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SAVE PEBBLE DROPPERS & PROSPERITY
The source of new jobs begin with pebble droppers, people making waves and wakes, the entrepreneurs who start business ventures. The “soil” must nurture them, not discourage them. Pebble droppers must be saved and admired for the service they provide. Instead, they are envied by the few, taxed and punished by government whose only purpose is to protect all people against injustice. This book defines a pebble dropper and the environment that is best to encourage their success. Today’s politicians are dismantling the American ideal of a prosperous, free nation. The 2008 election did seek “change,” but made community interests superior to individual interests. What has happened to the voices who believe in the importance of the individual? That is why America differs from the rest of the world. If “change” is inevitable, will we lose that which sets us apart from the Old World.
(c)2009 Clay Barham

Coming soon to Amazon.com

BUBBLES, BOXES AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
Children are taught to color, write and print between the lines, observe the rules, wrap their minds in a bubble of tradition to prevent living out of a box. Children learn behavior in community as members of a disciplined herd, to avoid challenging that which is accepted and established. In art, however, unusual, deviant, almost outlaw behavior is admired. Artists existing outside the limits of the herd often improve the herd. All prosper from thinking; acting, creating and inventive minds changing things for the better. Americans left the Old World limitations behind, where thinking and acting out of the box was once prohibited, and created a New World of progress and freedom almost 400 years ago, and proved individual freedom and elbowroom was the only source of prosperity, which is what this book is all about.
©2009Clay Barham and Diana Barham
www.ClaysAmerica.com.


The Changing Face of DEMOCRATS Libertarian Roots Lost
The 19th century Democrats were the only political Party in America to believe and champion electoral, economic and individual freedom. The changes in political parties in American History are cited, with varying beliefs favoring the intervention of government into the affairs of free men and women, up to and including the present Republican and Democrat Parties. Amazon.com
(c)2009 Clay Barham


Foundations of Modern American Conservatism and Liberalism: THE ROOTS OF FREEDOM AND TYRANNY
People in America are free to be what they can be without fear of punishment. In other nations, individual liberty and ownership of private property are rare. Individual liberty is a threat to Old World dictatorships. Today's American liberals control government, media, entertainment, and education. They are hostile to our Declaration of Independence and governments rising from it. To them, free individuals are incapable of running their own lives and the affairs of their community. They prefer a rule of the few over the many in the tradition of the Old World. American conservatives believe individual liberty and rule of law should prevail. The meaningless terms used to describe each side confuses the issue. This book seeks to shed light on the truth of what is America.
©2007Clay Barham
www.ClaysAmerica.com
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TEA PARTY ROOTS FOR CONCERNED AMERICANS
The Tea Party movement needs an ideological foundation and its enemies defined. Much of the ideas come from a 19th century French economist and legislator, Frederick Bastiat. My intention is to awaken a new interest in his essays. He was the favorite economist of Ronald Reagan, which is reason enough for Americans to read his essays. I'd like to guide concerned Tea Party people and young Americans through a thinking process where the unique American ideals of government are contrasted to all the other ideas in the world of how people should be governed. In America, government did not lead its people, but the people led government. In the rest of the world, government led their people and managed their affairs from the time they rose from their bed until they retired. The unique American system led a nation to great prosperity and freedom never known in the world until its founding. It is different and it challenges all other world systems where the few elite rule the many. As such, it is worthy of some interest for concerned Americans before it is forced into the junk heap of history by our own politicians, legislators and judges who prefer the Old World. This is why I wrote this book.
(c)2010 Clay Barham

The WAR ON PROSPERITY
Our new and unique American Tradition is vanishing, swept away in the raging current of the War on Prosperity! It is costing us the newer of the world’s two traditions, even though it proved the most progressive and prosperous. The American Tradition gave us individual freedom and prosperity as its result. This contrasts itself to the two-tier tradition of Old World elite few ruling the many, existing since the beginning of man’s recorded history. That long established tradition gave people poverty, and still does. Most Americans today cannot even tell the difference between the New World and the Old World, except that they enjoy the benefits of the prosperity created by the New World and know the majority of the Old World’s people are impoverished. This book attempts to reacquaint Americans with their unique tradition of individual freedom and prosperity, and how achieved, in contrast to what they learned in school.
(c)2009 Clay Barham

SPEAKING ABOUT AMERICA
A political speaker’s resource on why American culture differs from other world cultures. This prevents embarrassment from lack of preparation for even the casual conversationalist. Most people cannot calmly speak about the American culture against an astute antagonist. Most are not even aware of our unique system, other than disinformation from schools and media. Those interested in knowing more about our Nation’s differences, that self-interest, not community interest, is the reason for our economic and social successes, should read this book. It touches on the political conflicts in America today. Its purpose is to provide appropriate speech notes and talking points as sources of ideas, to fashion talks for every occasion and campaigns for public office.
© 2007 Clay Barham
www.ClaysAmerica.com

GIVING UP FREEDOM & PROSPERITY
Americans are turning away from the reasons why their Nation is free and prosperous by accepting the interests of community as more important than the interests of individuals. They are allowing their nation to drift back to the Old World, where the few elite rule the many and prosperity belongs to all equally.
(c)2008 Clay Barham

THE BOOK THAT MADE AMERICA

The first book of the enlightenment, written for the common people in English, promoted and spread self-government, free enterprise, education, virtue, protection of women and children and a culture of individual freedom as no other document or philosophy before it. The Pilgrims in the wilderness of America carried this book as their constitution. It provided the idealism that moved England, Scotland and America out of brutal feudalism to a civilization based on individual freedom and liberty. It was the Geneva Bible.

The Bible has only been available to the common man in his own language for 400 years. Since 1401, it was a capital crime in England to read the Bible. Queen Mary’s bloody madness drove many English scholars to gather in Geneva, under the protection of John Calvin’s “little republic”, where they produced an English Bible not shaped by any king or prelate. It was the Geneva Bible. They drew their translations from the original languages, overseen and supported by reformers like John Knox and John Calvin. The fall of Constantinople (1453) brought many unknown Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the Scriptures to the West by Christians fleeing the Islamic onslaught. The scholars in Geneva made full use of all the most accurate manuscripts to produce a Bible that can be trusted for its authenticity. It was the first biblical translation produced by a committee rather than by one individual. Published in 1560; it was an instant success. Its powerful, uncompromising prose and annotations in the margins aided personal study and understanding.

The Geneva Bible literally helped create the modern English language, which is the preaching and political language of the world today, and became the central tool that sparked the literary excellence of the 17th and 18th Centuries in the English speaking world. It was the Bible of William Shakespeare, John Milton, John Bunyan, the Puritans, and the Pilgrims as they came to America. John Rolfe would have likely used the Geneva Bible in the conversion of Pocahontas at Jamestown in 1611.

Marginal notes in the Geneva Bible gave a systematic worldview around the Sovereignty of God over His creations, including church and king. This emphasis, though politically dangerous, was one of the great contributions of John Calvin’s influence on the English Reformers. Calvin’s notes in the Geneva Bible infuriated King James I and caused him to authorize a group of Puritan scholars to produce a non-annotated version of the Bible for him. The King James Bible probably would never be written had it not been for King James’s anger toward the Geneva Bible. In 1611, following the publishing of the King James’ version, the Geneva Bible was outlawed.

The marginal notes, along with Bible Texts, led the English-speaking world away from ignorance, heresy and tyranny of the middle Ages. Calvin and the English reformers, who wrote the Geneva Bible, suggested God alone receives the glory He is due in heaven and on earth, not king or pope. These theological articles systematically taught from Scripture and applied to life, transformed nations. Knowledge of and obedience to God’s written Word led to constitutional, limited government, free enterprise and private property, the Puritan work-ethic which inspired the scientific and industrial revolutions, wholesome, uplifting literature along with cultural optimism and development, leading to ending slavery and caste systems. Calvin and the reformers were not going to change Scripture to suit the whims of king or Pope. The Geneva Bible began the unstoppable march to liberty in England, Scotland and America.

The Geneva Bible was providentially unleashed upon a dark, discouraged, downtrodden English-speaking world. Just when it looked as if the divine right of kings, rule of the few over the many, were about to drive Christendom back to the days of Caesar worship, a Bible appeared that set up a Christian Reformation of life and culture the likes of which the world had never seen. The results of a people reading and obeying the Word of God created an explosion of faith, character, and the first missionary movement in history, literature, economic blessing, and political and religious freedom.

The great American historian George Bancroft stated, "He that will not honor the memory, and respect the influence of Calvin, knows but little of the origin of American liberty." The famous German historian, Leopold von Ranke, wrote, "John Calvin was the virtual founder of America." John Adams said, "Let not Geneva be forgotten or despised. Religious liberty owes it most respect."
www.ClaysAmerica.com


POP THE BUBBLE, LEAVE THE BOX
Think out of the box and expand intelligence at the same time. Presented in story form, an introverted daydreamer finds a way to structure his thinking and feeling minds to work together to think out of the bubble and live out of the box. Anyone can follow his lead and change their life with the process described here. This book is still under construction.
www.ClaysAmerica.com


SUCCESSFULLY SWITCHING AN OCCUPATIONAL BOX
Successfully switching occupational bubbles and boxes requires a prepared mind and out-of-the-box marketing strategies. This book explains how to be successful at making these kinds of changes by thinking out of the bubble. This book is still under construction.
www.ClaysAmerica.com

DEFINE YOUR CORE OR LOSE IT

Most people have never taken the time to define core values, a philosophy around which they build their lives. They have what has usually rubbed off from parents or significant role models, but nothing they can really put their rational fingers on. This is why many are attracted to modern liberalism, because they see suffering in the world and they think somebody ought to do something about it. They become victims of the con, of those who say they will take charge and simply steal from those who have and give little to those with needs. Everyone needs to define their beliefs, as it aids in cruising through life with little fear, anger and depression, and you can actually express yourself clearly.

American conservatives need to define the sources of their beliefs if they are going to save their country. They need to know where those ideals they claim to support came from, in order to explain them. Without knowledge, they become victims to those who seem to know more about politics, who, when meeting educated conservatives crumble. Our American conservative beliefs come from three sources. The first source is the almost 400 years of human growth and experiences in America, the shakedown of behaviors best serving all people. The second is the foundation of it found in Calvin’s Geneva Bible commentaries, pointing out that each person serves a master in Heaven, not on earth. The third source we can call the defining of the whole by the classical liberals from both Europe and America, after the fact of America’s existence, not a cause of it.

Classical liberalism of the 18th and 19th centuries is what we call American conservatism today. It insisted on the dignity and freedom of each individual. It resulted in defeating slavery in Europe and the rest of the world. It prompted the movements against the rule of the few elite over the many and established constitutional rule instead. It called for a rule by democratically adopted written law. It abolished privilege and subsidies benefiting rulers and aristocracy. It called for the kind of free market that evolved in America and the freedom to trade, move around and be what an individual could be. It described freedom Americans already begun to practice, where individuals pursued their own values, interests, skills, talents and aspirations and no rulers got in the way.

Those who support the rule of a few, who know best, are not defeated by classical liberalism or American conservatism. They have a new banner called new liberalism, which includes monarchy, oligarchy, theocracy, fascism, socialism, communism, a rule by a few over the lives of the many, again. Our enemies are pounding on the gates again, and their audience consists of all the people who have lost sight of the damage they once caused, as well as the proven benefits individual freedom provided. The battle for liberty is being lost because core beliefs are undefined against the disguises of our opponents.
Those who war against America under the banner of new liberalism, insist community, the group, tribe, society, nation and world, are superior to the individual in all respects. Individuals, in the liberal view, must serve the needs and interests of community, the common good and general welfare. Individuals must not have status or rights superior to the collective, the community. Who defines the interests, the common good and the general welfare of community? Community cannot define it, because it cannot think as an individual who defines his own personal interests. Only those who have elevated themselves above the rest of us can define group needs and interests. That usually means they define their own interests first and the rest afterwards. It always worked that way, since we have no angels landing here from the heavens who see only community interests and not their own. It was what men and women fought as they climbed out of poverty and servitude, and are now prepared to give back to self-anointed elite.

We seem to be losing, here in America, because we do not recognize the con put upon us from those who weep for our community as new liberals. They want us to vote them into power so they can take superiority away from individuals and re-invest it into the community they will manage. There is only one defense to this impending disaster, and that is through self-knowledge about what is best and what is worst. “Know thyself” is a great command, but know “thy ideology” is equally important if “thyself” is to remain free.
ClaysAmerica.com

GROWING GOVERNMENT

Do you ever think about how government starts and how far it can grow? The basic government has always been the family, with a father leading, mother supporting and children growing. Most often, the next layer is the tribe, where all the related families and others accumulate and function together for the benefit and protection of all. In America, except for the Native Americans, the local church congregation replaced the tribe. The church elders often performed the regulating functions of the small community. Ultimately, as the communities grew, towns, cities and counties formed and the churches were replaced by a more secular organizing principle.

The county usually functions as the democratic government. The people elect supervisors to act like a board of directors. A county manager functions as the CEO. They elect a sheriff to serve as the chief law enforcement officer, and Judges to serve as magistrates. Electing these two apart from the supervisors prevented concentration of powers. They passed laws voted on by the people. They built Jails to house those convicted of breaking the law. Fire districts formed for fire fighting, usually staffed by volunteers. The county took on the role of property use planner. For the most part, the county reflected the character of the people that created it. The county was more like a feudal foundation for what grew to be America. It was, and still is, the basic government.

The colonies in America became the states. They assumed the role of a government to do for the counties that which they could not do for themselves as it applied to relationships with other counties, individuals, corporations and laws crossing all boundaries. A legislature formed from those representing the members of the counties, and a chief executive elected, usually a governor. Magistrates forming superior courts tried laws passed by the legislature. Lower municipal and county courts tried most cases involving individual lawbreaking.

The Articles of Confederation and the Federal Constitution formed a federal union to do for the states what they could not do for themselves, such as dealing with foreign nations, protection by a military as well as a uniform monetary policy. The Federal Government was strictly limited in its affect on the states and counties. Americans were free to function without concern for any imposition of regulations by the central government. That has changed in the 20th and 21st centuries. The closer government-people role that epitomized America, and led to her fabulous economic growth, is being replaced by rule of the few over the many. Is it better to manage Americans by those in Washington instead of managing themselves?

In 2005, hurricane Katrina almost destroyed much of the city of New Orleans. Two years later, not much was done by anyone to return the city to its original condition. The people look to the Federal Government for leadership in doing that job. On October 25, 1875, half the four thousand buildings in Virginia City, Nevada, burned down amidst high winds and snowfall. Of the 35,000 people in that city and its immediate vicinity, no one starved, froze, went without shelter, food or clothing. In two months, all but the two largest buildings, the International Hotel and the Courthouse, were rebuilt. It stayed within Storey County, paid for and accomplished by the people that lived there. No one looked to or expected help from the State of Nevada or the Federal Government. The city recovered and was better than before it burnt.

The welfare handouts that have almost crippled the United States assumed and managed by those who use it to gain political power, were always a function of each county. Like Storey County, Nevada, people cared for their neighbors and educated the children in their counties with no help from the outside. America was one of the most literate nations in the world and produced many great achievers because of its education and its conception of the role of free people. The people of America were not dependent on community, but were encouraged to live free and prosper to the extent their talents, skills, interests and aspirations allowed.

We have but to look at the criminal and corporate court trials in America today to see that they are moving from the counties in which laws are broken, to the state and federal levels. The management of our own lives has moved further away from each of us. The appeal of the Democrats in the 2007-2008 campaign attests to this. We are encouraged to look to Washington for satisfaction of all our needs, rather than our counties, our states or ourselves. The more we remove governance from the individual, less interest, more corruption and inefficiency results. Is the next step to push all the functions of government to the United Nations?