Thursday, September 28, 2006

Way Up There, High Above the Law

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there were laws only in Heaven. These laws were all good laws and they provided guidance for the good people who resided therein, and also protected them from the occasional transients and bible salesmen who sometimes tried to crash the pearly gates. People who did not abide by those good laws were punished by God. No need for courts, God knew Good and God knew Evil; and God knew there was not a single thing in between. There were gooddoers and evildoers and God could tell them apart.

Then man multiplied and filled the earth. People had to work together and make their living by the sweat of their brows. Some of the people found they could live better with less browsweat if they stole the work of another person and the laws of God were found deficient in this land on Earth which was not as good as Heaven nor quite as bad as Hell. So lawettes were instituted among the people by themselves to guide and protect and punish. And there were many lawettes in every land. These were not the perfect laws of God, but man-made-things, often not clearly written, sometimes not even comprehendable. So these laws were made subject to man-made courts where the laws could be “tested” to find out if they made sense and to also test to see if those laws had actually been “broken”. So the laws and the people who made them and those who were charged with breaking them were “tried” or measured to see what really did happen.

Now how could you possibly examine any complex event to see what had actually happened? It was usually decided by whimsy or by sheer might, or the very act of being “tried” or “tested” depended upon the King or Sheriff, or Grand Exalted Cyclops, or whatever Testor or source of power had detained the prisoner. Usually the Testor already knew even before the "trial" began if the Testee was really guilty and the more guilty the Testee was “known” to be by the Testor, or the more serious the “crime” the less seriously any trial needed to be prosecuted.

So, to try to get fair trials,“facts” were required to be introduced to help in the test or trial. How to determine if those “facts” were truly true came to depend on only one criterion: That was that both sides had to have equal access to all the charges and were able to examine and test or refute the charges by the other side.

If the people being tried could not find out what the evidence against them was, they were almost always found guilty. If they could introduce evidence themselves and also challenge the evidence introduced against them, then they were often found not to be guilty.

If any of the people charged with breaking the laws had a friend who knew the laws well to help them, it was even more often found that the Testees were not guilty! Of course, that meant someone else had to be guilty - Amazingly, that sometimes turned out to be the Testors who had had them arrested!

It is said that God felt the people’s pain in their travail, and He sent His own son to earth to clear up that mess. His son was called by some, Jesus. When questioned about some of the man-made laws, God’s son reportedly said that men should render into Caesar that which was Caesar's, and unto God that which was God’s.

Then God’s son was seized and brought to be “tried” himself. He could not introduce evidence and had no friend who knew the man-made law, and the decision was made by a Roman satrap. God’s son was killed.

Some 2,000 years later - apparently God sent a second son to earth. His name was Georgus. Georgus has His Father’s comprehension of Good and Evil. More than that, he understands a better way to introduce and test evidence.
Georgus understands that torture, humiliation, physical and emotional maltreatment, kidnapping, and permanent incarceration without resort to habeus corpus, access to legal aid, or even any need to ever have evidence presented to them or against them is sometimes necessary if the suspected crime was great enough, and the prisoner dangerous enough - especially if the prisoner is a “bad guy”, an “evildoer” or obviously guilty. That way the Testee can be tested without compromising sensitive information. And that makes sense anyway because evidence should be surpressed if the Testee should not have had access to information that sensitive because if he were found “not guilty” he would theoretically have to be released - but then - he would have been told what he should not have known and would therefore THEN be Guilty! Anyway, as far as needing a friend who knows the law to help him, these Testees have the best possible - Georgus, himself, and Georgus will see they are taken care of.

It may be even be there are those who are SO guilty that it would be better for them and all mankind if they were just “collected” and never acknowledged - if they would just simply “disappear”. Georgus can help these people too!

Of course, Georgus assures us that these modifications to the US laws are temporary and due to the Twin Tower attack, kind of like what happened in Germany after the Reichstag Fire.

The US Supreme Court stepped in and raised a warning about infractions to the great American Constitution to Georgus, so He has gone to His congress, just like Hitler did, and made it enact an “Enabling Act”, llike Germany did on March 23, 1933. And just like in Germany 63 years ago, more will soon be needed.

©John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Don't Tread on Me!

Apparently America agrees to abide by law, treaties and international conventions when they have encountered uniformed people serving in a military force they are fighting on a battlefield. Those they collect who were not serving in an enemy army or without uniforms are simply called “terrorists” and they become eligible to be secretly locked away forever or to simply “disappear”.

There are terrorists like Osama Bin Laden, al-Zarrquawi and al-Zawahiri and they have their following. Many others however appear to belong to other groups. Some appear to have just been “found” and captured, others are people who clearly feel they are simply fighting for their own homeland. More than a few appear to be totally confounded as to why they were ever "arrested" in the first place, claiming they had nothing to do with any fighting.

Thus invading foreign troops who preemptively invading another nation are deemed to be lawful, legal and protected, but the people whose country has been invaded - if they fight back - are deemed to be "terrorists". If captured they can be imprisoned for endless years, kept without charge or legal representation, tortured or disappeared.

I feel certain that if an invading army were to occupy the villages of western North Carolina (where I now live) they would be met with a ferocious blast of “instant terrorists” - or "freedom fighters". I feel the same way about the other 15 states in which I have lived. There would be snipers, bomb builders, and bridge destroyers. Those who had sided with that occupying force would be killed without compunction and none of the “patriots/terrorists” would ever think of wearing a uniform.

Some of these “patriots/terrorists” would be noble people, some would be wild and unruly people who had been permitted - and instructed how - to do horrible things. So they would not necesarilly be "nice" people, nor would they happen to be "bad" people. They would be whomever you might expect to encounter right now, here in America, if you were to just break into people's homes at random.


© John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Where the law is What it needs to be.

The very idea that a law may or may not apply in certain cases because of the nature of the crime the perpertrator is alleged to have committed implies that that law in question is not a law but a “punishment favor” which must be earned, or an “award” which must be granted by someone whose power is greater than the law.
Thus we now see the treatment by the United States of people they have collected in various places. This treatment apparently includes torture, humiliation, physical and emotional maltreatment, kidnapping, and permanent incarcaration without resort to habeus corpus, access to legal aid, or even any need to ever have evidence presented to them or against them. It may well be that there are many who have been collected and never acknowledged - they were simply “disappeared”.
Apparently America agrees to abide by law, treaties and international conventions when they have encountered uniformed people serving in a military force they are fighting on a battlefield. Those they collect who were not serving in an enemy army or without uniforms are simply called “terrorists” and they become eligible to “disappear”.
There are terrorists like OBL and (recently killed) and they have their following. Many others however appear to belong to other groups. Some appear to have just been “found” and captured, others are people who clearly feel they are simply fighting for their own homeland.
Thus invading foreign troops preemptively invading a nation are lawful and legal and protected, but the people whose country has been invaded - if they fight back - are terrorists. If captured they can be imprisoned for endless years, kept without charge or legal representation, tortured or disappeared.
I feel certain that the place where I live would become filled with “terrorists” if some invading army were to occupy the villages of western North Carolina. I feel the same way about everywhere I have ever lived. In such a case there would be snipers, bomb builders, and disrupters. Those who had sided with that occupying force would be killed without concern and none of these “patriots/terrorists” would ever think of wearing a uniform. Some of these would be noble people, many would be just wild and unruly people turned free to do as they wish

© Juhn Womack, 2007. All rights reserved.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Papal Incredibility


Regensburg's Old Chapel

Pope Benedict XVI spoke of how Islam had used the symbolic sword of violence in the past, and his words incensed many Muslims. Some immediately began fire-bombing Christian churches to prove he was wrong.

The Pope is still a person, even though obviously smart and intelligent, but capable of quoting the wrong part of the great historical record of mankind. Now he will be pummeled and pounded and pilloried until he squirms in sorrow and repentance and finally announces for all the world that history is sometimes wrong and then he can prove how sorry he is as a representative of God.

But wait, does the Doctrine of Papal infallibility apply here? I understand there are three tests to that doctrine. 1) Scripture? Jesus said to Peter, the first Pope, "What you loose on earth is loosed in heaven". Catholics believe that the current Pope has the same powers as Peter was given by Jesus. So what's loose in heaven now? Surely nothing new. 2) History? The Pope was quoting a historical statement. How much more historical can you get? 3) Logic? Well, here lies the Pope's escape path. He can claim that he was not logical. But such a statement would not seem logical in itself because Ratzinger was well known to be the most logical member of the College of Cardinals and was extremely knowledgable in both theology and philosophy. He had been a professor of theology here at the University of Regansburg, and the leader of the Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith before becoming elevated to the papacy.

The truth is that no single aspect of humanity has been more violent than religious organizations. Too often, mankind's inability to communicate with each other has “justified" violence, and when wrapped in holy cloth and screaming for revenge, punishment and consequenches, then violence is seen to justify any actions that would please a wrathful, loving god.

The great lie is that we all worship the same god. That is clearly not true. Talk for a moment with a Southern Baptist, then with a Roman Catholic, then with a Presbyterian; same god? Of course not. They will all say that they do worship the same God, because they know their faith worships the Only True God, and any problems would have to lie with people who just don't understand God. And that’s just Christians. Talk with Jewish and Muslim adherents and God becomes much more complicated. Hindus make God truly amazing and Buddhists - well - good luck! Add in a few scientists who can tell what they know about the universe and God becomes astonishing.

So the definition of God is tricky. Personally I think it is not true that Jews, Christians and Muslims worship the same god. Historically they have all worshipped violence, and maybe that's what they really mean.


The Pope spoke in Regensburg, Germany, on September 12, and that day would have been much kinder to him if he had wandered down to the Danube to the Historische Wurstkuche and had eaten their saurkraut and fantastic dark mustard with the best sausage in the entire universe. That would have proven he was infallible.

Photos: Top> Regensburg's Old Chapel, a gleaming white-and-gold rococo church, 200 meters from Ratzinger's family home.
Lower> The Historische Wurstkuche on the Danube in Regensburg.
All Photos by John Womack

John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, September 11, 2006

What Really Kept Us Safe - Reflections on 9/11

It was not our military, good as it is, that kept us safe for so many long years. Nor was it our oceans, wide as they are, that kept any enemies away. Our refuge was the only safe harbor that can ever be. It was the respect and honor of the rest of the world.

Even though we had become money-grubbing tricksters when it came to commerce, other people felt that was just our way. Deep down they knew they could trust us to do what was right when it would make a difference, and we were really their friend.

We could send our emissaries where no one else could even send troops. We could always find a way to help anybody. We cared about people, ordinary individuals, and we really did want to help them. We were the world's friend.

We were religion-neutral. We were welcomed in Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Moslem cultures, and trusted by them to help in ways that were peculiar to America.

They didn't fear us. That was the big thing. They knew we COULD step on them and that would be it, but they also knew we wouldn’t ever do it.
Now our leaders want the world to fear us. And the world does fear us for we are mad. And I don't mean angry, I mean insane. Our great light has been extinguished, and our leaders want to replace it with a great fire that if lighted will consume the world.

©John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved