For those keeping track, we last left off at Section Three — Part One. Since there is no Section Three – Part Two (perhaps it will be revealed at a later time?), we now resume at Section Three — Part Three.
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Book of Revelations by Fred C. Collier Part 3
Section Two — Part Five
Cain and his children were the first to bring about Prostitution, Beastiality, Homosexuality, Music (which they used for Evil), Brass, Iron, and Implements of war. They were the first to create Secret Societies to get Gain through Murder and Enslave the Nations through Money.
Continue readingBook of Revelations by Fred C. Collier Part 2
Section Two — Part Two
The universe and six principles have always existed and will always exist. Creation is really just organizing that which already exists. The concept of creation from nothing is of Satan.
Continue readingBook of Revelations by Fred C. Collier Part 1
Fred C. Collier’s Church of the Firstborn is a spliter group of another Church of the Firstborn, also known as the LeBaron family, which is a Mormon polygamist group. According to Wikipedia, there were only about 100 members of Collier’s sect in 2004. So why am I bothering to give a summary of Collier’s Book of Revelations when it’s obviously so obscure? Honestly, the fact that it’s obscure is part of why I’m interested in it. Also, perhaps owing to my own Mormon upbringing, I find the idea of people continuing to write new scriptures up to the present day fascinating.
Continue readingThe Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
A conversational tone and lots of pictures make this a quick read. Gottschall makes the case that storytelling is what makes us human. When we read, our imagination supplies most of the details, filling in the missing information. The writer is like a screenwriter and the reader is the movie director. Of course, stories appear not just in books, but also in video games, TV, jokes, urban legends, and in song lyrics.
Continue readingJohn Adams: A Life by John Ferling
John Adams smoked tobacco since he was eight. He received a Harvard education and after being a teacher for a short time, he became a lawyer. At one point, the wealthy John Hancock was put on trial for smuggling and John Adams represented him, succeeding in getting the charges dropped. He started courting his future wife Abigail when she was 15 and he was 25. He stopped seeing her, but they met again years later and married when he was 29 and she was 20.
Continue readingYou Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe
George Washington not only raised, trained, and led a militia against the greatest superpower in the world, he also refused payment for leading the army. (It helps that he was rich.) He surprised the world by giving up power after winning the American Revolution. He set precedents like having a presidential cabinet and only serving two terms.
Continue readingPresidents’ Body Counts by Al Carroll Part 5
Ex-Presidents
Al Carroll’s book has an appendix examining what presidents did after they were no longer president. Some presidents died in office or shortly after leaving office. Some, like Truman, lived decades after leaving office but didn’t do anything of note. Others accomplished quite a bit.
Continue readingPresidents’ Body Counts by Al Carroll Part 4
What If
Carroll includes a fascinating section hypothesizing what would happen if different people had become president. Any of these scenarios would make for a fascinating alternate history novel.
For example, Jackson was nearly killed in the Creek War, but a Cherokee warrior named Junaluska saved his life. Had this not happened, John Quincy Adams would have been president instead and the Trail of Tears would not have happened.
Continue readingPresidents’ Body Counts by Al Carroll Part 3
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt did not allow Jewish refugees to the US, condemning many to death in the Holocaust. He also could have lessened the atrocity by attacking Germany sooner than he did. (Incidentally, Henry Ford owned the best selling newspaper in the country and used it to spread anti-Semitism. Ford Auto company was also a haven for Nazis and he promoted their views on company grounds. Ford even received a special award from Hitler.)
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Mania Delight 