study notes 10/18-22/2010

Spanish-Reading Scripture in a target language has to be the most essential part of acquiring the language. I was so frustrated with myself last week. It seemed as if I had never studied and was back to square one after my 6 month hiatus. But this morning studying in Mosiah 9, I suddenly understood what I was reading again so much that the passage brought me to tears. Some parts in the Book of Mormon are very sad, when the people fight and kill each other. Their contention and hart hearts remind me of our day. I love to listen to the reader here, because his accent is so smooth and gentle. So this is my schedule M-F: Listen to 1 ch. in the Book of Mormon, read 5 verses in that chapter English/Spanish, review 1 ch. in Madrigals Magic Key, review 1 ch. in English Grammar for Students of Spanish, read and translate a bit from a Spanish classic. Then I watch First Step Espanol and/or Rocket Spanish to get a bit better speaking everyday conversation. It's coming along and I have no intention of letting it go again.

A History of the American People-I love the renaissance men of the Revolutionary period. How was it that they could study and invent so many things without government grants? I want to know! Because I too am a self-educated person, I admire much in Benjamin Franklin, though not all.

The Roots of American Order-Reading a few pages of this each week is like sitting down at a banquet table filled with decadent pastries that nourish instead of sicken. Sadly Athens was a victim of its own visions of grandeur. The Peloponnesian War was started by their greed and pride. "That war ended when, after a ghastly siege, a Spartan garrison occupied the Acropolis of Athens. Thucydides wrote that the city of Athens, like some tragic hero, fell fro inner flaws. The Athenian democracy had been rash, selfish, and merciless, devastating even neutral states; Athens' immense resources had been squandered in extravagant undertakings and the Athenian people had elevated to leadership demagogues and self-seeking adventurers, while exiling, rejecting, or misemploying those men of integrity and ability who might have saved the polis. Lacking unity of purpose, self-control, and prudence, the Athenians had flung away everything they had gained since Solon had restored justice in the commonwealth." Sounds like the US today. "Failure to find enduring principles of order undid the Greeks everywhere', as will be the lot of the US if something is not done soon. Plato and Aristotle asked the question I've been contemplating. Can righteousness be regained? We know we can be forgiven by God of sin and have eternal life at His feet, be we cannot escape the earthly consequences of our sins.

Bluestocking Economics- Whatever Happened to Penny Candy-Assigned another great old movie to watch, You Can't Take it With You. Highly recommended.The main character, Grandpa, is confronted by an IRS agent for not paying taxes for 20 years. Grandpa said he didn't believe in taxes, because he got nothing in return for his investment. This is an interesting view. Certainly, as citizens we should pay for the infrastructure of the country, but how much is too much? At this point, people who work hard are forced to pay taxes and face jail time , interest, and penalties for not doing so. While I believe in paying taxes, I do not agree with forced charity and the frivolous spending of the government.

Supply and Demand=when the supply of something goes up, the price per unti of that thing goes down. When the supply goes down the price goes up.

Inflation=an increase in the amount of money, which causes the money to lose its value. This causes prices to rise. We see examples of this with the gasoline embargo in the 1970s, Cabbage Patch dolls and Tickle Me Elmo in the 1980s and 1990s, McDonalds driving the price of breakfast down, and scalpers selling tickets to sold out shows. "Any increase in the supply of money helps those who receive some of the new supply, but ti hurts all those who do not. Those who receive some of the new supply can rush out and buy a larger share of the goods and services in the market place. Those who receive none of the new money supply will then find less available for them to buy. Prices will rise and they well get less for their money." Percy L. Greaves, Jr."Those who create and slip new supplies of money into the economy are silently transferring wealth which rightfully belongs to savers and producers to those who, without contributing to society, are the first to spend the new money in the market place."

The Fallacy Detective-Red Herring are used by people wanting to avoid a question. Ad Hominem is a technique where a person attacks the opponent's character or motives instead of disproving the argument. We should not throw out all a person's ideas, because his other ideas are bad or his character flawed. Character and motives may influence a person's views, but they don't necessarily demean the strength of the argument. To question the truthfulness of a statement is not Ad Hominem.

The Complete Book of Marvels-This weeks marvels are Washington DC and Fort Jefferson. I'm very excited to read about Washington DC, since we have plans to visit there next spring for a convention. I've heard so much about the capitol, Washington's  Monument, Lincoln's  Memorials, the White House, and Mount Vernon; I just can't wait to see it all.The only down side is that the last few presidens have put quite a tarnish on its once brilliant meaning.

Fort Jefferson was a terrible prison similar to Alcatraz, built on one of the turtle islands 120 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida peninsula. Originally built as a fort, it was a useless piece of masonry. Thereafter, it was used as a prison or perhaps mosquito infested dungeon. If you know who Dr. Mudd was, you know about its most famous inmate. I really don't want to see this place even though he calls it a "marvelous old sea castle."

The Making of America-One Evening a Month for the Constitution-Mostly this portion of the book is about T. Jefferson's youth, education, etc. I love the story about his bar examination. "Jefferson's erudite young mind created quite a stir among the judges that day. No matter what the subject, he seemed to know more than they did." The most amazing part of Jefferson's life was, however, not his scholarship. It was his dedication. Even though he was deep in grief over his mother and suffering from ill health, he did his duty.

The Story of Art-Interesting...one of the reasons that Rome and Byzantium split was the question of art. Iconoclastic Byzantium forbade all religious art, but Rome claimed images were holy. 'If God in His mercy could decide to reveal Himself to mortal eyes in the human nature of Christ, why should He not also be willing to manifest Himself in visible images? We do not worship these images themselves as the pagans did. We worship God and the Saints through or across their images.' Although I personally don't agree with the artistic interpretation of Rome or the image smashers of Byzantium, it is interesting to follow their logic and to see how their beliefs influenced historical events. The Byzantium became almost as strict in their formula for art as the Egyptians. The most interesting part of this is that it was the Greeks who transformed Egyptian art and then the Byzantium Greeks who later made so many rules.

The School of Natural Healing-
A constipated or mucus-y body caused by a nutritional shortage of potassium chloride causes catarrh (mucus congestion, cold) in the unhealthy body. When potassium chloride is not readily available in the body, the body obtains them from any other source containing them such as potassium phosphate (robbing nerves) or calcium chloride (robbing the heart muscle.)   

Expectorants act upon the bronchi-pulmonary membrane. The results of a good expectorant are altering the quality and increasing the quantity of its secretions and facilitating discharge of the fluid or semi-fluid mucus from the trachea or bronchi through coughing and spitting.  Demulcents soothe, soften, and allay irritation of mucus membranes. Comfrey is used in the bronchitis formula and the burn paste formula, because it is demulcent are also emollient. Mullein, a demulcent herb, is a well-known for its action upon the glandular system, its soothing effect upon the nerves, and its use in promoting the absorption of escaped fluids (such as in rupture). 

Some of the conditions which indicate the use of chickweed as a healing agent are pulmonary complaints, internal or external inflammation of the membranes or skin, weakness of the stomach and bowels, especially bleeding or the bowels or lungs, wounds, skin irritations and itching, and inflamed surfaces.  

Marshmallow can effectively be used against gangrene by soaking the affected area in its decoction.  

Slippery Elm, a demulcent herb, can be used as a nutritive substance as well as a medicinal aid in the case of malnutrition complicated by ulcers, inflammatory conditions of the lungs, stomach or intestines.  

The function of the sodium phosphate found in the herb Inula helenium is to clean the liver and digestive organs. 

Horehound and wild cherry are two expectorant herbs that have appeared in commercial preparations for decades, because they are soothing expectorants.

Licorice, a demulcent and laxative herb, contains the phtyo-steroid precursor for the hormone estrogen. 

An emetic is a substance that will induce vomiting. 

Lobelia’s antispasmodic action upon the human organism is described as an immediate relaxation and expansion of any contracted part of the respiratory system, allowing oxygenated blood to flow freely to the tissues. In the instance of a threatened miscarriage, Lobelia will cause a dead fetus to abort or the fetus is healthy allow the mother to carry it to term.  Lobelia was labeled as a poison in the American Dispensatory, because of the jealousy of allopaths.  Lobelia is administered in the instance of lockjaw with the herbs skullcap, skunk cabbage, gum myrrh, black cohosh and cayenne and pouring between the cheeks and gums of the patient. The best solvent for extracting the medicinal properties of Lobelia is apple cider vinegar. The companion herbs that should be administered along with Lobelia as a general rule are ginger, a relaxant, or peppermint or cayenne, emetics. Lobelia is indicated in the case of chronic asthma, because it relaxes the lungs while at the same time force the emitting of mucus old and new that clog air passages. Lobelia is best stored is tincture form. 

The nervous system is compared to an electrical wire network in a city.  We can keep these “wires” in proper repair with healthy eating and exercising habits, never using nerve stimulating or sedative drugs or substances, avoiding worry, avoiding excesses in all forms, and getting proper rest.   A nervine is a nerve tonic, feeding, strengthening, regulating, and rehabilitating nerve cells, while an antispasmodic prevent or relieve excessive contractions (spasms) of the voluntary or involuntary muscles of any part of the body. Scullcap, a nervine, influences the spinal cord. To be of permanent benefit and best results, it must be used over a long period of time.   

CLEP Western Civilization 1-Instacert-I'm not sure why, but I love History. I should be well prepared for this test, which I plan to take in Feb. I'm waiting til Feb, because I want to wait until the excitement of Spencer's mission farewell and the holidays are out of the way. With a bit of fortitude, I should finish taking all my CLEP, DSST, ECE, and GRE tests by the end of June, as well as Master Herbalist. Yahoo!!

The key is to develop a schedule and ritualize it every day, every week, every month, every year.

"There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than achievement." Eric Hoffer

CLEP US. History 2-67

GRE Eng Lit 2-1
ECE College Writing (Unless-GRE Eng Lit)
CLEP Western Civilization 1 2-8
DANTES Vietnam War 2-8
CLEP Intro to Psychology 2-15
CLEP Analyzing Literature (Unless-GRE Eng. Lit.)
CLEP US. History 1 2-22
CLEP American Government 3-1
CLEP Social Studies and History 3-8
CLEP College Math 3-15
CLEP Humanities (unless-GRE Eng Lit)


CLEP General Science 3-22
CLEP General Biology or Natural Sciences 3-29
CLEP Western Civilization 2 4-5
CLEP English Literature (unless-GRE English Lit.)
CLEP American Lit. (unless-GRE English Lit.)
ECE Anatomy and Physiology 4-12

DANTES World Religions 4-19
DANTES Intro into the Middle East 4-26
DANTES Civil War 5-3
DANTES Rise and Fall of the USSR 5-24
DANTES Western Europe since 1945 5-31
ECE World Conflicts Since 1900 6-7
ECE American Dream 6-14
GRE Psych 6-7