POSSIBLE DECENTRALIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES INTO LOOSELY FEDERALLY RULED ECONOMIC REGIONS IN YEARS TO COME
Decentralization Stressors
COVID-19, AIDS, and Less Federal Revenues
The Price of Water and the Potential Need to Grow Crops
COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS VERSUS THE COMMON GOOD
Dear Ones,
FORMATION OF THE WESTERN STATES PACT
As you may know, a Western States Pact has been formed in response to the COVID-19 issue. To date, the states involved are Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, and Nevada …
This is a power block or united front asking for financial help from the federal government in response to the impact of COVID-19 on their states’ economies.
POSSIBLE DECENTRALIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES INTO LOOSELY FEDERALLY RULED ECONOMIC REGIONS IN YEARS TO COME
While this power block has a focused purpose, it does present a small step towards consolidating a Western economic region, in a way that is reminiscent of this possible timeline for relative decentralization of the United States into economic regions, with less control by a federal government as a possibility in years to come …
Link: “What If: Will the United States Become Less Centralized?” by Alice B. Clagett, written and published on 6 December 2019 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-fnm ..
Decentralization Stressors
COVID-19, AIDS, and Less Federal Revenues. Among the stressors, in the current scenario, would be COVID-19 affecting the current economy of the large United States cities; AIDS (which prevents having viable offspring) affecting the Eastern Seaboard economic region (which is hard hit by AIDS) first, and other regions later; and in the short term, inability of the federal government to provide financial aid because of decreased tax payments next year because of unemployment caused by lockdowns this year.
The Price of Water and the Potential Need to Grow Crops. In addition, here in Los Angeles the price of water has made it untenable to raise crops; water prices may rise elsewhere in the United States as well. For those in the cities, I suggest a power block lobbying for reasonably priced water. For those who can move away from the cities, I suggest moving to regions of plentiful rainfall, so that a sustainable or survival-oriented lifestyle can be maintained if necessary.
COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS VERSUS THE COMMON GOOD
My feeling is that riots and curfews are happening in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere because people who have no savings have been prevented from making a living by lockdowns in the urban areas of the United States. My hope is that our mayors and governors will see the wisdom of balancing relatively few lives lost through COVID-19 against social unrest caused by inability to get work.
Italy, for instance, was very hard hit by the epidemic, yet their people are going back to work and reopening churches. In addition, Dallas, Texas is doing so. From available news, the resurgence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, which reopened for business a while ago, has been far less in numbers than the good caused by the ability of the people to feed and clothe themselves.
In other words, I feel that, in terms of lockdown or return to normalcy, we must weigh the common good against our fears regarding possible, but as yet unproven, negative outcomes. For all we know, the worst is over, and better days lie just beyond the horizon, nearly within our ken.
government, economics, social unrest, United States, California, Wild West, COVID-19, health, community health, politics, taxes, common good, economy, Cities of Earth, countries of Earth, Los Angeles, New York, fear, Italy, emotions, lockdown, Texas, employment, water, agriculture,
Written and published on 7 March 2020; updated on 8 March 2020
Dear Ones,
I was in my local Walmart a few days ago and noticed they were short of staples such as rice and dry noodles, and out of bags of beans. I feel each family must buy what staples we can, as soon as we are able, given what is available in the stores. I feel we might wish to store up enough for 3-4 months for our family, in case stores run short of supplies.
Bottled water is also important to have on hand; second best would be water filters such as Brita or the like. I also suggest water disinfectant in whatever form can be purchased, in the unlikely case urban water supplies should be compromised.
I ask that United States mayors and governors purchase for their towns and states a supply of staples … grains such as wheat, corn, millet, oats, beans, and rice … and also powdered milk for mothers with young children … to provide in case of urgent need should a food shortage develop for the next three of four months.
Maybe our mayors and governors can obtain bulk staples through farmers’ cooperatives in their own states. if not there, it maybe that farmers’ cooperatives in the Midwestern United States will have available the needed staples (at granaries, for instance).
I wonder if Red Cross … phone 800-733-2767 … or the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust … phone 202-720-4221 … might offer foodstuffs for short-term food crises due to coronavirus here in America?
Link: “Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust,” by United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service … https://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/bill-emerson-humanitarian-trust … COMMENT: I note this Trust is in cash rather than commodities, and aimed at famine relief in non-United States countries.
If bulk staples can be obtained by government officials, that will help stave off famine in the communities they serve.
There is a possibility of lockdowns on public transportation as cities begin to experience the Coronavirus epidemic; this must be taken into consideration when planning for distribution of bulk staples to the underserved in our local communities. In other words, families who have no other means of picking up government foodstuffs than public transportation might be left to die at home.
I am sorry to be so specific in this regard, but I feel many people are unused to thinking in survival terms, and unable to visualize what may transpire if our mayors and governors are unable to provide for the needs of the underserved in case of famine.
As well, our local government staffs … the folks who would work on food distribution programs … might be depleted, and the government offices themselves might be shut down as the coronavirus passes through the various United States communities.
Thus I feel the time to act, with foresight, is now. That time is upon us.
Alice B. Clagett
In love, light and joy,
I Am of the Stars
INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON STRATEGIC GRAIN RESERVES
Blog written and published on 6 December 2019; revised and updated; video filmed on 23 February 2022 and published on 26 February 2022 and following
Prior titles: What If the United States Became Less Federal and More Regional in Government? and What If: Will the United States Become Less Centralized? I am making this blog into a video series. I am slowly adding the videos to this blog.
Then I read in an article written for CNET by Katie Teague and Kelsey Fogarty on 14 September 2021 that the IRS might take 6 months (rather than the usual 3 weeks) to process the tax returns of about 10% of its taxpayers. Here is an update on the state of as-yet-unprocessed returns for tax year 2021 and a similar warning for tax return delays for tax year 2022 … Link: “Your Tax Return Might Be Delayed This Year, the IRS Warns,” by Alicia Adamczyk, 13 January 2022, in Make It … https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/13/irs-warns-there-will-be-delays-processing-2021-tax-returns-and-refunds.html ..
And finally, I read that the United States Post Office is cutting post office hours and lengthening delivery times in a new 10-year plan … Link: “USPS Chief Dejoy Cuts Post Office Hours, Lengthens Delivery Times in New 10-Year Plan,” by Jacob Bogage, 23 March 2021, in The Washington Post …https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/22/usps-dejoy-plan/ ..
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1. ECONOMIC STRESSORS THAT MAY LEAD TO DECENTRALIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT top
I have some thoughts on the state of the nation. Intuitively, I sense economic stressors that may gradually lead to our Federal government taking a lesser role in the governance of the United States, compared to the role of regional alliances of states.
Just to put this into perspective, this might be more of a Libertarian notion as a way of the ruling of the United States, still within the plan of our democracy, but rather different in emphasis from what we have known for a long time as the Democratic / Republican dichotomy.
All this time, Greenpeace and Libertarianism have been on our ballots, so we know they are a part of our democratic process. Only the look and feel of them is quite different, and it may cause us to wonder what is happening in the coming years.
In the coming times, I see the Federal government continuing to provide military defense, social security payments, and leadership in foreign affairs. I also see states taking more initiative in regard to economics for their regions.
As to trade, I see future reliance on established railroad routes and water routes such as the Mississippi River. I anticipate that, should there be a gradual lessening of Federal power, then there might be more trade within an economic region, and less trade globally and nationally.
As to finance, I see potential reliance on barter, with care not to place our financial assets in overseas locations. Local-employment-based credit unions may come into favor as regional savings repositories.
There may be more reliance on those economic sectors that hold strong during recessions … such as locally grown food, locally obtainable building materials, and water supplies not piped in over long distances.
As to economic stressors, I suggest the overarching stressor of the COVID-19 pandemic, the slowly building economic impact of the HIV pandemic, and stress of regional aridity due to long-distance water transport costs,
A socially disruptive stressor is handheld psychosis, which may lead to chaotic events such as mass murders and actions by public utilities, local law enforcement, and the military regarding perceived dangers that do not truly exist. This might precipitate social unrest, especially in regions of the United States pinpointed by the Jade Helm exercises.
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2. CAVEATS REGARDING POSSIBLE LOCI OF SOCIAL UNREST top
In United States cities, the high cost of housing and the increasing phenomenon of homelessness may lead to social unrest and attempted land grabs through anarchist behavior; this is something for which, I feel, every large city mayor and every state government ought to have on hand emergency action plans.
For states in arid regions, emergency anti-anarchist plans ought, I feel, to highlight security of water transport systems. Electrical grids, I feel, might also be an anarchist target.
I have a few examples for you, state by state …
In California, I see a rekindling of the Latin American ideal of revolutionary ardor, with possible attempts by undocumented workers … or documented workers fleeing from crimes in their homelands under false names. These energies might, for instance, take the form of faking murders of homeowners under pretense of COVID deaths. The intent might be a fast flip of real estate for profit for a revolutionary cause. Or such an attempt might be made so as to charge revolutionaries rent on homes acquired through COVID murder. Such murders might take place under the aegis of religious righteousness … or what I might term leftwing terrorism.
In others of the United States, there may be similar energies of fake COVID deaths to espouse other causes, such as black militance, white supremacy, and so on.
In Utah, there might be a Mormon separatist energy because of the seditionist history I have read took place with the founder of Mormonism. (I read that in Wikipedia.)
In Florida, there might be attempts on political power by drug lords from countries to the south. And so on.
We people in large United States cities can be a big help in creating peaceful environments for our children by offering our law enforcement departments volunteer help through neighborhood watch programs.
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3. ON MAINTAINING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE IN THE FACE OF CHANGE top
It seems unlikely to me that anything would happen in a moment; rather I feel that the United States might very slowly tend towards a model of government more akin to the state by state model of our early years as a nation. We may find, in future, that traveling from one state to the next is a refreshingly new experience. Not everyone may be watching the same thing on television every night anymore; there may be less airline flights from here to there; and so the natural flavor and local color of each region of the United States may become more striking to the casual tourist.
In addition, it may be that some regions of the United States may be more perilous (that is, more dangerous) for tourist travel, as was the case for travelers in the early years of our nation.
I realize the prospect of change can be unsettling. It is good to keep in mind that changes such as those spoken of … if, indeed, change there be … would in all likelihood take place by slow stages, over the course of the next century or two. Thus I feel certain there would be plenty of time to make our plans and find our footing in the new.
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4. POSSIBLE FUTURE UNITED STATES ECONOMIC REGIONS AND TRADE REGIONS top
This section has a series of maps that I have adapted to show possible United States economic regions and trade regions of the centuries that are to come. I would be interested in your comments regarding this intriguing topic of the eventual possibility that the United States government might become less centralized, and more imbued with local flavor and with the strong spirit of our local communities.
HIV-AIDS Pandemic Economic Stressor 1: One Eastern Economic Region Including the Southern States and the Eastern Seaboard
The first map looks like this …
Image: “HIV Pandemic Economic Stressor 1: One Eastern Economic Region Including the Southern States and the Eastern Seaboard,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: To the right of the white line, One Eastern Economic Region including the Southern states and the Eastern Seaboard … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons …
Image: “HIV Pandemic Economic Stressor 1: One Eastern Economic Region Including the Southern States and the Eastern Seaboard,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: To the right of the white line, One Eastern Economic Region including the Southern states and the Eastern Seaboard …
You can see a topographical map of the United States that also shows the aridity … the rainfall. States that are green have more rainfall; states that are yellow, less; and states that are red, very little rainfall. Then I have drawn a white line showing an economic region that includes the Eastern Seaboard and the Southern states.
These states are very much affected right now … more so than the other states … by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. And my thought was that that might act as a stressor that would consolidate that group of states into an economic region …
HIV-AIDS Pandemic Economic Stressor 2: An Eastern Seaboard Economic Region and a Southern Economic Region
This map encompasses the same general region as the prior map, but it is divided into two economic regions. To the right is the Eastern Seaboard, and to the bottom left, the Southern states. There is a yellow line between the two economic regions …
Image: “HIV Pandemic Economic Stressor 2: An Eastern Seaboard Economic Region and a Southern Economic Region,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: To the right of the white line, the earlier Eastern Economic Region divided by the yellow line into two smaller regions: an Eastern Seaboard Region and a Southern Region … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_topo_en.jpg … CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Image: “HIV Pandemic Economic Stressor 2: An Eastern Seaboard Economic Region and a Southern Economic Region,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: To the right of the white line, the earlier Eastern Economic Region divided by the yellow line into two smaller regions: an Eastern Seaboard Economic Region and a Southern Economic Region …
So that would be two regions with their own special, local flavor, their own trade agreements; and maybe closely aligned with inter-region trade agreements.
Western Economic and Cultural Stressors: Northwest Economic Region and California Central Valley Economic Region
The below map deals with the West Coast. It shows two economic regions set apart from the rest of the United States with white lines. The upper one is the Northwest Economic Region, and the lower one is the California Central Valley Economic Region …
Image: “Western Economic and Cultural Stressors,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: Along the Pacific Coast, two regions delineated by white lines. To the north is the Northwest Economic Region, including the parts of Washington state and Oregon with good rainfall. To the South is the California Central Valley Economic Region (also with good rainfall) … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_topo_en.jpg … CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Image: “Western Economic and Cultural Stressors: Northwest Economic Region and California Central Valley Economic Region,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: Along the Pacific Coast, two regions delineated by white lines. To the north is the Northwest Economic Region, including the parts of Washington state and Oregon with good rainfall. To the South is the California Central Valley Economic Region (also with good rainfall) …
Jade Helm Stressors: A Utah-Colorado Trade Region; a Texas Trade Region; a Mexican Trade Corridor; and a Florida-Caribbean Trade Corridor
This is an interesting map. The Description is below the image …
Image: “Jade Helm Stressors: A Utah-Colorado Trade Region; a Texas Trade Region; a Mexican Trade Corridor; and a Florida-Caribbean Trade Corridor,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: Circled in yellow are two possible regions that might secede from the Union, but with which reciprocal trade agreements might be negotiated. Topmost is a Utah-Colorado Trade Region (which might be divided into two separate areas based on dominant religion). Lower and to the right is a Texas Trade Region comprising what is now eastern, central, and northern Texas. Then there are two southern regions delineated in white. These are regions that might lean favorably towards alliance with Mexico, but with which we might anticipate establishing reciprocal trade agreements. To the left is a Mexican Trade Corridor comprising California from Los Angeles and to the south; the lower halves of Arizona and New Mexico, and the southwestern part of Texas. To the right is the state of Florida, which might lean favorably toward the Caribbean countries, but with which we might anticipate establishing reciprocal trade agreements; this I term the Florida-Caribbean Trade Corridor … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_topo_en.jpg … CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Image: “Jade Helm Stressors: A Utah-Colorado Trade Region; a Texas Trade Region; a Mexican Trade Corridor; and a Florida-Caribbean Trade Corridor,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: Circled in yellow are two possible regions that might secede from the Union, but with which reciprocal trade agreements might be negotiated. Topmost is a Utah-Colorado Trade Region (which might be divided into two separate areas based on dominant religion). Lower and to the right is a Texas Trade Region comprising what is now eastern, central, and northern Texas.
Then there are two southern regions delineated in white. These are regions that might lean favorably towards alliance with Mexico, but with which we might anticipate establishing reciprocal trade agreements.
To the left is a Mexican Trade Corridor comprising California from Los Angeles and to the south; the lower halves of Arizona and New Mexico, and the southwestern part of Texas.
To the right is the state of Florida, which might lean favorably toward the Caribbean countries, but with which we might anticipate establishing reciprocal trade agreements; this I term the Florida-Caribbean Trade Corridor …
As to the Utah-Colorado Trade Region: In Utah, the Mormon faith is very strong. And in Colorado, the Christian faith is very strong. I thought that those two areas of this economic region might pull separately apart, possibly along religious lines.
Southwestern Arid Region: Small Town and Native American Reservation Citadels
This is an interesting map. There is a Description below the image …
Image: “Southwestern Arid Region: Small Town and Native American Reservation Citadels,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: Circled in white is the large Southwestern Arid Region, which might move to more local forms of small town government … as well as continuing with Native American Reservation governments … should the nation become less centralized. This economic region includes the Great Basin, the Great Rocky Mountains, and the western portion of the Great Plains … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_topo_en.jpg … CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Image: “Southwestern Arid Region: Small Town and Native American Reservation Citadels,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: Circled in white is the large Southwestern Arid Region, which might move to more local forms of small town government … as well as continuing with Native American Reservation governments … should the nation become less centralized. This economic region includes the Great Basin, the Great Rocky Mountains, and the western portion of the Great Plains …
This area of the country is very, very arid. One can tell that by the color. I have cordoned off this entire arid zone as an area where Native Americans may establish reservation ‘citadels’ or ‘city towns’ that might act as trading posts for the area, for instance. I consider that they would become more like ‘city states’ if transportation slows down in the United States, and especially in that area, over the centuries.
Central Breadbasket Economic Region
On this map, the area in question is rather green. There is a little yellow, so that part is a little more arid land. It comprises the United States to the west and to the south of the Great Lakes. It includes most of the Mississippi River Valley as well. It looks like this …
Image: “Central Breadbasket Economic Region,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: Circled in green is a Central Breadbasket Economic Region, with plentiful rainfall and good river transportation. This includes the eastern portion of the Great Plains, as well as the area south of the Great Lakes, west of the Appalachians, and north of the Southernmost states … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_topo_en.jpg … CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Image: “Central Breadbasket Economic Region,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: Circled in green is a Central Breadbasket Economic Region, with plentiful rainfall and good river transportation. This includes the eastern portion of the Great Plains, as well as the area south of the Great Lakes, west of the Appalachians, and north of the Southernmost states …
We can anticipate that, if this continues to be a breadbasket area, it could provide food for other economic regions in the United States; and therefore, we would need to maintain some form of transportation to the south and to the east of the Central Breadbasket Region. The question would be whether transportation might be maintained across that vast, arid expanse to the west of the Breadbasket; or whether the Western Seaboard would need to grow its own foodstuffs as transportation became less prevalent.
Possible Future Capital Cities of the United States
Here is the last section, and an interesting one. I have for you three possibilities labeled 0, 1 and 2. The first is Washington, D.C., numbered ‘0’, because that is where the capital of the United States is right now.
Next is Lancaster, Pennsylvania, labeled ‘1’. Long ago, our nation’s capital was Lancaster; so I thought, perhaps one day our capital will be there once more.
And the last is Saint Louis, Missouri, labeled ‘2’. Saint Louis is right in the middle of the Breadbasket. I suggested Saint Louis as the second possibility because the location would be more centralized, and it might pull the other regions together.
Image: “Possible Future Capital Cities of the United States,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 … DESCRIPTION: The current capital of the United States is Washington DC (numbered ‘0’ on the map). Because of the AIDS crisis in Washington DC, and because our nation’s capital was once Lancaster PA, I suggest eventual relocation of the Capital back to Lancaster (numbered ‘1’ on the map). Farther out in time, it may be that Saint Louis, MO (labeled ‘2’) would prove a good location for our nation’s capital … CREDIT: The topographic map is “USA topo en.jpg” [USA Topographical Map], from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_topo_en.jpg … CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Image: “Possible Future Capital Cities of the United States,” adapted by Alice B. Clagett, 6 December 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 …
DESCRIPTION: The current capital of the United States is Washington DC (numbered ‘0’ on the map). Because of the AIDS crisis in Washington DC, and because our nation’s capital was once Lancaster PA, I suggest eventual relocation of the Capital back to Lancaster (numbered ‘1’ on the map). Farther out in time, it may be that Saint Louis, MO (labeled ‘2’) would prove a good location for our nation’s capital …
In the event of decentralization here in the United States, I feel the United States might expect to enjoy three power blocks along geographic lines of the three COVID pacts now in place amongst states in the Eastern States, the Midwest, and the Western States …
The Eastern States Multistate Council to do with COVID consists of the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island …
As well, there is the Midwest Governors Regional Pact” to do with COVID. This consists of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin …
Here is the map of the power blocks for these pacts, which, I feel, may well be expanded to assure continuity of taxation, mail delivery services, securance of real property rights, and local military defense, in the event of decentralization of the United States …
See also … Link: “Western States Pact and Possible Decentralization of the United States,” by Alice B. Clagett, written and published on 2 June 2020 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-is3 ..
Image: “United States map of 1861, showing affiliation of states and territories regarding secession from the Union at the start of the American Civil War,” by Júlio Reis, 23 February 2007, from English Wikipedia … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Secession_map_1861.svg … CC BY-SA 3.0.
Image: “United States map of 1861, showing affiliation of states and territories regarding secession from the Union at the start of the American Civil War,” by Júlio Reis, 23 February 2007, from English Wikimedia … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Secession_map_1861.svg … CC BY-SA 3.0.
Dust Bowl Economic Stressor
Image: Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl [1930s], sourced from US federal government dept. (NRCS SSRA-RAD).svg … “Based only on that PNG image. I made this file primarily using QGIS, and the following public domain … https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-cart-boundary.html shapefiles from census.gov] by Soil Science and Resource Assessment, Resource Assessment Division (NRCS SSRA-RAD) (Division of the U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture), 15 January 2012, from Wikimedia Commons … This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
Image: Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl [1930s], sourced from US federal government dept. (NRCS SSRA-RAD).svg … “Based only on that PNG image. I made this file primarily using QGIS, and the following public domain … https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-cart-boundary.html shapefiles from census.gov] by Soil Science and Resource Assessment, Resource Assessment Division (NRCS SSRA-RAD) (Division of the U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture), 15 January 2012, from Wikimedia Commons … This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
Historical Expansion Stressor
Image: “A Map of the United States Showing Land Claims and Cessions from 1782 to 1802,” by Kmusser, in Wikimedia Commons … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_cessions#/media/File:United_States_land_claims_and_cessions_1782-1802.png … CC BY-SA 2.5 Generic … DESCRIPTION: This is a map showing state land claims and cessions from 1782-1802 that I made. The disputed territory between New Hampshire and New York formed, in 1777, the independent country of ‘New Connecticut’ (later renamed ‘Vermont’) which eventually gained admission as the 14th state in 1791. Boundary disputes between states that were resolved before U.S. independence are not shown.
DESCRIPTION: This is a map showing state land claims and cessions from 1782-1802 that I made. The disputed territory between New Hampshire and New York formed, in 1777, the independent country of ‘New Connecticut’ (later renamed ‘Vermont’) which eventually gained admission as the 14th state in 1791. Boundary disputes between states that were resolved before U.S. independence are not shown.
The above map leaves out Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, which were mentioned as being part of the Jade Helm 15 exercise here: “The joint exercise in realistic military training (RMT) known as Jade Helm 15 … was sponsored by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) … and involved the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) with other U.S. Military units in multiple states, including Texas, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Utah.” –from Link: “Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theories,” in Wikipedia … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Helm_15_conspiracy_theories ..
This map of the Jade Helm exercises includes the states missing in the map above … Link: “Other information (unconfirmed) suggests that Jade Helm is geographically larger (10 states), involves larger forces and has already started,” in Citizens Journal … https://www.citizensjournal.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/jadehelmother.jpg ..
Nuclear Power Plants and Seismic (Earthquake) Safety Survival Factor
Image: “Map prepared for CRS report for Congress: Andrews, Anthony, 2011 ‘Nuclear power plant design and seismic safety considerations’ Library of Congress Congressional Research Service report R41805, May 2, 2011, Washington. p. 22, fig. 8.” Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Includes list of nuclear reactors with statistics. 2011. Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2011594649/ … from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Operating_nuclear_power_plant_sites_vs._seismic_hazards_in_terms_of_percent_gravitational_acceleration_-_(United_States)_LOC_2011594649.jpg …. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
Image: “Map prepared for CRS report for Congress: Andrews, Anthony, 2011 ‘Nuclear power plant design and seismic safety considerations’ Library of Congress Congressional Research Service report R41805, May 2, 2011, Washington. p. 22, fig. 8.” Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Includes list of nuclear reactors with statistics. 2011. Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2011594649/ … from Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Operating_nuclear_power_plant_sites_vs._seismic_hazards_in_terms_of_percent_gravitational_acceleration_-_(United_States)_LOC_2011594649.jpg …. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
My feeling is, these hiking trails might provide alternative transportation routes if highways are blocked due to natural disasters or highway repair issues …
Image: “This is a map of the Class I Railroads I made using DOT data,” by Kmusser, 9 August 2006, in Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.
Image: “This is a map of the Class I Railroads I made using DOT data,” by Kmusser, 9 August 2006, in Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.
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6.4 CAVEATS FOR UNITED STATES DOMESTIC TOURISTS top
It may become more difficult to travel from state to state; this may have to do with lack of availability of gasoline, or lack of availability of charging stations for electric cars.
United States tourists may find it less safe to travel to other states. Their lives may even be imperiled while staying in some small towns that are distant from their own residences.
There may be tampering on a local basis with criminal databases, combined with identity theft and synthetic identity fraud, so that a tourist to a small town in a distant state is fraudulently classed as a criminal, and then subjected to local laws whose flavor and whose meeting of criminal punishment differs greatly from those in the tourist’s home town.
For instance, in the visited town euthanasia of senior citizens might be legal. The ‘captured’ tourist might be legally executed on a charge of senile dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. That charge could be made to stick through unrelated, criminal local people swearing on oath that the person is their spouse, swearing that the age is elderly, stating that the person has no money or means of earning it. Then the tourist might be killed and his or her money divvied up amongst the judge and the perjuring criminal.
Other instances: Blue laws and the penalties for child molestation, and the enforcement of these laws differ greatly from state to state. It is easy to assume that what ‘flies’ in one’s own state will ‘fly’ in the tourist town. Then, quick as a whip, a person might find himself behind bars and far from home, and subject to whatever local scam will fleece him of his money.
Another instance: Drug possession laws differ greatly from state to state. The scenario is the same as for Blue laws.
Drug lords may be in possession of the town, as was the case with Baltimore, Maryland, in recent years. If so, anything goes. Best not to set foot there. It is possible that local law enforcement and local court systems in towns ‘captured’ by drug lords might function in ways unexpected by a tourist, because of the threat of death for themselves and their families, and also because of financial inducements by drug lords. In other words, the tourist’s life might be worth a nickel. Maybe less.
A local tradition of bribery of officials is a consideration for tourists. This horse kicks two ways: You might be jailed if you do not bribe; or you might be fined for attempting to bribe. I am at a loss for words here.
Other instances: Homelessness may be considered a cause for euthanasia without court trial. This stance might be set in place by barring a tourist from local motels and hotels, then accosting him or her while asleep in their car.
Suppose a local gas fill-up were to result in a car breakdown 10 miles away, say, in the desert. Suppose the gas station owner had a group of related men who went out to scavenge vehicle parts, wallet and credit cards of the stranded car owner, and leave his bones beneath a Joshua tree.
[In terms of unexpected services rendered, I have encountered a case a little like that here in Los Angeles, where an acupuncturist demanded to see the drivers license after treatment, as a prerequisite to payment for services rendered. I intuited that the health care practitioner has an expensive addiction, and had been sending round family members to the addresses on the drivers licenses of her clients to burglarize the homes to help finance her habit. To prevent the victims from returning … in other words, to ensure a fresh group of people to be burgled … the acupuncturist set the electric needle settings too high, so that her clients received muscle-stunning electric shocks from the needles.]
The tourist’s sanity may be placed in doubt through false testimony by local mail-order psychologists also claiming at the local police station to be the ‘spouse’. This may be a game with many innings.
I intuit that local sheriffs and judges place more weight on testimony of their friends and neighbors than they do on the testimony of strangers. Where you visit, if you travel alone, may have crime gangs that, in cahoots with a sheriff or law enforcement officer, railroading tourists with intent to gain more tourist dollars. This may be more likely in low per capita towns.
There may be a local tradition of kangaroo courts that convict a tourist of this or that without his or her presence in the courtroom. There may be other legal irregularities, such as a crooked judge who holds a kangaroo court session on a Sunday, with written judgment conveyed, but with no online record of a court case. The kangaroo court paper of the crooked judge might be used to ‘capture’ and shake down the tourist. There is a danger of legal murder by euthanasia after the shake down, so as to prevent the tourist from taking legal action against the offending parties after changing the venue to their own home town.
In other words, the law may not be on your side, or it may not take the stance you expect it to take, when you travel to another state. This may become increasingly true with time, that towns in states other than one’s own may prove lethally unfriendly to tourists.
…
6.4 NEWS THAT SUPPORTS THE THEORY OF A RETURN TO LIBERTARIANISM top
I may be adding to this category as I run across news articles.
United States, government, economics, history, geography, politics, social unrest, Jade Helm, community health, HIV pandemic, AIDS pandemic, homelessness, handheld psychosis, my favorites, future, COVID-19, coronavirus, Libertarianism, democracy, trade, finance, economy, transportation,
Libertarianism, government, U.S. Government, United States government, United States, economy, economics, taxes, IRS, U.S. Post Office, communications, internal revenue service, decentralization,
United States, economy, economics, government, U.S. Government, United States government, decentralization, regionalism, Libertarianism, democracy, libertarianism, military, social security, foreign affairs, trade, transportation, finance, credit unions, handheld psychosis, law enforcement, public utilities, mass murder, social unrest, cognitive disfunction, discernment,
social unrest, United States, housing, real estate, homelessness, government, state governments, city governments, water transport, utilities, electric utilities, anarchy, California, Utah, Florida, sedition, anarchy, murder, COVID, terrorism, leftwing terrorism, rightwing terrorism, racial tensions, cultural tensions, drug war, neighborhood watch, law enforcement, secret service,
United States, government, libertarianism, state governments, tourism, decentralization,
United States, government, libertarianism, state governments, trade, transportation, decentralization, trade agreements, Southern states, Eastern Seaboard, Western Seaboard, Mexican border, Native Americans, AIDS, HIV, Breadbasket, foodstuffs, agriculture,
Image: “Who doesn’t work doesn’t eat” … Uzbek, Tashkent, 1920 (Mardjani Foundation), author unknown, 1920, public domain
Image: “Who doesn’t work doesn’t eat” … Uzbek, Tashkent, 1920 (Mardjani Foundation), author unknown, 1920, public domain
HOW NORTH KOREA DEALS WITH INCURABLE POVERTY AND STARVATION
FORCED LABOR IN NORTH KOREA AS A BARTER SUBSTITUTE FOR THE COINED TAX SYSTEM
HOW THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYS FORCED LABOR IN OTHER GUISE
Community Service in Lieu of Prison Time
Prison ‘Work Release’ Programs
ADVANTAGES OF OFFERING FELONS RURAL AND WILDERNESS WORK CAMP OPPORTUNITIES
Work Camps as Work Ethic Education
On Offering Habitual Offenders ‘Rough and Tumble’ Jobs Far From Urban Centers
CONCLUSION
Dear Ones,
Here in the United States, we are faced with lack of funds to deal with big problems of homelessness, unemployment, underemployment, and poverty-line living. For some years now, these difficult problems have been before us, and felicitous solutions, to date, do not avail.
Why is it that we have not found viable, long-term solutions to these problems? I feel it is because we have not felt desperate enough, or perhaps innovative enough, to look outside the envelope, and see what other nations that have been facing similar problems have come up with in terms of solutions.
I took a look at the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s “World Factbook,” hoping to come up with some off-the-wall offerings, and came up with the example of the dire poverty faced by North Korea, and its institution of Forced Labor for public projects. Here is part of what I found out …
HOW NORTH KOREA DEALS WITH INCURABLE POVERTY AND STARVATION
As I see it, in North Korea, the problem is intractable, long-term, incurable poverty. I have for you this quotation from the “CIA World Factbook,” with regard to the grim facts of the North Korean economy …
“North Korea, one of the world’s most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment, shortages of spare parts, and poor maintenance. Large-scale military spending and development of its ballistic missile and nuclear program severely draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power outputs have stagnated for years at a fraction of pre-1990 levels. Frequent weather-related crop failures aggravated chronic food shortages caused by on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, poor soil quality, insufficient fertilization, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel.
“The mid 1990s through mid 2000s were marked by severe famine and widespread starvation. Significant food aid was provided by the international community through 2009. Since that time, food assistance has declined significantly. In the last few years, domestic corn and rice production has improved, although domestic production does not fully satisfy demand. A large portion of the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Since 2002, the government has allowed semi-private markets to begin selling a wider range of goods, allowing North Koreans to partially make up for diminished public distribution system rations. It also implemented changes in the management process of communal farms in an effort to boost agricultural output …” –from Link: “CIA World Factbook, North Korea” … https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html … public domain.
FORCED LABOR IN NORTH KOREA AS A BARTER SUBSTITUTE FOR THE COINED TAX SYSTEM
Rather than asking people, who have nothing, for taxes, instead North Korea is conscripting people into forced labor situations for nothing … for free … to help with government projects …
“… North Korea is a source country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; many North Korean workers recruited to work abroad under bilateral contracts with foreign governments, most often Russia and China, are subjected to forced labor and do not have a choice in the work the government assigns them, are not free to change jobs, and face government reprisals if they try to escape or complain to outsiders; tens of thousands of North Koreans, including children, held in prison camps are subjected to forced labor, including logging, mining, and farming; many North Korean women and girls, lured by promises of food, jobs, and freedom, have migrated to China illegally to escape poor social and economic conditions only to be forced into prostitution, domestic service, or agricultural work through forced marriages.” –from Link: “CIA World Factbook, North Korea,” in the section: Transnational Issues … Subheading: Trafficking in persons … https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html … public domain.
To some degree, the ‘forcing of labor’ in North Korea, I feel in some instances may be a substitute for the coined tax system … It is more like a ‘barter’ tax, you know? We might look at this practice and offhandedly think of it as a completely evil thing, whereas, in fact, it may be a necessary thing there, so as to keep the economy alive, in a situation where everyone faces starvation whenever (as is often the case) weather conditions are not good.
HOW THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYS FORCED LABOR IN OTHER GUISE
I feel that we have various forms of forced labor here in the United States … forced labor that may be less injurious to human rights, but nevertheless forced labor. It is just that we cushion it with other terms … more aesthetic terms … according to our ideas of how things ought to be. Here are two kinds of ‘forced labor’ that we look favorably upon in the United States …
Community Service in Lieu of Prison Time
For instance, North Korea has forced labor part of the year … during which the people in the towns have to work for the government for free or for almost nothing … That has analogies to community service at, say, $40 a day, in lieu of prison time for Coloradans.
ADVANTAGES OF OFFERING FELONS RURAL AND WILDERNESS WORK CAMP OPPORTUNITIES
Work Camps as Work Ethic Education
I recall that, in Russia and China, they think of forced labor as a way of educating people with regard to the work ethic … inculcating a notion of being productive members of society. And we might consider it like that too.
If we cannot house the felons in urban prisons, we could expand our programs to house them in work camps in rural or wilderness areas. These work camps might be viewed as offering education in the work ethic, and in that way, helping felons to qualify for good jobs after their release.
On Offering Habitual Offenders ‘Rough and Tumble’ Jobs Far From Urban Centers
In addition to providing work ethic education, work camp job experience would likely provide improved physical conditioning. This might help released felons find ‘rough and tumble’ jobs far from urban centers, occupations such as lumberjacking, or tramp steamer crew, for instance. Maybe, work in the mines, or in the deserts, or on oil rigs. There might be a segment of felons to whom rough and tumble jobs appeal; and this appeal might decrease recidivism.
There may be felons with many offenses, and whom we are unable to keep in prison. Yet if they are released, they might look for criminal work, and not wish to integrate into the general community. In some cases, they might fall into the category ‘antisocial personalities’. In such instances, it might be good if they found work away from the general population.
If California is unable to house multiple offenders, we might also consider offering those serving time the option to become a free person, or a semi-free person, in an occupation that is far from the general public … where the released prisoners cannot hurt the general public.
CONCLUSION
My thought as to whether forced labor might successfully be employed in the United States is this: Considering the American way of life, forced labor could never succeed here if it ruthlessly trammels human rights. I do feel, on the other hand, that the choice of modified versions of forced labor … as amongst the prison populations, or for released felons, or for the indigent … might be offered as an alternative, a free will choice, that might prove appealing, were its benefits to be properly laid out, and then offered by way of explanation to those undertaking it.
In love, light and joy,
I Am of the Stars
See also … Link: “Notes on Forestalling Social Unrest in California,” by Alice B. Clagett, written on 12 April 2018; published on 6 December 2019 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-8xT ..
cities of earth, countries of earth, forced labor, employment, conscription, North Korea, felons, prison work camps, antisocial personalities, felon rehabilitation, recidivism, lumberjack, tramp steamer crew, mining occupations, oil rig occupations, hardened criminal, multiple offender, community service, work release programs, restorative justice, home detention, work release, work furlough, work ethic education, China, CIA World Factbook, poverty, starvation, social issues, crime prevention, law enforcement, California, economy,
This is a call to action regarding the religious practice of mortification of the flesh, including self-flagellation, that some Christian denominations retain as a historical tradition. In noospheric tenor, these practices tie into the denser energy streams of sadomasochistic sexual practices and snuff sex that have, of late, ransacked the noosphere of Los Angeles, especially on the weekends.
Aside from the link-in with historic practices of fleshly mortification why is it that this relatively rare nuance of sexual behavior is such a standout in the Los Angeles noosphere of late? For more, I turned to this publication …
From that I learned that many seemingly innocuous forms of behavior, such as tickling, infantilizing, and love-biting … and perhaps, I would add, taunting and bullying, as are oft found online these days … play into the darker, denser energy streams of the relatively recherché world of sadomasochism. Thus we are all, willy-nilly, for the most part unwittingly, involved in the clearing of these dense energy strands from the Los Angeles noosphere at present.
My appeal today is to those who are consciously able to choose whether they will add to these denser noospheric energies of sadomasochism. I make this appeal because, as an intuitive person, I find these energies very difficult to bear, especially on the weekends in Los Angeles, and most particularly so during times of solar storm … even geostorms as mild as that which we experienced last night …
Image: Kp Index 11 May 2019 18:30:02 UTC, by NOAA/SWPC Boulder, CO USA … public domain. One Level 5 bar spike indicates that a mild geostorm (lasting three hours or less) took place.
Image: Kp Index 11 May 2019 18:30:02 UTC, by NOAA/SWPC Boulder, CO USA … public domain. One Level 5 bar spike indicates that a mild geostorm (lasting three hours or less) took place.
In order to keep our personal Body of Light (aura, or energy field) pure and bright, I feel it is important to avoid injury to the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit itself, in my sense of it, is injured by mortification of the flesh.
LET THERE BE NO RETURN TO THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR OF OLD
It is the work of a Christian to discover the Grace of God within, or so I believe. What can be farther from that goal than the undercurrents that apparently evolved, over the centuries, in organizations such as the historic Knights Templar? Having read this no-holds barred account of that evolution …
… I have some concerns about the renaissance of the Knights Templar tradition by newly formed groups here in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States.
How is it that, in ages gone by, sincere members of devout religious orders have fallen prey to emanations of self-hatred and hatred of others through organizations founded for the best of reasons?
The answer, I feel, lies in the slight affinity aroused in the body to hatred of others through the practice of self-mortification …
Through this ‘toehold’ of hatred of the body, flows forth into the noosphere hatred in all its forms: Hatred of women, abuse of children, envy at the sexual prowess of other men; hatred of this teaching or that of one’s own church, or of those of other Christian denominations; and finally, hatred even of the Light of God within, and turning to the abomination of Satanic ritual.
WILL PLAGUE COMPEL US TO FLAGELLANT PARADES?
Image: “Processione dei battanti di Guardia Sanframondi,” uploaded by Nicpac at it.wikipedia, 3 September 2007. Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Fale using CommonsHelper; in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battenti_guardia1.jpg … CC-BY-2.0
Image: “Processione dei battanti di Guardia Sanframondi,” uploaded by Nicpac at it.wikipedia, 3 September 2007. Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Fale using CommonsHelper; in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battenti_guardia1.jpg … CC-BY-2.0
In the mid-13th Century, processions of self-flagellants took place in central Italy with intent to mitigate a devastating plague. In current times we face another such plague, the scourge of HIV / AIDS, which leaves those of our children who are so infected unable to produce viable offspring.
In our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., according to Centers for Disease Control statistics published in 2016, the lifetime risk of contracting HIV was 1 in 13 people …
Link: “2016 HIV Lifetime Risk Statistics from Centers for Disease Control,” by Alice B. Clagett, published on 30 March 2019 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-c3f ..
Since 2016, no state-by-state statistics have been published. Yet the epidemic, I feel, is cresting in the congested urban areas of the United States, or will soon do so.
Until statistics are caught up, we cannot definitively know where we stand with regard to the HIV / AIDS pandemic. Meanwhile, shall we once more fall to the practice of publicly mistreating our bodies … whether in our streets, or on the silver screen?
ON PERFECTING WORKS OF CORPOREAL MERCY
The answer to the social stresses now testing the tensile strength of our democratic way of life lies not in hatred, not in acts of terrorism whether ultra right or ultra left, not in pogroms, not in vigilante justice, not in wanton waste of life, but in a learned and temperately discerning approach to the problems at hand.
Let us pay utmost respect to our bodies, the abiding temples of God’s loving kindness to us. It is this, the virtue of Christian charity … to ourselves as well as to others … that holds the answer to action in the world during this, the cusp of the HIV / AIDS pandemic.
In the Book of Matthew, Christ says …
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” –Matthew 6:16 (KJV, public domain)
I am put in mind of the biography of pastor Martin Rinkart, whose example I find inspiring in these times of worldwide hardship …
The Heroic Works of Charity of German Pastor Martin Rinkart During the Great Pestilence
Martin Rinkart (23 April 1586, Eilenburg – 8 December 1649) was a pastor who ministered to his flock in Eilenburg, a walled German town, during the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648.
In 1637, when the town was already worn down by war, the Great Pestilence took place. At that time the town of Eilenburg had four ministers. People from the surrounding area who were suffering from epidemic and famine sought refuge in Pastor Rinkart’s town.
As the plague-ridden entered the town, the townspeople became infected. One of the town’s ministers, no doubt overcome by a sense of impending doom, fled to healthier climes. The two other ministers stood by Pastor Rinkart, who saw them buried.
In the end, Pastor Rinkart was the only pastor left in Eilenburg. He conducted services for over 4,000 people, sometimes as many as 40 or 50 a day. In May of 1637 his wife died, which must have been a grievous personal blow to him. By the end of that year, the dead were being buried in trenches, and there were no services for them.
Under the most harrowing of personal circumstances, Martin Rinkart composed this uplifting hymn of gratitude for God’s myriad acts of loving kindness, a hymn that is often sung even today …
Image: “Die Werke der Barmherzigkeit,“ by Pierre Montallier, ca. 1680, in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Montallier_001.jpg … This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less; PD-US
Image: “Die Werke der Barmherzigkeit,“ by Pierre Montallier, ca. 1680, in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Montallier_001.jpg … This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less; PD-US
The examples of the many great saints of our Christian faith are like a beacon lighting our way in these difficult times. Like them, let us maintain hope in the face of the trials that stand before us. Let the heartbreak of many in our community lift us to faith in God’s sweet intention towards our Souls. Insofar as we may, let us speak to the pure Spirit within, so that we may find the courage to face calamity with equanimity, and the fortitude steadfastly to practice the Christian corporal works of mercy.
Let us feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, ransom those held captive. and bury the dead.
There is a passage in Matthew 25 that speaks most poignantly to this time of Ascension on Earth. This passage brilliantly limns the manner in which we may choose to address the momentous days that lie before us, through works of mercy practiced in loving remembrance of Christ …
Matthew 25:31-46 (KJV, public domain)
31 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 “Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 “When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 “Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 “Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Surely none has spoken, nor likely ever will speak, more eloquently or to the point, than Christ himself has done. This passage sets us on a sure path through faith in Him, even in the face of the most devastating hailstorm of temporal sorrow.
CONCLUSION
In these days of woe, shall we stand with Christ and act on his behalf? In truth, what we may do for the disempowered, the disadvantaged, and the disenfranchised people of Los Angeles, is what we may be privileged to do for Christ Himself in this lifetime.
It is the Body of Christ Himself to whom we minister. It is He whom we feed, whom we clothe, for whom we provide potable water, for whom we find lodging, whom we help to find a sure path after release from prison, and whom we seek to ransom from malefic entities … whether human or clothed in mists beyond our ken … who hold them prisoner.
HIV pandemic, AIDS pandemic, homelessness, faith, hope, unconditional love, courage, virtues, Christianity, Bible, plague, Great Pestilence, Black Plague, history, Knights Templar, flagellation, self-flagellation, mortification of the flesh, sadomasochism, cellular joy, Martin Rinkart, Matthew 25, Acts of Corporeal Mercy, End Times, Tribulation, community health, health, social issues, call to action, snuff sex, Satanism, obsession, possession, entity attachment, kidnapping, felon rehabilitation, correctional system, restorative justice, virtue, Los Angeles, cities of Earth, body of light,
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