Forelaws on Board The Age of Empathy and Compassion on Earth "To suppose that Earth is the only populated world in infinite space is as absurd to believe that in an entire field sown with millet, only one grain will grow." - Metrodorus of Chios (Greek Philosopher, Fourth Century BP.) "I see Congress as a place where strong progressive voices must be heard and basic changes must be fought for." - Norman Solomon, Author and Candidate for California's North Coast District. "In less than 20 years, we have gone from not knowing if any other planets exist in the universe, to being able to look out at the night sky and realize that essentially any star we can see has at least one planet, and a good number of those are likely to be habitable." - Dr. Alan Boss, Science Working Group, NASA Kepler Mission. The DEMOCRATHON Process The DEMOCRATHON Process ("people power"). operating in tandem with the Initiative and Referendum currently available in some form in 24 States in the USA and continuing to grow worldwide, is a political-educational-fundraising mechanism proposed as a new cornerstone for the United Nations with potential and efficacy uniquely more widespread since the advent of Internet communication. To be an educational tool with optimum citizen participation (both within and beyond the political jurisdiction of the considered Initiative) a commensurate forum is necessary. To be successful at the polls and for carrying out stated goals (both within and beyond the political jurisdiction of the considered Initiative) a commensurate funding device is needed. Areas within the purview of representative government (and thus subject to societal breakthroughs through the DEMOCRATHON process) encompass the essential and basic goals of progressive science, five-year plans, neo-economics/politics and the DEMOCRATHON Process: (a) a healthful, sustainable environment for every planetary citizen, (b) universal health care, publicly supported, (c) education for all based upon individual capability, (d) creative/productive employment for every planetary citizen, (e) post-retirement security, (f) global water equilibrium. Key to this societal evolution are new cornerstones and guidelines for the United Nations: (1) Forelaws Education, (2) World Summitry on Economic/Societal Sustainability, (3) Global Water Equilibrium, (4) The DEMOCRATHON Process. DEMOCRATHON fundraising centers on the generation of pledges/contributions equal in amount to the total number of valid signatures collected in the considered DEMOCRATHON (based on official estimates). Contributors include private citizens of all ages, public/private organizations, corporations, schools, churches, and others. Signature collectors are the lifeblood of direct/participatory democracy and their contribution in the framing of DEMOCRATHONS is earnestly solicited. DEMOCRATHONS do not terminate with the qualifying of Initiatives, but continue until election day (VOTE) in order to maximize fundraising, public education, and voter turnout. Disbursement of surplus monies generated by a DEMOCRATHON successful at the polls - an additional incentive targeting worthy projects consistent with evolutionary forelawsship - is effected as predetermined by organizers. If unsuccessful at the polls, surplus monies are disbursed as previously agreed (but tied to a built-in contingency fund earmarked for a repeat DEMOCRATHON). Should signatures gathered be insufficient to qualify the Initiative on the ballot, surplus monies, if any, become totally committed to a repeat DEMOCRATHON. Contributors to DEMOCRATHONS are free to fix a ceiling on amounts contributed or pledged (e.g. one cent per each 100 signatures NOT TO EXCEED $25.00, or $100.00, or $1,000.00 or $10,000.00 . . .) Residents of Beijing, China's capital, could be drinking desalinated seawater within five years. As part of China's eleventh five-year plan, this source could become a main supply in efforts to deal with the water shortage (National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) People's Republic of China.) Eminently in order on a global scale, the potential and success of global five-year plans aimed at satisfying freshwater needs, at job creation and environmental sustainability through seawater desalination is in dramatic step with achievable global water equilibrium on Earth. The current growth rate of desalination at coastal locations bodes well for strategic and direct movement of freshwater to inland points via pipelines (new and/or existing convertible to freshwater transport) for local and regional purposes including irrigation and aquifer replenishment. Progressive leadership exercising "people power" on behalf of local and global needs can achieve decisive changes in controversial areas where legislatures have failed to act. By targeting for example the benefits of global water equilibrium, and the utility of industrial hemp, DEMOCRATHONS become a vital tool both locally and globally. The achievement of global water equilibrium will mark a turning point for environmental sciences, and for planetary stewardship and climate stability uniting all humanity. In all stages of global water equilibrium, from seawater desalination to rolling back desertification, plastic pipe and other products made from non-narcotic industrial hemp are destined to make a major contribution. Industrial hemp can be cultivated with and without irrigation in countries like Afghanistan, Columbia, Mexico, and the USA. Industrial hemp and trees (in their full life cycle) have important roles to play in planetary climate stability. Climate stability on Earth entails innovative permaculture dedicated to refinement (by each generation) of Earth's surface reflectivity (albedo) in concert with continuing scientific research and understanding of solar radiation. Significantly increased worldwide production of industrial hemp - locally grown, processed and manufactured into products locally consumed (and exported/imported where in order) - is a realistic response, accompanied by others, to "Peak Oil" and the inevitable depletion of extractable petroleum. Any product made from petroleum (including high octane gasoline and plastics) can be made from industrial hemp. Industrial hemp seeds can produce food such as bread, hempburgers, milk and ice cream. Hemp fiberboard has been demonstrated to be twice the strength of wood fiberboard. "Hempcrete" blocks, "lighter, stronger and easier to work with than masonry concrete," have been manufactured at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota (start-up costs were under $10,000.00.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODEL - DRAFT COPY ONLY - MODEL Note: The DEMOCRATHON as proposed below (stabilizing solar energy) underscores the educational potential of the DEMOCRATHON process, i.e. "Energy reaches Earth from the Sun, of course, but encoded instructions do not. We have long believed that evolutionary progress takes place in a biologically closed system, because we thought, until recently, that life could not survive in space . . . . . . . . . . We now know that cells can survive in space and could be delivered in viable form to Earth's surface (NASA, 1999)." (Brig Klyce, Astrobiology Research Trust). Oregon DEMOCRATHON 2011/12 (Stabilizing Solar Energy) Add to preamble of State Constitution: "The people of the State of Oregon, in order to ensure resident awareness of the singular relationship of our parent star, the Sun, to life on Earth, and, consequently, the need to achieve and maintain constancy of energy from our star, the Sun, do, accordingly, call upon the Oregon Legislative Assembly to commit to such funding at all levels of education (and in all age groups) as may be appropriate to advance resident awareness toward research and development of steady-state energy from our star, the Sun." Valid signatures needed to qualify Initiative (rounded) _______. Targeted valid signatures (rounded) ________. Formula For Determining Amounts of Pledges/Contributions Pledge/contribution (per each 100 signatures) ___________. Amount due at time of pledge/contribution (based on _____________ valid signatures needed to qualify Initiative). Amount due when Initiative is qualified (based on ______________ valid signature count (rounded)). Amount due as single sum on pledges/contributions made after Initiative is qualified, continuing to election day (VOTE)_____________. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disbursement of Surplus Monies (Over and Above DEMOCRATHON Costs as Predetermined by Organizers) $_______________For Recipient ________________________________________ $______________ For Recipient ________________________________________ $______________ For Recipient ________________________________________ $_______________For Recipient ________________________________________ $_______________For Recipient ________________________________________ $______________ For repeat DEMOCRATHON in event Initiative is not qualified, or is unsuccessful at the polls. $______________Toward establishment of Initiative and Referendum in States where not currently available, and toward a National Initiative and Referendum. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Create a multi-disciplinary environment whereby compassion and altruism studies are supported and legitimized within the broader scientific community." - Vision of The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University. "We are witnessing the birth pangs of a paradigm shift as important as the Copernican revolution half a millennium ago." - N. C. Wickramasinghe, Director, Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, discussing panspermia (fast becoming mainstream science) and the significance of "Fossils of Cyanobacteria in C11 Carbonaceous Meteorites" (The Journal of Cosmology, March, 2011), by Richard B. Hoover, NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center. Early successes of NASA's Kepler Mission (logically inferring that in a Universe of infinite Earth-like exoplanets "we are not alone") . . . . . following Louis Pasteur's pivotal work in 1859 in disproving spontaneous generation of life and, in modern times, that (in astrobiology) of the late Sir Fred Hoyle, N. C. Wickramasinghe, Brig Klyce, Halton Arp, and others . . . . . begin the transition on Earth to a compassionate/cooperative society consistent with universal forelaws of empathy and compassion. As empirical attributes of cosmic genealogy defining the cosmic community of intelligent life, universal forelaws of empathy and compassion (seated within the genome of humankind and all intelligent life), underlie, particularly, reciprocal propagation and dissemination of intelligent life from infinity to infinity by intelligent life (RDIL), the search and discovery of parent planets of intelligent life, and global water equilibrium. Global water equilibrium - extant, in process, or in prospect on all planets with intelligent life - describes the state of balance between seawater converted to freshwater amply available worldwide on one side and, on the other, relative constancy in planetary ocean and sea levels. Life-centered cosmologies, part and parcel of naturalistic Nature ("everythng is connected to everything else"), reflect cognizance of the observable universe of humankind (13,000 million light years in all directions), of solar systems with and without intelligent life, and of intelligent life reciprocity in cosmic propagation and dissemination of intelligent life. Inviting human participation, this cosmic reality/morality (RDIL) interacts with the phenomenon that no two parent planets of intelligent life receive identical solar radiation - accounting for "races" (superficial genomics before amalgamation) in the makeup of intelligent life. The search for parent planets of humankind (SPPH) - addressing the deep human need to know from whence we came - creates new frontiers for nascent astrobiology. SPPH efforts will likely focus on planets showing evidence of global water equilibrium, signature of intelligent life. Thus far on Earth exemplars of intelligent life as a gift with indefinable promise include progress toward global water equilibrium, ethnicity revisited, the merger of astronomy and biology (astrobiology), discovery of over 2000 exoplanets, and NASA's OSIRIS-REx - lifting off in 2016 and returning to Earth in 2023 with samples from asteroid 1999 RQ36. Akin to comets and asteroids are icy outer planets made "homeless" by supernovae. Comets, like asteroids, are apparent carriers of DNA materials germane to reciprocal propagation and dissemination of intelligent life by intelligent life. "The first message from an intelligent extraterrestrial civilisation may not emerge from a radio telescope but, instead, from a DNA sequencing machine." - John Walker, Fourmilab Switzerland. Universal forelaws of empathy and compassion, grounding and shaping education at all levels, operate cosmically as well as locally and globally - with marked relevance to human mate selection, nurturing of offspring, and early childhood education in a healthful, sustainable environment. Ending international terrorism requires employing the total resources of the United Nations, including military (right of self-defense), with primary emphasis on forelaws education coupled to scrutiny of all social dichotomies ranging from religious dogmas, to political ideologies, to economic systems. Though actively in denial of their own intrinsic humanness, adherents of international terrorism remain genetically predisposed (and reeducable) to appreciation of their creative potential and positive contribution as part of the cosmic community of intelligent life. World summitry on economic/societal sustainability, marshalling previously untapped human cooperation, energy and resources, faces challenges not least of which deal with terrorism - fossil fuels - nuclear weapons/energy - the specter of international trade wars - overpopulation - world hunger - integrity of the human gene pool - climate stability - as well as the unifying legacy of Kyoto, Rio+10, Johannesburg and Copenhagen. Bolstering world summitry on economic/societal sustainability as a new cornerstone proposed for the United Nations is scientific research validating both the biological basis for human cooperation (Rilling/Berns et al, Emory Univ.), and empathy and compassion (Rodrigues/Saslow et al, Oregon State Univ. & UC Berkeley.) "But the climaxing observation appeared in year 2002. How exceedingly ironic that 30 years after Fred Hoyle pointed to NGC 7603 as a crucial system which must force out acceptance of the existence of discordant redshifts - after a generation has passed - the luminous link between this active Seyfert and its appendage is observed to have two high redshift, quasar-like objects in it." . . . . . "Of course, today, for science in particular, electronic communication makes possible communities of individuals from all corners of the world. The most direct evolution toward an enlightened science is for these groups to just go about supporting each other in doing science free of disproved, official assumptions." - Halton C. Arp, American Astronomer, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, and author of Seeing Red, Apeiron, 1998 (refuting "Big-Bang" theory). "Peace is the marriage of the people and the planet, with all attendant vows." - Anonymous "The hazard of fission products persists for a time that is longer than any I can conceive." - Larry Bogart (1914-1991), Anti-Nuclear Activist. "It would be good to prevent the vast suffering and countless violent deaths caused by predation." - Jeff McMahan, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University. "The good of society as a whole can be promoted through the science of positive and "prosocial" emotions and behaviors - for example, by studying emotions and behaviors such as compassion, respect, joy, trust, love, empathy, gratitude, and tolerance." - Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley. "and then there is the greatest opportunity of all, the prize of securing and safeguarding the planet for our generations to come." - UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on global warming and the Stern Review. "Darwinian evolution can produce variation that results from one or two point mutations, and can, by natural selection, lead to adaptation, or microevolution. But that is not the same as macroevolutionary progress requiring whole new genes that differ from known predecessors by dozens to hundreds of essential nucleotides. In strong panspermia, those new genes must be supplied from elsewhere . . . . . . . . . . Energy reaches Earth from the Sun, of course, but encoded instructions do not. We have long believed that evolutionary progress takes place in a biologically closed system, because we thought, until recently, that life could not survive in space." (Brig Klyce, founder of Cosmic Ancestry and Astrobiology Research Trust). "I suspect that the cosmic quality of microbiology will seem as obvious to future generations as the Sun being the centre of the solar system seems obvious to the present generation" - Sir Fred Hoyle ("The Relation of Biology to Astronomy"). ". . . . . this essay will examine the possible role of viruses in the evolution of complexity, including the evolution of human-specific attributes." - from "Can Viruses Make Us Human?" by Dr. Luis P. Villarreal, Director, Center for Virus Research, University of California, Irvine. "The discovery of intergalactic seeds produced by intelligent life would immediately change our view of the origin and purpose of life on Earth, and improve our expectations for the future of life in this universe." - Robert T. Hemphill, from "Searching for Signals from Civilizations Spreading Life Among the Galaxies). "A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein. "knowledge gained is always subject to further testing as understanding matures" (The Center for Naturalism). "I am certain and have always stressed that the destination of mankind is to become more and more humane. The ideal of humanity has to be revived." - Albert Schweitzer "The survival of all living beings on this planet, the entire ecosystem, depends on our civic engagement . . . . . to be part of the political process . . . . ." - Norman Solomon (author, recipient of Alex Forman Peace Award, founder of Institute for Public Accuracy. "Whatever you can do . . . . . or believe you can . . . . . begin it Boldness has magic . . . . . power . . . . . and genius in it." Johnne Goethe Links to additional internal webpages, and external websites, at home page www.forelawsonboard.net. Forelaws on Board Forelaws_on_Board@forelawsonboard.net |