Oscar Winner Jon Voight Recreates Benjamin Franklin's "Prayer Speech"

Very recommendable! Rarely in history was there ever such a meeting of great minds than in 1776 or in 1787 in Philadelphia!

(256) Oscar Winner Jon Voight Recreates Ben Franklin's "Prayer Speech" | The White House Founders Museum - YouTube

Scientists finally solve the mystery of what triggers lightning

Amazing stuff! This news got Benjamin Franklin's attention!

"Though scientists have long understood how lightning strikes, the precise atmospheric events that trigger it within thunderclouds remained a perplexing mystery. ... has revealed the powerful chain reaction that triggers lightning. ...

how they determined strong electric fields in thunderclouds accelerate electrons that crash into molecules like nitrogen and oxygen, producing X-rays and initiating a deluge of additional electrons and high-energy photons — the perfect storm from which lightning bolts are born.

“Our findings provide the first precise, quantitative explanation for how lightning initiates in nature," ... "It connects the dots between X-rays, electric fields and the physics of electron avalanches." ...

“By simulating conditions with our model that replicated the conditions observed in the field, we offered a complete explanation for the X-rays and radio emissions that are present within thunderclouds,” ...

Published ... in 2023, the model, Photoelectric Feedback Discharge, simulates physical conditions in which a lightning bolt is likely to originate. The equations used to create the model are available in the paper for other researchers to use in their own work. ..."

From the key points and abstract:

"Key Points

• Photoelectric feedback discharges initiate lightning with no constrains on densities or physical origin of seed runaway electrons
• Photoelectric feedback discharges are a unified mechanism for production of initial breakdown pulses (IBPs), narrow bipolar events (NBEs), energetic in cloud pulses (EIPs), and terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs)
• Similarity laws explain observed variability of IBPs, NBEs, EIPs, and TGFs produced at different altitudes in the Earth's atmosphere

Abstract

Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) are high-energy photon bursts that have been linked to short bursts of electromagnetic radiation associated with lightning activity. The most puzzling unexplained aspect of these events is that gamma rays originate from very compact regions of space while the source regions often seem to be optically dim and radio silent when compared to processes in ordinary lightning discharges.

In this work, we report a mechanism that allows precise quantitative explanation of these peculiar features of TGFs and their relationships to the observed waveform characteristics of associated radio emissions.

The mechanism represents an extension of earlier ideas on feedback processes in growth of relativistic runaway electron avalanches ... and is based on a recent demonstration of the dominant role of the photoelectric feedback on compact spatial scales ... Since discussed events often occur in isolation or precede formation of lightning discharges, the reported findings propose a straightforward solution for the long-standing problem of lightning initiation."

Scientists finally solve the mystery of what triggers lightning | ScienceDaily "A ... research team has unraveled the long-standing mystery of how lightning begins inside thunderclouds. Their findings offer the first quantitative, physics-based explanation for lightning initiation—and a glimpse into the stormy heart of Earth’s atmosphere."

A bolt is born! Atmospheric events underpinning lightning strikes explained (original news release)

Photoelectric Effect in Air Explains Lightning Initiation and Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes

Credits: The Flyover

Figure 8

Conceptual representation of conditions required for transition from fast positive breakdown (FPB) to fast negative breakdown (FNB) based on relationship between the relativistic feedback threshold  and the minimum negative streamer propagation  fields.

Remembering Benjamin Franklin’s forgotten essay on America’s population boom

Recommendable! Food for thought!

Remembering Ben Franklin’s forgotten essay on America’s population boom | Blaze Media The political context for his work of genius is interestingly relevant: ‘Observations’ was perhaps America’s first immigration restrictionist pamphlet.

Confirmed: New Study Shows The Gulf Stream Is Definitely Weakening. Really!

Like the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO)?

We still know so little about our oceans! This is one reason why Global Warming is a hoax and Climate Change a religion. But what goes on in our oceans sure has a huge influence on our climate!

What could possibly be wrong with this study:

1. It covers only 4 decades of data! That is most likely insufficient!
2. It is based on heavy modeling! This might be a problem especially given that the slowing is only 4%. What is the margin of error?
3. It is only based on the Florida Straits! That covers only a small geographic area of the entire Gulf Stream

Let me guess what this could mean: Colder summers & winters around the Atlantic Ocean affecting the northern hemisphere in coming years? Or is the weakening too weak and actually not too relevant?

"... Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Miami looked at four decades of data from the Florida Straits, including measurements of the volume of seawater transported through the region in that time. ..."

"Key Takeaways

• The Gulf Stream transport of water through the Florida Strait has slowed by 4% over the past four decades, with a 99% certainty that this weakening is more than expected from random chance, according to a new study.
• This is the strongest, most definitive evidence we have of the weakening of this climatically-relevant ocean current,” ... 
• The finding of definitive evidence of the weakening of the Gulf Stream transport of water is a testament to long-term ocean observing and the importance of sustaining long ocean records.
• The study does not conclude whether the Gulf Stream weakening is due to climate change or to natural factors, stating that future studies should try to identify the cause of the weakening.
• For the study, researchers applied Bayesian modeling to combine thousands of data points from three independent data sets to determine the transport of water through the Florida Straits since 1982. Bayesian modeling uses probability to represent uncertainty within a model. The Bayesian model solution provided clear evidence of significant long-term change. In addition, researchers found that omitting any one of the data sets from the analysis also indicated weakening. The paper states this demonstrates that transport weakening is a common signal that is not dependent on any one data set."

From the abstract:

"The Gulf Stream is a vital limb of the North Atlantic circulation that influences regional climate, sea level, and hurricane activity. Given the Gulf Stream's relevance to weather and climate, many studies have attempted to estimate trends in its volumetric transport from various data sets, but results have been inconclusive, and no consensus has emerged whether it is weakening with climate change. Here we use Bayesian analysis to jointly assimilate multiple observational data sets from the Florida Straits to quantify uncertainty and change in Gulf Stream volume transport since 1982. We find with virtual certainty (probability P > 99%) that Gulf Stream volume transport through the Florida Straits declined by 1.2 ± 1.0 Sv in the past 40 years (95% credible interval). This significant trend has emerged from the data set only over the past ten years, the first unequivocal evidence for a recent multidecadal decline in this climate-relevant component of ocean circulation."

Confirmed: New Study Shows The Gulf Stream Is Definitely Weakening : ScienceAlert (secondary news source)

New Study Definitively Confirms Gulf Stream Weakening (primary news source)

Robust Weakening of the Gulf Stream During the Past Four Decades Observed in the Florida Straits (open access)

Benjamin Franklin's chart of the Gulf Stream printed in London in 1769 (Source)

Amending nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes

Amending the very famous quote by Benjamin Franklin. Don't we all like to stand on the shoulders of giants? But which one?

"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
— Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, 1789 (Source)

Let's add to this famous quote following (in no particular order and it will be further amended as needed):

1. Permanent competition among humans
2. The only constant is change
3. The worst addiction of all: The endless lust for as much as possible power and control over other human beings by too many human beings
4. The always present pretense of knowledge by many human beings. Goes hand in hand with hubris and lack of humility. Although Socrates already taught us that we know essentially nothing (or little)! In particular, higher educated individuals suffer most often from this pretense. A very bad habit by too many!
5. A very deep longing for the Mensch like e.g. freedom of religion
6. Love conquers All

Scientists use laser to guide lightning bolt for first time

Amazing stuff! Benjamin Franklin got a jolt out of this. It took about 20 years to achieve this result.

"Scientists said Monday they have used a laser beam to guide lightning for the first time, hoping the technique will help protect against deadly bolts—and one day maybe even trigger them.
Lightning strikes between 40-120 times a second worldwide, killing more than 4,000 people and causing billions of dollars worth of damage every year. ...

Now, in a study published in the journal Nature Photonics, they describe using a laser beam—shot from the top of a Swiss mountain—to guide a lightning bolt for more than 50 meters.

"We wanted to give the first demonstration that the laser can have an influence on lightning—and it is simplest to guide it," ...

When scientists previously tested this theory in New Mexico in 2004, their laser did not grab the lightning.

That laser failed because it did not emit enough pulses per second for lightning, which brews in milliseconds ..."

From the abstract:

"Lightning discharges between charged clouds and the Earth’s surface are responsible for considerable damages and casualties. It is therefore important to develop better protection methods in addition to the traditional Franklin rod. Here we present the first demonstration that laser-induced filaments—formed in the sky by short and intense laser pulses—can guide lightning discharges over considerable distances. We believe that this experimental breakthrough will lead to progress in lightning protection and lightning physics. An experimental campaign was conducted on the Säntis mountain in north-eastern Switzerland during the summer of 2021 with a high-repetition-rate terawatt laser. The guiding of an upward negative lightning leader over a distance of 50 m was recorded by two separate high-speed cameras. The guiding of negative lightning leaders by laser filaments was corroborated in three other instances by very-high-frequency interferometric measurements, and the number of X-ray bursts detected during guided lightning events greatly increased. Although this research field has been very active for more than 20 years, this is the first field-result that experimentally demonstrates lightning guided by lasers. This work paves the way for new atmospheric applications of ultrashort lasers and represents an important step forward in the development of a laser based lightning protection for airports, launchpads or large infrastructures."

Scientists use laser to guide lightning bolt for first time

Laser-guided lightning (open access)

Fig. 2: Snapshots of the lightning event of 24 July 2021 (L2) recorded in the presence of the laser.

How the First American Meme Became an Embattled Symbol of Liberty: Don't tread on me!

Very recommendable!

Benjamin Franklin - Founding Father of a Nation

Very recommendable! What a giant he was!

17 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Tyranny, Liberty, and Rights

Perhaps, the most important and unfortunately mostly forgotten wise quote relevant during these Covid-19 pandemic times:

"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Well, Benjamin Franklin was an just an old white male so his genius and wisdom does not count much anymore! (Caution: irony, sarcasm)

17 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Tyranny, Liberty, and Rights - Foundation for Economic Education Benjamin Franklin was dubbed “The First American” for a reason.

A letter from Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Paine

Published by the Thomas Paine National Historic Association

The tone of this letter seems to be very cordial and typical Benjamin Franklin! He expressed his high regards for Thomas Paine!

"A Conjecture, not a Fact yet“
[Cravenstreet, (London) Dec. 13. 1757]

Dear Sir I have read your Manuscrit with some

Attention. By the Arguments it contains

against the Doctrine of a particular Providence,

tho’ you allow a general Providence, you strike

at the Foundation of all Religion: For without

the Belief of a Providence that takes

Cognizance of, guards and guides and may

favour particular Persons, there is no Motive to

Worship a Deity, to fear its Displeasure, or to

pray for its Protection. I will not enter into any

Discussion of your Principles, tho’ you seem to

desire it; At present I shall only give you my

Opinion that tho’ your Reasonings are subtle,

and may prevail with some Readers, you will

not succeed so as to change the general

Sentiments of Mankind on that Subject, and

the Consequence of printing this Piece will be

a great deal of Odium drawn upon your self,

Mischief to you and no Benefit to others. ....

You might easily display your excellent Talents

of reasoning on a less hazardous Subject, and

thereby obtain Rank with our most

distinguish’d Authors.....I would advise you

therefore not to attempt unchaining the Tyger,

but to burn this Piece before it is seen by any

other Person, whereby you will save yourself a

great deal of Mortification from the Enemies it

may raise against you, and perhaps a good

deal of Regret and Repentance. If Men are so

wicked as we now see them with Religion what

would they be if without it? I intend this Letter

itself as a Proof of my Friendship and therefore

add no Professions of it, but subscribe simply

Yours B.F. [Benjamin Franklin]

Endorsed: Rough of Letter dissuading ——

from publishing his Piece.”

[From the Franklin Papers at Yale]"

Prager University: Benjamin Franklin and the Self-Made Man: Making America

Very recommendable! Benjamin Franklin is the embodiment of American Exceptionalism! This video is too short to cover this phenomenal human being who made self improvement and self directed life his pursuit of happiness!

Why do we all have to wear face masks?

First, given the fact that by latest July 2020 it had become obvious that the Covid-19 pandemic is fairly harmless, governments should never have mandated face mask wearing over such an extended period. It should have been left to the citizens to voluntarily choose to wear a mask or not. 

Individual freedom and responsibility were massively and unnecessarily trampled on/restricted by Western governments for an incredibly long period!

These mandates are clearly government paternalism in form of a stupid one size fits all measure! Not to mention that the many flimsy masks or poorly fitting masks worn by people are probably not very effective!

Or do we all have to wear masks to mask/prevent potential discrimination of a vulnerable minority of the population who would have chosen to wear masks in disproportionally larger numbers than the majority of the population? So out of government enforced solidarity with the minority of the vulnerable we all have to wear masks? I am afraid in these times of irrational sensibility and minority glorification/adoration this is quite possible!

It is actually a scary thought if in Western democracies, where supposedly individual freedom and responsibility are among the highest cherished common values, massive government interventions to protect a minority under the pretense of and misinformation about a dangerous pandemic by forcing the majority to give up significant freedoms. And this has been possible outside of war!

To quote Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”

Benjamin Franklin: Author of the Declaration of Independence

Very recommendable! Contains also some lesser known aspects of his life e.g. his French love affair

Benjamin Franklin: The Man Who Invented the American Dream

Very recommendable! A concise biography of this great man containing lot's of references to his many amazing accomplishments in so many different areas! The influence of this one man on humanity and the world is so incredible! He certainly epitomizes the phrase to stand on the shoulders of a giant!

"Benjamin Franklin pioneered the spirit of self-help in America. With less than three years of formal schooling, he taught himself almost everything he knew."

Benjamin Franklin: The Man Who Invented the American Dream - Foundation for Economic Education: Benjamin Franklin pioneered the spirit of self-help in America. With less than three years of formal schooling, he taught himself almost everything he knew. He took the initiative of learning French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. He taught himself how to play the guitar, violin, and harp. He made himself an influential author and editor. He started a successful printing business, newspaper, and magazine. He developed a network of printing partnerships throughout the American colonies.

Manumission Of Slaves

The Many Shades Of Gray

Slavery as so many other subjects in human history is neither white nor black. There are many shades of gray to the topic of slavery as well.

Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his slaves. Different approaches developed, each specific to the time and place of a society's slave system.

Laws of manumission varied widely from society to society and within societies across time. They are often viewed as the litmus test of a particular society’s views of the slave, that is, of the capacities the slave was likely to exhibit as a free human being.

The Augustan Manumission Laws

There were apparently three different laws attempting to limit manumission during the reign of Augustus:

Lex Aelia Sentia of 4 AD

Lex Fufia Caninia of 2 BC

Lex Iunia Norbana, 17 BC/19BC

The rate of manumission did not necessarily correspond to the legal ease of manumission. It should be noted, however, that in Rome manumission was relatively easy and was widely practiced, even though there was a 5% tax on manumission in the Republic, and the Lex Fufia Caninia of 2 BC forbade manumission by testament of more than a fifth to a half of one's slaves, depending on the number owned.

“The Lex Aelia Sentia took away the automatic right to full citizenship on manumission from a large number of slaves.” (Source).

“The Lex Fufia Caninia was designed to regulate the proportion of an owner’s slaves that they could free at death.” (Source).

“Lex Iunia Norbana … stated that slaves who were emancipated without the proper formalities and rituals being observed were not recognized as freedmen by the state, essentially illegalizing all such circumstances. This was passed to ensure that the jurists were always aware of all manumissions, and hence keep tabs on the exact numbers of slaves in the Empire.” (Source)

Were the Romans concerned that manumission could undermine their system of slavery? Quite possibly. It is astounding to say the least that during Augustus’s reign alone three respective laws dealing with manumission were passed.

Manumission In The United States

This is not an exhaustive history of manumission in the US, but just a few pointers.

The first President, George Washington, did manumission at death.

The third President, Thomas Jefferson, released some of his slaves upon death.

Benjamin Franklin freed his slaves.

Manumission was forbidden in South Carolina in 1820, Mississippi in 1822, Arkansas in 1858, and Maryland and Alabama in 1860. Here it is again big government’s role in upholding something as appalling as slavery and imposing its dim witted views on everybody.

Losing Faith In The American People

Yes, I do as a first generation immigrant to the USA!

Four More Years With Obama

What happened on election day of November 6, 2012? The souls of the founders of this great nation had to witness how one of the worst presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt was reelected. This must have hurt! Was this a vote of a food stamp nation or an electorate of which 40% or so pay no federal taxes?

Those Who Voted For Obama

Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety

The Great American Experiment is only 236 years old, but the majority of the current generation of American people is too complacent and ignorant. Many contemporaries would never subscribe to “give me liberty or give me death” or would never pledge “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor”.

Benjamin Franklin said it best “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” What would Benjamin say today?

What happened to the Tea Party that turned the election of 2010 around?

Is it possible that conservative Christians did not vote for a Mormon to become president, because e.g. Mormons are considered to be a sect?

Last Best Hope

The World is watching as this exceptional Nation continues to vanish from earth by its own doing.

Let me conclude with Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote from his Second Annual Message on December 1, 1862: “In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.”

My hope is that non-Western countries like India, China, Brazil and so on will not repeat these mistakes, but learn from them and exceed were the Westerners failed.

Time For A New Era Of Enlightenment

Past Great Minds

Just a few names:

Friedrich Hayek died 1992.

Ludwig von Mises died 1973.

Alexis de Tocqueville died in 1859.

James Madison died 1836.

Thomas Jefferson died 1826.

Benjamin Franklin and Adam Smith died 1790.

Where are the new great minds?

Recent Lessons Of History Forgotten

Ronald Reagan said it best: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction”. How true!

World War II or the victory of freedom over totalitarian regimes. Those who witnessed it have either died or are very old by now. However totalitarian regimes are still around.

There are fewer totalitarian regimes than compared with a few decades ago, but Big Government is on the march and ever expanding in many developed countries.

Ominous Omens Of Our Times

We have entered an era of ignorance, arrogance and delusion of government power:

·         European politicians breach major European contracts with impunity, the courts look the other way.

·         US and European politicians and bureaucrats bail out so called too big to fail financial companies instead of allowing bankruptcy to take its course.

·         Major central banks lowered twice in a decade key short term interest rates to recklessly low levels for too long fueling speculation and indebtedness.

·         Irresponsible politicians in the US and Europe have run up government debt to incredible peace time levels.

·         In the 21^st century, a US President in collaboration with a democratic majority in the US Congress tries to outdo the horrible New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by, e.g., further nationalizing the health care system of the USA.

The Greatest Tax Reform Of All Times In Honor Of Benjamin Franklin

Posted: 4/19/2011 Updated: 4/15/2015

Update 4/15/15

Just learnt of this quote from one of Ayn Rand’s books titled “The Virtue of Selfishness” (emphasis added):

“In a fully free society, taxation—or, to be exact, payment for governmental services — would be voluntary. Since the proper services of a government—the police, the armed forces, the law courts—are demonstrably needed by individual citizens and affect their interests directly, the citizens would (and should) be willing to pay for such services, as they pay for insurance.”

I fully agree!

A Tax Reform Like No Other

It is not utopian. It would be a triumph of individual freedom and responsibility. Such a tax reform would instantly solve so many problems with taxation. Too many to list here. The benefits of such a radical reform probably far outweigh the concerns. Politicians and civil servants would be held accountable like never before. The beast would be starved. No Taxation Without Representation was the beginning. Taxation Without Coercion is next.

A Tip Of The Hat To Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin wrote “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”. Taxes will still be certain, but the people will finally be able to vote with their money, because voting by feet is inconvenient. What would Benjamin Franklin think about voluntary taxes?