Hitler… the Fear of Others Brings a Small Man Down

It’s ironic that the fear of others helped to bring about Hitler’s end. After a group of Nazi officers, who’d decided they’d had enough, conspired but failed to assassinate him, their attempt helped shatter Hitler’s nerves. Already frayed from the war and his use of health-damaging drugs, Hitler became more and more paranoid. For a man who went to prison years earlier for trying to seize the German government, he knew firsthand how conspiracies work. He was right to be fearful, the Allies were coming for him. With that fear in mind, he committed suicide the night before Germany surrendered.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Chimney Fire: https://www.amazon.com/Chimney-Fire-Steinberg-Conspiracy-1/dp/1502816067

Politics and Pirates… That’s What Filibuster Means? Really?

On the day that I heard that the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie sequel had been hacked, hit with malware and held for ransom, I ran across this historical tidbit. Filibuster was the word used for West Indie pirates (Buccaneers) during the 1600’s. It means free booty. It’s a Dutch word… vrijbuiter. Vrij means free and buit means booty. The Spanish adapted it and call it filibustero. Politically it refers to when one of the primary political parties (Democratic or Republican) gets together and tries to stop legislation by talking for hours.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-IV-Native-Americans/dp/1500756105

History… America’s “Era of Good Feeling”

After the War of 1812, the subsequent years (1817 to 1824) are recorded as a contented time for Americans. Under the presidency of James Monroe, Americans were anxious to build the country. It brought a sense of togetherness, which brought teamwork, which brought prosperity. Americans were so content during this period, it is referred to by historians as “the era of good feeling.”

One reason Americans were content was because there was virtually one political party, the “Democratic Republicans.” Today we have: Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, American Independent and those we call Independent. Did I miss any? With all these political parties, it’s easy to see why today, there are so many opposing views.

Not everyone living under President Monroe would have agreed that it was the era of “good feeling.” During this time, growing and building the country meant “Westward Expansion.” That expansion was into Native American lands. The taking of Indian lands resulted in a genocide of the Native people. It was a high price to pay for the rest of America’s “good feeling.”

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees and Secret Genealogy VII – DNA, Jumping Into the Gene Pool. A High Tech Gathering of the Tribes:

Secret Genealogy IV: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-IV-Native-Americans/dp/1500756105

Secret Genealogy VII: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-VII-High-Tech-Gathering/dp/1983754226/

Tyranny… What’s a Despot?

If the leader of your country acts more like a plantation master, you may very well be living under a despot. Despot comes from the Greek word despotes and it means “master of the house.” It is usually meant to define a man (or it could be a woman) who rules harshly and whose governing is based on tyranny. A good democracy should be run by the will of the people. Not subject to the will of an oppressive leader, who imposes his or her desire for power, disadvantaging the multitudes who contribute to the nation’s collective wealth.

Suellen Ocean is the author of The Steinberg Conspiracy Series:

Book One, Chimney Fire: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B00XDCPLEW

Book Two, Hot Snow: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B014XHUT1K

Book Three, Herr Boy: http://www.amazon.com//dp/B014XHUT1K

The Foolish Circle of Bigotry…

Those who have read this blog or read my books, have heard me profess my belief that there is a oneness to humanity. There is no need to hate and to do so usually includes a sort of self-hate, or at the least, a hate of the ancestors. Because that ethnic group that you are trashing may run through your own veins. (Not to imply that if it doesn’t run through your veins, that it is alright to hate.) Look at the surnames of Anglo-Americans. They often have Latin roots and they frequently come from the Old Testament, revealing either Jewish ancestry or a respect for Judaism. Even Scandinavian and Anglo names may sound Anglo but translated, sometimes they lead right back to the ancestors who fled Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition. Let’s not detest the ancestors or our neighbors. It only leads back to where we started, war and oppression that our immigrant ancestors came to America to escape from. Something we should never forget.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Volume-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114082

and Secret Genealogy II – Uncovering the Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors:

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-II-Christian-Ancestors/dp/1484053222

What Does the 1960’s Hippy Revolution Have to do with the Puritans of 1620?

Believe it or not, I’m reading the journal of the first governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop. The manuscript is missing teeth. (There are gaps in the words where the ink faded or never printed correctly.) The first thing that struck me is the Puritan’s anger at the Church of England. In their new colony, they were embracing new worshipping methods, like the laying on of hands. History tells of their cruel oppressive ways regarding religion, something most modern people don’t agree with, myself included. But the new colonists wanted to do things their way, not the old way dictated by the church of England. It was their revolution, like the 1960’s when young hippies wanted to do things their way.

Massachusetts’s Puritans probably thought that they were the “in” thing. They believed in their new spirituality and America was the place where they could grow it. As far as the intolerance and cruelty placed on those who didn’t go with the program, well… that was the status quo for everything back in 1620. But the two groups share one thing in common; they had new ideas about their spirituality, and they were determined to keep the establishment from imposing the old ways on them. They came to America to live a new way… their way.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy III – From Jewish Anglo-Saxon Tribes to New France Acadians. Available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/148407579X

Neo-Nazi Protest in Brussels… What Would Einstein Say?

The neo-Nazi-type protest in Brussels in 2016, set my mind ablaze. There they were, in what looked like brand new, black, hooded sweatshirts. From what I saw, they looked clean and well-fed, obviously from privileged families or from their own prosperity.

I like to hear what others have to say and what they must be feeling; their fears. These self-proclaimed hooligans looked old enough to have children of their own and I imagine that they feared for them and did not put their faith in peaceniks and flowers hovering about the scene of the Brussels attack. Obviously, they lacked faith in their government for failing to prevent the attack. Everyone was in a high state of alarm. And for good reason. Add to it, that the terrorists were seeking a dirty bomb and you have full scale panic. In the backdrop of my thinking, are the words of the political pundit, David Brooks. He spoke on PBS, about living in Brussels and how different the Muslim neighborhoods are. (They sound like ghettos.) So I also think about how they must feel. Not knowing all the politics of the area, I wonder what society could have done to prevent the hatred that brews in the minds of young people who want to blow those of a different ethnic group to smithereens and make life miserable for the rest of their fellow Muslims who are left to endure the hatred that comes in the aftermath. We cannot though, let history repeat itself. The revival of Nazi-type thinking will not solve things, nor will flowers. But as Albert Einstein told his daughter, love is the strongest force there is.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Chimney Fire. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Chimney-Fire-Steinberg-Conspiracy-1/dp/1502816067

What Inspired the Nazis to Burn Books and Destroy Art?

In the early 1500’s there was a Protestant religious group that arose in Zurich, Switzerland, called the Anabaptists. They were seen as fanatics and history says that the leader, (Thomas Munzer) and his doctrines, helped bring about the German Peasant Revolt. The Anabaptists did not believe in infant baptism, instead they thought that a man should be able to confess his faith first and then be baptized. The Anabaptists practiced polygamy and were big on the separation of church and state. One of their German sects received the name Abecedarians. The name derives from the first four letters of the alphabet… A, B, C, D. The reason for the alphabet reference is because they did not believe in “human knowledge,” they felt that it prevented men from hearing the voice of God. The Abecedarians refused to learn to read. They would not even learn the alphabet. Four-hundred-years later, the Nazis were burning books and destroying art. Makes you wonder.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Chimney Fire. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Chimney-Fire-Steinberg-Conspiracy-1/dp/1502816067

What is a Democratic Socialist?

I am not a political scientist. I grew up with a father who was a capitalist. Not a wealthy capitalist but someone who built a furniture business from the ground up. When my brother, sister and I were young, our mother stayed home to raise us but in the evenings, my father would bring home the receipts from his furniture business and she would do the bookkeeping. They also collected antiques, especially clocks, that they ran like a business too. I saw that private enterprise (capitalism) was a good thing. My parents paid their fair share of taxes and abided by the rules and had a lot of fun running their own show.

Enter Bernie Sanders, a man who calls himself a “democratic socialist.” As I said, I am not a political scientist, but I do have a dictionary and I love to look these things up. One thing I found in my favorite dictionary, an old Webster’s from the 1930’s, is that a socialist distrusts the capitalist’s control of industry. Okay… but then if capitalists don’t control industry, who does? The government? That doesn’t sound so great to me. My experience with the government is mediocracy and long lines. My view of capitalism is simplistic, but we lived well and we had a lot of freedom. Though we were not rich.

The word democracy, is French demos (the people) Kratein (to rule), kratos (authority). The United States of America is a democracy. “Of the people, by the people, for the people.” We the people are supposed to have the supreme power and the government is exercised through representation. We vote for people to represent us. There is a lot of dissatisfaction in our representatives. I include myself in that dissatisfaction. Webster’s says that a democracy believes in social equality without snobbery. That word throws me, it isn’t your normal political jargon, but I will accept it as an attempt to explain democratic values. In other words, social equality excludes no one. We’re all in this together, share and share alike?

When we get into the definition of a socialist, we get into economic theory. Words and phrases like collective, governmental ownership and democratic management are used in reference to the production and distribution of goods. Unfortunately, the idea of government distributing our items of sustenance is not appealing. On the other hand, when capitalists get greedy and have a stronghold on the people’s needs, getting something mediocre from the government is still better than not being able to afford it and not getting it at all. Take one look at what the future has in store for our basic water needs. Greedy capitalists are already working to control the distribution.

I’m looking for a political system that affords me the luxury of a wide assortment of goods to choose from. I’m willing to pay more money if I want the best. And I like a wide assortment of affordable goods and services too. But if I fall upon hard times, I like knowing that there is a governmental system in place, a social service that will interview me, access my needs and help me get back on my feet again. That sounds like America. I can’t say that I like it exactly as it is, but I like it. I have had a good life as an American.

Suellen Ocean is the author of The Steinberg Conspiracy Series:

Book One, Chimney Fire: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B00XDCPLEW

Book Two, Hot Snow: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B014XHUT1K

Book Three, Herr Boy: http://www.amazon.com//dp/B014XHUT1K

Let’s Figure Out What a Bolshevik Is…

I hear it in movies all the time, Bolshevik. A Russian revolutionary. Right? I’m not positive, so it’s time I throw open the dictionary. Bolshevik comes from the Russian word bolshe, meaning “the larger.” The original Bolsheviki (an “i” makes it plural) were the majority (larger) group of the Russian Social Democratic Party. They were considered radicals and were given the name Bolsheviks. A Bolshevist (with a “t”) is any radical, especially one who believes in the overthrow of capitalism by force.

I can see why I was confused. Bolshevik did not originally mean radical, it meant larger, referring to the majority of people in the party who subscribed to that way of thinking. But since the group had radical political views, the word has come to mean a Russian radical.

Bolshevik or Bolshevist, take your pick. In 1918, the Russian Bolsheviki started calling their faction, the Communist Party.

Suellen Ocean is the author of The Steinberg Conspiracy Series:

Book One, Chimney Fire: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B00XDCPLEW

Book Two, Hot Snow: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B014XHUT1K

Book Three, Herr Boy: http://www.amazon.com//dp/B014XHUT1K