right of free assembly. What good has ever come of protesting? Sure, we have seen videos of people being clubbed, tear gassed, knocked down, handcuffed, and arrested - but that changes nothing. And what good are protests at political gatherings when the protesters are herded into cages a hundred yards away from any cameras, candidates, or anyone else except the police that guard them. No, friends; they play rough, we must play even rougher; they work in secret, so must we; they are dedicated to their cause, we must be even more dedicated to ours. So what can we do?

Stop demonstrating! Start taking effective positive action. Got a computer, a printer, and the Internet? Good! Search out articles about the abuses of government, about the voting records of local representatives; then print these out as fliers and tack them up everywhere, place them under the windshield wipers of cars in parking lots. Email and telephone your congressmen and senators on all issues pertaining to our civil liberties: insist that they Vote American, that is, in the best interests of our nation and its people. These include jobs, affordable health care, the abolition of the Federal Reserve; separation of church and state: stop passing laws based on religious dogma; abortion, same sex marriage, Blue Laws, birth control, and anything else that gives the government a right to meddle in the private lives of people or curb their right to free expression.

Liberty is the name of this game. We enjoy freedoms that has been passed down to us by truly brave, principled men who put their very lives on the line. We are stewards of that liberty, entrusted with the holy mission of passing it on to future generations, whole and complete, not to squander it on the fantasies of cowards who see terrorists behind every bush, around every corner,and are so paranoid that their infamous Watch Lists contain children as young as five years old.

The Second American Revolution has begun; join it and together we can bring sanity back to our cherished land, before the shooting starts!

Let's Get Real!

In my last post I reiterated some of examples of the Medieval thinking and ignorance that persist in modern times, by supposedly intelligent people. Were it only in these regards (Big Bang, Time Travel, and the Zero Dilemma) that brain space and time were wasted, there wouldn't be very much to worry about, but these are only the least examples of the backward thinking that hobbles peoples' minds. Like sheep they are led along the paths laid out by the twin authoritarianisms, politics and religion, which have so come to resemble one another that it becomes harder to tell them apart. Organized religion seeks to keep the spirit bound to its toxic agenda, while politics does the same thing in more secular ways. Both keep mankind living in the past while they strive to imprison us in the present. The subject this time is elections.

Who elects the president? Surely it isn't the people that he (or she, maybe someday) pledges to serve. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 were travesties. Bush was appointed to office by the Supreme Court after Katherine Harris ordered the recount of the controversial Florida vote to stop. So the Oval Office was handed over to this criminal misfit by six people, Harris and five justices (a misnomer if ever there was one). There is no need to go into the crimes that this administration is guilty of, they are too well known by those not too frightened or stupid to face facts. It's time to put a stop to this imperialist nonsense and face one glaring fact: that our election system is woefully inadequate, prone to corruption, highly inefficient, and far more expensive than it need be. The answer?

The Internet, of course! All forms of commerce are regularly transacted on the Net; people buy and sell things, bank records are accessed and transactions performed with complete safety, bills are paid remotely, all on secured sites. Why not elections?

Computers are everywhere: anyone can gain access given enough time. And that brings up another question; why an election day, why not an election week? That way anyone who doesn't own a computer could go to their public library, school, or other facility, and vote. Here's how it would work;

Every American citizen has a Social Security number and the Social Security Administration has all the records on computer. It would be simple enough to build a pointer file consisting of a person's name and Social Security Number. Records in this file would be accessed only by the number and the file would return the person's name, solely for confirmation: the name and number match. Once the match has been established the person's full record would be accessed but not displayed. From this hidden record data would be read to ascertain the person's current address, city, state, and zip- and area codes. These data would be used to ensure that the proper input screens are pulled up for each level of candidacy. These screens would show the names of every candidate for every office; national, state, and local, currently being filled. If it's a presidential election year the screen showing the names of the candidates would be displayed first; if it's a mid-term election it wouldn't appear. Only active elections would be operational.

If a Senate seat is involved, the 'state' field in the hidden record would bring up the correct screen showing the candidates for that particular seat. The voter would only need to click on the button next to the name of their choice and to continue. The zip code would identify the Congressional District, bringing up the proper screen displaying the candidates for the House of Representatives. Gubernatorial elections would be handled the same way. Click, Enter, go on to the next screen. The candidates' screens would be arranged in a top-down sequence, and local elections could be covered as well. The 'city' field would access the correct screen for a particular mayoral election and any other city-wide office (dog catcher) and would cover county-wide elections as well. The information in the hidden record would have all the necessary data to correctly identify the candidates in every race.

After every screen has been operated upon, a final screen would appear showing the complete record of votes cast. This could be printed out for further reference. If the voter finds an error on this final screen, he or she can click on the line and bring up the proper screen to be re-entered: this should not happen, but...

Now the process has been completed. The voter sign off. When this happens the pointer file record will be erased, no longer accessible: one person, one vote.

As with anything, problems may arise. If the Social Security number brings up the wrong name, or no record is found, the first screen would show an 800-number that the person could call to report the anomaly and have it corrected. The operators at this number would have access to the hidden record for verification purposes in the event that someone has already accessed that account and placed a fraudulent entry. Upon verification of the caller's identity, the bogus vote would be erased and the pointer file record reactivated.

There is no reason this system could not be implimented: the technology exists. I personally have been programming computers since 1975 - not only do I know it can be done, I'd be happy to write the system myself! While the system would seem labor intensive, this problem could be addressed by assembling a shared file with all the screen templates stored there for access by local officials who would enter the proper locus identifiers and candidates' names.

It is, after all, the 21st Century.

Pseudo-science and Other Errors

Big Bang
I was just viewing a couple of YouTube videos about the Q'ran and - of all things, how it supports the Big Bang Theory. Of course nothing can prove the Big Bang because it is utter, unmitigated nonsense, a modern example of Medieval thinking. There are so many things wrong with this cockamamie idea, it beggars the mind to know where to begin.

Let's begin right here, on the earth which, if the Big Bang were true, would be once again at the center of the universe (our universe, that is: there are many others). This is because the so-called "expanding universe" is expanding at a uniform distance in every direction from us. Copious astronomical data shows that we inhabit a remote region on one of our galaxy's spiral arms, of which there are twelve. Observations have also shown that the universe and everything in it is in constant motion. There is no center to the universe; it keeps evolving, and the known universe is 286 billion light-years wide; how did it reach such proportions in only 15 billion years.

Then there's the problem with the Hubble Number, an index that measures the velocity at which the farthest-flung galaxy is moving away from us. Calculations based on the 15 billion year-old universe and some other details of the theory, provide that the Hubble Number should be somewhere around 85. Observations show that it doesn't even come close, and the margin for error is a whopping ±17! Readings vary from the low thirties to the high 40's and everyone who computes this variable comes up with a different answer. Other calculations, more accurate and time-tested indicate that our 15 billion year-old universe contains stars that are 17- to 24 billion years old.

Finally, it's just poor science to begin with a conclusion and then to set about trying to prove it. This is just Creationism, a discredited bit of Medieval ideology based on the "literal interpretation" of the Bible which, in itself is nonsense. If you fill a glass half full of water you literally have a half glass of water; whether the glass is half full or half empty is an interpretation.

Time Travel
Another bit of delusional wool gathering that occupies otherwise vacant minds is the idea that we can go backward in time. Crackpots are working to design time machines when the fact is that time machines already exist: they're called clocks. Time also exists, but it is a concept, not a naturally occurring phenomenon. Ever seen clocks hanging from trees in the woods primeval? Ever see a squirrel or a raccoon wearing a wristwatch? Ever have a pigeon stop you on a downtown street and ask you for the correct time?
Time is a standard that measures change, and goes forward, never backward. In fact, any statistical conclusion based on time is false. For example; if you set a piece of raw iron down in your back yard and wait a year, it will be completely coated with rust. It isn't the time that causes the rust, but the chemical action of the atmosphere working on the iron. The same holds true for the human body; the false information that self-interested parties (doctors, drug companies, etc.) are spreading is that after a certain age (40?) you start to slow down. You become liable for heart trouble, hardening of the arteries, back pain, arthritis, and a whole slew of other disabilities. But the fact is, time has nothing whatsoever to do with it; the telling factor is the state of your health. Your body doesn't know how old it is. Choose a healthy, nutritious diet, get plenty of exercise, adequate rest, and keep in fit spiritual condition and your body will serve you well, warding off infection, healing minor injuries, and taking you wherever you want to go without a walker or electric scooter.
Finally, as time measures change, to go back to the past would involve unchanging everything that has changed between the present and the target historical date. This would involve two events, the original change and the un-change; like unscrambling an egg. Want to go back in time? Watch old movies.

The Zero Dilemma
I'm sure you've seen this in math books; 1/0 = ∞ ( a number divided by zero is infinity ). No it isn't. The reason is simple: zero is not a number. It is a symbol that represents a concept, just like the symbol of infinity; in one instance, Nothing, and in the other, Too Many. In mathematical studies of limits, functions involving maximaa and minima, the range shown under the Σ symbol is always as x ─> 0 (as x approaches zero: it never gets there).
The correct form is; 1/0 = 1. If zero represents "nothing" then by logical inference dividing by nothing is the same as not dividing by something, and if something is not divided by something else it remains unchanged.

I welcome any arguments.

Notes from Purgatory

My view of the world we live in is that it is Purgatory; a little bit of Heaven, a little bit of Hell, and a whole lot of In-between. And it seems to be sliding more into the Hell direction with each passing day. Hope we can turn things around soon; there are enough people waking up to the truth about how we are being conned and manipulated by the monied powers-that-be, using the one-two punch: Politics and Religion. For an amusing and dead-on critique of the latter, go to YouTube and search for Pat Condell - he has about 40 videos and they are all well worth watching.

But I don't want to get into all that today. Instead I would like to show you around my little piece of the world. It's a happy place most of the time, largely because I don't watch television, don't read newspapers, and don't much care about what the Fascist pigs in our governement are up to. They will answer for their crimes soon enough.

I lke my own little world better because in it I can do things to make my own life, and the lives of those who visit, better. Some of these are deeply troubled, and this piece is about one person in particular, a bittersweet story. Her name is Anna, anonymous enough as there are loads of Annas in the world. I have only known her for about three or four months but she has found a place in my heart, a real sweetheart.
One example of this happened the day after my birthday last month.

I was in a small gathering and one of my friends handed me a birthday card. Anna was there and hadn't known about my birthday. Sitting quiety she took out a pen and a small piece of paper and started working on a little picture. When it was done she handed it to me: it was a picture of a rose and a birthday greeting. I treasure that little piece of paper. What's so special? you might ask.

Well, when I first met Anna she had three monkeys on her back: drugs, alcohol, andsomething just as devastating. I have been able to help her get past the drugs and alcohol and she's beenclean and sober ever since. It's the third malady that has proven hardest to overcome: Anorexia Nervosa. You see, Anna weighs 78 pounds and was recently admitted to a local hospital with a blood pressure reading of 70/30, about as close as anybody can get to a memorial service. For twenty years she hd been isolated and depressed that it's a wonder she lived this long, but the will to live finally came to the fore and she's taking a swing at it. I have become a friend that she trusts, and with the little notes of appreciation I've received from her, it's not too hard at all. Sometimes she sinks into the darkness of despair, but when this happens she calls me and lets me guide her back to the realization that she is not alone, never has to be ever again, and that life is worth living. The last time she called from the hospital she was pretty upbeat and there's hope. She needs help with eating, and I have told her that I am pictuuring her happy, healthy, and about thirty-five pounds heavier. I'll do everything I can to help bring that vision into the fullness of realization, but there's a long way to go, and there are no guarantees. It's a day at a time, but when the day comes that Anna can have visitors she will be surpised at the group that shows up.

That's my message. Whether you are alone, depressed, feeling like life had dealt you a crappy hand, or if you are unwittingly becoming isolated with all the distractions that the modern world has to offer while the insane, narrow-minded, and bigotted ideaologues whom we know all to well are trying to take over the world, get up, get out and build relationships with others more of less fortunate thatn you are. (Boy, that was some sentence; wasn't it?) Anyway, we need to join together as the cells in the worldly body of God, the Spirit of the Universe, and allow ourselves to be led out of the new Dark Age that our cowarddly leaders are trying to fashion for us. If you can find an Anna, someone who steps up to the plate with three stikes already, you will indeed be fortunate. ot only will you have the oppotunity to help others, but you will also be helping yourself, and the rest of us who want peace and happiness.

Try it: you'll like it!

I AM THE CREATOR!

Blasphemy? Maybe not. Of course the majority of the religious types have been taught that God is the Creator of the universe. That's good information and, as God is the Universal Spirit of the Universe, true in that context. But true as it may be there is a dangerous loose end that needs to be tied down: that God is my Creator. It sounded plausible until I gave it some serious thought.

After I got my mind back from the Crazy Old Man in the Sky, the Christian [God], it became quite clear that I am my own creator. Until that time the Old God gave me everything I had. I was still fearful, restless, and thoroughly confused, a state common to the " faithful ", never certain just what this [God] would send my way, or what [He] would take away. I was assured by the ladies in the way-out-of-style wardrobes ( nuns ) that we " all have our crosses to bear." We just have to make the best of it. Sort of like the mantra from an old tv detective series, " Life's hard, then you die."

This [God] gave me things and took things away, often it was the same thing, especially if it was something I liked. Whenever I questioned these random ocurrences I was told that [God] had a purpose, [He] knows what's best, and stop asking questions. My life, in other words, was none of my business. I only haveto be thankful to this ersatz [God] for giving me crosses to bear and for taking stuff away from me. Not such a bargain after all.

Nonsense, in fact.

My life IS my business and no one else's. I am my own creator; my feelings, thoughts, and actions, determine the quality of my life as nothing else ever has. And it's a good life, in fact there are some times whan I have to remind myself that I am not dreaming. But this may require a bit of explaining, so here goes.

The Spirit of the Universe is eternal; without beginning, without end, so the idea that [God] manufactured everything from nothing is wrong. It's bad physics too. So how can God be the Creator of the Universe if it was never created: brough into being? The answer is: the same way a Beethoven could creat wonderful symphonies, string quartets, piano sonatas, and romances for the violin, without having to invent music. The music was ( and is ) already there! So there's the answer.

God provides the tools and materials I need to live well. The Will of God is a legacy to which I am the heir, not marching orders, not as many believe, what to do. If I use the gifts that the Spirit of the Universe gives me, it matters not at all what I do but how. Am I loving, considerate of others, unthreatening in every word and deed, helpful where a need arises? All my prayers bring success. Of course, you may be wondering how that can be.

Next time you're down on your knees beside the bed, with your hands held a ceratin way, just like in Feudal times, and talking to the ceiling, ask yourself this question; What am I praying for? Are you asking for something that the Big Fella in the sky has somehow neglected to give? Are you praying for something to happen that just has to happen? Something outside yourself?

That's not praying; it's begging for a favor from some non-existent figment of the Medieval imagination, a Zeus clone that is no more real than unicorns or flying horses. That's why the response rate is so low, and when these " prayers " seem to be answered it is always the outworking of something that was going to happen anyway. But if we can reduce the entire object of prayer to a single word to describe what we pray for, that word would be - results. Talking produces no result, only action. Have you ever taken an action that did not produce a result? And were these results not perfectly consistent with the action taken? They always are.

The Spirit of the Universe, Universal God, provides every man and woman everything we need to lead happy, successful lives. True, there is poverty and suffering in the world, horrendous dislocations and abject misery, but if you are reading these words then these conditions don't apply to you. Yet, you can be as miserable as the poorest Ethiopian if you live with a Poverty Mentality. It's not about money or property; rather, it's all about attitude. It's the old bromide: If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade; if you break an egg, make an omelette.

These are simplifications, thumbnails of approaches to life's problems that may take time and effort to realize, but they can come into being - if you work for them. You are the creator of your own fortunes, and these are determined by your attitude and outlook on life, the quality of your choices, and the energy you put into right action. There are no shortcuts, no free lunches, no free rides, but that doesn't mean that life has to be hard. Æsop told us about the tortois and the hare to make the point that slow and steady wins the race: it was true 25 centuries ago, it's true today.

Creation takes place every instant, everywhere in the universe. The Spirit of the Universe handles all that, but as concerns the quality of my life it is the quality of my own words and deeds that determine whether I will be happy, outgoing, and prosperous, or miserable, isolated, and perpetually lacking. The Bible speaks of retribution, usually considered to be a cautionary negative but which in fact can be positive as well: What goes around, comes around. It's all about what I send around. It's all about what you send around, too. Imagine if enough people could learn to live in love, gratitude, patience, and forgiveness; it would only be a matter of time before the love would be returned many times over.

Guaranteed.