Robert Struble, Jr.

 

			Neither for gold nor gifts did I undertake this task so great and difficult…only I prayed that my book might be beautiful. Old Irish author   If it is well composed and to the point, that is just what I wanted.  If it is trashy and mediocre, that is all I could manage. 2 Maccabees 15:38
Click Here for Dedication

 

 

 

 

		"America is great because America is good – and if America ever ceases to be good – America will cease to be great."[1] President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, paraphrasing Alexis de Tocqueville
The author in the Classroom

 

 

 

 

	Throughout this interactive book, the reader may roam by clicking on a hyperlink.  To return, use a web-tools back arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preface (Spring '08 edition)

“Without cost you have received;
without cost you are to give.”
Matthew 10:8 [2]

 

            From 1996-1999 I posted on the Internet a forerunner of this book, entitled Redeeming U.S. Democracy.  My purpose was to incorporate feedback from people who accessed the free online draft, and then to modify the book accordingly.  The online book had a forward by former U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy.[3]  

As an exercise in ideological skywriting, Redeeming U.S. Democracy had a number of results.  After securing feedback, and also after three terms (six years) in fighting the activist fight as Washington state committeeman for the GOP, I concluded that a radical turnabout would not and could not occur as envisioned.  I saw many Americans disheartened into a sense of futility based on their perception of powerlessness.  The continuing consolidation of power by the postmodernist regime demoralized even the undauntable.  Like a throwback to the Seleucid-Greek occupation of Israel, (200-c.165 BC) a remnant had been reduced to virtual foreigners within their own homeland.

It was encouraging, however, when I reflected on the Biblical pattern of deliverance under such distinguished prototypes as Judas Maccabeus.  It was heartening too that no heaven-sent herald, like Jeremiah the prophet, was proclaiming the postmodernist grip on America to be divine chastisement like the Babylonian occupation of old, against which an insurgent would be resisting God Himself.

Accordingly I persisted, took refuge in patience, and revised the content substantially.  The present appeal is to stalwarts who have not lost hope, soon to be joined by citizens sobered, matured, or alerted by 21st century events. 

In addition I decided on the computer disk and www formats rather than hardcopy, as more amenable to mass distribution by people at the grass roots, and with no dependence whatsoever on potentially hostile corporate publishers.  Moreover, the paper-free format is friendlier to the environment – a million copies require the felling of not one tree.  Furthermore, I have introduced numerous hyperlinks to facilitate switching back and forth between the chapters, the endnotes, and especially the prototype text of the arch-amendment (to which the rest of the book is keyed).  Hyperlinks help readers who prefer to peruse the book before reading it.  Additional plusses for the computer format are audio/visual features to accompany the written text, including a video to introduce the book, audio introductions to various chapters, archival footage from the author's earlier years, and a sound recording of the Twelve Lights Anthem. You will be pleased, I predict, with the experience of reading in this remarkable format. 

 

 

   Robert Struble, Jr.

   State of Washington

   Summer, 2007

       

Copyright Exemptions

       

            Treatise on Twelve Lights illuminates a route along which we the people might advance to restore our country.  No populist maneuver of the sort would be manageable, however, without mass circulation of the plan on how to proceed.  Delegating its distribution to volunteers and individual entrepreneurs goes with the flow of the design’s very democratic nature.

            In other words, the populism inherent in such an enterprise forbids us to consign the promotion of this interactive book to one of the great publishing conglomerates.  At best, such a firm would diligently promote the book at a price sufficient to cover all its overhead and still secure a profit for the firm.  Meanwhile, the corporation would insist upon exclusive copyright privileges, shutting out free distribution and a host of marketing possibilities outside the conventional book market. 

To the extent that Treatise on Twelve Lights generates opposition, let us celebrate the controversy as an auspicious indicator.  But the same controversy could prove detrimental if the copyright is in the grip of corporate managers who “may, at their whim, nurture, support, or strangle” circulation.[5]  Chapter five alone might provide the pretext.  The bookseller might then maroon our cargo at the wharf, to sit idle for 70 years.  This is not so far-fetched a possibility according to a copyright attorney I consulted. 

Copyright Provisions for Treatise on Twelve Lights (TOTL) Copyright © 2005, revised ed., 2008

——             Individuals are hereby authorized to distribute this interactive book (TOTL) in electronic format for whatever donation the market will yield.  Suppliers are authorized to reproduce the interactive version of TOTL, in whole or in part, on disk or on the Internet — provided that any portions of the text or the audio/visual materials shall be excerpted so as to convey no distortion of the overall meaning in its context; and provided further that translations into other languages remain faithful to the English original.             Bookstores and other retail outlets may, at will, reproduce TOTL in interactive electronic formats – by means of their own choosing – and may vend them online or otherwise in return for donations by their customers.  But stores or retail outlets large enough to have paid employee(s) in addition to the owner(s) must write quarterly reports on the quantity and general locations of retail donations/sales.  These reports must be forwarded at the firm’s expense to TeLL.

In the communications industry, it does happen that personal views and political/economic affiliation take priority over profiteering.  Hollywood makes avant guarde box office flops on altruistic motives.  Commercial television censors out certain political advertisers.[6]  And major studios will even blacklist a blockbuster if they don’t like its message – Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, 2004, for example, because they considered the film politically incorrect.[7]  It seems that Lenin was way off the mark in supposing that capitalism will do anything for a profit – including, as he famously said, selling the rope whereby to hang capitalists.  On the contrary, entertainment industry moguls preferred to forgo a fortune (well in excess of half a billion dollars as it turned out) rather than sell Mel Gibson the means whereby to fire a flare over a spiritually darkened culture.

Later in 2004 the award-winning political documentary by Michael Moore, Fahrenheit 9/11, managed to elude a similar corporate kibosh.  It became a smash hit at the box-office in the U.S. and overseas (unheard of for a documentary) after nearly being banned from American theatres.  Moore’s polemic escaped corporate resistance only after the Disney / Miramax empire was persuaded to unload the film to some smaller operators, who were unafraid to market the controversial work during a presidential election year.[8]  Up to that point, Miramax had been stonewalling its own production.

            My own financial means are too meager for such ventures as let Gibson and Moore maneuver their way out of the corporate cage.  Instead of relying, therefore, on any commercial firm (who could betray the cause in its nascency), let us look to decentralized marketing as more prudent.  Starting with the lower and lower-middle classes would accord with what Catholics term a “preferential option for the poor.”  Moreover, political correctness is less of a constraint the lower you go on the socio-economic ladder.  Given, therefore, that this book is sure to be controversial, let the great bulk of its dissemination, at least in the opening stages, rely on rank-and-file volunteers and vendors.

            Decentralization can tap into populist energy.  Rather than rely on corporate America to plant our crop, we must trust to Providence – as did the great educator, John Baptist de la Salle, the patron saint of teachers.  His pioneering school system prospered in France only after he gave away his personal fortune and relied on mendicancy.

            Accordingly, all copyright restriction is hereby lifted on free or donation-only distribution of this interactive book in various electronic forms, including the following:

 

·         CD street editions distributed for donation by pedestrians / vendors

·         CD editions distributed online in return for donations

·         CD editions attached as promos for other products in the retail market

·         CD editions for non-profit distribution

·         CD editions snail-mailed to readers

·         Editions sent as email attachments

·         Editions freely posted on web sites.
 

            Initially, this interactive book will go public in English, and as soon as possible in Spanish.  Individuals are authorized to solicit monetary compensation for the costs of vending, and tips for the labor involved in marketing the book, but suppliers may impose a code of moral conduct on street vendors.

            General George Patton of WW II fame once advised, “Never tell people how to do things.  Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”[9]  In that spirit, the initial strategic objective is to help publicize and circulate enough copies of this interactive book to reach America's political readers.  May God bless the application of your ingenuity on one or more of the following tasks.

 

Volunteer Efforts to Undertake on One’s Own Initiative [Computer Related]

§         Email link to the internet site where this book can be read online. (http://www.tell-usa.org/totl/)

§         Create your own blog, or email list-server, featuring discussions about Treatise on Twelve Lights.

§         Email excerpts of this interactive book to friends, netizens, or email trees.

§         Forward email trees to TeLL, PO Box 1415, Bremerton WA 98337.

§         Manufacture CD versions of Treatise on Twelve Lights.

§         Distribute such CDs by eBay in return for donations (see below).

§         Bring typographical or other editing errors in the manuscript to TeLL’s attention, for correction in future editions.

§         Email correspondence to the author, who can then incorporate constructive criticism / suggestions into future editions of the interactive book.

§         Help create and/or moderate a headquarters blog to facilitate a decentralized campaign.  Here we should study the pioneering work of Joe Tripp and his colleagues in promoting political candidacies, and where applicable employ their methods to the dissemination of Treatise on Twelve Lights

§         Provide anti-hacker / spammer assistance against efforts to vandalize or otherwise disrupt the project.

 

Volunteer Efforts to Undertake on One’s Own Initiative [Non-Computer Related]

§         Read and discuss Treatise on Twelve Lights with family and friends. 

§         Monitor press coverage, editorials, and columns re this book; send copies to TeLL.  This will help with apologetics and public relations.

§         Obtain snail-mailing list(s) and forward to TeLL headquarters.

§         Snail mail CDs (verified virus-free) containing this interactive book to prospective readers.

§         Hand deliver a CD to each state legislator in your district.  Send copies to state legislators and media people.

§         Pursue grant writing to secure funding or in-kind contributions like printing.

§         Advertise on private property, for example by billboards, placards, posters, banners or yard signs.

§         Study the whole array of campaign techniques, from distributing brochures & wearing lapel-buttons, to media ads, to towing banners from aircraft over outdoor events.

§         Set up a booth at a festival or county fair.

§         Host a coffee or study group.

§         Set up a network of volunteers.

§         Arrange a rally or teach-in.

§         Put together a speakers bureau for such events.

§         Donate to legitimate affiliated funds. If you have the means, be a patron or patroness like Nadezhda von Meck for TeLL.

§         Make in-kind contributions, such as paid advertisements, blank CDs, CD burners, computers, printing equipment / facilities, office space.

§         Work telephones, answer mail, and prepare mailings, etc.

§         Recruit a first-rate translator (English to Spanish, or to some other language)

§         Form a local chapter of the Twelve Lights League (TeLL) in your community; in your factory or office; on your campus.

 

Distribution by various foundations and non-profit corporations

§         Distribute CDs of this interactive book as a gift in gratitude for contributions to your cause. 

§         Tithe an appropriate portion of the proceeds to TeLL.

 

Distribution by profit making corporations [see copyright provisions above]

§         Attach a copy of this interactive book to your product to promote retail sales.

§         Advertise that a fifth of your associated profits on the sales will go to TeLL.

 

Street Distribution by ad hoc groups or individuals

§         Distribute CDs containing this interactive book at church, synagogue or mosque.

§         Distribute such CDs at other organizations where the individual is a member.

§         Hand out such CDs in public places – like county fairs, shopping malls, parking lots or sidewalks outside retail stores, or by doorbelling. 

§         Study proven methods, like ways that political candidates and referendum campaigns distribute literature, or the methods of distribution pioneered by The Gideons,[10] or by street newspapers like Seattle’s Real Change, or its equivalent in most US big cities. [11]

§         Create distribution centers, and arrange vendor pick up points, for street editions.

§         Avail CD copies of the book to street vendors, (a) for free, or (b) at a subsidized price, or (c) at no more than cost of creating/distributing the CD.  Then motivate your vendors by urging them to keep any profits from sales, as follows.

 

SALES / DONATIONS:

In addition to the distribution of free electronic copies, we authorize street vendors, online vendors, and various retailers to solicit donations for computer disks containing Treatise on Twelve Lights.  They may propose whatever price the market will bear.  This exemption from copyright restrictions is granted provided there is no substantive change in the text (excepting faithful translations into foreign languages), and provided this interactive book is not withheld from a would-be reader who requests a copy but cannot afford a donation.  But online distribution (by eBay, etc.) does not obligate the vendor to incur shipping costs.

            

            None of the aforesaid exemptions from copyright restrictions apply or are valid unless: 

§         There is no substantive change in the text, (excepting faithful translations into foreign languages), nor inclusion of anything on a CD labeled Treatise on Twelve Lights other than the data created by the author, Robert Struble, Jr.

§         Any solicitation of money for this interactive book is by donation only – although a CD may be attached to some other product offered for sale.

 

In return for spreading Treatise on Twelve Lights to all corners of America, let any donation be a gratuity or tip to the person or to the group who exhibit entrepreneurship in distributing this interactive book.  But let donations for street editions be given not to the supplier, but to the vendor who carries out the distribution – whether in a newsstand, vending machine, countertop CD display rack, or by means of hand distribution. 

As for hardcopy editions, and in all respects contrary to what this Preface indicates, let the copyright stand – in violation of which, legal means may be used against reproducers or distributors [at least until further notice].

And so…

to all volunteers, vendors, and suppliers – Godspeed!

 

 

	Warning!  Before running in your computer, please SCAN for viruses any CD received from a stranger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENDNOTES 

    Clicking on endnote number takes the reader up to citation point  in the text.