tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42122352516414757832024-03-14T09:53:04.721-06:00CitizenschallengeI’m a citizen disappointed by the shallowness of our media and lack of honest examination of today’s deeper challenges. Such as coming to grips with what society has done to our Earth’s biosphere (life support system). I realize no one likes bad news, but faith-based denial isn’t going to do our children any good either.
~ ~ ~ Thus I’ve taken to writing what I'd like to see more of and to sharing selected writings of others.
~ ~ ~ feel free to copy and pass along any of the following.citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.comBlogger538125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-68830422305850381272024-02-08T20:06:00.011-07:002024-02-10T11:24:22.585-07:00In Defense of Women, Postcard Activism - Can you help me?<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i style="color: #38761d; font-family: trebuchet;">Please</i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SqFgJ-_11zsat0zoBRknJAUy3igW8olwDNcfVBQ2VKYc15R5ZUZnlhaBgOnp5d78UBuQ7yWo9fLTL1ZNjfailg4Xd8wXUq9ZP1bHxva7mOe0E09H1NPkPGiNzoyWCAGkKV210MaGTzwJENgk0Cu56eWJDzUFpDJCe6X3eRvyAq7vqN80hyphenhyphenhX_g32RILs/s264/IMG_GoFundMe%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="GoFundMeLogo" border="0" data-original-height="112" data-original-width="264" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SqFgJ-_11zsat0zoBRknJAUy3igW8olwDNcfVBQ2VKYc15R5ZUZnlhaBgOnp5d78UBuQ7yWo9fLTL1ZNjfailg4Xd8wXUq9ZP1bHxva7mOe0E09H1NPkPGiNzoyWCAGkKV210MaGTzwJENgk0Cu56eWJDzUFpDJCe6X3eRvyAq7vqN80hyphenhyphenhX_g32RILs/w200-h84/IMG_GoFundMe%20logo.png" width="200" /></span></a></div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; letter-spacing: -0.02em; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://gofund.me/4d6647da" target="_blank">In Defense of Women, Postcard Activism</a></span></h1><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: -0.02em; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Can you help?</span></h1><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.02em;"><br /></span></i></span></h1><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span><i style="color: #38761d; font-family: trebuchet;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSNVsTebLTZPNDZk9cg19Umq8B7Dkkb071R4WdxoEqtWQt4hDUgCkJu5i0P8p0UUP7_Ejfe2_Ycq6KCqZXrlmGc8ynzZ6H8FPtCCnkuGokWWGWOs7l4TtcX0LEW9NlMEKLXXgdgbmZ0oGW5maF0Nqt4LAm6OO7m1naRD4YJl7uasAfQaODSMl_MynF33p/s1198/IMG_InDefenseOfWomen_24-02-01_vertical.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="922" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSNVsTebLTZPNDZk9cg19Umq8B7Dkkb071R4WdxoEqtWQt4hDUgCkJu5i0P8p0UUP7_Ejfe2_Ycq6KCqZXrlmGc8ynzZ6H8FPtCCnkuGokWWGWOs7l4TtcX0LEW9NlMEKLXXgdgbmZ0oGW5maF0Nqt4LAm6OO7m1naRD4YJl7uasAfQaODSMl_MynF33p/w483-h628/IMG_InDefenseOfWomen_24-02-01_vertical.png" width="483" /></a> </div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i><p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">I believe there are too many misinformed individuals out there, and that Democrats need to work harder at gaining and sharing basic solid information and arguments.</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">It would help enable the choir to become more persuasive in our regular interactions and discussion with people, friends, & family. After all, if we aren’t changing minds, we are losing.</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">I believe that the better we can verbalize the issues, the easier it is to engage and stand up for justice. The better our chances to help evolve people’s thinking on issues that matter.</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">I've taken that challenge personally and produced this “In Defense of Women” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">summary</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> concise enough to fit onto a postcard. No envelope for better visibility and hopefully to encourage sharing. </span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">My dream is that someday our society can learn to acknowledge that it's the mother who, above all others, possesses the situational awareness, along with the moral, ethical, and legal standing to decide the future of the growing fetus within herself. </span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">Thank you, </span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">Peter Miesler</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">aka citizenschallenge</span></i></p><p style="color: #2d6516; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="color: #2d6516; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://gofund.me/4d6647da." target="_blank">Can you help Go-Fund-Me</a></span></i></p><p style="color: #2d6516; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></i></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVICEy9xgaL1ZRi8xE0aRXI4ZQ40jA3wmHpxTNp4_wdigQpBPGDwC1HbNDHI7Dy8YSsTiiOR28Z6t7vthIKWE6LjFOYeDQzHRpUsX7MPToPIX7MXlx4us14xvIi92tZrEmhsROCDTPYhd1BKEx9FmtpqBo9-2S9d9p2L1jqnA37tv14DtT68wSp5bh8h2/s432/(small)selfie%20by%20river,%20early%20summer%202023%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="432" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVICEy9xgaL1ZRi8xE0aRXI4ZQ40jA3wmHpxTNp4_wdigQpBPGDwC1HbNDHI7Dy8YSsTiiOR28Z6t7vthIKWE6LjFOYeDQzHRpUsX7MPToPIX7MXlx4us14xvIi92tZrEmhsROCDTPYhd1BKEx9FmtpqBo9-2S9d9p2L1jqnA37tv14DtT68wSp5bh8h2/s320/(small)selfie%20by%20river,%20early%20summer%202023%20.png" width="320" /></a></i></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="color: #2d6516; font-family: Times; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">___________________________________________</span></i></div>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 23px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My first printing of 250 postcards has been mailed out:</span></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">~100 woman’s rights organizations</span></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">~140 select Democratic US Senators and Representatives</span></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 23px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My second printing of a 1,000 postcards:</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2d6516; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I started with a list of key states, and collected the addresses of all the county Democratic Party Committees that were </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(45, 101, 22); font-weight: 400;">available</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></p><p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
</span></h1></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Arizona</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Colorado</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Florida</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Maryland</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Iowa</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Missouri</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Nevada </p></span></h1></div></blockquote><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is where my stock of stamps has run out. What can I say, I’m happily </span><span style="font-size: medium;">retired,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> living in rural Colorado and since I'm a man of modest means and expectations, I</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> have plenty of what I need since</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, but extra cash isn’t on that list.</span></p><p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 23px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2d6516;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Next month I’ll get another couple hundred stamps and plug away at it.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2d6516;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2d6516;"><span>Then I got to thinking, why not reach out for a little help. See what happens. <a href="https://gofund.me/4d6647da." target="_blank">Can you perhaps Go Fund Me?</a> A twenty here, and a twenty there, will help speed up this process.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #2d6516; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 23px; text-align: left;"><br /></p>
</span></h1></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">South Dakota</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Missouri</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">Pennsylvania</p></span></h1></div><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><p style="color: #121722; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;">New York</p></span></h1></div></blockquote><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p style="color: #121722; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d6002; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">After those postcards to County Democratic organizations are sent out, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">there'll be appropriate media outlets and authors, then young people's political clubs, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">after that, more politicians, and others that come to mind. </span></p>
<p style="color: #0d6002; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #0d6002; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">If I could get the help with stamps (0.53@) I’d love to send out a few thousand postcards. </span></p>
<p style="color: #0d6002; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://gofund.me/4d6647da." target="_blank">Can you help?</a> <span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: #0d6002; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p style="color: #0d6002; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: trebuchet; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4_pGvLU-El5v3g41QUYe-sTThyBI8hB7Q1SOzx5gLhHlhwdcwHo2diM2xT1SgNR-ngfcmeM2EYdmx4PrUUrBQFsboqd9GWlrwFPCuuJRrAseeodL9Oco46eAJ4bhqRA6eQ6DcyN2-PAuRNXdkLTOi40MeoIJhwi6Iq5Csk5fEOpqo-4gSgxjdTLSFYi-/s1152/Taking%20a%20walk%20with%20Maddy.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="1152" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4_pGvLU-El5v3g41QUYe-sTThyBI8hB7Q1SOzx5gLhHlhwdcwHo2diM2xT1SgNR-ngfcmeM2EYdmx4PrUUrBQFsboqd9GWlrwFPCuuJRrAseeodL9Oco46eAJ4bhqRA6eQ6DcyN2-PAuRNXdkLTOi40MeoIJhwi6Iq5Csk5fEOpqo-4gSgxjdTLSFYi-/w513-h189/Taking%20a%20walk%20with%20Maddy.png" width="513" /></a></span></div><p style="font-family: trebuchet;"></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Just in case someone's interested, I’ve added this text version that you can cut and paste, perhaps edit as you see fit, then pass it on yourself.</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Front Side:</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 10px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"><b></b></span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;">In Defense of Women</span></b></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;">Birth & death are part and parcel of our human condition, they can't be moralized out of existence. A pregnancy is never a guarantee and this isn’t about the fate of the fetus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><b>This is about who has the most realistic and moral ‘<i>standing’</i> to make such a fateful decision.</b></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> A fetus certainly is human, but its a potentiality, a person in the making, </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>the fetus doesn't take on the mantle of personhood until those first breaths of life-giving air start infusing its lungs and arteries and tissues with oxygen.</b></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"> <b>In a free society, legally speaking, why doesn't a woman deserve the Right to Her Own Self-Defense - along with Sovereignty Over Her Own Body?</b></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><b> Why wouldn't a just society clearly acknowledge: </b></span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>“A woman's life is more precious to her existing family, and to society, than an unborn potentiality.”?</b></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"> Life can force impossible situations upon people, who are we to judge her? Why not some compassion for the most difficult decision in a person’s life.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"> Entrust her with the responsibility of making their own best informed choices about their own pregnancies.</span></b></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"> It is significant that abortion is as old as civilization, even Jewish scripture presents the Abrahamic God's perspective on the crisis in a forgiving humane manner.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: small;">Address Side:</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; min-height: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 36px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;">If we aren’t changing minds we are losing. </span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>Women should be entrusted</b></span><b>, </b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>above all others</b></span><b>, with the responsibility of making her own best informed choices about her own pregnancies. </b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"><b>In a free society, why won’t we grant women a Right to Self-Defense - along with Sovereignty Over Her Own Body?</b></span><b> </b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: small;"><b>Why not recognize that a woman</b>’<b>s life is more precious to her existing family, and to society, than an unborn potentiality?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Avenir; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;">It's the woman's </span><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Avenir; font-size: small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 1, 128);">responsibility. </span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Avenir; font-size: small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 1, 128); font-weight: normal;">Allow her to make her own decision.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Avenir; font-size: small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 1, 128); font-weight: normal;">No one cares as much as she does.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px; text-align: justify;"></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #800180;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 1, 128);"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioA56HQXQi1hkAKcL3qdwmLhfbt6Vhyphenhyphen09KJmShb1tUi7pWCrl0gSx8KR4L95vAjtCB8vnga_Y5exOBpLBD8ysbnBrEm5-X8OHwYJElL9fP9VDHfzBjbyx3cK9ghGUaVgTOa9WPWvSb125SqU-bTfufuE91Z0KNSCk6LDjM-pQFccHtuLMs3h8TNseIPBa/s2232/Taking%20a%20walk%20with%20Maddy,.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="2232" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioA56HQXQi1hkAKcL3qdwmLhfbt6Vhyphenhyphen09KJmShb1tUi7pWCrl0gSx8KR4L95vAjtCB8vnga_Y5exOBpLBD8ysbnBrEm5-X8OHwYJElL9fP9VDHfzBjbyx3cK9ghGUaVgTOa9WPWvSb125SqU-bTfufuE91Z0KNSCk6LDjM-pQFccHtuLMs3h8TNseIPBa/w543-h127/Taking%20a%20walk%20with%20Maddy,.png" width="543" /></a></span></div><p></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-weight: 400;">++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ </p><p style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14.85px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Do Abortion Bans Violate Jews' Religious Rights?</span></b></p><p style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #022465;"><a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/about/staff.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Lisa Fishbayn Joffe</span></b></a></span></p><p style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">June 16, 2022 </span><span style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">(full article is 1200 words of lucid persuasion)</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14.85px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 40.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14.85px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 40.5px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #022465;"><a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/about/staff.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><b>Lisa Fishbayn Joffe</b></a></span> is the director of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/index.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Hadassah-Brandeis Institute</b></span></a> and director of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/research-projects/gcrl/index.html#:~:text=The%20mission%20of%20the%20Project,of%20religious%20and%20cultural%20traditions." style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law</b></span></a> which explores the tension between women’s equality claims and religious laws. Her research focuses on gender and multiculturalism in family law and on the intersection between secular and religious law. She is a co-founder of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/research-projects/gcrl/boston-agunah-taskforce/index.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Boston Agunah Task Force</b></span></a>, devoted to research, education and advocacy for women under Jewish family law.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 40.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: start;"></p><blockquote style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-weight: 400; text-align: start;"><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">“… there is widespread agreement among scholars and rabbinical authorities that a complete prohibition on abortion is inconsistent with Jewish law and tradition. Under Jewish law, an abortion to save the life of the mother is permitted.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">“For this reason, <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/facultyguide/person.html?emplid=5582082465f93a9a0dfd4438912f554a0f5856bc" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Lisa Fishbayn Joffe</b></span></a>, the Shulamit Reinharz Director of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/index.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Hadassah-Brandeis Institute</b></span></a>, argues that extreme anti-abortion laws risk infringing on Jews' religious freedoms. Earlier this week, a Florida synagogue <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/florida-abortion-ban-violates-jews-religious-freedom-lawsuit-says-2022-06-14/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>made this argument</b></span></a> in a suit filed in a state court against Florida's law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. …”</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>“Are Jews across denominations arguing that anti-abortion laws infringe on their religious freedoms?</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">“Yes. It's an argument being put forth by advocates like the <a href="https://www.ncjw.org/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>National Council of Jewish Women</b></span></a>. It holds that since Jewish law supports reproductive rights, abortion restrictions violate Jewish people's right to make choices about their lives in accordance with Jewish law. This position has many strengths. …”</p></blockquote><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-weight: 400;">________________________________________ </p></span></h1><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdzw5H6o5St2k7MYo1kFY6dpJKg8B7wdMRbDRm6KqqOgWVjuMo7_75R68XIrysP9_z_tb4g0jLIr3FaUgZ_pgZ5JTh3JWsgoEFFN8t14bIBURjfvbhCrtKqZfxegeFM_UU_VkaIzt4UGgMvZ15HLn7_I_2_nE8v2C3CLaJflxdhFdindfG4cj6BnD6JzF/s1152/IMG_postcards%20&%20stamps_24-02-09.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdzw5H6o5St2k7MYo1kFY6dpJKg8B7wdMRbDRm6KqqOgWVjuMo7_75R68XIrysP9_z_tb4g0jLIr3FaUgZ_pgZ5JTh3JWsgoEFFN8t14bIBURjfvbhCrtKqZfxegeFM_UU_VkaIzt4UGgMvZ15HLn7_I_2_nE8v2C3CLaJflxdhFdindfG4cj6BnD6JzF/s320/IMG_postcards%20&%20stamps_24-02-09.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: 400;">morning</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> of February 9th</span><br /><span style="color: #800180; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.02em;"><br /></span></i></span></h1><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: #800180; letter-spacing: -0.02em;"><br /></span></i></span></h1><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: #800180; letter-spacing: -0.02em;"><br /></span></i></span></h1><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></h1></div><div><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.02em;"><br /></span></i></span></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-2475731374812071312023-12-31T23:35:00.010-07:002024-01-02T12:07:54.599-07:00Diary Dec 31, 2023 - Reflections on this New Year's Eve.<p style="text-align: center;"> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR19APTCFeiUTQp8zrr9HhMUO0y8le8yDwDAZsMRj038mibH_F1qpA4A8XMa3gbuNRlr250MTXNPnPLZ6bamlpFcSr2mjBcPwt9ZTj_7QwyZBEpfbJFEAe7HdwDVEYH-PqgXU1dfnoCMecBzr5rT0pAMmsAgjOKiLPa5A4C4BVZvvtr-RI7thyNHUa-v8/s1140/IMG_Dec.%20heartrock.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1140" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR19APTCFeiUTQp8zrr9HhMUO0y8le8yDwDAZsMRj038mibH_F1qpA4A8XMa3gbuNRlr250MTXNPnPLZ6bamlpFcSr2mjBcPwt9ZTj_7QwyZBEpfbJFEAe7HdwDVEYH-PqgXU1dfnoCMecBzr5rT0pAMmsAgjOKiLPa5A4C4BVZvvtr-RI7thyNHUa-v8/s320/IMG_Dec.%20heartrock.png" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Saying good-bye to 2023. </p><p>Here's a quick year end hello and a note that this blog, ain't dead yet. Though it is mighty neglected. </p><p>There is hope, this past May was the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation and escape from Burlingame. Right now, this evening, 50 years ago, I was celebrating at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley, California and at the beginning of my fascinating long and strange and blessed trail of people and experiences. Considering what a lone wolf character I started as, and what a network of families bind my heart these days it's mind boggling. Given my crop of recent and (surprise!) future grandchildren, I feel a particular desire, perhaps even a challenge to write something different, and to share some memories with them, tell a few stories like only someone who was there can, before I'm gone. </p><p>As for my Earth Centrism project, it is getting pretty near completion. Been spending five years digesting the concept and the evidence behind it, I've written long articles and short bullet points, fielded some push and a lot of handwaving - there's only so many ways to refine something so fundamental and straightforward and that elusive final draft of my Earth Centrist perspective summary, is just around the corner, <i>as they say</i>. </p><p>I have been taking the discussion online at <a href="http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums" target="_blank">CFI Forum (Center for Inquiry)</a> a small discussion board and have been receiving interesting feedback and pushback. I'm also participating in a college philosophy club. Then, this past July I wrote up a dialogue with a short book, Buddha Science, by Daut.</p><p>It made for a nice contrast to dealing with <a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/p/because-apparently-someone-needs-to.html" target="_blank">Don Hoffman</a>'s ideas, in that I agree with much that Daut wrote, but I do come at it from a very different <i>evolutionary biological bottom up perspective</i> and I enjoyed this excuse to review and try to enunciate my Earth Centrist concept in a more constructive atmosphere.</p><p>Science has learned a great deal about Evolution, our animal biology, and also consciousness across the entire animal kingdom. Philosophers and the general public would do good to lay to rest old brainteasers and to catch up on the significance of current scientific biological evolutionary breakthroughs.</p><p>This Earth Centrist writing project has been dedicated to people who appreciate nature and evolution and scientific understanding about how evolution weaves us together with all other living beings on this planet. </p><p>Which includes a deep appreciation for how our body/brain produces consciousness, as in, the inside reflection of our body communicating with itself (<a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2021/03/solms-demystifies-hard-problem.html" target="_blank">see Dr.Solms</a>) and realizing how that offers keys to better understanding our own endless flesh vs spirit conflicts.</p><p>I'm looking to connect with people for whom a notion such as "Appreciating the Human Mind ~ Physical Reality divide" makes sense and who are unfazed by recognizing themselves as evolved biological thinking creatures, products of Earth's processes. People, who glory in the Pageant of Evolution that created our body and love learning from serious scientific efforts.</p><p>These aren't irrelevant trifles, they are keys to a more straightforward understanding of those dogged questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Why doesn't my body do what I tell it to?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifrO9yr9InsMKwu8sU76yROfqJT5MRKPvuZ_Pd-9pFn5aoXkDs1mEMrZomM9s_w37VAvEUcxbkDUDsQmfZyQg94Sp33WJDE3x-k2A3oHu_znLTsJjY7kKD73LmD_JLt_tW-r_-on1oXeiC0qN8rMNJyDxRwLgm2Cn9-ipUvNter4bWJOBJ2jRQXYL2NY/s1140/IMG_Dec.%20sunset.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="1140" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifrO9yr9InsMKwu8sU76yROfqJT5MRKPvuZ_Pd-9pFn5aoXkDs1mEMrZomM9s_w37VAvEUcxbkDUDsQmfZyQg94Sp33WJDE3x-k2A3oHu_znLTsJjY7kKD73LmD_JLt_tW-r_-on1oXeiC0qN8rMNJyDxRwLgm2Cn9-ipUvNter4bWJOBJ2jRQXYL2NY/w497-h179/IMG_Dec.%20sunset.png" width="497" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the index from my What's Up With That Watts blog.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span></a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">2023 </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(13)</span><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span></a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/11/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">November </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(1)</span><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/11/in-defense-of-women.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">In Defense of Women</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">July </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(10) A dialogue with Steve Daut's book, "Buddha Science" </span></div><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/1010-dialogue-with-buddha-science.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">10/10 - Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Conclusio</a>n</li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/910-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">9/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Science of the Mind</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/810-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">8/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Science of Life</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/710-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">7/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Physical Science</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/610-conversation-with-steve-dauts_22.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">6/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Chaos & Complexity</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/510-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">5/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Science</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/410-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">4/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Buddhism</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/310-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">3/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Two fingers pointing at the moon</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/210-conversation-with-steve-dauts.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">2/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - The Elephant</a> </li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/07/110dialogue-with-steve-dauts-buddha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">1/10 Dialogue with "Buddha Science" - Introduction to this <i>study exercise</i> series</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/04/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">April </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(2)</span><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/04/on-abortion-rights-considering.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">On Abortion Rights, considering the fundamentals.</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2023/04/unless-we-are-changing-minds-we-are.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">“Unless we are changing minds we are losing.”</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">2022 </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(7)</span><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/10/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">October </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(1)</span><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/10/earth-centrist-students-bibliography.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Earth Centrism - A Student's Bibliographic Resource</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/09/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">September </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(2)</span><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/09/introducing-earth-centrism.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Introducing a new philosophical perspective: Earth Centrism</a></li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/09/dear-democratic-party-callers.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Dear Democratic Party (callers) . . .</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/05/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">May </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(1)</span><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/05/missing-key-to-darwinsdangerousidea.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">The Missing Ingredient in Daniel Dennett's "Darwin Dangerous Idea</a>"</li></ul></li></ul><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/04/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">April </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(1)</span><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/04/important-insights-along-way.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Important Insights Along the Way</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><ul class="hierarchy" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="archivedate expanded" style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.2em;"><a class="toggle" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="zippy toggle-open" style="color: #999999; line-height: 0.6em; text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 2px 2px 1px;">▼ </span> </a><a class="post-count-link" href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/02/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">February </a><span class="post-count" dir="ltr">(2)</span></li><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/02/accused-of-spammimg-by-dnc-politico.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Response to being accused of spamming by DNC politico</a> </li><li style="background: repeat; border-width: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1.3em;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-democratic-party-online-discussion.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">The Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum.</a></li></ul></ul></ul><div style="text-indent: -15px;"><h2 class="date-header" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;"><br /></span></h2><h2 class="date-header" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;"><br /></span></h2><h2 class="date-header" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">March 14, 2020</span></span></h2><div class="date-posts" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-indent: 0px;"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><a name="7670503957180071861"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2020/03/earth-centrism-vs-geocentrism-seriously.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Earth Centrism = Geocentrism. Seriously ?</span></a></h3><div><br /></div><div><h2 class="date-header" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">September 1, 2018</span></span></h2><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><a name="2263719847826376601"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2018/09/key-to-goulds-nonoverlapping-magisteria.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Missing Key to Stephen Gould’s “Nonoverlapping Magisteria”</span></a></h3></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-37671379081942456552023-11-19T20:47:00.014-07:002024-02-08T15:44:43.849-07:00In Defense of Women<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Please</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SqFgJ-_11zsat0zoBRknJAUy3igW8olwDNcfVBQ2VKYc15R5ZUZnlhaBgOnp5d78UBuQ7yWo9fLTL1ZNjfailg4Xd8wXUq9ZP1bHxva7mOe0E09H1NPkPGiNzoyWCAGkKV210MaGTzwJENgk0Cu56eWJDzUFpDJCe6X3eRvyAq7vqN80hyphenhyphenhX_g32RILs/s264/IMG_GoFundMe%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="GoFundMeLogo" border="0" data-original-height="112" data-original-width="264" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SqFgJ-_11zsat0zoBRknJAUy3igW8olwDNcfVBQ2VKYc15R5ZUZnlhaBgOnp5d78UBuQ7yWo9fLTL1ZNjfailg4Xd8wXUq9ZP1bHxva7mOe0E09H1NPkPGiNzoyWCAGkKV210MaGTzwJENgk0Cu56eWJDzUFpDJCe6X3eRvyAq7vqN80hyphenhyphenhX_g32RILs/w200-h84/IMG_GoFundMe%20logo.png" width="200" /></span></a></div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; letter-spacing: -0.02em; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://gofund.me/4d6647da" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">In defense of women, postcard (activism)</span></a></h1><div><h1 class="hrt-mb-0 p-campaign-title" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.02em;">I need a </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.64px;">little</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.02em;"> help with postage.</span></i></span></h1></div><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I'm looking at this from 68 years old, having been blessed with all the stages of life starting as a <a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2018/11/ildiko-valeria-miesler-12-20-1925-11-24.html" target="_blank">son</a>, brother, husband, father, step-father, uncle, grandfather, <a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2019/09/diary-912019-life-happens.html" target="_blank">friend</a>, with women being intimately interwoven into every phase of my life (and at every level) - I've lived life's personal dramas, loses and successes. This is my distillation of this facet of my experience - <b>A woman deserves the right to be the jury and judge of her own fate, which by nature includes her fetus. </b> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Respecting a woman's right to her own self-defense and sovereignty over her body seems to me the least repugnant of all options. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I made an initial run of a 250 postcards and addressed them to women's rights organizations and key Washington Democrats. I also <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/in-defense-of-women/10550" target="_blank">starting a thread over at the <b>CFI Forum</b></a> in case anyone out there wants to join the discussion. Now I printed another thousand and around 250 addressed and stamped, and it'll be a few weeks before being able to purchase another couple hundred dollars worth of postcard stamp at .53@. That's why I've decided to see if anyone might be interested in helping with stamps. Should it go well, I'd love to buy more postcards. <a href="https://gofund.me/4d6647da" target="_blank">Can you help?</a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhRMNITwr67BK6Yu3_4XuslBXE0MRd8MN1zQwKIlPLaTZr9ylDApf4_DIZO2-PACbxkCrOvm5QglsUDQJf-iau6dH8qtD3IzNRYvExOvEEon1M9EBRQ7HerH7QHgOCGjVmfvgOk2TuImStHz1E3AsqgC79t40Tl2f8fkCQyQoiK47gqPJUBg3qF-mVwzF/s1198/IMG_InDefenseOfWomen_24-02-01_vertical.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="922" height="623" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhRMNITwr67BK6Yu3_4XuslBXE0MRd8MN1zQwKIlPLaTZr9ylDApf4_DIZO2-PACbxkCrOvm5QglsUDQJf-iau6dH8qtD3IzNRYvExOvEEon1M9EBRQ7HerH7QHgOCGjVmfvgOk2TuImStHz1E3AsqgC79t40Tl2f8fkCQyQoiK47gqPJUBg3qF-mVwzF/w479-h623/IMG_InDefenseOfWomen_24-02-01_vertical.png" width="479" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">January 22, 2024</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/in-defense-of-women/10550" target="_blank">At CFI</a> I received a good comment worth airing over here:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/in-defense-of-women/10550/5" target="_blank"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"></span></a></p><blockquote><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/in-defense-of-women/10550/5" target="_blank">Lausten</a>: "Just a quick note, the most glaring; your language specifically weighs one life against another, putting the fully grown human first, the one who CAN make a choice. Their language states “all life is sacred” and claims to defend the thing that can’t defend itself. This hits an emotional note.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;">It also avoids the discussion of the trade-off. They claim that most abortions are about a woman choosing to not be responsible, or not caring about the consequences of their actions. Truth is, almost all of them are medical decisions, made with a lot of thought, even prayers.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;">Even those that are for healthy fetuses, the decision is about how the future person can be cared for, or IF it can be cared for. If the same pro-life person was also taking actions to care for unwanted, unloved, undernourished children, I’d listen to them, but at the policy level, this isn’t happening. ..."</span></p></blockquote><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif;"></p></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Definitely, perhaps the way to go is to point out this isn’t about the immorality or morality of abortion, nor what name one places on the act. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>This is about the morality of who is making the decision!</b></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">My insistence is that:</span></p><blockquote style="border-left: 5px solid var(--primary-300); clear: both; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding: 12px;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In the end, it’s the mother who possess the greatest moral "holding” in that fetus, and in the end it’s the mothers who carry the scars of a fetus's death. Let it be, outsiders don't have a clue, they aren't God, if you believe in God, let God handle it and stay out of other's private lives, <i>as you want them to stay out of your business</i>.</span></span></b></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;">++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ </p><p style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Do Abortion Bans Violate Jews' Religious Rights?</span></b></p><p style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><span style="color: #022465;"><a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/about/staff.html"><b>Lisa Fishbayn Joffe</b></a></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b> - </b>June 16, 2022 </span><span style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">(1200 words of lucid persuasion)</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 40.5px; min-height: 10px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 40.5px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #022465;"><a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/about/staff.html"><b>Lisa Fishbayn Joffe</b></a></span> is the director of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/index.html"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Hadassah-Brandeis Institute</b></span></a> and director of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/research-projects/gcrl/index.html#:~:text=The%20mission%20of%20the%20Project,of%20religious%20and%20cultural%20traditions."><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law</b></span></a> which explores the tension between women’s equality claims and religious laws. Her research focuses on gender and multiculturalism in family law and on the intersection between secular and religious law. She is a co-founder of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/research-projects/gcrl/boston-agunah-taskforce/index.html"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Boston Agunah Task Force</b></span></a>, devoted to research, education and advocacy for women under Jewish family law.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 40.5px; min-height: 10px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">“… there is widespread agreement among scholars and rabbinical authorities that a complete prohibition on abortion is inconsistent with Jewish law and tradition. Under Jewish law, an abortion to save the life of the mother is permitted.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">“For this reason, <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/facultyguide/person.html?emplid=5582082465f93a9a0dfd4438912f554a0f5856bc"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Lisa Fishbayn Joffe</b></span></a>, the Shulamit Reinharz Director of the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/index.html"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>Hadassah-Brandeis Institute</b></span></a>, argues that extreme anti-abortion laws risk infringing on Jews' religious freedoms. Earlier this week, a Florida synagogue <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/florida-abortion-ban-violates-jews-religious-freedom-lawsuit-says-2022-06-14/"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>made this argument</b></span></a> in a suit filed in a state court against Florida's law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. …”</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>“Are Jews across denominations arguing that anti-abortion laws infringe on their religious freedoms?</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">“Yes. It's an argument being put forth by advocates like the <a href="https://www.ncjw.org/"><span style="color: #022465;"><b>National Council of Jewish Women</b></span></a>. It holds that since Jewish law supports reproductive rights, abortion restrictions violate Jewish people's right to make choices about their lives in accordance with Jewish law. This position has many strengths. …”</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________ </p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-33108034589636370812022-10-19T18:41:00.020-06:002023-02-26T13:02:58.060-07:00Earth Centrism - A Student's Bibliographic Resource - (2/2)<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Appreciating Earth’s Evolutionary Pageant and Our Animal Nature</b></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyduI_NeeQYFBVC3d3Kqn2BaMLtNyuKDpqXr70lZfCOXMhkRQr5WE767aZd-GX-AJNtCeHcW0PVOMdSDb1my0FYxFwtmF4bJ7spiIN-EtZWoJ2G0mrP3yjqUEvUvrpEyyvqabQ1_eaYDaHpR8INjGuhwufPDfLPiuhGcKpwi8ydLaLE1On3gFZMwd/s1152/biblio%20%231_dbl%20Rainbow%20-%20Cc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022 Citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="1152" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyduI_NeeQYFBVC3d3Kqn2BaMLtNyuKDpqXr70lZfCOXMhkRQr5WE767aZd-GX-AJNtCeHcW0PVOMdSDb1my0FYxFwtmF4bJ7spiIN-EtZWoJ2G0mrP3yjqUEvUvrpEyyvqabQ1_eaYDaHpR8INjGuhwufPDfLPiuhGcKpwi8ydLaLE1On3gFZMwd/w567-h115/biblio%20%231_dbl%20Rainbow%20-%20Cc.png" width="567" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">The previous post is my summary of an “<a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/09/intro-earth-centrism-explained.html" target="_blank">Earth Centrist</a>” outlook on life and our human condition, a perspective that acknowledges Earth as our fundamental touchstone with reality. </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">This Earth Centrist's perspective can’t be attained by reading a description of it - unless it already resonates within you thanks to your own previous inquiry and inclination. That's because e</span><span style="background-color: white;">ach of us must engage in our own learning effort. </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">That is, living your moment and doing the homework and drawing your own conclusions from the evidence you’ve been able to gather. Your deeper understanding emerges out of your own efforts. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Since I’m no scholar, I’ve done my learning by way of some wonderful science communicators, mostly real scientists giving lectures via YouTube along with writing articles and books, with a few talented writers and science documentarians in the mix. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">I’ve put together a bibliographic list of my favorites, and of course, it's geared to the intelligent high schooler or early college student, and for other informed enthusiasts such as myself. It follows a natural progression from matter forming followed by mineral evolution & our planet evolving a <i>"global heat and moisture distribution engine,"</i> to geology and biology combining forces, on to the mysteries of complex dynamic living creatures. Then on to the greatest show on Earth with life's collective <i>consciousness spectrum</i>. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">Since my bandwidth is limited by my crowded day to days filled with other obligations, I'm sure I’m missing many awesome gems. </span><i><span style="background-color: white;">So please do share should you believe you know of some presentations worth adding to this collection.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span><i><span style="background-color: white;">Featuring: <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_M._Carroll" target="_blank">Sean Carrol</a>, <a href="https://rmpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvfb-sci-earthspace/wgbh-nova-earth-from-space-full-length-broadcast/" target="_blank">NOVA/NASA</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hazen" target="_blank">Robert Hazen</a>,</span></span></i></span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="background-color: white;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/RARohde/status/1131224330241806337" target="_blank">Robert Rohde</a>, </span></i><i><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Alley" target="_blank">Richard Alley</a>, <a href="https://nick-lane.net" target="_blank">Nick Lane</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Quammen" target="_blank">David Qualmen</a>, </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Woese" target="_blank">Carl Woese</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis" target="_blank">Lynn Margulis</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC441171/" target="_blank">Tsutomu Wantanabe</a></span></i><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">, <a href="https://www.deeptimeinstitute.org/team" target="_blank">Angela Hessler</a>,</span></i><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svante_Pääbo" target="_blank">Svante Pääbo</a>,</span></i></span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vD4p8rQAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">Mark Solms</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dIsPKr0AAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">Antonio Damasio</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Greenfield,_Baroness_Greenfield" target="_blank">Susan Greenfield</a>,</span></i></span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Al-Khalili" target="_blank">Jim Al-Khalili</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; text-align: left;">. Finishing with introductions to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough" target="_blank">David Attenborough</a>’s incomparable tour of the evolution of </span></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; text-align: left;">Earth’s living creatures:</span></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; text-align: left;"> "<a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/life-science/early-life-earth-animal-origins" target="_blank">Life on Earth</a>", and <a href="https://scholar.google.co.nz/citations?user=58qBK98AAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">James L. Sadd</a>’s wonderful introduction to the fundamentals of geology: "<a href="https://dbpedia.org/page/Earth_Revealed:_Introductory_Geology" target="_blank">Earth Revealed</a>."</span></i></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; text-align: left;"><i></i></span></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d;"><i>I've found my first addition to this list in an </i></span></span><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: verdana;"><i>amazing lecture by </i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(29, 29, 29); color: #1d1d1d; font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/mike-levin-on-electrifying-insights-into-how-bodies-form/" target="_blank">Mike Levin</a>: <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cu-g4LgnWs" target="_blank">"</a></u></i><u style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cu-g4LgnWs" target="_blank"><span>Non-neural, developmental bio-electricity as a precursor for cognition"</span></a></u><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 29, 29); color: #1d1d1d; font-family: verdana;"> it adds a new dimension of insights into the evolution of consciousness and mind, that fits right into my overall theme of Earth's pageant of evolution.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another must addition to this list, was written by professor and <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/people/staff_index/poskett/" target="_blank">historian of science and technology</a> <a href="https://www.poskett.com/index.html" target="_blank">James Poskett</a>: "<a href="https://www.harvard.com/book/horizons/" target="_blank">Horizons: The Origins of </a><a href="https://www.harvard.com/book/horizons/" target="_blank">Modern Science</a>. In it</span><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> Poskett "<i>recasts the history of science, uncovering the vital contributions of scientists the world over to what is truly a global story.</i>" The first couple chapters are down right thrilling, with the book then settling into an enthralling exposition of facts and enlightening surprises. A must read, if the history of human curiosity and development of science is your <i>thing</i>.</span></span></blockquote><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJItiyLMdHPsBmYKfKN7Wy1cPo7H-l9C9QluBOYC_lAs4bQhGrNbhzvr4WakCpBi8sRSRxyP3rp4qOcCL3RnIC9YpA3fD72yEFwfcKVshrml3OsnAhMNCDKsMjNhRDqeCt9EfLwa3bJ65jWByQ3dfaM5oIBHo3cc4rKUObnkSzVDwiZV8wDO4DEm7O/s720/biblio%232-Abajo%20Mountains-Cc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="© 2022 Citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="720" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJItiyLMdHPsBmYKfKN7Wy1cPo7H-l9C9QluBOYC_lAs4bQhGrNbhzvr4WakCpBi8sRSRxyP3rp4qOcCL3RnIC9YpA3fD72yEFwfcKVshrml3OsnAhMNCDKsMjNhRDqeCt9EfLwa3bJ65jWByQ3dfaM5oIBHo3cc4rKUObnkSzVDwiZV8wDO4DEm7O/w569-h82/biblio%232-Abajo%20Mountains-Cc.png" width="569" /></a></i></div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: center;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Mysteries of Modern Physics by Sean Carroll</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/DarwinCollegeLectureSeries">Darwin College Lecture Series</a></span> (January 29, 2020<span style="color: black;">)</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=rBpR0LBsUfM</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Sean Carroll series: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/seancarroll">Sean Carroll </a></span>(March 19, 2020)</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI09kat_GeI&list=PLrxfgDEc2NxZJcWcrxH3jyjUUrJlnoyzX"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI09kat_GeI&list=PLrxfgDEc2NxZJcWcrxH3jyjUUrJlnoyzX<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/earths-heat-moisture-engine.html" style="font-weight: bold;">Earth From Space - NOVA / NASA</a><b> </b>(February, 2013)</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/NaturalWorld">Natural World</a></span> (July 15, 2014)</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0GhTmZhrs"><span>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0GhTmZhrs<span style="font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 58.5px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 58.5px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">The groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. Produced in extensive consultation with NASA scientists, NOVA takes data from earth-observing satellites and transforms it into dazzling visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate and surprising web of forces that sustains life on earth.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Evolution of Minerals on Earth</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hazen"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Robert Hazen </b><span style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://hazen.carnegiescience.edu/research/mineral-evolution"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://hazen.carnegiescience.edu/research/mineral-evolution<span style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 58.5px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Mineral evolution posits that the mineralogy of terrestrial planets and moons evolves as a consequence of varied physical, chemical, and biological processes that lead to the formation of new mineral species. The novelty of mineral evolution is epitomized by the new questions it raises about the history of mineralogy. ...</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 58.5px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">We concluded that the first mineral was diamond—pure carbon condensed from the expanding atmospheres of energetic stars. Approximately a dozen “ur-minerals,” including nitrides, carbides, oxides, and silicates, condensed as micro-crystals at temperatures greater than 1500°C. The central question of mineral evolution is thus how a dozen phases with 10 essential elements were transformed to the >5000 minerals with 72 essential elements we see today. …</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px 58.5px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">… A principal conclusion of mineral evolution is that sequential stages of mineral evolution arise from three primary mechanisms: (1) the progressive separation and concentration of the elements from their original relatively uniform distribution in the presolar nebula; (2) the increase in range of intensive variables such as pressure, temperature, and the activities of H2O, CO2, and O2; and (3) the generation of far-from-equilibrium conditions by living systems. The sequential evolution of Earth’s mineralogy from chondritic simplicity to Phanerozoic complexity introduces the dimension of geologic time to mineralogy and thus provides a dynamic alternate approach to framing, and to teaching, the mineral sciences. …</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">The Emergence of Life on Earth - Robert Hazen</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/uctvseminars">UCTVSeminars</a></span> (Mar 15, 2012)</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1fRfV_TTAo</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">The Story of Earth: How Life and Rocks Co-Evolved</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Robert Hazen, Carnegie Science (July 29, 2014)</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08EaPC0zetw"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08EaPC0zetw<span style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Mineral Evolution and Ecology and the Co-evolution of Life and Rocks</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Robert Hazen, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SimonsFoundation">Simons Foundation</a> (March 11, 2015)</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuteon-8Wt4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuteon-8Wt4</a></span> </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF AN EVOLUTIONARY SYSTEM OF MINERALOGY</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Carnegie Science, The Deep Carbon Project, <a href="https://hazen.carnegiescience.edu"><b>Robert Hazen</b></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://hazen.carnegiescience.edu/research/evolutionary-system-mineralogy"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://hazen.carnegiescience.edu/research/evolutionary-system-mineralogy<span style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px;"><a href="https://www.wwnorton.co.uk/books/9780393609431-symphony-in-c"><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Symphony in C: Carbon & the Evolution of (Almost) Everything</span></i></b></a></p>
<p style="color: #0b0b0b; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Principal Investigator and Executive Director of the <a href="https://deepcarbon.net/about/about-dco">Deep Carbon Observatory</a>, Robert M. Hazen, has crafted a delightful exploration of carbon.</span></p>
<p style="color: #0b0b0b; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">W.W. Norton & Company, June 2019</span></p>
<p style="color: #0b0b0b; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Hazen, both a scientist and musician, uses his knowledge of musical compositions as a muse to explain the complexities of carbon and why it is so important to life on Earth. <i>Symphony in C</i> in segmented into four movements, each of which explores carbon’s multi-faceted characteristics, as epitomized by the classical elements of the ancients—Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. </span></p>
<p style="color: #0b0b0b; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">The Deep Carbon Project - <a href="https://deepcarbon.net/dco/deep-carbon-science"><span style="color: #139ce9;">Ninety percent of Earth’s carbon</span></a> resides inside the planet, yet we are only just beginning to understand the many ways deep carbon impacts the oceans, atmosphere, and life at the surface.</span></p>
<p style="color: #0b0b0b; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is a <a href="https://deepcarbon.net/about/people">global community of more than 1000 scientists</a> on a ten-year quest to understand the quantities, movements, forms, and origins of carbon in Earth.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>“Earth’s Carbon Cycle” </b><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">- <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rohde" target="_blank">Robert Rohde PhD</a></span></span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM_o4kmB27Qa-jvh1gaZKUw">Robert Rohde</a></span> - May 22, 2019</span></p><p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwVsD9CiokY" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwVsD9CiokY</a></span></p><p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>"The Biggest Control Knob: Carbon Dioxide in Earth's Climate History"</b><b> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Alley" target="_blank"><i>R. Alley</i></a></b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/DanMoutal">Dan Moutal</a></span> (December 10, 2012)</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RffPSrRpq_g"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RffPSrRpq_g<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Richard Alley - 4.6 Billion Years of Earth’s Climate History: The Role of CO2</b><b> </b><b> </b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/theNASciences">National Academy of Sciences</a></span> (June 1, 2015)</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujkcTZZlikg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujkcTZZlikg</a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxcURUYSsTNYtjRfPYP4noXAe3DKedqb6d8Dr7o8idgvXKYyimezZLQOOw61ankjMlzhn45XCcDxpF4zSyJMD7ZzGefx9DWhQSZ0vBSjif6K6nVsKXcH_W10oK3ZRj67wTwIFTGUFmQ7QVZj9h2CcNulc4826sFxY-TLJGgVntpMKPbsf1dvFgi6o/s1152/biblio%233-LaPlata%20Mountains-Cc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="1152" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxcURUYSsTNYtjRfPYP4noXAe3DKedqb6d8Dr7o8idgvXKYyimezZLQOOw61ankjMlzhn45XCcDxpF4zSyJMD7ZzGefx9DWhQSZ0vBSjif6K6nVsKXcH_W10oK3ZRj67wTwIFTGUFmQ7QVZj9h2CcNulc4826sFxY-TLJGgVntpMKPbsf1dvFgi6o/w557-h79/biblio%233-LaPlata%20Mountains-Cc.png" width="557" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #23344a;">Origins and</span><b style="color: #23344a;"> </b><a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Vital-Question/"><b><span style="color: black;">The Vital Question</span></b></a></span></p><p style="color: #23344a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life</span></p><p style="color: #23344a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">by <a href="https://wwnorton.com/author/LANENICK/nicklane"><b>Nick Lane</b></a><b> </b>(2015)</span></p><p style="color: #186c6d; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><i></i><br /></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Origin of the eukaryotic cell</span></b></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MoleCluesTV">MoleCluesTV</a></span><b> </b> (June 27, 2017)</span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaXhkZoOOYc"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaXhkZoOOYc<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">How Energy Flow Shapes The Evolution of Life</span></b></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/GreshamCollege">Gresham College</a></span> (February 14, 2018)</span></p><p style="color: #186c6d; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXeozqH5auQ"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXeozqH5auQ<span style="color: #186c6d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p><p style="color: #186c6d; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><i></i><br /></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Energy and Matter at the Origin of Life</span></b></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/CambridgeSciSoc">Cambridge SciSoc </a></span>(November 23, 2021)</span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubUtYFv9YWE"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubUtYFv9YWE<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">How the Krebs cycle powers life and death</span></b></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRoyalInstitution">The Royal Institution</a></span> (August 4, 2022)</span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBiIDwBOqQA"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBiIDwBOqQA<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Mindscape 198 | Nick Lane on Powering Biology</span></b></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/seancarroll">Sean Carroll</a></span> (May 23, 2022)</span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZ_CVu2M68"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZ_CVu2M68<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p><p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Tangled-Tree/David-Quammen/9781476776637"><b>The Tangled Tree</b><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">A Radical New History of Life</span></p>
<p style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">By <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/David-Quammen/701806">David Quammen</a>, Simon & Schuster (2018)</span></p>
<p style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT.<br />
<br />
In The Tangled Tree, “the grandest tale in biology….<b>David Quammen</b> presents the science—and the scientists involved—with patience, candor, and flair” (Nature). We learn about the major players, such as <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/people/archaea"><b>Carl Woese</b></a><b>,</b> the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis"><b>Lynn Margulis</b></a>, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kjm1952/3/4/3_4_193/_pdf"><b>Tsutomu Wantanabe</b></a>, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health.</span></p>
<p style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>The Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</b><span style="color: #4c4c4c;"><b> (IGB)</b></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/people/archaea"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.igb.illinois.edu/people/archaea<span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/493610a"><b>Carl Woese. (1928–2012) Nature, a remembrance.</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/carl-woese/"><b>The Man Who Rewrote the Tree of Life</b></a></span><b style="font-size: small;"> - </b><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/author/carrie-arnold/" style="font-size: small;">Carrie Arnold </a><span style="font-size: x-small;">, April 30, 2014</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><b>Carl Woese</b> may be the greatest scientist you've never heard of. A physicist-turned-microbiologist, he studied the molecules of life—nucleic acids—but his ambitions were hardly microscopic. He created a new family tree of all life on Earth. </span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_______</span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.apple.com"><b>Lynn Margulis (1938–2011) Nature, a remembrance</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #9495a8; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #191a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-11-symbiosis-cell-evolution-lynn-margulis.html"><b>Symbiosis and cell evolution: Lynn Margulis and the origin of eukaryotes</b><span style="color: #191a2a; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">by Antonio Lazcano, <a href="https://theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a><i>, November 23, 2017</i></span></p>
<p style="color: #191a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">American biologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis"><span style="color: #3767e9;">Lynn Margulis</span></a> (1938-2011) devoted most of her professional life to demonstrate that it is in fact a pervasive mechanism uniting what would otherwise would appear as isolated biological species and lineages. Starting with her seminal assay, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022519367900793?via%3Dihub"><span style="color: #3767e9;">"On the origin of mitosing cells,"</span></a> published in the <i>Journal of Theoretical Biology</i> in 1967 (authored as Lynn Sagan), her lifelong work on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eukaryote#Origin_of_eukaryotes"><span style="color: #3767e9;">eukaryogenesis</span></a> and the role of symbiosis in evolution stands as a valid and authoritative contribution to science.</span></p>
<p style="color: #191a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Lynn Margulis and the endosymbiont hypothesis: 50 years later</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #191a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.molbiolcell.org/journal/mboc">Molecular Biology of the Cell</a>, <a href="https://www.molbiolcell.org/toc/mboc/28/10">Vol. 28, No. 10</a>, Retrospective</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.e16-07-0509">https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.e16-07-0509</a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #6d160a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">EDGE.org - <a href="https://www.edge.org/conversations">Conversation </a><span style="color: black;"> : <a href="https://www.edge.org/conversations/topic/LIFE"><span style="color: #6d160a;">Life</span></a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.edge.org/conversation/lynn_margulis-lynn-margulis-1938-2011-gaia-is-a-tough-bitch"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Lynn Margulis 1938-2011 "Gaia Is A Tough Bitch"</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/lynn-margulis-3050/"><b>MIT Press, Books by Lynn Margulis</b><span style="font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Lynn Margulis (1938–2011) was Distinguished Professor of Botany at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. An evolutionary theorist and biologist, science author, and educator, Margulis was the modern originator of the symbiotic theory of cell evolution. Once considered heresy, her ideas are now part of the microbiological revolution.</span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_______</span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/infectious-drug-resistance/"><b>Infectious Drug Resistance</b><span style="color: #141414; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #141414; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">By <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/tsutomu-watanabe/"><b>Tsutomu Watanabe</b></a>, Scientific American, December 1, 1967</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Bacteria can suddenly become resistant to several antibacterial drugs. The resistance is transferred from one strain to another by an "episome" that carries the genes for multiple resistance.</span></p>
<p style="color: #191919; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px; min-height: 10px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #191919; font-family: STIXGeneral; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC441171/">INFECTIVE HEREDITY OF MULTIPLE DRUG RESISTANCE IN BACTERIA<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #191919; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #2b5a99; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Watanabe%20T%5BAuthor%5D">Tsutomu Watanabe</a> </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #2b5a99; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bacteriol Rev. 1963 Mar; 27(1): 87–115.</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #2b5a99; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 108px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1128%2Fbr.27.1.87-115.1963"><span style="color: #2b5a99;">10.1128/br.27.1.87-115.1963</span></a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #2b5a99; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px; min-height: 10px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/18/archives/resistant-bacteria-pose-a-new-danger-industry-threatened.html"><b><i>Resistant Bacteria Pose A New Danger</i></b><span style="color: #0f0f0f; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b><i></i></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #292929; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">The New York Times, Oct. 18, 1970, Section E, Page 8</span></p>
<p style="color: #292929; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 90px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">“Dr. Tsutomu Watanabe, of Tokyo's Keio University School of Medicine, and a pioneer in the area of drug‐resistant bacteria, is one of the scientists who felt there might be real danger.”</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Evolution Matters: David Quammen and Carl Zimmer</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/HarvardMuseumofNaturalHistory">Harvard Museum of Natural History</a></span> (May 22, 2019)</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj48265qsRQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj48265qsRQ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></a></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76-UrjjSyVRwMXRqrTAfQvbrNFiSHLQKMwPMBUbs7esSCo2jJSdBVy4LZO6yJlUy0g6zKx00h3zHoiS2qEYIXx9AIblXG6_tDWb5qnhxEW-irGl2nsY9_69_Tc8QsGY132jyS6__iQRDh2UScRqyWRb_39IJ-r4ESDF-pOIrhVQdR0LmdPn8J00JS/s1152/biblio%235_laPlatas%20in%20rain%20-%20Cc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="127" data-original-width="1152" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76-UrjjSyVRwMXRqrTAfQvbrNFiSHLQKMwPMBUbs7esSCo2jJSdBVy4LZO6yJlUy0g6zKx00h3zHoiS2qEYIXx9AIblXG6_tDWb5qnhxEW-irGl2nsY9_69_Tc8QsGY132jyS6__iQRDh2UScRqyWRb_39IJ-r4ESDF-pOIrhVQdR0LmdPn8J00JS/w562-h66/biblio%235_laPlatas%20in%20rain%20-%20Cc.png" width="562" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Nobel prize: </b><a href="https://theconversation.com/nobel-prize-svante-paabos-ancient-dna-discoveries-offer-clues-as-to-what-makes-us-human-191805"><b>Svante Pääbo’s ancient DNA discoveries offer clues as to what makes us human</b></a></span></p><p style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/love-dalen-1210234">Love Dalén</a></span> & <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anders-gotherstrom-1383672">Anders Götherström</a>, TheConversation.com, October 3, 2022</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Archaic Genomics -</b><a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/genetics/staff/paabo/"><b>Dr. Svante Pääbo</b></a></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/genometv">National Human Genome Research Institute</a></span> (Apr 2, 2014)</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7VdRKQuAa8"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7VdRKQuAa8<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">A Neanderthal Perspective on Human Origins with Svante Pääbo - 2018</span></b></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/uctv">University of California Television (UCTV)</a></span> (October 20, 2018)</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1R8yrEGAgw"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1R8yrEGAgw</span></a></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>Dr. Svante Pääbo</b></span><b> - An Ancient DNA View of Human Origins</b></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/JapanPrize">JapanPrize</a></span> (April 17, 2022)</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNpE7MUfxsc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNpE7MUfxsc</a></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 25, 26); color: #18191a; font-size: small; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;">_________</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 25, 26); color: #18191a; font-size: small; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://chicagoanalysis.org/faculty/mark-solms/"><b>Mark Solms PhD is a psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist.</b><span style="color: #262626; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute & …</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><b>Affiliations:</b><br />
Dr. Solms holds the position of Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital (Departments of Psychology and Neurology) and is the President of the South African Psychoanalytical Association. He is also Research Chair of the International Psychoanalytical Association.</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Dr. Solms founded the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society in 2000 and was a Founding Editor (with Ed Nersessian) of the journal <i>Neuropsychoanalysis.</i> He is Director of the Arnold Pfeffer Center for Neuropsychoanalysis at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, a Trustee of the Neuropsychoanalysis Fund in London, and Director of the Neuropsychoanalysis Trust in Cape Town.</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Dr. Solms’ Introductory Lectures in Psychoanalysis can be viewed <a href="https://mark-solms-in-lock-down.teachable.com/"><span style="color: #ec4c39;">here</span></a>.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">I’ve written three posts focused on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Solms">Dr. Mark Solms</a>, so I’ll include those:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e0202; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(6.01) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/solms-demystifies-hard-problem-of.html"><span style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>Dr. Mark Solms demystifies Chalmers' "Hard Problem" of Consciousness.</b></span></a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e0202; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(6.02) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/other-side-of-marksolms-phd.html"><span style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>The Other Side of Mark Solms PhD, farmer, vintner, humanitarian.</b></span></a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e0202; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(6.03) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/mark-solms-students-resource.html"><span style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>Students’ Resource: A representative cross-section of Dr. Mark Solms' scientific publications.</b></span></a></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vD4p8rQAAAAJ&hl=en"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Google Scholar, Mark Solms</b><span style="color: #620901; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #620901; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/552818.Mark_Solms"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Books by Mark Solms</b><span style="color: #620901; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Mark Solms, PhD: The Animal Within Us</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHVN1WzLY7qGhuik2TLTjIg">St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute/The Schiele Clinic</a></span> (October 28, 2015)</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfqVIG9bejU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfqVIG9bejU</a></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Mark Solms: A New Approach to the Hard Problem of Consciousness</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTgtRQRQqUKvlbVtCPH-kng">NERV Online</a></span> (Jul 29, 2020)</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDlkAQYERcQ"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDlkAQYERcQ<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">The Source of Consciousness - with Mark Solms</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRoyalInstitution">The Royal Institution</a></span> (March 4, 2021)</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmuYrnOVmfk"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmuYrnOVmfk<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">What Do Our Brains Do When We're Dreaming?- with Mark Solms</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRoyalInstitution">The Royal Institution</a></span> (Jul 22, 2021<span style="color: black;">)</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrMZlrtbXUM"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrMZlrtbXUM<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Consciousness and the Mind Body Connection – Professor Mark Solms</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeekendUniversity">The Weekend University</a></span> (March 25, 2022<span style="color: black;">)</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-1etGWVvb8"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-1etGWVvb8<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #191e22; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/books/review/Block-t.html"><b>Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain </b><span style="color: #191e22; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #2a6c44; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #191e22;">by <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Antonio%20Damasio%22;jsessionid=6AB497B285B56002B88674D491441764.prodny_store02-atgap04?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&Ns=P_Sales_Rank&Ntx=mode+matchall"><span style="color: #2a6c44;"><b>Antonio Damasio</b></span></a></span> (2012)</span></p>
<p style="color: #2a6c44; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">The Whispering Mind: The Enduring Conundrum of Consciousness </span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/WorldScienceFestival">World Science Festival</a></span> (January 24, 2014)</span></p>
<p style="color: #2a6c44; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7RL__ZgdEw"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7RL__ZgdEw<span style="color: #2a6c44; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #2a6c44; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MicrosoftResearch">Microsoft Research</a></span> (September 7, 2016)</span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvwM6EINGZA"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvwM6EINGZA<span style="color: #040404; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b>Antonio Damasio & Dan Siegel - Mind, Consciousness, the Body, and Relationships</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="color: #0000e9; text-decoration: underline;">BrainMind Summit</span> (April 7, 2020)</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0000e9; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85zFp0bYe1Y</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="color: #0000e9; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Antonio Damasio</b></span><b>, "Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious”</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0000e9; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Harvard Science Book Talks and Research Lectures</span><span style="color: #050505;"> (Jan 28, 2022)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0000e9; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrVJflJLooc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrVJflJLooc</a></span></p><p style="color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 25, 26); color: #18191a; font-size: small; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;">_________</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>The Neuroscience of Consciousness - </b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Greenfield,_Baroness_Greenfield"><b>Baroness Susan Greenfield CBE</b></a></span></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #040404; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/UniversityofMelbourne">The University of Melbourne</a></span><span style="background-color: white;">,</span> (November 28, 2012)</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0000e9; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ZTNmkIiBc</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_sJQypK53ry9VPT1DujLEA8AgjTlhUBqtQcEoghT4FWhyGEeT0SM6ZxrNbEgzwRJ1GatDL_zGd-Pw2Oq4IzgGWenr7NUfmx2LgcDKNZBjDAdbrZd60gczlQVpR1uEFZOJnxuoQ3vb1rzXgMZCu8TO9Mf-CA4kMuaoeTzaBxZh056wauSP_8BZmwg/s1152/%20biblio%237-my%20kinetic%20arch%202011.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="1152" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_sJQypK53ry9VPT1DujLEA8AgjTlhUBqtQcEoghT4FWhyGEeT0SM6ZxrNbEgzwRJ1GatDL_zGd-Pw2Oq4IzgGWenr7NUfmx2LgcDKNZBjDAdbrZd60gczlQVpR1uEFZOJnxuoQ3vb1rzXgMZCu8TO9Mf-CA4kMuaoeTzaBxZh056wauSP_8BZmwg/w546-h110/%20biblio%237-my%20kinetic%20arch%202011.png" width="546" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/305233/the-house-of-wisdom-by-jim-al-khalili/"><b>The House of Wisdom</b><span style="font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">How Arabic science saved ancient knowledge and gave us the renaissance</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">By <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/155910/jim-al-khalili">Jim Al-Khalili</a> (2012)</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 36px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #212121; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://archive.org/about/"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>About the Internet Archive</b><span style="color: #212121;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #212121; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 63px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, people with print disabilities, and the general public. Our mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.</span></p>
<p style="color: #212121; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 63px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">We began in 1996 by archiving the Internet itself, a medium that was just beginning to grow in use. Like newspapers, the content published on the web was ephemeral - but unlike newspapers, no one was saving it. Today we have 25+ years of web history accessible through the <a href="https://archive.org/web/"><span style="color: #3a46ff;">Wayback Machine</span></a> and we work with 950+ library and other partners through our <a href="https://archive-it.org/"><span style="color: #3a46ff;">Archive-It</span></a> program to identify important web pages.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #000099; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><b>Memories, an appreciation of science </b><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">(March 13, 2015)</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2015/03/an-appreciation-of-science.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2015/03/an-appreciation-of-science.html</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">_________</span></p>
<p style="color: #212121; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">The following focuses on our global climate engine, a key to making our planet livable to begin with:</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">January 6, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{1} Our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/earths-heat-moisture-engine.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/earths-heat-moisture-engine.html<span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">January 9, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{2} Co-evolution of Minerals and Life | Dr Robert Hazen</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/2-coevolution-of-minerals-and-life.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/2-coevolution-of-minerals-and-life.html<span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">January 14, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{3} Evolution of Carbon and our biosphere - Professor Hazen focuses on the element Carbon</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/3-evolution-carbon-biosphere-hazen.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/3-evolution-carbon-biosphere-hazen.html<span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">January 23, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{4} Evolution-Considering Deep Time and a Couple Big Breaks</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/4-evolution-deeptime-moon-geomagnetic.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/01/4-evolution-deeptime-moon-geomagnetic.html<span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">February 6, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{5a} The Most Beautiful Graph on Earth - A. Hessler</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #757575; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/most-beautiful-graph-on-earth.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/most-beautiful-graph-on-earth.html<span style="color: #757575; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">February 7, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{5b} Earth's Earliest Climate - By Angela Hessler</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #2b97ff; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/earths-earliest-climate-by-hessler.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/earths-earliest-climate-by-hessler.html<span style="color: #2b97ff; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">February 14, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{6} Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere - easy version</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/6-evolution-earths-atmosphere-easy.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/6-evolution-earths-atmosphere-easy.html<span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #000099; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">February 18, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{7} Our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine, visualized</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/7-global-heat-moisture-distribution.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/7-global-heat-moisture-distribution.html<span style="color: #1e74ad; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #000099; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">February 19, 2016</span></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">{8} Atmospheric Insulation Explained - appreciating our climate engine</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #1e74ad; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/8-atmospheric-insulation-explained.html"><span style="font-family: times;">http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/8-atmospheric-insulation-explained.html</span></a></span></p><p style="color: #000099; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #000099; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #000099; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VLJtI2jk_8LqNr7OiSF15qx3OpJOS2k52tWv7oDN-CmRiceXlICVUARiqffV7oHBvHqPPCoFN05OupyuYXh3gdxcUf4F1rGYEl4T5YdOIKwVvJcKSz6PrITfJLAlMnR1UhpB-UX_UwNstinl2l4c1ZT0wmeK84KQdp_INsE1JD9UPN-t4s3jsB8c/s1152/biblio%237-Rainbow:horse%20barn-Cc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="1152" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VLJtI2jk_8LqNr7OiSF15qx3OpJOS2k52tWv7oDN-CmRiceXlICVUARiqffV7oHBvHqPPCoFN05OupyuYXh3gdxcUf4F1rGYEl4T5YdOIKwVvJcKSz6PrITfJLAlMnR1UhpB-UX_UwNstinl2l4c1ZT0wmeK84KQdp_INsE1JD9UPN-t4s3jsB8c/w545-h162/biblio%237-Rainbow:horse%20barn-Cc.png" width="545" /></a></div><br /><p style="color: #000099; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Earth_(TV_series)" style="text-align: justify;">Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough</a></span></b></p><blockquote>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">According to WIKI: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Earth_(TV_series)"><b>Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough</b></a> is a British television <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history"><span style="color: #092f9d;">natural history</span></a> series made by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC"><span style="color: #092f9d;">BBC</span></a> in association with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Television"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Warner Bros. Television</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_E._Moritz"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Reiner Moritz Productions</span></a>. It was transmitted in the UK from 16 January 1979.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">During the course of the series presenter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough"><span style="color: #092f9d;">David Attenborough</span></a>, following the format established by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Kenneth Clark</span></a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_(TV_series)"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><i>Civilisation</i></span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Bronowski"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Jacob Bronowski</span></a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Man"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><i>The Ascent of Man</i></span></a> (both series which he designed and produced as director of BBC2), travels the globe in order to trace the story of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution"><span style="color: #092f9d;">evolution</span></a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life"><span style="color: #092f9d;">life</span></a> on the planet. Like the earlier series, it was divided into 13 programmes (each of around 55 minutes' duration). The executive producer was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Parsons"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Christopher Parsons</span></a> and the music was composed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Williams_(composer)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Edward Williams</span></a>.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Highly acclaimed, it is the first in Attenborough's <i>Life</i> series of programmes and was followed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Planet"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><i>The Living Planet</i></span></a> (1984). It established Attenborough as not only the foremost television naturalist, but also an iconic figure in British cultural life.</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px; text-align: justify;"></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Episodes</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">1) ”The Infinite Variety”<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">January 16, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The episode begins in the South American rainforest whose rich variety of life forms is used to illustrate the sheer number of different <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species"><span style="color: #092f9d;">species</span></a>. Since many are dependent on others for food or means of reproduction, David Attenborough argues that they could not all have appeared at once. He sets out to discover which came first, and the reasons for such diversity. He starts by explaining the theories of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Charles Darwin</span></a> and the process of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection"><span style="color: #092f9d;">natural selection</span></a>, using the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_tortoise"><span style="color: #092f9d;">giant tortoises</span></a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Galápagos Islands</span></a> (where Darwin voyaged on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle"><span style="color: #092f9d;">HMS <i>Beagle</i></span></a>) as an example. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Fossils</span></a> provide evidence of the earliest life, and Attenborough travels a vertical mile into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Grand Canyon</span></a> in search of them. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">By the time he reaches the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Colorado River</span></a> bed, the geological <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratum"><span style="color: #092f9d;">strata</span></a> are 2,000 million years old—yet there are no fossils. However, the "right rocks" are found on the shores of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Lake Superior</span></a> in Canada, where wafer-thin slices of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint"><span style="color: #092f9d;">flint</span></a>, called chert, reveal filaments of primitive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae"><span style="color: #092f9d;">algae</span></a>. Also, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-organism"><span style="color: #092f9d;">micro-organisms</span></a> that flourish at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Park"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Yellowstone Park</span></a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Wyoming</span></a> appear to be identical to the Earth's oldest fossils. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The evolution of single-celled creatures, from simple <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanophyte"><span style="color: #092f9d;">cyanophytes</span></a> to more complex <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciliate"><span style="color: #092f9d;">ciliates</span></a>, and then from multi-celled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_sponge"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sponges</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish"><span style="color: #092f9d;">jellyfish</span></a> to the many variations of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral"><span style="color: #092f9d;">coral</span></a> and its associated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyp_(zoology)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">polyps</span></a>, is discussed in detail. The fossilised remains of jellyfish are shown within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinders_Ranges"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Flinders Ranges</span></a> of Australia, and are estimated to be 652 million years old.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#2) "Building Bodies”<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">January 23, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The next programme explores the various sea-living <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invertebrate"><span style="color: #092f9d;">invertebrates</span></a>. In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Morocco</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone"><span style="color: #092f9d;">limestones</span></a> are 600 million years old, and contain many invertebrate fossils. They fall broadly into three categories: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_shell"><span style="color: #092f9d;">shells</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinoid"><span style="color: #092f9d;">crinoids</span></a> and segmented shells. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The evolution of shelled creatures is demonstrated with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatworm"><span style="color: #092f9d;">flatworm</span></a>, which eventually changed its body shape when burrowing became a necessity for either food or safety. It then evolved shielded tentacles and the casings eventually enveloped the entire body: these creatures are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachiopod"><span style="color: #092f9d;">brachiopods</span></a>. The most successful shelled animals are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusc"><span style="color: #092f9d;">molluscs</span></a>, of which there are some 80,000 different species. Some are single-shelled such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowrie"><span style="color: #092f9d;">cowrie</span></a>, while others are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bivalve"><span style="color: #092f9d;">bivalves</span></a> that include the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallop"><span style="color: #092f9d;">scallop</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_clam"><span style="color: #092f9d;">giant clam</span></a>. One species that has remained unchanged for millions of years is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus"><span style="color: #092f9d;">nautilus</span></a>: it features flotation chambers within its shell, which in turn formed the basis for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonite"><span style="color: #092f9d;">ammonites</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Crinoids are illustrated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lily"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sea lilies</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish"><span style="color: #092f9d;">starfish</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_urchin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sea urchins</span></a> on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Reef"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Great Barrier Reef</span></a>. Segmented worms developed to enable sustained burrowing, and well-preserved fossils are found in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Rocky Mountains</span></a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia"><span style="color: #092f9d;">British Columbia</span></a>. These developed into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite"><span style="color: #092f9d;">trilobites</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crustacean"><span style="color: #092f9d;">crustaceans</span></a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_crab"><span style="color: #092f9d;">horseshoe crab</span></a> is shown nesting in vast numbers on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Bay"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Delaware Bay</span></a>. While the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_crab"><span style="color: #092f9d;">robber crab</span></a> breeds in the sea, it is in all other respects a land animal and Attenborough uses it to exemplify the next evolutionary step.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #42474b;">#3) </span>"The First Forests"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">January 30, 1979</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: small; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This installment examines the earliest land vegetation and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect"><span style="color: #092f9d;">insects</span></a>. The first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant"><span style="color: #092f9d;">plants</span></a>, being devoid of stems, mainly comprised <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss"><span style="color: #092f9d;">mosses</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverwort"><span style="color: #092f9d;">liverworts</span></a>. Using both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_reproduction"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sexual</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexual_reproduction"><span style="color: #092f9d;">asexual</span></a> methods of reproduction, they proliferated. Descended from segmented sea creatures, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millipede"><span style="color: #092f9d;">millipedes</span></a> were among the first to take advantage of such a habitat and were quickly followed by other species. Without water to carry <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovum"><span style="color: #092f9d;">eggs</span></a>, bodily contact between the sexes was now necessary. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This was problematical for some hunters, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider"><span style="color: #092f9d;">spiders</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion"><span style="color: #092f9d;">scorpions</span></a>, who developed courtship rituals to ensure that the female didn't eat the male. Over time, the plants' cell walls strengthened and they grew taller. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern">Ferns</a></span> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsetail"><span style="color: #092f9d;">horsetails</span></a> were among the first such species. Insects then evolved wings to avoid climbing and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly"><span style="color: #092f9d;">dragonfly</span></a> (which once had a wingspan of 60 centimetres) is one of the most successful. The elaborate wingbeats of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damselfly"><span style="color: #092f9d;">damselfly</span></a> are shown slowed down 120 times. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Some plants, like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycad"><span style="color: #092f9d;">cycad</span></a> enlisted the insects to transport <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollen"><span style="color: #092f9d;">pollen</span></a>, while others, like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conifer"><span style="color: #092f9d;">conifer</span></a>, spread <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spore"><span style="color: #092f9d;">spores</span></a>. Over a third of forests contain conifers and the giant <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sequoia</span></a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California"><span style="color: #092f9d;">California</span></a> is the largest living organism of any kind: it grows to a height of 112 metres. The conifer secretes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">resin</span></a> to repair its trunk, and this survives as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber"><span style="color: #092f9d;">amber</span></a>. Within it, insect specimens have been found that are 200 million years old. In fact, at this time, every insect known today was already in existence.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#4) "The Swarming Hordes"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">6 February 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This episode details the relationship between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower"><span style="color: #092f9d;">flowers</span></a> and insects. There are some one million classified species of insect, and two or three times as many that are yet to be labelled. Around 300 million years ago, plants began to enlist insects to help with their reproduction, and they did so with flowers. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Although the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia"><span style="color: #092f9d;">magnolia</span></a>, for instance, contains male and female cells, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollination"><span style="color: #092f9d;">pollination</span></a> from another plant is preferable as it ensures greater variation and thus evolution. Flowers advertise themselves by either scent or display. Some evolved to produce sweet-smelling <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectar"><span style="color: #092f9d;">nectar</span></a> and in turn, several insects developed their mouth parts into feeding tubes in order to reach it. However, to ensure that pollination occurs, some species—such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid"><span style="color: #092f9d;">orchid</span></a>—have highly complicated mechanisms that must be negotiated first. Others, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca"><span style="color: #092f9d;">yucca</span></a> and its visiting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moth"><span style="color: #092f9d;">moths</span></a>, are dependent on one another. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Hunters, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis"><span style="color: #092f9d;">mantis</span></a>, are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camouflage"><span style="color: #092f9d;">camouflaged</span></a> to match the flowers and leaves visited by their prey. Since an insect's skin is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">chitinous</span></a>, it has to shed it periodically in order to grow, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar"><span style="color: #092f9d;">caterpillar</span></a>, its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysalis"><span style="color: #092f9d;">chrysalis</span></a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoon_(silk)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">cocoon</span></a> and resulting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly"><span style="color: #092f9d;">butterfly</span></a> or moth is one of the more complex examples. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Termites</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant"><span style="color: #092f9d;">ants</span></a> and some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee"><span style="color: #092f9d;">bees</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp"><span style="color: #092f9d;">wasps</span></a> overcame any limitations of size by grouping together and forming <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superorganism"><span style="color: #092f9d;">superorganisms</span></a>. The green tree ants of south-east Asia are shown to display the most extraordinary co-operation when building their nests.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#5) "Conquest of the Waters"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> February 13, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This program looks at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_fish"><span style="color: #092f9d;">evolution of fish</span></a>. They have developed a multitude of shapes, sizes and methods of propulsion and navigation. The sea squirt, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelet"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lancelet</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamprey"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lamprey</span></a> are given as examples of the earliest, simplest types. Then, about 400 million years ago, the first backboned fish appeared. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_region_of_Western_Australia"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Kimberley Ranges</span></a> of Western Australia are, in fact, the remnants of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef"><span style="color: #092f9d;">coral reef</span></a> and the ancient seabed. There, Attenborough discovers fossils of the earliest fish to have developed jaws. These evolved into two shapes of creature with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartilage"><span style="color: #092f9d;">cartilaginous</span></a> skeletons: wide ones (like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batoidea"><span style="color: #092f9d;">rays</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skate_(fish)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">skates</span></a>) and long ones (like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sharks</span></a>). However, it is the fully boned species that were most successful, and spread from the oceans to rivers and lakes. To adapt to these environments, they had by now acquired <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill"><span style="color: #092f9d;">gills</span></a> for breathing, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_line"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lateral line</span></a> to detect movement and a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_bladder"><span style="color: #092f9d;">swim bladder</span></a> to aid buoyancy. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Coral reefs contain the greatest variety of species, many of which are conspicuously coloured to ward off predators or attract mates. Their habitat, with its many hiding places within easy reach, allows them to remain so visible. However, the open ocean offers no such refuge, so there is safety in numbers—both hunters and hunted swim in shoals and have streamlined bodies for pursuit or escape. Most species that live below the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocline"><span style="color: #092f9d;">thermocline</span></a>, in the freezing depths of the ocean, have never been filmed, and these are largely represented by still photographs.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#6) "Invasion of the Land"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">February 20, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The next installment describes the move from water to land. The fish that did so may have been forced to because of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought"><span style="color: #092f9d;">drought</span></a>, or chose to in search of food. Either way, they eventually evolved into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibian"><span style="color: #092f9d;">amphibians</span></a>. Such creatures needed two things: limbs for mobility and lungs to breathe. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth"><span style="color: #092f9d;">coelacanth</span></a> is shown as a fish with bony fins that could have developed into legs, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungfish"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lungfish</span></a> is able to absorb gaseous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen"><span style="color: #092f9d;">oxygen</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">However, evidence of an animal that possessed both is presented in the 450-million-year-old fossilised remains of a fish called a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusthenopteron"><span style="color: #092f9d;">eusthenopteron</span></a>. Three groups of amphibians are explored. The caecilians have abandoned legs altogether to aid burrowing, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt"><span style="color: #092f9d;">newts</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander"><span style="color: #092f9d;">salamanders</span></a> need to return to the water to allow their skins to breathe, but it is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog"><span style="color: #092f9d;">frogs</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad"><span style="color: #092f9d;">toads</span></a> that have been the most successful. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Attenborough handles a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_frog"><span style="color: #092f9d;">goliath frog</span></a>, the largest of the species, to demonstrate its characteristics. Their webbed feet form parachutes that turn them into "dazzling athletes", and some can leap over 15 metres—100 times their body length. In addition, their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_sac"><span style="color: #092f9d;">vocal sacs</span></a> ensure that mating calls can be heard from up to a mile away. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog">Poison dart frogs</a></span> deter predators by means of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom"><span style="color: #092f9d;">venom</span></a>, and one such example could kill a human. Various methods of breeding are examined, including laying eggs in rivers, depositing them in other damp habitats for safety or, as with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Brazilian</span></a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_toad"><span style="color: #092f9d;">pipa</span></a>, embedding them within the skin of the parent itself.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#7) ”Victors of the Dry Land"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">February 27, 1979</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: small; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This episode is devoted to the evolution of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptile"><span style="color: #092f9d;">reptiles</span></a>. They are not as restricted as their amphibian ancestors, since they can survive in the hottest climates. The reason is their scaly, practically watertight skin. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_(zoology)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">scales</span></a> protect the body from wear and tear and in the case of some species of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizard"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lizard</span></a>, such as the Australian thorny devil, serve to protect from attack. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The horned <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguana"><span style="color: #092f9d;">iguana</span></a> from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean"><span style="color: #092f9d;">West Indies</span></a> is also one of the most heavily armoured. The skin is rich in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigment"><span style="color: #092f9d;">pigment</span></a> cells, which provide effective means of camouflage, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chameleon"><span style="color: #092f9d;">chameleon</span></a> is a well-known example. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Temperature</span></a> control is important to reptiles: they cannot generate body heat internally or sweat to keep cool. Therefore, they rely on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sun</span></a> and areas of shade. The reptiles were the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebrate"><span style="color: #092f9d;">vertebrates</span></a> for whom internal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilisation"><span style="color: #092f9d;">fertilisation</span></a> was essential, so they developed the watertight egg, which hatches fully formed young. The age of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur"><span style="color: #092f9d;">dinosaurs</span></a> is explored, and Attenborough surmises that it may have been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_(general_concept)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">climate change</span></a> that led to their abrupt demise. Those that survived were water-dwellers, and the bull <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_crocodile"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Nile crocodile</span></a> is the largest reptile alive today. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake">Snakes</a></span> evolved when burrowing lizards lost their legs but returned above ground. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boidae"><span style="color: #092f9d;">boa</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitis_arietans"><span style="color: #092f9d;">puff adder</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_cerastes"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sidewinder</span></a> demonstrate methods of locomotion, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasypeltis_scabra"><span style="color: #092f9d;">egg-eating snake</span></a> has an extreme example of a hinged jaw, and the lethal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_atrox"><span style="color: #092f9d;">diamondback rattlesnake</span></a> is described as the most efficient at despatching its prey.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#8) "Lords of the Air"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">March 6, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This program focuses on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird"><span style="color: #092f9d;">birds</span></a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feather"><span style="color: #092f9d;">feather</span></a> is key to everything that is crucial about a bird: it is both its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerofoil"><span style="color: #092f9d;">aerofoil</span></a> and its insulator. The earliest feathers were found on a fossilised <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><i>Archaeopteryx</i></span></a> skeleton in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Bavaria</span></a>. However, it had claws on its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing"><span style="color: #092f9d;">wings</span></a> and there is only one species alive today that does so: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoatzin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">hoatzin</span></a>, whose chicks possess them for about a week or so. Nevertheless, it serves to illustrate the probable movement of its ancestor. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">It may have taken to the trees to avoid predators, and over time, its bony, reptilian tail was replaced by feathers and its heavy jaw evolved into a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">keratin</span></a> beak. Beaks come in a variety of shapes depending on a bird's feeding habits: examples given include the pouched bill of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican"><span style="color: #092f9d;">pelican</span></a>, the hooked beak of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture"><span style="color: #092f9d;">vulture</span></a> and the elongated mouth of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird"><span style="color: #092f9d;">hummingbird</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Attenborough hails the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tern"><span style="color: #092f9d;">tern</span></a> as one of the most graceful flyers and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross"><span style="color: #092f9d;">albatross</span></a> as a skilled glider. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_(bird)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">swift</span></a> is shown as one of the fastest: it can fly at 170 km/h. Birds communicate through display and/or song, and the elaborate courtship rituals of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea"><span style="color: #092f9d;">New Guinea</span></a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds-of-paradise"><span style="color: #092f9d;">birds-of-paradise</span></a> are shown. All birds lay eggs, and the range of different nesting sites and parenting skills is explored. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Finally, Attenborough visits <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Gibraltar</span></a> to observe <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_migration"><span style="color: #092f9d;">migratory</span></a> birds. These rely on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal"><span style="color: #092f9d;">thermals</span></a> when flying overland and use height to conserve energy when crossing oceans. It is estimated that some 5,000 million southbound birds cross the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Mediterranean Sea</span></a> each autumn.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#9) "The Rise of the Mammals"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">March 13, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This installment is the first of several to concentrate on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammal"><span style="color: #092f9d;">mammals</span></a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus"><span style="color: #092f9d;">platypus</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna"><span style="color: #092f9d;">echidna</span></a> are the only mammals that lay eggs (in much the same manner of reptiles), and it is from such animals that others in the group evolved. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Since mammals have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warm_blood"><span style="color: #092f9d;">warm blood</span></a> and most have dense <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur"><span style="color: #092f9d;">fur</span></a>, they can hunt at night when temperatures drop. It is for this reason that they became more successful than their reptile ancestors, who needed to heat themselves externally. Much of the program is devoted to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial"><span style="color: #092f9d;">marsupials</span></a> (whose young are partially formed at birth) of which fossils have been found in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Americas</span></a> dating back 60 million years. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">However, because of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_drift"><span style="color: #092f9d;">continental drift</span></a>, this kind of mammal flourished in Australia. Examples shown include the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoll"><span style="color: #092f9d;">quoll</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Tasmanian devil</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala"><span style="color: #092f9d;">koala</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat"><span style="color: #092f9d;">wombat</span></a> and the largest marsupial, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kangaroo"><span style="color: #092f9d;">red kangaroo</span></a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine"><span style="color: #092f9d;">thylacine</span></a> was similar to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf"><span style="color: #092f9d;">wolf</span></a> but is now thought to be extinct. In 1969, bones of creatures such as a 3-metre-tall <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo"><span style="color: #092f9d;">kangaroo</span></a> and a ferocious <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial_lion"><span style="color: #092f9d;">marsupial lion</span></a> were found in a cave in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naracoorte,_South_Australia"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Naracoorte</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australia"><span style="color: #092f9d;">South Australia</span></a>. The reason for these animals' extinction is, once again, thought to be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_(general_concept)"><span style="color: #092f9d;">climate change</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Finally, Attenborough describes the most prolific mammals—those that originated in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hemisphere"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Northern Hemisphere</span></a> and give birth to fully formed young. He states, "The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placenta"><span style="color: #092f9d;">placenta</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womb"><span style="color: #092f9d;">womb</span></a> between them provide a degree of safety and a continuity of sustenance which is unparalleled in the animal world.”</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#10) ”Theme and Variations"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">March 20, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This episode continues the study of mammals, and particularly those whose young gestate inside their bodies. Attenborough asks why these have become so varied and tries to discover the common theme that links them. Examples of primitive mammals that are still alive today include the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treeshrew"><span style="color: #092f9d;">treeshrew</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desman"><span style="color: #092f9d;">desman</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star-nosed_mole"><span style="color: #092f9d;">star-nosed mole</span></a>. Insect eaters vary enormously from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark"><span style="color: #092f9d;">aardvark</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_anteater"><span style="color: #092f9d;">giant anteater</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">pangolin</span></a> to those to which much of this programme is devoted: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat"><span style="color: #092f9d;">bats</span></a>, of which there are nearly 1,000 different species. These took to flying at night, and it is possible that they evolved from treeshrews that jumped from tree to tree, in much the same way as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_squirrel"><span style="color: #092f9d;">flying squirrel</span></a>. Most bats use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sonar</span></a> to hunt and navigate, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasound"><span style="color: #092f9d;">ultrasound</span></a> to communicate. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">However, some of their prey, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopidae"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lacewing</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctiidae"><span style="color: #092f9d;">tiger moth</span></a>, have developed techniques to confuse and evade them. Aquatic mammals superseded sea-going reptiles such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiosaur"><span style="color: #092f9d;">plesiosaur</span></a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale"><span style="color: #092f9d;">whales</span></a>' immense size is related to the retention of body heat. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The dinosaurs' growth was limited by the strength of their bones but the whales only rely on water to support their weight, and so have been able to grow into the world's largest animals. Some of those shown include <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpback_whale"><span style="color: #092f9d;">humpbacks</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal"><span style="color: #092f9d;">narwhals</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca"><span style="color: #092f9d;">killer whales</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin"><span style="color: #092f9d;">dolphins</span></a>. The latter use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_echolocation"><span style="color: #092f9d;">echolocation</span></a> in much the same way as bats, and Attenborough observes one finding objects in the water even after it has been blindfolded.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#11) ”The Hunters and Hunted"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">March 27, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">This program surveys mammal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbivore"><span style="color: #092f9d;">herbivores</span></a> and their predators. The herbivores began to populate the forests when the dinosaurs disappeared, and many took to gathering food at night. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">To prepare for winter, some store it in vast quantities, some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernation"><span style="color: #092f9d;">hibernate</span></a> and others make do as best they can. However, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivore"><span style="color: #092f9d;">carnivores</span></a> joined them, and when a drying climate triggered the spread of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae"><span style="color: #092f9d;">grass</span></a>, they followed their prey out on to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain"><span style="color: #092f9d;">plains</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Grass is not easily digestible and most animals that eat it have to regurgitate it and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cud"><span style="color: #092f9d;">chew the cud</span></a>. Out in the open, the leaf-eaters had to develop means of protection. A few species turned into burrowers: examples include the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_mole-rat"><span style="color: #092f9d;">blind mole-rat</span></a>, which is completely underground, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_dog"><span style="color: #092f9d;">prairie dog</span></a>, which is not. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara"><span style="color: #092f9d;">capybara</span></a>—the largest rodent—spends much of its time in the water. Those that evolved long legs and hooves, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra"><span style="color: #092f9d;">zebra</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impala"><span style="color: #092f9d;">impala</span></a>, seek safety in speed, while larger creatures, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros"><span style="color: #092f9d;">rhinoceros</span></a>, rely on their armoured hides. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant"><span style="color: #092f9d;">elephant</span></a> is the world's largest land animal and is virtually invulnerable. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Cheetahs</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lions</span></a> are attracted by those that herd in large numbers, like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildebeest"><span style="color: #092f9d;">wildebeest</span></a>. The cheetah uses its considerable speed while the heavier lion is a social predator, mostly using co-operation and stealth to capture its victims, and its methods are explored in detail. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Meanwhile, a pack hunter, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyena"><span style="color: #092f9d;">hyena</span></a>, has immense stamina and will eventually wear down its quarry, easing the kill.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">#12) “Life in the Trees"<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">April 3, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The penultimate installment investigates the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primate"><span style="color: #092f9d;">primates</span></a>, whose defining characteristics are forward-facing eyes for judging distance, and gripping hands with which to grasp branches, manipulate food and groom one another. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The program begins in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Madagascar</span></a>, home to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur"><span style="color: #092f9d;">lemurs</span></a>, of which there are some 20 different types. Two examples are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sifaka"><span style="color: #092f9d;">sifaka</span></a>, which is a specialized jumper, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indri"><span style="color: #092f9d;">indri</span></a>, which has a well-developed voice. Away from Madagascar, the only lemur relatives to have survived are nocturnal, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galago"><span style="color: #092f9d;">bushbaby</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potto"><span style="color: #092f9d;">potto</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loris"><span style="color: #092f9d;">loris</span></a>. The others were supplanted by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey"><span style="color: #092f9d;">monkeys</span></a> and a primitive species that still exists is the smallest, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmoset"><span style="color: #092f9d;">marmoset</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">However, Attenborough selects the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_monkey"><span style="color: #092f9d;">squirrel monkey</span></a> as being typical of the group. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howler_monkey"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Howler monkeys</span></a> demonstrate why they are so named—their chorus is said to the loudest of any mammal—and their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehensile_tail"><span style="color: #092f9d;">prehensile tails</span></a> illustrate their agility. However, such tails are not characteristic of monkeys that inhabit Africa and many of them, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorocebus"><span style="color: #092f9d;">vervets</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baboon"><span style="color: #092f9d;">baboons</span></a>, are just as happy on the ground. Others have moved elsewhere, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaque"><span style="color: #092f9d;">macaques</span></a> of Koshima in Japan have learned to wash their food before eating. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Most <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape"><span style="color: #092f9d;">apes</span></a> have taken to swinging from trees, and their feet are just as versatile as their hands. They include the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangutan"><span style="color: #092f9d;">orangutan</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbon"><span style="color: #092f9d;">gibbon</span></a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_chimpanzee"><span style="color: #092f9d;">chimpanzee</span></a> and the primate with whom Attenborough has arguably his most famous encounter, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_gorilla"><span style="color: #092f9d;">mountain gorilla</span></a>.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><b>#13) ”The Compulsive Communicators"</b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">April 10, 1979</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The final episode deals with the evolution of the most widespread and dominant species on Earth: humans. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The story begins in Africa, where, some 10 million years ago, apes descended from the trees and ventured out into the open grasslands in search of food. They slowly adapted to the habitat and grew in size. Their acute sense of vision led to them standing erect to spot predators, leaving their hands free to bear weapons. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">In addition, the primitive apemen (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropopithecus"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Anthropopithecus</span></a>) also had stones that were chipped into cutting tools. Slowly, they grew taller and more upright, and their stone implements became ever more elaborate. Furthermore, animal hunting expeditions required a degree of co-operation to achieve a successful outcome. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Therefore, Attenborough argues, such foresight, teamwork and planning must have meant some skill at communication. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_erectus"><span style="color: #092f9d;"><i>Homo erectus</i></span></a> gradually spread from Africa and reached Europe some 800,000 years ago, where a drop in temperature led to him inhabiting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave"><span style="color: #092f9d;">caves</span></a>. Such creatures evolved further and learned to use flint for weapons, animal skins for clothing, and fire for warmth and preparing food. Their brains became fully formed and, using the walls of their caves as a canvas, they painted and eventually learned to write. <i>Homo sapiens</i> had arrived. </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">However, Attenborough warns, just because humans have achieved so much in such a comparatively short period of time, it may not mean that they will be around forever.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5.2px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">1997 Revision</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">A shortened series, using the footage and commentary from the original, was aired in 1997, edited down to three episodes: </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">early life forms, plants, insects, and amphibians in the first; </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">fish, birds and reptiles in the second; </span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">and mammals in the third.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 72px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">A hardback book, <i>Life on Earth</i> by David Attenborough, was published in 1979 and became a worldwide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestseller"><span style="color: #092f9d;">bestseller</span></a>. Its cover image of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Panamanian</span></a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eyed_tree_frog"><span style="color: #092f9d;">red-eyed tree frog</span></a>, was taken by Attenborough himself,<span style="color: #092f9d; font-size: 6px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>[5]</sup></span> became an instantly recognizable emblem of the series. It is currently out of print.</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Available at <a href="https://www.biblio.com/life-on-earth-a-natural-by-attenborough-david/work/70885">Biblio.com</a>, <a href="https://www.librarything.com/work/132179">LibraryThing.com</a>, <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/LIFE-EARTH-Natural-History-David-Attenborough/30334607571/bd">abebook.com</a></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 31.5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 31.5px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSb33s0g7MZxScIeS8uAWNIxq28YD23t7DnWKGC3Qpdrs8JO-Iu51QIN0aJNPYp4QpXviQ8U_IkXovjAj0Q8nRlePeU51K50Yd_jzZMpHyh5Y4J0aPjkMShS9T7ym0zva7t-s4VeFuvGWbb6II-Up4oHkUnpPO7e0KexMSPe8M7HFJQAxXb0Pbdz3R/s1152/biblio%237_geology-%20Cc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="1152" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSb33s0g7MZxScIeS8uAWNIxq28YD23t7DnWKGC3Qpdrs8JO-Iu51QIN0aJNPYp4QpXviQ8U_IkXovjAj0Q8nRlePeU51K50Yd_jzZMpHyh5Y4J0aPjkMShS9T7ym0zva7t-s4VeFuvGWbb6II-Up4oHkUnpPO7e0KexMSPe8M7HFJQAxXb0Pbdz3R/w544-h95/biblio%237_geology-%20Cc.png" width="544" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 28.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7.2px 72px; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="background-color: white;">Earth Revealed: Introductory Geology</i></b></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 28.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7.2px 72px; text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white;">Professor James L. Sadd</i></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 72px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 72px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Earth Revealed: Introductory Geology</i></b>, originally titled <b><i>Earth Revealed</i></b>, is a 26-part video instructional series covering the processes and properties of the physical <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Earth</span></a>, with particular attention given to the scientific theories underlying <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology"><span style="color: #092f9d;">geological</span></a> principles. The telecourse was produced by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Intelecom_Learning&action=edit&redlink=1"><span style="color: #a90003;">Intelecom</span></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southern_California_Consortium&action=edit&redlink=1"><span style="color: #a90003;">Southern California Consortium</span></a>, was funded by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annenberg_Foundation"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Annenberg/CPB Project</span></a>, and first aired on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Broadcasting_Service"><span style="color: #092f9d;">PBS</span></a> in 1992 with the title <i>Earth Revealed</i>. All 26 episodes are hosted by Dr. James L. Sadd, professor of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_science"><span style="color: #092f9d;">environmental science</span></a> at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occidental_College"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Occidental College</span></a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles,_California"><span style="color: #092f9d;">Los Angeles</span></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California"><span style="color: #092f9d;">California</span></a>. (</span><span style="background-color: white;">Wikipedia)</span></p>
<p style="color: #21445b; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #21445b; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>ANNENBERG FOUNDATION learner series: </b><b style="color: #253f50;">Earth Revealed</b></span></p>
<p style="color: #253f50; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #354064;">A video instructional series on geology for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 26 half-hour video programs.</i></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">This series shows the physical processes and human activities that shape our planet. From earthquakes and volcanoes to the creation of sea-floor crusts and shifting river courses, <i>Earth Revealed</i> offers stunning visuals that explain plate tectonics and other geologic concepts and principles. Follow geologists in the field as they explore the primal forces of the Earth. This series can also be used as a resource for teacher professional development.</span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Programs</span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><b style="background-color: white;">Module I: Introduction (February 17–24, 1992)</b></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/1-down-to-earth/"><b>1 Down to Earth</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Surface conditions of the planets Venus and Mars are compared with those of Earth, and scenes of Earth's living landscapes lead into a discussion of how unique Earth truly is. Major topics addressed in the series, including plate tectonics, natural resources, seismology, and erosion, are introduced in this program.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/2-the-restless-planet/"><b>2 The Restless Planet</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Early Greek astronomers believed that Earth was the center of the universe. However, this notion changed dramatically over time, especially after the invention of the telescope. This program traces the development of astronomical theory with discussions of the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton. Unique characteristics of Earth are also discussed.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><b style="background-color: white;">Module II: Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Model (March 2, 1992-April 13, 1992)</b></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/earths-interior/"><b>3 Earth’s Interior</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Oil wells do more than just produce oil — they serve as windows to Earth's interior. This program introduces the topic of geophysics, exploring methods of studying what lies beneath Earth's surface. Geophysicists use seismic wave studies, variations in temperature, magnetic fields, gravity, and computer simulations to create models of deep structures.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/4-the-sea-floor/"><b>4 The Sea Floor</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The mysteries of the ocean floor lie hidden under enormous pressure and total darkness. This program looks at the research submersibles and indirect methods used to study the bottom of the sea, providing a glimpse of volcanic activity, formations such as the continental shelf and mid-ocean ridges, and life forms that thrive at extreme depths.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/5-the-birth-of-a-theory/"><b>5 The Birth of a Theory</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">In the 1960s, earth scientists developed the theory of plate tectonics. This program traces the development of plate tectonics, beginning with the contributions and methods of geologist Alfred Wegener. Sea-floor spreading, continental drift, paleomagnetism, and the primordial supercontinent Pangaea are some of the topics covered.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/6-plate-dynamics/"><b>6 Plate Dynamics</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This program examines the movement and interaction of tectonic plates, which account for a vast array of geologic formations and phenomena — from California's San Andreas Fault to the Rift Valley of eastern Africa. The program covers convergent boundaries, subduction, hotspots, and the debate over what drives plate motion.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/7-mountain-building/"><b>7 Mountain Building</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This program erodes the myth of the mountain as a solid, permanent structure. Animations are used to illustrate the process of orogeny (mountain building) through accretion and erosion, as well as the role of plate tectonics, the rock cycle, and how different types of rock are formed in the course of mountain building.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/8-earths-structures/"><b>8 Earth’s Structures</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">A visit to the Grand Canyon lays the foundation for this exploration of rock layers and deformation. The program covers sedimentation, major structures, the methods used to examine them, and how petroleum may be trapped inside them. It also looks at tectonic force and the different types of stress involved in the formation of geologic structures.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/9-earthquakes/"><b>9 Earthquakes</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Showing actual footage of earthquakes and their aftermath, this program discusses the forces that fuel these massive events. Faults, waves, and the transfer of energy from the epicenter are explained, and histories of the seismograph and Richter scale are presented. The program also describes devices being developed to study — and eventually predict — earthquakes.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><b style="background-color: white;">Module III: Geologic Time and Life (April 20–27, 1992)</b></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/10-geologic-time/"><b>10 Geologic Time</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">To illustrate the immensity of geologic time, the entire span of Earth's existence is compressed down to a year. The timeline of major geologic events is superimposed onto the year for a condensed view of Earth's evolution. A relationship between this timeline and that of life on Earth is established, with fossils and radiocarbon dating playing a major role in the discovery.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/11-evolution-through-time/"><b>11 Evolution Through Time</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The fossil record reveals much about the diversity and development of species. This program examines the traces left by early plants, animals, and single-celled organisms and follows the progression of life forms over time. Connections are drawn between atmospheric gases, climate change, rock formation, biological functions, and mass extinctions.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #18191a; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><b style="background-color: white;">Module IV: The Rock Cycle (May 4, 1992-June 15, 1992)</b></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/12-minerals-the-materials-of-earth/"><b>12 Minerals: The Materials of Earth</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Minerals have been indispensable to human civilization. This program looks at the variety of minerals, their atomic and crystalline structures, and their physical properties such as hardness and luster. Petrologists' methods of sectioning rocks are shown, and gems, precious metals, ore excavation, and the value of silicates are discussed.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/13-volcanism/"><b>13 Volcanism</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Volcanoes provide clues about what is going on inside Earth. Animations illustrate volcanic processes and how plate boundaries are related to volcanism. The program also surveys the various types of eruptions, craters, cones and vents, lava domes, magma, and volcanic rock. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens serves as one example.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/14-intrusive-igneous-rocks/"><b>14 Intrusive Igneous Rocks</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Most magma does not extrude onto Earth's surface but cools slowly deep inside Earth. This magma seeps into crevices in existing rock to form intrusive igneous rocks. Experts provide a graphic illustration of this process and explain the types and textures of rocks such as granite, obsidian, and quartz. Once again, plate tectonics is shown to be involved in the process.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/15-weathering-and-soils/"><b>15 Weathering and Soils</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Cleopatra's Needle obelisk in New York City's Central Park is severely weathered after only 75 years, whereas the dry climate of Egypt has preserved similar structures in that country for millennia. This program shows how weather, climate, chemicals, temperature, and type of substrate factor into rock and soil erosion. Environmental connections are also considered.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/16-mass-wasting/"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">16 Mass Wasting</span></b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Anyone undertaking a building project must understand mass wasting — the downslope movement of earth under the influence of gravity. Various factors in mass wasting, including the rock's effective strength and pore spaces, are discussed, as are different types of mass wasting such as creep, slump, and landslides. Images of an actual landslide illustrate the phenomenon.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/17-sedimentary-rocks-the-key-to-past-environments/"><b>17 Sedimentary Rocks: The Key to Past Environments</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This program returns to the Grand Canyon: its exposed layers of sedimentary rock allow scientists to peer into the geologic past. The movement of sediment and its deposition are covered, and the processes of lithification, compaction, and cementation that produce sedimentary rocks are explained. Organic components of rock are also discussed.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/18-metamorphic-rocks/"><b>18 Metamorphic Rocks</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The weight of a mountain creates enough pressure to recrystallize rock, thus creating metamorphic rocks. This program outlines the recrystallization process and the types of rock it can create — from claystone and slate to schist and garnet-bearing gneiss. The relationship of metamorphic rock to plate tectonics is also covered.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/19-running-water-i-rivers-erosion-and-deposition/"><b>19 Running Water I: Rivers, Erosion and Deposition</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Rivers are the most common land feature on Earth and play a vital role in the sculpting of land. This program shows landscapes formed by rivers, the various types of rivers, the basic parts of a river, and how characteristics of rivers — their slope, channel, and discharge — erode and build the surrounding terrain. Aspects of flooding are also discussed.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><b style="background-color: white;">20 Running Water II: Landscape Evolution</b></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Colorado River is a powerful geologic agent — powerful enough to have carved the Grand Canyon. This program focuses on how such carving takes place over time, looking at erosion and deposition processes as they relate to river characteristics and type of rock. The evolution of rivers is covered, along with efforts to prevent harmful consequences to humans.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/21-groundwater/"><b>21 Groundwater</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Approximately three-quarters of Earth's surface is covered by water. But most fresh water comes from underground. Topics of this program include aquifers, rock porosity and permeability, artesian wells, the water table, cave formation, sinkholes, and how groundwater may become contaminated.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/22-wind-dust-and-deserts/"><b>22 Wind, Dust and Deserts</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Land in arid climates is shaped in particular ways. This program shows how deserts are defined by infrequent precipitation and how desertification relates to proximity to the equator, proximity to mountains, and ultimately plate tectonics. Images of landscapes illustrate how wind creates features such as dunes, playas, blow-outs, and even oases.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/23-glaciers/"><b>23 Glaciers</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Many of the world's most beautiful landscapes were made by glaciers. This program shows how, explaining glacial formation, structure, movement, and methods of gouging and accumulating earth. The program provides images of glaciers and glacial landforms such as moraines, and discusses how study of glaciers may help us understand ice ages and the greenhouse effect.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/24-waves-beaches-and-coasts/"><b>24 Waves, Beaches and Coasts</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This program shows the dynamic interaction of two geologic agents: rocky landmasses and the energy of the ocean. Aspects of waves — their types, parts, movement, and impact on the shore — are illustrated. The program also covers shoreline characteristics, currents, sea barriers, tides, and how the greenhouse effect could impact sea level and coastal lands.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/25-living-with-earth-part-i/"><b>25 Living With Earth, Part I</b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Scenes of San Francisco before the Loma Prieta earthquake introduce this program addressing how humans are learning to cope with earthquakes. Various groups and agencies are studying the San Andreas Fault and the damage caused along its path to better understand how earthquakes ravage the land. Methods of studying earthquakes are reviewed.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/26-living-with-earth-part-ii/"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">26 Living With Earth, Part II</span></b><span style="color: #354064; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Since the nineteenth century, humans have turned to the Earth for energy sources to fuel their industry. This program discusses where oil comes from, how it is extracted, and how it is converted into energy. The effects of oil drilling and the burning of fossil fuels are also addressed, and the potential of alternative energy sources is considered.</span></p>
<p style="color: #325d7a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #21445b; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://learner.org/"><b>ANNENBERG LEARNER</b><span style="color: #21445b; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white;">K-12 educators, students, and lifelong learners may access Annenberg Learner resources for free at <a href="https://learner.org/"><span style="color: #325d7a;"><b>Learner.org</b></span></a><b>.</b> Please sign up for the Annenberg Learner newsletter for the latest information about Learner programming and availability, as they are subject to change.</span></p>
<p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Contact Us: <b><a href="mailto:info@learner.org">info@learner.org</a></b></span></p><p style="color: #354064; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 72px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinz0GZTrdro5nhrTnBFtdO3X8fk26M-jjHLpHlSN4WI6WW6ynFaalqjMQrWyKUkIgtEuhjjrR_yqO2FIkyUnxBbhdyhdLJiy3gUK2TtnwktG4U1et0ZkEnjSb5wWnlk5n9hkqakJFPd7dW8JTFqFBuW119XkiPsZTb4mmIetAcjHrwzfaBq5vtx-N0/s1930/biblio%238-river%20-%20cottonwood%20trees%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="1930" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinz0GZTrdro5nhrTnBFtdO3X8fk26M-jjHLpHlSN4WI6WW6ynFaalqjMQrWyKUkIgtEuhjjrR_yqO2FIkyUnxBbhdyhdLJiy3gUK2TtnwktG4U1et0ZkEnjSb5wWnlk5n9hkqakJFPd7dW8JTFqFBuW119XkiPsZTb4mmIetAcjHrwzfaBq5vtx-N0/w485-h323/biblio%238-river%20-%20cottonwood%20trees%20copy.jpg" width="485" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="font-size: large;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Cu-g4LgnWs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Oct 11, 2021</p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Levin_(biologist)" target="_blank"><b>Michael Levin PhD</b></a></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://allencenter.tufts.edu/our-team/michael-levin/" target="_blank"><b>Director of the Allen Discovery Center - Tufts University</b></a></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Plenary Talk by Michael Levin on <b>"Non-neural, developmental bio-electricity as a precursor for cognition: Evolution, synthetic organisms, and biomedicine" </b>at the Virtual Miniature Brain Machinery Retreat, September 16, 2021.</p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the <a href="https://minibrain.beckman.illinois.edu" target="_blank"><b>Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology</b></a>. This video was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant 1735252. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><a href="https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/mike-levin-on-electrifying-insights-into-how-bodies-form/" target="_blank">WYSS Institute Harvard</a></b></span></span> </p></blockquote><p></p></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">______________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a broader list of the books I've listened to & read, and that I'd recommend to any interested student of Earth & life & yourself:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Deep History of Ourselves: The for billion year story of how we got conscious brains</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Joseph LeDoux</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Vital Question: Energy, evolution, an the origins of complex life</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nick Lane</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Oxygen: The molecule that made the world</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nick Lane</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Symphony in C: Carbon and the evolution of (almost) everything</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Robert M. Hazen</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Tangled Tree: A radical new history of life</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">David Quammen</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the making of planet, life, and you</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sean B. Carroll</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks: Tales of important geological puzzles and the people who solved them</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Donald R. Prothero</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Origins: How Earth’s history shaped human history</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Lewis Dartnell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Dawn Of Everything: A new history of humanity</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">David Graeber & David Wengrow</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Metazoa: Animal lie and the birth of the mind</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Peter Godfrey-Smith</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The House of Wisdom: How Arabic science saved ancient knowledge and gave us the renaissance</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Jim Al-Khalil</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Horizons: The global origins of modern science</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">James Poskett</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Life’s Ratchet: How molecular machines extract order from chaos</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Peter M. Hoffman</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Life’s Engines: How microbes made Earth habitable</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Paul G. Falkowski</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Universe Within: Discovering the common history of rocks, planets, and people</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Neil Shubin</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">—————————————-</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the source of consciousness</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mark Solms</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Self Comes to Mind</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Antonio Damasio</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Consciousness Explained</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Daniel C. Dennett</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">To Explain the World: The discovery of modern science</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Steven Weinberg</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Life Unfolding: How the human body creates itself</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Jamie A. Davies</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Life Ascending: The ten great inventions of evolution</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nick Lane</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age gave birth to the first modern humans</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Brian Fagan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sapiens: A brief history of humankind</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Yuval Noah Harari</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Story of Western Science: From the writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Susan Wise Bauer</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Charles Darwin</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On the Origin of Species</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Charles Darwin</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Lost in Math: How beauty leads physics astray</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sabine Hossenfelder</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What Is Life?: With mind and matter and autobiographical sketches</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Erwin Schrödinger, forward Roger Penrose </p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Invention of Science: A new history of the scientific revolution</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">David Wootton</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The War on Science: Who’s waging it, why it matters, what we can do about it</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Shawn Lawrence Otto</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What is Life?: How chemistry becomes biology</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Addy Pross</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">First Life: Discovering the connections between stars, cells and how life began</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">David Deamer</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the birth of modern geology</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Simon Winchester</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Silent Spring</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rachel Carson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Voyage of the Beagle</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Charles Darwin</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">————————————-</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Light Ages: The surprising story of medieval science</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Seb Falk</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Intimate Bond: How animals shaped human history</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Brian Fagan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Salt: A world history</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mark Kurlansky</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Paper: Paging through history</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mark Kurlansky</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Rise of Yeast: How the sugar fungus shaped civilization</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nicholas P. Money</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Earth Moved: On the remarkable achievements of Earthworms</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Amy Steward</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Napoleon’s Buttons: 17 molecules that changed history</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Penny LeCouteur, Jay Burreson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Elixir: A history of water and humankind</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Brian Fagan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">—————————————————-</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Log from the Sea of Cortez</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">John Steinbeck</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Darwin’s Dangerous Idea</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Daniel C. Dennet</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sense and Goodness Without God: A defense of metaphysical naturalism</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Richard Carrier</p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p></span></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-68116992364393976882022-09-30T20:26:00.052-06:002022-10-23T17:10:34.417-06:00Introducing a new philosophical perspective: Earth Centrism (1/2)<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> <i style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; text-align: center;">Inviting Intelligent Critique & Constructive Challenges:</i></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Introducing a New Philosophical Perspective.</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #4c4c4c; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Peter Miesler, September 2022 (<a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2022/10/earth-centrist-students-bibliography.html" target="_blank">the bibliography 2/2</a>)</span></p>
<p style="color: #4c4c4c; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Founded on a life time of learning through the findings of scientists.</span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Earth Centrism</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Because Earth is our ultimate touchstone with reality and ourselves<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></b></span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYXR3fsKaO0NRgz9KdeDVOIiQsZdTKDGd8uo99yyO6zYQZ8zt4qnx6-cIAHpgLtHfYvUjnOUdCGqssEdPaNRn8gW8JH5_0PNr92G0ApMH31qnTAQa0MgCb-0wq3DtOzVzJ4UOQ5GVG640oH-x5qyCQWP_eVR-sA3iNoyuVuAyixXx7znRx9QYeudiMg/s1312/IMG_Sep30-BLOG-stone%20tool.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="1312" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYXR3fsKaO0NRgz9KdeDVOIiQsZdTKDGd8uo99yyO6zYQZ8zt4qnx6-cIAHpgLtHfYvUjnOUdCGqssEdPaNRn8gW8JH5_0PNr92G0ApMH31qnTAQa0MgCb-0wq3DtOzVzJ4UOQ5GVG640oH-x5qyCQWP_eVR-sA3iNoyuVuAyixXx7znRx9QYeudiMg/s320/IMG_Sep30-BLOG-stone%20tool.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><blockquote><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This insight leads to a realization that, for this complex living Earth that we experience, to exist at all, is proof positive that our Earth evolved down one particular pathway, no matter what we people imagine one way or the other.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p><blockquote><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Ours is to figure it out and appreciate - not to presume to define it!</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;">We appreciate that we are evolved biological creatures born of Earth’s processes, as expressed through its singular Evolutionary Pageant.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;">We appreciate the profound divide between physical reality, <i>that is matter, biology, laws of nature</i>, on the one hand, and on the other, our thoughts unfolding within our amazing minds, <span style="color: #3b3b3b;">(<i>or more descriptively, within the realm of our “human mindscape"</i>)</span>. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;">We appreciate that fundamentally, awareness and life’s “consciousness spectrum” started over a couple billion years ago with the invention, then prospering, of the unbelievably complex organization of Eukaryote cells <span style="color: #3b3b3b;">(<i>some suggest guided by microtubules</i>)</span>. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;">Consider that in due time these cells created colonies of cells that demonstrated a sense of place and order and purpose or the organism would have dissolved into a chaotic blob. Increasingly complex creatures depended, at every step, on increasing awareness, sensing, data processing, physical systems growth & maintenance, internal communication along with improving and refining manipulatory abilities. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;">By and by, along came one particular clade the eutherians, small nocturnal insect eaters who gave birth to the class of mammalian animals, which begat the primates, which begat hominids, which begat our modern humankind species. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;">Every stage required new refinements and developments within the complex <b>sensing/body/brain</b> system and the <b>mind</b> they collectively produce - refinements that are dependent on previous refinements and lessons. Your Being is the sum total of all the days of Evolution that went into producing the human form you possess and live through, while your mind reflects the sum total of all the days you’ve lived and experienced.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0c0c0c;">I believe a genuine understanding of oneself starts with the realization that we are an evolved biological sensing creature, and that our consciousness is </span><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/mark-solms-students-resource.html"><span style="color: #800180;">fundamentally the inside reflection</span></a><span style="color: #0c0c0c;"> of your body/brain dealing with itself and the </span><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/solms-demystifies-hard-problem-of.html"><span style="color: #800180;">environment/circumstance</span></a><span style="color: #0c0c0c;"> it is embedded within. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;">This understanding leads to another inevitable realization, namely that, our “Gods” are in truth creations of our minds, tailored by our self-serving egos. </span><i style="letter-spacing: -0.20000000298023224px;">Which is okay, if one doesn’t take their God, or themselves, too seriously.<b> </b></i></p></blockquote><p> </p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><b></b></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">“I Am, therefore I Think”</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></b></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-height: 22px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-Tw57yurUnfNc6RQVIGQf1IVKHj75gzmQV55QYc1qfo5zGHHJJ7ne4TKnQOpMfBapX9hdReLaljpuL_xhii6unZwacK1HYH69A2clNT8zDm0mVpRoOEAyEn1omVANoNrWHaCBBuMLYG4oX3vLos0HAAOKUt0U3G4jYh-gfLRBmKk-jb1mW6hyummQA/s1486/IMG-Sep30-first.png" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 30px; font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1486" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-Tw57yurUnfNc6RQVIGQf1IVKHj75gzmQV55QYc1qfo5zGHHJJ7ne4TKnQOpMfBapX9hdReLaljpuL_xhii6unZwacK1HYH69A2clNT8zDm0mVpRoOEAyEn1omVANoNrWHaCBBuMLYG4oX3vLos0HAAOKUt0U3G4jYh-gfLRBmKk-jb1mW6hyummQA/s320/IMG-Sep30-first.png" width="320" /></a><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><b></b><p></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s been four years since first writing about my reflections upon a small epiphany I experienced. An insight which left a profound appreciation for the “Human Mindscape ~ Physical Reality divide” through a deep-time evolutionary perspective. My essay describing it is titled: "<a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2018/09/key-to-goulds-nonoverlapping-magisteria.html">The Missing Key to Stephen Gould’s “Nonoverlapping Magisteria,”</a> and has been followed by a some <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=Stephen+Gould">revisions</a>.</span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Then I started reading Donald Hoffman’s: “Case Against Reality: why evolution hide the truth from our eyes” and found it a prime example of modern self-delusion and getting lost within a mindscape still shackled by Abrahamic thinking, (<i>self-serving, </i></span><i>self-certain,</i><i> quick to simplistic assumptions, with its echos of dualism, and so on</i><span>). His insults towards Earth Sciences was a challenge I couldn’t turn away from and two years ago I posted the </span><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/case-for-reality.html">first installment</a><span> of </span><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/11/preview-cc-hoffman-caseagainstreality.html">Prof Donald Hoffman Playing Basketball In Zero-Gravity - the prelude</a><span>, with my final being,</span><span> </span><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/11/preview-cc-hoffman-caseagainstreality.html">A Preview of Cc's "Hoffman playing Basketball in zero-gravity" a critical review of his "Case Against Reality,”</a><span> last November.</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My intellectual adventure has continued, with Daniel Dennett (<i>someone I could at least take seriously</i>) via his interesting book, “Consciousness Explained.” But that only drove me to Descartes and his “<a href="https://grattoncourses.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/rene-descartes-discourse-on-method-and-meditations-on-first-philosophy-4th-ed-hackett-pub-co-1998.pdf">Discourse on Method</a>” which turned out way more fascinating than I’d expected. </span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Though that still can’t hide the fact that Descartes lived during science's infancy*. Descartes was an accomplished mathematician and familiar with optics, but beyond that he knew nothing of astronomy, physics, or light, or biology, his inaccurate human physiological knowledge didn’t rise much above that of an intelligent, inquisitive butcher's.</span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>In his defense, all Descartes had was his mind! 1600s learned texts were still more opinion based on various dogmas and wishful thinking, then evidence and facts to build upon.</span><span> </span><span> </span><span>Once he read enough books and learned to recognize that, he decided to deliberately focus on his own mind and thinking process to the exclusion of all the mucho blah blah of his day.</span><span> </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #0d0d0d;">The thing to appreciate is that today we have authoritative trustable knowledge flooding in at us from every direction. Not perfect, but there’s a process for separating the chaff from the grain, and the demand for Honesty and Truthfulness remains a prime cornerstone of science in a way that doesn’t seem to exist in the general society anymore. Individually all we need to do, is the homework & learning that </span><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">comes with it, if we want to understand 'why & how' for ourselves.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Seems to me younger people should be skeptical of our historical </span><span style="text-align: left;">philosophical</span> intellectual heroes, after all, look at the mess they helped set into motion. Too much time spent on echo's of religious arguments and genius egos busy trying to out-do each other. Then that easy disregard for Earth's<a href="https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth107/node/1506" target="_blank"> natural balance sheets</a> of systems & processes, that incidentally are what's sustained us all these millennia of <a href="https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/HIST101-1.2-OriginsofCiv-FINAL1.pdf" target="_blank">climate optimum</a>, and long before. </span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Our collective disregard for accepting the concepts of conserving, making things last, not to be so gluttonous and obsessed with so many empty bells and whistles that the Hollywood dream machine keeps churning out for us. </span><span>Working together with Earth's natural system, nurturing, rather than relentless extraction.</span></span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Why not take <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Earth_(TV_series)" target="_blank">Earth's Evolution</a> seriously and do the homework to learn about what makes her tick?</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"><span>Isn’t it time we recognize a new difficult really is steamrolling at us? We need real ideas and ways of seeing the world around us, because tomorrow keeps coming, and staying fixated on the rearview mirror is not the way to survive. The old truths </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d;">failed your future</span><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"><span>, don't be afraid of moving on.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d;">As we continue into our future,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d;"> c</span><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"><span>atastrophe's will happen more frequently, but so does the morning after. Many of us</span></span><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"><span> keep getting through it, survive and wake to face the new day. Now, more than ever, we need to</span></span><span><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"> take into account the need for honesty, fairplay, goodwill, cooperation and striving to better understand</span></span><span><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"> this Earth and her global heat and moisture distribution engine that we depend on for everything.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But now I digress into motivations for not walking away from this frustrating intellectual/political adventure of mine.</span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thank you for your time and interest,</span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Peter Miesler</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p>
<p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Citizenschallenge at gmail</span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">October 8, 2022</span></span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></p><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjMOMFh2DfY7t9Y0Q6k7fpJdKsQ8WivmXHHgS7SuY3kZQyQ-RsWAH3YTmWEcaSw7fNPCgnv6aNQiYzsajlkx3crS4cPugk1BHM-f3vQMG0GZEUQUxJUAJwVvjgrlCZDEg7lTk7fm-4rMFQEQ0e8DuqLQX-yec7dXJxAmPlBgFQ9omTdAGFF0rbiFODg/s1454/IMG-Sep30-final.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1078" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjMOMFh2DfY7t9Y0Q6k7fpJdKsQ8WivmXHHgS7SuY3kZQyQ-RsWAH3YTmWEcaSw7fNPCgnv6aNQiYzsajlkx3crS4cPugk1BHM-f3vQMG0GZEUQUxJUAJwVvjgrlCZDEg7lTk7fm-4rMFQEQ0e8DuqLQX-yec7dXJxAmPlBgFQ9omTdAGFF0rbiFODg/s320/IMG-Sep30-final.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><p style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><blockquote><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">* I feel uncomfortable about those couple sentences since my over simplification could imply I imagine science starting in the Renaissance, when it fact science has fascinating roots that are more wide spread and deeper than we ever learned in school. </span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">That's why I feel compelled to suggest Jim Al Khalili's wonderful book: </span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 36px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><b>"The House of Wisdom, How the Arabic science saved ancient knowledge and gave us the Renaissance." </b>(2012)</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/house-wisdom">New York Journal of Books</a></span> provides an interesting overview of the book. </span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/50502092/Al_Khalili_Jim_The_House_of_Wisdom_How_Arabic_Science">Academia.edu</a></span> offers a PDF. </span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">There’s also this informative talk Al Khalili gave in 2013.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/HumanistsUK">Humanists UK</a>, posted at YouTube, April 16, 2014</span></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjvoWeqMA6I"><b>The Forgotten Legacy of Arabic Science</b></a></span></span></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">British Humanist Association Holyoake Lecture 2013 presented by theoretical physicist and president of the British Humanist Association, Professor Jim Al-Khalili.</span></p></blockquote>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-15512256903011515222022-08-19T23:56:00.008-06:002022-09-13T15:14:55.948-06:00Dear Democratic Party (callers) . . .<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">In response to the flood of Democratic Party donation pitches I receive and since I don't have money for all of them, I want to tell what I do have to offer. Need a dynamic researcher, drop me a line. Here's an introduction along with some relevant links.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Democrats need more than cash! The DNC need to better inform and engage their grassroots base, that means using every resource available, and that should include starting a <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2022/02/democratic-party-online-discussion-forum.html" target="_blank">Online Democratic Party Discussion Forum</a> where people can share their ideas and network, educate, nurture enthusiasm, engage your base. If we aren't changing minds we are losing. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-align: right;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/search?q=14+verses" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Considering our dysfunctional public dialogue, in 14 verses."</span></a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6.5px;"><b>FEBRUARY 10, 2022</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=Democratic+Party+Online+Discussion+Forum" target="_blank">Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 14.8px 40.5px;">Googling, “Why are Democrats losing voters?” reveals that voters who care are feeling so disenfranchised by the Democratic Party that they are turning off in droves. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPW-qpzXxekAmJQitwF0CrOMnQQlb7iCFrbMRsCITJnPbdx1f_tIRLxbAXdElQyEuXZjZDQtP7qwvJY-6iHBuyP78FgpeJcTWcZaGFNQg6drtUN6Tvn19qTAz9cHbQh54S0GNeb22Z-rF1sDwGJk78lUtptAywh_GCBax6qUgLzXvc_ujpcq5nGBEi/s1454/IMG_Voting%20hand.dot%20gov.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="1454" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPW-qpzXxekAmJQitwF0CrOMnQQlb7iCFrbMRsCITJnPbdx1f_tIRLxbAXdElQyEuXZjZDQtP7qwvJY-6iHBuyP78FgpeJcTWcZaGFNQg6drtUN6Tvn19qTAz9cHbQh54S0GNeb22Z-rF1sDwGJk78lUtptAywh_GCBax6qUgLzXvc_ujpcq5nGBEi/w552-h80/IMG_Voting%20hand.dot%20gov.png" width="552" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;">This, during a year that should have every Democracy loving American energized and looking for how they can best <a href="https://www.usa.gov/voting"><span style="color: #620901;">participate in the coming election</span></a>, it’s frightening.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;">After all, more than anything this election will be about the future of open and fair elections in the USA. Beyond that, it’s going to be a national referendum between the importance of honesty and truth in America’s public dialogue vs. a descent into anger driven anarchy. No exaggeration, simply pay attention to how the Republican Party has been engaging in every imaginable dirty trick to stymie future election participation and voting legitimacy.<span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;">Successful politicians require strong, informed, proactive support at their backs if they are to lead, yet the DNC seems to be doing little to nurture that sort of buy-in from their grassroots. Why?<span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><b>The DNC’s disregard towards rank and file concerns is reflected in the constant bombardment of DNC’s boilerplate donation pitches, as though donating money was all We The People are good for. I understand the need to fundraise, but what about making us feel like active participants through straight talk, informing us of challenges, calling for feedback, being responsive, nurturing engagement.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;">The DNC should earn its money by informing and engaging constituents in a way that makes sense to us and connects with our lives. Creating relevance, encourages enthusiasm, produces participation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOBSYHgwqIjG7MDd7O3GUOC08_CI7QX7C_yUuvkK7v3II-0lHpMxJVUbqz3FeNTaHOBt8wauBVHAp0b-WkWMMzivrASQ1l_t_3K3cqNToPiG79cQDxMEveZjNi4uXxTciK1BdpoAqThCN7Z6vnh-KqB4Hxb0eUgMcTDHf7z8WCzP0oapcwe-a3vQJ/s4032/IMG_Path%20%232.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOBSYHgwqIjG7MDd7O3GUOC08_CI7QX7C_yUuvkK7v3II-0lHpMxJVUbqz3FeNTaHOBt8wauBVHAp0b-WkWMMzivrASQ1l_t_3K3cqNToPiG79cQDxMEveZjNi4uXxTciK1BdpoAqThCN7Z6vnh-KqB4Hxb0eUgMcTDHf7z8WCzP0oapcwe-a3vQJ/s320/IMG_Path%20%232.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><b>Why not use the internet? Why not create a quality internet platform for having constructive political dialogue? By Democrats for Democrats!</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><b>The Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum. </b><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(continued)</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Give America’s untapped concerned citizens a place to go for sharing their own stories, ideas, concerns, questions, challenges.<p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;">The Forum would be public, though I think it would be appropriate to limit commenting and posting privileges to registered Democrats. It would require a short set of clearly spelled out guidelines. Participants would need to sign up and agree to abide by the forum’s rules and standards. Moderators would be of critical importance to the DNC’s Discussion Forum’s success - fair, consistent, with a flair for humor, touch of empathy, and an instinct for constructive resolution and steering dialogue back <i>on point</i>.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;">I’ve been participating at “<a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/"><span style="color: #620901;">forum.CenterForInquiry.org</span></a>" for many years and they provide an excellent example of how such a Forum could be organized and operated. CFI is small, a Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum could serve as a nucleus for some serious community building and it would grow as Democrats across the country discovered a place to speak out, hear new voices, to learn and to network within the Democratic Party organization.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><b>Politically interested citizens have few opportunities for connecting with others, provide us with a trustworthy adult discussion platform for constructive dialogue among concerned individuals, I can't think of a better way to rapidly increase awareness, and reinvigorate a disillusioned Democratic grassroots.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px 40.5px;"><b>After all, for all its faults the Democratic Party is all we have! We need to focus on fixing it, rather than abandoning what little remaining political muscle <i>we the people</i> have.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e3f10; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><i>If the idea makes sense to you, please help spread the suggestion. </i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><i>You are welcome and encouraged copy and share.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><i>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><i>As it happens, today I also sent a message to Braver Angels, </i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"><i>so I might as well share this:</i></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I write under "citizenschallenge" and I've been a climate science/evolution advocate since graduating high school in 1973. Have gone to several Colorado State Dem Conventions. I've wondered long and hard about why Democrats and liberal rationalist types keep losing against faith based personalities <i>(who are dependent on lies and hate mongering and blind repetition to make their message stick).</i> So, I’ve dug deeper than issues.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I believe I have much to offer to some organization - please see for yourself and take a moment to look at my various blogs, especially my more recent writings. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Does any of it resonate with you. Can you use me? Send me an email.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com"><b>Citizenschallenge.blogspot.com</b></a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://WhatsUpWithThatWatts.blogspot.com"><b>WhatsUpWithThatWatts.blogspot.com</b></a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://ConfrontingScienceContrarians.blogspot.com"><b>ConfrontingScienceContrarians.blogspot.com</b></a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In particular:</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/search?q=14+verses">"Considering our dysfunctional public dialogue, in 14 verses."</a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">More recently:</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I believe liberal types tend to be adrift in our god-is-dead, post religion age. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They haven't figured out how a sober scientific world view can be reconciled with the human need for spiritual connection. I've found the answer is to be found in a deep appreciation for our Earth's evolution and coming to terms with the fact that we are fundamentally: Evolved Biological Creatures. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/philosophical-perspective-earth-centrism.html">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “Earth Centrism”</a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><a href="http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/reality-human-mindscape-divide-2-5.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Appreciating the Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</span></a></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><a href="http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Being an element in Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</span></a></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" target="_blank">It’s not a “Body-Mind problem” it’s an “Ego-God problem”</a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">April 27, 2021</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 31.5px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=all+hands+on+deck">Diary, "INDIVISIBLE" webinar & networking. All hands on deck, they say. What do I have to offer?</a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">My Elevator Pitch:</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 9px;"></p><blockquote><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We The People have a moral ethical right - along with a pragmatic need - to learn what scientists have learned about this planet's biosphere and climate engine without constant dishonest crossfire. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">We should not tolerate serious scientists always being drown out by amoral, dishonest and frankly ignorant arguments - that an astoundingly ruthless PR factory repeats over and over again, without ever learning a damned thing from the evidence in front of us.</span><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span></p></blockquote><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">_ _ _ _ _ _ _</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">I'm also looking for folks to reach out to me - have me do some research and writing, help this effort achieve a greater audience - an editor, agent, interested other. Someone who gets what I've been trying to do here and thinks it deserves a bit of help.</span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i>If you've read some of my articles and are curious,</i><i> w</i></span><i><span style="color: #444444;">hy not offer me a reasonable two or three thousand word writing </span></i><i><span style="color: #444444;">challenge</span></i><i><span style="color: #444444;">?</span></i></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">Thank you for your time.</span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">Peter Miesler</span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">aka citizenschallenge (at gmail)</span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-26965885909281551432022-06-28T06:55:00.003-06:002022-06-28T14:59:54.072-06:00A distillation of my journey upon life's stage, vintage 1955. (5/5) <p> </p><p style="color: #1e3f10; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 14.8px;"></p><blockquote><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 14.8px;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Nearing my 67th birthday, I’d like to share a collection of the fundamental lessons I’ve learned along the way.</i></span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlMFqagRAzLyGC_pZqbq80MCck9N6Rd1emNCfzYhOz-88nkgJYSmLndS5cnisq7WjuB5Z3QJYlUxGTQOYXxjD3KQqrSXtC7sxuLfAYekN-ngNmB8Nda9D8eCB7LUtiHzub8b7xIDCJ0WXsSmWaGJkplfodX7GXcepP_lDhE-v1OEMLmWP9aYvKig0iw/s2354/Pana-FourCorners-%202021-11-28%20at%208.58.18%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="2354" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlMFqagRAzLyGC_pZqbq80MCck9N6Rd1emNCfzYhOz-88nkgJYSmLndS5cnisq7WjuB5Z3QJYlUxGTQOYXxjD3KQqrSXtC7sxuLfAYekN-ngNmB8Nda9D8eCB7LUtiHzub8b7xIDCJ0WXsSmWaGJkplfodX7GXcepP_lDhE-v1OEMLmWP9aYvKig0iw/w545-h114/Pana-FourCorners-%202021-11-28%20at%208.58.18%20PM.png" width="545" /></a></div><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><ul>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/09/key-to-gould-nonoverlapping-magisteria.html" target="_blank">Appreciating</a> the Human Mindscape ~ Physical Reality divide.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" target="_blank">I am</a> a self-aware introspective element in the <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/who-says-understanding-earths-evolution.html" target="_blank">Pageant of Evolution</a>.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We create our Gods from within ourselves.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We cannot understand an organism, or system for that matter, <a href="https://www.life.illinois.edu/crofts/bioph354/mitchell.html" target="_blank">without understanding its environment</a>.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/solms-demystifies-hard-problem-of.html" target="_blank">Consciousness is the inside reflection</a> of our body, interacting with itself, along with the environment and circumstance it's embedded within.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/who-says-understanding-earths-evolution.html" target="_blank">An appreciation for Deep Time</a>, billions of years worth, and Earth, the dance of geology & biology unfolding one day at a time, and that it produced me, along with all other wonders.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">There is no Body-Mind Problem, it is in actuality an <a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" target="_blank">Ego-God Problem</a>.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">My body has taken better care of me, than I have of it.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Consciousness is the product of Earth's biology, of interacting and living, when we die consciousness ceases like a light bulb that’s lost its power. All that awaits us is the deep dark eternal sleep from which none awake, and it is good.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Yes, it is good, live your blessed moment while you have it to live, the universe doesn’t owe you anything.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Our after-life unfolds within the hearts and minds of others, and it is good.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We need each other to keep ourselves honest.</span></li>
</ul>
</ul><div><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(116, 27, 71);"><br /></span></span></div><p style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bringing it back to Earth Centrism</span></b></i></p><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-size: 16.799999237060547px;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div></div><p style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;">Recorded December 2019</p><p style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzUOUiqfVDOuyrHHAEfBmg1GquHmzU_0bAgXuJ_CSkc7d4prcvg6t1JZq464tlNKxDhlSKjkWdMRR3C-mZTJw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #274e13;"><span style="color: #212529; font-size: 16.799999237060547px;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></span></span></div></div><p style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;">Recorded ~April, 2019</p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-ce44c56f216b3c03-4620" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyYWqEmevvSKLoAcRXI4J4S6iX-EjbtVfEj7AJ-ZeJTwyWXpJMFQWM9cAbEn1t-16ymRFWgedgijPQxdmsxA5wXlkndzkD7NYw3IA-Eml8y6qVnPS5RysNkdkqf-Qxr9g5bzKA" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #274e13;"></span></span></div><div style="color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div><p style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;">Furthermore, for the record:</p><ul>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><a href="https://spot.colorado.edu/~heathwoo/Phil160,Fall02/thomson.htm"><b>A woman’s life</b></a><b> is more important than a fetus’s life.</b> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/abortion-rights-challenges-2021/2021/05/25/05090586-b983-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html">Period</a> !</li>
<li style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">A <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/05/06/americas-abortion-quandary/">fetus</a> is a <b>“human potentiality.” </b>Only after it <a href="https://www.ncjw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Judaism-and-Abortion-FINAL.pdf">takes its first gulps of air</a> does the little being take on the mantle of <b>personhood</b>.</li>
<li style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Infanticide and <a href="https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/news-item/whose-rights-are-the-most-right-the-dilemma-of-autonomy-in-a-society-on-abortion-women-and-human-life/">abortion</a> to protect the living <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12340403/">are as old as society</a>! <i style="font-size: 15px;"> (why it matters, see <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf">Dobbs</a> v <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/24/us/politics/supreme-court-dobbs-jackson-analysis-roe-wade.html">Jackson</a>)</i></li></ul></ul><p style="color: #be3010; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cUI7SyuZvVdLKoiGtEVM03zgoRlEjWwmFeIZkmWOzXkS4x4K5F-QvPQPhajqdoff7s2uc1MQotlDaw7gc3fahy7mRUpOmTzuKa1p_2BzIv1cm28KrCS3EiT-77AIaWFSvytuiGtCdmPNLHYdPwr7xDTPB28zcWQWgOil0EWig8oW8Wd04lE1m9QHSw/s1152/IMG_Clouds%20(wide%20body)%2021-09-05.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="1152" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cUI7SyuZvVdLKoiGtEVM03zgoRlEjWwmFeIZkmWOzXkS4x4K5F-QvPQPhajqdoff7s2uc1MQotlDaw7gc3fahy7mRUpOmTzuKa1p_2BzIv1cm28KrCS3EiT-77AIaWFSvytuiGtCdmPNLHYdPwr7xDTPB28zcWQWgOil0EWig8oW8Wd04lE1m9QHSw/w563-h70/IMG_Clouds%20(wide%20body)%2021-09-05.png" width="563" /></a></div><p style="color: #be3010; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/philosophical-perspective-earth-centrism.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “<b>Earth Centrism</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/reality-human-mindscape-divide-2-5.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" target="_blank">It’s not a “<b>Body-Mind problem</b>” it’s an “<b>Ego-God problem</b>”</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-distillation-of-my-journey-upon-lifes.html" target="_blank">A distillation of my journey upon life's stage, vintage 1955.</a></p></div><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-U36DeyINvwWvjB_K80MYVR-5vsAjHFuZ72M7XvXmXigHj3c5zFGt3966ufZlnB3vANUwWqU68bjkCQU-6WBY6nvdUuzwP9wmgRjdDaSx6LpvRQbvB7z71loMDFkpoxxDPoqAP-7Zr6CXWehXSFpUNcr3LDsj2zCoiHs89Te559UVGLGlx4Z9qX2jQ/s288/IMG_Selfie%20at%20home,%2022-04-11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="288" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-U36DeyINvwWvjB_K80MYVR-5vsAjHFuZ72M7XvXmXigHj3c5zFGt3966ufZlnB3vANUwWqU68bjkCQU-6WBY6nvdUuzwP9wmgRjdDaSx6LpvRQbvB7z71loMDFkpoxxDPoqAP-7Zr6CXWehXSFpUNcr3LDsj2zCoiHs89Te559UVGLGlx4Z9qX2jQ/w211-h172/IMG_Selfie%20at%20home,%2022-04-11.png" width="211" /></a></div><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Hate to turn it political but politics matter!</p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/diary-indivisible-webinar-networking.html" target="_blank">Still</a> looking to connect with people for whom these ideas resonate.</p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirojoLXk42qf8WyQm3_4_BXjRhVd7fppfnDvPz0kCvoAUTuf11YK3pBQQnCkK1m0osGp4VSyDHeoy8pYFjaVeBwehD3HQRgAm5AvrsjmCjw8yWYW2s8Khvnv9PtLrREixWjZwlCvu16Ehe4s6jpQgFJD1HcpGry9jJhgI4XzVPM_AHlFiHxwKt7DUteQ/s1094/IMG_We%20lose%20every%20election%20we%20don't%20participat%20in%20-%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1094" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirojoLXk42qf8WyQm3_4_BXjRhVd7fppfnDvPz0kCvoAUTuf11YK3pBQQnCkK1m0osGp4VSyDHeoy8pYFjaVeBwehD3HQRgAm5AvrsjmCjw8yWYW2s8Khvnv9PtLrREixWjZwlCvu16Ehe4s6jpQgFJD1HcpGry9jJhgI4XzVPM_AHlFiHxwKt7DUteQ/w211-h177/IMG_We%20lose%20every%20election%20we%20don't%20participat%20in%20-%20.png" width="211" /></a></div><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">If we aren't changing minds we are losing.</p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANV-1xSQh-8lTEYhZEtV93Ar8fzH4v8OgNtD_OCSZpgQlxHSxvtPrXREUQxAQ7P7v7KYuXv1Ho1Mpm_Fg6SuG0N1GvKP72TuwL6NA1FqvveQNSgIOCUpWDscz9OXZ3ZvLyNHlGobPz1AgNsTOoCSLlU1nsNS_1uLNnI6N2wpNHyoFhjop9RnMbD1BA/s684/My%20brand.png" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="©1975, Peter Miesler" border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="684" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANV-1xSQh-8lTEYhZEtV93Ar8fzH4v8OgNtD_OCSZpgQlxHSxvtPrXREUQxAQ7P7v7KYuXv1Ho1Mpm_Fg6SuG0N1GvKP72TuwL6NA1FqvveQNSgIOCUpWDscz9OXZ3ZvLyNHlGobPz1AgNsTOoCSLlU1nsNS_1uLNnI6N2wpNHyoFhjop9RnMbD1BA/w250-h80/My%20brand.png" style="border: none; position: relative;" title="Can call it, my brand." width="250" /></a></p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="color: #85140f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><i>citizenschallenge at gmail</i></p><div><br /></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-37126044484017256442022-06-26T19:10:00.015-06:002022-06-28T07:35:54.568-06:00It’s not a “Body-Mind problem” it’s an “Ego-God issue.” (4-5)<p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzpOJLe53dZhV8XAj4iRDZ_27ficR2Bbsn0V3sR2VSi_sE8UuIwdkKP6YWGiIYNXuJHYP_2MlOfqjkazij5CvchfWR5t1R7puwCml8IM0RoMzl7FKY3X_ju1HCEsrkWTlyXVcCHUNq1g6y5WbHPlPMGJ7mHJspeF70H1FnmiucgB5dQYdqxZP-8aAtQ/s864/IMG_glowering%20skies.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="864" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzpOJLe53dZhV8XAj4iRDZ_27ficR2Bbsn0V3sR2VSi_sE8UuIwdkKP6YWGiIYNXuJHYP_2MlOfqjkazij5CvchfWR5t1R7puwCml8IM0RoMzl7FKY3X_ju1HCEsrkWTlyXVcCHUNq1g6y5WbHPlPMGJ7mHJspeF70H1FnmiucgB5dQYdqxZP-8aAtQ/w575-h108/IMG_glowering%20skies.png" title="promise of rain" width="575" /></a></div><br /> <b style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: times;">Who is “God,” but a creation of our unique complex human minds dealing with our day to days? </span></b><p></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: times;">Think about it, because that really is the most fundamental answer to <i>The Grand Questions of God. </i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: times;">The who, what, where, why, how of God that people have been grappling with since forever. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: times;">It’s such a profoundly simple answer, yet people avoid it with an amazing alacrity and endless dog-chasing-tail rhetorical gymnastics that never arrive at any conclusion(s).</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGz5TEMeg12fdJMWTvtCIcGOPRyrpSZlhowkcNg-hkBlizC75wEcudrIEtD0I8rhkTCUUqEbRgHktokz55VSJC8jkRaD3Zmd5Kzoj7nEXtcYzJUq_n8cI1FF1k3awMMxdXu9emzi79Fxt1iDmYHR6oBcoNIuExmvui9fjgL_vKGVS04piBzEfBCGeaA/s689/IMG_flower.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="576" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGz5TEMeg12fdJMWTvtCIcGOPRyrpSZlhowkcNg-hkBlizC75wEcudrIEtD0I8rhkTCUUqEbRgHktokz55VSJC8jkRaD3Zmd5Kzoj7nEXtcYzJUq_n8cI1FF1k3awMMxdXu9emzi79Fxt1iDmYHR6oBcoNIuExmvui9fjgL_vKGVS04piBzEfBCGeaA/w204-h244/IMG_flower.png" title="flower" width="204" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; min-height: 13px; text-indent: -18px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px; text-decoration: underline;"><b></b></span><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">It’s not a “<b>Body-Mind problem</b>” it’s an “<b>Ego-God issue</b>.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #38761d; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">Perhaps the most interesting lesson I’ve learned from <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/case-for-reality.html" target="_blank">my Hoffman adventure</a> is that as</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> I’ve followed the philosophical roots of “</span><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dualism/" style="color: #38761d;" target="_blank">dualism</a><span style="color: #38761d;">” back through </span><a href="https://iep.utm.edu/rene-descartes/" style="color: #38761d;" target="_blank">Descartes</a><span style="color: #38761d;"> (1600s) and on past </span><a href="https://www.anselm.edu/about/history-mission/who-was-saint-anselm" style="color: #38761d;" target="_blank">Anselm</a><span style="color: #38761d;"> (1000s), one thing has become clear is that the entire philosophical edifice of this Mind-Body “Problem” was formed out of religious god fearing thinking, </span><i><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">(<a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/appreciating-the-physical-reality-human-mindscape-divide/9533/30" target="_blank">What I've come to call the Abrahamic Mindset</a> that gave us the three major religions - to be explained in more detail in a later post.)</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;">, with their self-serving patriarchal mentality, heaven and hell, male domination, female subserviency, along with branding Dualism’s hard boundaries and its need for a sense of certitude into our minds and onto our expectations.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;">A need for certainty that allows for assumption to be paraded as facts, rather than being satisfied with acknowledging our limits and that today's </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.20000000298023224px;">mysteries can be resolved as future evidence comes to light. </span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">This Abrahamic worldview perceives people as isolated objects, not only from this planet, but each other, even from ourselves. The other creatures we live with and the landscapes we exist within, are treated with contempt and wanton disregard.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 9px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Regarding the “Mind-Body Problem,” </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 9px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmuYrnOVmfk">Dr. Solms</a> makes a wonderful analogy that highlights the error being made:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 63px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -27px;"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Question: Was it the lightning or thunder that killed the golfer?</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 63px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -27px;"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">It’s a meaningless question.</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 63px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -27px;"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Lightning and thunder are simply different aspects of the same phenomena.</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Our <a href="https://icpla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Solms-M.-2000.-Preliminaries-for-an-Integration-of-Psychoanalysis-and-Neuroscience.-Ann.-Psychoanal-28-179-200..pdf">Mind</a> and consciousness is the interior reflection of our living body/brain (<i>both its interior happenings and external interaction with the environment</i>). We simply cannot have one without the other.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl10tC7h_Pt8JRWJPT_zvXIx6x7224-A2BIGyxpW6Uum_1VmAUiKfrPwE2kSMx2DAGNzLU33hTIYsW4hxel8nnmawlbxGg99LQOfM5AbNJAxc1lyK-WKprBtJHkRjqG7XnI9sljlPHtRneO91YnlDXnSz0pSIA5ajjwQAsvMSv2QSUWMmPMb8DpB9RGg/s556/IMG_Li'l%20B%20getting%20ready%20to%20go%20out.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl10tC7h_Pt8JRWJPT_zvXIx6x7224-A2BIGyxpW6Uum_1VmAUiKfrPwE2kSMx2DAGNzLU33hTIYsW4hxel8nnmawlbxGg99LQOfM5AbNJAxc1lyK-WKprBtJHkRjqG7XnI9sljlPHtRneO91YnlDXnSz0pSIA5ajjwQAsvMSv2QSUWMmPMb8DpB9RGg/w249-h320/IMG_Li'l%20B%20getting%20ready%20to%20go%20out.png" title="Li'l B getting ready for an adventure" width="249" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"><b>We are embedded within an interconnected web of life. We are creatures who are the direct products of Earth’s Pageant of Evolution.</b></span><span style="font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: -0.4px; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"><b>Why isn’t that reflected in modern philosophical discourse? <span></span></b></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Appreciating the divide between our thoughts and physical reality we live in. </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Learning to appreciate the Deep-Time happenings during Earth's Evolution puts an entirely different richer light upon our interior experience. An awareness that encompasses the whole of time, and this planet that created us, and the pageant of creatures that preceded us.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">It gives us a deeper (solid) appreciation for our relationship not just with Earth but also the continuity of life on a grand scale. Life is good, life is precious, but death is no enemy, painful though it may be. Death is part of the cycle that brings forth new life. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Revel in the pageant you are blessed enough to be witnessing while you can! </span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; min-height: 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">As for God? </span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Who is “God,” but a creation of our unique complex human minds dealing with our day to days? </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 11px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><b></b><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mfml4La3gb_J-CrzQ1eVzBZfP0vsHViROdzpa-bWaTWoA7KveTgK2XoT6Nfs95I4hahzNQN7WxsPbYeQBz4T7kEY5Zg8qtJ-nq71dxI-Suc12kim5bunysZ0cVwULNvjOWQj10O2tnvhOtGoeYeMK6zGpDG2zX__2fLkS6kTwAri8OJKiwd04VDo2Q/s864/IMG_Old%20juniper%20stump.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="864" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mfml4La3gb_J-CrzQ1eVzBZfP0vsHViROdzpa-bWaTWoA7KveTgK2XoT6Nfs95I4hahzNQN7WxsPbYeQBz4T7kEY5Zg8qtJ-nq71dxI-Suc12kim5bunysZ0cVwULNvjOWQj10O2tnvhOtGoeYeMK6zGpDG2zX__2fLkS6kTwAri8OJKiwd04VDo2Q/w233-h225/IMG_Old%20juniper%20stump.png" title="An old juniper stump I like" width="233" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><b>Where did God come from?</b> <span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">From within the human mind, from curiosity and wonder. From puzzling over observations, contemplating questions, seeking answers. From love and hunger and fears in the night along with glorying in the warming sunrise. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">From contemplating the suddenly dead carcass of a loved one From buried memories of being coddled within mom’s loving protective bosom and mourning those who are gone. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">From our need for someone truly personal, who’s always there, never dying, ready to listen to our constant chatter, ideas, complaints, fears, longings, wishes, all of it in complete confidence.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Think about it, our relationship with our God is the most intimate relationship of our lives and reflects our ego in every way. All of it, happening within our mind, or more descriptively, within our Mindscape. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvUl72eIp9d3j1W5bgrdV8vbqGO1hbtEVjwEmVE8a-42i5G36TNRu4sgjxVUcOsK5o0J3Ad62MALM70LNdI3YZlMQP-cjeBOAIBMV65peQuRq0OBvATu9pgWDH-IvdgXFMwNHlU-IHi75F2z3vvQhXB-WmblPY4nUcV52b9SZcjb6rr1hfwk9mSfi8w/s1159/IMG_rock-Green%20River,%20triple%20layer%20+.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="1152" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvUl72eIp9d3j1W5bgrdV8vbqGO1hbtEVjwEmVE8a-42i5G36TNRu4sgjxVUcOsK5o0J3Ad62MALM70LNdI3YZlMQP-cjeBOAIBMV65peQuRq0OBvATu9pgWDH-IvdgXFMwNHlU-IHi75F2z3vvQhXB-WmblPY4nUcV52b9SZcjb6rr1hfwk9mSfi8w/w244-h246/IMG_rock-Green%20River,%20triple%20layer%20+.png" title="Green River geologic layer cake" width="244" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18px;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">W</span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">hat about the Biblical ‘<i>Passion of Jesus'</i> and the promise of everlasting Salvation?</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Look around your world and history, nothing is everlasting. Why should it be, time is change, why wish for the impossible? Besides bet you’d find it an unspeakable horror were you ever trapped within a “forever” that actually never ends. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">There is only the heaven and hell we create for ourselves, or that people inflict upon others.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">We don’t need a key to life after life, the sacred secret is that Jesus is an amalgam of the best the human spirit has to offer. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">That's why his story touches so many. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Jesus can be seen as saint, a spiritual guide within our mindscapes and a teacher who can help many through our own personal trials & tribulations right here on Earth. Though he's certainly not the only way, there are as many ways to "god" as there are people. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Jesus isn't my way, but I understand him and appreciate him and the example his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmI-irBrqUo&list=PLbxJoHrGL7mNQh-GWe5OF3_JOvvQonY-A" target="_blank">Passion Play</a> did offer some guidance during my own trials and tribulations. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">The spiritual challenge is about facing our own failings and sins and achieving a willingness to accept blame where blame is due, to burn on the cross of our own making while seeking redemption. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Going through those trials and tribulations with honesty in your heart - then one awakens with a reborn awareness that guides one to a healthier more constructive outlook within oneself and with life in general.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"><b>Humans are the product of our Earth - God is the product of our human mind. </b></span><span style="font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: -0.4px; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><b>That’s why our conceptions of God always wind up being driven by our own Egos, not by any outside force. </b>Nothing wrong with that, if only we could bring ourselves to explicitly recognize as much.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">For some people these realities are jarring and resented, but that doesn’t make it any less the reality humans exist within. For others, if these ideas resonate, take comfort, stay true to your heart and your gut instinct. Do your homework, you’ll get there.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-1xEQIQb0oZvDplYiP6h5qbXYXsQVG63B5FxYlr0qe05auzFDUjaBbZPsXgCOFcExoSKBgtH80BImdoPC04LABdsP8MRoInlVhI9X3n0vpFQGrISdCfPcENZ-m7DIQHybj6fzJHZPzMokv_Tjs0KdOHJoxYtAsQwNDYYS2XvVUS-S5wgcGJPv8AZyA/s1296/IMG_River%20walk.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1296" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-1xEQIQb0oZvDplYiP6h5qbXYXsQVG63B5FxYlr0qe05auzFDUjaBbZPsXgCOFcExoSKBgtH80BImdoPC04LABdsP8MRoInlVhI9X3n0vpFQGrISdCfPcENZ-m7DIQHybj6fzJHZPzMokv_Tjs0KdOHJoxYtAsQwNDYYS2XvVUS-S5wgcGJPv8AZyA/w320-h211/IMG_River%20walk.png" title="river walk" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/philosophical-perspective-earth-centrism.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “<b>Earth Centrism</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/reality-human-mindscape-divide-2-5.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" target="_blank">It’s not a “<b>Body-Mind problem</b>” it’s an “<b>Ego-God problem</b>”</a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-distillation-of-my-journey-upon-lifes.html" target="_blank">A distillation of my journey upon life's stage, vintage 1955.</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><br /></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANV-1xSQh-8lTEYhZEtV93Ar8fzH4v8OgNtD_OCSZpgQlxHSxvtPrXREUQxAQ7P7v7KYuXv1Ho1Mpm_Fg6SuG0N1GvKP72TuwL6NA1FqvveQNSgIOCUpWDscz9OXZ3ZvLyNHlGobPz1AgNsTOoCSLlU1nsNS_1uLNnI6N2wpNHyoFhjop9RnMbD1BA/s684/My%20brand.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©1975, Peter Miesler" border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="684" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANV-1xSQh-8lTEYhZEtV93Ar8fzH4v8OgNtD_OCSZpgQlxHSxvtPrXREUQxAQ7P7v7KYuXv1Ho1Mpm_Fg6SuG0N1GvKP72TuwL6NA1FqvveQNSgIOCUpWDscz9OXZ3ZvLyNHlGobPz1AgNsTOoCSLlU1nsNS_1uLNnI6N2wpNHyoFhjop9RnMbD1BA/w250-h80/My%20brand.png" title="Can call it, my brand." width="250" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b170a; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 10px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-8383219795996780502022-06-18T15:46:00.007-06:002022-06-28T06:59:47.501-06:00Being an element in Earth’s Pageant of Evolution (3/5)<p><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica;">It took me over sixty years to recognize my </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/physical-reality-human-mindscape-divide.html" target="_blank">Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</a></i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> perspective which in hindsight seems rather self-evident, <span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38);">after all the "mind-body problem" has been the</span> </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">source of endless </span><a href="https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/discovery-mind-body-problem/" style="font-family: Helvetica;" target="_blank">philosophical speculation</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> for millennia, I've thought about it since I was a kid, I thought most kids do.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I have been fortunate to have one active critic <i>Write</i> over at </span><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/appreciating-the-physical-reality-human-mindscape-divide/9533" style="font-family: Helvetica;" target="_blank">CenterForInquiryForum</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">, but he's also frustrating in that too often his bias create assumptions and claims that are straw men, perhaps well meaning, but still too often avoiding what I'm actually trying to enunciate. </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I hope this short bio-sketch that describes the trajectory that brought me to <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/case-for-reality.html" target="_blank">these writings</a> will offer an introduction to help orient readers before embarking on my road less traveled. <i>(visit <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/appreciating-the-physical-reality-human-mindscape-divide/9533" target="_blank">CFI Forum</a> if you want to share your ideas, critique.)</i></span></span></p></blockquote><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtIpn6eM2F9Gd9JQ7oPJSOzSPituzmMLkrkcRfFR4srkv-1wG5uwOGIrokNdh8IWYSsS-HtjD3AAaEwwShQtgA1UqOi-oaMBTKsyEezfX2uSym7uUWJ5F8tgzZ0mgZg0t1zSdGunuCcUACdY229K03FMNebnvszo-eDtGRdlJIOFb3OQzFvFIjdrQ2w/s1440/IMG_Maddy%20on%20old%20road.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="1440" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtIpn6eM2F9Gd9JQ7oPJSOzSPituzmMLkrkcRfFR4srkv-1wG5uwOGIrokNdh8IWYSsS-HtjD3AAaEwwShQtgA1UqOi-oaMBTKsyEezfX2uSym7uUWJ5F8tgzZ0mgZg0t1zSdGunuCcUACdY229K03FMNebnvszo-eDtGRdlJIOFb3OQzFvFIjdrQ2w/w417-h181/IMG_Maddy%20on%20old%20road.png" title="Walking down a country Lane with Maddy" width="417" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px; text-decoration: underline;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px; text-decoration: underline;"><b><br /></b></span></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 18px; text-align: justify;">Although I’m a family man, with my share of friends, along with being community-minded, there’s a part of me that rarely fully connects, leaving me with an impression of being on the outside looking in and trying to make sense of the self-destructive impulses that are driving us towards disastrous outcomes.</p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 18px; text-align: justify;">Over the decades I’ve spent a fair amount of time trying to understand what makes my fundamental outlook and instincts so foreign to the general mindset. It’s only recently, with the hindsight of six decades, and coming off of this “<span style="color: #4e0202; text-decoration: underline;">Hoffman Playing Basketball in Zero-gravity project</span>” with all it’s side trips and then discovering the light at the end of the tunnel with <span style="color: #0000e9; text-decoration: underline;">Dr. Mark Solms</span> enunciating the outlines of <span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">Neuropsychoanalysis</span> and a rational approach to understanding our minds unfolding within our bodies.</p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;">A body of work which convincingly demystifies Chalmers’ “Hard Problem” (<i>and all the distracting intellectual mischief that’s given rise to</i>) and points the way to a biological understanding of consciousness. <b>Neuropsychology and neuropsychoanalysis brings us face to face with the reality that our consciousness is basically the inside reflection of our body/brain interacting with its environment. </b>Think of it, consciousness as ‘interaction’ not a ‘thing.’</span></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 18px; text-align: justify;">Now there’s something worth chewing on if you’re looking for intellectual or spiritual challenge.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 18px; text-align: justify;">Back to my struggle to make sense out of myself. A year ago I was able to enunciate the thing I believe makes me different. Basically, I possess <b>a visceral awareness of, and appreciation for, being an element in Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b>. </p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 40.5px; text-align: justify;">That left me wondering about what it was that opened up such a potential for me? Why did all those religious mindsets feel so foreign, if not plain wrong, to me?</p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 3px 40.5px; text-align: justify;">Recently I finally nailed that one too. It goes back to my early childhood, even before starting kindergarten at John J. Audubon Elementary school in Chicago. I’d been playing in the pool of warming sunlight streaming through the window onto our living room carpet, the light was making the floating dust specks look like stars. I remember focusing on their movements, then watching ‘em whooshing after my mom, when she passed on by. I was already fascinated by the night sky full of sparkling lights and these dust motes transported me into a space filled with stars and distant galaxies. </p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;">Then I hear myself asking my mom: <b>“What is God?"</b></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;">I like to think it took her a few beats, then she answered: <b>“A speck of dust that wanted to be more.”</b></span></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;">I must have been primed because it blew me away, literally permeated my entire being. After the initial shock wore off, it didn’t provide any sort of answers, it was more like a suggestion, a question, even a challenge to do better.<b> God as a speck that simply wanted to be more. </b>It was beautiful, awesome, and this little boy carried that conception right into school and it has remained with me for the rest of my life. Like a mantra echoing in the distance. It’s taken over 60 years for that echo to fully blossom and for me to appreciate, not just how, but the why that set me on my singular path.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><b>I believe what happened was that the notion of ‘<i>a tiny speck of dust wanting to be more’</i> wound up filling in and satisfying my "God" niche’ - that thing that, I believe, resides within all humans and that parents, caregivers, society fills in with their gods as a child grows into an adult.</b></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><b>In a couple years when the self-serving Abraham inspired God was presented to me, there was no place for it to grab hold of in my brain or heart, I was free of its shackles and free to make my own sense of the world.</b></span></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;">This sense of self and spiritual connectivity with Earth emerged out of a little tree-hugging and a lifetime of curiosity, learning about myself, Earth, deep-time’s amazing evolutionary story, the development of life and creatures, our biosphere and ourselves. </p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: justify;">Especially realizing how the components of my own physical body had their origins eons ago. Not an intellectual knowing, but literally up close and bloody personal. Viscerally learning first hand how, for the most part, mammals have the same skeleton and organs I do, of course in different proportions. Just the same, it’s a profound realization that illuminated the deep kinship between my own body and other creatures. </p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: justify;">Or taking it even further back in time and realizing how Earth herself had to go through intense processing before promising molecular building blocks and biological solutions to life’s challenges would have the material resources at hand, within appropriate environments, to allow them to be <i>put to the test</i> and prosper.</p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #060606; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: justify;">It’s a long, amazingly complex story that keeps evolving as more evidence gets collected and processed into shared scientific knowledge. Folds within folds of cumulative harmonic complexity flowing down the cascade of time.</p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #050505; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><b>In the end, the thought of being an intelligent self-aware element of creation, one who is capable of </b><span style="color: #0000e9; text-decoration: underline;"><b>savoring the pageant of Earth’s amazing Evolution</b></span><b> is more than comforting. </b></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #050505; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><b>It provides me an unparalleled spiritual foundation and solidity in the face of challenges, inevitable failings and my coming death. </b>Not that I'm above any of it, I still live the dramas and struggles of being me, but I understand the music and it doesn't scare me anymore. The mindset of the kayaker striving to find the best line through the successive cascades of my life and being rewarded with a transcendent depth of experience, peace and security no Holy Book, or fast-talking pick-pocket preachers can get close to offering. <b> </b></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #050505; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 40.5px; text-align: justify;"><b>It's good news worth passing around to those who are honestly curious about understanding themselves within the context of Earth’s Evolution and the realities of scientific knowledge.</b></p>
<p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); color: #050505; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; min-height: 10px; text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7zcykBaAaoI5DBOx23YDA9PDTGOVviI6Mz1sAKgFlbgP1i0kSacFyM28DH8pi3cj-U8OB88LE8Dy7s_N3WMDN2QsOVagW_SU4BFzw4hkxJBWNQtTerWdpY0IXqHiu0t5Oos66kxz35giNSaKEbBIFfE6Bh05zZ-eFQI3QjC9XD-dHkW9QBTcl9Ne9Q/s1440/IMG_Maddy%20at%20river%20June%2017,%202022.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1440" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7zcykBaAaoI5DBOx23YDA9PDTGOVviI6Mz1sAKgFlbgP1i0kSacFyM28DH8pi3cj-U8OB88LE8Dy7s_N3WMDN2QsOVagW_SU4BFzw4hkxJBWNQtTerWdpY0IXqHiu0t5Oos66kxz35giNSaKEbBIFfE6Bh05zZ-eFQI3QjC9XD-dHkW9QBTcl9Ne9Q/w493-h134/IMG_Maddy%20at%20river%20June%2017,%202022.png" title="Down by the river, clean up river walk." width="493" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/philosophical-perspective-earth-centrism.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “<b>Earth Centrism</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/reality-human-mindscape-divide-2-5.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">It’s not a “<b>Body-Mind problem</b>” it’s an “<b>Ego-God problem</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><u><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-distillation-of-my-journey-upon-lifes.html" target="_blank">A distillation of my journey upon life's stage, vintage 1955.</a></u></p></div><p></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-78889039897896272492022-06-08T22:54:00.015-06:002022-09-19T16:04:51.135-06:00Appreciating the Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide (2/5)<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px; min-height: 15px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Our relationship between our selves and the knowledge we acquire is rarely examined." </span></i></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px; min-height: 15px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQScui9ZSpa7T0TWWNwGwz8v89ir2SCT_kDqws6XAk5BdOG83bLPzKi6Y6MGuFylfGrq91u4i9cBGk2d1WHpjdmdrFkT_R4M5HUih0_cUEnKqZjXnGQ3_qMW8CKcA6rLlo1BKpsBvw3aVFqxqHi3krkMUvtIDDvVOMpYr4dd5F4Fz9nO3X1NsDORS3yA/s786/IMG_(2:5)HMPRd%20post-%235,%20my%20shadow.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQScui9ZSpa7T0TWWNwGwz8v89ir2SCT_kDqws6XAk5BdOG83bLPzKi6Y6MGuFylfGrq91u4i9cBGk2d1WHpjdmdrFkT_R4M5HUih0_cUEnKqZjXnGQ3_qMW8CKcA6rLlo1BKpsBvw3aVFqxqHi3krkMUvtIDDvVOMpYr4dd5F4Fz9nO3X1NsDORS3yA/s320/IMG_(2:5)HMPRd%20post-%235,%20my%20shadow.png" title="Shadow Play" width="229" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Who am I?” </span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Children and the learned have been fascinated by that question and the mystery of our sense of “self" since forever. </span></i></div><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/david-chalmers-thinks-the-hard-problem-is-really-hard/" target="_blank"><i>David Chalmers</i></a></span><i> formalized some of that wonder with his </i><a href="https://iep.utm.edu/hard-problem-of-conciousness/" target="_blank"><i>Hard Problem of Consciousness</i></a><i> back around 1995 and philosophers </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=david+chalmers+hard+problem+of+consciousness" target="_blank"><i>have been having a field day</i></a><i> with the notion ever since.* </i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px;">The glaring problem with their conceptions and the endless philosophizing is that they </i><span style="color: #0d6002;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 96, 2); font-size: 12px;"><i>rarely</i></span></span><i style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px;"> truly incorporate the ramifications of Evolution beyond lip service. </i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px;"><i>Seems to me as a society our biggest problem is that most are still trapped within the Abrahamic mindset of absolute self-absorption.</i></b><i style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px;"> A bubble where our own thoughts, perceptions and expectations totally </i><span style="color: #0d6002;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 96, 2); font-size: 12px;"><i>engulf</i></span></span><i style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px;"> our thinking and leaves no space for explicitly recognizing the physical realities beyond our own immediate desires and thoughts - that unrecognized attitude permeates and shackles our understanding of the world around us</i><i style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px;">.</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px;"><b><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">For all the lectures on the topic, I rarely hear any examination of the relationship between our selves and the knowledge we acquire. </span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s a big problem because it blinds us to Earth's realities and the needs of others, such as this life sustaining biosphere we’re currently destroying as fast as we can.</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">No grand revelation, a simple observation. </span></i></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiieKoQR2T5Obxrd9QbuULsDT1iLzARON-lzCIB8mRzAQ4O5yXyBX4BUWVSHg9jZzNK0rZfaiibDpMv375G5GtdPe7cWcoO_fkh5_GiWriyVKq7BPsWK101f-3CmRu1083tbKZfcIw95Z9KD4trTlYC74bkEnPAOmOJDgnzG3EMbSaEhUBY6SQAlT_g/s1348/img-casting%20a%20long%20shadow,%20sans%20background.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©citizenschallenge 2022" border="0" data-original-height="1348" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiieKoQR2T5Obxrd9QbuULsDT1iLzARON-lzCIB8mRzAQ4O5yXyBX4BUWVSHg9jZzNK0rZfaiibDpMv375G5GtdPe7cWcoO_fkh5_GiWriyVKq7BPsWK101f-3CmRu1083tbKZfcIw95Z9KD4trTlYC74bkEnPAOmOJDgnzG3EMbSaEhUBY6SQAlT_g/s320/img-casting%20a%20long%20shadow,%20sans%20background.png" title="a long shadow" width="131" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="color: #0d6002; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">{* </i><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/other-side-of-marksolms-phd.html" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" target="_blank"><i>Dr. Mark Solms</i></a><i style="color: #0d6002; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> has done an excellent job of </i><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/solms-demystifies-hard-problem-of.html" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" target="_blank"><i>demystifying those notions</i></a><i style="color: #0d6002; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="color: #0d6002; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">and bringing the source of consciousness back </i><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/03/mark-solms-students-resource.html" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" target="_blank"><i>into the realm of biology</i></a><i style="color: #0d6002; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> and real science.}</i></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><i>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzbytnlZkS_6VfhChxg6MGlSV3aItYu8Fm6_aw3b3gNVN85RPBMLpqWvknOAtMi5uMjUmbljna_W0VCGJOXwzHzUFEo4pqITT94wU1FZykM64wlCD7XDZQb86cvhvxcBLjMETmu4P2Nj697VQAbwTG6wMj8rnuAUCu9fiR5LBfXwClp0i7k6uh8VBfA/s890/IMG_(2:5)HMPRd%20post-%232%20my%20kinetic%20art%5Esnow.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="890" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzbytnlZkS_6VfhChxg6MGlSV3aItYu8Fm6_aw3b3gNVN85RPBMLpqWvknOAtMi5uMjUmbljna_W0VCGJOXwzHzUFEo4pqITT94wU1FZykM64wlCD7XDZQb86cvhvxcBLjMETmu4P2Nj697VQAbwTG6wMj8rnuAUCu9fiR5LBfXwClp0i7k6uh8VBfA/w502-h114/IMG_(2:5)HMPRd%20post-%232%20my%20kinetic%20art%5Esnow.png" width="502" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px; text-decoration: underline;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">I can’t figure out, why it isn’t self-evident to folks that consciousness and mind can’t be understood by studying modern people in these modern times? Consciousness requires an evolutionary perspective of the natural, biological forces at work. First <span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;">producing simple creatures that eventually evolved into aware complex creatures, with branches that eventually evolved into Homo during the last minute+ of Evolution’s 24 hours of Creation, only then into Homo sapiens, a mere 3, 4 seconds ago. <span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">How does one ponder the human brain and mind without wondering about all the time before Homo? We evolved out of the mammalian class of animals. Think about it, the breast-feeding body plan with a lifestyle built around nurturing their young, developing families and even communities. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b>Physical Reality</b> is the physical world of atoms, molecules, universal laws of physics, biology and Earth’s laws of nature. It is Earth’s dance between geology and biology and time and Earth's evolving creatures. <i>For this discussion, one in particular, one that learned to contemplate the universe along with its own short life.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b>Human Mindscape</b> is all that goes on inside of our minds. The landscape of our thoughts and desires and impulses and those various voices and personalities who inhabit our thoughts and <i>Being</i>. The ineffable ideas that our hands can turn into physical reality that changes our planet. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">The <i>me, myself and I</i>, and all that unfolds within the thoughts just beyond the biological sparks and chemical cascades unfolding within our physical bodies and brains as they navigate their environments.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">The evolutionary biologist and historian of science Stephen J. Gould wrote an essay in <a href="http://www.blc.arizona.edu/courses/schaffer/449/Gould%20Nonoverlapping%20Magisteria.htm" target="_blank">1997, “Non-overlapping Magisteria”</a> in an attempt to address the tension between scientific truths and religious truths.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">His solution was the notion of “Non-overlapping Magisteria” which delineated two teaching “authorities” (magisterium), the “magisteria of science” and the “magisteria of religion.” It wasn’t his original idea, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-overlapping_magisteria" target="_blank">rather a continuation</a> of a centuries old dialogue between scientists and the Catholic Church that I won’t get into.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">In any event, Gould concluded there should be no conflict because each realm had its own domain of “teaching authority.” Since these “magisteria” do not overlap, they cannot contradict each other and should be able to exist in mutual respect.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">When it first came out, I loved the idea because of my own struggling intellectual spiritual journey which was embedded within gathering and learning from sober scientific knowledge about this Earth and her story, while dealing with the spiritual aspect of ‘touching Earth’ and having experienced ‘God’s breath’ against my back so to speak.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">Gould’s idea was interesting and it gained a lot of attention and lively discussion, but in the end seems to have offered little to either side. For myself, the criticisms made sense and my enthusiasm faded away. Still, the conflict kept echoing like an unresolved challenge as I increasingly engaged faith-shackled contrarians towards climate science and Evolution, then it was reinvigorated by my recent adventures through Prof. Hoffman’s imagination.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;">I’ve kept learning more about Earth’s amazing evolution and geophysics and also <b>the scientific process itself</b>. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b>A process that’s basically a set of rules for gathering and assessing our observations in an honest, open and disciplined manner, that all who understand science can participate in and trust because it is a community of skeptical experts who are always looking over each other’s shoulders. <u>It’s also predicated on the notion that fidelity to honesty and truth matters.</u></b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;">Too many celebrity talkers have become so infatuated with the wonderful ideas their genius creates, that they lose sight of the actually physical reality they are trying to render. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b>Science</b> seeks to objectively learn about our physical world, but we ought to still recognize all our understanding is embedded within and constrained by our mindscape and the bubble our personal ego creates. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><b>Religion</b> is all about the human mindscape itself, with its wonderful struggles, fears, spiritual undercurrents, needs and stories we create to give our live’s meaning and make it worth living, or at least bearable.</span> </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: justify;"><b>What’s the point? </b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;">Religions, science, same as political beliefs, heaven, hell, mathematics, art, music, even God, they are all products of the human mindscape, generations of imaginings built upon previous generations of imaginings, all the way down.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;">That's not to say they are the same thing, they are not! Though I think they're both valid human endeavors, still fundamentally, qualitatively different.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><b>Religion</b> deals with the inside of our minds, hearts and souls, <b>Science</b> does its best to objectively understand the physical world beyond all that, doing its best to eliminate ego and bias from of its deliberations.</span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 9px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXG_LjkG-Ei57adZs9a9LzytYOUhMcC1-3qRjo7ONnc9zLqbw5z9oTbrCUstme8pSYT4RUJyS_YCFOc2wX8-cFwD2xpU17vQnZfsr0jxWPWNrPhpHHO545MgJzyaOQrILViG9c8vGh0BP3go9W1QjeUcyV2ECtFjXXoYh4rnseQlQRMDULsNpaDKZINQ/s864/IMG_(2:5)HMPRd%20post-%231,%20snow%20trail.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="864" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXG_LjkG-Ei57adZs9a9LzytYOUhMcC1-3qRjo7ONnc9zLqbw5z9oTbrCUstme8pSYT4RUJyS_YCFOc2wX8-cFwD2xpU17vQnZfsr0jxWPWNrPhpHHO545MgJzyaOQrILViG9c8vGh0BP3go9W1QjeUcyV2ECtFjXXoYh4rnseQlQRMDULsNpaDKZINQ/w466-h124/IMG_(2:5)HMPRd%20post-%231,%20snow%20trail.png" width="466" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/philosophical-perspective-earth-centrism.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “<b>Earth Centrism</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/reality-human-mindscape-divide-2-5.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">It’s not a “<b>Body-Mind problem</b>” it’s an “<b>Ego-God problem</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-indent: -18px;"><u><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-distillation-of-my-journey-upon-lifes.html" target="_blank">A distillation of my journey upon life's stage, vintage 1955.</a></u></p></div><p></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-56004549456668655782022-06-05T10:47:00.014-06:002022-09-19T15:53:12.560-06:00An Alternative Philosophical Perspective: “Earth Centrism” (1/5)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-dyJhgIxaSnjYYb_x74k-eyTPPicYY-ted6I9aupP4U6UEPggZO--IpulIVBm5SHcIH2eFDkH3WqLRnAZqaZwiF0VzghsQ_cgUYE85-Sz6ocEOe-M_S7BWqvMOLK1CGo455kTRN_x9syRpzgzqTRcWeKn8RV0v_xOi8BmIaAyxHAFYhZv1Vr-_XVrw/s1296/Maddy%20on%20lane,%20springtime.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="1296" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-dyJhgIxaSnjYYb_x74k-eyTPPicYY-ted6I9aupP4U6UEPggZO--IpulIVBm5SHcIH2eFDkH3WqLRnAZqaZwiF0VzghsQ_cgUYE85-Sz6ocEOe-M_S7BWqvMOLK1CGo455kTRN_x9syRpzgzqTRcWeKn8RV0v_xOi8BmIaAyxHAFYhZv1Vr-_XVrw/w428-h116/Maddy%20on%20lane,%20springtime.png" title="country lane" width="428" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 18px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><i>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</i></span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - Earth Centrism.</b></span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; text-align: center;">What is “Earth Centrism”?</p><p style="color: #1e3f10; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; min-height: 17px;"> </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">The Earth Centrist’s perspective acknowledges Earth, her material constituents and physical processes, unfolding one day at a time, as our fundamental touchstone with reality. <span style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>We acknowledge Earth and glory in understanding her pageant of Evolution and appreciating how that pageant is reflected within our own body and mind. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">We celebrate the physical fact that humans were created out of Earth's evolving biosphere. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">Science shows us that we belong to the nurturing mammalian branch of one of Earth’s amazing animal kingdoms. Yet, it’s undeniable that something quite unique happened around six million years ago when certain apes took a wild improbable evolutionary turn.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">By and by, besides the marvel of our two hands, we developed two feet and legs, that could stand tall and run for hours, combined with keen eyes and a growing brain that learned rapidly and remembered. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">During this period our brain physically morphed in some significant ways that enabled it to host a profound leap in cognitive information processing, storage and retrieval ability. On the outside hominids learned to make tools, hunt, fish, and select plants, plus they mastered fire for cooking and better living.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">On the inside our brains were growing and benefiting from the new super nourishment while human curiosity and adventures started filling and stretching our Mindscapes with experiences, questions, and knowledge beyond anything the "natural" physical Earth ever knew.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">By Mindscape, I mean the product of all that our body/brain perceives and processes, which of course, evolutionarily speaking, was dependent on our brain’s hardware keeping pace with and driving the ever increasing volume of information and thoughts.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">While the human mind and spirit seem ineffable mysteries, they are also of tremendous consequence and real-world physical power. They drove our growing ability to study and manipulate our world; to communicate and record our experiences; and to formulate explanations for a world full of mysteries, threats, wonders and dreams.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">People learned to think and gossip and paint pictures upon the canvas of cave walls, and even better, upon the canvas of each other’s imaginations. We’ve been adding to our mind’s awareness and complexity ever since.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">Of course, while all this was going on our extraordinary<b> </b>human mind was also beginning to wonder about the ‘Why’ of the world it observed and the difficult, fragile, short lives we were allotted. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;">In seeking comfort and answers to unknowable questions it seems inevitable that Gods would inhabit our Mindscape. I suspect inspired by buried memories of being coddled within mom’s protective loving bosom those first couple years of life.</span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">No doubt these “Gods” enabled further successes, though not through super-natural interventions, rather through their ability to form, conform, reform & transform the Mindscapes of the people beginning to congregate. Thus, combining pragmatic civil societal needs with universally felt, but keenly personal questions, fears, and dreams. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">During the middle ages tribal stories, accepted ancient doctrines, and religious “truths” were no longer enough to satisfy our Mindscape’s growing desire for ever better understanding and power over our destinies and the biosphere that sustains us. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;">The human mind took another tremendous leap forward in awareness with <b>the Intellectual Enlightenment</b> and the birth of <b>serious disciplined scientific study</b>. Science’s success was dazzling in its ability to learn about, control and manipulate Earth’s physical resources and to transform entire environments.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;">Science was so successful that today most believe we are the masters of our world and too many have fallen into the hubristic trap of believing our ever fertile Mindscape is reality itself. But now I’m digressing, back on point, in summary,</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Earth Centrism</i></b><i>, is a perspective on our human condition that’s based on the understanding that Earth is our fundamental touchstone with physical reality and that we are creatures made through Earth’s own natural processes.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Earth Centrism</i></b><i> comes from appreciating the “Human Mindscape ~ Physical Reality divide.” Which also helps us get a handle on how the paternalistic Abrahamic mindset (that gave birth to three religions), with their self-serving attitudes towards other peoples, creatures, landscapes and resources, imposed a simplistic dualistic default that has blinded humanity to a clear understanding of ourselves, this planet, it’s processes, deep-time and how it created us. </i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><i>The Mind/Brain conundrum and the Hard Problem of Consciousness are rooted in ancient religious and philosophical arguments, contrivances of our minds, dressed up in modern language. As though reality needs to prove itself to us self-serving petty humans.</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><b><i>Earth Centrism</i></b><i> is founded on the understanding that scientific study of the material world is our best window into understanding our own lives within physical reality. Because Science is, at its core, a set of rules for observing and recording and learning about our natural world, and ourselves that strives as much as possible to eliminate human ego driven biases from its deliberations.</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Science</i></b><i> is founded on an unspoken understanding that we need each other to keep ourselves honest. It’s a community of educated, competitive, skeptical, experts who are constantly looking over each other’s shoulders.</i><b><i> With fidelity to honesty being science’s Golden Rule.</i></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><i>I also contend that </i><b><i>science offers spiritual/mystical challenges, experiences and resolutions</i></b><i>, well beyond anything offered by the traditions of our self-made, ego straddled, religions with their tunnel vision and that ingrained resentment towards Earth and learning. </i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d4c07; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Earth Centrism</i></b><i> is a personal emergent appreciation. When the sum total of all those insights one has collected from a life time of wonder and learning come together into a tapestry, a pageant of life and circumstance that is harmonious and graspable. When understanding and increasing awareness blossoms into a visceral connection that infuses one’s body and outlook upon life with the simple reality of being a transient element in Earth’s evolution.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f3d09; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px; text-align: justify;"><i>Along with that comes a grounded feeling.</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i> </i></span><i>A deep inside awareness that, I have arrived. I am a child of Earth, and it is beautiful, and this moment is mine.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f3d09; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px; text-align: center;"><i>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f3d09; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 54px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQer7ifoC6dl4lGmh2XVUOEz_-iRLicOQ4CxRgYyLgLDX8_YKAbXGG_Q89RzSbsWHagt6A6j4ycTnvIMjO3D10z-vAATsGjIQ6_Jt-AMbZK8vWQDumXifxJeWYAgYYs67w2K7iyHPtA7QJzpE2KzMINTTF7YIcM4867uey18TGx_j7lo5djB-wu_o6dQ/s1440/Maddy%20by%20river.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©2022, citizenschallenge" border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="1440" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQer7ifoC6dl4lGmh2XVUOEz_-iRLicOQ4CxRgYyLgLDX8_YKAbXGG_Q89RzSbsWHagt6A6j4ycTnvIMjO3D10z-vAATsGjIQ6_Jt-AMbZK8vWQDumXifxJeWYAgYYs67w2K7iyHPtA7QJzpE2KzMINTTF7YIcM4867uey18TGx_j7lo5djB-wu_o6dQ/w428-h140/Maddy%20by%20river.png" title="Down by the river with Maddy" width="428" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/philosophical-perspective-earth-centrism.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “<b>Earth Centrism</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/reality-human-mindscape-divide-2-5.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-element-of-evolution.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/its-not-body-mind-problem-its-ego-god.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">It’s not a “<b>Body-Mind problem</b>” it’s an “<b>Ego-God problem</b>”</span></u></a></p><p style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"><u><a href="https://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-distillation-of-my-journey-upon-lifes.html" target="_blank">A distillation of my journey upon life's stage, vintage 1955.</a></u></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANV-1xSQh-8lTEYhZEtV93Ar8fzH4v8OgNtD_OCSZpgQlxHSxvtPrXREUQxAQ7P7v7KYuXv1Ho1Mpm_Fg6SuG0N1GvKP72TuwL6NA1FqvveQNSgIOCUpWDscz9OXZ3ZvLyNHlGobPz1AgNsTOoCSLlU1nsNS_1uLNnI6N2wpNHyoFhjop9RnMbD1BA/s684/My%20brand.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©1975, Peter Miesler" border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="684" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANV-1xSQh-8lTEYhZEtV93Ar8fzH4v8OgNtD_OCSZpgQlxHSxvtPrXREUQxAQ7P7v7KYuXv1Ho1Mpm_Fg6SuG0N1GvKP72TuwL6NA1FqvveQNSgIOCUpWDscz9OXZ3ZvLyNHlGobPz1AgNsTOoCSLlU1nsNS_1uLNnI6N2wpNHyoFhjop9RnMbD1BA/w250-h80/My%20brand.png" title="Can call it, my brand." width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">June 5, 2022</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">citizenschallenge at gmail.</span></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #1e00fd; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 4px 18px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-64122293136778766522022-05-27T09:33:00.003-06:002022-05-27T10:23:31.498-06:00The missing ingredient in Daniel Dennett's "Darwin's Dangerous Idea"<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">A couple months back I wrote Dr. Daniel Dennett hoping for a response, but to no avail. So, I've rewritten the letter and have resent it and I figured I might as well post it over here, to see if any other deep thinker might want to give it a shot.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUvGLq5dv0hiiXK-UusyAJRfLJvXlgQRu4QggZrijSDp5_WPRyD19XmEFQvaHkrM6fvb9McEb259jxA2TBZJmugZxogVwOWe6QK42u7Tei7yHvCkjHv_6FUnKysq4OPiYBjjURkp_GvRzNly2rHHIdzMw93lEOYQw9f0PSaMUYS4PAjx3oexbgpP3rg/s1008/IMG_Sky%20and%20country%20lane,%20Dennett%20post,%20May%202022.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="1008" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUvGLq5dv0hiiXK-UusyAJRfLJvXlgQRu4QggZrijSDp5_WPRyD19XmEFQvaHkrM6fvb9McEb259jxA2TBZJmugZxogVwOWe6QK42u7Tei7yHvCkjHv_6FUnKysq4OPiYBjjURkp_GvRzNly2rHHIdzMw93lEOYQw9f0PSaMUYS4PAjx3oexbgpP3rg/w475-h123/IMG_Sky%20and%20country%20lane,%20Dennett%20post,%20May%202022.png" width="475" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Dear Dr. Daniel Dennett, (<i>& others it may interest</i>),</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">I read your “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” a couple decades back. These past few months I’ve been revisiting it. It’s a beautiful tour of the evolution of scientific thought regarding Evolution. One I completely embrace and I commend you for all those helpful citations. Even after a quarter century the book is worth recommending to young students of Evolution because of how well it documents the evolving ideas and arguments up to that point. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">The only problem is that you left out a crucial ingredient early in your introduction that I’d like to ask about. You were transitioning from earlier religious thought into evolving scientific thought and the rest of your story. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">I have to wonder why didn’t you stop a moment to review the most fundamental fact of our human condition? <b> A reality that cuts straight to the heart of both our so-called "Hard Problem of Consciousness" and the Origin of God question - namely the “Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide”?</b></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">What’s so special about having an appreciation for the “Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide”? Well, for one, it leads to an inevitable understanding that our very existence is proof that our Universe and Earth unfolded down one, internally consistent cascade, and only one. No matter what we self-absorbed human creatures are capable of imagining. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaYrcIuTbSLFKWzv8GYgBYn15kZ_TjORemTarMbhL_e1hS7Ms7NAsWsIGSHW5R7hxGKbby58U_6EkhH9OnuPJNxpScF6M55ljYQImFPt8Pmm08Xhi8WWlLWFR-dwH6ZognoF3wXr-50eT60x6Hf_fuExapo0cI0y8hQPWxzZqtEdrfG3TALOQanw7Hw/s1440/IMG_country%20lane,%20for%20Dennett%20post_may2022.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="1440" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaYrcIuTbSLFKWzv8GYgBYn15kZ_TjORemTarMbhL_e1hS7Ms7NAsWsIGSHW5R7hxGKbby58U_6EkhH9OnuPJNxpScF6M55ljYQImFPt8Pmm08Xhi8WWlLWFR-dwH6ZognoF3wXr-50eT60x6Hf_fuExapo0cI0y8hQPWxzZqtEdrfG3TALOQanw7Hw/w461-h106/IMG_country%20lane,%20for%20Dennett%20post_may2022.png" width="461" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #274e13;">For me, it also brought into focus that Earth herself is my touchstone with reality. This in turn, led to a deep down realization that Earth’s biological processes created creatures and eventually humans along with our human mind. </span><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">(This is undisputed by science and rational humans - correct?)</span></i></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">From there it becomes self-evident that our Gods are created from within our own minds and bodies, driven by biological, evolutionary and cultural experiences, the ebb and flow of life. Each one of our Gods tailored to our own particular personality and circumstance. Ignoring that, leaves us without a benchmark for sorting out our thoughts, as <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/case-for-reality.html">Donald Hoffman’s "Case Against Reality" flailing</a> exemplifies. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">The notion of Evolution is given much lip service, but it seems to me that it seldom rises above a post card superficiality. To recap:</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Science seeks to objectively learn about our physical world, but we should still recognize all our understanding is embedded within and constrained by our minds. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Religion is all about the human mindscape itself, with its wonderful struggles, fears, spiritual undercurrents, needs and stories we create to give our live’s meaning and make it worth living, or at least bearable. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">What’s the point? </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Religions, Science, political beliefs, heaven, hell, math, art, even God they are all products of the human mindscape, generations of imaginings built upon previous generations of imaginings, all the way down.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">That's not to say they are the same thing, they are not! Though I think they're both equally valid human endeavors, still one must recognize they are fundamentally qualitatively different.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Religion deals with the inside of our minds, hearts and souls, Science strives to objectively understand the physical world beyond all that, doing its best to factor out human ego from the deliberations.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Dr. Dennett, I realize you are an extremely busy man with a thousand demands upon your time. Still I’m hoping you might take the above seriously enough to offer some critique or feedback.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; min-height: 11px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Sincerely,</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Citizenschallenge</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-51542173779593515952022-03-09T11:16:00.008-07:002022-03-09T11:24:02.635-07:00Yes. The Geologic Column is evidence that Evolution unfolds one day at a time.<p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>This morning I came across a 2018 article that I enjoyed rereading. Given recent dialogues at CFI and the political season of </i><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2022/02/accused-of-spamming-by-dnc-politico.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">advocating for Democrats to</a><i> create an internet forum, it was nice to read something about Earth, something that I know about and that takes me back to the wellspring of my blogging efforts. Defending Earth and the need for honestly facing physical reality, don't know why, but it feels a little grounding in the face of this horrific insanity Putin/Trump have unleashed on us.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #161616; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-indent: -36px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Saying No to Reality</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgT9CF8fVx__C1POtnBHD-rYbGMt0-i7ywtdhO6qoMwLV3yA6N7d1ksAmnulmYWCAZfHir0b_LUErAr7y-GVXFp2Fc1OJkbBXUiqT1_cx0cNd9CT1H6p7pWhgOC7GHoIzqzh6nngPp9orh0AItyfRrBkaxuV4XQPrEKRgFoy4DX6nu0c8YE-aM1qsTuRQ=s2156" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="2156" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgT9CF8fVx__C1POtnBHD-rYbGMt0-i7ywtdhO6qoMwLV3yA6N7d1ksAmnulmYWCAZfHir0b_LUErAr7y-GVXFp2Fc1OJkbBXUiqT1_cx0cNd9CT1H6p7pWhgOC7GHoIzqzh6nngPp9orh0AItyfRrBkaxuV4XQPrEKRgFoy4DX6nu0c8YE-aM1qsTuRQ=w474-h116" width="474" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #420178; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px; text-align: center; text-indent: -36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://fourcornersfreepress.com/">Four Corners Free Press</a></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px; text-align: center; text-indent: -36px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0000e9; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://fourcornersfreepress.com/author/pmiesler/">Peter Miesler</a></span>, July 10, 2018</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #161616; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: center; text-indent: -36px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Recently, I was minding my own business listening to a fascinating talk on YouTube titled, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwkbePIWeIU" target="_blank">Rooted in Earth History: the Devonian transition to a forested planet.</a>” It was about strategies that Earth’s first ground-hugging plants adapted to escape the confines of Earth’s surface. They did this in order to reach closer to our sun and further away from plant-eaters.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">This led to Earth’s first forests, which in turn led to an explosion of new environmental niches for life to radiate into.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">I learned some fascinating details regarding questions I’d been wondering about for a long time. The lecture increased my understanding of evolution on this fantastic planet, which has been a lifelong passion for me.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">But my pleasant reverie was shattered by a YouTube comment that blind-sided me. One ‘Psalm1Tree’ wrote in all seriousness:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“There never was a Devonian period, just as there never was a Cambrian, Jurassic, Triassic etc. period. That’s because there never was a Geologic Column. That is a 19th century construct that has no data whatsoever to support it.”<span><a name='more'></a></span></i></blockquote><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Besides avoiding the topic of the video, the comment is such an ignorant statement on so many levels that most who know anything about geology and evolution would simply clamp on the head-vise and back away.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVvdOMzS_Ilz6Vp_a0SJsdZno1eRRL4_aGaroEGVmperHK_ZKd_AOUWpnt8C4rZ7kHSIXUFWiLO5nVPl5ROhOmOWc3h22iogv8t19HxCQeChsPa9SttKjKGJK24dGQxUIi7FH7jS3d5dQOpUB43vnqT9pdCeNY7YXmxfl7tdvOVx2LlSB63lq7zTlB2Q=s2078" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="2078" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVvdOMzS_Ilz6Vp_a0SJsdZno1eRRL4_aGaroEGVmperHK_ZKd_AOUWpnt8C4rZ7kHSIXUFWiLO5nVPl5ROhOmOWc3h22iogv8t19HxCQeChsPa9SttKjKGJK24dGQxUIi7FH7jS3d5dQOpUB43vnqT9pdCeNY7YXmxfl7tdvOVx2LlSB63lq7zTlB2Q=w442-h296" width="442" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wayneranney.com" target="_blank">Wayne Ranney</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Unfortunately, decades of ignoring such belligerent ignorance about important aspects of our life and planet have led to its becoming so insidious and commonplace that our government is controlled by Republicans who disregard obvious physical realities on personal whim. Justified only by a hubristic conceit that they are doing “God’s duty,” they are in fact all about pursuing their own EGO’s bidding.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">I decided to engage Psalm with a short video that rationally explains what the geologic column is all about. Then came my second shock. I was not prepared for the dozens of videos dedicated to childish denials of the “geologic column” that Google’s YouTube search algorithm threw between my search topic and reliable serious information.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">The handful of videos I sampled broke the first law of Constructive Debate: Honestly represent your opponents’ position! Instead they painted a deliberately misleading cartoon, thus fabricating an easy target for battering to death.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Finally, my persistence brought me to a few serious videos by scientists who actually study these matters. The difference in tone was refreshing. Rather than attacking conjured-up enemies, they focus on explaining their own work and results, often discussing competing theories to give as complete a picture as possible. They even describe weaknesses in their own work and point out further questions needing clarification.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">That’s how science is done. Everyone’s goal is learning, and fidelity to physical facts is the gold standard. Science is a world where Free Speech doesn’t mean it’s okay to lie and slander with malicious intent. Informed constructive skepticism is the rule. Dishonest bluster and bullying is a crime.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Psalm feels free to dismiss all that with a glib wave: </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"></p><blockquote>“There <i>never was a Devonian period, just as there never was a Cambrian, Jurassic, Triassic etc. period.”</i></blockquote><i></i><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Think about that. Psalm tells us one great period of time does not follow another. How does that work? Ignore the march of seasons? Ignore that plants and animals are formed, grow and die. Ignore that floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis are ever rearranging the surface? Ignore that stuff piles up on top of what was laid down before?</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Psalm also needs us to ignore that, in human terms, Earth is unimaginably old. It’s as though Psalm has no conception of creation’s time-line ticking ever forward. Years and millennia continue unfolding and it’s all happening one day at a time, piling on top of all the days that came before. Or? What’s the alternative, turning Earth’s creation into a one-dimensional cartoon?</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">As Psalm does when he tried to deceive me: </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"></p><blockquote>“<i>There never was a Geologic Column. That’s a 19th century construct that has no data whatsoever to support it. <b>Fossils are jumbled, in no organized pattern whatsoever.</b>”</i></blockquote><i></i><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Here’s an example of self-certain, but grossly mistaken, beliefs enabled by utter disregard for substance. A construct? Sure, it is a construct. So? Why not ask, what is it a construct of? What was it constructed for? Why not a little curiosity and discussion about the substance of this construct?</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">No data? “No organized pattern!” Seriously? Has Psalm ever looked? It’s easy to track down when our understanding and recognition of the patterns began, in the late 1700s. That’s when a handful of curious, observant individuals struggled to make sense of what they saw laid out across their countryside. In particular there was <b><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/06/psalm1tree-no-geologiccolumn-say-what.html" target="_blank">James Hutton</a></b> the geologist, farmer, and canal builder who spent decades trying to understand the varied, sometimes bizarre rock exposures and landscapes throughout England and beyond.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Hutton was able to classify these exposures into specific rock types. He also showed how at some time in the distant past hot lava had moved through what was then claimed to be the oldest rock type, deforming the land. Furthermore, this had to have happened at extreme depths, though now it lay at the surface. Hutton’s work made it clear that Earth was unimaginably older than the good preacher Ussher’s 6,000-year assertion.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Another pioneer was <b><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/06/psalm1tree-no-geologiccolumn-say-what_17.html" target="_blank">William Smith</a></b>, a colorful canal, railway and road surveyor and mapper of coal mines, a man dedicated to comprehending the landscape and creating the first modern geologic map that visually distilled hundreds (soon to be thousands) of land surveys into a form all could learn to comprehend at a glance.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Think about Smith’s geologic map. It only reflects what’s on the surface, but obviously there’s a great deal more underneath, as countless drill core samples attest. Compiling that data inevitably leads to a geologic column, basically a vertical map of what’s under our feet. How can that be a fiction when it IS totally data-driven from inception to finish?</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">In our few exchanges Psalm wasn’t interested in details and even less in doing any good-faith research on his own. All he wanted was short answers to empty “gotcha” questions.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">It’s unfortunate because I do have a wonderful image of our own Colorado Basin’s geologic column to share. Along with a video where <b><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/06/psalm1tree-meet-ron-blakey-wayne-ranney.html" target="_blank">Wayne Ranney</a></b> explains the evidence and data that drove the creation of this geologic column.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;">Go to YouTube and search “<span style="color: #0000e9; text-decoration: underline;">Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau with Wayne Ranney</span>” – you won’t be disappointed. Then you too can learn to start seeing all the supporting evidence, every time you drive through our Four Corners wonderland.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-78721092054527693222022-02-26T05:07:00.014-07:002022-04-09T11:35:01.995-06:00Response to being accused of SPAMMING by DNC politico.<p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">After a long evening of emailing Democratic Party officials I received a rather haughty missive from a Democratic politico. He demanded that I take his name off of “my” mailing list and to stop sending him my “SPAM”. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">Seriously, a single 500 word appeal including supporting reasoning, sent to my Democratic Party during this Democratic Caucus season, this Democrat official calls SPAM ! ? ?</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">This morning I woke up with the supreme irony dancing in my head: What about the bombardment of uninvited boilerplate donation demands, that the DNC sends us from every corner of our nation, on a daily basis? What makes that okay? </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">But a citizen isn’t supposed to even attempt to communicate a simple idea that he’s hoping catches on with the folks who can make a difference and see it realized? Whatever happened to public discourse?</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">No wonder Democrat politicians have become better at losing than winning - what else is to be expected when the DNC so resents hearing from your constituents. <b>Although I should add I’ve also received a few thumbs up responses, so that’s heartening.</b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">For what it’s worth, “my” mailing list is a simply culling from your public state Democratic Party websites, and a single concise letter is not SPAM!</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">Dear DNC, if you aren’t changing minds, you are losing!</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">========================================================================</p>
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<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px;"><b>Democratic Platform 2022:</b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px;"><b>Create a </b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum</b></span><b> for reinvigorating constructive political dialogue, by Democrats, for Democrats. Help your Democratic grassroots network and get informed, thus enabling and nurturing a reengagement with our political process. </b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px 18px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><b><i>For your consideration: </i></b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px; text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>A Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum.<span></span></i></b></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">Googling, “Why are Democrats losing voters?” reveals that voters who care are feeling so disenfranchised by the Democratic Party that they are turning off in droves. </p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>This, during a year that should have every Democracy loving American energized and looking for how they can best participate in the coming election, it’s frightening.</b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>After all, more than anything this election will be about the future of open and fair elections in the USA. Beyond that, it’s going to be a national referendum between the importance of honesty and truth in America’s public dialogue vs. a descent into anger driven anarchy. </b>No exaggeration, simply pay attention to how the Republican Party has been engaging in every imaginable dirty trick to stymie future election participation and voting legitimacy.<span></span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">Successful politicians require strong, informed, proactive support at their backs if they are to lead, yet the DNC seems to be doing little to nurture that sort of buy-in from their grassroots. Why?</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">The DNC’s disregard towards rank and file concerns is reflected in the constant bombardment of boilerplate donation pitches, as though money was all We The People are good for. I understand the need to fundraise, but what about making us feel like active participants through straight talk, informing us of challenges, calling for feedback, being responsive, nurturing engagement.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">The DNC should earn its money by informing and engaging constituents in a way that makes sense to us and connects with our lives. Creating relevance, encourages enthusiasm, produces participation.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">Why not use the internet? Why not create a quality internet platform for having constructive political dialogue, by Democrats, for Democrats?</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><b>The Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum. </b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>Give America’s untapped concerned Democrats a place to go for sharing their own stories, ideas, concerns, questions, challenges.</b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>The Forum would be public, though only registered Democrats could sign-on to comment and start threads. It would require a set of clearly spelled out guidelines. Participants would need to sign up and agree to abide by the forum’s rules and standards. Moderators would be of critical importance to the DNC’s Discussion Forum’s success - fair, consistent, with a flair for humor, touch of empathy, and an instinct for constructive resolution and steering dialogue back <i>on point</i>.</b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">I’ve been participating at “<a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org">forum.CenterForInquiry.org</a>" for many years and they provide an excellent example of how such a Forum could be organized and operated. CFI is small, a Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum could serve as a nucleus for some serious community building and it would grow as Democrats across the country discovered a place to speak out, hear new voices, to learn and to network within the Democratic Party organization.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">Politically interested working citizens have few opportunities for connecting with others, provide us with a trustworthy adult discussion platform for constructive dialogue among concerned Democrats, I can't think of a better way to rapidly increase awareness, and reinvigorate a disillusioned Democratic grassroots.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><b>After all, for all its faults the Democratic Party is all we have! We need to focus on fixing it, rather than abandoning what little remaining political muscle <i>We The People</i> have.</b></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Charter; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><b>As you can imagine, I liked this other response much more:</b></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px;"></span></p><blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ok. Peter. I hear you. And I concur with much of what you said here. </span> </blockquote><blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Especially dislike how the DNC uses surveys, which aren't really surveys at all, they are just a ploy to ask for money. </span> </blockquote><blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">It's disheartening that they have taken that page from republicans. So how do I start one of these forums?</span></blockquote><p><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Thanks for acknowledging my email. In truth, I don't have a clue what the next step would/should be. </i></span></p><p></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>I'm a politically impotent working man living in rural Colorado, with a good idea.</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>About all I'm good for is emailing this to as many Democratic Party officials as I can (using their respective state websites), and hoping that others like the idea. Only with growing popular momentum will it have a chance. </i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>If it becomes a reality I think it could be a PR game changer - an avenue for politically motivated, but isolated citizens, to finally connect and become a more cohesive grassroots force.</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Next step is that others believe it's a good idea and worth turning into a reality and then lobbying for it. </i></span><i style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums&source=gmail&ust=1646007241033000&usg=AOvVaw3weVLTNROOtN9cnvzKurJK" href="http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums" target="_blank">A Forum such as CFI</a> takes a good deal of work and expertise, but it's doable if there's a real will, and it comes with quite the payback potential.</i></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Thank you for your interest,</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Peter Miesler</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>______________________________________</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Update March 11, 2022</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>It's on the La Plata County Platform, </i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>headed towards the State Assembly/Convention</i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeOqpeD0d0z0SRagoXylJI-guAVfbNo7S8i38GVATjiqvTW9gRzJmn0JMTRoug65m2CySg1o7JcNBCEcGQxTegVTVbf96Uw8KMtnUojYFvgoicwM0Lx5And5uORGgoUyKi9aLJx21qkW0sUd8zFWHoellbQeh-85M_85a7MdVpxvFeu8RbsAEpeDi6Mg=s1356" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="1176" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeOqpeD0d0z0SRagoXylJI-guAVfbNo7S8i38GVATjiqvTW9gRzJmn0JMTRoug65m2CySg1o7JcNBCEcGQxTegVTVbf96Uw8KMtnUojYFvgoicwM0Lx5And5uORGgoUyKi9aLJx21qkW0sUd8zFWHoellbQeh-85M_85a7MdVpxvFeu8RbsAEpeDi6Mg=w511-h588" width="511" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<p style="color: rgba(76, 76, 76, 0.79); font-family: Charter; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-65239235536108969392022-02-21T13:30:00.006-07:002022-02-21T13:57:28.974-07:00Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum - Make it part of the 2022 Colorado Democratic Party Platform.<p> </p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><blockquote><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">I want to shout out to all the intrepid Democratic voters who plan to attend the <a href="https://www.coloradodems.org/caucusdatesandlocations" target="_blank">Democratic Caucus sessions</a> between March 1st and March 5th. This year many will be able to attend the caucus from the comfort of our homes via ZOOM. If you’re undecided about attending, you have until March 3rd to register.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.laplatadems.org/caucus-and-assembly" target="_blank">The caucus</a> is where the Democratic Party Platform begins taking form with citizens bringing their concerns to the table and persuading their neighbors into voting those proposals into bona fide resolutions that advance to the County Assembly and hopefully onto the official 2022 Democratic Platform.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">That’s why I want share my proposal, if you like the idea, propose it at your precinct caucus, give it some momentum before going to the County Assembly.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">The short version: <b>“Create a Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum for reinvigorating constructive political dialogue, by Democrats, for Democrats. Empower your Democratic grassroots to get informed, network, thus enabling and nurturing a reengagement with our political process.”</b></span></p><p><span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span>After all, for all its faults the Democratic Party is all we have! We need to focus on fixing it, rather than abandoning what little remaining political muscle <i>We The People</i> have. For more information: <a href="http://ColoradoDems.org/platformrules" target="_blank">ColoradoDems.org/platformrules</a></span> </span></p></blockquote><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Googling, “Why are Democrats losing voters?” reveals that voters who care are feeling so disenfranchised by the Democratic Party that they are turning off in droves.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0z2a6O0dh7D0i617hZC2e1nvRrcfDC6PFwtQU14o_aInZ-763XYu4_E3XR5qlkEkAXzyT-Gp0haO2fCDt-XoqF34Jb1udcblGmpFKL-RqDrPNIMG1WHqEoXYfgkBcaVCIcQhTN_mzo40gZ7fwzG8DhBClvCJydQYKAeAGdx88eaFSMeAN9KJphDAz=s1454" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="1454" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0z2a6O0dh7D0i617hZC2e1nvRrcfDC6PFwtQU14o_aInZ-763XYu4_E3XR5qlkEkAXzyT-Gp0haO2fCDt-XoqF34Jb1udcblGmpFKL-RqDrPNIMG1WHqEoXYfgkBcaVCIcQhTN_mzo40gZ7fwzG8DhBClvCJydQYKAeAGdx88eaFSMeAN9KJphDAz=w508-h73" width="508" /></a></span></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">This, during a year that should have every Democracy loving American energized and looking for how they can best <a href="https://www.usa.gov/voting" target="_blank">participate in the coming election</a>, it’s frightening.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">After all, more than anything this election will be about the future of open and fair elections in the USA. Beyond that, it’s going to be a national referendum between the importance of honesty and truth in America’s public dialogue vs. a descent into anger driven anarchy. No exaggeration, simply pay attention to how the Republican Party has been engaging in every imaginable dirty trick to stymie future election participation and voting legitimacy.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Successful politicians require strong, informed, proactive support at their backs if they are to lead, yet the DNC seems to be doing little to nurture that sort of buy-in from their grassroots. Why?</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>The DNC’s disregard towards rank and file concerns is reflected in the constant bombardment of DNC’s boilerplate donation pitches, as though donating money was all We The People are good for. I understand the need to fundraise, but what about making us feel like active participants through straight talk, informing us of challenges, calling for feedback, being responsive, nurturing engagement.</b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">The DNC should earn its money by informing and engaging constituents in a way that makes sense to us and connects with our lives. Creating relevance, encourages enthusiasm, produces participation.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLHmBaFYTxIOEArlSPULPqayLry334sgknfmWXlSkzamFuWELnkA_uafJgrI3AOKms9zuTagPvFj5n9gR0mUa8aSRjOGOfAz9RdTz6Nk_f78JHRNAdzLs2IXG4_WaL-FrK2llSaFwVnMt4-mKJ225H_Xx59TEHirQ2TpIRv7eDegowL7RRl3XZgGzz=s1158" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="1158" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLHmBaFYTxIOEArlSPULPqayLry334sgknfmWXlSkzamFuWELnkA_uafJgrI3AOKms9zuTagPvFj5n9gR0mUa8aSRjOGOfAz9RdTz6Nk_f78JHRNAdzLs2IXG4_WaL-FrK2llSaFwVnMt4-mKJ225H_Xx59TEHirQ2TpIRv7eDegowL7RRl3XZgGzz=w464-h131" width="464" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Why not use the internet? Why not create a quality internet platform for having constructive political dialogue? By Democrats for Democrats!</b><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>The Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum. </b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Give America’s untapped concerned citizens a place to go for sharing their own stories, ideas, concerns, questions, challenges.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">The Forum would be public, though I think it would be appropriate to limit commenting and posting privileges to registered Democrats. It would require a short set of clearly spelled out guidelines. Participants would need to sign up and agree to abide by the forum’s rules and standards. Moderators would be of critical importance to the DNC’s Discussion Forum’s success - fair, consistent, with a flair for humor, touch of empathy, and an instinct for constructive resolution and steering dialogue back <i>on point</i>.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">I’ve been participating at “<a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org">forum.CenterForInquiry.org</a>" for many years and they provide an excellent example of how such a Forum could be organized and operated. CFI is small, a Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum could serve as a nucleus for some serious community building and it would grow as Democrats across the country discovered a place to speak out, hear new voices, to learn and to network within the Democratic Party organization.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Politically interested citizens have few opportunities for connecting with others, provide us with a trustworthy adult discussion platform for constructive dialogue among concerned individuals, I can't think of a better way to rapidly increase awareness, and reinvigorate a disillusioned Democratic grassroots.</b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>After all, for all its faults the Democratic Party is all we have! We need to focus on fixing it, rather than abandoning what little remaining political muscle <i>we the people</i> have.</b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">If the idea makes sense to you, please help spread the suggestion. You are welcome and encouraged copy and share.</span></i></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-59402589061808014942022-02-06T22:42:00.001-07:002022-02-06T22:42:25.949-07:00Proposing a Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum.<p><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px;">What can the Democratic Party do to win back the tens of thousands of Americans they have been alienating? People who care but who have been left feeling so disenfranchised, that they’ve lost faith in their party. Google “Why are Democrats losing voters?” for the details. </span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">This, during a year that should have every Democracy loving American energized and looking for how they can best participate in the coming election, it’s frightening.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">After all, more than anything this election will be about the future of open and fair elections in the USA. Beyond that, it’s going to be a national referendum between the importance of honesty and truth in America’s public dialogue vs. a descent into anger driven anarchy. No exaggeration, simply pay attention to how the Republican Party has been engaging in every imaginable dirty trick to stymie future election participation and voting legitimacy.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">Why do so many remain blasé towards the Republican’s untethered lust for power and their increasing disregard for long held American moral and legal standards of honesty, fair play, policy based on factual constructive discussions and such? Isn’t retaining and protecting our right to free elections, along with defending our government’s checks and balances, and the rule of law a patriotic duty?</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">These questions deserve some answers no one seems to have. Besides, before tackling the growing Democratic voter disconnect, Democratic National Committee leaders would need to actually care about understanding why their rank and file have gotten so frustrated they're turning off in droves during this pivotal election cycle.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">Successful politicians require strong, informed, proactive support at their backs if they are to lead, yet the DNC seems to be doing little to nurture that sort of buy-in from their grassroots. Why?</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">The DNC’s disregard towards rank and file concerns is reflected in the constant bombardment of DNC’s boilerplate donation pitches, as though donating money was all We The People are good for. I understand the need to fundraise, but what about making us feel like active participants through straight talk, informing us of challenges, and calling for feedback and engaging in confronting those challenges, striving to invigorate grassroots participation with ideas and strategies.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">The DNC should earn its money by informing and engaging constituents in a way that makes sense to us and connects with our lives. Creating relevance, encourages enthusiasm, produces participation.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">I know, here comes the cynicism, insulated Democratic Party leaders listening to the grassroots? Hah! In your dreams. How could such a thing even be achieved in this day and age? How could we the people ever connect with the DNC’s inner sanctum?</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">Why not use the internet? Despite the dark side of profiteering via hate mongering and gross misinformation campaigns, the internet has the ability to connect people like no other medium. Why not create a quality internet platform for having constructive political dialogue, by Democrats for Democrats?</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">The Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum. Give America’s untapped concerned citizens a place to go for sharing their own stories, ideas, concerns, questions, challenges.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">The Forum would be public, though I think it would be appropriate to limit commenting and posting privileges to registered Democrats. It would require a short set of clearly spelled out guidelines. Participants would need to sign up and agree to abide by the forum’s rules and standards. Moderators would be of critical importance to the DNC’s Discussion Forum’s success - fair, consistent, with a flair for humor, touch of empathy, and an instinct for constructive resolution and steering dialogue back <i>on point</i>.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">I’ve been participating at “<a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org">forum.CenterForInquiry.org</a>" for many years and they provide an excellent example of how such a Forum could be organized and operated. Although CFI is small, a Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum would serve as a nucleus for some serious community building and it would grow as Democrats across the country discovered a place to speak out, hear new voices, to learn and to network within the Democratic Party organization.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">Politically interested citizens have few opportunities for connecting with others, provide us with a trustworthy discussion platform for constructive debate, along with simple easy dialogue among concerned individuals, I can't think of a better way to rapidly increase awareness, and reinvigorate a disillusioned Democratic grassroots.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">After all, for all its faults the Democratic Party is all we have! We need to focus on fixing it, rather than abandoning what little remaining political muscle <i>we the people</i> have.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-65921641761081248022021-11-05T11:01:00.008-06:002022-02-06T22:43:05.339-07:00CFI - "Learning about Earth can't trump religion." Say what?<p><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">Sharing some food for thought:</span></span></p>
<p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/can-christianity-be-progressive/8550/29">MPC:</a></span> I cannot imagine how transcendence of nature, sublimation, ‘glorification’ can possibly work.</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;">(At the CFI Forum tread: <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/can-christianity-be-progressive/8550">Can Christianity be progressive?</a> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSqIidyUGZ3UzSigAl9ht_XkmA56EoecQvYmoFEcDfQvis6o_fjrJXKiP4cu0Y0fhDOQPVcsNci5N0ovltfEAKW7-o_IQjcCYELdtkjczzQUyhh5MfajntBax7NVWc4mIuAGkTcRasMo/s1440/IMG_Earth%252C+sky%252C+clouds%25233_Nov%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©citizenschallenge, 2021" border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="1440" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSqIidyUGZ3UzSigAl9ht_XkmA56EoecQvYmoFEcDfQvis6o_fjrJXKiP4cu0Y0fhDOQPVcsNci5N0ovltfEAKW7-o_IQjcCYELdtkjczzQUyhh5MfajntBax7NVWc4mIuAGkTcRasMo/w472-h137/IMG_Earth%252C+sky%252C+clouds%25233_Nov%252C+2021.png" title="Colorado skies" width="472" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px;">transcendence = “Transcendence is the quality of being able to go beyond normal limits or boundaries.”</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">I believe MPC is missing the point. Seems to me, it’s not about attaining some spiritual "transcendent" connection with nature, a la new age, or such.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">It’s about realizing that Earth’s Evolution is an actual factual reality, it’s about realizing that all these folds within folds of harmonic complexity actually means something. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">Deeply appreciating that within myself there are direct roots to achievements hundreds of millions even billions of years ago. Learning about and understanding the outlines of those various folds within folds, that’s emotionally satisfying, so it’s worth it just for that, but there is more.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">It’s about truly, deeply, viscerally, grasping that your brain and sense of self, evolved out of the mammalian animal brain and their sense of self, which in turn evolved out of an earlier brain and sense of self, with it’s roots in even more primitive ways of sensing/processing/acting found in the simplest of life forms.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">The transcendence is not the object, it’s the learning and accumulating an understanding of the flowing complexity. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">Then as that journey matures the transcendence happens, as a result of all the accumulating mass of facts and learning coming together into a cohesive harmonic whole that makes sense.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">I think that’s when the visceral sense of connection emerges. Is that transcendence? I don’t know, but I do know it feels good.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">The fun thing is, this emergent holistic understanding affords an inner sense of solidity and belonging that goes way beyond what manmade promises can ever offer, even beyond the confines of my life. Isn’t that what people keep searching for?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #0b3980; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><span style="color: #262626;">(7.01) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-is-earth-centrism.html"><span style="color: #0b3980;">An Alternative Philosophical Perspective - “ <b>Earth Centrism</b> ”</span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #0b3980; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><span style="color: #262626;">(7.02) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/physical-reality-human-mindscape-divide.html"><span style="color: #0b3980;">Appreciating the <b>Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #0b3980; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><span style="color: #262626;">(7.03) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/an-element-earths-pageant-of-evolution.html"><span style="color: #0b3980;">Being an element in <b>Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #0b3980; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 36px;"><span style="color: #262626;">(7.04) <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/05/no-bodymindproblem-its-egogodproblem.html"><span style="color: #0b3980;">It’s not a “ <b>Body-Mind problem</b> ” it’s an “ <b>Ego-God problem</b> .”</span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">Being able to not just say, but feel that: “I am an element in the pageant of Evolution” - that goes a long way.</span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJCwqqscjKZvimmcCkQM8HBUNkxXMNZJx_K-fDvIu-IhSa0EhM7_U-UIlS5sQrrp2d6Ps1-blVeJT-GDaN_onrnOfi3tVFm-2CAcVo2PLTNHpAt-37MYKef0lIg7fACzgdE01-cRb1IA/s1440/IMG_Earth%252C+sky%252C+clouds%25232_Nov%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="©citizenschallenge, 2021" border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1440" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJCwqqscjKZvimmcCkQM8HBUNkxXMNZJx_K-fDvIu-IhSa0EhM7_U-UIlS5sQrrp2d6Ps1-blVeJT-GDaN_onrnOfi3tVFm-2CAcVo2PLTNHpAt-37MYKef0lIg7fACzgdE01-cRb1IA/w453-h195/IMG_Earth%252C+sky%252C+clouds%25232_Nov%252C+2021.png" title="San Juan Mtns, Colorado" width="453" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Postscript</i></span><p></p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">I haven’t had the time to focus on this blog recently, but my adventure at <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org">Center For Inquiry Forum</a> continues and there are occasional gems that I keep wanting to post, but then never do. Well... no time like now to start doing so. </span> </i></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><i>Have a good day, Cc</i></span></span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">A response:</span></div><div><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/write4u">write4u</a></span>:</p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Avenir; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 108px;">Quoting Cc: “Being able to not just say, but <i>feel</i> that: “I am an element in the pageant of evolution””</p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px;"><b>"I am the incarnation of 4 billion years of evolution"</b></p><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 72px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I like that.</i></span></p></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-68994001513319258572021-10-18T10:18:00.005-06:002021-10-18T10:19:33.759-06:00Yes, you are the eyes of the universe. cfi workbook #5<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29); color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">An exploration into a different sort of perspective on the god ~ human relationship, one that starts with a mind experiment and ends in a beautiful mythical suggestion.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVnjtVHGd1Z77Nmx_vP5KydEGb2sDnN_NzST6ucojj_KC2nFCp1QsvBZD87GbbhenNUJWH_p-88iCvWOG5YoKTb3ZALS7d-WtD-ncvnCxmxS8COlfWnFzMqPY3XkpqraZ-kJXCysgJps/s1296/IMG-EyesWorld%25231_lil+B%252C+at+two+weeks.png" style="font-size: 17px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1296" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVnjtVHGd1Z77Nmx_vP5KydEGb2sDnN_NzST6ucojj_KC2nFCp1QsvBZD87GbbhenNUJWH_p-88iCvWOG5YoKTb3ZALS7d-WtD-ncvnCxmxS8COlfWnFzMqPY3XkpqraZ-kJXCysgJps/s320/IMG-EyesWorld%25231_lil+B%252C+at+two+weeks.png" width="320" /></a></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px 36px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i>“Humanity is the most exquisite example of God’s need and desire to know itself.”</i></span></p><p style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px 36px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1r1f8oGWf_msE2Mj7ib-NP_bAaDDW0I7MehmLfGc8YqZLKdweoLM6Fsfq7tj7DuONNOYfEH0ftTXK_Th9AHuP8Abv-ihdr6ZDT1WxDxQRj4ZK9vmCCUyqH4LQN5oqOFKa3GJB9mKdpM/s1440/IMG-EyesWorld%25234_clouds.png" style="font-family: verdana; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="1440" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1r1f8oGWf_msE2Mj7ib-NP_bAaDDW0I7MehmLfGc8YqZLKdweoLM6Fsfq7tj7DuONNOYfEH0ftTXK_Th9AHuP8Abv-ihdr6ZDT1WxDxQRj4ZK9vmCCUyqH4LQN5oqOFKa3GJB9mKdpM/w505-h142/IMG-EyesWorld%25234_clouds.png" width="505" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">It begins with imagining creation from a god’s eye view. If a god there be, what would, what could that god actually know about the universe? </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">There was nothing to sense in the beginning. Besides how could a substance-less God sense anything?</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Seems to me, only by creating something, was there anything for god to observe. But what would god observe with? </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">It occurred to me that god could only experience its own creation, through the structures of that creation. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Starting right at the 'big bang' along side energy, gravity, time and the ever evolving complexity of interactions in a growing cosmos. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUTNuThHH10aBb69eHziWpKN0cd1Q3fqj6-7V1ib5tgHCsq7bOSawElz0RPZxe3GDDAp02_iSAtyvg4x9WfkKtU45lvKr6C2NzAOcw_29mlpGtW5cTZDPvu-Ly3At76NXnBt1st_0uxI/s1296/IMG-EyesWorld%25236-grass%252Cred+flower.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="1296" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUTNuThHH10aBb69eHziWpKN0cd1Q3fqj6-7V1ib5tgHCsq7bOSawElz0RPZxe3GDDAp02_iSAtyvg4x9WfkKtU45lvKr6C2NzAOcw_29mlpGtW5cTZDPvu-Ly3At76NXnBt1st_0uxI/w481-h222/IMG-EyesWorld%25236-grass%252Cred+flower.png" width="481" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Blossoming through all the different cosmic stages, from energy coalescing into matter, then atoms, molecules, dust, rocks, galaxies, stars, planets, exploding stars, more dust and gravity, and so on. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Then our miraculous Earth with its geology, joined by biology creating life’s foothold. Then Evolution came into its own and things really got interesting. With many creatures being forced to constantly strive for ever greater grasping/manipulatory abilities, plus the sensing and processes to do the best they could with their new hardware in ever changing environments. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">With time Earth collected layers upon layers of interwoven folds within folds of cumulative harmonic complexity, relentlessly moving towards ever more complexity, allowing god new vista’s via the ever more complex experiences of life on this miraculous ever changing Earth. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Then came humans.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHO_vs8k3sZe1BBFqeGT1wHxzxE8DZ4DtlHDS6LAYGln-YzQkSQ3sSs51g5fPKhRtM9n8gNmHaNGQcmgTbsiC_37CqJqx4Q_fUCVo2T-bhVjYTIVicerqmCcZFGiPKRU2AHk_yiPYBd8/s1440/IMG-EyesWorld%25237_then+came+man+%2528Hwy191%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="1440" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHO_vs8k3sZe1BBFqeGT1wHxzxE8DZ4DtlHDS6LAYGln-YzQkSQ3sSs51g5fPKhRtM9n8gNmHaNGQcmgTbsiC_37CqJqx4Q_fUCVo2T-bhVjYTIVicerqmCcZFGiPKRU2AHk_yiPYBd8/w480-h146/IMG-EyesWorld%25237_then+came+man+%2528Hwy191%2529.png" width="480" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Think on it. With us humans, god finally had a creature that could reflect back on the Cosmos of its own creation with genuine introspection. What a trip that experience must have been to god. </span><span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: verdana;">(<i>Infinity mirrors comes to mind</i>)</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Think of it next time you’re down, you actually are, <i>the eyes of the world</i>, why not use your short time well? </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Stop a moment and be grateful that you can appreciate the reality you are embedded within. You are a living awareness, the most fantastical creature this most fantastical Earth has produced. You are the witness of your own life and Earth’s. No other creatures can claim as much. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">Let it matter. If a god there be, it’s viewing the world through you.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">The beauty of this story is that it doesn’t demand a rejection of physical reality or any aspect of science. What’s it for? </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">What’s religion for? It’s the acceptance of psychological support, a teddy bear even, for the mind and soul. It's okay since most people need them. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">What’s wrong with that? </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">I know, that depends - it can be blessing or curse.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">The important part is that it belongs within the panorama of my/our/your Mindscape experiencing this Physical Reality that our bodies are embedded within, and that I'm also trying to make more sense out of, through the cool rational eyes of science processed through my unique person, with its unique range of knowledge and experiences.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 20px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCZfv7-XqnV68RFWikLLrp7aei7tMUzPNZv9NTxCSOZlO4ze678kOMXUueQSa03ALv-pAYGVl5L9bmRSpsofOrrWKN4uu60ZYNMr6PR0tiH2bVVyfgiuGaMJvIKOdPbhQKPkRZoIV1ow/s1152/IMG-EyesWorld%25232_lil+B%252C+with+my+hand.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1152" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCZfv7-XqnV68RFWikLLrp7aei7tMUzPNZv9NTxCSOZlO4ze678kOMXUueQSa03ALv-pAYGVl5L9bmRSpsofOrrWKN4uu60ZYNMr6PR0tiH2bVVyfgiuGaMJvIKOdPbhQKPkRZoIV1ow/w488-h349/IMG-EyesWorld%25232_lil+B%252C+with+my+hand.png" width="488" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br /><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 21px;"><b></b><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-32263142827418761292021-10-03T20:48:00.008-06:002023-02-04T20:04:23.276-07:00Evolution Flips Abrahamic God Outside In. - cfi workbook #4 <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d; font-family: Avenir;">One of the things I've gotten out of my life long enthusiasm for learning about my human body, my mind/spirit, other people, other creatures and landscapes, Earth and her Evolution, is that my understanding of the traditional Abrahamic God has been flipped outside in.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I came to realize “God” isn’t to be found out there in the heavens. Our “Gods” are to be found deep within ourselves and our evolutionary roots, our DNA being testament to the existence of these roots. As is our human ego, with its origins going way back into our mammalian heritage.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltPNOFeio0IC7HYhD65_BOTrhso1D3HqWnlcWnP7Uh4aaJbXps3OaeJ7A5f4OfLRRYWuTapLQwJlgq6SixP_d9VyqCv0POK7LE9VPpmbvlN94h5rv3QSZpbMoLy_9dqUxfQoF67i-gzE/s2088/IMG%2523d_Colorado%2527s+California+Sun.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="2088" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltPNOFeio0IC7HYhD65_BOTrhso1D3HqWnlcWnP7Uh4aaJbXps3OaeJ7A5f4OfLRRYWuTapLQwJlgq6SixP_d9VyqCv0POK7LE9VPpmbvlN94h5rv3QSZpbMoLy_9dqUxfQoF67i-gzE/w524-h114/IMG%2523d_Colorado%2527s+California+Sun.png" width="524" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">This evolutionary ground up perspective has instilled <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=Earth+centrism" target="_blank"><i>an </i></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29); color: #38761d;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=Earth+centrism" target="_blank"><i>Earth Centrist</i></a></span><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=Earth+centrism" target="_blank"><i> attitude</i></a> because this living planet is my touch stone with reality and <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/who-says-understanding-earths-evolution.html" target="_blank"><i>her evolutionary history</i></a> informs my day in every way.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Take a moment to consider that we humans, you, me, are actually born out of a parade of generations, before generations. The number of our grandparents is inconceivable. Try imagining where it all began, from where we are today. Humanity is a fulfillment of life’s ageless way of striving to improve perceptual, manipulatory and processing abilities, in order to better live a better day.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">On a personal level a couple months back I hit upon words that helped me grasp specifically what it was in me that made me such a unique individual. <b>I possess a genuine visceral awareness for being an element in the flow of Earth’s Evolution - and that changes everything about how I perceive today and tomorrow. Whether by a Creator, or by loaded dice, is irrelevant, either way we are the product of deep time moving ever forward with determination.</b></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I am deeply grateful for being the <i>eyes of the universe</i> - a creature that can reflect on the wonder that is Earth and my own spark of <i>being here</i> within all that majesty. <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/search?q=pageant+of+evolution" target="_blank"><i>An appreciation for the Pageant of Evolution</i></a> that goes well beyond the typical mental post card most possess.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #38761d;"><b>Update:</b></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #38761d;"><b>I found the book that puts real scientific meat on the bones of my hippy-dippy appreciation:</b></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><a href="https://deep-history-of-ourselves.com/index.html" target="_blank"><b style="background-color: #fce5cd;">The Deep History of Ourselves, by Joseph LeDoux</b></a></span></p><p style="font-family: Avenir; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #800180;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all 0.18s ease-in-out 0s;">Short Summary (from the book jacket)</strong><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all 0.18s ease-in-out 0s;" /></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-right: 0px; transition: all 0.18s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #800180;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: 0px; transition: all 0.18s ease-in-out 0s;">Deep History</em> argues that the key to understanding important aspects of human behavior lies in viewing evolution through the prism of the first living organisms. By tracking the chain of the evolutionary timeline he shows how even the earliest single-cell organisms had to solve problems similar to those we and our cells do each day. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-right: 0px; transition: all 0.18s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #800180;">Along the way, LeDoux explores our place in nature, how the evolution of nervous systems enhanced the ability of organisms to survive and thrive, and how the emergence of what we humans understand as consciousness made both our greatest and most horrendous achievements as a species possible.</span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxU0C6idTjjoolLlE4A26p5XM4dj1-qwwZ-yBnK7AA3pa7V2nK9SWNO3qalwJIis0n2s1gflQmSs5uJdFCTWnBT_4_7g3CPpmRyD-GAW3Y1-cKjB1CxRNgPXC0WR9z1fxM8pCQcgpRXw/s1318/IMG%2523d_river+road.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1318" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxU0C6idTjjoolLlE4A26p5XM4dj1-qwwZ-yBnK7AA3pa7V2nK9SWNO3qalwJIis0n2s1gflQmSs5uJdFCTWnBT_4_7g3CPpmRyD-GAW3Y1-cKjB1CxRNgPXC0WR9z1fxM8pCQcgpRXw/w542-h446/IMG%2523d_river+road.png" width="542" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Avenir; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></p><div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></span></div></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-5890156378485640632021-09-22T21:19:00.002-06:002021-09-22T21:20:09.434-06:00Considering God as a Creation of Our Human Mind. - cfi workbook #3<p style="color: #878787; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #0d6002; font-family: verdana;">This comes from a conversation over at </span><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/why-did-you-choose-atheism/8245/112" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>CenterForInquiry discussion forum</b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: verdana;"> under the far ranging thread headed: <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/why-did-you-choose-atheism/8245">Why Did You Choose Atheism?</a></span><span style="color: #0d6002; font-family: verdana;"> It’s part of my workshop.</span></p><p style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00_M1xMoEgLOjqh9WFLFNOnHm22y2jmCtp07Jwa8bhlJ0HywFoHohV9S0qfK31utw2wCZ5nTL9WGbNawTbufiTGnCJsd9b7g48Xu1oLotfjCoGBAcC8gbZQL2c8roC8gf5MByEs0OjU0/s1728/IMG_GodBlog_Carl%25231_21-09-04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="1728" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00_M1xMoEgLOjqh9WFLFNOnHm22y2jmCtp07Jwa8bhlJ0HywFoHohV9S0qfK31utw2wCZ5nTL9WGbNawTbufiTGnCJsd9b7g48Xu1oLotfjCoGBAcC8gbZQL2c8roC8gf5MByEs0OjU0/w509-h141/IMG_GodBlog_Carl%25231_21-09-04.png" width="509" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.1px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/why-did-you-choose-atheism/8245/117">post #117 - Sep 4, 8:33 PM</a></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: rgba(204, 204, 204, 0.36); color: #590027; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px 36px;">Write4u comments: <b>“Evolution is established science.”</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana;">I offered a slight adjustment.</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(204, 204, 204, 0.38); color: #0d6002; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px 81px;"><span style="color: #807f7f;">Citizenschallenge: </span><b>Evolution is established by scientific evidence.</b><span style="color: #262626;"><b> </b> : -)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now if only we really let that lesson soak in, as we think about who and what we are.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As for God, I would suggest that the evidence points to God being the product of our minds. And where did that come from you ask?<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We people, every one of us who was nurtured through an umbilical cord and born from a woman, carry hundreds of millions, actually billions of years worth of biological tricks and tools and such within ourselves. Our body is aware of the echos of millions and hundreds of thousands of years worth of hominid, then human generations. We are the sum total of their collective journey. It’s not some abstract notion, our DNA is proof of that. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each of us has grand parents of grand parents reaching back to the dim dawn of evolution.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If God be anywhere, why shouldn’t she/he be found within ourselves, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">resonating through the creatures that became us,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the echos of deep time?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">I keep wondering, how do people justify constantly looking for God, out there?</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">—-</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Write4u responded with:</span></i></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #590027; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> Wishful thinking ? The assumption of a spiritual existence in the heaven of God.</p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #590027; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">The end has no end, but is a new beginning apart from physical existence and if you have been a good boy it is for an eternity of bliss.</p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #590027; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Actually it is just an extension of the same evolved impetus that drives us to stay alive.</p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #590027; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Good comeback, fair enough, though it does represent the believer's perspective more than the spectators. Still I’m going to have to chew on it a bit, not that it changes my conviction that our gods do indeed come from within ourselves, rather than from up above.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcr92O5_hyphenhyphenX0JF5JURhePvGFPjvYmnUPnnxvhNS9OysdAEuRkbX-XJh7ESWRVa7XhG-X7OQLDenou96SIW0w6h53sTGISVrWQzZkOKmsw-QqXxvtOIArU_pXnXpM3Q7DCywfhA9h6Ejw/s790/IMG_GodBlog_Carl%25232closeup_21-09-04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="742" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcr92O5_hyphenhyphenX0JF5JURhePvGFPjvYmnUPnnxvhNS9OysdAEuRkbX-XJh7ESWRVa7XhG-X7OQLDenou96SIW0w6h53sTGISVrWQzZkOKmsw-QqXxvtOIArU_pXnXpM3Q7DCywfhA9h6Ejw/s320/IMG_GodBlog_Carl%25232closeup_21-09-04.png" width="301" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><i>Previously</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/why-did-you-choose-atheism/8245/112">Post #112 - Sep 4, 3:03 PM<span style="color: #262626;"></span></a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #b5b5b5; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b3980; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: rgba(204, 204, 204, 0.38); color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Courier; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">michaelmckinney1951:</p><p style="background-color: rgba(204, 204, 204, 0.38); color: #262626; font-family: Courier; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Evolved emergent complexity is the observed tendency for the universe to develop through time more elaborate structures of increased complexity beginning with matter itself.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I like that. The same can be said for our layered brains which were evolved over ions of creatures trying to survive through their day to day, eat, stay healthy, procreate, rest, live, seek, learn to survive as things change. That imperative starts at the beginnings of complexity within biological systems.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #b5b5b5; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b3980; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: rgba(204, 204, 204, 0.36); color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Courier; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">michaelmckinney1951:</p><p style="background-color: rgba(204, 204, 204, 0.36); color: #262626; font-family: Courier; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Now enters the idea of “universal consciousness.” This concept implies that consciousness is not produced by the human brain but is present in the universe as one of it’s primary and original attributes and it’s not consciousness that is produced by the brain but it’s the brain and more specifically the human mind that enters consciousness, a universal consciousness that existed prior to the brain and prior to the evolutionary process that brought the human brain into existence.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">What’s wrong with recognizing consciousness is the result of our body’s functioning biology and sensory inputs from the world we happen to find ourselves in?</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Opposed to what you are saying, there are a number neuroscientists pointing out that <b>our consciousness is basically the inside reflection of our biological bodies dealing with life</b>.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">That outlook feels consistent with the experience of my own day to days. I’m aware of the evolutionary heritage that lies within my body, and the impulses that drive it and help it survive. It makes sense from my Earth Centrist perspective.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCRb0bcknliVFjIRfPznHd4vZ8trsGZdUxSZOIcVh30-igQrbb7cQMnOnlQu1fZKlwN6Vu1c7jKnb4UdKU9oOsqT_CLIgtErP4m5UJiC_fBSGF5HEv2WJ2dQBxZEY9T916Cx8OHOTbB0/s2112/IMG_GodBlog_walking+Maddy_August+27%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="2112" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCRb0bcknliVFjIRfPznHd4vZ8trsGZdUxSZOIcVh30-igQrbb7cQMnOnlQu1fZKlwN6Vu1c7jKnb4UdKU9oOsqT_CLIgtErP4m5UJiC_fBSGF5HEv2WJ2dQBxZEY9T916Cx8OHOTbB0/w494-h230/IMG_GodBlog_walking+Maddy_August+27%252C+2021.png" width="494" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Michael, You offer universal consciousness, others offer the geometry of consciousness, yet others offer us the end of space and time altogether - how any of it relates to our actual human lives I still can’t fathom, though I keep trying.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Evolution and having a general appreciation for the strands that make me, myself and I, along with where they originated, having a glimpse of the huge spectrum of creatures this Earth provided a home for, and that made me possible. Life and drama on the grandest scale. </p><p style="color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><span style="background-color: white;">That stuff positively informs my days and makes a real difference in my appreciate and dealing with the <a href="https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sturm+und+Drang"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">sturm und drang</span></a> of my own days and how I deal with the creatures I interact with, human as well as animal, even botanical.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gj3UY23X_-B-nUBTqj1LuXy-Qurh3J-sSsEqMkUOeUx9CcUB8jeBveEiXBN-8Q1oorSsbSxV3ZYKpx0NybHOv2STrXLNTUTpzmajpwF7K6oH4gQbIHa6bdJ0vgddkLoa4_504acLWTI/s2058/IMG_GodBlog_plants+and+patterns_Sept.2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="2058" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gj3UY23X_-B-nUBTqj1LuXy-Qurh3J-sSsEqMkUOeUx9CcUB8jeBveEiXBN-8Q1oorSsbSxV3ZYKpx0NybHOv2STrXLNTUTpzmajpwF7K6oH4gQbIHa6bdJ0vgddkLoa4_504acLWTI/w496-h148/IMG_GodBlog_plants+and+patterns_Sept.2021.png" width="496" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-53334276094236856632021-09-12T11:46:00.013-06:002021-09-12T12:50:39.538-06:00Replying to a Christian's missive - cfi workbook #2<p><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0e717c; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><b>Unknown</b><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.52)"> commented on <span style="color: #0e717c;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2019/01/honest-look-at-limits-to-growth.html">"An Honest Look at The Limits To Growth (Ugo Bardi)"</a> </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0e717c; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><i style="color: #f06708; font-family: Verdana;">Awaiting moderation.</i></p>
<p style="color: #e6000e; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px;"><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">Comment Rejected</i><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #20a603;">… on the grounds that I won’t be a billboard, I’m looking for serious dialogue!</i></p><p style="color: #20a603; font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(230, 0, 14); color: #e6000e;"><b>but I will build a response post around it.</b></i></i></p><p style="color: #20a603; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px;"><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since Mr. Unknown’s missive comes at a good time and I’m in this ‘workshop mode’ I’m going to dissect his allegations as an exercise in explaining my ideas. He and others are invited to share responses, here or at <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/religion-easy-as-pie-the-workshop/8255" target="_blank">the CFI Forum</a>.</span></i></p><p style="color: #20a603; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgUxh44GRflr7uXzFxNwPr9LyU4ymEZ-pd1RXIIOBSeKhLZqtnKG8Rizo-UzaQjxoVBlK7kkwOdzJ1t3-7o2DkJRs0gk2N8PfKudXJ9OlTQvt-pi2nVcmISoCIjOZkKtEFUUhYzct968/s2044/IMG-21-09-01_full+dbl+rainbow%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="2044" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgUxh44GRflr7uXzFxNwPr9LyU4ymEZ-pd1RXIIOBSeKhLZqtnKG8Rizo-UzaQjxoVBlK7kkwOdzJ1t3-7o2DkJRs0gk2N8PfKudXJ9OlTQvt-pi2nVcmISoCIjOZkKtEFUUhYzct968/w498-h168/IMG-21-09-01_full+dbl+rainbow%252C+2021.png" width="498" /></a></i></div><p></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0e717c; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #0e717c; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Aug 25, 2021: <b>Unknown</b><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.52)"> commented on <span style="color: #0e717c;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2019/01/honest-look-at-limits-to-growth.html">"An Honest Look at The Limits To Growth (Ugo Bardi)"</a></span></span></p></blockquote>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><i>Mr Unknown writes:</i> Citizenschallenge, you have been tricked into believing the creator of this earth has limits to what he can and will do. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">The “creator” of this Earth is star dust and the work of billions of years worth of physics, geology, biology and cumulative change over time, that is Evolution.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Cc, I used to believe as you do and so started a recycling center in 1974 in N. Calif in southern Humboldt County. I wanted to save the planet but i had much much more to learn and i did. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Yes we certainly have plenty to learn when we’re still green behind the ears - oh but what fun years those were. Fortunately, usually I took grandpa's advice: <i>“Listen! Even if you already know it all. Shut up and listen, you just might learn something.”</i></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">You have created your own version of who I am, it does not fit the reality. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Although I’ll admit I know about Humboldt county back in da day: <i>“sinsemilla, send some to me-ia”</i> ;-). </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">And okay it would have been nice to be part of helping save our biosphere, the planet will get by. The global support systems we depend on, not so much. It’s truly heartbreaking witnessing how horribly self-centered and greedy and self-destructive our generation wound up being. Even after all we had learned about the ways of Earth. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">But, that’s another story.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">It took total surrender to the only one who rules heaven and earth. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">What’s that even mean “taking total surrender”? </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Total surrender to the Bible? Total surrender to a slick talking preacher who got his hooks into ya?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I didn’t need to surrender to anything, all I needed was to open my eyes and senses to observing, honest curiosity, learning and contemplating nature and Mother Earth. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Observing, acting, thinking, learning, loving it and so on. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">It’s amazing how much mother nature can teach those who pay attention, sort of like the Bible told me: “Seek and ye shall find.” Scientist sure have learned a great deal, we should pay attention to them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQwiaynasFJD3RJ6_8tuQ-KbZL9q5vvkxc1NRGfwmx9FV4oi4UqjpCH-qU6b4EF0K75_jvrizYUqN4HGTbkDg4i_j7h0FU8OEwHlOHQzoF3wzH-kJhj8pZGOAYjwsur70vPbWrRtklvms/s1152/IMG_GodBlog_river+road+.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1152" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQwiaynasFJD3RJ6_8tuQ-KbZL9q5vvkxc1NRGfwmx9FV4oi4UqjpCH-qU6b4EF0K75_jvrizYUqN4HGTbkDg4i_j7h0FU8OEwHlOHQzoF3wzH-kJhj8pZGOAYjwsur70vPbWrRtklvms/w508-h263/IMG_GodBlog_river+road+.png" width="508" /></a></div><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">If you’re seeking is pure, that is, spiritually and intellectually honest.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">___________</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Yes God exists he has shown himself to me and others and even spoke to me OUT LOUD once. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I don’t doubt it. I myself have felt God’s breath against my back. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;"><b>Thing is, the real mystical secret to grasp is that God comes from within you yourself, not from some outside cosmic source. </b></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">There’s something within you that is directly connected to all the generations that came through that umbilical cord that nurtured you into life. It’s your direct connection to deep-time flowing through your veins. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">There you will find mystical fascination to no end. But, it’s to be found within the biology that is you, the creature that Earth created.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Cc, you’re a student of learning of books and not of the reality around you. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Where do you come up with that? </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Sure I try to keep up on interesting reading, mainly nonfictions. But I also think about what I read. I’ve also <a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2020/05/humanists-path-culinary-arts-3-4.html">gone out in the world</a> and experienced more people and more jobs and places, then I’ll bet, you can imagine.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I’ve been a fully engaged student of life since my earliest memories, thanks to the good fortune of having two wonderful parents along with a fascinating eclectic upbringing.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">You have created a mindset that has you limited and thinking the need to control the earths population. I too use to think like this. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">You don’t know me, how can you assume how limited my mindset is? Simply because I don’t sing: “Jesus Saves!”?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">As for Earth’s population, guess you need to take some time to learn about our biosphere and the limits of human growth and expansion - and what we are currently doing to our life sustaining biosphere.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">I am 66 yrs old and have learned many things from being a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43259902">cryogenic technician</a> to a recycling center controller to building green homes to gardening and growing food and restoring old buildings built in the early 1800's. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">? </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Interesting, we’re the same age, pleased to virtually meet you. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Cryogenic technician, wow, whole human or simply body parts? </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">You restored old buildings. Cool, I did my share of that, though not that old. Up in Silverton, Colorado at 9,300 feet, among other not quite so dramatic places. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">The key to understanding me is that I have deep appreciation for the <i><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/09/key-to-gould-nonoverlapping-magisteria.html" target="_blank">Human Mindscape ~ Physical Reality divide</a>. </i>Unfortunately I'm learning most don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Yet, it's as simple and straightforward as can be.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I’m a bit more down to Earth than most, science fiction doesn’t excite me the way it does others - I’m excited by learning about evolution, geology, biology, history and the wonders of this unique planet, along with the human drama. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">I pray you open your mind. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFSPxlqPvFpT8q_yLIME8LGlzG8XF0vwPvJI8SDHKtM7Ycc9X5d8pR4dpk-r4GAGPxsS1-IdrEq7GwDHZZ5uePWI7ux-3oyzDy3tWGN5L_4cG9Ljg1_uGxb6zBZ2trWt8BPiU9a-MwjY/s1992/IMG-21-09-01_Carl%252C+May+and+July%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1992" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFSPxlqPvFpT8q_yLIME8LGlzG8XF0vwPvJI8SDHKtM7Ycc9X5d8pR4dpk-r4GAGPxsS1-IdrEq7GwDHZZ5uePWI7ux-3oyzDy3tWGN5L_4cG9Ljg1_uGxb6zBZ2trWt8BPiU9a-MwjY/w504-h260/IMG-21-09-01_Carl%252C+May+and+July%252C+2021.png" width="504" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Open my mind to what? </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I appreciate that I am an element in the Pageant of Earth’s timeless Evolution. I embrace the creation that's unfolded one day at a time for millions and billions of years. I engage with the days of my life on a level you can’t imagine. I listen to you and imagine an intellectual jail cell. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">What do you think you are offering? </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I am somewhat prepared and certainly at peace with the knowledge my coming final breath and death. Entering that endless deep dark sleep from whence none return, while others have to deal with my carcass. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">My body will be cut up and utilized as others see fit. Not for any spiritual penance, it's more as a spiritual acknowledgment and gratuity to all I have consumed in my days. A final grateful thank you to the world that treated me so well as I'm being reabsorbed into the Earth that created me in the first place. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">As for my afterlife, my various echo’s will become part of the ongoing story, no matter how tiny. And it is good. The success story is that I didn’t waste my days when I had them.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">What do you have to offer?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Citizenschallenge, you say you know such and such but what do you really know? ...</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7l5_Ye0RjC-P8FKW-aByZ6RRL1rx2LRUPBFDxvDVpPZjYr7pBBtQehjjX_83U60aHKHzV4uvMljT9H5-5OEUIdeAglOwRu99Aq4NB25Kn-NeVzUrtiFs23HhdhFdaRznn9SYXu_qPNgw/s2150/IMG-21-09-01_cloud+burst%252C+horizon%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="2150" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7l5_Ye0RjC-P8FKW-aByZ6RRL1rx2LRUPBFDxvDVpPZjYr7pBBtQehjjX_83U60aHKHzV4uvMljT9H5-5OEUIdeAglOwRu99Aq4NB25Kn-NeVzUrtiFs23HhdhFdaRznn9SYXu_qPNgw/w507-h149/IMG-21-09-01_cloud+burst%252C+horizon%252C+2021.png" width="507" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I’ve been spending a great deal of time and effort trying to enunciate that:</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">SEPTEMBER 1, 2018</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/09/key-to-gould-nonoverlapping-magisteria.html"><b>Missing Key to Stephen Gould’s “Nonoverlapping Magisteria”</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">DECEMBER 7, 2019</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2019/12/introduction-pageant-evolution-project.html"><b>Introduction to Cc's Pageant of Evolution project.</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">FEBRUARY 22, 2020</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2020/02/diary-half-century-agw-awareness.html"><b>Diary - Musing on a half Century of Climate Science Awareness, 2020-02-22</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">DECEMBER 30, 2020</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2020/12/closing-out-2020-defending-physical.html"><b>Diary - Closing Out 2020 Defending Physical Reality</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">APRIL 5, 2021</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-is-earth-centrism.html"><b>What is “Earth Centrism”?</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">APRIL 8, 2021</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/physical-reality-human-mindscape-divide.html"><b>Appreciating the Physical Reality ~ Human Mindscape divide</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">APRIL 16, 2021</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/04/an-element-earths-pageant-of-evolution.html"><b>Being an Element in Earth’s Pageant of Evolution</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> <span style="background-color: white;">MAY 7, 2021</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2021/05/no-bodymindproblem-its-egogodproblem.html"><b>It’s Not A “Body-Mind Problem” - It’s An “Ego-God Problem.”</b><span style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> Appreciating Evolution</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #270d61; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/who-says-understanding-earths-evolution.html"><b>Who Says Understanding Earth’s Evolution is Irrelevant?</b><span style="color: #270d61; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"> A Case For Reality</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #2d6516; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/case-for-reality.html"><b>Because apparently someone needs to make one. </b><span style="color: #2d6516; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></a></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Have you simply calculated the curvature of the earth for example.. earthcurvature.com and you will learn a whole lot more that you ever thought. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What’s the point?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">___________</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;">Citizenschallenge, I pray you also will read the bible and come to know GOD, his SON JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT. They created all that is seen and unseen. Stop looking at that which you can see and start opening your mind to that which is unseen. may Jesus bless you with wisdom and truth. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: right;"> The End</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; text-align: right;"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBMrfsVqYhHX5POxx_ZYTTLcsDhCKSgtr8Wf-lz7_Zgl7i1UoygVLvn3xnPpdE3hlJ6NZit1oN0y7665JBxDKqtsa8gflWtYLpVKvs_XrgETfs9GO55eE96E46unIFsMiru1K3eINz3g/s1412/IMG-21-09-01_partial+dbl+rainbow+over+road%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="1344" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBMrfsVqYhHX5POxx_ZYTTLcsDhCKSgtr8Wf-lz7_Zgl7i1UoygVLvn3xnPpdE3hlJ6NZit1oN0y7665JBxDKqtsa8gflWtYLpVKvs_XrgETfs9GO55eE96E46unIFsMiru1K3eINz3g/w425-h446/IMG-21-09-01_partial+dbl+rainbow+over+road%252C+2021.png" width="425" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #590027; font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">You don’t know anything about my background. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Ironically, I was the sincere young acolyte, lighting candles in reverent reflection on how much Jesus loved me. Seriously, Tabor Lutheran, Chicago late ‘60s, imagine that. I mean I felt Jesus in my heart as a presence as much as anyone who’s felt the “calling”.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Then quite early on I learned that Jesus’s lessons and spirit were one thing. Religions and the people who ran them had altogether different intentions and actions. I listen to what people said, then I watched what they did. Many (<i>actually sadly most</i>) did not stand up to honest scrutiny.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">I learned that Jesus wasn’t a savior, nor a key to everlasting life, Jesus was a composite of the best in humanity. An ideal for us to strive to live up to. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">Later I came to learn that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmI-irBrqUo&list=PLbxJoHrGL7mNQh-GWe5OF3_JOvvQonY-A" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Jesus’s Passion</a> was a guide through our own most trying times. Jesus is all about helping us find our way through the here and now.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">It’s not even like I’ve ever renounced Jesus. Were I to met Jesus on the road, we’d get along, share some good talks over the camp fire, perhaps some tears, since he’s the kind that could bore deep into the essence of a person’s heart, then we’d part in friendship, while offering our own blessings to each other. As opposed to being so hubristic as to presume to offer "God's Blessing." </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0d6002; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 9px;">That would be that. Well, there would also be that afterglow of a new friendship with a very singular person.</p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-72359673032516191572021-09-08T12:39:00.003-06:002021-09-12T12:02:49.663-06:00Religion, easy as ... - cfi workbook #1<p> </p>
<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(131, 0, 65); color: #830041; font-family: verdana;">Think about it, aren't the Abrahamic religions all about self-centeredness - ours as well as God’s?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(131, 0, 65); color: #830041; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(131, 0, 65); color: #830041; font-family: verdana;">Worse is their contempt and disregard for the sovereignty of our Earth’s biosphere, her other inhabitants and the reality of our Evolutionary origins. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;">August 30th, 2020, an update on my </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;">Hoffman Playing Basketball in Zero-gravity project</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-WloXU3IDN3rqKoRwfzfOudLA0Rp7Kwvfk13RSolS59XpC9YFEorLCk_C-41ufy-PI6buOTAjk2CbCV9HBa6QtaxqPC3ZKwhy1L7-ONR_MHpHU6h5pox7XHOC0xh2NZOUq-X4r_ITRQ/s2002/IMG_CloudOverTennessee-Aug+26%252C+2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="2002" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-WloXU3IDN3rqKoRwfzfOudLA0Rp7Kwvfk13RSolS59XpC9YFEorLCk_C-41ufy-PI6buOTAjk2CbCV9HBa6QtaxqPC3ZKwhy1L7-ONR_MHpHU6h5pox7XHOC0xh2NZOUq-X4r_ITRQ/w583-h172/IMG_CloudOverTennessee-Aug+26%252C+2021.png" width="583" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I’ve one last assignment before I can put the bow on my Hoffman Playing Basketball in Zero-gravity project. But it’s a challenging </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-size: 15px;">topic,</span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> easy to avoid and procrastinate, plus I’ve had a very busy summer, still do. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;">On the other hand, time and experience has been clarifying these fundamental questions most others have also pondered, so of course I want to enunciate and share my perspective, while I'm still around. </span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I want my final installment to Hoffman's project</span></span><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px;"> to be a sharp essay, so have decided to go slow, share the introduction, and basically conduct a personal workshop and hopefully by doing it online, it'll push me to completing the final details in style. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">It would be wonderful if some others would chime in, and in fact, I have a thread started over at <a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/faq" target="_blank">CFI's</a></span> </span><a href="https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/religion-easy-as-pie-the-workshop/8255/2" style="font-size: 15px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #800180;">CenterForInquiryForum</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"> and invite you to share any comments or general thoughts over there.</span></span></span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxmuxR6vFti8KraVxnYfjwb0bMTduJhAosAXdvt4WL6S_zqEMP1A5ICFbrXtUSNYEEWdWr6poEI-9-j3nIRH6TJo_ox-csnZEh4fNM6umUWAifIf3XJJlPHKOZw7MGror8wnT9Z_sgKU/s1584/CFI+-+Religion%252C+easy+as+pie+%257E+The+Workshop_21-08-30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1584" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxmuxR6vFti8KraVxnYfjwb0bMTduJhAosAXdvt4WL6S_zqEMP1A5ICFbrXtUSNYEEWdWr6poEI-9-j3nIRH6TJo_ox-csnZEh4fNM6umUWAifIf3XJJlPHKOZw7MGror8wnT9Z_sgKU/w454-h203/CFI+-+Religion%252C+easy+as+pie+%257E+The+Workshop_21-08-30.png" width="454" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #274e13;">This isn’t for everyone, but if concepts such as Earth Centrism, Evolution, deep time and Earth as a physical geo-biological entity, resonates, you may find this fascinating. </span><span style="color: #262626;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Introduction</span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I’ll wager that if you took some time to think about it, you’d acknowledge that on a fundamental level the <b>Abrahamic religions are all about self-centeredness - ours as well as God’s</b>.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These religions were founded on the basis of self-interest, they were focused on selected kernels of knowledge, born of an aggressive insecurity, and supported by a passionate sense of</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">self-important </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">certitude. Usually with empire building in mind while reeking with hostility towards outsiders, other teachers and learning. They did achieve results.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>All the while pretty much ignoring the sovereignty of our Earth’s biosphere, her other inhabitants and the reality of our Evolutionary origins.</b></span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Consider, within the Abrahamic tradition our planet’s life support system and her inhabitants never rise above something to exploit until we suck it dry, then we move on to the next bonanza.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Whereas for me, Earth, her creatures and biosphere, her Evolution, these are my touchstones with physical reality. I feel time flowing through me as I travel through my days. I live within a mindscape that’s filled with an awareness of time in its entire spectrum, from microseconds, to my heart beat, to the days, seasons, years and decades, on to the eons of Evolution.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0j2dfZ9ZpNrwpDHcmsXtEvN-HhlGvvb7mmbqwxtVOitOpaOu4jJ6ajP7aiKd3r6zWH9pAwf0ZYbD7RHRIz2GN1o9ghmG5BzzB1eAAcRXjs76dI7M7xEOLYrrevCgn47mkJl7KYil4nBA/s1706/IMG%25231_CJ%252C+TN+Bound%252C+sunset%252C+looking+east..png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="1706" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0j2dfZ9ZpNrwpDHcmsXtEvN-HhlGvvb7mmbqwxtVOitOpaOu4jJ6ajP7aiKd3r6zWH9pAwf0ZYbD7RHRIz2GN1o9ghmG5BzzB1eAAcRXjs76dI7M7xEOLYrrevCgn47mkJl7KYil4nBA/w504-h168/IMG%25231_CJ%252C+TN+Bound%252C+sunset%252C+looking+east..png" width="504" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(131, 0, 65); color: #830041;">So, naturally I have this apparently somewhat unique perspective concerning our human condition, that I believe is worth sharing.</span></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #830041;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(131, 0, 65);"><br /></span></span></span><p></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Where does “God” come from?</span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It seems to me most people think, “God” and “Truth” come down to us from on high. From out there in the heavens, beyond our Earth and daily realities? For many, their "God" demands incessant worship, like some petty tyrant.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Western philosophy was born out of that intellectual ego-centric mindset, and given what I read and hear from contemporary philosophers, most still haven’t broken free of it, let alone acknowledging it. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #830041;">In the same vein, contemporary searches for the ultimate answers within the quantum realm and mathematical <span style="caret-color: rgb(131, 0, 65);">philosophy</span> are little different from counting angels dancing on the head of a pin.</span></span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've learned that <b>“God” originates from deep within our selves</b>. A consequence of many converging influences, some with roots deep into our mammalian heritage. </span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Think about it, we come from the breast sucklers.</span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That means, some 175 million years worth of live births and instinctive nurturing, family units along with communities consisting of many families as a survival strategy.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then we developed a brain that could look at the world, and back on itself, in thoughtful introspection. We learned to observe, finding patterns and learning from those patterns ( <i>learning from observing nature</i> ) and we remembered our experiences, plus we were able to tell the stories that conveyed our experiences/lessons to others, who could record and share those moments/lessons countless times, in countless different contexts.</span></p>
<p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That was big.</span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">... (to be continued)</span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #830041; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px 45px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBfxbf7Q4Sei7P53vPYfJJ2Ctedtus6ea3GjpeRg1mhhD3aDiRYhbi_EiFBVcvXBlP2cYUEbQOdjDXg9NESzlxiy3jC02WNN2qBTuooqwrJiPKEFbHE3K-VuXRPQj32krH8Xw-mkhJOw/s1840/Screen+Shot+2021-08-30+at+11.15.56+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="1840" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBfxbf7Q4Sei7P53vPYfJJ2Ctedtus6ea3GjpeRg1mhhD3aDiRYhbi_EiFBVcvXBlP2cYUEbQOdjDXg9NESzlxiy3jC02WNN2qBTuooqwrJiPKEFbHE3K-VuXRPQj32krH8Xw-mkhJOw/w572-h138/Screen+Shot+2021-08-30+at+11.15.56+PM.png" width="572" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-29708281325885136932021-07-27T21:15:00.009-06:002021-07-27T22:19:07.772-06:00January 6th Capitol Hill Riot investigation is off to a solid start. (the Dept.Justice, July 26th letter)<p><br /></p><p>On July 26, the Department of Justice sent out a letter that told ex-trump officials they were expected to honestly testify when asked to, and that presidential executive privilege did not apply to any events related to January 6th attack on the capital. The following excepts of text comes from: <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21017899/doj-letters-to-former-trump-officials-authorizing-testimony-to-congress.pdf" target="_blank">https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21017899/doj-letters-to-former-trump-officials-authorizing-testimony-to-congress.pdf</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">click on the image for a better view</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh224oe_ohVO6A2T_2IgVpLWrbxUhvprGlqGpIFEq2OQCrSiWr6peBVKCtUxN5tGmVQBK2R318GJVVWOMyPges5iZAP28AEcZLEeHW7WTcJpxdX-QLdEg_99XF2vTTgnOUSR1rXDPv6ofCj/s1296/Jan6-%2523A-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Rosen.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1296" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh224oe_ohVO6A2T_2IgVpLWrbxUhvprGlqGpIFEq2OQCrSiWr6peBVKCtUxN5tGmVQBK2R318GJVVWOMyPges5iZAP28AEcZLEeHW7WTcJpxdX-QLdEg_99XF2vTTgnOUSR1rXDPv6ofCj/w400-h291/Jan6-%2523A-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Rosen.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1296" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilueZk3s2-x0xfR3qqjFu1yAotmLo1sIgG3k75ukGt9_0quTW4wcoIE6tprZCNaqDWazBNUgafKNOClLSQTmYj1Dcl-tEexbLZy2kSO5yGZ5uuu_1a8J0kMfDmxYgzIx84rzroqGd5iT2R/w400-h297/Jan6-%2523F-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Byung+J.+Pak.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupEoO1esX25A8gYYVkBOL3274rlCOwPrYl4T08hnUOrUS5CyuJUsKyQt3TMwdsUd0IASa3TbIXX6vzTnHBvWd745om-llr3wvj7dryNOQf4FefszC1iph-KmFkTE1hukNe7MdeSB4i12u/s1296/Jan6-%2523G-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Bobby+Christine.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1296" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupEoO1esX25A8gYYVkBOL3274rlCOwPrYl4T08hnUOrUS5CyuJUsKyQt3TMwdsUd0IASa3TbIXX6vzTnHBvWd745om-llr3wvj7dryNOQf4FefszC1iph-KmFkTE1hukNe7MdeSB4i12u/w400-h284/Jan6-%2523G-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Bobby+Christine.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAcXjdE2G9p33FmZ08ltxV5h_q7piTpRzJxinth0s4fY9esoTbj5NIaFo0inpMsRzafqfiyozjALKktK5qBjivInOWffm_VhZRmD5zXgFOaXK0pVwC8pq4VwwuaEExaXyQHgQKNUx6wlI/s1296/Jan6-%2523H-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Jeffrey+Clark.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1296" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAcXjdE2G9p33FmZ08ltxV5h_q7piTpRzJxinth0s4fY9esoTbj5NIaFo0inpMsRzafqfiyozjALKktK5qBjivInOWffm_VhZRmD5zXgFOaXK0pVwC8pq4VwwuaEExaXyQHgQKNUx6wlI/w400-h299/Jan6-%2523H-JusticeDept.July26_testify+letter_Jeffrey+Clark.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yesterday the House of Representatives started their hearing into the January 6th insurrection at our Capitol. It seems something worth noting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aWwBcgOzaPE" title="YouTube video player" width="484"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgjtvMmHXbutALaw9XzRkAg" target="_blank">Politico</a> - July 27, 2021</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.20000000298023224px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Thank you very much, Chairman Thompson. Thank you to all of my colleagues on this committee, and thank you to each of the witnesses appearing before us today. It is because of you -- you held the line, you defended all of us, you defended the Capitol, and you defended the Constitution and our Republic, and every American owes you our undying gratitude. Every American, I hope, will be able to hear your testimony today and will watch the videos. The videos show the unbelievable violence and the inexcusable and intolerable cruelty that you all faced, and people need to know the truth."</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.20000000298023224px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.20000000298023224px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.20000000298023224px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OKVEeXz2sb4" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupvZG-5ko_eiXAupbDfxWw" target="_blank">CNN</a> - July 27, 2021</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.20000000298023224px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><blockquote>Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) sharply criticized Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for blaming Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the January 6th insurrection.</blockquote></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-76963816353702885482021-06-16T13:57:00.006-06:002021-06-16T13:58:34.838-06:00Senator Sheldon Whitehouse - Calling Out Democrat's Timidity. Pleading for the need to inform and engage.<p style="font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Back in the 1960s and '70s, society and its leaders where confronted with the reality that the more we consumed and polluted, the faster our children and grand children would face horrific consequences. It's 2021, yet the disregard continues, even as the consequences dance before our eyes.</b></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a message for Democrats, leaders and voters, that we need to listen to and heed, or what's left of our democracy will disappear. </b></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r26HH08ZJpE" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov" target="_blank">https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov</a></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I have a too tiny readership, though it does span the globe. That's why I feel like I should apologize for my overly American-centrist tone. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0luQPyL17B1xZXv3Dg4LZiO7hVxvMgv4UTLiYDDDKfAkfSCUzAk_DQF_47wBz9pz0VEW-ZgfQMtoPm3DQbtszNMoP16YLAqVcE8F_KV1Dy5KEqTHhgbCcrcJNACnbAX7J9cIshjHFC6g/s2358/IMG_Maddy+at+river_21-06-16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="2358" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0luQPyL17B1xZXv3Dg4LZiO7hVxvMgv4UTLiYDDDKfAkfSCUzAk_DQF_47wBz9pz0VEW-ZgfQMtoPm3DQbtszNMoP16YLAqVcE8F_KV1Dy5KEqTHhgbCcrcJNACnbAX7J9cIshjHFC6g/w501-h138/IMG_Maddy+at+river_21-06-16.png" width="501" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What can I say, this is my homeland, where I grew up, and where I've done most all of my traveling, where my friends and family and most of my memories exist and where I'll die, so it is what it is. If anyone would care to share their perspective regarding these matters, please do leave a comment. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We in America have been watching a ‘hostile takeover’ being waged upon our government. Actually, too many have been oblivious to it. This ‘hostile takeover’ attempt traces its roots to a reactionary rejection of both environmentalism, and human rights improvements by a few of the world's billionaires and tons of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/books/review/dark-money-by-jane-mayer.html" target="_blank">Dark Money</a>. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Why, because investing in the future threatened their gluttonous short term profit dreams.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It was a direct reaction to the increasingly successful human rights, and environmental movements of the '50s, '60s, ‘70s. Back in the '50s scientists finally began to gain a realistic globally holistic, big-picture appreciation for Earth's interconnected complexity and harmony. Plate tectonics, evolution, DNA and unraveling biological secrets, deconstructing atoms along with all their cascading implications and impacts. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In the '60s this growing understanding received a slap in the face and kick in the butt, with the realization that the mathematical real-earth observational data regarding current trends was not looking good.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;">We began to realize that humanity’s increasing stress upon Earth's biological processes was starting to show real biophysical impacts. This made us aware (<span style="color: #4c4c4c;"><i>That is, everyone who kept up on current events!</i></span>) that we were becoming a potent force of physical change, one that was taking on geologic (<i><span style="color: #444444;">or if you preferred Biblical</span></i>) proportions which were starting to have increasingly damaging impacts upon Earth's life sustaining biosphere. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">All this was plain and simple physical reality. All you needed to understand the underlying problem, was taking a lesson of the stars. The hotter a star burns, the sooner it will burn out and die. <b> Society and its leaders where faced with the reality that the more we consumed and polluted, the faster our grand children, now our own children, would face horrific consequences. </b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>The choice was really rather simple. Too simple: consume less, make less children, learn to appreciate Earth for the evolutionary wonder she is and for her creating us. Learn to give a little back and nurture our biosphere, try to minimize consumption and prepare for coming changes. Think seven generation ahead, and all that.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The resounding answer was: Fuck that! I want mine and I want it now! Too much will never be enough! Get out of my way !!! </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Those were the days when an actor president helped the GOP really start trashing truth and honesty, fair play and constructive debates, in favor of: "He who dies with the most toys, wins!" Ever increasing profits was their Holy Grail and nothing else mattered.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Between Nixon and Reagan the reactionary business forces rallied with the start of a vicious counter attack against all that environmentalism and humanitarian progressive nurturing future looking stuff. They had personal profits on their minds.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqF21MABeD2tFh_ZjxvvRgo-Aguiy4UsjeIy-1hyphenhyphenT8qYmOKkJ5OS-po6SmvYqDb2xnYFykpUhNwfrxyqQ_VcEiMpht8CJWdJl1mkdsHBkpzLHOOcFfWSf02mYfuACS30_Eotj2gKLBdA/s1536/IMG_Pinnacle+Ridge+River+from+SH87.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1536" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqF21MABeD2tFh_ZjxvvRgo-Aguiy4UsjeIy-1hyphenhyphenT8qYmOKkJ5OS-po6SmvYqDb2xnYFykpUhNwfrxyqQ_VcEiMpht8CJWdJl1mkdsHBkpzLHOOcFfWSf02mYfuACS30_Eotj2gKLBdA/w457-h229/IMG_Pinnacle+Ridge+River+from+SH87.png" width="457" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span face="proximanova, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(22, 22, 22); text-align: start;">Smoke from <a href="https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/pinnacle-fire-acres-contained-evacuations/75-02fbf381-df5b-43b0-8f98-9f8c452a019d" target="_blank">Pinnacle Ridge Fire</a>, </span><span face="proximanova, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(22, 22, 22); text-align: left;">Gila Valley,</span><span face="proximanova, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(22, 22, 22); text-align: start;"> Coronado National Forest, Arizona USA, June 15, 2021</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This concerted, strategic, tactical, hostile takeover attempt driven by a few multibillionaire interests and exemplified by the <a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/search?q=koch">Koch brothers</a> who it could be argued were <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/inside-the-koch-brothers-toxic-empire-164403/" target="_blank">ring leaders and toastmasters</a> to the past decades of <a href="https://www.headcount.org/politics-and-elections/some-unsettling-facts-about-the-koch-brothers/" target="_blank">deliberate deception</a> for profit. Perhaps, superseded only by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/03/magazine/rupert-murdoch-fox-news-trump.html" target="_blank">Rupert</a> <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/01/12/origin-specious-family-business-polluted-democracy/" target="_blank">Murdock</a> the global news <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/fox-news-is-a-hazard-to-our-democracy-its-time-to-take-the-fight-to-the-murdochs-heres-how/2021/01/22/1821f186-5cbe-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html" target="_blank">media octopus</a>.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Their vehicle has been <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/republicans-are-against-science-elections-democracy-journalism-and-you/" target="_blank">an assault</a> on America's democracy and its form of government with its checks and balances, operating under the rule of law along with a flippant disregard for honesty. This assault has proceeded through a megaphone blaring <a href="https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org" target="_blank">disregard for physical facts</a> along with malicious character assassination.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times;">In 2016 Americans, </span><i style="font-family: Times;">with the help of a lot of dirty tricks, voter </i><span style="font-family: Times;"><i>suppression</i></span><i style="font-family: Times;"> and massive social </i><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/18/how-russia-weaponized-social-media-got-caught-escaped-consequences/" style="font-family: Times; font-style: italic;">media manipulation</a><i style="font-family: Times;"> by </i><a href="https://time.com/4783932/inside-russia-social-media-war-america/" style="font-family: Times; font-style: italic;">Russian players</a><i style="font-family: Times;">,</i><span style="font-family: Times;"> elected the ultimate of Ugly Americans, a man who's motto could have been: "He who steals the most toys wins." </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What the hell happen to the sober realistic side of America? Where are you? What happened to defending rational fact based dialogue and showing a little tolerance toward others? Don't you realize America needs you? NOW! </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When are we going to start better networking and trying to inform and engage with each other? Honesty and Truth matters and deserves defending. Where are you people? Senator Whitehouse did a great job of explaining the problem. I hope some appreciate we are talking about YOU. We need you. I myself would be happy to join in, if there were something to join. <b><a href="https://indivisible.org" target="_blank">Indivisible</a></b> is great for what it is, but they need many more participants. Plus, something more is needed, people willing to be more vocal, <b><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/ccs.html" target="_blank">willing to expose and confront the deliberate liars for hire</a></b>. <b>If we aren't changing minds, we are losing.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The future will be a rough place, without a respect for truth and honesty, constructively debating and learning and cooperating, it's only going to make it that much rougher. Is anybody out there? </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Email, <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/ccs.html" target="_blank">citizenschallenge</a> at gmail com. </i></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2j0Ni0dg2klIWGyY__49uDLAiVZ4prz-I7A3iPfeBzUTVNQihaFcNXCq9X4sQS9R5hgkWrsnpzrk8rMtnWKrR1waPKNiL84zlAhdjZVUQNmUWbSt7cCAdpoQJunouNMqgmDz9s34djc/s1296/IMG_Saguaro+Cactus%252C+lots+of+blooms.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1296" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2j0Ni0dg2klIWGyY__49uDLAiVZ4prz-I7A3iPfeBzUTVNQihaFcNXCq9X4sQS9R5hgkWrsnpzrk8rMtnWKrR1waPKNiL84zlAhdjZVUQNmUWbSt7cCAdpoQJunouNMqgmDz9s34djc/w477-h282/IMG_Saguaro+Cactus%252C+lots+of+blooms.png" width="477" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f4Aw8qfbIVX6TAPj2aPPFwT8Sfn6NeYXW4o7NSn9_BY-pUKeBEOWaJrqsEm7suAjyQaqyCM7nvSkSGWt14SaWrytSjGLu4zinb8r5lXPfmvSWuLUvtxer6p9tyZH9raBtw5nw_OEY4s/s1582/IMG_Burned+cactus+on+SH87++-+2020+fire.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1582" data-original-width="1174" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f4Aw8qfbIVX6TAPj2aPPFwT8Sfn6NeYXW4o7NSn9_BY-pUKeBEOWaJrqsEm7suAjyQaqyCM7nvSkSGWt14SaWrytSjGLu4zinb8r5lXPfmvSWuLUvtxer6p9tyZH9raBtw5nw_OEY4s/w376-h508/IMG_Burned+cactus+on+SH87++-+2020+fire.png" width="376" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/unprecedented-saguaro-side-blooms-could-be-a-bad-sign/article_dcc13746-b82f-11eb-bbd6-b375421b76f1.html" target="_blank">Unprecedented saguaro 'side buds'</a> and <a href="https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/06/14/wildfire-closes-sr-87-northeast-of-phoenix/" target="_blank">2020 fire damage</a> - June, 2021</div><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><div></div><blockquote><div>Video - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaXkIU1QidjPwiAYu6GcHjg" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">MSNBC</a> - <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r26HH08ZJpE" target="_blank">The Reid Out</a> - June 15, 2021</span></div>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/about/biography" target="_blank">Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse</a> joins The Reid Out on the influence of Americans for Prosperity and other conservative groups, which are waging a behind-the-scenes effort to stop progressive priorities like the For the People Act.</p></blockquote><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: verdana; font-size: xx-small;">These are my own images.</span></div>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212235251641475783.post-15628800855254376082021-04-28T21:18:00.003-06:002021-04-28T21:19:40.071-06:00Diary, "INDIVISIBLE" webinar & networking. All hands on deck, they tell me. What do I have to offer?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuzBOWH-O6mk05HWUMdCXLrGVxCdH85sHiMBRMagikCMzA-cefJaTJlQ5KJ7APJ7AIK9ULRJ7yf6d2_z7v3rP4RvUqw__JoGE-c-_jDw7Hc_V3jC1nzDeu4trShdmrlWBEyc8ZEeIB1Y/s520/Indivisible.org+-+logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="76" data-original-width="520" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuzBOWH-O6mk05HWUMdCXLrGVxCdH85sHiMBRMagikCMzA-cefJaTJlQ5KJ7APJ7AIK9ULRJ7yf6d2_z7v3rP4RvUqw__JoGE-c-_jDw7Hc_V3jC1nzDeu4trShdmrlWBEyc8ZEeIB1Y/w400-h59/Indivisible.org+-+logo.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphkBpOAfjc9XBpA1XKPkdRgwmsyMDbWOhNaJQFXyX1GInbpNbDZVC2cPcd5VcPZhP6ZEpXd6UExLVer6Dj6WNnTm_Rag1lkO3NYSjUWZaDctkQSMWN4hlpUbT284TJWDmSPPKLemobSQ/s1728/WILEY%253A+Before+Eloquence%252C+there+are+rough+drafts..png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1728" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphkBpOAfjc9XBpA1XKPkdRgwmsyMDbWOhNaJQFXyX1GInbpNbDZVC2cPcd5VcPZhP6ZEpXd6UExLVer6Dj6WNnTm_Rag1lkO3NYSjUWZaDctkQSMWN4hlpUbT284TJWDmSPPKLemobSQ/w543-h267/WILEY%253A+Before+Eloquence%252C+there+are+rough+drafts..png" width="543" /></a></div>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">A few days ago I attended a “Indivisible Colorado Action Network & Rural Colorado United” webinar about effectively organizing and messaging in rural communities! It was a call to civic duty and a networking opportunity because networking is key to success.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIrs3m6LluqEi2TgcOCDmDGQSoqIrtI5sVKlHBEMEr-U-wkH44Lt2FV1e2xs1VgFvrlZlUwb2ZBlOE-ylQefdQDmO7ooxpsKBF7LnA459UEqntPEZTHZEXKSk9A6qrIBzf1OlVjWblok/s1146/Indivisible%252C+Rural+Organizing+Summit.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1146" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIrs3m6LluqEi2TgcOCDmDGQSoqIrtI5sVKlHBEMEr-U-wkH44Lt2FV1e2xs1VgFvrlZlUwb2ZBlOE-ylQefdQDmO7ooxpsKBF7LnA459UEqntPEZTHZEXKSk9A6qrIBzf1OlVjWblok/w200-h153/Indivisible%252C+Rural+Organizing+Summit.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">In that spirit of reaching out, I want share what I have to offer to other activists. </span></b></p>
<span><span style="color: #274e13;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Since before I entered high school in 1969 I’ve had a passion for learning about myself, and this Earth and her history, and the Evolution of this fantastical planet that created life, and our biosphere, along with us humans.</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Besides Evolution, I've also been proactively watching climate science’s growing and excellent understanding of our <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2020/02/diary-half-century-agw-awareness.html" target="_blank">global heat and moisture distribution engine</a> develop since those high school days. </span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">While simultaneously watching corporate puppets get evermore ruthless in their rejection of honesty, civic responsibility and sober learning. Instead, corporate minions have only stepped up their malicious brainwashing campaigns founded on attacking messengers, relying on ridicule to misdirect, while misrepresenting the actual facts, as a host of existential problems are left to fester and <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/metastasis" target="_blank">metastasize</a>.</span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">For over ten years I’ve been virtually debating<i> </i><a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/ending-the-climate-crisis/exxon-and-the-oil-industry-knew-about-climate-change/" target="_blank">with a who’s who of climate science contrarians</a>. It has given me insights into their <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/ending-the-climate-crisis/exxon-and-the-oil-industry-knew-about-climate-change/" target="_blank">strategies and tactics of deception</a> and their “<a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/10/our-public-science-dialogue-14verses.html" target="_blank">lawyerly debates</a>” where truth don’t mean a damned thing, only winning matters to them.<span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Virtually because <a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/p/in-nutshell-jim-steele-proposes-that.html">they rarely show up</a>, and then only to run and hide in a hurry. Why, run and hide? Well, it sure seems like they aren’t interested in real debates that demand objective honesty and a desire to constructively learn.) </span></i></span></p><span style="color: #274e13;">
</span><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">If you are needing some serious research regarding aspects of Climate Science, or Earth’s Evolution, I can help. I understand the underlying story (scientific) well enough to coherently describe the folds within folds of the cumulative harmonic complexity of Earth’s complex systems’ within a coherent framework. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">Best of all, I appreciate I’m no expert, I’ve been an enthusiast, self-taught, a spectator, and I believe honesty is a foundational law of science and learning, one we should be talking up. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">What I do have, what I know, is how to find the papers, and internet resources, and the experts, that you can then seriously learn from. For your own edification and to share with others. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;">This is why I’m offering my services as a researcher. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Peter Miesler</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;">near Durango, Colorado</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="mailto:citizenschallenge@gmail.com" target="_blank">citizenschallenge@gmail.com</a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com" target="_blank">https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com" target="_blank">https://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com</a></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcn3wQJTCRmyUrkBo31vyInt2wZmDmrhThkYzC9CY168NONdpN9MuFLD_xKufgk1ujIA8S-WTjfRNjcep0wWO3DGqTT5CumLA291irdaNYrL-DVKbCqNBA-9luJZOmGj4u2h9YC_tT-Y/s520/Indivisible.org+-+logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="76" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcn3wQJTCRmyUrkBo31vyInt2wZmDmrhThkYzC9CY168NONdpN9MuFLD_xKufgk1ujIA8S-WTjfRNjcep0wWO3DGqTT5CumLA291irdaNYrL-DVKbCqNBA-9luJZOmGj4u2h9YC_tT-Y/s320/Indivisible.org+-+logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://indivisible.zoom.us/contact" target="_blank">Who We Are</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1Y0DD3qA67_363dkJw0X7pvmQdsrq28jrkT85-Yu3Rm9ZjvamWWVQQvzZPG4Hg8GREepS3gQGp5OIhNHcbc2PNWkqs7_3zHC9qwgDvc-8U3OipZdYF2a3W9M8f6feHCD6DCyYMInHGo/s864/IMG_Indivisible+in+Action.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="864" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1Y0DD3qA67_363dkJw0X7pvmQdsrq28jrkT85-Yu3Rm9ZjvamWWVQQvzZPG4Hg8GREepS3gQGp5OIhNHcbc2PNWkqs7_3zHC9qwgDvc-8U3OipZdYF2a3W9M8f6feHCD6DCyYMInHGo/s320/IMG_Indivisible+in+Action.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I am not affiliated with </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Indivisible </b><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38);">and</span> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38);">this posting is my individual effort to share. I do have a great deal of respect for them and under different circumstances would be active within the organization, but alas, those days are behind me. So instead, I'm offering my support and participation from a distance, by way of my understanding and research experience. Doing the best I can with what I have.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38);"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: medium;"><b>As for the Indivisible Organization itself? In their own words:</b></span></p>
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<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;">Peter,</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;">We wanted to make sure you saw our message -- we haven’t heard from you in a while, and we’d love to get you up to speed on our priorities for this year.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;">The trifecta power Democrats hold in the federal government won’t last forever: we can measure the time we have to win our biggest fights in months, not years. That means we’re constantly growing, strengthening, and honing our movement to be as large, diverse, and effective as possible. …</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;">From our big democracy reform campaign to our progressive priorities like economic justice, climate, health care, and immigration, we need everyone on board to make the biggest impact we can. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"><b>And we’ve got tons of ways to plug in -- making phone calls, attending virtual or in-person events, using social media, and more.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1541bd; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://act.indivisible.org/go/550771?t=5&akid=71960%2E177815%2EOU-3R6"><b>Here are our core advocacy priorities for this year:</b></a></span></p></blockquote>
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<ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Democracy reform:</b> this includes expanding voting rights and election security measures, extending full representation to D.C.’s 700,000+ residents, eliminating the filibuster, and so much more.</span></li></ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b></b></li>
<ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Economic justice:</b> our goal is to create an economy that supports everyone, corrects racial injustices, and prioritizes workers over shareholders.</span></li></ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b></b></li>
<ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Climate justice:</b> we value stopping the impacts of climate change as much as building up and investing in vibrant and healthy communities.</span></li></ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b></b></li>
<ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Health care:</b> we believe health care is a right that should be universal, equitable, affordable, and culturally competent.</span></li></ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b></b></li>
<ul><li style="color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Immigrant justice:</b> our immigration system has long been broken and only got worse under Trump. We’re applying pressure on our elected officials to enact immigration reform that prioritizes inclusion, anti-racism, family unity, and humanitarian protection.</span> </li></ul></ul><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">We understand that everyday life gets busy and we don’t expect everyone to be at the front lines of every struggle, but there are always new ways to be plugged into our work. Our movement is only as strong as the commitment of Indivisibles who power it -- we need people like you to keep pushing us forward.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our mission is to safeguard our democracy and quality of life now and for future generations. As a grassroots non-violent resistance movement we will work to protect existing and promote new legislation and policies that facilitate our mission and reflect the progressive values of: inclusiveness, respect, fairness, honesty, integrity, peace and hope.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our mailing address is:</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Indivisible Durango "Progressives in Action" Committees</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">107 W. 19th St. #3</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Durango, CO 81301</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Indivisible is active across the country, <a href="https://indivisible.zoom.us/contact">take a look</a>, and consider lending your support and proactive participation. The politicians won't help us, unless we lean on them, and in numbers too big to ignore.</p></blockquote></blockquote>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">========================================</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6JtDFKlWLkkRrnnAZEzf_U0l9obiHEquYuNQOasnOorbwBftcwpV8nHJP3dTiWcMAkRox1cQH9o7MsweRc-AYt5z1S7pnlbKP4gIHG9c531n51M6C9FjnHRco3h3k7JggsfMSxQ3wHk/s638/Humanism%252C+we+believe+in+good.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="636" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6JtDFKlWLkkRrnnAZEzf_U0l9obiHEquYuNQOasnOorbwBftcwpV8nHJP3dTiWcMAkRox1cQH9o7MsweRc-AYt5z1S7pnlbKP4gIHG9c531n51M6C9FjnHRco3h3k7JggsfMSxQ3wHk/w199-h200/Humanism%252C+we+believe+in+good.png" width="199" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p>citizenschallengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04559990934735912814noreply@blogger.com0