The Jade Steps

Chapter Twenty-Five:  Prisoner In His Palace 

As they were returning to their quarters in the Palace of Axayacatl, Cortez announced, "If we cannot yet say Mass and have a chapel upon that temple, then at least for now we must be able to do so where we are housed.  Doña Marina, please send a request to Montezuma asking that we be allowed to build this chapel in his father's palace."

When word came quickly back that the request was granted, Cortez assigned his best carpenter, Alonso Yañez, to the task.  Early the next morning, Yañez, escorted by Juan Velasquez de Leon and Francisco de Lugo, interrupted the morning meal of Cortez and Malinali.  "Captain, we have found something you should see," he said.

Yañez brought them into a small room.  "We thought that this room would be appropriate for our chapel," he explained.  He walked over to one of the room's walls.  "Then I noticed something strange.  You can see that there is fresh plaster and paint here, most likely covering up a door.  A door to what we think is a hidden room."

Without hesitation, Cortez responded, "Señor Yañez, you are to be congratulated for your sharp eyes.  Let us open this hidden door."

Cortez called for torches.  Bernal appeared with lit torches for all just as Yañez and his assistant broke through the plastered doorway.  Cortez was the first to step into the black entrance of the sealed room, followed by de Leon, de Lugo, Malinali, Yañez, and Bernal. 

A ranking Iranian political figure, Issa Kalantari, recently warned that past mistakes leave Iran with water supplies so insufficient that up to 70 percent, or 55 million out of 78 million Iranians, would be forced to abandon their native country for parts unknown.

Many facts buttress Kalantari's apocalyptic prediction:

*Once lauded in poetry, Lake Urmia, the Middle East's largest lake, has lost 95 percent of its water since 1996, going from 31 billion cubic meters to 1.5 billion.

*What the Seine is to Paris, the Zayanderud was to Isfahan - except the latter went bone-dry in 2010.

*Over two-thirds of Iran's cities and towns are "on the verge of a water crisis" that could result in drinking water shortages; already, thousands of villages depend on water tankers.

Nor are Iranians alone in peril; many others in the arid Middle East may also be forced into unwanted, penurious, desperate exile. With one unique, magnificent exception, much of the Middle East is running out of water due to such maladies as population growth, short-sighted dictators, distorted economic incentives, and infrastructure-destroying warfare. Some specifics:

It's a jump from Niue to Vegas.  My brain hasn't the faintest idea of what time zone it's in, so my own "puzzle of paradise" is how I'm going to compose a coherent HFR right now, especially when the Rendezvous begins in a few hours.

Jack Kelly has been manning the HFR ramparts superbly since early February - that's how long I've been gone - so let's hope I still remember how to do this.  Let's start right off the bat with the HFR Hero of the Week - actually, she's the Heroine of the Week, a British lady named Katie Hopkins...

Now, if you prefer an American Hero of the Week - well, that's obvious too:  Peter Schweizer.  His new book, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, won't be out until early May - but just a handful of excerpts from it this week are destroying the PIAPS' White House hopes...

Scweizer may have written her political obituary.  We need other political obituaries too - like those of any pro-amnesty RINO White House aspirant like Jeb Bush.  Or else it's America's obituary that will be written.

Yes, folks, we're turning into Chavista Venezuela, which is seeing a population explosion (of voting age adults!) just in time for elections.

Mark Fitzgibbons at AT explains that America is already a Soft Police State.  But there's one instructive counter-example from South Carolina...

Meanwhile, you've got to love a guy who drives libtards apoplectic, like he did on Wednesday - a sacred day for all lefty eco-fascists as "Earth Day" - to the moonbats at Mother Jones who ran this headline:  Scott Walker Celebrates Earth Day by Proposing To Fire 57 Environmental Agency Employees.  How cool is that? 

Do you think the government should be able to seize your property if you have not been convicted of any crime?

Most people are not aware that one of the most odious activities of federal, state and local tax and police authorities is that of "asset forfeiture." Asset forfeiture laws allow law enforcement to seize and keep property of individuals and businesses without a criminal conviction.

The practice has been rife with abuse by law enforcement officials, often using seized property of innocent individuals for their own use. As a result of the outcries about the abuse, there was a unanimous vote by both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate in New Mexico to end the practice of civil asset forfeiture in the state. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Susana Martinez.

Former federal prosecutor and director of the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Office, Brad Cates, now a resident of New Mexico, is one of the leading advocates of repeal of asset forfeiture laws at both the state and federal levels.

Mr. Cates and the first director of the federal Asset Forfeiture Office, Judge John Yoder, in an article in The Washington Post last September, wrote: "We find it particularly painful to watch as the heavy hand of government goes amok. The program began with good intentions but now, having failed in both purpose and execution, it should be abolished."

President Obama's nominee for attorney general, Loretta Lynch, the current U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, strongly defended civil asset forfeiture during her Senate confirmation hearings, despite major abuses by her own office. This may now be jeopardizing her confirmation.

It's natural to want good things for our kids. We want them to grow into strong, good people; we want them to have work they love that enables them to live well; we want them to find good friends and a wonderful mate with whom they can grow a wonderful, loving life. We want them to succeed.

There is an expression of this natural sentiment, though, that I'm seeing more of and it troubles me.  I have talked with people who are freaking out because their 5 year old isn't measuring up, or their 10 year old might not be able to get into the top preparatory Jr. High School that will feed into the top preparatory High School that will get them into the top university.

It's not that these parents see certain talents in their kids, and support them to do their best and to flourish. It's different than that.  This is not about flourishing, or living a happy, successful life; it's obsessing about getting into a club. And, I fear, more accurately, that this club is a particularly seductive and dangerous one.  Here's why.

The To The Point Phoenix Rendezvous is little more than two months away: January 23-25.  It will be a conspiracy - TTPers plotting how best to survive the depredations of the coming NMP Regime.

As we said in the immediate wake of last week's electoral insanity, TTP will be focusing on practical survival, on preserving and even expanding your freedom and pocketbook.

Yet - a big yet - there are a number of things that we can't put in print, but can only discuss in a completely closed-session off-the-books personal discussion - and that's what we'll be doing in Phoenix. 

We'll be sending you the details regarding the venues and costs shortly.  But to get in an early reservation and deposit, as we can accommodate a limited number, please email Miko, TTP's general manager, at miko@tothepointnews.com  now.

Speaking of now, however, let's get to work on some initial steps you can take to protect yourself personally and financially.  Here are two ways to consider regarding what to do with your money, one relative, one absolute.