Politics

When I was a young kid, in third grade, I was very interested in politics, and I liked at that time Harry Truman. It was in 48 that he won against Thomas Dewey of New York. I think that was the beginning of my interest in politics. For years I liked the Democrats who were in my opinion a group of intellectuals, and so I followed the likes of Adlai Stevenson and finally John F. Kennedy. They all appealed to the mind. I knew that Dwight Eisenhower was a favorite due to his role as victorious general of the war, but being from Ohio, Robert Taft was then known as Mr. Republican, and Ohio at that time was a very Republican state. In high school debate, I even took the side of being for the federal government asserting its authority in certain government practices. If the local or state government would not provide the necessary services, then the federal government had the right to assert its role so that certain needs would be met. In fact, this is exactly what happened in the cause of civil rights for neglected groups of people. I am really more a federalist thinking person than a states rights person because I see the union like a train in many ways. It functions as a whole unit, and no car can move of itself without becoming a problem. The modern state should be like a streamlined bullet train in my opinion, so completely wholly fastened together that individual cars can not break apart and ruin the whole. Well, anyway, I had been enthusiastic about politics as a youngster. Time does cure all that eagerness to bring about a kind of change of attitude towards the entire game of politics. It seems to me that today in America, the citizens are the reason that the politicians have become so corrupted that we have become disillusioned with the system. The fact that politicians can actually give themselves salary raises, special benefits, and other self-serving goodies makes me indignant. No politican should be able to vote himself a raise without the backing and support of the community who has elected him. Changes must be met. Citizens must act in order for democracy to work well.

Short note about Marie Adelaide of France

The gardens were especially lovely this afternoon. Francois and I had walked slowly and carefully down the stone pathway to study the variety of garden flowers being arranged in row after row. An entire army of men were on bended knee planting bulbs into the recently plowed ground so that blooms will fill the air with fragrance this coming spring. I inspected each carefully mapped plot to see that Monsieur Le Notre's handiwork was followed to the letter. Madame chided me softly, " Your majesty is too much a perfectionist." I laughed at her. "But Madame, I must insist that they do it well or it will be a hodgepodge, a joke of a kind. I have to maintain order." "Even on your garden plants!" she cried, exasperated. I retorted,"Especially on my garden, my dear." At that moment, I spied my darling Adelaid as she skipped up to us. "Ahhhh, I said," What brings you here this afternoon?" She curtsied in a deep bow, and laughingly cried out," To see you, my Papa!" She looked longingly at Francois, and said, "And you, my dear Mama!" I laughed out loud, and she danced away, laughing gaily, as she sped out of sight. Madame looked up at me, saying quietly,"That girl is a wonder, isn't she?" "Let us continue to inspect the gardens, Madame. I want the workers to know that we are watching every detail...this must turn out the way I wish." I retorted.

The reincarnation mystery

I am trying to impress upon anyone who is a believer in the theory of reincarnation that if a Hephaestion were to do as I hae,go back in time, that he would be able to see how Alexander looks to him. I have seen so many different people who were obviously important to Alexander that I am sure that if any of them were to also be able to activate that energy force that gives rise to this ability that they would see Alexander as I have. I do not try to identify who is who from the past. I use the past personalities as metaphors often and I believe that I have identified a few...but none of those were even interested in the subject and would not attempt to do as I did. So the question of if they saw Alexander, would he look as I have seen him is not available to me. I did not ask them to go back in time at all and would not do it of anyone.

Trying something new

I mentioned Paul Prescott's blog in which he writes flash fiction and I am inclined to try it. I have written some of my attempts at writing a story on Alexander already on this blogspot, and am constantly rethinking my own novel in progress. So for that reason, I am going to pen some notes to myself about it now. One, I need to develop the sending of slaves taken by Philotas to the Black Sea region. I want to develop also the gathering of supplies by Philotas and his troops so as to establish the kind of duties and responsibilities that he held while under Alexander's direction. Most of this is stored already by these are gentle reminders to myself. The relationship between Philotas and Alexander is a very sensitive one which has to be developed in the childhood area to understand what happened that brought about the end of the relationship between the two families. It is a very sad occasion for Alexander to have to learn that his childhood friend may have been a part of an assassination plot. Harpalos is another character who I need to develop in childhood to better understand his later deeds when he absconded with funds...that is all for now..

Inspiration

I recently read the most interesting kind of blog by Paul Prescott, husband of Karin Prescott. He does flash fiction, uses photos to accompany his short stories. I found it utterly fascinating, and may try something like that myself.

Finally resolved a problem last night

Anyone who has followed me since I made my amazing self discoveries knows that I have uncovered the likes of several military leaders in in history. Last night, as I wrestle with myself about this phenomena all the time, I finally reached a conclusion so that I slept well, even had a good dream, though perplexing but good, and really rested. I will use electrical cords as a way of explaining my thinking about this. I also use rosary beads since they are so obvious. But let me explain what happens to me so you will understand my final conclusions. Talking to myself again... One, I had asked years ago after writing a statement and placing it in the Bible which was God's will be done. I wanted to know how I had been if I had lived in a former lifetime, and so I relaxed to put myself into a trance state of self hypnosis, and listened to a guide who spoke in French language tell me what to do as I went into deep trance. The guide simply came to me, and began to speak to me as I went into a trance that was brought about to a tape that I bought years ago. It is a hypnotic tape to use for self induction. This was brought about one day due to a program on t.v. called France Vision and France 2. I had been pulled to a stack of books on the shelf at the library by urgings from the region known as solar plexus. I kept going back to the same books so finally I pulled one down and took it to read. I was reading Nancy Mitford's book on Louis XIV, and a series of books on the entire reign of French kings, not really knowing why this was pulling me to read it. So I gained a rudimentary knowledge of the Sun King and other kings in France. At last, I went to sleep, put the suggestion or question of if I had lived in the past, who I had been, and a picture of myself walking down a hallway being assailed mercilessly by some agitator, calling me names, and my feeling as though I have skin as thick as an elephant's, let it all pass and swirl around me. I could see a strand of hair falling into my face and sensed that I was large, strong, and powerful, but had no more idea than the man in the moon who that was, until I heard a phrase which I did recognize immediately, that told me who I had been. It took a while for me to comprehend this but eventually, I tried again and again and again, and kept coming up with enough evidence to satisfy me that I had been Louis XIV. If that wasn't the most amazing thing for me to learn. I went into instant depression. I could not believe that I had lived such a grand life to become who I am and how I live today. I was dumbfounded but I pursued this for many reasons. One, I had already gone through the problem of having been George Washington in the past. How could I have been both? Don't ask..just accept at some point, but I did immediately make instant comparisons especially to their signature buildings to see any similarities and proof of fact. Having convinced myself through a trip in Virginia which opened my eyes to the reality of the belief in Washington for I did things there that only George could know and do, I believed that either I had been him or that his spiritual person was guiding me through the Virginia countryside as nobody else could do. But now Louis XIV? Wow! What a problem for me to solve. But I fell in love with Louis XIV eventually as my inner revelations about him are so exciting and fulfilling that I truly came to like and love this old monarch. He is one fascinating personality to me. So this is what happenes. When one asks to learn of one's self, one soon finds ones self back in a time period in which one is totally at home and knows very well. A spiritual body sometimes seems to appear into which one is suddenly immersed and one is then seeing and feeling through that entity all that that entity knows and feels at that moment. This happened so many times in both George Washington and Louis XIV that I had no problem accepting that I had been either one of them. I was in their spiritual body. Louis XIV took many years to study but I have many proofs of him that are so exciting and beautiful to me that I have kept him alive and well for some time. But once I seemed to have exhausted everything about him, I was told that I am Alexander, so that took me on another journey into time further back, and I became the person of Alexander, the Macedonian warrior king about whom I am now trying to write a story. I was into being Alexander because of an admission I had made finally. I had not liked it that I could have been Alexander, being a bit judgmental about his life and his history, but finally after admitting that I had been him, I woke up from the most beautiful memory of his when at the battle of Issus that I immediately fell for Alexander, and began a deep internal study of his life too. Both Louis XIV and Alexander do not often need prompting as they come to me in spontaneous memory form as well. Now, all of this sounds off the cuff, very self aggrandizing. These are such overblown and famous historical personalities how on earth could I, who have done nothing of much value in this life, possibly have been such historically significant persons? I know that I am subject to ridicule because of it, but because I have had these magnificent revelations in memories I accept it that I had been them then, and am myself now..And that is why I am writing this...I realized last night I could not have opened this passage into time were it not for me today. I am the plug or ignition that opened the past, let me see through it, and compare it to either a nest of electrical cords, wound round and round but all give light when the plug is inserted into the socket or outlet. Each life is like a bead on the rosary bead for each is separate and apart from one another, yet fully like its image in its spiritual image as it was when alive and well. In other words, when I am back in time, I see the clothing, (which is one of the most important forms of identification), see the buildings, smell the smells ( I have had olfactory senses in times past too) and have the capacity to know the mentality of the person at that time. One of my most poignant memories that made me love George Washington so much was when he sobbed at his farewell to officers group. I remember that well. I woke up sobbing as well. I spent many months and years in Alexander the Great, who is absolutely unlike what history tries to make him out to be. Nobody can ever write a truly accurate write up about Alexander because today's world concentrates too much on his legend rather than the facts and truth of him. He is holier than thou in many ways, which makes him somewhat more complex than modern historians care to admit. So I realized last night that it is I today who go back and bring these people to life by my asking about msyelf as I had done...I enter their being which is spiritually intact for all time and eternity, to know them as they were then, and the most important thing is that I remember them in my today's mental capacity. I always make the distinction to myself that my brain today never experienced those events, but only the brain of that being could retain that material in its cranium. That is important to understand. But the input into this brain today makes me capable of explaining them away now. That is all for now.

Best of Phoenix

I found some interesting blogs through New Times Best of Phoenix listings, and one interested me a lot. It is about food and restaurants, especially small, lesser known restaurants. I did realize that many of those would not be to my liking, but at least it is a good place to learn of some that provide good food, according to the blogger'stastes. That does not mean that I would agree.

philip of macedon

A lot on my mind this morning, but I will begin by saying that in the twilight zone which is that moment before falling into deep sleep, I had a vision come to me which revealed Philip of Macedon in a brief moment. I had been having visions of the youth of the Sacred Band of Thebes recently so I began researching information to learn what I can about their uniforms. As a result I then decided to examine anything of value about Philip. I knew that Ian Worthington had written a book about him. I found some really interesting posts about both topics. So guess what. I closed my cellphone to go to sleep and a vision ran across the screen of my brain which had many details but one stood out and made an impact: Philip standing tall so I could see as he passed in front of me. He was easy to recognize and I was somewhat taken by it. When one sees the image that is spiritual fleshlike it makes a greater impression than that of marble or stone. The fleshtones say a lot and his face looked as familiar to me as my own. I knew him immediately. To me the joy is priceless to be able to have this gift. It made me realize how important appearances are. I had seen him when he visited me after taming Bucephalus when he had been drunk to the gills. He had struck me as handsome then but this glimpse made me see how rigid and militant he is. It was a bit difficult when I heard a voice within say "your dad". I know that that sounds strange to anyone who does not understand me in this discovery of Alexander the Great and how I came to believe in myself when I found myself in his person and body in time regression type occasions. The comment about your dad I did not take as meaning my dad in this life, even though there are ways in which one might see some similarities between the two, but rather that he had been a father figure in a previous life if that is what going back in time and reliving all of Alexander's experiences are a case of that. The reason I say that is because again I am protecting myself from all those people who look askance at such kind of beliefs. But I am totally convinced at this point in time that all my recollections of past lifetimes are valid, but inexplicable to me as well as to anyone else. Nobody can explain them away, but I have had at least some good fun for myself to learn of these people and to be able to reexperience emotions, feelings, thoughts, and life experiences in a way that has made me understand and know them. I often feel that the less I say about it now the better as I know that others either think I am just being overly grandiose or braggadocia or crazy as a loon...don't think I don't understand that...considering who I had been. I am editing this since I wrote this on my smartphone which actually made me happy that I could use the blogger on the phone. Naturally, I had trouble editing, and the automatic selection of words screwed up a few so that is why I returned to this. I will leave it here on the blog but won't share it. Except for those who are following me I won't care if they read it or not...Anymore, I no longer care whether people accept my statements or not.

trial experiment

I am trying to use mobile phone to write an entry. The idea that one can write a blog in this manner is cool.I am simply jotting notes to remind myself. While reading a post at pothos.org the other evening by Antony Spawforth on some critics of Alexander, I felt as though I had reentered my first draft. There was so much in it that is reminiscent of my story. But for some reason I was plunged into 4b.c. and the Persian court after Alexander had assumed rule. In other words, I was back in time again. I was impressed with the quality of fabrics in the wearing apparel. Alexander seemed massive to me in a way that I had not experienced before. He had retained many of the personnel who had served King Darius but who are not subject to him. My impressions were vivid, precise, and lengthy. I always become fixated on something and in this case it was a deep purple robe which seemed extremely luxurious beyond imagination.

Making blogs

Thanks to reading this q and a with Barbara Poelle, I have decided to write blogs about my specific topics.   I will therefore be studying all the blogs which I now follow as well as search if there are any meaningful blogs on the topics I will have to blog...oh, what a job this will be...I do not know now what to think...

Advice from Agent

While at Barnes Noble this afternoon, I happened to pick up a magazine to read Barbara Poelle's article about being a writer's agent. It is a very interesting article in which authors were able to submit questions to be answered honestly and forthrightly.  It is actually a  bit too early for me to be shopping for agents since I must get the novel underway before even taking on that end of the job of publishing, but I anticipate a lot and think ahead.

She mentions something about the need to be on facebook and twitter, the need to get a blog, and to work it, and to know how to approach the agents themselves.  It is a good piece of advice, but I realized that my blogs then will have to be specific, be about the subjects, and will have to reach people so that they will want to read the book.

I subscribe to many blogs of my types. Some appeal to me more than others, and I have yet to become good enough to start a blog of my own on any of my topics that I will write a novel.  I talked to a representative from Apple so that if I purchase an apple computer that I will get needed help to write a blog, and also to write a novel.  The tools of the trade are necessary to know to be able to sell the book properly, but I realize now that developing a blog of a kind may be necessary to selling the book.   Who knew?  Barbara Poole knew.

This blog is a form of talking to myself, a kind of personal diary with which I say little that I won't mind if someone else reads it. I am not likely to embarrass myself by admitting to thinking I had turned the stove off but while taking a nap learning that some smell is telling me that I did not really turn it off at all. I am still trying to figure that out because I was sure that I had turned it off.  Two burned pork chops warned me, and fortunately, the smell of the lid raised me from my short nap to catch it in time.

Well,O.K. I admitted it, but it does not mean that I need to be looked after and sent to some institution somewhere...So I won't tell anyone about this past faux pas.

However, I am sure that I did turn that stove off.  But the smoke filled room proved otherwise.  Oh, heck, this old age thing is making me grumpy all the time.
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Writing Novels

I have established contact with many successful writers who have novels on the shelves at Barne Noble which is about the only huge chain store for books around here.  The other big bookstore chain had been Border's but it sold out months ago, with its store fronts still remaining empty. I have often thought that a computer rental could go in there, but most people own their own computers and don't need to rent so much it appears.  Trying to decide what would go into that block of space as I like bookstores for their easy chairs, the relaxed atmosphere, and the chance to read either a magazine or a book, and in some cases, listen to some good sounds too.  Business is really having a rough go of it anymore.

I read a magazine article that intrigued me today about agents and questions that authors want to know about the agent's life.  It was a fun article written by a woman who works for Writer's Digest and does actually interview at agent discussion groups.  Barbara Poelle, I believe her name was, but if I got it wrong, that mean that my memory tank screwed up. I should look it up.  Maybe I will...

Smartphones/Sacred Band

I checked with Apple last Friday about the Iphone, Ipad, and MacPro. If I choose to go with Apple, I will go all the way with all three, costing about $2,000 for the set I would get.

Time will tell. I have not made a commitment yet.

On the other topic, I had a vision of the Sacred Band this past week which made me wonder if I should expand my story and change it.  I saw two members standing together, dressed in their military uniforms, know that it was  at the Battle of Charonea, as I have seen them earlier in the same outfits, and it is my internal memory that recognized them so readily. I do not pretend to explain how one today can recognize someone who one has never seen in the present, but because the internal memory knows them from some past event, I recognized them right away.

So I spent time thinking that perhaps these two are alive and well today, making it very unlikely that I will broadcast this to the world.  I am guilty of having cost them their lives, and so it might be best to understand why it is that I am seeing them now.

Now, that means not that Janet is guilty but my personna of yesteryear is guilty, if I can take responsibility for that.  I do not always know quite what today can be held repsonsible to about yesterday's deeds since only faith and belief let one assume that one was that person of yesteryear when one ventures into that person's mind, body, and soul so readily.  I do not know what to think at times but I do not also evade responsibility any longer either.

Believe it or not,  I am quite sane in my appreciation of learning these interesting facts and opening this can of  worms.  I have learned some things that have helped to understand today, and again, I am in the thought tank that love is what is the most important emotion and knowledge that one develops in any lifetime, and that love in the end is a lot like the air we breathe, available and ready for everyone who wants to use it.  I think that I have come to know who Roxanne is in this lifetime and as I am pretty sure of it, I realize that love is an awesome feeling that sets one free when brought back together for whatever reason.  It surprises me that one may come to meet up with one's love of a past but to learn that in the present, it is only a passing and fleeting relationship that while it may rekindle love, it also learns that love is letting go and letting it pass.

Most people think that love is obsessive and possessive when in fact the opposite is true.  Love keeps and holds during its duration but it also sets free and lets loose as well.

Well, enough of my learning from past lifetimes for now!  I have got to get busy this day!

Smartphones

I have had such bad luck with windows in terms of viruses and expense that I am seriously considering changing to a MacPro laptop and an Ipad and Iphone.  So I have  been investigating the Iphone to consider whether to buy it or to buy the Samsung Galaxy III.  I am still undecided as I would like to see the Iphone before I make such a decision but last week I did go to the Iphone store on Friday to look into it. It will not be available to see until this Friday on which day I could purchase it as well.  If I go with the Iphone I will go with the computer also so I spent some time looking at Friday to accommodate early bird customers. I will check with Sprint on Thursday to see whether they are going to open early and whether they will have enough to be sure that I could get one.  But again, since I have seen the Samsung and understand its features a bit, I would like also to see the Iphone before committing to such a two year contract to be certain.  So far, only maps and passbook seem to be the major features, neither of which impress me at all.

Taxi drivers and delivery men need maps but I simply do not travel to unknown places enough to make that a priority.

It is interesting at which things make a cell phone desirable by each individual customer.  If I stay with windows, and for sure, my two computers do not make that seem very likely, I would opt for the Samsung Galaxy 3 but since I am thinking of changing to Mac for the computer I would choose the Iphone.  I will decide shortly what to do as I have my eyeglasses to get this month as well, and they come before anything else.

I know that most mac users appear to love them.  I hope that will be the case with me too if I make that change.

Thinking to myself...last week I had a sudden vision of two members of the Sacred Band in their military uniforms and contemplated whether to expand upon the battle of Charonea in my book about Alexander the youth.  Alexander was 18 when he was the leader of a wing in the battle, which would make him a senior in high school in USA standards, an age which is capable of accomplishments but generally seldom of that nature.

I have been debating with msyelf how much of this information I should ever share in a book or on a blog even.  Most of this is really unknown territory.  But at age 18, Alexander was probably older than some of the members of the Sacred Band who were young military boys and men.  History says a lot about the Sacred Band but in the end, it never tells the story very well.  Facts are after all only condensed information about anyone or anything.  The feel of being there is seldom contained within a historical data sheet.

One thing I know that Alexander did was to keep careful and accurate records of his own which tell the story much more truly than any historical record has done.  But some of this I know only through my methods of going back in time and reliving the experience as it had happened to him.
Alexander is unique to me because I am able to go into his mind which has sometimes frankly blown my mind away at all that he was capable of doing and knowing.  These things come to me in a flash and stay long enough to make the imprint on my mind and then disappear.  We are not the same then and today, but today is able to get snatches of what was in his mind yesterday. How and why this happens is something I do not bother to question period.  It just happens and I accept it. It like the Sacred Band. I knew them immediately when I saw them.  It is my knowledge of them from yesterday that gave me instant recognition, because today nothing much is known about them at all.

So I ponder this and will discuss this much of it now but am debating whether to ever go into much detail...I did think that perhaps those two men/boys are alive and well today and have no idea who they could have been yesterday...for that reason I am careful to say little more about it but will continue to decide whether to develop in the book.  All for now.

A little bit of everything

This has been a humdinger of a week.  It fits into Murphy's law too well.  For one thing, today I decided to clean the grooves for the patio which hold the screen, and so the dang screen got stuck. I then had to call in a work order so that John, the maintenance man, can come to fix the dang thing. Wouldn't you just know?

Then for some reason this day I am having flashbacks to seeing visions of members of the Sacred Band at the Battle of Charonea. I halfway think I know what may have prompted it, but it has caused me to think a lot. Maybe some of these people who are a part of the interested group in the time period of Philip and Alexander had been members of the Sacred Band but do not know it.

So I asked a few questions today,but the one thing one learns about the study of times past is that it is a case of total isolation, in which it is meant for my eyes only syndrome, and that perhaps the best thing is not to share anything at all. 
But these images are vivid, and so sharp and fascinating that I thought perhaps I could use them in my book, but at the same time, I am also very wary of sharing such information.  It is sometimes best to keep some things to one's self.

But it did make me recall a time when Steve Pressfield mentioned something about the Sacred Band in one of his blogs or books, and I am not sure now which it is.  But he did say that it was said that some of them killed each other rather than letting the opposition do it to them. I am getting a feel for ths now and am wondering where he learned this information...if he read it from source or just a rumor going round.

Anyway, they did act in pairs, and I am getting a very strong glimpse into a pair that is very vivid and personal. It has set me to thinking, so I am asking myself all kinds of questions about it.

Also, change of topic...the Iphone5 was announced today as promised months ago, so I waited and wondered which to buy now, the Samsung Galaxy 3 or the Iphone5 and when.

I have my eye glasses to purchase this month and next, and either phone will be available I suppose for some time to come but my phone is giving me real headaches. I am trying to figure out which phone to purchase.  Big decision really.

I also realized that I have put on a few pounds so am trying to control diet a bit.  But I will never be able to change my eating habits totally. I will just try to cut down.

Sandra dropped in the other day to give me some stuff. I finally tried some pasta sauce that she gave me time before this and omg is it ever good.  Butternut squash pasta which I frankly was scared to try. It is so good that it is unreal.

The Amateur, by Edward Klein

I admit that I know very little about most presidents of the United States, and that I am just as biased and prejudiced about the person who is to hold that office as anyone.  I would like to believe that each party is capable of selecting a nominee for the office who is qualified to actually become the chief executive, but in truth, many times, both parties have failed to demonstrate the ability to select a candidate who is truly capable of dealing with congress, the nation, and nations of the world in a way that suggests that those who run are truly able to BE the president, representing each one of us in our own way.

In this book by Edward Klein, the reader is soon learning that the ability to win a nomination is not the same as the ability to lead and serve  a nation such as the United States.  It appears that while Barack Obama was capable of gaining the nomination, he has failed abysmally at becoming a credible leader, and responsible president.

In many ways, this book will console many who had thought that Barack Obama would be a tool of Reverend Wright, for it exposes the fact that no sooner had Barack won the election than he soon rid himself of any influences of the strange Reverend who he had followed for so many years.  In fact, it appears that many early supporters of Barack Obama get left behind as he climbs up the lofty ladder of success to forget all about them, leaving them in the dust somewhere far back of the pack.

But the few who he kept around him are very powerful and very important to know: Valerie Jarrett, a longtime friend from Chicago politics, and Samantha Powers, a newly acquired friend whose impact upon Barack Obama is utterly undeniable.  These two women appear to be more powerful than even his wife Michelle.  Nobody gets to Barack Obama except through Valerie Jarrett, and that includes appointed members of his cabinet.  She is fully capable of blocking anyone from getting through to Barack Obama, causing much unhappiness within his own circles of appointments.

One would have thought that Oprah Winfrey would have had some influence, but in fact, she like many of Barack's supporters, was given the cold shoulder and a difficult time in gaining access to the newly elected president. It seems that Michelle is quite jealous of any woman's influence except that of the two aforementioned who hold great influence on her husband.

This book is loaded with stories of people who had befriended and supported Barack Obama but given short shrift and are now only mildly lukewarm about his presidency. The author interviewed many of these early backers to hear their stories and recount them in this revealing look at a strange and amateurish president.  The term Amateur comes from Bill Clinton who is seen as urging his wife to run against Obama since Clinton is so exasperated with how badly Barack Obama is doing as the leader of the USA. 

Barack Obama has alienated nearly everyone within the Washington sector but also goes on to alienate the Jewish voters, and Benjamin Netanyahu in his remarks to Nicholas Sarkosy, and later, in his treatment of Netanyahu when he comes to the White House. 
This section on the way that Barack Obama treated Netanyahu is absolutely unb elievable, but it is fascinating to see how Obama regards the Israeli leader.  Later, he does try to mend fences, and one wonders if Netanyahu can forget the earlier maltreatment.  I must admit that this chapter alone is worth reading this book to know.

In the end, we realize that Barack Obama is not very well liked  by many in his party, and even amongst his appointments.  Obama is not a warm and friendly man, but an aloof, and haughty personality who believes only in himself, his own personal charm and charisma, and as a result, has few backers and supporters who defend him.  His only real fans remain amongst those who see him from far away rather than from up close and personal.

This book sheds insights on his attitude towards the military, his inability to work with his own appointees, General James Logan Jones, jr. for example, and his closest advisors.  It is worth reading to learn who all the people are who surround Barack Obama, who sticks with him and why, and who is happiest when finally no longer serving in his cabinet or in an important post or position. 

One sentence stood out to me in the book which truly gave me cause to be concerned about Barack Obama's attitude toward the USA.  He appears to apologize too much for American intervention and power in the world, and as such, is reducing the miliary to below normal in terms of defense.  That sentence is this: Under the Obama presidency, America has become weaker than any time since the Cold War.  This is followed by the cuts in the military with the following sentence added as a kicker. Our adversaries are gaining military, economic, diplomatic, and technological advantage over the United States thanks to a president who is considered weak.  The author points out that little is done about China's continued rise to power, and also about the possible threats from Iran in terms of nuclear power.

Granted, the author continues to balance these arguments with counter arguments so that the book lets the reader determine for himself whether Obama is actually learning and growing during this process, or if he is actually finding a way out for himself so that he can become a one term president.

Time will tell if any of the stories as told in this book will have any effect on the election or not. Most people do not want to be bothered with the facts, or the importance of the facts so long as their own particular biases and prejudices are met by the administration.

I was pleased to find that Barack Obama is not quite as weak and wishy washy as some think, but also surprised that he is surrounded with a number of women who actually are who determine his failure or success with those in his cabinet and congress.  Valerie Jarrett is who one must know to get to make contact with Barack Obama, and Samantha Powers wields much influence in his foreign policy decisions.

In the end, it is a book that is easy to read, easy to understand, and does not either approve or disapprove, but states other people's feelings about the person who now occupys the White House, not necessarily the same man who had been only an attorney in Illinois who made it up the ladder of success due to black power connections and knowhow.

He is finally compared to Richard Nixon in the next to the last chapter which is a most intriguing thought.  Both are cut from the poor man lot in life, and both seem to share much in common. 

I recommend that those who really care about the USA and its politics and presidential elections should read this book.  It can be of some value when having to decide who to support in the forthcoming election. I only wish there were such a book to tell us more about Mitt Romney.

Bereft by Chris Womersley (Spoiler)

I decided that since there are probably a few who might want to know why I like this book so much I would elaborate a bit so that those who will never read it may know more about it.

The reason I like it so much is that he goes into great details when the hero, Quinn, recalls his time spent in the war, and how bleak and dreary that the war had been.  He is able to give an insiders look at the way soldiers actually behave when huddled together, facing death, yearning to die when aboard a ship taking them home so that they throw themselves overboard, but a few somehow or other, such as himself, seem to brave their way through it, little knowing how or why they are capable of staying alive when everyone around them is getting killed.  A good deal of the story is telling him how lucky he is to be alive...his memories of spending days walking in the forests, mindlessly, senselessly, is really quite moving. 

The little girl Sadie Fox is so fascinating because she knows so well how to survive despite her orphan state, that she has no compunction about entering homes, standing outside the windows, listening to everything that is going on inside, finding ways to get necessities, food, weapons, clothing, and other tools to survive. All along she is a child who believes in fairies, who has a supernatural streak where she can listen to the animals talk, divine someone's thoughts, and somehow thwart her enemies...

The spoiler is that it is the brother of Quinn's mother who is the real murderer so that Quinn can never tell his mother for he knows it would break her heart and since she is dying, he keeps it to himself rather than to try to convince her.  He learns who the man was who held Sarah down while his uncle raped her later in the story but pretty much a good reader would have figured that out.

There are many touching scenes, especially with Sadie Fox holding onto the faith that her brother will come to get her and protect her, but sorrow that at such a young age she is truly alone in life, and the one person who she dreads most is Robert, the uncle who has become the town constable.  He let the people believe that it was Quinn who did the terrible deed, but Sadie is who knows the truth about other girls who he has also raped and killed and lied about.  Quinn learns from her about the other girls and how Sadie manages to avoid and evade the evil constable.

The epilogue is wonderful because it explains how the townspeople can never be sure whether Quinn did really return home to speak to his mother for that is explained as due to her fever, and the only other person who had seen him is considered one of the town's disadvantaged mentally so nobody believes him either when he tells of talking to Quinn. It is a strange kind of justice which keeps the truth well hidden.

I won't go too much further but believe me, you will love this book if you decide to read it. It grabs you and keeps you glued.  I won't give away the way that Quinn eventually confronts his uncle for he has been so afraid of him for so many years but it is a great conclusion.

I learned a lot about Australia that Americans are too dimwitted sometimes to consider that it is not only American boys who join the worldwide effort to confront an enemy.  We Americans sometimes forget that other nations also have stories of their own to tell about the wars that we fight together.

An interesting note is that Quinn's mother is quite an educated woman who read stories to her children while they were growing up, and a few references to Greek plays fascinated me...making me think of my effort in my novel.  My intent is to show the impact of drama and literature on the men['s lives while they tramp around the world...so I found it intriguing that this is a small part of this book as well...Interesting at how some people's minds seem to gravitate to the same places.

Bereft, by Chris Womersley

Bereft is one of the better novels that I have read in recent years.  It is one that is so well written that it has made me rethink my own novel that is in progress.  I learned so much from this author about simple details that make a story engrossing and appealing so that I will always be grateful that he designed this story so well.  This is a marvelous story about an injustice that is so horrible that nobody can imagine a proper way to address this problem.  Uniquely, this author creates characters who finally resolve a problem that deserves admiration.  I was simply stunned while I read this dreadful tale of the bubonic plague or the bout of influenza that wiped out the population during the great war.  The Great War is World War II.   It is even more difficult to imagine the injustices that occurred in those days when we understand how difficult it is for the truth to ever overpower the awesomeness of a lie that becomes believed.

I learned things about Australia that I had never considered before, but then I have yet to visit this strange continent where birds seldom sing but seem to cackle, where kangaroos hop, and koala bears munch on leaves from trees.  This time period in Australia's history is intense, dreary, and full of perils both from ordinary mankind and diseases.

Quinn, Sarah, and William are brothers and sister in this family who reside in Flint, a small town.  Quinn and Sarah are inseparable, are even called Romeo and Juliet by a few who consider their relationship with one another a bit strange.  Sarah knows how to control Quinn easily so that he is ever at her command.  William stays a bit apart from both of them, being more interested in his mechanical toys.

Sarah is cruelly raped and murdered and Quinn is seen with blood on his body, and a knife in his hand by his father, uncle, and thus is considered to be the person who has murdered the young girl. Because he ran away from the scene, the assumption is that he has raped and killed his own sister, so that even his own father and mother come to believe in his guilt rather than even considering that he could be innocent.

He joined the military to fight in the Great War and was sent to France where he won a medal for bravery and courage, having saved some men's lives.  One of the most amazing parts of this story is the recollection that Quinn has of his time spent fighting this great war.  It is bleak, stark, and very moving.  During the time that he is in France, he manages to get to London to where he meets up with some very strange people who believe in mediums and spiritualists so that he receives a strange message from one of the girls who is entrapped at the medium's place of business to go into trances and to give messages to those who wish to communicate with the faithful departed. This is a fascinating chapter in which we learn why it is that these spiritualistic mediums thrive so well.  This visit causes him to return to Australia to find his parents, to try to convince them of his innocence.

His mother has contracted the influenza or the plague whichever it is that is destroying the population, and so his father will not enter the house to talk with his wife so that he won't get the disease.  However, Quinn does visit with his mother, talks with her, and tries to convince her of his innocence regarding the death of his sister. He does know who the real murderer is, but he won't reveal it to his mother.  I won't spoil this part of it but it is a very integral and important part of the plot to finally achieve justice.

While he has been sleeping out in the countryside near his parents home he makes the acquaintance of a young girl whose mother has died, whose brother is off at war, and whose father left years ago.  The girl is entirely on her own, and has to struggle to survive. She is one of the most fascinating characters in this story. 

Gradually, she befriends Quinn, challenges him with her survival skills, and together, they both determine how to deal with the problem of the two men who had raped and killed Sarah, because it turns out that she is only one of several girls that this pair has killed after raping them, and Sadie fears for her own safety and life as well. 

Through a carefully developed story line we come to  learn of fairies in England, Kensington Garden in London, witchcraft, spirits, talking with animals, plants, and insects so that eventually a confrontation does finally occur between the real murderer and Quinn. 

This is a very suspenseful drama in which we finally learn how Sarah was murdered, and who the second man in the heinous crime had been.  Sadie and Quinn are some pair, but they are able to survive amidst the worst of hardships, living in a wreck of a shack, stealing from the community necessaries, and bonding in a touching way that makes one come to like and love both of these strange characters brought together in the harshest of environments.

Justice does finally happen.  In a most intriguing way, the author brings this dreadful story to a necessary conclusion.  The reader knows all along who the real murderer is, but the problem of proving it is absolutely something that will never be possible.  Even as an eyewitness to the murder, Quinn is still up against the bias and prejudice of the temper of the day. Few would believe him, especially his parents.

Quinn and Sadie do become heroic in a sense.  There are so many stark and gloomy scenes in this novel since both the plague and the war have brought about changes in the lives of the townspeople that this setting makes the heinous crime seem rather ordinary.

Womersley has a sense of drama that is unique and interesting...a kind of story for children that adults must read to appreciate that in the end it is for adults after all.

I loved the epilogue.  If there is justice at all, it is in the Epilogue.

I recommend this as one of the best books I have read in years.  It has had such an impact on me that I cannot stop thinking about it.  It is a survivor story, one that questions the reality of God in man's life.  Has God truly abandoned everyone?  Is mankind bereft?