BROOMSTICK  TO  THE     EMERALD  CITY   
            

                                                                                         


YOU HAD THE POWER ALL ALONG



       Pagans are purposeful and passionate with their motivations in life, and harmoniously allied with the true American ideals of freedom and liberty. So why are most of them trying to be invisible?

          There has been a negative and reactionary force trying to hijack this country since it's European settling. The spirit of America is not about restrictions and punishment as right wing revisionists insist, but a pursuit of happiness that was for the most part, obliging, gentle and kind. Let's not forget half the population  were women and their stories are rarely in history books and men are responsible for nearly all atrocities.

       Why call this Broomstick to the Emerald City? Recall Glinda, the good witch, and  remember when she asked if Dorothy had brought her broomstick, it was a long way to see the Wizard in the Emerald City. It has not been an easy way  for witches, even in the 21^st century. Witches are the heirs to the spirit of the American Constitution, so why can't they be open about it? Hide your passion at work and in social groups.  "Black hats in disguise, very wise."

America needs to accept witches as they once accepted women voters in 1920 and blacks having the complete right to vote with the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  The general population accepts marriage equality but will still be shocked to find out that pagans still exist. This will not be an easy ride for many people, and your Harry Potter racing broom won't be of any help. 
You see, Witches primarily have settled on a goddess as their primary deity, and so have I, and this doesn't sit well with many people. I don’t belong to any coven or have had any kind of training at all in witchcraft, and at best I am an alternative, amateur historian. Just because I don't practice, doesn't mean I don't understand the craft.  I know that magic is everywhere and magic is not what most people think it is. Magic is also hidden in powerful places.
I don't have to be initiated or take courses with certifications to call myself a witch, and neither should anyone else. See rule #8  below, with an emphasis on the harmony with nature. Not a weekend gardener, I'm a 24/7 garden green, and I made up a new cateory--a Tree Witch..

      Sure, witches may be a little edgy and mysterious, but paganism allows for a wider range of expression, and an abundantly wide variety of people practice witchcraft in many forms, and it's a good thing. After all, this is the USA where personal expression should be at its zenith. Instead, lurid sex and spectacular violence from Hollywood overwhelms the creativity that could otherwise issue forth from our culture.

It seems to me witches have been doing what they have always done. They are wise in the use of herbal remedies, they use intensity and inspiration to achieve ideals and  influence a positive outcome in their endeavors. Yet they are still viewed as demonic which must frustrate witches and Wiccans to no end. Rolling our eyes and shaking our head can't be enough anymore. Full tolerance is necessary and acceptance is coming around the bend. But it will require casting out the evil in Christianity.  

Till all discrimination ends, and there is a massive Christian apology , Pagans will have to wait to exhale. If it wasn't for priests, pastors and preachers trying to fill seats, none of the incredibly inhumane tortures and cruel deaths would have been applied to heretics and witches. Many who were killed were not even practicing the craft, but collateral damage during the Inquisition.

               You had the power all along

I have looked into what wiccans or witches write in various forums and observe their comments. I call myself a Progressive Eclectic and randomly adopt deities from many different religions and some people aren't crazy for that, but wiccans and witches are always kind and knowledgeable. 
Trust me, if a person calls themselves a witch, there is not a reason to fear if they are a neighbor or co-worker. Like pagans in general, witches are passionate and sensitive and in many cases, wise in the ways of the world.  I wish I had more Pagan and Witch neighbors, it would be a friendlier world.                                Pagans have American Freedoms embedded in our genes. But we live amongst people who believe Halloween is "the devils birthday. He is the father of lies". Well we know who the father of lies really is. See # 10 below. Vikings Druids Darwin and worst of all...the Masons. All have suffered from whisper campaigns instigated by Reverend Redscare and others from the pulpits of hate, a brainwashing that makes people hate gays and Muslims and witches.

     

         Guess what bible thumpers, the Masons were very much behind our constitution and bill of rights. Make sure you cast a skeptical eye when you see Youtube videos calling Masons evil. It's all part of the Christian Coup they are planning and 1600 years of  these whisper campaigns bearing false witness have taken their toll. and outright murder of heretics and non-believers has given them authority, but unearned and illegitimate.  The light of Liberty becomes a candle in a dungeon of an Oligarchs Dream.

         Why are the streets around the white house arranged in a triangle, oh wait…a pyramid! Now I get it, that Egyptian pagan religion; like the Washington Monument in D.C., that’s a coincidence, right? No, many obelisks erected by Masons around the world were purposefully set up like the pyramids so the sun shone precisely on the top on certain days. Pagan roots from the early days with the Freemen Masons as they were initially called. 
            The sun first shone on America, once upon a time, at the top of the 555 foot Washington Monument, capped on top with a small pyramid. In the late 1800's, it was the tallest structure ever built; up till that time.

      During the Burning Years, those accused of witchcraft were taking the heat for the Masons and other secret societies that had similar beliefs, but kept them hidden. Witches can be very ordinary people and here is where the last hurdle to freedom lies. They may cast spells, but they know the consequences of wishing harm to another person.  In ten years of communicating with those in the craft, I really can't point to a single example of what could be considered evil. More like do-gooders to me with their empathy and compassion. Important also, was to be careful, because you really can get what you wish for. 

Witches are generally thoughtful, right thinking and kind people, which is more than I can say for snarky and successful. Christian Republicans. They muddy the waters so we don't see how shallow they are. I’m of the opinion that witches and pagans would fundamentally be better citizens than these authoritarian loving, blowhard republicans, because we seek the American ideals, and we are stricter constitutionalists. We are enthusiastic purveyors of the ‘pursuit of happiness’ , not bobble heads believing the hackneyed harangues of hate. 

Then don’t forget Pagans are also, hands down, the best sociological demographic to steward the environment, although it's true that many Pagans even don't have a clue about ecosystems and wild life. In general though, Pagans and other earth lovers are feeling the pain of a water boarded Earth and the fracking nightmare. Todays news is that corporations are dumping their nuclear waste into the earth via fracking. Goddess help us!

        Remember pagans aren’t witches but witches are primarily pagan. As an aside here, there is every range of belief with some witches, some even having Christian saints in their pantheon of gods and goddesses, and there are  Pagans who have very high regard for the teaching of Jesus. He is one of the 23 gods in my pantheon. So toss all the pagan baggage aside and open your heart to the key to our peaceful future. Tolerance: then acceptance. Womens creativity and intuition, along with their nurturing nature, will create a purifying flame to the dead wood in our culture.

    

      Witches may not be subject to being dragged down to the town square and burned anymore,  or need to worry about being beheaded and having their skulls placed on spikes to scare other pagans into converting to the one true religion; but we can easily lose our jobs or leadership positions in volunteer organizations such as the cub scouts should we be outed. 
        How Un-American can you be and why are witches still subject to severe discrimination such as this? They invented something called Freedom of Expression, but most cannot have a booth at a fair without some kind of virulent discrimination. The Last Repressed Minority must have full American freedoms.

        This is why so many pagans have to stay in the broom closet. Police authorities cast a wary eye on any pagan activity, even charitable volunteer work completely devoid of religion. Unbelievably, pagans are subject to unconstitutional harassment and when this issue concerning pagan civil rights becomes better known, it will completely overshadow gay rights. You will see, it's coming. Libertas holds the lamp of liberty aloft to see us through the darkness.

        

       To praise the Goddess out loud is an act of bravery even in 21^st century America. I know there are people that conclude I am completely nuts just to even consider that the Supreme being or beings are Female. Patriarchy has been fighting for your mind for many centuries. Treating Nature as something to cut down, bulldoze, catch and sell, dig out or destroy. 
          The American Constitution is not based on the Bible or some warrior code. It couldn't be! Thomas Jefferson for one, discussed what he called  his “God of Nature”  and One of his favorite sayings regarding religion is one of indifference, “Why should I care about my neighbors religion,” he asks, “it neither picks my pocket….nor breaks my leg.”  

        Jefferson was only too aware of the Church and it’s agenda for control. The Spanish Inquisition was still fresh in his 18^th century mind.   "Divine Authority" was a joke to intelligent people, yet the result was illegitimate power to those steeped in the religious bugaboo that contaminates our culture with coercive, forced conversion. Preachers priests and pastors;  have wreaked havoc to the spirit of freedom in our American hearts in the last 30 years, and have kicked the crazy up a notch during the Obama administration. 

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         Jefferson was very determined not to let any religion become dominant in this country. Our revolutionary founders looked decades and centuries into the future, and they envisioned a nation of law, with this experiment in freedom. They were Enlightenment Era visionaries and our political discourse has fallen considerably since then.   

           Phyllis Curott has something interesting to say about the founding of our country.  She was a person with many skills and was climbing the corporate ladder and making her way through the world. Her feeling of incompleteness in the business atmosphere led her to a coven that saw her great potential. Like most, she had maintained society's negative and nefarious views about witches, but eventually, she saw the personally empowering effect of witchcraft and embraced it all, eventually becoming one of the most prominent witches of our modern era. Here is a quote from her book, "  The Masons arose from this magical and intellectual lineage and it was their revolutionary brotherhood that founded the United States. They believed in the brotherhood of man, the existence of a divinity, and the immortality of the soul. Many of the treasured secret rituals of the Masons reflected those of the Goddesses at Eleusis and Delphi, and the most overt symbols of those beliefs decorate our flag, dollar bills and seals of high office. So often these days, as right-wing politicians and conservative Christians appropriate history for their own exclusionary political ends, they assert that we were founded as a Christian country. In fact, we were founded by magicians as an astounding political experiment, reflecting their equally insurgent, and ancient, spirituality.

          As the boomer generation reached school age, many of us were puzzled and disgusted that a race of people had to use separate facilities, and were treated as less than equal. It also seemed dumb and unnatural, that females were somehow not equal to males.  We didn't GET IT.  The bigotry and sexism of the greatest generation was put to the test in the 60’s and failed as cultural norms. The Old Order was about to be stood on its head!

          We can’t just get on our broomstick and fly to the Emerald City, but we may realize we had the power all along to change the wicked course the warrior elite and this cabal of cruelty are on. War mongering, tree cutting, animal experimenting and many other atrocities perpetuated by the Tree Cutting Culture needs to end.  
          Funny though, how the Statue of Liberty is actually the Goddess Libertas(Liberty). Funny how Goddess Temples abound in Washington, D.C. Funny how there is not a single quote from the Bible or Koran in our Constitution and other Founding Documents.   
           Many of the slaves that built Washington brought their triple goddess from Africa and integrated her within the facade of Christianity they were forced to adopt. White Indentured servants came from the forests and back woods of Europe where the fairies and gnomes lived. Ancient pagan traditions found a way to survive the centuries in the hinterlands of Europe, then came to America and created, as one example, Appalachian Granny Magic.

              Remember one day that the meek will inherit the earth. Now, who would that be? The conquered people, the Pagans perhaps.  Bring passion and compassion to Washington this year  and the Goddess will listen.The discontent of the disenfranchised begins to focus on solutions at rallies there. There IS magic there, find it and try it. Remember the Folk Magic. There is power in secret places.
          Cast the evil out of Washington and conjure up a culture of Love. It's all we need.  We can understand each other and help the lowest among us, because, in the future others will have their rough times and bad spells  in life butwill be able to stand up again with a helpful hand and with loving hearts. There is a a tremendous vacuum of leadership and inspiration in Washington, and in this country.  Pagans are poised to put passion and compassion back into the leadership/                             
             Unfortunately, it will be a long journey to peace, passion and prosperity, and we will need a lot of magic. Not paved in gold any longer, the path to the Emerald City is filled with hazards. Our broomstick may help with a few shortcuts, but the road is going to be long no matter what.
 But we ride.

First are the eight directions of Druddism, and then the 13 principles of witchcraft.

The Eight Directions of Druddism

    "1……Encode Liberty ….2……Embed equality…3…. Ostracize criminality  …..4… vanquish cruelty….5….humble the mighty …6  …, cultivate opportunity….7….    invalidate injustice and …..8…..initiate "Unity Without hierarchy"  

                   Paganism has inspired me to learn so much more and now everything I have experienced in life has an odd synchronistic feel to it. I try to put a comic spin on issues, but I am really serious about the Goddess. 
......Her name is Zemyna, the life of the living earth. The Mother Earth ,Diety of the Romuvans. The moist mother earth of the Lithuanians, Poles and Latvians. To be cherished as she feeds us all. A simple wish to treat her gently. . . . . . . .
          John Lennon is famous for having said "God is a concept by which we measure our pain." I have updated that by saying, "The Goddess is a concept by which we measure our joy."

 

       As outlined by the Council of American Witches:

                  The 13 Principles of Witchcraft
1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.
2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called "supernatural," but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through polarity-- as masculine and feminine-- and that this same creative Power lives in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.(continued below)  

 "The wars in Iraq .and Afghanistan have nothing in common with what we suffered for in Valley Forge"

                                        

                       

                      "May the Force Be With You Dorothy." In the Wizard of Oz, the Ruby Slippers worn by Dorothy were actually silver slippers in the book written in 1908 by Frank L. Baum. In his world they symbolized the need  to have a bi-cameral currency. Gold for the wealthy and Silver for the common man but by the end of the 1800's, the fight was lost. The Silver Movement was dead. That is the secret of which we do not speak. It is not paranoid to think the world is run by basically 500 people. JFK was shot, some supposed, when he wanted silver currency along with gold with his Executive Order 11110. Lincolns attempt to initiate silver currency soon led to his demise, as the "civil" war ended and he was finally going to be able to rest. This is why I think Obama is Lincoln re-incarnated and determined to finish a second term. There is some strange synchronicity there with 4's and our 44th President.

                                               

5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds-- sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc.-- and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
                                             
  6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
7. We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it-- a world view and philosophy of life, which we identify as Witchcraft or the Wiccan Way. 
8. Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch-- but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.     
 9    We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within.it.
10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practices and belief.
11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future.
12. We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil," nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil" as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another. 
13. We work within Nature for that which is contributory to our health and well-being. 

Paul Revere and The Liberty Tree

PAUL REVERE AND THE LIBERTY   TREE     

 
   As another strong squall blew in from the east, on September 21^st 1938, my dad bent down and grabbed the cap that had blown off his head; tucked it under his arm, and ran the rest of the way home. Although far out to sea when he went to school, the undetected and untracked hurricane had picked up speed, slamming into the Connecticut coast around 3 o’clock with 115 MPH winds.

The winds were still blowing over 90 MPH as the dangerous quadrant of the storm went through Hartford where my dad lived. His mom, sister and he looking out the window as trees flapped like the neighbors laundry on the line,  my grandmother barely having  time to bring her laundry in.  The Long Island Express it was called, and this unseen hurricane was the strongest storm to ever hit New England in recent memory.

            Just south of Hartford in Wethersfield, where my mother lived, the Great Wethersfield Elm, pictured below, and recognized as the largest in the United States, held onto most of its large branches but was heavily damaged.

                        

           The Latin designation of the American Elm is Ulmus americana. With its downward growing roots and immense shady canopy, it had become Americas' street tree. A disease introduced around 1930 called   “Dutch Elm Disease” ravaged the Elm during the next 25 years, and many boomers remember when they were cut down and replaced. Main streets across America were lined with this stately, tenacious shademaker; and below is a picture of the Great Wethersfield Elm in its heyday.        

              By 1966 the tree was merely a plaque on my paper route, a victim of Dutch Elm Disease and dead by 1954 after suffering  from the stress and slow recovery of the ‘38 Hurricane. The Great Wethersfield Elm it was called and was cited as the all-time largest elm,  east of the Rockies. On the left side of the Giant Elm in the picture, is Broad Street, and also a large park, known as the Wethersfield Green. Further down the road is Ye Anciente Graveyard with graves dating back to 1683, and around the corner from that, the house George Washington stayed in as he planned the Battle of Yorktown in 1783. Comstock Ferre, nearby, is the oldest continuous nursery in the United States, selling plants and seeds for over 200 years and recently purchased by Baker Heirloom seeds.

             Wethersfield is a town rich in tradition, steeped in our American Revolutionary history. During the Revolutionary War, Wethersfield troops were known for their professionalism and were often official escorts for big wigs and those instrumental in planning our liberation from the British Empire.

          To help you understand this story, use July 4th 1776 as your baseline ref      erence. A high recognition date, it is the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, but how did the United States get to that point?  We study the fluff dry, peachy keen version in school and I want to offer a perspective of our revolution, and how it was a tree that connected all the threads of liberty to all patriots. Also missing from history are the many roles women played, but that's a story for another day. Here is a pre revolutionary tale about the tabacco chewing onion maidens of Wethersfield. http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/rise-fall-wethersfield-red-onion/

          The American Revolution actually started in 1765. Primarily in Boston, but importantly in many other towns, and in the shade of the Wethersfield Elm also.

          From the Village Improvement Association  of Wethersfield Connecticut;  comes the following  quote about the aforementioned Town Green on Broad Street. Also included is a passage I find continually quoted on the internet and that quote is in purple.

                               “The Stamp Act of 1765 threatened Connecticut's tradition of self-government. Connecticut's participation in the War of Independence began right here in Wethersfield, in the shadow of Broad Street's Great Elm, where 500 mounted and armed Sons of Liberty surrounded Stamp Master Jared Ingersol.  According to contemporary sources, Ingersol took refuge in a nearby tavern, presumably the Chester Tavern, at 138 Broad Street. With the crowd clamoring outside, he decided his job as tax agent was not worth dying for, and he resigned.

”

           "On August 14, 1765, a group of people calling themselves the Sons of Liberty gathered together in Boston under a large elm tree near Hanover Square to protest the hated Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty concluded their protest by lynching two tax collectors in effigy from the tree and ransacking and burning one of the stamp masters properties and proceeded to stone his house as residents looked on in horror. The Sons of Liberty began as the Loyal Nine and were not associated with Sam Adams and Doc Warren at first, who were agitating for change via legitimate and legislative means.  The small business community along with artisans and craftspeople were the ones who planted the seeds of revolt..

Ten years later, in 1775, as they retreated from Boston Towne, British soldiers defiantly cut down the Boston Liberty tree in Hanover Square, as an act of spite, knowing what it represented to the colonists, and used the tree for firewood. 
             This act further enraged the colonists, and as resistance to the British grew, flags bearing a representation of the Liberty Tree were flown to symbolize the unwavering spirit of liberty. "

         

  In 1765 the “despicable rabble” began the revolutionary war, and in 2014, the American people; who have been misled at the ballot, and ill served by the lawyer-politicians, are fundamentally eager to restructure the future and defend the Constitution against coercive elements  of corporatism. 
Our agrarian libertarian founding revolutionaries were the progenitors of Progressivism. The Progressive Era, 1890-1920, was also a revolt against corporate over reach. Children were taken out of factories and put in schools. Food safety became a priority among many other reforms. Finally in 1920 women were "allowed" to vote. Today, Progressives needs a third wave of reform to help bring America and the World into a peaceful, compassionate, industrious future, based on equality for all people and the value of every human life.  The end of animal cruelty and the restoration of ecosystems and watersheds are among other reforms that are needed.

The American Revolution was not originally fomented by  aristocratic Virginians as you'll see. Give the farmers from Georgia some credit perhaps, but the revolution was not all about white people coming home from church.

 The effigy hangin’, gun totin’, rock throwin,’  club wavin' people who created the path to the Declaration of Independence, counted among their numbers; freed slaves, atheists, gang members, wharf rats and at least one of the little people.

Women were not all home doing laundry during this time period and have been erased by traditional historians who always viewed women as crumpet servers and tea fetchers. More research needs to be done to discover their behind the scenes role.
          The primary architect and designer of Washington D.C. was a flamboyant gay dude, and that is something you don't hear much about, but is completely true.  He and George Washington over looking the hills near the Potomac River where buildings would be placed. No different than when the pyramids were going to be built. 

The Republican Revisionists are simply lying to you about American History while the Tea Party has undeservedly absconded with most of the symbols.  Trillion dollar wars should be treason, not revealing documents about American surveilance as Edward Snowden has done.
          Glennbeck would be hung in effigy for his monstrous deceptions  of The American Revolution by the 1776 Revolutionaries. The Tea Party would be regarded with the utmost contempt for their moral high ground hypocrisy. Sam Adams would be outraged that Teahadists stole all the symbols of the revolution. The one below is the one I have been trying to popularize with Progressives.

          This is the story of the real tea party and the events that led up to the revolution of 1776 and the crucial role the Liberty Tree played in nearly every large town. 

It was the roughnecks, the visionaries, the apprentice helpers, and hard drinking lower middle class that became heroes in the initial fight for American Liberty, not the glennbecks of the day with their chalk boards and half-truths, and not your  preachers either with their clean fingernails and collection baskets. In fact, in my research, I find  very few references concerning  patriot preachers during the Revolutionary Struggle, in fact they seem conspicuously absent, except for Israel Putnam.

             The tea dumping, mock lynching, stone throwing, riotous revolutionaries of 1765 to 1775 did not allow religious bugaboo to cloud the clarity of their vision.  

         Trumbull, "This great ease of gaining a farm renders the lower class of people very industrious: which, with the high price of labor, banishes everything that has the least appearance of begging which we see so common in England. "
              Arthur Young, the agricultural writer   once remarked on its quality. ‘They who emigrate are, from the nature of circumstances, the most active, hardy, daring, bold and resolute spirits, and probably the most mischievous also. The most visionary, the most impatient and restive under authority, the most easily alienated, the most desperate and cranky, and were the most ready to leave the old lands, giving at least the initial population of the American Colonies a strong bias towards a dislike of authority.”
                The Stamp Act in 1765, required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards in the American colonies, to carry a tax stamp. The Act applied to advertisements, and other publications and legal documents, such as marriage certificates, and it was viewed by the colonists as a means of censorship, or a "knowledge tax," on the rights of the colonists to write and read freely, hence our eventual first amendment. 
              Occupy Wall Street are the direct descendants of the sons of liberty. The tea party, to me, are patriot poseurs and corporate puppets. In 1765,  anger at the stamp tax was how the revolutionary engine got started  and the authentic Tea Party of 1773 was more an anti corporate act because the British Empire was the enforcement arm  for British Corporate Wealth mongers. As the Imperialist United States government is today which spends as much on its military as the next ten countries combined.

          THE FOLLOWING QUOTES IN RED ARE FROM RICHARD

 ELLIS CAHILL'S BOOK "RIOTOUS REVOLUTIONARIES."

                   “The Suffolk County Sheriff and the ten constables of Boston were frightened, for they knew they couldn't control the thousands of 'bully boys' of Boston, who every year on November 5th would parade the street carrying clubs and effigies of the Pope and the devil.  This annual celebration of marching, singing and public drinking would inevitably turn nasty when darkness set in. Guy Fawkes Day was much like Halloween is celebrated today, with children in masks and coal blackened faces, going door to door costumed carrying Jack O' Lanterns and trick or treating"

                         A Storm was Brewing along with the Beer 

          

"Following Bostons example, almost every village and town in New England eventually had a Liberty Tree, and if there was not an appropriate large tree near the center of town, the people erected Liberty Poles. When November 1st 1765 rolled around, dock workers refused to load or unload cargos, shops were closed, church bells rang, and every flag and ship-ensign was flown at half-mast. In Boston the blood red stamps were delivered to Castle Island, but Governor Barnard didn't dare have his customs men bring them into port. In other towns, if the stamps could be confiscated by the Liberty Boys, they were, and burnt in great bonfires.

 In retaliation the government closed all the courts, for the law was that no legal business could be transacted without the stamp. Barnard wrote to his friends in Parliament: "I am at the mercy of the mob. The power and authority of the government is really at an end."  There were no business transactions and little activity that terribly cold winter of 1765-66. Paul Revere, for one, was so deep in debt he almost had to spend the winter in jail.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybcerRwsMk&index=5&list=PLA8D9F5EB5D103715

               Freedom of Assembly is discussed in the first amendment to the Constitution and its spirit is derived from the tradition of meeting at a tree in the center of town. 
          There is a  Preamble to the Constitution but Republican knuckleheads don't think much of it. "It's not binding," they say, or "Not really part of the Constitution." It goes like this. "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the General Welfare, and to secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America." Sounds like a mission statement to me.
            Time waits for no man and in 1766 Peter Cahill Ellis writes,“The British Parliament had no option but to repeal the Act. And March 19th was to be the day of celebration, yet many Tories and government officials still feared retaliation from the bully boys and although a couple of effigies of customs officials were hung on the Liberty Tree, and a few house windows were broken, it was a day and night of all out gaiety. Drummers and fluters marched through town and wine flowed like water, houses were lit up with candles and people danced in the streets. The Liberty Tree was decorated with lanterns, 'till its boughs could hold no more' and the Liberty Boys sponsored a fireworks display on the common.  Paul Revere tacked a copper plaque he made to the trunk of the Liberty Tree, it read, "to every lover of liberty-August 14, 1765" being the date 'Olivers house was ransacked.' and the day the Sons of Liberty went viral. That’s a story for another day, one of the first acts of defiance. Open house, banquets everywhere and John Hancock had a Madiera wine party, 'where barrels rolled onto the common for all to partake.' 

          Those patriots did not achieve their revolution coming home from church. They were law breaking, window smashing, effigy hanging, cannon hauling, tavern singing patriots, whose hearts burned with a passion for freedom.

            1767 came along and so did the Townsend Acts. Google this if you like, it’s how the British thought they could stop American smuggling. John Hancocks boat was  seized, but the cargo of Madeira wine was saved, which caused a great celebration. The British ship of evil opposed to the cause of Freedom and our pursuit of good wine, was called ‘The Romney.’ 

          EDITORS NOTE: See the Fox News style of putting 'evil ship Romney' into your brain without you knowing it? Look again. Nit Romney was on a Mormon mission during the Vietnam War. Remember that when you see him speaking in front of a 50 foot flag and talking about his corporate patriotism.

 More from Robert Cahills book, this time concerning Samuel Adams--'brewer and patriot', “Sam Adams activated his bully boys again, North and South Boston gangs united as the Sons of Liberty. They paraded up and down in front of Governor Barnards house, shouting, whistling and drumming, 'making a great noise and hallooing' wrote Barnard. He complained to the king to send troops to, 'control the mobs that rule this towne.' The Governor now recognized who the ringleader was and he publicly called Sam Adams, 'Chief of this tribe of Mohawks.' Sam took the intended slur with a chuckle, and later would spoof the governor's comment by having his men disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians at the Tea Party.'"

            "'He is a grand incendiary," cried Lieutenant governor Hutchison, "a master of puppets.' To further resist the Townsend Acts, Sam Adams and Joe Warren asked all New Englanders to refuse the importation and consumption of any goods from England, that were taxed, and encouraged their manufacture here in America."
            "One Boston merchant and shop owner, Theophilus Lilly, refused to follow the dictates of his fellow merchants by not only shipping in taxable items from England, but selling them in his downtown shop. One morning Lilly discovered a large canvas head, stuffed with straw, sitting on a pole in front of his shop, and the face was a likeness of himself. There was a large finger and a cartoon of a mans rear end painted on his front door, and a group of boys, wharf rats, gathered outside his shop to taunt him. A neighbor, Ebenezer Richardson, known for his Tory tendencies, taunted the crowd and attempted to get a teamster to run over the boys. The boys started throwing 'filth and stones' at him until he retreated into the house."
            "Richardson grabbed his musket and fired out a second story window, wounding a teenager named Christopher Gore, and killing a twelve year old German boy, Chris Snider. A musket ball was removed from the wounded boys leg and Chris Snider was set in a coffin under the Liberty Tree-- and carved into the coffin were the words, 'innocence itself is not safe.' A funeral procession led by his family was followed by 34 carts, chariots and coaches and 1,500 marchers, including 500 schoolboys. Christopher Gore later became governor of Massachusetts."

Gluttonous profits gave corporations many benefits over the years, advantages such as access to senators and congress"men".  An influence that the independent majority does not have, and these profiteers need to be exorcised out of our system.

The banks and credit card companies fine us with late charges as if they were civil authorities. I'm drowning in late charges from everywhere; kicking us while we are down it seems. But when we get double billed or something gets double posted, $222.00 by my bank one time, they say 'ooops'. The manipulation of markets by big business would make Theodore Roosevelt cringe, and our lack of courage and temerity would make George Washington facepalm himself and say WTF! Why did I even bother!

              Luckily, the actual greatest generation of 1776 were a rowdy contingent of free people and not the feckless phonies of right wing radio. A revolt today would also include women to get us moving on all eight cylinders. The Second American Revolution will have a significant female presence which will overwhelm illegitimate authority and patriarchal chicken hawks will squawk loudly as they run away from truth.    

            The oligarchy is forming to fight the public at large, and goons are being paid off, brainwashed and armed, infiltrating the military and our police departments and interfering with peaceful forums on the internet.  Neocon Trolls. I’m telling you, the corporations have started the war against us and we haven’t started to fight back; yet their agent provocateurs  are embedded.    As the Boomers were busy fighting for equality on many fronts, corporate power snuck in the back door and took over the world.

        
         In 1773 people in Boston gathered once again at their Liberty Tree. From Riotous Revolutionaries     “Josiah Quincy entertained a crowd with a patriotic speech. 'I see the clouds which now rise thick and fast upon our horizon. The thunder  rolls and the lightning plays, and to that God who rides the whirlwind and directs the storm, I commit my country."  What God is this then that he called upon? Thor, Perun, Boreas or others?  Seriously!  This is "not a Christian nation, but a nation of diversity," as President Obama noted early in his presidency. He was assuring the world the Crusades were over. As Josiah Quincy gave this rousing speech, the local business people had dressed up as Mohawks and were headed for the 300 chests of tea sitting in Boston Harbor. The real Tea Party had begun.

Death of Liberty

Always remember that members of religious congregations were less than 20% of the population at the time preceding the revolution. For more on the period between 1767 and 1774, feel free to research and come to your own conclusions. These are my opinions but if you check my information you will find them factually accurate. Also research the Green Mountain Boys who captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 to give more depth to that era. 

             Moving ahead to 1775, the scene in Boston Towne was getting ugly. "Since the British troops and the Tory Loyalists of Boston had a gala celebration with banquets and fireworks on January 18, 1775, in honor of the Queens birthday, Adams and Warren decided to do them one better on March 5th commemorating the Boston Massacre. "It is good politics," said Sam Adams, "to put and keep the enemy in the wrong." Parades, speeches, fireworks, banquets and bonfires were planned for that day and night, and a great crowd gathered at the Old South Church and Meeting House that morning, where Joe Warren was to make a keynote speech. Sam Adams, in fact, invited General Gage and all the British officers in town to come and hear Warren, and Sam reserved front row seats in the hall for them "to be sure they heard every word."

            "Paul Revere heard from three of his spies prior to April 14th that the British troops were planning to march into the country to confiscate weapons and ammunition hidden by the Sons of Liberty. Revere and Warren agreed that their destination should be Concord where the Committee of Safety had stored gunpowder, musket balls and a few precious cannons. Revere rode to Concord on the 14th to warn the Minutemen that the British might be heading their way soon in an attempt to destroy these stores.

           "Major Pitcairn, who had been itching for a fight with the rebels for a long time, was chosen by Colonel Smith to lead six companies of Redcoats ahead of the column to secure Concords two bridges, north and south, leading in and out of that town.  It was Dawn as he rode, and his men marched, onto Lexington Green. "We saw a militia company assembled and other spectators milling about," the Major later reported, "and I ordered them to lay down their arms and disperse." 

Captain Parker, leader of the Minutemen, had called his men out of Buckman Tavern and onto the Green, because the tavern had gotten too crowded.  Said Parker, "… not to meddle or mix with the regular troops." Captain Parker told his men, some 77 in number and outnumbered ten to one, "don't fire unless fired on, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

                  "Disperse ye rebels, ye villains," Shouted Pitcairn, and a second shot pierced the Majors horse, wounding her, and British Lieutenant Sutherlands horse also bolted. Sutherland later swore that the first shot came from the Rebels, "either from behind a nearby stonewall, or from a window at Buckman Tavern." Captain Parker ordered his men to withdraw as the Redcoats broke rank and began chasing some of the Minutemen. At this moment Colonel Smith with the main body of Redcoats arrived at the scene. Everyone was firing in different directions. Minuteman Jon Harrington, who lived by the Green, was shot in the chest, and crawled to his house to die on the front steps. In what British commanders considered 'a quick skirmish' eight Americans were killed and ten were wounded. Major Pitcairn quickly reorganized his troops, and after three loud "huzzahs" on the Green "for victory," the Redcoats marched off towards Concord." Everything in red is from Riotous Revolutionaries by Thomas Cahill

                 British General William Howe attacked the hill and 600 redcoats were repulsed by, 'old fowling pieces' as Gage called them. 'None of the Americans had bayonets, nothing but fists, clubbed muskets and rocks, but they fought on, more like devils than men.' Salem Prince, a freed slave, with his last round of ammunition shot Major Pitcairn in the chest and killed him. General Gage was so surprised at the outcome that he was heard to say, 'these rebels are not the despicable rabble too many of us have supposed them to be.'

           "With all this heavy intrigue going on in the Cambridge camp, Henry Knox was dragging 58 cannons and mortars from Fort Ticonderoga, some of them weighing 5,000 pounds apiece, 300 miles from upstate New York and over the snowy Berkshire Mountains, using 80 yoke of oxen. He arrived in the Cambridge camp in late February, 1776. By March 2nd, the cannons began blasting the 78 British warships that were anchored in Boston Harbor. General Gage sent 3,000 Redcoats to attack the heights but a wild storm prevented them from even landing.

                 Privateers were capturing British food cargo vessels and the Redcoats were dispirited despite their large numbers. Who would fight against anothers freedom after all?  Meanwhile the hero of Cahills book, 4 foot 4, George Hewes had escaped his captors in the bay near Boston and informed George Washington of the demoralized British troops. By March 20th, General Howe was three days out of Boston as Americans to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy, "marched triumphantly into Boston after British Redcoats 'quitted the town' and sailed for Halifax. Before leaving, British soldiers cut down the Liberty Tree and George Hewes was pleased to hear that when the Liberty Tree fell, a limb of it landed on a British soldier, crushing him to death." The 'despicable rabble' had finally stood up.