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No power can exist without the legitimacy that WE give it. And that is how you defeat it; you can take away its legitimacy. As I've already stated, money is power. Why is money power? Because of its value in what you can buy with it. But what if only one person has money? What value does money then have? And what power does money then have? In Venezuela , the black market economy is half again larger than the legal economy of Venezuela . The corruption of oligarchy is quickly making the legal economy of Venezuela irrelevant to Venezuelans. In America , I see the same thing all over the country. From jitnies in Pittsburgh replacing taxis, to individuals buying 'flack jackets' on the internet (which is against the law here) because soldiers were sent to Iraq ill equipped, to whole states replacing American pharmaceutical companies with Canadian sources, the black market in America is now alive and well because of the corruption of the oligarchy that neoconservatives in the Republican Party in America foisted on us. And there is only one way to reverse this, and that is to take away Republican legitimacy; because of the hijacking of the Republican Party by neoconservatives, and that includes Bush, every Republican has to go. Now consider that I'm a Republican, my grandfather used to host Republican get-togethers in the state capital of Kansas in his home! My roots in the Republican Party go back all the way to Abraham Lincoln.  

And in order to fix the Middle East, we need to starve the Middle East of the petrodollar; thereby stripping imams, emirs and all the other miscreants in the Middle East from the teat they feed upon. In the short term, this will increase suffering in the Middle East . But just like weaning a baby from its mother's milk, it has to be done! Likewise, you have to take away the legitimacy of the Wahhabiists, and all the other 'crack-pot cults' in the Middle East . Let me tell you a little story about Roman Emperor Constantine.  

Constantine 's devotions were offered first to Mars and then increasingly to Apollo, reverenced as Sol Invictus. During the night before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge , Lactantius records that Constantine was commanded in a dream to place the sign of Christ on the shields of his soldiers. Eusebius relates that Constantine and his army while on their march toward Rome they observed in broad daylight a strange phenomenon in the sky: a cross of light and the words "by this sign you will be victor."  During the next night, Christ appeared to Constantine and instructed him to place the heavenly sign on the battle standards of his army.  The new battle standard became known as the labarum. Constantine was victorious at Milvian Bridge and he attributed his victory to the power

of "the God of the Christians." While this may be a nice story, the artifacts of history tell us something different. It has often been supposed that Constantine 's profession of Christianity was a matter of political expediency more than of religious conviction.  

In February 313, as close as anyone can currently tell, Constantine and Licinius met at Milan . Licinius, you may remember was the ruled the eastern Roman Empire . On this occasion Constantine 's half-sister Constantia was wed to Licinius.  Also on this occasion, the two emperors formulated a common religious policy. Several months later Licinius issued an edict which is commonly but erroneously known as the Edict of Milan.  Unlike

Constantine , Licinius did not commit himself personally to Christianity; even his commitment to toleration eventually gave way to renewed persecution. And not to mention that Constantine 's profession of Christianity was not an unmixed blessing to the church. Constantine used the church as an instrument of imperial policy, imposed upon it his imperial ideology, and thus deprived it of much of the independence which it had previously enjoyed.  

The scriptures themselves speak of Constantine 's imperial ideology should one consider the timing of various scriptures to the events taking place in Rome . For instance, the following scriptures were written at a time of Christian persecution ...  

Acts 7:35 This Moses, whom they rejected, saying: Who made you a ruler and a judge? Was the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush?

Acts 23:5 Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.

Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror for those who do good works, but to those who do evil. Do you want to have no fear of the one in authority? Do that which is good, and you shall have his praise.

Romans 13:4 For he is a minister of God for your good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a minister of God to execute wrath upon the one who does evil.

Romans 13:5 Therefore you must be subject, not only to avoid wrath, but also for conscience sake.

Romans 13:6 For this reason you also pay taxes: for they are God's ministers, attending continually to this very service.

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do every good work,  

What these speak to when taken in chronological context is the unquestioned authority of a ruler -- and theologically or idealistically in a messianic movement, that if one wants to save their soul, then obey your rulers or betters. In other words, suffer the torments during your entire life of conniving, scheming despots, or suffer an eternity of languishing in worse.  

So Islam is not alone in using religion as a basis with which to rule the poor by despots. Christianity has also had its fair share. And our current administration's 'faith based' agenda falls in lock step with the despots of old. Your web site and your efforts are a big step to take away the legitimacy of the Wahhabiists, and all the other 'crack-pot cults' in the Middle East . But just as it takes an aircraft carrier or supertanker two miles to turn around, the American government and your 'crack-pot cults' are large powers requiring you and me to be consistent, vigilant, and relentless; you can't ever back off, and unless you know that the person you've chosen to carry the baton for the next relay is up to the task, you can never trust someone else to do the job that you know needs doing. Once both financial support for Middle Eastern miscreants and the ideologies they use to retain power are stripped from the seething cauldron that is the Middle East, the Middle East will have to adjust to life without them. And before democracy can take root, people will have to have the resources to educate themselves. Because that is the nature of democracy; when the whole citizenry are the electorate, the whole citizenry have to be well informed.  

I hope that this clears things up, and I remain  

Very cordially yours,

Terrence Robertson  

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