America's Stonehenge - A New Theory

The America's Stonehenge archaeological site is located on the summit of Mystery Hill in North Salem, NH. It consists of enigmatic stone chambers, standing stones, niches, drains, and astronomical alignments. Who built these stone structures and for what purpose?

The professional archaeological community has long argued that the site was built by an eccentric farmer who built his house on the hill between 1825 and 1850. Other researchers have proposed that the site was built by Irish Monks. Both of these theories, although quite popular, have been disproven by the archaeological evidence. Stone tools used to quarry the bedrock and shape stones for the some of the earliest structures were C-14 dated to 3000 years ago. This means the site began construction well before Irish Monk starting building religious communities, and certainly predates any 19th century farmers by over three thousand years. Who else could have built this site?

Archaeology has discovered two groups of artifacts and other evidence at the site. The first group of artifacts dates from the 1800's though the early 1900's. All this evidence is associated with the Pattee homestead on the site (circa 1825-1850) and later picnickers from the early 1900's. The second group of artifacts and other evidence spans from 3000 years ago through the 1600's. All of this evidence is associated with Native American activity on the site. It consists of various stone tools used for quarrying, shards of Native American pottery made and used on the site, petroglyphs (rock carvings), pecked & abraded grooved drains, and other Native American artifacts. The evidence overwhelmingly points in one direction - the site was built by Native Americans.

What was the purpose of these stone structures? Like all cultures worldwide, the Native Americans had their own religious traditions. These religious beliefs involved holding ceremonies with various spirits. They created astronomical alignments to mark the date that a ceremony was to be held and also as a means to call the Sun Spirit into their ceremonies. They carved drains in the bedrock to pour sacred water into during ceremonies. They built stone chambers to hold other important ceremonies.

The theory that America's Stonehenge was built by Native Americans is based upon an exhaustive four year study of the site. This study is carefully documented in the book America's Stonehenge Deciphered.

Not sure what theory to believe? Then take a tour of the site and see for yourself. America's Stonehenge is open year round to visitors (admission fee is charged). For an in depth self-guided tour of the site based upon this new research checkout A Guide to America's Stonehenge pamphlet ($4.95) before your trip. Can't travel to the site in person? Take a tour of the site with a 40 minute documentary film, America's Stonehenge: The History of a Sacred Place

What Are We Doing To Each Other as a People?

I believe what President Bush was talking about, is what we are doing to each other as a People! The hate; racism; road-rage; rudeness; the killing; gossip; put-down of others; domestic violence; child/senior abuse; substance abuse; rape; felonies; the manner-less/inconsideration; greedy/selfish; the disrespectful; racial slurs, etc. All is having an adverse effect on this society!

Following the incomprehensible shootings at Virginia Tech on Monday April 15, 2007, the large headlines in the Albuquerque Journal read, "WHY?" Educators; parents; school administrators; business people; students; social scientists; judges; statisticians and employees all across the country are asking the same question...WHY?

Here in Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA), where I live, we had a similar incident happen a few years ago, only not of the scale of the tragedy of Virginia Tech. But, it's a tragedy if only one human being is slaughtered senselessly! And, that's what happened in Albuquerque, as televised on Dateline NBC on Sunday April, 15, 2007. Five people were shot to death that awful day, including two police officers by John Hyde, a mental patient, and the two police officers were shot only three blocks from where I live!

After the killings, there was a small memorial placed in the concrete on the corner of Gold and Ash streets, and I've walked by there several times. And, every time I walk past there, I stop to say a little prayer for the fallen officers, and take a little time to say...WHY? What are we doing to each other as a People?

The school shootings of recent years are a big black eye for America, as innocent children have been murdered in our schools. Because of this, many of our schools have increased security and look like fortresses, which is a shame! In my view, the finger has to be pointed at the parents, who are not teaching their kids manners, values, and two of the most important words...mutual respect! There are many people out in society who should have never become parents! Hate, racism and bigotry has to start someplace...and it usually starts in the home and in the streets. Kids are taught to hate!

But, parents are not all at fault, in my view, because of the way things are today in this society, and it all revolves around GREED! Greedy corporations only looking at the bottom line, whereby both parents have to work to make a living, and one parent can't stay home to raise the kids, etc. Kids at a young age need guidance, and discipline, and sadly, for the most part, there is not a lot of guidance in the home these days! As a nation, we are producing latch-key kids, who come home to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the streets...and THIS is where the kids get there guidance!

Today, a couple has a child, and the first thing that happens, is to give that child to a baby-sitter or somebody else to take care of and help raise, etc. Children need their parents, especially at a young age and in their formative years! Children learn from adults...good things...and bad thing, too! If a child is raised by a negative person...a racist; bigot; a person of put-down and hate...that child is going learn from that adult, and I don't care if that person is a family member or not! Ever wonder why the suicide rate among young people is so high?

Parents get themselves in huge debt...and many times they can't handle the load with beg mortgages; a couple of gas-guzzlers in the driveway; credit card debt; furniture; keeping up with the Jones'...and that means working longer hours, and that means less time with the kids, etc. They shouldn't have had kids in the first place...all they're doing is damage to the kids!

I was standing in a concert line one time, waiting to get tickets and I had a conversation with a woman who was also waiting for tickets. And, we were talking about these very issues, and she told me that her top priority and goal in life, was to raise her children and grand-children in the proper way...teaching them respect for others; values; manners and the imp0rtance of integrity. This woman had her priorities in the right place. But, there are many parents who don't have priorities like this woman. They're more concerned about themselves; their projects; money; materialism and keeping up with the Jones,' and the time they devote to their children amounts to nothing more than tokenism.
After all, the toughest job in the world, is to be a good parent!

All of us know, that national surveys can be pretty accurate. I read a national survey recently, whereby, parents were asked the following question, "If you had it to do all over again, would you have children?" A whopping 72% said they would NOT have children if they had to do it all over again! I was astonished with this number! Sadly, there are children all over the U.S. who are simply not wanted. They're rejected right from the start, and become a burden to a family, and I think that is one reason domestic violence is on the increase! Child abuse...senior abuse and domestic violence are all on the rise in this country.

My ex-wife of nineteen years, spent her adult life working as a social worker in the Human Services Department of the state of New Mexico. Here, she has seen the horror of babies thrown in a dumpster like they were trash; kids beaten black and blue by their parents or some other member of the family. There aren't enough foster homes across the nation to take these unwanted kids, and this is a huge black eye for America! The killer at Virginia Tech, was probably such a kid, who was unwanted right from the beginning, and shunned and rejected by society!

Another tragedy came in Pennsylvania at the Amish community where five little girls were murdered one by one, by another mindless individual who had no place in this society. What makes this story even more tragic, is the fact that this mindless individual had every intention of raping these little girls before he killed them, but police came on the scene too fast and interrupted his wicked act. Just when you think you've seen the ultimate crime, that can't be topped by another crime...along comes another crime that leaves you asking...WHY? What are we doing to each other as a People?

Here in New Mexico, bad behavior is everywhere! Corruption; scandals in state government and in school systems, etc. In the state Treasurers office, three were convicted of fraud and a scandal in the construction of a County courthouse, two of the employees pleaded guilty to money laundering and a former Mayor has pleaded guilty to the same charges. You'd think that people in high places would be a role-model for our children, but DWI in Albuquerque is at an all-time high. Judges; school administrators; teachers; television people; athletes...DWI is everywhere! A two-time welter-weight champion of the world was caught on tape throwing up out of his car in the streets! (a disgrace!)

After five job layoffs over a decade, I worked as a temporary employee longer than I would have liked. I worked at this one company, where the company put out a memo to its employees, stating that there was too much gossip and put-down of others going on in the work place, and it had to stop! At a bank I worked at, a woman was crying in the lunch room one day, and she told us that there was a clique in the building, and she was being harassed. We never saw the woman again!

When I was in school, I was teased and put down, because I didn't speak the English language well. Because of this, I refused to give oral book reports or participate in class discussions. This had a negative on my education for years to come. Students and employees can be hateful to each other, and everyone has their own story about the hate that has been generated their way, etc.

Recently, we've seen national figures on radio, on television and in the movies, have gotten themselves in trouble because of their mouths and/or actions! These are people we want to be role-models and mentors for our children? I don't think so! The senior President Bush was right...we do need a kinder, gentler nation! Whether it be in Albuquerque, Pennsylvania or at Virginia Tech or any place else...we all have to ask the same question...WHY?

The History of a Private Investigator

In 1833 a French soldier called Eugène François Vidocq, a French soldier, criminal and privateer, founded the first known private detective agency, "Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l'Industrie" (Office of Intelligence) and hired ex-convicts.

Official law enforcement tried to shut it down many times. In 1842 police arrested him in suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and taking money on false pretences after he had solved an embezzling case. Vidocq later suspected that it had been a set-up. He was sentenced for five years with a 3,000-franc fine but the Court of Appeals released him. Vidocq is credited with having introduced record-keeping, criminology and ballistics to criminal investigation. He made the first plaster casts of shoe impressions. He created indelible ink and unalterable bond paper with his printing company. His form of anthropometrics is still partially used by French police. He is also credited for philanthropic pursuits - he claimed he never informed on anyone who had stolen for real need.

After Vidocq, the industry was born. Much of what private investigators did in the early days was to act as the police in matters that their clients felt the police were not equipped for or willing to do. A larger role for this new private investigative industry to was to assist companies in labor disputes. Some early private investigators provided armed guards to act as a private militia.

In the U.S., the Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a private detective agency established in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton. Pinkerton had become famous when he foiled a plot to assassinate then President-Elect Abraham Lincoln. Pinkerton's agents performed services which ranged from undercover investigations and detection of crimes to plant protection and armed security. It is sometimes claimed, probably with exaggeration, that at the height of its existence the Pinkerton National Detective Agency employed more agents than the United States Army.

During the labor unrest of the late 19th century, companies sometimes hired operatives and armed guards from the Pinkertons and similar agencies to keep strikers and suspected unionists out of their factories. The most famous example of this was the Homestead Strike of 1892, when industrialist Henry Clay Frick hired a large contingent of Pinkerton men to regain possession of Andrew Carnegie's steel mill during a lock-out at Homestead, Pennsylvania. Gunfire erupted between the strikers and the Pinkertons, resulting in multiple casualties and deaths on both sides. Several days later a radical anarchist, Alexander Berkman, attempted to assassinate Frick. In the aftermath of the Homestead Riot, several states passed so-called "anti-Pinkerton" laws restricting the importation of private security guards during labor strikes. The federal Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 continues to prohibit an "individual employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, or similar organization" from being employed by "the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia."

Pinkerton agents were also hired to track western outlaws Jesse James, the Reno brothers, and the Wild Bunch, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Pinkerton agency's logo, an eye embellished with the words "We Never Sleep," inspired the term "private eye."

It was not until the prosperity of the 1920s that the private investigator became a person accessible to the average American. With the wealth of the 1920s and the expanding of the middle class came the need of middle America for private investigators.

Since then the private detective industry has grown with the changing needs of the public. Social issues like infidelity and unionization have impacted the industry and created new types of work, as has the need for insurance and, with it, insurance fraud, criminal defense investigations and the invention of low-cost listening devices. In a number of countries, a licensing process has been introduced that has put criteria in place that investigators have to meet: in most cases, a clean criminal record. This has combined with modern business practices that have ensured that most investigators are now professional in outlook, rather than seeing the PI world as a second career opportunity for retired policemen.

http://www.dcinvestigators.co.uk

Getting and Keeping My Confidence

Confidence: (definition) belief in one's own abilities

All of us need confidence in our lives, to try to excel at the things we do, and to survive as well in a fast-pace society!

Self-respect: This is where it all begins, and these two words, could be the two most important words in the world. As I said previously, I took many, many hits from the migraine headaches, which nearly shattered my life, but despite the headaches and the gloom and doom, I have always had self-respect for myself! At my lowest and darkest moments, I have always liked myself, and I have always felt that I have a lot to offer, and can be a productive citizen, just like anyone else. I have had respect for myself and nobody can ever take that away from me!

For those people out there, who have been told over and over again that they are worthless and will never amount to anything, they have to find a positive/honest person, who they can trust, and they have to start working on getting your self-respect back. Getting back your confidence won't be easy, and will take time and patience.

Honesty: In recovery, a person MUST be honest with himself or herself! This is imperative! You can't be in denial about the things that have crossed your path, and that you are responsible for. Blaming everyone but yourself, is the easy way out, and you will never recover. If you can't be honest with yourself...who can you be honest with? If you lie to yourself...you're finished!

Negativism: Get rid of the negative people surrounding you, that are bringing you down! I don't like and I won't tolerate negative people around me...it's that simple! These people dwell on what they can't do...instead of what they can do. Many times, they're people of "put-down," and make no apologies for it. Jealousy. resentment...are what they bring with them, and I don't need these people to ruin my life!

Failure vs. set-back: I've never failed at anything! Although it took many years to get my confidence back, my confidence is high, because I never like to use the word, "failure!" Instead, I like to use the words "set-back." I do this, because I've never failed at anything...as long as I TRY...and, that's the most important thing...that I TRY! If I try, and don't make it, it's just another set-back! For the people who never TRY...they're the losers and failures of the world...not me!

I remember back, when I participated in all those arts and crafts shows, not everything was peaches and cream! I had my share of bombs! But, I did not fail at these shows...they were only set-backs! I was able to bounce back in the future, and win my share, etc. In life...you win a few and you lose a few!

Smart/Creative people: I've always liked to be around smart and creative people that I can learn from. And, this alone requires confidence. I've never been the fastest horse in the race...but, I'm not exactly a candidate for membership in the American Dufus Association, either!

Learner and a doer: I can proudly say, that I have always been a learner and a doer, and how important is that today, with all the technology and the rapid changes. "Jerry, can you solder?" No, but I can learn. "Jerry, can you run that machine over there?" No, but I can learn. "Jerry, do you know how to assemble these parts?" No, but I can learn!

Praise: Praise is never given out for free...it has to be earned. Over the years, I have completed three writing courses in my 40's at a cost of a few hundred dollars and 18 months; I have participated on over 40 arts and crafts shows; I have promoted 6 of my own; I have built an award-winning website, and have received the praise that goes with it, from hundreds of people around the world. But, in doing so, there's no free lunch; no pie in the sky and no magic dust, either. You're going to have to get out there and earn that praise! When people like you and your work, it builds your confidence level, etc.

You can't please everybody...so, don't try! Trying to please everyone is a confidence-BUSTER for sure! My ex-wife was a person, who tried to please everyone, and she was headed to the mental institution...she did not pass GO and she did not collect $200.00. If people like what I do...fine. If not, they can find somebody else's time to waste!

Humor is the best medicine: I've been in the humor business for over 50 years, and it has been humor that has helped me to keep my chin up during those difficult times. There is not a greater satisfaction than to put a smile on somebody's face and I've done it countless times. Because of the humor, I make friends easily, and because of this, I can tell the people with skeleton's in their closets, to hit the road, etc.

All of us are going to have to choose which road to take...the high road or the low road in life. Many years ago, I chose to take the high road...and you may have guessed that my confidence in very high. So, much so...that I can even walk on water...as long as the pond is frozen over!