I cannot live without books. — Thomas Jefferson
I make it a rule not to clutter my mind with simple information that I can find in a book in five minutes. –Albert Einstein
A house without books is like a home without windows. –Horace Mann
Books are readily available, and what good companions they are. A good book is the same today as yesterday. It is never displeased when we put it down; it is always inspiring when we pick it up. It never fails us in times of adversity. –Fulton J. Sheen
In the year 1634, in Boston, Massachusetts, Edward Palmer was a hard working carpenter. He was commissioned to build the first wooden stocks, by the town elders. These stocks were intended to be used for public punishment.
Definition: (the stocks, historical) treated as singular or plural An instrument of punishment consisting of an adjustable wooden structure with holes for securing a person’s feet and hands, in which criminals were locked and exposed to public ridicule or assault
Palmer submitted his bill for one pound, thirteen shillings, and seven pence, for his carpentry work.
If you would like to know
–Why are 97% of Federal prosecutions pleaded down (and only 3% actually go to trial);
–Why our inmate population has increased by 800% over the last 35 years;
–How the courts have turned to be more like the inquisition than the advocacy system;
–Why an accused agreed to accept a plea agreement in a criminal case, but was later found completely in the right by the civil courts;
–Why the prison system has grown, and become ever more expensive;
–and more,
Numerous strange stories come out of the Revolutionary War. For one thing, the practice of hanging criminals and spies was often the case in that war. We know about Nathan Hale, who regretted that he had only one life to give for his country. Hanging was popularized in the Old West.
However, hanging was practiced in the Revolutionary War on many occasions. On both sides. Colonel Charles Lynch was a farmer and also a justice of the peace before that war started. Lynch sometimes led a determined group of vigilantes to dispense swift and sure justice on British supporters and “other outlaws.”
Patrick Henry warned us about losing some of our rights, even with the new Constitution. Yes, just as he warned, I was unjustly and falsely accused of conspiracy to defraud the government. To avoid a possible 37 year prison sentence, I accepted a plea offer. Later I was exonerated when the civil court decided I had done no wrong.
Read about this In my upcoming book “A Patriot Imprisoned.” Sometimes people ask me how I could have made it through confinement, imprisonment, and detention, and remain confident, optimistic, and even positive? It’s because those are my choices. That is my character.
I had a meeting with my publisher this weekend about my upcoming book. We made some decisions. There is some basic editing and a few major changes that have to be made. The working title is “A Patriot Imprisoned”. It’s about my unjust indictment, what happened, my incarceration, and my exoneration by the civil courts (3 of them).
The book gives interesting methods I used to come to terms with and accept my ordeal, and the way my wife handled things.
My publisher has a way for you to benefit from all of the promotion & publicity of my book that will happen when my book is launched. If that is something you might want more information about at some point, please let me know! www.stevenwallenjd.@gmail.com.
Alexander Hamilton was a favorite of General George Washington. Few remember that Hamilton was with Washington as he crossed the Delaware and captured the Hessian fighting force at Trenton in December, 1776. Hamilton actually lit the touchholes with the flames that fired the canon at the Hessian barracks that night. James Monroe, the future President, was in charge of the charge. You remember, they won that battle and much later went on the win the Revolutionary war.
Hamilton was appointed the secretary for General Washington, and later, the Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington. He was also the man behind the agreement that the U.S. would pay the debts of all the States due to the War. And he was the mastermind behind the Treasury Department of the United States.
As I told you yesterday, I have learned some interesting facts from reading a fiction Bestseller. But I didn’t mention the name of the book or the author. So if you are interested, the name of the book is “the Fifth Assassin” by Brad Meltzer. The main character is Beecher White who is an archivists and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
An archivist is, of course, someone who is in charge of Archives. An archive is a place where public records or historical documents are kept. The National Archives in Washington is a beautiful building in the District in which the original Declaration of Independence, the U. S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and many other very important historical documents are kept.
Today my wife and I went to see the new movie titled “Risen.” As you can imagine, this movie is about the resurrected Savior—sort of. Naturally because of my book “The Illegal Trial of Christ” we just had to see this movie.
The main plot revolves around a Roman Centurion who was at the foot of the cross as Christ was crucified. I kidded my wife that this whole story line is detailed in Chapter 13 of the book of Acts, in the New Testament. Of course it isn’t. There is no such tale in any of the Holy Writ. It is totally made up. Kind of like the novel “The Robe” by Lloyd C. Douglas in the 1940’s.
I can recall an occasion when I was called as an expert witness in a Federal case. I was sworn in and asked several questions, first to establish my credibility as an expert, then to elaborate on some conditions prevalent in the court case.
As I tried to answer all the questions, there came one witch I felt that I needed to explain the answer more completely. The judge leaned over and said: “That’s enough, Mr. Allen, you’ve answered the question.” I feel bad that I didn’t have the presence of mind to respond: “But I’ve been sworn in to tell the truth, the whole truth . . . and as yet I haven’t been able to explain the whole truth!”