A Comment on the Philosophy of Maintaining an Optimal State

Winston Churchill notably remarked that democracy is an ineffective form of government yet in comparison to everything else it's the best there is. (paraphrase). The U.S. Government of the past 20 years exemplifies that. It went from a post cold war peace dividend to vast public debt, high unemployment and the record warmest year on record by 2012. The U.S. Government spent more lives and as former V.P. Dick Cheney liked to say, treasure, in fighting a box cutter armed crew of hijacker-crashers than it did during the final phase of the cold war.

Original sin is an implicit element of human behavior. I read Faulkner's brilliant book 'As I Lay Dying' recently. It has a marvelously true description by the departed of her sexual liaison following the drive of sin with her husband following his own impetus of sin. The rest of the book has about the best language of rural America from the 1910s that one might find in literature. The work has existential truisms throughout it and recounts a chapter in the lives of the economically unspoilt. Contemporary America does not exist in such a state of innocence nor of economic simplicity.

Modern America is driven more by drives actualized through special interests. The democracy is a concatenation of special interests with little regard for history lessons. If armed neutrality is a good policy, if reducing the defense department budget by 25% to keep a ready reserved force able to combat in a hypothetical real warm rather than a military police action, if having a 50,000 man special ops corps for world intervention short term action like the foreign legion of yore, the cost of a military reduced in budget yet increased in efficiency without 4 star restaurants in the field could help balance the federal budget and eliminate the public debt. Economic pragmatism though is akin to the course of navigating minimal mass violence internationally, which requires good judgment. Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Sorer Kierkeguarrd was for armed neutrality I seem to recall. Injudicious use of military forces is costly socially and internationally. Yet precipitate withdrawal to accomplish a hypothetical state of non-violence often achieves the opposite effect. The middle course between extremes is useful in policy decisions foreign and domestic, yet any course that is wrong in sailing is as navigators might agree, wrong.

Disarming the citizens of the United States through over-aggressive gun control endangers the careful balances and social history that continued America as a free society while most of the rest of the world was enthralled, serfs, in chains or subjects of aristocrats. The armed history of Americans let them meet the threats of the redcoats as well as confederates though of course, some brave units such as those of New York walked into battle in 1865 en mass with smooth bore weapons to be slaughtered as the faithful had done for decades under government supervision. The histories of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany showed that disarmed citizens are sheep for the slaughter.

If a Christian interested in politics has as a goal the perpetuation of the best state of affairs politically possible with the lowest number of casualties and the highest degree of freedom he must be aware that he is not structuring the City of God. He is instead intervening in the City of Sin. There are pragmatic social structures operating in the City of Sin that require a different balance and use of force than for those ecclesiastical concerns modeled more or less correctly on Christian and Pauline principles, if such churches exist.

The 2001 Afghanistan intervention and the 2014-scheduled withdrawal is another case in point. U.S. failure to remain involved in Afghanistan after the end of the cold war let a festering civil war develop with a Taliban rising to dominate and allow Al Qaeda to attack the U.S.A.  The 2001 intervention was perhaps more than required, and fairly well unthought out. Treasure and lives were dumped-mostly Afghan lives and fewer Americans and international forces. If the conflict could have been directed through less expensive means that would have been better.

The administration has mentioned that it might completely withdraw U.S. forces after 2014. Before that perhaps, repeat of history, the U.S.A. should send a political economy surveyor to Afghanistan to stake out geographic-political units that could survive hostile internal forces if the worst case Vietnamization scenarios unfold as the Taliban is not claiming will happen. With former Northern Alliance forces willing to defend themselves with some U.S. support it is reasonable to develop a Plan B with the experience of Vietnamization as a model vaguely. A partitioned Afghan state could exist if the remainder wants to break off, and would probably be on better terms than the Israel-Palestinian people are.

Political pragmatism used in seeking optimal social scenarios of full employment, low entropy economics with liberty and justice for all is a temporal goal in a sinful world where few are really interested in political philosophy or even the well being of society. Most are perhaps necessarily concerned with helping themselves, and many are encouraged to charge the public expenses to the existential debit card that only that only the abstract wealth machine need make a payment on now and then with a glance at the massive public debt out of curiosity rarely.

When mass social actions go wrong one gets things like world war two with 40 million dead, or the 13th century bubonic plagues, Rwanda, Kampuchea and so forth. When society goes wrong the posturing public in the media and of various institutions just rolls on, and then none know how to fix it, they just let it play through until reaching the embers.

Deflection of Crimes By Liberal Gun Ownership Doesn't Show up In Crime Statistics

Crime statistics show incidents that occur rather than those that don't. Liberal gun ownership has stopped a lot of crimes from occurring in U.S. homes, I would think, that reporters haven't an interest in reporting. Peaceful non-events don't make interesting news.

Isn't it good news that the homicidal maniac saw the 'protected by Smith and Wesson' decal on the door and kept on driving, or that the child snaggers saw the trucks with the gun racks in the driveway and decided to cruise some other neighborhood with signs posted 'This neighborhood has no guns' looking for the next victim?

In the establishment of the United States violent revolutionary action was required to get rid of the British Royal Government and their oppressive class of super-wealthy landowners such as Lord Fairfax to redistribute the land to the people. Violence is de rigueur for revolt against the minority powers that would subjugate the masses. It is only through liberal citizen gun ownership that an oppressive governing class has real limits to the extent they have on compelling their power over the citizens. Democracy must be defended with blood if it to endure.

Washington Crossing the Delaware

painting circa 1851 by Emauel Leutz

These are not remarkable facts. There have been few democracies in history and none at all like that of the U.S.A. For some reason the citizens of most countries were unsuccessful in overthrowing their oppressive rulers, were subjugated by oppressive undemocratic tyrants they could not get rid of, or lacked the will to revolt. In decadent nations endowed initially with an inheritance from God-given revolutionaries of liberal and unrestricted gun ownership rights, the rights may atrophy over time as the citizens cower in their homes relying entirely upon a benevolent big brother government for their own defense. It is ironic that the United States may develop a broadcast media, government and security organs over time quite like that of the former Soviet Union eventually closing out the gun ownership rights that would make any potential tyrannical ruling class think twice about coercing the citizenry into the status of a herd unable to develop private interests.

Like the Roman Republic that fell when its rich Senators became too globally commercialized and less interested in keeping a healthy state allowing an imperium to form, the United States is challenged by the problem of keeping it democracy vital and defended against the very state it comprises. The problem is comparable to keeping the immune system of the body politic free of H.I.V.

The challenge should not be too difficult yet in an era of demagoguery and posturing instead of competence the national interests founder in debt, in defense allocations, in foreign policy and in right reason regarding sexuality for marriage instead of homoeroticism. Nevertheless the dense of civil liberties are founded in the potential for the citizens to meaningfully revolt against the government when necessary, and as in Syria it is difficult to do without adequate weapons. The U.S. Government trusts Syrian and Al Qaeda radicals enough to support them and has armed rebels all over the middle east-it ought at least support the right-of-revolt for its own citizens and trust that they respect the government enough not to do so.

Apostle Paul's Mortal Remains & Resurrection of the Dead

St. Paul's Basilica outside-the-walls (of ancient Rome) in 2006 was discovered to have a stone coffin buried beneath it containing evidently, the mortal remains of Paul the Apostle. The coffin dates from the year 390 a.d. while the bones inside are from the first century.

Paul's mortal remains were moved during a 3rd century persecution and then returned. The coffin has gold and purple cloth inside and some bones along with the inscription (translated from Latin)

'Paul Apostle Martyr'

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061211-saint-paul.html

http://www.romereports.com/palio/the-mysteries-surrounding-the-tomb-of-st-paul-english-5996.html#.UOihrOTAfoI

A book by James Tabor-a Biblical historian from North Carolina- published in 2011 named Paul and Jesus is an interesting examination of the relationship between the Apostle Paul and the Christians of Jerusalem of the first century. Tabor's historical research of the four books of the Gospel, the book of Acts and Paul's letters leads to many insights some of which are of course controversial. The book is worth reading though. Especially if one is philosophically literate the nominally troubling juxtapositions of the Plain Jane Jerusalem Christians and the intellectual, theological, divine inspired insights of the Apostle Paul disappear fairly readily.

In examination of ancient historical texts even through the translation issues one still has logical and philosophical social and existential parameters regarding the inferences one might make from the given evidence. While new ancient texts are unearthed all time bringing confirmation of the existence of Jesus and/or the ideas of the ancient church the amount of material not found or no loner in existence must exceed the existing by a few hundred percent. Making historical inferences and judgments sets one on making conditional judgments with less certainty. One may know substantive data yet correlate that to a complete worldview only through a glass darkly.

Tabor does a good work in reviewing the various contexts of ideas about immortality and resurrection from that era and back to the Patriarchal and Platonic times. One tends to lose track of the meaning of resurrection-does that mean the physical body or a spiritual new body, or is does it refer to just a continuity of an immortal spirit?

How was Jesus resurrected? If Joseph of Arimethea put his body in a new tomb temporarily Friday evening because people can't hang on crosses on the Sabbath, and removed it for prep for burial Saturday evening after end of the Sabbath, and Sunday morning people found the tomb empty is that remarkable? Does that change anything? If that occurred Jesus even so could have been resurrected in a variety of ways and forms to appear to the faithful after death even if his physical body was disposed of traditionally. Tabor's book creates stimulating thought though not conclusive.

Detailed historical deliberations from a particular point of view can advance a given thesis. They haven't yet found the tombs and riches of Attilla the Hun yet though their are some goof fiction books on that topic.

James Tabor writes that the brother of Jesus (James) was the leader of the Jerusalem church and that the name James did not exist in that era. The name of the brother of Jesus that led the church in Jerusalem was actually Jacob. Because of he Apostle Paul's influence and of the growing schism or distancing between the Jewish Christians and the gentile, Pauline influenced theology James was given his new name to 'anglicize' it or remove the Jewishness as might some immigrant to the U.S.A. take a new, anglicized name.

The disturbing aspect of Tabor's book or thesis is that it fuels the suspicion that he is taking a Jesus-is-just-human Arian heretical approach that denies the nature of Jesus as fully God. He is innocent of that suspicion though even if he believes that none of the books of the gospel were actually written by the disciples or Luke.

In the case of John its probable that John told his story to scribes in his school at Ephesus that wrote it. Thus one finds a couple of references to 'the disciple that Jesus loved' as a third-person reference to John instead of using first person me's or I's. It wasn't narcissism. It is true that John provided the data perhaps orally as if he were Malcolm X talking his autobiography to the author Alex Haley-yet that's okay. John had things to do and places to go like living on the Prison Isle of Patmos for a while receiving visions that would become written as 'The Revelation of John.

There are many interesting ways to consider historically and philosophically the nature of material reality. It has an implicit problem of the criterion. It could be ultimately made of anything-even spirit such that everything of a Universe is produced in the mind of God. Evolutionists that are anti-spiritual simple study the mechanics of the manifest as far as possible. That cannot be an exclusive or exhaustive investigation of all that exists such as spirit.

One tends not to believe that most people in the future will be resurrected like Lazarus or Dorcas in the same body from death. Jesus in the Q documents mentions that in the next life-after-death people will have a different form-they will not marry or be given in marriage being something like angels evidently. In attempting to put everything of the future into a present, material fallen-world format one errs readily I would think especially if making disjunctive inferences. The persona or self-cognition may be the same yet that could be in a myriad ways given God's transcendence of the material-energized Universe he has created.

Even if one takes the existing Universe as one of an infinite number the resurrection or new appearance of the same individual in an infinite number of Universes would be logical enough. It would be something like serialized cloning of the same self-aware being. Like a light switch that is on or off it would be on when alive and sleeping when dead and part of Sheol or dirt.

There are better ways for life after-death to exist besides a Nietzchean recurrent Universe or an infinite number of trans-finite Universes existing with an infinite number of you in them from creation to creation. The Pauline, spiritual body way as a method of transcending the material incarnation parameters of understanding is good enough and acceptable to the quantum mechanic's, string and M-Theory kind of era we live in today.

James the Brother of Jesus left a small book that if one reads it after reading Tabor seems like a combination of proverbs describing the perfect social relations and way to live. Only someone that knew Jesus would have that sort of ethical glow. It's quite remarkable. In that era of transition from the Jewish traditional way to the new covenant the benefits of post-hoc analysis did not exist. During the time of Jesus more than nine Messianic claimants were put to death by ruling authority. Paul's experiences with The Risen Lord spiritually let the church have a plain course to take for future generations. It was a beautiful work-in-progress that continues today.

Point-n-Clique Tax Evasion and Federal Debt Ceiling

In the beginning there were lawyers engaged in a dualist struggle with CEOs seeking a simplified tax code for tax evasion purposes. Loyal lawyers seeking to protect proprietary tax prep hourly wages developed 16,000 pages of clear-as-mud tax laws to defend the people against globalist CEOs seeking a simple tax code easy to evade with simple point-n-click international production asset-management reallocation.

While the Democrat Party sought after a higher credit card debt limit, Republicans sought a simplified tax code that would enable corporations to avoid paying taxes entirely while enjoying the free benefits provided by the U.S. Government in subsidies and support for corporate business activity

During the Clinton era a Republican Congress balanced the federal budget that the President had to sign off on because of misbehavior. The President however allowed business deregulation too that Republicorporatists supported. The economy began producing concentrated wealth low unemployment in down-scaled pay job flipping burgers and telemarketing while jobs were outsourced to enhance profits. 

Republicans may take the Senate in 2014 and once again balance the budget as in the Clinton era. President Obama will dutifully follow the Republican lead and sign off on federal budget cuts. The preferred alternative now though is to not raise the debt ceiling in two months but instead to cut the budget as one would do if it were a personal credit card debt.

Because the public credit card debt isn't personal fewer people care about. As Aristotle wrote in The Politics the commons are the least well-maintained are of a society. In Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowsky would like the state to manage game on federal parks and allow bear baiting. Smoky had better watch out in Yellowstone in buy a Kevlar vest.

Raising the federal debt limit is a way of bear-baiting politicians to feed the public desire to soak up abstract dollars that no one has to pay for. With so many politicians gathered to load up the free money for constituencies some time when the rook falls in it will trap a lot beneath the rubble.

Lower Than Absolute Zero Temperature Cultured in Atoms

Scientists working at the University of Munich have achieved a theoretical proof of the idea that lower than absolute zero temperatures would be infinitely high. With some careful doping, laser and magnetic confinement of atoms in a vacuum lowered to absolute zero at 459 degrees Fahrenheit they rolled the temperature down farther.

Below absolute zero its believed that temperatures change in the negative realm to the very high as if it were an odometer than went backward from zero to 999999. Proving that theory which has existed for some time (I read it mentioned in a book named 'A Matter of Degrees' published about 2006) is a technological tour de force that may shed new light on the behavior of matter, dark matter, expansion of spacetime and so forth.

There are practical applications mentioned in the space.com article; 

http://www.space.com/19127-atoms-colder-than-absolute-zero.html

Negative temperature atoms may be able to absorb entropy (disorder) rather than increase it. Engines that are more than 100% efficient could be produced and so forth. It is not likely they could balance the federal budget though, even with increased deficit spending.

A zero growth economy should still mean full employment and a better standard of living yet with no increase in the quantity of natural resource used. Growth should occur in quality and getting more with less rather than in the other direction. If negative temperatures can be reached, perhaps a modest reduction in human economic entropy can be achieved too. That would require a reform of capitalism that promotes innovation, invention and economic independence by reducing the size of corporations and capping the number of employees any one could have at 5000. It would also require that no individual could own shares of more than three corporations. Large corporations work against fair competition and cultural progress on a more optimal upward grade as may government.

Comet Ice Shields to Screen Cosmic Rays in Extended Space Travel

Ten feet of ice surrounding a spacecraft is said to be able to stop most cosmic rays from reaching the humans inside. Cosmic rays may cause accelerated brain damage to space travelers making them experience 'Forbidden Planet' syndrome when landing on Mars from Earth. They might have the loss of function and hallucinations associated with Alzheimer's and other forms of Swiss-cheese disease of the brain.

http://news.discovery.com/space/mission-to-mars-could-cause-brain-damage-130102.html

It is important in trapping mice and making space ships to build a smarter, better mouse trap or space ship as the case may be. Space ships should be built in space or the moon and not land on Mars or Earth with the different friction and delta-g lift /stress factors. That paradigm could be better applied to landers such as the L.E.M. specially designed for each respective planet. There aren't so many humanity will be venturing to in future years.

The true space ships might need to have a refillable bag surround them that would be filled with comet ice melted and refrozen in the right amounts to provide a shield against comic rays. Travel to Mars may require some additional intelligent engineering to provide solutions to novel challenges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_threat_from_cosmic_rays

Two Powerful Blue States Beaten Up By Sandy Want Red State's Wealth Redistributed to Stimulate Recovery

New York and New Jersey are poor states. Some would think it wrong not to redistribute the wealth of South Dakota, Mississippi, Kansas and New Mexico to New York and New Jersey to reconstruct and improve their yurts after the act of God that struck down the happiness of the flock. It's hard to imagine what red state Republicans were thinking. Maybe N.Y.and N.J. can take out a loan on Wall Street, Meadowland Stadium and the Freedom Tower to fund news yurts for the homeless.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57561665/christie-blasts-boehner-on-sandy-bill-shame-on-congress/

Speaker of the House Leopold Von Boehner-Baden yielded to the power of fiscal conservatives in denying ten or twenty billion dollars printed by the Federal Reserve to two of the most powerful blue states. This raises the issue of low brow, middle brow and high brow solutions to political issues. Opinions about spending, taxation and redistribution of wealth from the Federal Reserve may be rated with bronze, silver and gold classifications even if the dollar isn't based on the value of bronze, silver or gold.

Certain well-known political theorists believe that the reason of the electorate may be classified as those that think with their heads, those that think with their guts and those that think with the seat of the pants. The concept may be further advanced that some with low information, others with middle information and the rare elite with high information content in their high brows believe income redistribution to the rich with low taxes is consistent with high concentration of wealth and high satisfaction by low information voters. A moderate opinion on that postulates that high tax rates, middle tax rates and low tax rates should be inversely proportional to high levels of public debt as well as middle and low levels. Additionally, high levels of public spending  versus middle and low levels of public spending factored with high rates of ecospheric decay contrasted with middle and low rates of decay reveal the opinion of the federal reserve chairman on a proper inflation rate when the moon is waning.

Without electric cars with convertible tops for a low instead of a middle or high price, bad governance of mass social objectives may continue to fail the reform of capitalism reconciling it with real environmental and demographic needs with deleterious consequences sooner than a high level of people think. Consider the book of Micah;

Micah 6 KJV "⁰ Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

¹¹ Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?

¹² For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

¹³ Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.

¹⁴ Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

¹⁵ Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

¹⁶ For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people."