Bummer! Just when I was hoping for Marvin the Martian to make an appearance not only is Phoenix experiencing difficulty but I read an article speculating Mars was a pickled egg from the beginning, so briny it could never have supported any life forms. The “Raiders of the Future” project presupposed Martian mummies to work with, but the amount of salt now supposed for the red planet since its formation would preclude any life to be mummified:

Mars may be too salty for life: Signs of water alone may not prove Martians exist(ed). By Andrea Thompson; Space.com. May 29, 2008. In 2004, NASA's Opportunity rover found evidence in Martian soils that water had once flowed across the surface there, buoying hopes that the red planet may once have supported primitive life. But a new study throws some cold water, and a big pinch of salt, on those hopes. "Liquid water is required by all species on Earth and we've assumed that water is the very least that would be necessary for life on Mars," said study team member Nicholas J. Tosca, a Harvard University postdoctoral researcher. "However, to really assess Mars' habitability we need to consider the properties of its water. Not all of Earth's waters are able to support life, and the limits of terrestrial life are sharply defined by water's temperature, acidity and salinity." Tosca and his team analyzed salt deposits in the 4-billion-year-old Martian rock investigated by Opportunity (and by spacecraft orbiting the planet). The new analysis shows that the water that would have flowed across these ancient Martian rocks may have been exceedingly briny. "Our sense has been that while Mars is a lousy environment for supporting life today, long ago it might have more closely resembled Earth," said Andrew H. Knoll, also of Harvard and on the study team. "But this result suggests quite strongly that even as long as four billion years ago, the surface of Mars would have been challenging for life. No matter how far back we peer into Mars' history, we may never see a point at which the planet really looked like Earth." The research was presented in February at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. Halophiles, or organisms that can tolerate high-salinity waters, are known to exist in places on Earth, but they likely evolved from organisms that lived in purer waters, scientists think, making it unlikely that life would actually arise initially in extremely briny waters. The high salinity, however, "doesn't rule out life forms of a type we've never encountered," Knoll added, "but life that could originate and persist in such a salty setting would require biochemistry distinct from any known among even the most robust halophiles on Earth." Knoll and Tosca also say the finding doesn't rule out the possibility that less salty waters once flowed on the planet, though Meridiani Planum, where the Opportunity rocks were found, is believed to have been one of the wetter, more hospitable places on the planet.

Whether Mars ever had life or not I believe space exploration is one of the few instances in which government has done good work. Unfortunately it has suffered mightily at the hands of political appointees and the typical government clones that are never held accountable for blunders resulting in loss of lives and enormous amounts of money. But when it comes to such massive spending including that involved with the Large Hadron Collider I’m reminded of the wealthy guy in the film Contact. Are the super wealthy hoping for the Fountain of Youth or possibly trying to establish a colony on another planet because they know something we ordinary humans don’t, something like the demise of our planet for example? For that matter, does Ray Kurzweil actually think he can live forever?

As a lover of SciFi all my life and having read so much by Ray Kurzweil and being on his subscriber list I was anxious to see him with Glenn Beck yesterday. But the most interesting part came when Beck asked him if he believed in the soul and Kurzweil demurred as though taken aback by the question, and with a slow shake of his head and slight smile replied uncertainly he wasn’t sure. So, despite the many contributions to futuristic thinking the matter of the soul and a resolution to the question is not yet in sight for Kurzweil, and those familiar with his writing and thoughts know there is allowance made for a spiritual dimension even in futuristic thinking.

In fact, this is one of the things most scientists are very cautious about; and due to the possibility of the soul and a spiritual dimension to life and the universe it is a question of just how far we want to go in allowing machines to do our thinking for us? It was one thing for Klaatu to display Gort as an answer to violence, but would we actually want machines without a soul to make the decisions as to which planets to obliterate? Well, first things first: Is there any such thing as a soul to even be concerned about?

Soul or not the decision may already be out our hands. Right now black holes in the Internet are driving some people nuts trying to get a handle on them. But computers are so much a part of controlling life worldwide that a massive crash poses the possibility of disasters of truly Biblical proportions. There are thousands of people trying to stay ahead of the curve as thousands attempt to hack, many of these maliciously trying to do real damage. There are many dangers facing our planet and our species, and while we need futuristic thinking and planning, the work of scientists and space exploration like Phoenix unless we can get a handle on the dangers posed by wicked people all such futuristic thinking, planning and work will come to naught.

Mars may have been too briny for life in any form from the beginning, but what are we doing for our own planet to ensure it remains habitable for human life? However, this requires the cooperation of nations too many of which are led by those caring nothing about the future of our planet. Gangs are terrorizing many cities of America, and litigation has blunted any effective countermeasures. And if what is happening to morals in America is any predictor as per the polygamists in Texas and elsewhere preying on children just what are the standards left? But when the means for an honest life is reduced to even the righteous stretching forth their hand to steal just to put bread in the mouths of their children hope of improvement becomes very dim.

On the bright side, Thoreau remarked about fish that had been packed in salt for years as a means of preservation. And then there is the story of Lot’s Wife. Carthage is said to have been strewn with salt by the Romans so nothing would grow. If some wicked people are determined to turn our earth into a pillar of salt by one means or another the best that may be hoped for is mummies inviting speculation from some futuristic race of extraterrestrials exploring our planet and trying to make sense of our species. Good luck to them; it seems we can’t make sense of it ourselves.

Most of us are fascinated by the stars and astronomy, but here on earth America’s government resembles a black hole. It sucks everything in but nothing is coming out; leaving We the People and the rest of the world in darkness concerning what is happening in our government. While some scientists are concerned the Large Hadron Collider may create black holes, whatever his motivation even Scott McClellan’s observations are being sucked in by the already existing black hole of Washington, DC. Even if every accusation he makes should be proven, all would be sucked in by that black hole and disappear. Some are asking why he didn’t come clean long ago when it might have mattered, but at that he will be lucky if he doesn’t meet the same fate as Marilyn Monroe, Vincent Foster, or Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

The tyrannical governments elsewhere in the world are attacked for being undemocratic and not allowing the light to shine on them, but here we are with JFK, RFK, the Warren and 9/11 Commissions, and a present government that has operated so secretly and with such flagrant disregard for anything approaching the rule of law or even decency as to make the old Soviet Union seem a shining example of open government and democracy by comparison! And while that is admittedly somewhat overdrawn, I somehow believe the KGB would have done a more efficient job of intelligence gathering than what is being offered as an explanation of why Caesar Bush and Company attacked Iraq.

As to the MSM, for the most part it is sold out to so much corruption in cooperation with the black hole of DC as to be a caricature of news. I get more information from the funny papers and foreign web sites than from most of our news media. So yes, I freely admit by writing of these things I am a believer in some conspiracy theories and have my own ideas about these. But my belief in such conspiracies is that they are Satanic, and evil servants do the Devil’s bidding in their hatred of all that is good in humankind.

Ok, so here I am in the role of Randy Quaid, Independence Day, as he tries to warn people because of aliens abducting him when I write about a Satanic conspiracy of evil against our species. But quite honestly I have no better way of attempting to explain things like our government and the direction it is taking America on an obvious path of destruction. How can our government act so blindly as to ignore the fact that we cannot possibly survive as a nation without a national identity requiring a heritage, culture, common language and secure borders? But the film did draw attention to the fact when the earth is threatened by such a powerful and malignant force as those aliens everybody worldwide pulled together for survival.

So I ask myself what would it take for America’s leadership to get its act together for our survival; malignant, evil space aliens or an E.L.E.? Alas, I fear nothing short of something as obvious threatening our extinction would do the trick. If the Big One hits my native state and deserts become seashore properties that would obviously change things in a heartbeat. But even something that catastrophic would not change the character of the black hole of DC. Such evil does not change because of natural disasters like Katrina, and the loss of Frisco and L.A. would not diminish the evil.

Of course, I consider a Seven Days in May a possibility but with Burt Lancaster being successful. There are a number of possibilities, none of them really desirable, but in the end the things that are necessary to save America are so truly Draconian as to now be quite beyond any reasonable expectation on my part. No, the more rational expectation is that our government being so corrupt and ineffectual throughout will implode like an enormously complicated machine that due to poor engineering and a lack of preventive maintenance falls apart and ceases to function.

Because of so many natural disasters like the recent earthquakes and tornadoes we are being shown survival techniques, many of which remind me of duct tape and plastic. We should face the fact that things have not improved in government, but are degenerating at an ever faster clip and as individuals prepare the best we can for the coming disaster brought upon America because of a failed government. It might offer some encouragement if the present contenders for the White House had anything specific to say about saving America, but none of them have anything specific to offer. They are nothing but politicians, and it is a dismal truth that politicians will not save America but on the contrary will surely make bad conditions for our nation only worse; a truth not lost on the EU, Russia, and China.

Last night here in the Kern River Valley we were treated to a presentation of the disaster plan in the event Isabella Dam breaks. But some time ago when the warning horn was tested most people in the valley couldn’t hear it, and if the dam breaks most of us know those in the town of Isabella or anyone in the flood path can’t outrun the water. But it’s nice to know we have the attention of those in government so genuinely concerned for our safety they are testing horns and showing us flood maps. However, every time I drive through town I know there is no hope for anyone below the dam in the event of its failure. The rupture of the dam brought on by an earthquake would not allow time for any warning here locally, but I wonder if there would be any warning of an impending collapse of the dam short of a catastrophic earthquake? And by then, any warning here locally would be too late.

Jimmy Carter has some help generating heat for Israel. Indiana Jones ticked off the Russians and Sharon Stone has ticked off the Chinese. Is Hollywood going to be the catalyst for Gog and Magog of the Bible? But Carter being a Baptist, he may subscribe to the fundamentalist dispensational pre-trib/rapture doctrine and be trying to hasten the day of the Lord’s return and the battle of Armageddon. Well, he wouldn’t be the first person that thought the Lord could use a little help from some human instrumentality. Remember how Sara thought she was giving the Lord a hand with Hagar; and we know how that turned out.

Before you laugh consider what power Hollywood wields, and having such power as being an American President does funny things in some minds; and I only have to point out that Bush… well, you know what I mean and I’ve written about it at length. And if you don’t, I’m sure Scott McClellan could fill you in. The short version is Caesar Bush lied and FOXNEWS features Karl Rove. But then, not to single out a particular one any MSM that touts itself as “fair and balanced” as they all do either has a very difficult time distinguishing reality or a very high degree of chutzpah.

No matter what one’s personal beliefs metaphysical or otherwise it cannot be denied “The weed of evil bears bitter fruit,” and once you have allied yourself with evil you are on a slippery slope thereafter not excepting people like Colin Powell and Scott McClellan. Neither of these men in my opinion should ever have fallen in with thieves and the fact that they did does not speak well for their powers of discernment. Trying the spirits whether they are of God is more than just a Biblical admonition; it is something we are all required to do when it comes to choosing our associations. But there is no denying power acts as an aphrodisiac on those drawn into its influence, and being a drug it accounts much in the way of sex for some of the very stupid things powerful and otherwise intelligent people say and do.

Still, it is not just tongue in cheek when I write about the influence of Jimmy Carter, Indiana Jones and Sharon Stone on world events. These leave me with an uneasy feeling about the possible confluence of such things and their impact; and if there does exist the poet’s Universal Lyre or a Sea of Consciousness some people might be tuned in to these even unknowingly, or knowingly as some credit Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce for example. I have lived too long, studied and experienced too much to be dismissive of all claims for the supernatural. Though charlatans abound Psi has a legitimate role in scientific inquiry, and there are far too many instances of things falling into the category of the unexplained to entirely discount the paranormal.

But since we don’t seem able to find psychics to solve our problems and prevent wars “We should have stopped Hitler at Munich” is more than a punch line in The Godfather; it was hindsight for many following the war. Pat Buchanan is correct about WWII being an unnecessary war, and when I speculate there will once more be concentration camps in America I have good cause for doing so. As economic conditions continue to deteriorate here in America the unimaginable has a place of actually happening as those of us living the events of WWII can testify.

Where it becomes quite surreal is thinking of a Nuremberg Tribunal for America’s leadership. When I first wrote of this it came to mind the leadership of Hitler’s Germany could never have imagined such a thing, and the ordinary citizens of Germany and Japan could not understand why they were being bombed.

Astrology has been around throughout all of recorded history, and despite the many disclaimers continues to enjoy many adherents worldwide including some of the most well educated and powerful people in the world. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the motivation for the enormous amounts of money invested in astronomy and space exploration comes from some of the rich and powerful in authority that believe in astrology hoping to find some answers to their questions written in the stars.

America being held in the death throes of political correctness and thoroughly corrupt politicians in which the truth no matter how ugly does not have a chance of finding its rightful place in the MSM, the polls will not reflect the actual fact that millions of Americans will not vote for Obama because of his race. And if they had any hesitation about this on the basis of either his race or politics, his wife has certainly made up their minds. But the universities did accomplish the destructive goal of multiculturalism being rammed through the schools and courts, divorcing those like Obama from reality, and in true university fashion of being above the Great Unwashed decreed America could survive this destructive agenda by simple fiat of laws.

But the truth of the matter is a great part of Jeremiah Wright’s hatred for America is all those beautiful blondes on TV, and a great part of Michelle Obama’s hatred toward America is the fact she feels cheated that she isn’t a beautiful blonde Caucasian, that if not written in the stars is a cruel accident of birth she has to face every day viewing those beautiful blondes TV news channels and others use for getting people to watch them. CEOs aren’t stupid; but while I’m certain she isn’t bemoaning not having been born in Africa it has to be infuriating to MO to watch and listen to some beautiful blonde taking her to task, and I’m quite certain she has seen the original King Kong with Fay Wray and witnessed how eager that native chief was to get his hands on her. And while it made for a classic film, in real life beautiful blondes on that island being scarce it is very doubtful that chief (or Jeremiah Wright) having gotten his hands on Fay would have handed her over to Kong. But while I don’t expect the MSM to be sharing any of Ms. Obama’s dumb blonde jokes with us envy and jealousy, lust and greed have no racial distinctive.

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” However, many take exception to Shakespeare’s Cassius on this point and would have their stars responsible for their fate whether of being underlings or among the rich and powerful, and despite disclaimers by some touting themselves scientific will have Caesar a god or the fate read in the stars decreeing good and evil in their lives. Many read their daily horoscope for entertainment, but many take such things seriously. And how many simply throw away those little sayings found in Fortune Cookies without reading them. How many continue to believe in charms and amulets despite the scientific age we live in.

The very uncertainty and dangers faced by the earliest humans resulted in many attempts to understand their world, and without any science to guide them it was natural they would look to the stars for answers. But when ancient calendars and methods of viewing the stars were developed it would be astrology that gained the ascendancy, and given some of these calendars and ancient knowledge of the planets and stars it is reasonable for some of us to think such knowledge could not have been gained by human intellect and observation alone.

Some people believe in Karma, some believe your date of death is set in the heavens, there are many who believe in various forms of mysticism and the many mysteries that surround us are fertile ground for superstitions. But Tevye can’t be faulted for asking God why he couldn’t have been born rich rather than poor, questioning whether such a thing would have upset some grand cosmic purpose. Ah, I think dear Tevye put his finger on the questions most of us have whether there is in fact any grand cosmic purpose to life or not. It is these questions that lead some to seek answers in astrology, hoping the stars will provide answers.

The two-hour History Channel presentation tying the Indiana Jones films to archeology was interesting. What I found of most interest was the time given to various people expressing their views of a spiritual element involved with discoveries of ancient cultures. The more that is discovered about ancient people the more questions arise about such a spiritual element being the driving force of ancient cultures and civilizations. Just how did the various deities gain such prominence for both good and evil? What were the beginnings of these various deities that compelled so many to build the great monuments of stone and their inscriptions? I don’t think all of this can be discarded by ascribing it to superstitious nonsense.

But what is the driving force among some of us humans for accomplishing wonders like men walking on the moon, the Phoenix Lander, and the Large Hadron Collider? Many will cite the spirit of inquiry and scientific investigation for the betterment of our species; but this by itself is not a satisfactory explanation for the enormous amount of effort and treasure expended on such things. No, to my mind it is something far greater, something that continues to draw people to trying to find an answer for purpose and direction in their lives in the stars, the very same thing that drew our earliest ancestors in like fashion seeking answers to their same questions.

Thoreau correctly pointed out the law never made a man one whit more just, and I would point out no amount of politicians, guns, or bombs will do this either. But so long as the Utopian ideals of fairness and justice elude our species so long will people seek for answers to the patent unfairness and injustice of life in the stars and religion. Whether we are what we are as a species or as individuals by accident of birth or divine purpose is a question still unanswered. However, given the many mysteries surrounding I will not find fault with those looking for answers in the stars though I believe the fault of any being an underling is within themselves.

Kubrick and Clarke’s monolith has an ancient history, and is still subject to interpretation. This reaching out to the stars has more than astrological meaning for many. Thoughts of alien intelligence and extraterrestrials influencing life on earth abound; but some continue to practice mystical rites and many continue to whistle through graveyards. No matter the degree of scientific sophistication anomalies remain, and most of us are never quite sure we are alone here on earth whether in our minds or elsewhere. And so, while the thrust of science gives the appearance of dealing only with facts in my opinion the works of the men and women of science would seem to have a deeper, even mystical purpose than most scientists would be willing to admit.

Marvin the Martian was a real hit with me and millions of others from the time of his first Looney Tunes appearance. If you do a search of Marvin you might be surprised at how many web sites are dedicated to the cute little extraterrestrial. And as we anxiously await news of the Phoenix Mars Lander hoping it will be successful it isn’t so much the many SciFi scenarios of life on Mars that come to my mind as the various cartoons with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig dealing with Marvin.

For those of us who saw War of the Worlds when it first came out in 1953 the special effects were chillingly awesome at the time and acknowledged by winning an Oscar. And though I’m old enough to recall the Orson Welles 1938 broadcast that panicked so many continuing to be a topic of interest among several of the adults around me back then, it was Walt Kelly who pointed out in Pogo there was no need of worrying about Martians destroying the world, that we earthlings were quite capable of doing the job without any outside help. Obviously Walt had a pretty good grasp of the situation; it wasn’t Martians or an Andromeda Strain we had to worry about doing us in; it was our own species. As per Walt, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Now while in my whimsy I continue to hope Klaatu will come and save us from ourselves, there is no denying the barbarism of our species that continues apace even as portrayed in the film. While literally billions suffer from ignorance and poverty, from the insanities of wars, religious and political fanaticism some are able to do such wondrous things as constructing that Phoenix Mars Lander and the Large Hadron Collider.

Western Civilization has produced the greatest works of science in history, and no small amount of this has been due to the kinds of people like Newton that had a Christian orientation. In seeking enlightenment of their Christian beliefs, Newton and others began to delve deeply into looking for answers to help them understand the mind of God in Creation and the place of us humans in our relationship to God and his Creation. It is obvious that without this Christian orientation there would not now be any Phoenix Lander, HLC or many others of the greatest achievements in science despite the Devil in the Details. For example, along with advances in science the ugly and foreboding specter of slavery and profits overshadowed many of these.

The Industrial Revolution bred of science came at a great human cost. It bred a kind of factory slavery that caused Henry Thoreau to comment having a Southern overseer was bad, but having a Northern one was worse! Nearly thirty years ago I wrote an article in which I pointed out the seed of America’s destruction was sown in slavery, calling particular attention to Benjamin Franklin’s failed attempt to deal with this by our Constitution. And following Lincoln’s War with a needless 600,000 casualties in this horrifically bloody attempt at national suicide pitting brother against brother and resulting in a Federal Triune Dictatorship the situation has only become worse as Henry’s Northern Overseer holds millions in bondage to slavery whether of welfare or other today, a kind of slavery worse than that of any Southern Overseer despite the propaganda of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, etc.

It did not surprise me that MLK was shot. It will not surprise me if Obama is shot and I expressed my fear of this from the first notwithstanding his making enemies of the Clintons; it was as though he was asking for this from the very beginning; my only consternation comes from those that have supported his running for president. What could possibly have been his and their thinking? Then it came to me; while God can’t be bribed and tempted by offers of a better deal, Satan can. Remember Kelly’s Heroes? Don Rickles had it right: you offer that staunch fire-breathing, fanatical Fuhrer and war-loving Nazi tank commander a “deal, deal;” and how we laughed at the expression on his face when told of the gold and the next scene showing the doors of that bank being blasted open by that good Nazi’s Tiger Tank cannon. God isn’t open to a deal, deal, but Satan certainly is. No matter the depth of betrayal involved, Satan will always be open to “the better deal.”

Even if it means betraying America, the followers and servants of Satan will always be open to “the better deal.” This was something I believe Benjamin Franklin had to be aware of if even unconsciously when he attempted to have slavery renounced by our Constitution. But even among the Founding Fathers it seems they went for the “deal, deal:” Slavery and profits. And perhaps Franklin realized America would eventually be made to pay the price for this “better deal.”

As things stand America is divided and fragmented in so many different directions many of which are racial, all our institutions based on standards of honor, excellence, and morality failing and seeming to fall apart, I don’t see how our nation can possibly survive. So, I wait in expectation and hope of that Phoenix Mars Lander being successful. It won’t be our salvation, but at least it would provide a bright spot in an otherwise dreary and dismal forecast. Yet, as we acknowledge those that have been sacrificed to the gods of war for the sake of “vulgar musket-worship” this Memorial Day I have good cause to wonder; what has it all been for? Certainly many have died in a just cause, but if the dead of our wars could be called to the bar of justice to pronounce judgment what would they render as a verdict on our species?

Gore Vidal’s Lincoln is one of my favorite films, and I thought Sam Waterston’s a marvelous performance. But when told the dead of his war would rise and vote for him if they could Lincoln vehemently denied it: “The dead! No! They would never vote for me!” But even Lincoln was plagued by the thought of Emerson who rightly said in regard to aimless nations and seeking purpose in life, “Must we not suppose somewhere in the universe a slight treachery and derision? Are we not engaged to a serious resentment of this use that is made of us?”

Perhaps science will yet provide us an answer to Emerson’s question unless we run out of time. In any case, I will continue to put my trust in God. And despite my natural resentment of this use that is made of us, despite my often anger and frustration, the many questions that plague me I won’t ask God for a better deal.

As I shared with someone on the Bakersfield Californian blog while I don’t have a crystal ball I do have a crystal frog. It is quite beautiful measuring about three inches, and is not only decorative but a handy paperweight. However, as I witness the prevailing lunacy here in America such as the debacle presently going on in Texas over that polygamist ranch and those children I’m tempted to either go back to bed and pull the covers over my head or resort to something really drastic in an attempt to make sense of things. For example, if caffeine and nicotine do not suffice for my scrying efforts maybe my crystal frog might do the trick; if crystal skulls can do the job why not a crystal frog?

Well, a few carping critics might point out Indiana Jones wouldn’t be laying it on the line going after a crystal frog. And I freely admit when it comes to imagination and adventure stories skulls usually win out over frogs, though to speak a word on behalf of the occult both have a prominent place in the dark arts. To give frogs their due, the princess does not find her prince by kissing skulls. Walt Kelly was astute in giving a prominent place to frogs in Pogo, and they certainly play an important role in any ecosystem.

Just like Lee Marvin in Death Hunt “I never did have much luck praying.” But consulting my crystal frog, well, might be worth a try. But I’ll have to do some further research before any consultation; I don’t want to risk incurring the wrath of whatever spirits may be aligned with frogs.

Now before anyone accuses me of being silly about this, does our political and legal system here in America make better sense than consulting my crystal frog for answers? I think not. If I were to purposely go about designing a system guaranteed to hex America and cast an evil spell on our nation I could hardly do better than what is in place today. For many years I told people concerning education in America a system guaranteed for failure could not be better designed had it been done intentionally. Now, I believe I can say with full assurance the same thing for our political and legal system. It has become so dangerously silly, lunatic in my opinion that it reeks of Satan not only as the deceiver and adversary of humankind, but as the ultimate “author of confusion.”

We can hardly blame children for being confused as per the glorification of sex and violence everywhere they look, but anything approaching genuine concern for the welfare of children and families has long disappeared from America. And the best thing the legal system in Texas can come up with is tossing children back into a really sick religious environment? Talk about hell on earth!

I’ve worked as a CPS investigator here in California, and I know how bad the system is. But we have the universities to thank for this. Once you know how poorly qualified many of those working in Social Services are, once you know how the universities and the state qualifies these people you begin to understand the problem. But I also know how those involved with CPS in Texas can easily be painted as “Gestapo” kicking down the doors to “save children.” As I was standing outside a courthouse a father came up to me and asked tearfully, “What gives you people the power to just come into my home and take my children from me?” In turn I asked him, “Can you tell me the name of your local legislative representative?” He could not.

The lunacy of it is that we cannot have it both ways. Either the welfare of children and families is paramount in law and in society or it is not. But as a nation we have lost any legal or moral basis for defining family, and without this continued turmoil without any satisfactory outcome is assured. There is a civil war in America, one in which our educational, political, and legal systems have become so corrupt and inept, so contradictory in many cases such as the refusal to secure our borders as to fuel a growing crisis of both law and values in every direction we look.

Well, I must ask you all to excuse me for now. I have some research to do before getting together with my frog. Makes a lot more sense to me than what is going on in Texas or any Congressional committees and hearings, and I might add with better prospects of getting some straight answers to straight questions.

Due to all the recent publicity about crystal skulls it isn’t surprising to find crystal balls are coming back into vogue, a kind of Roaring Twenties déjà vu when all manner of such things including the Ouija Board were popular. Scrying has an ancient ancestry; the Old Testament Joseph and Daniel had their “cups of divination” and even Nostradamus is said to have been an adept of scrying. But preferring coffee to tea and lacking anything elaborate I have to resort to my coffee cup rather than reading tea leaves. The professionals would be quick to point out coffee grounds don’t equate with tea leaves for the purpose. However, in this modern age teabags are of no more use to the purpose than filtered coffee that leaves no grounds. Maybe Joseph and Daniel had their wine strained or used plain water for all we know; so why shouldn’t I have equal success with just plain coffee?

In my case I have found caffeine and nicotine sufficient for the purpose of scrying without the aid of elaborate hallucinogens or crystals of any configuration; and unlike the “prophets” embarrassing God in so many pulpits by their antics making for very poor theater and being in very poor taste, I sit here quietly minding my own business with the aforementioned aids for scrying and contemplate the demise of America.

As the bad news just keeps coming for our nation it might have to do with the warning by Jesus whom I credit with a spirit of divination: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Ah, dear brothers and sisters, there is no denying iniquity does indeed abound as anyone watching TV has to admit, and where it abounds you sure aren’t going to find much love. But in my own contemplation of this over the many decades of my life I have concluded you simply cannot make people care; they either do or they don’t, and for the greater part people generally do what they want to do whether for good or ill.

Life on earth is of only small duration on the scale of the universe. And for Modern Humans I believe our species was not intended to be long lived but was a special creation of God, born of and infused with the Spirit of God as Genesis has it. But the conflict between the children of God and the children of the Devil will grow in the magnitude of horror and has to be brought to a speedy conclusion as the New Testament declares. That this might be the reason for the Mayan Doomsday Calendar is at least suggested in my opinion. But the direction the world seems headed gives some credence to such a thought. Some including me wonder how the world is even going to make it to the end of 2012.

The End Times will be marked by a lack of faith in God throughout the world; people will be lovers of their own selves rather than God or others. They will live selfishly and be given over to iniquity and even children will be without natural affection, and a man’s enemies will be those of his own house and the many plagues brought upon the earth as zero hour approaches will contribute to an ungodly world drowning as it were in a sea of iniquity.

It’s a very ugly picture all in all, and most definitely not pleasing to write about. Like most of you I do not want America headed in this direction of growing, increasing evil. But even apart from prophecies and theological interpretations of the End Times I have cause to worry about the direction America is being taken by our leaders. Can they possibly be so purblind as to fail to understand there can be no happy outcome so long as they continue to betray our nation on such a massive scale? Has Satan so successfully blinded them that they cannot see they are leading us in the path of destruction? Given what they have done already with little hope of their doing any better I have to suppose this is the case, and I believe no matter who our next president will be they will not change the present course but only hasten our destruction as a nation.

As a “prophet” I haven’t collected a harem or made any money in the business of prophesying. But I do believe many of the things in the Bible are true, and this does direct my thoughts in many instances. And I believe just as the Spirit of God dwells in me confirming my relationship as a child of God there is also a “spirit of iniquity” that abounds throughout the world. However, even apart from any Biblical considerations if this were not so it would be difficult to miss the “signs of the times” in which I am living and the signs are not favorable for a happy outcome for our species.

Religion is as old as humankind, and there has never been any lack of religious charlatans plying their trade. But these deceivers according to the Bible will increase as the end approaches, and I don’t hold with the many who claim to speak for God no matter what their religious affiliation if they are so obvious in the hypocrisy of only calling attention to themselves for gain. Just as politics attracts only the worst of our species, those that want power and authority over others, in the same way false prophets will want the same thing and thereby declare they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

My grandfather was correct when he said “God never made a beggar out of any man, and he didn’t make a begging church.” At no time in my life have I believed there is any need to cross someone’s palm with silver in order for the Spirit of God to become operable. I do believe the Spirit of God manifests itself in many different ways, but never for riches or the pride of self. Good people will do good whatever their personal beliefs and bad people will do bad. And while I believe the children of God are able to make the distinction by their family relationship to God it would be well to maintain as safe a distance as possible from the many false shepherds purporting to speak on God’s behalf.

One of the reasons I am drawn to the music and films of the 20s and 30s is the obvious beliefs of the times though this was rapidly changing and not for the better. Along with Prohibition and the villainy in government the family was coming under attack by those considering themselves “moderns.” But for the better part during that era the Bible was treated respectfully and people it seemed were more attuned to faith in God despite Sinclair Lewis and others pointing out the hypocrisy to be found. But it was this faith in God more than anything else that produced the Greatest Generation that was able to save the world from the Axis threat.

The End Times will be marked by a “great falling away” from faith. Fortunately for me I was born into and raised among those with faith in God; and they were known by their works. So if I seem more sensitive to the issue of a lack of faith it is because I had good role models from whom I am able to draw the comparison. This together with having lived long enough to bear witness to this falling away from faith over the past seventy years leaves no doubt in my mind such a falling away has indeed actually taken place in America in my own lifetime.

It was a good line by Eli Wallach in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly after blowing the guy away says: “If you’re going to shoot, shoot; don’t talk.” But it is much the same with talking; if you’re trying to make a point get to it and shoot; don’t wear out your audience.

The Phantom in the funny papers was a hit with me as a kid from the start, and there was a good deal of nostalgia for me in the film much like that with The Shadow. However, sometimes I can’t help but wonder what is behind some programs like the History Channel two-hour presentation on crystal skulls. It seemed such a waste of time and perhaps only trading on the new Indiana Jones movie. And as happens too often with too many programs lately the HC show was accompanied by a dreadfully distracting, noisy sound track in several places that rattled your ears. All in all I thought it a noisy and unproductive waste of time with little of any redeeming value. It reminded me of obnoxious boors that drone on and on but simply cannot tell a story properly, and if they have a point it seems to be lost in self-important verbosity without any consideration for their listeners.

As to archeology here is an interesting note from K. Kris Hirst, May 19, 2008: Well, I must admit that the fever pitch in the United States over the new Indiana Jones movie to be released the end of this week has certainly infected me, but I'll try to restrain myself for a sedate weekly newsletter. They probably won't let you into the movie theater with a trowel in your back pocket, even if it's properly sharpened… Harrison Ford Joins the AIA: This is really great news: the American movie industry's best known archaeologist (sorry Lara Croft) has been elected to the governing board of the best known archaeological community in the US: the Archaeological Institute of America… In a move that might have something to do with the release of the upcoming movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, this week actor Harrison Ford joined the board of the AIA, which has 8,500 worldwide members in 104 chapters, and reaches nearly a quarter million people through its publication Archaeology magazine. In a press release, Ford is quoted: "Knowledge is power, and understanding the past can only help us in dealing with the present and the future…"

The star power of Harrison Ford added to the AIA is certainly welcome by me and many others, and I don’t doubt his sincerity and genuine interest in archeology. As to skulls crystal or otherwise they have had a prominent role in cultures throughout human history. But the recent attention being paid to crystal skulls does emphasize how curious we humans are about such things. Much in the way of Fox Mulder’s “I Want To Believe” many of us would like to know if some of the things the ancients did far beyond what we would otherwise think impossible we imagine there may be something to fabulous stories about Atlantis, extraterrestrials, UFOs, etc. But when it comes to crystals they seem always to have a place in both history and mythology that continues today.

Some of you may recall putting together your first crystal radio receiver as I did as a boy many years ago. Talk about something “magical,” that was a great wonder to me! That something so simple could actually bring in radio signals using a “rock” was nothing short of miraculous to me at the time. So it isn’t any wonder kids like me back then were easily persuaded to believe in the mystical properties of crystals. But the wonder of such a thing shouldn’t give way to science altogether, and I haven’t argued the mysteries of crystals with those that want to hold on to their beliefs. And I add there are many well-educated, even prominent people who believe in things like the mystical properties of crystals and crystal skulls.

One of the dustier among my books is the 1981 Reader’s Digest “Into the Unknown.” It would amaze some people to discover how little we knew about things like crystal skulls that this publication, though scorned by some thinking they are above such an unscientific source, would call to attention back then before home computers and search engines became commonplace. And while I don’t credit the claimed antiquity of crystal skulls many of the mysteries in the Reader’s Digest volume continue to remain mysteries, and suppose the Mayan Doomsday Calendar should prove to be true and God pulls the plug on December 21, 2012? Will anyone believing in the mystical properties of crystal skulls fare any worse than those that don’t? I would never want to abandon an imagination and I continue to consider some of the many possibilities I recall from childhood.

When I was teaching vocational classes years ago and witnessing the demise of Vo. Ed. in the schools one shop teacher made the astute observation, “If we could put a jockstrap on a lathe we’d be getting all the funding we need.” Unfortunately it wasn’t just the Vo. Ed. classes that were being eviscerated, but music and art classes as well. And no matter how politicians have tried to force the schools to make bricks without straw, demanding the schools to do the impossible without accountability anywhere in sight the enormous amounts of money thrown at education has not been the solution. America no longer values books and learning, real education, and the schools can’t compete against what an entire society, the media and politicians are “teaching” children. Whatever it is, it is certainly not the value of an education.

This came to mind as I was reading an article this morning where a writer made a telling point that politicians seem to be oblivious to science in America; which is one reason the EU built the Large Hadron Collider rather than the U.S. Watching and listening to the present crop of presidential contenders with the cooperation of an inane and supercilious MSM stomp ants while the elephants are rampaging through the village gives me a sense of foreboding. So I conclude these politicians and their MSM allies are either demon possessed or at the least demon influenced, a conclusion based on my belief most of them are sold out to Satan.

Well, that isn’t very scientific. But now that physicists are being forced to reconsider their concept of space-time continuum, a phrase rolling trippingly off the tongue and bandied about as though it were really understood instead of being a handy label in lieu of understanding, I am quite at ease with my thoughts about demons. Physicists are now in a tizzy fearing textbooks will have to be re-written, but I believe demons have been around throughout human history and I don’t think they have changed.

The General Epistle of Jude is very brief, but packed like dynamite with thoughts from antiquity concerning the Devil and his angels among other things. But politicians come immediately to mind when Jude writes “and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” This is a text which I believe Emerson who was well schooled in the Bible echoed when he called attention to politicians only being a form of “respectable pickpockets” that while welcome in gatherings of polite society there is no less need of counting your spoons when they have left anymore than if a common thief had broken into your house to steal.

As to demons, I’ve been somewhat tardy in coming to the realization I have been battling these all my life. But so long as I am doing battle I take what comfort I can find in not having any need of an exorcist. The Devil doesn’t have me yet. And though the casting out of demons and unclean spirits have a prominent place in the New Testament especially, even if I were suffering such a thing I wouldn’t trust any of the present crop of “exorcists” to do the job. Nor am I inclined to trust our present day witchdoctors in the form of psychologists and psychiatrists. I have a Ph. D. in Human Behavior and too many “respectable witchdoctors” remind me of the shrink in “Silence of the Lambs.”

As a Bible scholar I have many questions concerning the various accounts of things given in the book. There are both the strengths and weaknesses of the book to consider, but you must not only know the book but its history as well to gain any understanding of it. And if you have read and compared the many extracanonical writings you understand why these were excluded for the most part from the canon as well as wondering why some were included, but over time what resulted in the Bible we know today came together as a consensus of opinion for the most part despite some continued disputation.

The account in Jude of the Archangel Michael disputing with Satan over the body of Moses makes the point confirmed elsewhere that the Devil is a dignitary even as he is referred to as the “god of this world.” This is one reason among several others I believe there are monsters among us, the spawn of Satan in the guise of humans that prey on women and children.

However, it should be kept in mind that the Archangel Michael holds a very special relationship to Israel, and in this capacity continues to do battle for Israel and might explain why this tiny nation continues to thrive and prosper though surrounded by enemies seeking its destruction. Since I believe in a spiritual world I have no difficulty accepting God has a hierarchy of angels such as mentioned in the Bible. But there is the problem of demons and the lack of those to be trusted in confronting them today as we find so common in the New Testament.

One explanation for this is the End Times during which the Devil knows his time is short and is busy deceiving many while his ministers multiply as “angels of light.” As Satan’s activities increase against humankind the deceivers multiply and the battle against demons is being fought with greater intensity. But the battle is fought by fewer and fewer as Satan gains ground and overcomes the opposition. Toward the “End of the Age” the world becomes so inured to evil that eventually it is virtually unrecognized as being evil, let alone believing the battle is not against flesh and blood but spiritual wickedness in high places. So it is the Bible cautions faith will be scarce here on earth in the End Times.

As I revel in the 100 degree temp that most quite understandably find uncomfortable I recalled the elderly woman in a desert community I read about some years ago that was found dead in the summer heat. She was wrapped in a blanket with a space heater at her feet in an obvious attempt to keep warm despite the heat of summer. Poor blood circulation causes many of the elderly to feel cold no matter how hot it gets, which is all the more reason to check on the elderly that live alone. Were it not for the fact I was a born desert rat and have always preferred desert temps to the cold of winter I might worry about myself succumbing to such a thing and be found like that elderly woman.

It is one thing for an old desert rat like me thriving in a “Bakersfield Summer” even here in the Kern River Valley without need of either A/C or swamp cooler to look at the thermometer and say to myself “I didn’t know it was that hot,” but you would think our leaders would be sensitive to such a thing. This is the analogy to the world being plunged into the darkness of evil. As sensitivity to the dangers of spiritual wickedness decreases, so does the ability to prepare, confront and deal with it.

While I came to realize my life has been a battle against demons I neither ask nor expect others to believe this. But for those like-minded I want to assure them they are not alone in the battle, and it makes sense of so much of the lunacy we witness here in America and throughout the world in these increasingly dangerous times and perhaps explains why politicians and the MSM are stomping ants while the elephants are rampaging through the village. I believe the Devil has deceived them and they simply don’t feel the heat.

Ok, how does anyone “get ready” for the Really Big One? If it hits California as I suppose it will there is nothing anyone will be able to do about it but hope they manage to live through it. By all means have a disaster plan and prepare the best you can, but for the RBO no amount of preparedness will suffice.

While it may not be an E.L.E. since “family values” of the traditional meaning seems no longer any point in law the issue of same sex “marriage” follows this course. But if God sends the Really Big One making deserts ocean front property I’ll be among those believing my native state like Sodom and Gomorrah was just asking for it and will be part of the process I believe is at work with America being the Babylon of Revelation, losing its position of world power through the judgment of God and thereby not a factor in the End Times whether Biblical, Mayan, LHC or other. And though I don’t hold with any of the various organized religions and belong to none of them, nevertheless I do believe in God and have my own opinions about things some discount as religious in nature.

For the greater part I hold a Biblical view of many things and I believe the kingdoms of the world are Satan’s domain, a point I believe made in the book of Job and Jesus did not refute, and he chooses those he wants to have power and rewards his own. Despite the seeming supercilious lunacy of those in the media while commenting on and displaying the lunatics parading across TV screens I believe whoever is our next president will be a servant of Satan, but then I believe this to be true of most politicians and world leaders.

But even if I did not believe any of the Biblical accounts of Satan I would still believe some malevolent agent is at work to cause so much suffering of humankind. For those that want to discount any belief in God or Satan and believe only humans are responsible for the woes of the world, I don’t see much cooperation among our species that holds promise for an end to such suffering. On the contrary, while we have the knowledge to destroy ourselves and our planet we seem not to have the wisdom among leaders to save either one.

Being only subjects of belief on my part I do not ask anyone to share such beliefs, and try to keep separate those things I know from those things I believe. For example I believe the old phrase “sanctity of marriage” passed into oblivion here in America a long time ago, and I long ago concluded whatever happened in The Fall women were made to suffer the consequences of the “curse” far more than men, and throughout history the double standard punishing women rather than men for being unchaste has prevailed for the most part, and there is no denying the double standard of “women become old and wrinkled but men become mature.” Perhaps this is one reason women are conspicuous by their absence as the representatives of nations at the UN.

It does seem to me America has fallen into lunacy and led of lunatics. To cite just one example who benefits from these “prophets” having a dozen “wives” and dozens of children largely at taxpayer expense? Why should women subject themselves to such humiliating status? And the reasonable question presents itself where are the women “prophets” with a dozen or more “husbands?” Lunacy! The wisdom of “Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander” seems to be missing here.

While my own views are only the results of the musings of my own mind, nevertheless I don’t foresee any solutions for America’s problems being offered by either our present leadership or those now pandering for the White House. At this point in America’s history in my opinion the solutions would be so drastic as to be improbable at best, and though the leaders of America are fully aware of this they dare not speak in specific terms about either the problems or the required solutions.

But maybe the reason the earth is filled with billions of people is God’s way of overloading the Devil and his servants and keeping them so busy they can’t handle all the business coming their way? There might be something to that toast “When you’re dead may you be in heaven before the Devil knows you’re gone.”

Well, I’m not going anywhere for now. If the Really Big One hits I won’t be able to outrun it and whether from the judgment of God or not so be it. I have about as much control over that as I do over the resident cat that ignores or pays attention to me at her will.

Having lived here in the Kern River Valley for years without either A/C or swamp cooler and I once more look forward to the temp hitting a comfortable 100 degrees I’m reminded that one of Henry Thoreau’s visitors described himself as being “deficient in intellect,” but supposed the Lord had made him so and must love him as much as any other. Now gentle reader while some might think my being born in Weedpatch and being comfortable at 100 degrees automatically consigns me to those “deficient in intellect,” like Henry’s visitor I suppose the Lord made me so and loves me as much as any other.

I was raised in the heat of Bakersfield summers back in a time when A/C was a rarity in homes and virtually non-existent in cars and I have been a naturally born desert rat all my life; and had it not been for a family would have chosen to move to Death Valley which is one of my favorite places on earth. As I watch the lizards sunning themselves on the rocks about my place here I’m inclined to join the little critters; they know what’s really good about the good ol’ summertime. Had the Lord intended me to like the cold of winter I suppose I’d have been born an Eskimo. But I was born in Weedpatch not Alaska, and I’m not one to question my Maker’s choice of birthplace.

When Huckleberry Finn decided if his friend Tom Sawyer wasn’t going to make it to heaven then he would just as soon join Tom in that “other place.” While Sam Clemens was very familiar with both Milton and Bunyan, I doubt when he had Huck make that observation it was with the idea of “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n.” It may be the Lord set my “thermostat” at birth to best equip me for Bakersfield summers. On the other hand, as per either Dante or Milton, if I don’t make it to heaven maybe I’m better equipped for that “other place” Jesus described and Huck mentioned. Then too, maybe “Cabin in the Sky” had it right and Satan (Lucifer is incorrect despite the History Channel et al.) needs his offices equipped with A/C? No; it made a nice touch in the movie but the Scripture doesn’t quibble about a “lake of fire” prepared for the Devil and his followers.

Well, I don’t know if I’m going to heaven or hell but I’ve made it to Bodfish. Some would say… Oh, never mind, I know what some would say and you just have to mention Bakersfield to get the same reaction; however, in the case of Bodfish I know people are just jealous. But at least I’m well-suited for life here in the Kern River Valley without either A/C or swamp cooler and the temps pretty well match those of Bakersfield; and the heat of summer makes for those glorious warm mornings and evenings that are both music and a fragrant, soothing balm to my soul, helping me forget the bitter cold of winter and having to bundle up and type with freezing fingers while the resident cat warms itself on my lap.

But I will once more have to get back into the routine of being cautious walking barefoot in the dark knowing lizards and tarantulas will be in the house, even the occasional snake. I’ll have to be careful outside because of these together with mosquitoes and bats. And there is no denying the dangers extreme temps pose; we will undoubtedly begin hearing of children and pets left unattended and dying in cars, there will be the fires threatening all about and especially here in the Kern River Valley; twice now they have threatened my own home and weed abatement is an absolute must in this area. Yet, for those of us who grew up without A/C in homes or cars it reminds of a time when life did not seem to demand such luxuries as “necessities.”

With the return of balmy summer evenings I stroll around my place here in the country recalling the summers of childhood and remember the lines by Harper Lee that “Somehow it seemed hotter then... Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.” Ah, dear Harper Lee, how very well you described things before people became so spoiled and got used to “better;” and how very easily we get used to “better” as the woman told Sidney Poitier “In the Heat of the Night.”

During the late 40s and early 50s while living on the mining claim here with my maternal grandparents and great-grandmother there was no electricity, gas, or indoor plumbing. The winters and summers were just as intense then as now, but never once do I recall hearing the folks complain about doing without what most would consider “necessities.” And I don’t doubt it was these kinds of people who did not receive government checks but earned their own way through life taught me the difference between necessities and luxuries, and not to take getting used to better for granted.

However, while I am well suited to the extreme temps of summer I have no quarrel with those who are used to “better,” but unlike so many I’m not as inclined to think of luxuries as being “necessities;” I see them for what they are; luxuries, and not to be taken for granted simply because people have gotten used to “better.” But isn’t this the kind of government we have in America, a government so out of control concerning spending that people have been given unearned entitlements. And now that so many have gotten used to “better” take it for granted that government check and the panoply of social services have somehow been “earned” by some mystical process none can define, but they have become the slaves of a government rather than the Lord that has made them so.

For any number of reasons I keep thinking about Bill Cosby and God saying to Noah when he argues about building the Ark “How long can you tread water.” Wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers places, tsunami’s, volcanoes, cyclones, tornadoes, floods, fires, diseases and famine; it isn’t looking good folks. Bad things seem to be going on at an apocalyptic pace, and just think; it may become increasingly worse while here in my native state we are being “assured” the Big One is going to hit us at any time.

It certainly doesn’t help matters that politicians have mortgaged America for the next two generations. But perhaps politicians know something the “unwashed” don’t know that makes them think they can spend like there is no tomorrow? Maybe they aren’t counting on “tomorrow” ever coming? Did Klaatu appear privately to only a privileged few? Was the Mayan Doomsday Calendar confirmed to only a privileged few? Are those in charge of the American “store” the real insiders deciding to spend lavishly knowing the world is running out of time or are mad dreams of world conquest more than what even Hitler or James Bond villains imagined?

Where are Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce when we need them? Instead of the Philosopher’s Stone what if the Large Hadron Collider should produce Stephen King’s “Langoliers?” Well, maybe the real insiders go a lot further back in time than anyone has thought possible. I got to wondering about this some years ago when I began to become curious what the real facts might have been resulting in the early chapters of Genesis together with studying many of the myths and legends of antiquity and questioning some of the theories given concerning things like Atlantis, the Giza pyramids, etc.

For example the cave paintings in France are so advanced in style as to be downright spooky! That Early Modern Humans, a phrase preferred by many paleontologists, could have had such skill so many thousands of years before being seen again in relatively recent history is beyond simply amazing. It is to me nothing less than spooky though it’s kind of a tossup between amazed awe and spooky.

K. Krist Hirst: In Africa, early modern humans appeared at least as long ago as 160,000 years BP at sites such as Bouri in Ethiopia, and perhaps as long ago as 195,000 years ago, if the dating of Omo Kibish, also in Ethiopia, is correct. The earliest sites outside of Africa with early modern humans are at Skhul and Qazfah caves in what is now Israel about 100,000 years ago. There's a large gap in the record for Asia and Europe, between 100,000 and 40,000 years ago, a period in which the Middle East seems to have been occupied by Neanderthals; but around 50,000 years ago, the EMH appear again and flow back into Europe… Where Did EMH Come From? This is problematic, because there's very little data for these periods of time. In addition, the relationship between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens is hotly debated in some circles. Behaviorally, in Africa and the Middle East, the Neanderthals and EMH were pretty much the same; they were physically quite different and different scholars debate on our exact relationship with them. The more we learn about early modern humans, the less we feel confident about the early classification systems we developed more than 130 years ago. The term Cro-Magnon doesn't refer to a particular taxonomy or even a particular group located in a particular place. The word is not precise enough, and so most paleontologists prefer to use Anatomically Modern or Early Modern Humans…

Perhaps science will provide an answer to questions surrounding EMH, but so far there is no clear-cut answer. Nor is there any decisive answer to how civilization should suddenly appear as though the gods had performed a miracle in Sumer after so many thousands of years without such a thing. Mandrake had his Ibis-stick that really fascinated me as a kid, and maybe there is a factual basis for the story of Amentep; at least I like to think so. As a kid I could imagine all kinds of wonderful things I would do if I only had that Ibis-stick. But I do think there are many mysteries surrounding ancient Egypt, and the facts behind the myths may very well be more astounding than the myths themselves.

We may expect too much of science and technology. I believe we have to leave room in our minds for the supernatural and mysteries and should never forsake the wonder of childhood that so easily accommodates such things. Years ago I read a SciFi story about children being used in a war. The enemy could read minds and hoped to get an advantage by reading the mind of one of the children that had been mortally wounded and was dying, but could not make any sense of the images in the child’s mind. At the same time we hear of children being used by conscienceless monsters to wage war I think it is unfortunate so many good people of conscience seem to lose this ability to make sense of the images of childhood. But I don’t think you can be a very good scientist unless you leave room in your mind for an Ibis-stick.

When you have lived long enough to experience the windup Victrola and icebox you were raised with become “collectibles” or used for “décor” you have lived through a lot of changes here in America. The changes in just my own lifetime have been so dramatic as to cause me to be in awe of them at times. But while language and clearly defined and secure borders are the glue that holds any nation together its traditions are of nearly as great importance as Tevye made clear in “Fiddler on the Roof.” And while some traditions may give place to better ways I have cause to wonder what of American traditions may have been forsaken for things that have worked to the detriment of our nation.

There is a need for both “new wine” as well as not removing “the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” However, to distinguish these requires leadership with the wisdom to know the difference and prioritize accordingly. But without such leadership a nation will fail. This is why I do not believe America will be a factor in the End Times, but is that nation described as “Babylon” in Revelation. We have a failure of leadership in America, and none on the horizon possessed with the kind of wisdom that would deliver us from the path of destruction we are now on.

But we are in this position as a nation because for a very long time now we have been without leadership that had the wisdom to guide us; on the contrary we have been ruled by politicians, not those with vision and character to chart another course. Much like the Prodigal Son our inheritance has been wasted on things that have not benefited the good of America, but rather things that have been destructive of the moral base of our country, things allowing the importance of family for example to be eroded with nothing of any lasting value as a substitute.

If there is no moral “anchor” for a government or society it is impossible to rightly distinguish between the new wine and the ancient landmark, what should give way to better and what must be retained, a balancing act that cries out for the very best of wisdom and leadership. But who among us really believes the path of wisdom is where our government leadership is taking us? And I for one see nothing better for us no matter who becomes our next president.

The tiny nation of Israel has been a success in balancing secular and religious views, balancing new wine and the ancient landmark and has managed to be an example of how the right leadership can best serve the needs of its people. But it has been nothing short of miraculous Israel became a nation once more, and has managed to not only survive but prosper in the face of so many enemies determined to destroy it. And there should be no mistaking Iran’s mad mullah actually intending to “wipe Israel off the map!” And it is here where I am more than willing to credit the Biblical view of Israel in the scheme of history. That this tiny nation should be so prominent on the world stage would be considered ridiculous had anyone said such a thing in time past, but here we are in the present and so it has come to be.

Because I recall the windup Victrola and icebox as “luxuries” of America past, and then these giving way to improvements and becoming a standard of living in so many homes with promises of a better future I am too old now to worry about what may become of me. So I look about and consider the events taking place here in America and globally with a certain amount of detached interest, more as a spectator than any longer a participant. It isn’t that I have become detached from suffering humankind; far from it. But I have accepted there is little I can do to change the course of events.

I will continue to be involved with politics and will continue casting my vote hoping for the best, not because I believe my vote will change anything but because it is both my privilege and duty to do so as an American, just as I believe it to be the privilege and duty of every American. But there is something quite melancholy about living long enough to look back so far and still having the mental faculty to vividly recall so many things of the past, especially the things that gave us so much cause for hope of the future.

There was a time when people were not so confused about new wine and ancient landmarks, and having lived it I miss that time in America past. It was far from perfect back then, but what prospect is there now for a better future. The friction of greed, corruption and incompetence threatens the machinery of government at all levels and it seems only a matter of a short time when it will be quite beyond being able to function at all but will self-destruct. And should that happen, where is there a friend in the world to offer help and would be both trustworthy and capable to help putting America back together. But it is now this generation’s turn to try and do better than my generation did.

Now here is a nifty idea I read this morning in Center for Individual Freedom: “Buy guns with your tax rebate checks.” And I need not add because you’re going to need them! But while things are getting downright scary and going to hell in a basket here in America leading me to believe our nation is not going to be a major player in the “End Times” the EU is going full speed ahead on the Large Hadron Collider.

When I read “Foucault’s Pendulum” years ago it struck me Umberto Eco was really on to something, and one of the reasons I liked the novel was the book publishing angle since I had been so involved with writing books and learning about the business. In some ways Eco’s use of this in his novel was like that of Michener’s later work “The Novel” though not to confuse vanity presses with others. But unlike Casaubon, perhaps Eco himself, I know what I’m getting into and before reading the novel I had a background in studies not only of the Illuminati, Astrology, Kabbalah and various mystic religions but also knew that at the end of WWII America and Russia did not get all the best scientists; many of these remained in Europe.

It isn’t known when the original idea of a philosopher’s stone first suggested itself, but certainly the idea of finding a means of retaining youthful health, of extending life and even hopes of immortality has been around for a very long time, and together with alchemists attempting to discover a means for turning base metals into gold we had the beginnings of modern science, which like the original concepts surrounding the philosopher’s stone is dedicated in large part to health and wealth.

You won’t find it in a search of the literature but from the beginning when CERN came into being it caught my attention because I have always been a great fan not only of science, but of science fiction from the time in the late 30s when I began to follow the exploits of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon in the funny papers. But there was also something about the organization that to me intimated the occult at work as well. Then when it became obvious the LHC was intended to be much more than advertised it finally came to me: The EU is trying to find “The Philosopher’s Stone!”

Imagine discoveries that will extend life, make the EU energy independent, provide a means to neutralize nuclear weapons and make them obsolete by the threat of even more powerful weapons, being able to make diamonds and other precious gems inexpensively by the pound-weight rather than carats and turn base metals into platinum, gold, and silver. How about communications without need of any phones, or making teleportation possible? If you finally have the Philosopher’s Stone at your disposal the possibilities are seemingly without limit!

The world has never been rid of Astrology and has many well educated adherents today, and Europe has never been rid of witchcraft and conjurors, of the things that motivated Hitler in matters of Astrology and the occult. Are there occult meanings to the symbols on our dollar bill? Did Aliens grab Steve Fossett and is NASA involved in a massive cover-up about UFOs? Hey, I know what I’ve seen myself of the “Unexplained.” This together with knowing our government lies to us is enough to cast suspicion on any “official” findings coming out of government agencies.

In “Contact” there was the need to interpret the various symbols transmitted to earth from Vega. Carl Sagan among others had many ideas about alien contact, what forms it might take. But could there have been more to the idea of the first TV reception by extraterrestrials being that of the Swastika and Hitler than simply a plot device? One might ask in the same manner why the History Channel seems so preoccupied with Hitler and his Germany.

If we accept the latest theory from scientists the population was reduced to some 2,000 humans about 70,000 years ago, on the brink of total extinction. What saved our species in unknown, but given so many things of ancient times such as civilization suddenly bursting on the scene of history is unknown this is wide open to speculation including supernatural intervention as well as extraterrestrial.

The ancients could not possibly have accomplished so many things beyond their ability without “extra-intelligence” of some kind. I utterly reject the idea the constellations were mapped and metallurgy such as the use of iron discovered without the aid of this extra-intelligence whether of the gods or extraterrestrials. The Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx, Nazca Lines and so much more make no sense apart from this extra-intelligence whatever its source. There has to be a basis for the myths and legends from antiquity, and though the meaning of many stories and artifacts are now lost to us they had a meaning and purpose at some time in the past.

I do accept many of the prophecies of the Bible being true, and many writers of SciFi like Isaac Asimov derived story lines from the Scriptures. Read Asimov’s Guide to the Bible for example. I accept God has provided extra-intelligence at times to various people like Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Newton, Einstein and many others throughout human history. I believe some souls are greater than others, capable of more just like seeds produce differently. But even as in nature wild some die, some grow to be weeds and some grow to produce fruit. And even as some weeds are more “evil” than others, so with good seed that produces better and more abundantly than others. And the pattern here on earth may very well be that of the heavens where both angels and demons are found and the story in the book of Job and other parts of the Bible describes— just as there is a hierarchy in the heavens so it is here on earth where the struggle between good and evil is playing out, a battle described as eventuating in the scenes described in the book of Revelation with the promise of a future destiny for the children of God far beyond imagination.

Among several certainties is the fact something cannot possibly come out of nothing. The Big Bang, if true, had to begin with something. I credit that something being God; supreme intelligence at work; and from God the extra-intelligence that has enabled our species to survive and accomplish so much has a supernatural origin.

While my thought the LHC may be the hope of the Philosopher’s Stone thereby justifying the enormous amount of time, labor and financial investment in the project, this may prove only whimsical. What is not whimsical is the fears of those who believe it may prove to be a Pandora’s Box of very dire unintended consequences. On the other hand, what if it should prove to be the philosopher’s stone; there remains the old story of a battle between the children of light and those of darkness. I believe the Devil takes care of his own here on earth, but I also believe “payback,” a time of reckoning is coming as well. Though perhaps only whimsy on my part maybe the LHC will hasten the day? If not, there is still the matter of a new American President to consider.

While here in the Kern River Valley we are enjoying mild weather and abundant sunshine it’s difficult to appreciate the severe weather impacting so many elsewhere. Things change in a moment when catastrophes like Katrina or a tsunami strike, a cyclone hits Myanmar and fires, floods, and tornadoes wipe out thousands of homes here in America. Of course, the disasters due to the forces of nature are things over which we have no control, but it seems we have no control over the disastrous decisions of world leaders including our own that are harming and depleting our planet at an alarmingly accelerating rate. One might reasonably suppose something could at least be done about this, but it seems reason is not the overriding factor. Rather, greed and corruption seem to be guiding human destiny.

In “My Fair Lady” Colonel Pickering asks Professor Higgins concerning his phonetic vocation “Is there a living in that?” In my opinion, this seems a neat summation of human affairs. Whether by fair means or foul whatever one’s beliefs all must make a living. That this has in many instances been the cause of so much human suffering seems to be the lot of humankind since it has not been our destiny to be ruled by those with the best interests of our species in mind, but rather by those that for the most part are dedicated to their own lust for power and wealth. Utopian dreams have always degenerated into the common dust of human nature that seems to place the most unscrupulous and ruthless in positions of authority. And there must be a reason for this.

So, I wonder about the course of science that depends on greed and corruption to support it. There is virtually nothing in science that is not eventually made to serve the ends of greed and corruption, and altruism continues to be a victim to the noblest achievements of science corrupted to the evil ends of those seeking power and profits. Even now as we await someone pulling the trigger on the Large Hadron Collider for example the worst fears of those attempting to prevent this may be realized, and were it not for the enormous investment in the LHC I would be more inclined to believe its purpose was purely scientific dedicated to learning and the advancement of our species. But given human nature and the history of our species that kind of investment in the LHC belies any such hope.

It does seem the greatest scientific achievements are not sufficient to blunt the forces of greed and corruption that invariably trump the Utopian wish such things like splitting the atom would serve only the best ends of humankind. Invariably the worst among us seems to rise to positions of power and influence, making the decisions that place the best achievements of science in the hands of scoundrels for the sake of power and profits. As a matter of philosophical speculation, I would say if evolution were the determining factor only the most barbaric and ruthless is destined to survive.

But at any given moment our species may be cut short by any one of a number of possible cataclysmic events. As it is, the teeming billions on earth will not long be able to feed themselves and circumstances of both changing weather patterns together with the greed and corruption of those in power may result in wars of growing magnitude not discounting the possibility of nuclear weapons being used. Given present world conditions, it is difficult to see any reasonable solution to the circumstances already making determinations beyond civilized solutions.

When you are warm and fed, when all material needs are met it is easy to wax philosophical about world events, to discuss things like Evolution vs. Intelligent Design, Election vs. Free Will, whether there is a God or not. But when cataclysmic events overtake, the only thing certain is that you will die.

In the brief time I have left to speculate about things I won’t waste it on unproductive argument. It isn’t my place to persuade anyone of my point of view. The thousands of books that have been written have not changed minds unwilling to change, and there is no point in taking up endless debate on issues where the parties have already made up their minds. If there is a God, who can withstand him; and if not death is the end. In the meantime, which is my time I’ll continue my speculations about the many things that interest me.

For instance, who really believes our next president will be able to solve the problems America is facing. And who believes such solutions can be reached that does not require the cooperation of other nations when we are faced with the realities of global conditions directly impacting America. But even now the suffering of unnumbered millions worldwide is subject to the greed and corruption of their leaders, and we become calloused to the pictures on TV screens of such misery knowing our efforts to help must pass through the hands of those given over to greed and corruption. The reality irrespective of either scientific achievement or philosophical speculation is the fact our planet is in the hands of ruthless scoundrels having only the veneer of being civilized.

In the face of coming calamity from which science cannot deliver us because of the decisions impacting us and our planet being in the hands scoundrels rather than those dedicated to human welfare, like many others I find what comfort and hope I can in my beliefs. And so long as these do no harm to others I’m content to end my days believing the things I do, to continue to study and learn things even if they contradict the things I presently believe. If atheists and agnostics find a like comfort in their beliefs that is all well and good so far as I am concerned.

There remain the myths and legends from the greatest antiquity, the mysteries abounding right here on our own planet for which there are no answers. Science still cannot explain or define life or its origin, and for many of us it is a full time occupation being absorbed by these many mysteries, some of which remain in the realm of the supernatural despite all the science directed to finding answers for such things. And if I choose to believe many of the things contained in the Bible are true, that is my concern not that of others. However, for those that have faith in science or world leaders to save us or our planet I think this is faith misplaced; but it is not my place to convince anyone of my point of view, I do not attempt to force my beliefs on anyone and in my opinion we are all free to believe as we will.

The age of our universe is given as approximately 14 billion years, but this is said to be in its “infancy” given the estimates of lasting trillions of years into the future. By this measure, our universe is scarcely out of the “womb” and far from being even a toddler as yet. Our earth is estimated to be about 4 billion years old, so it is a very “young” planet in the scheme of the universe; and if the Big Bang started as a “seed” intelligent life here on our planet may be the latest thing to sprout on the astronomical chart. Perhaps this is why Jesus compared faith as small as a mustard seed sufficient to move mountains.

Given the immensity of the universe young as it is, it does seem beyond reason that our solar system and intelligent life could possibly be unique in the universe. However, there are scientists who believe the human form the most suitable for an inhabitable planet and intelligent life capable of what our species has accomplished, but probability dampens the hope that ET may be found elsewhere and ours may indeed be a miraculously “privileged planet” and ours a miraculously “privileged species.”

Space.com. April. 10, 2008: … In a recent paper published in the journal Astrobiology, Professor Andrew Watson of the University of East Anglia describes an improved mathematical model for the evolution of intelligent life as the result of a small number of discrete steps… Watson estimates the overall probability that intelligent life will evolve as the product of the probabilities of each of the necessary steps. In his model, the probability of each evolutionary step occurring in any given epoch is 10 percent or less, so the total probability that intelligent life will emerge is quite low (less than 0.01 percent over 4 billion years). Even if intelligent life eventually emerges, the model suggests its persistence will be relatively short by comparison to the lifespan of the planet on which it developed…

While the universities have a stranglehold on Darwin and refuse to let go their doctrine allowing any dissent from faith within the ranks, the Creation Research Society and the scientists in the organization are to be commended for the excellent work they are doing in helping us understand how unlikely our species began and evolved by unaided mechanistic forces of nature. I would be more impressed by those touting their faith in Darwin if they had a clue to what life and death really are, but science does not supply an answer to this question. As it is I find Professor Watson’s estimate of 0.01 percent to be very generous concerning life given all the mitigating factors against such a thing occurring anywhere in the universe, and the rancor of those unable to supply an answer to what life and death are or the origin of life only shows their bigoted prejudice against those of us who believe in Intelligent Design.

There are guesses apart from God being the Creator as to how life may have originated and how our planet seems to have become so life-friendly, but there is no science that actually explains it. However, the intimidation tactics used by the naysayers of ID are little different than the propaganda used to stifle dissent and advance other causes without genuine merit. And some of these people are indistinguishable from other fanatics in their pursuit of persecuting those that don’t kowtow to their propaganda and go along with the party line. In too many cases the opposition of ID remind of children throwing a tantrum much in the manner of calling those who believe the government has been involved in conspiracies of evil “nut cases.” Paying attention to such children because of their tantrums is counterproductive.

I’m far more interested given the infancy of our universe and it being so inimical to intelligent life why such life as we know it should have occurred at all in such an otherwise hostile environment? For those of us who believe there is a design and purpose to life it is an intriguing question. That the question too often falls into religious wrangling is only to be expected given human nature. But while any explanation of God is beyond our imagination, the subject cries out for speculation even among the greatest of philosophers. That we humans are even capable of such speculation is in my opinion evidence of our supernatural origin.

It is interesting that while Ben Stein and Glenn Beck find common ground on the subject of ID they did not seem willing to cross the line concerning the subject of evil in the world pertaining to Satan. But it is this line where even the staunchest supporters of ID become somewhat fearful to associate Creation with the Devil. And it is the subject of Satan that separates me from some believers in ID. While I am a believer in ID I also believe the Bible to be our best source of information concerning the working of God in human affairs, including the Devil being a part of it all, which is why I credit the account of the Temptation where Jesus does not dispute Satan’s claim to the kingdoms of the world. And I might add politicians and the universities.

Even given the infancy of our universe we humans are an infinitesimal part of the timeline, even of our planet; and Professor Watson is among many surmising our planet may not long support intelligent life. But I believe there was an act of God involved with the whole of this as described in the opening chapters of Genesis. If we human beings are really as special as the Bible would have us believe, then it is impossible to imagine given the comparative brief span of time involved with the Creation and the even briefer span of we humans on earth what might be in the mind of the Creator for our future: I Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Whether one accepts the opening verses of the book of Hebrews or not, it is obvious the escalating sex and violence on TV, in Hollywood films and in “games” desensitizes those that become immersed in such things leading to increasing violence and objectifying women. But while violence and treating women as objects has always been a fact throughout the history of humankind, so much so the Bible has it God determined to destroy the Adam he had created it cannot be denied harsh economic conditions promotes violence and I wonder just how the media in America may change in the face of increasing violence?

The pattern of glorifying sexual perversion and violence through the media does not offer much hope of a kinder and gentler media, any more than hope for kinder and gentler politicians. Well, we know much of TV is not suitable for civilized people but what about The History Channel? I have cause to wonder if the producers have some kind of agenda. Take the presentation A History of God for example.

Books have been written about the “progress of doctrine” in theology, and there is much to credit the concept. The Bible is filled with examples of God dealing with people in many different ways, and there is no “one way fits all” to be found. On the contrary, the Bible as a collection of the writings of men is often contradictory in its own “history of God.” Still, notwithstanding its weaknesses it remains the best source of information about God dealing with people we have at hand.

As to a progress of doctrine this follows the example of children having to learn along life’s path, and in God’s dealing with people it can easily be seen that humankind has been on a path of learning, that at different points in our history God has had to fit the lessons to the appropriate age group. And at one time in the past after thousands of years making no progress, civilization suddenly burst upon the screen of history. This is an event I attribute to the work of God, perhaps a decision made in a council of gods presuming there is a hierarchy of such beings as the opening chapters of Genesis lead me to believe.

    It is very much to our maternal grandparents and great-grandmother’s credit that my brother Ronnie and I were taught right from wrong, that we never used profanity and had a strict, moral code. That this required a great deal of adjustment as we grew older you can well imagine. Nevertheless, the lessons of childhood had been learned and not forgotten which is the reason I still cringe at crude and vulgar language, and I see nothing funny in sex “jokes” demeaning women especially.

There has never been a time in my life that I have felt I was out of the presence of God. This may be due to my grandparents and great-grandmother dedicating me to God at birth and giving me the prophet’s name and raised me “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” teaching me from earliest childhood “the Holy Scriptures which are able to make one wise unto salvation” as Paul wrote of Timothy.

But while God may have his “eye upon the sparrow,” parents (and grandparents) don’t always have their eyes upon their children. And some of the things my brother and I were learning from our church in Little Oklahoma would have been appalling to our grandparents. There was one kid in particular from whom I learned some things that definitely did not fit in a church.

This kid and his mother were both shouting fundies, raging warm on the need to live good Christian lives. But this kid held my brother and I spellbound on such lively topics as sodomy and descriptive female anatomy. While utterly lacking any experiential frame of reference, we did not wish to appear unappreciative in the presence of such a learned and enlightened one, and one that was so obviously willing to tell anyone who would listen of his exploits into that forbidden world of “It!” Such was the tender delicacy of our minds compared to this august personage. However, Ronnie and I were well acquainted with hell-fire and damnation and did not want to intrude too far into that dark and enticing world no matter how good its practitioner made it sound.

    But one night during the evening Sunday service it was Testimony Time and some in the congregation would stand and shout that they were glad they were saved and had the Holy Ghost! While this inspiring display of religious fervor was going on, this kid was putting his arm around me and trying to kiss me. Somehow this didn't strike me as the work of God, especially as his hand was feeling my leg. I moved away from him and suddenly he leaped up with an “I'm glad I'm saved and got the Holy Ghost and God's called me to be a preacher!” I was certainly surprised by this revelation under the circumstances, but the kid sat down amid shouted Hallelujah’s, Amen’s and the proud, beaming look of his mother. Then he said to me “Now it’s your turn; you gotta testify!”

    A rather peculiar thing happened. Not only did I refuse to get up and testify, but it suddenly occurred to me that no one had ever asked me if I was “saved.” I guess my grandparents just took it for granted that no boy could be loved and preached to with such fervor as I had been and not be a sure-fire contender for salvation.

    Later as a teenager a kindly old man was to ask me directly, for the first time, if I was saved. I will never forget, since grandad was present, saying I was just to satisfy him. I felt intense guilt for this deception. I still didn't know what saved meant. It wasn't that the Bible and Jesus weren't made prominent in our little church or that I lacked examples of real Christians. But the Gospel was so distorted by ignorance and, sometimes, terrible hypocrisy, that it was never really explained in its pure simplicity. It was not until I read the Bible for myself that I discovered this; and not only this, but also many things I discovered by reading the Bible for myself was that so much of what others had told me was Scriptural was nowhere contained in the Bible. Judy Garland once related a story about her father of this nature, and how disappointed she was to find the story her father had claimed to be Scriptural was not in the Bible. But this is a very good reason for everyone to read the Bible for themselves; don’t leave it to others to tell you what is Scriptural.

In my opinion, the Apostle Paul has it right in I Corinthians chapter thirteen, his marvelous treatise on love in which he declares “And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” But Paul precedes this by calling attention to the progress of doctrine, that there was a time for childhood but maturity demands one put aside the things of childhood as a natural progression in life. In just this manner I believe God has treated with his children, expecting them to “grow up.”

As to being saved I haven’t known a time in my life when I have ever felt lost from God. As a result, the doctrine of being “saved” has never had any relevance for me. I have often expressed anger at God, but that is part of being family. Repentance of sins comes with a tender conscience, and those with such a conscience will never, in my opinion, feel utterly alienated from God. If the spirit of God quickens a person making them spiritually alive we will know them by their works no matter whether they have “hit the sawdust trail” or not. Good people will do good no matter the religion or no religion, and I believe the progress of doctrine, instruction helps the children of God to not only learn from the past but along life’s path as well and also be able to discern between those who are lovers of the truth as opposed to those “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

It was a point well made by Richard Harris in the film “Unforgiven,” that while shooting an American President did not take all that much of exceptional fortitude the gun would tremble in the hand of a would-be assassin being overwhelmed when faced with the awesome royalty of a true monarch. A president is only a man but a king or queen; ah, as Harris noted that is quite something else.

One of my favorite hymns is “How Great Thou Art,” and it comes readily to mind when viewing the stars reminding of the awe the Psalmist expressed when he considered the heavens. But unlike the awe one might have for some unapproachable earthly monarch, when I consider the heavens and the works of God there is a feeling of kinship with the Lord and Creator of the universe and one that affirms my belief “this world is not my home, I’m only passing through.”

Of course it’s only natural at my age to start hearing the flutter of angels’ wings and start singing “Swing low sweet chariot” or “Take my hand precious Lord.” But so long as I still have my faculties I continue to be impressed by the majesty of Creation and take a great interest in this as well as the often lunatic antics of my fellow creatures here on earth.

After all, the only thing any of us have in these mortal bodies is “now” and that too quickly becomes the past. It was only a few ticks of the clock ago that I was a child enjoying all the strength of youth and now suddenly as though by some trick of Legerdemain I’m old. How was it possible such a thing should have overtaken me so unawares? Alas, neither I nor any of my companion oldsters have come up with an answer to that question. All we know is time seems to pass all too quickly, and the present moment together with memories of the past is all we have, and as Jesus pointed out the evil of the day is sufficient so I’m not as inclined as I was as a youth to give my strength to an uncertain tomorrow. I fret enough just rolling out of bed in the mornings now to face another day. As Bette Davis so well said “Getting old is not for sissies.”

As to the news of the day, Thoreau had a few well-chosen words on that topic: “Sham and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous… petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality.” And just how “real” are the pretentions of those that seek the leadership of America, not to mention all the things so many people seem to believe important to their lives that will only pass away as though of no account and the people are often left wondering why they ever thought such things important.

Henry recounts the story of an oriental messenger when asked about the news from his master told a philosopher “My master desires to diminish the number of his faults, but he cannot come to the end of them” and elicited the response from the philosopher “What a worthy messenger! What a worthy messenger!”

While I feel a kinship as a child of God there is no denying the majesty of the Creator and have concluded I have no questions for God, but am of a mind as the old hymn “Farther along we'll know more about it, farther along we'll understand why; cheer up my brother live in the sunshine, we'll understand it all by and by.”

As master of myself in this mortal body I can do no better than that messenger’s reply about his master, attempting to diminish the number of my faults but unable to come to the end of them. But as a child of God, it isn’t the faults that will condemn me because love, especially in a family, covers a multitude of sins. I believe Jesus was a man possessed of much insight about God, and his comments about a “heavenly father” belies any theology that teaches we are under the rule of some wrathful tyrant.

There is supreme majesty about God as I believe, something no earthly ruler can begin to approach. But notwithstanding such majesty it is our relationship as children in the family of God that matters, and we are not required to kneel before some potentate consumed with a sense of their self-importance. Children are not required to do so of earthly parents, and I don’t believe God either wants or demands this of his children. However, this is my view of what family represents though it differs from some cultures and certainly differs from many religious views. And unlike the despots and tyrants of this evil world system there is a unique majesty to God that invites us to take part as family not servants.

Maybe the end of the age isn’t upon us, though in my opinion it is, but given the antics of those performing on the American stage political and otherwise it’s a little difficult to categorize this age as anything but lunatic! And, to my reasonably sane mind I find myself asking how we are going to survive it? Adding to my sense of impending financial doom for America is the prospect of global famine together with the very real prospect of water rationing in SoCal together with severe weather across the country and all these “earthquakes, in divers places.”

 In light of our being told by the experts to expect the Big One within 30 years the recent rash of earthquakes both here and elsewhere in the country is disconcerting to say the least. I have somehow managed to be at or near the epicenter of several major earthquakes here in California, and it is only to be expected those of us living here in the Kern River Valley are especially concerned about the recent local quakes, particularly since we know the Isabella Dam has been declared at high risk.

I was living in Saugus at the time of that large quake in 1971, in Morgan Hill during the quake of 1984, and right next to the Loma Prieta quake of 1989. But the most memorable one for me was the Tehachapi quake in 1952. There are few things to equal feeling the earth violently hammering under you while watching it literally heaving up and down throwing gravel into the air, a hammering, physical violence deep from within the bowels of the earth making it impossible to stand accompanied by the sound of several freight trains bearing right down on top of you! There are few other experiences that so remind of how utterly helpless we humans are in the scheme of nature despite all the marvels of our science and technology.

With roads cracked, boulder-strewn and impassable friends and I were stuck for three days in a campground in the Piutes where we had been prospecting all the while listening to huge boulders large as houses knocked loose by aftershocks tumbling down into the canyons with a booming sound like cannons all around during those three days. But it has only been due to the many quakes across the country recently that I have been thinking seriously about them in regard to Matthew 24:7,8: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Though for many years I have believed America may be the “Babylon” of Revelation chapters 17 and 18, this recent flurry of earthquake activity has caused me to speculate the Big One may strike sooner rather than later. Much as I love Don Knotts and especially his role in “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” I’ve never been given to an “excitable” imagination, but I read and study a lot about many different things. I try to stay current in science and physics, in biology, archeology, paleontology as well as current events around the world. And to my mind, the lunacy I see on the American stage and elsewhere do not bode well for our future as a species, notwithstanding Biblical prophecies calling attention to earthquakes among other doomsday activities pertaining to the end of the age.

Even after I weigh all the various theological interpretations and Biblical criticism, I’m left with the uneasy feeling the end may be near, that too many passages of Scripture ring true concerning the end of the age. Just looking at the world scene, the lunatics and prevailing lunacy all about especially here in America is enough to give me cause to believe the Bible has it right.

But I have no ax to grind with atheists or agnostics; I have been long out a pulpit and my own theological views are too heterodox now for me to hope of any church fellowship. I no longer believe in prayer for example, the asking God to help anyone or change anything, though I continue to talk to God, to loved ones and friends gone on before me. I believe however it happened this earth is in the power of Satan, as the book of Job in the Old Testament and the Temptation of Jesus seems to validate and the Devil calls the shots, making life a living hell on earth for those that try to do what is right. But neither do I find fault with those who pray, and bless the hearts of those who tell me they pray for me.

Throughout the history of humankind Satan does seem to go about like a roaring lion; and I don’t doubt our own government is sold out to the Evil One. Right now the purported “suicide” of Deborah Jeane Palfrey is getting a lot of attention. “DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who was found hanged in what authorities claim was a "suicide," not only asserted that she would never commit suicide, but also thought the alleged suicide of one of her former call girls was possibly murder.”

Not since the end of WWII have I trusted those in our government, and things like JFK and RFK, the Warren and 9/11 Commissions have only earned my further distrust of our government. But unlike some I am not calling out to God to bring down fiery judgment upon the wicked of this evil world system.

One of my favorite films is “Mulholland Falls.” Those of us familiar with that era of Los Angeles have no doubt about how “police business” was handled in those days. But it would be naïve in the extreme to doubt those right now in our federal government are not handling business in the same fashion, though I believe the LAPD as per the film handled things better in the “old days” when the bad guys simply “disappeared.”

What most of us want is justice, and that seems to belong to another era rather than the one we now live in. So if I seem to take a particular interest in earthquakes in divers places and fit this into my theological view of things it is only because I very much want to see justice finally done and do not expect it to come by any human instrumentality.