America is going through a major upheaval right now. It used to be between the haves and have-nots, but now the war is between those who abide by the law and those who choose to openly partake in criminal activity. While we devour each other in socioeconomic and religious wrangles, the rest of the world is being divided up and moved away from its proper mission in the most reprehensible manner. Converting these criminals is the mission of the American-Christian movement; however, the person who goes outside of his own movement and deviates from their real mission is a person whose actions are deplorable. It is amusing to hear these bigots set down their theories and call them facts, or revere them as propositions about which there could be no more doubt than about the theories of Euclid. The question itself is direct enough, but his reply is a dissertation on some other subject. This reminds me of a Tamil proverb about the bazaar shopkeeper who is asked for salt, but fails to admit he has not got it in stock, and instead replies that he has got lentils! It will catch the careless and thoughtless, and all those who accept extreme claims without receiving definite proof. According to their plan, these criminal parasites of nations destroy something in this world that can never be replaced. Many of you have seen how these moldy privileged-class party-democrats light up in response to the inspired slogan of anti-patriots. #RandolphHarris 1 of 32
And now, the nationalistic impostor can extend a respectable hand to the international traitor, creating an “American-esque” face that is shouting treasonous phrases. It is time that they refrain from making wild generalizations out of isolated particulars. We must bring such a teaching to the test by running the rule of common sense over it. It is then that we discover its claims to be weak and extravagant. If not upon its authors also, the sonorous prose in which its gospel is gathered together plays a trick upon its readers. The path from its facts and promises to its conclusions and perorations is covered with a haze of obscurity and vagueness. It is in the eye-covering haze that the logical trick is performed. If the variety of doctrines, the contradictions of tents, and the fierceness of arguments are fully noted, what else can be said than that personal opinion is the real basis of most teachings, seldom factual knowledge or firsthand authority? We must be on our guard against the impressive obscurities of immature philosophers. Those who will read this statement with an ironical smile have my full sympathy and assent. For once I read similar statements with the same ironical smiles—nowadays, I am too weary to argue; I prefer to agree with my adversary quickly, for I have realized that experience is not merely the best teacher; it is the only teacher. If other people’s criticism too easily vexes him, this is because the ego is still upholding his pride and vanity. #RandolphHarris 2 of 32
Self-destructive behaviors, which we see more commonly daily, are synonymous with mental illness. Historically, such behavior has been addressed with the condemnation of a sinful lifestyle. The concept of sin is synonymous with humanity. However, scientifically, we have established that there is no such thing as “original sin.” More precisely, humans do not have an inherent propensity to commit sin or to act selfishly. Human conscience is in line with acting according to a moral standard, which puts the long-term interest over the short-term. However, in the day and age of massive surveillance, people seem to be portraying more mentally ill traits than ever. They do not care who sees them, who records them, or what may be done with these recordings. Political upheaval is no longer about party line; people want an excuse to take out their frustration with authority on those they do not like, regardless of the person’s sentiment or character. This is why there is the still open question about the silent operation of self-destructive drives in organic illness. While by now, more is known about psychosomatic relations, it would be difficult to isolate with sufficient accuracy the specific role of self-destructive trends. Of course, every good physician knows that in severe illness, the patient’s “wish” to recover and live, or to die, is crucial. However, again, the availability of psychic energies in one or the other direction can be determined by many factors. All that we can say now is that, considering the unity of body and soul, the possibility of a silent operating of self-destructiveness, not only in the phase of recovery but in producing or aggravating an illness, must be seriously considered. #RandolphHarris 3 of 32
Self-destructiveness directed against other values in life may appear as an inopportune accident. There is the example of Eilert Lovborg in Hedda Gabler, losing his precious manuscript. Ibsen shows us in Lovborg a crescendo of self-ruining reactions and actions. First, following a flimsy suspicious of his faithful friend Mrs. Elvstedt, he tries to ruin that relationship by going on a binge. While drunk, he loses the manuscript, then shoots himself—and in the house of a prostitute at that. On a minor scale, there are the cases of a person forgetting things in an examination or being late or drunk for an important interview. Most frequently, the ruining of psychic values strikes us through its repetitiousness. A person gives up one pursuit just when he appears to be getting somewhere. We may grant him his claim that it was not what he “really” wanted. However, when a similar process occurs three, four, or five times, we begin to look for deeper determinants. Self-destructiveness is often prominent among them, though more deeply buried than other factors. Without in the least being aware of it, he simply must spoil his every chance. This also applies when he loses or quits one job after another, or if one relationship after another, or if one relationship after another goes on the rocks. In both these latter cases, it frequently seems to him as though he were always the victim of iniquities and crass ingratitude on the part of others. #RandolphHarris 4 of 32
Actually, what he does is to invite, through his persistent fussing at and over the relationship, the very consummation he has so dreaded. In short, he often drives the employer or friend to the point where he or she really can no longer put up with him. We may understand such repetitious occurrences when we see him operating in the analytic relationship. He may co-operate in formalities; he may often try to do the analyst all sorts of favors (which the latter does not want); nevertheless, in all essentials, he is so provocative in his offensive behavior that the analyst, too, may feel a stirring sympathy with those who have turned against the patient previously. In short, the patient literally has tried, and keeps on trying, to make others the executioners of his self-ruining intents. To what extent do active self-destructive trends operate in gradually destroying a person’s depth and integrity? To a greater or lesser extent, in gross and subtle ways, the integrity of a person is impaired as a consequence of the neurotic development. The alienation from self, the unavoidable unconscious pretenses, the also unavoidable unconscious compromises due to unsolved conflicts, the self-contempt—all these factors lead to a weakening of the moral fiber in the nucleus of which is a diminished capacity for being sincere with oneself. The question is whether, in addition, a person may silently but actively collaborate toward his own moral deterioration. Certain observations force us to answer this question in the affirmative. #RandolphHarris 5 of 32
We can observe conditions, chronic or acute, which can best be described as an impairment or morale. A person neglects his appearance, he lets himself become untidy, sloppy, and above average weight; he drinks too much, sleeps too little; he does not take care of his health—does not, for instance, go to the dentist. He eats too much or too little, does not take walks; he neglects his work, or whatever serious interest he has, and becomes slothful. He may become promiscuous or at least prefer the company of shallow or deteriorated people. He may become unreliable in money matters, beat his wife and children, or start to lie or to steal. This process is most obvious in advanced alcoholics, as is well described in The Lost Weekend. However, it can operate in very hidden and subtle ways as well. In conspicuous instances, even an untrained observer can see that these people “let themselves go to pieces.” In analysis we recognize that this description is not adequate. These conditions occur when people are so flooded with self-contempt and hopelessness that their constructive forces can no longer counteract the impact of self-destructive drives. The latter then have free sway and express themselves in a mostly unconscious determination to demoralize themselves actively. In an externalized form the active, planned intent at demoralization is described by George Orwell in his Nineteen Eighty-Four; every experienced analyst will recognize in his presentation a true picture of what a neurotic may do to himself. Dreams also indicate that he may actively throw himself into the gutter. #RandolphHarris 6 of 32
The neurotic’s response to this inner process varies. It may be glee; it may be self-pity; it may be fright. These reactions are usually disconnected in his conscious mind from the self-demoralizing process. The reaction of self-pity was particularly strong in one patient after the following dream. The patient who dreamed it had, in periods past, wasted much of her life by drifting; she had turned her back on ideals by becoming cynical. Though at the time of her dream, she was working hard on herself, she was not yet able to take herself seriously and do anything constructive with her life. She dreamed that a woman who stood for everything fine and likable, about to enter a religious order, was accused of some offense against it. She was condemned and exposed to public disgrace in a parade. Although the dreamer was convinced of her essential innocence, she too was participating in the parade. On the other hand, she tried to plead in her favor with a priest. The priest, although sympathetic, could do nothing for the accused. Later, the accursed was on a farm, not only utterly destitute but dull and half-witted. The dreamer, still in her dream, felt a heart-rending pity for the victim and wept for hours after waking. Barring details, the dreamer here says to herself: There is something fine and likable in me; though my self-condemnation and self-destructiveness, I may actually ruin my personality; my steps against such drives are ineffectual; though I want to save myself, I also avoid a real fight and, in some way, collaborate with my destructive drives. #RandolphHarris 7 of 32
Consider a boy whose grandparents came West, “where seldom is heard a discouraging word.” This grandfather, a powerful and powerfully driven man, looked for new and challenging engineering tasks in widely separated regions. When the initial challenges were met, he handed the task over to others and moved on. His wife saw him only for an occasional impregnation. According to a typical family pattern, his sons could not keep pace with him and were left as respectable settlers by the wayside. To express their change of lifestyle in fitting phrases, one would have to say that from an existence characterized by the slogan “let’s get the hell out of here,” they turned to one expressing the determination “let’s stay—and keep the bastards out.” Not atypically, the grandfather’s only daughter (the patient’s mother) alone remained identified with him. This very identification, however, did not permit her to take a husband equal to her strong father. She married a weak man and settled down. She brought her boy up to be God-fearing and industrious. He became reckless and shifting at times, depressed at others; at times an overgrown juvenile delinquent, at others a more enjoyable westerner with convivial alcoholic moods. What his worried mother did not know is that she herself, all through his childhood, had belittled the sedentary father and decried the lack of mobility, geographic and social, of her marital existence. Idealizing the grandfather’s exploits, she had yet also reacted with panicky punitiveness to any display of adventurous friskiness in the boy which might disturb the now well-defined neighborhood. A special sign but crucially important case of objectivation is signification, that is, the human production of signs. A sign may be distinguished from other objectivations by its explicit intention to serve as an index of subjective meanings. To be sure, all objectivations are susceptible of utilization as signs, even though they were not originally produced with this intention. For instance, a weapon may have been originally produced for the purpose of hunting animals, but may then (say, in ceremonial usage) become a sign for aggressiveness and violence in general. #RandolphHarris 8 of 32
However, there are certain objectivations originally and explicitly intended to serve as signs. For instance, instead of throwing a knife at me (an act that was presumably intended to kill me, but that might conceivably have been intended merely to signify this possibility), my adversary could have painted a black X-mark on my door, a sign, let us assume, that we are now officially in a state of enmity. Such a sign, which has no purpose beyond indicating the subjective meaning of the one who made it, is also objectively available in the common reality he and I share with other men. I recognize its meaning, as do other men, and indeed, it is available to its producer as an objective “reminder” of his original intention in making it. It will be clear from the above that there is a good deal of fluidity between the instrumental and the significatory uses of certain objectivation. The special case of magic, in which there is a very interesting merging of these two uses, need not concern us here. Signs are clustered in a number of systems. Thus, there are systems of gesticulatory signs, of patterned bodily movements, of various sets of material artifacts, and so on. Signs and sign systems are objectivations in the sense of being objectively available beyond the expression of subjective intentions “here and now.” This “detachability” from the immediate expressions of subjectivity also pertains to signs that require the mediating presence of the body. Thus, performing a dance that signifies aggressive intent is an altogether different thing from snarling or clenching fits in an outburst of anger. The latter acts express my subjectivity “here and now,” while the former can be quite detached from this subjectivity—I may not be angry or aggressive at all at this point, but merely taking part in the dance because I am paid to do so on behalf of someone who is angry. #RandolphHarris 9 of 32
In other words, the dance can be detached from the subjectivity of the dancer in a way in which the snarling cannot from the snarler. Both dancing and snarling are manifestations of bodily expressivity, but only the former has the character of an objectively available sign. Signs and sign systems are all characterized by “detachability,” but they can be differentiated in terms of the degree to which they may be detached from face-to-face situations. Thus, a dance is evidently less detached than a material artifact signifying the same subjective meaning. Defense mechanisms are automatic, reflexlike ways in which a person reacts to threatening perceptions so that the self-structure will remain unchallenged and unchanged. Whenever anything of value is threatened, the person will naturally strive to defend it. However, there are realistic and rational ways of defending something of value, and there are shortsighted ways to defend values. If we value our body, and our body is threatened by disease, the rational means of defense is to study the disease, determine its cure, and administer it. The unrealistic means for defense is to ignore the pain, or anesthetize ourselves against the pain, and pretend there is no threat to life and health. If we value some theory, we can defend it unrealistically by distorting and ignoring conflicting evidence. Some defense mechanisms can be autistic means of defending the self-structure. They make it possible for persons to continue believing they are the kind of persons they want to believe they are when there is much evidence (from the real self) to refute these beliefs. #RandolphHarris 10 of 32
Defense mechanisms may be viewed as “preconscious” or unconscious. The defensive individual is not always aware he or she is defending the self against threat. As a matter of the fact, once a defensive person recognizes he or she is being defensive against some threatening impulse or feeling, the person may achieve voluntary control over the defensive behavior. Growth is a change in a valued direction. One of the goals of personal growth is a healthy self-structure, that is, a state where the real self, the self-concept, the self-ideal, and the public selves are all mutually congruent. Whenever such a state of affairs exists, it can be only temporary—an unstable equilibrium. Any change in the real self will disrupt the equilibrium, and such changes are always occurring. The self-structure grows when the necessary adjustments are made following real-self changes. However, if the person defends the self-structure, then that person will ignore or distort the messages of the real self, thus preserving the present self-structure despite its increasing alienation from the real self. The person who defends the self-structure against change is like the aging matron who keeps wearing the clothing of an eighteen-year-old beauty queen, in spite of increasing girth. Her girdle might be so tight that she nearly faints, but she will not admit her clothing does not fit. Such is the case with a defended self-structure; the underlying real self may have become so discrepant from the self-concept, self-ideal, and public selves that the individual is really two distinct persons: the one she believes she is and the one she really is. #RandolphHarris 11 of 32
The real self inevitably finds its way to expression. A real self that has been excluded by defense mechanisms manifests itself through boredom, frustration, vague anxiety and guilt, depression, unconscious motivation, and the symptoms of alienation from the self—in short, the whole repertoire of clinical psychopathology with which psychiatrists are familiar in their daily practice. Clinical symptoms of neurosis and of psychosis may be regarded as byproducts of the conflict between the real self and the attempt to preserve a self-structure markedly discrepant with it. There is always room for improvement in knowing how to listen. This is a kind of Zen proposition, since for the most part it depends on what is going on in the listener’s head, rather than on what is taking place outside. The useful part of the listening is done by that aspect of the personality known as “The Professor,” the Adult in the Child. The professor commands the power of intuition, and the most important aspect of intuition concerns transactional sphincter behavior: What sphincter does the other fellow want to use on me, and which one does he want me to use on him? Where so these desires come from, and where are they headed for? By the time this archaic or “primal” information filters through to the Adult of the listener, it may be elaborated into something more specific: information about the patient’s family background, his instinctual strivings, his occupation, and his script goal. What is necessary, then, is to know how to free the Professor to do his job most effectively. #RandolphHarris 12 of 32
The rules for this are as follows: The listener should be in good physical condition, having had a good night’s sleep, and should not be under the influence of alcohol, medications, or drugs which impair his mental efficiency. This includes both sedatives and stimulants. He must free his mind of outside preoccupations. He must put aside all Parental prejudices and feelings, including the need to “help.” He must put aside all preconceptions about his patients in general and about the particular patient he is listening to. He must not let the patient distract him by asking questions or making other demands, and should learn harmless ways of warding off such interruptions. His Adult listens to the content of what the patient says, while his Child-Professor listens to the way he says it. In telephone language, his Adult listens to the information, and his Child listens to the noise. In radio language, his Adult listens to the program, and his Child listens to how the machine is working. Thus, he is both a listener and a repairman. If he is a therapist, his most important job is making repairs. When he begins to feel tired, he stops listening and starts looking or talking instead. Philosophy disdains to lower itself into the use of a criticism which is merely destructive. However, it does not hesitate to accord a proper place for a criticism which is courteous, dignified, honest, constructive, and useful. Those so-called intelligentsia who regard life on a purely intellectual level, separated from its spiritual aspects on the left and its ethical aspects on the right, still have the self-illusion that they are dealing with reality. The solemn, staid exponents talk as though the advocate were also the arbiter. They put forward their own silly theories with such thick veneers of impartiality that one wonders who anyone can have the tremendous temerity to turn round and say they are wrong! #RandolphHarris 13 of 32
We could criticize a foolish philosophy from its first postulate to its last conclusion; we could rend it illogical arguments and self-contradictory claims into a thousand pieces; but it is not worth the trouble doing so, while our time is worth more than being wasted upon such pointless work. Some people are unable to walk unaided in the world of thought, and directly they step into it, they call out for a pair of crutches in the form of strict and rigid doctrines. These literary authorities deem it undignified to be lively and hence sink into a stagnant pool. There are literary wasps, who fight and try to sting, though never provoked, since it is in their miserable nature. As a rule, the wise man will not spare strength to engage in polemical thrusts. However, when the inner monitor bids him enter the fray, he has no other recourse than to submit. It is a Christian way of thinking to consider that the history of man is strictly unique. The Christians were the first to consider human life and the course of events as a history that is unfolding from a fixed beginning toward a definite end, in the course of which man achieves his salvation or earns his punishment. The philosophy of history springs from a Christian representation, which is surprising to a Greek mind. The Greek idea of evolution has nothing in common with our idea of historical evolution. The difference between the two is the difference between a circle and a straight line. The Greeks imagined the history of the word as cyclical. Aristotle, to give a definite example, did not believe that the time in which he was living was subsequent to the Trojan War. #RandolphHarris 14 of 25
Christianity was obliged, in order to penetrate the Mediterranean world, to Hellenize itself, and its doctrine then became more flexible. However, its originality lay in introducing into the ancient world two ideas that had never before been associated: the idea of history and the idea of punishment. In its concept of mediation, Christianity is Greek. In its idea of history, Christianity is Judaic and will be found again in German ideology. It is easier to understand this dissimilarity by understanding the hostility of historical methods of thought toward nature, which they considered as an object not for contemplation but for transformation. For the Christian, as for the Marxist, nature must be subdued. The Greeks are of the opinion that it is better to obey it. The love of the ancients for the cosmos was completely unknown to the first Christians, who, moreover, awaited with impatience an imminent end of the world. Hellenism, in association with Christianity, then produces the admirable efflorescence of the Albigensian heresy on the one hand, and on the other, Saint Francis. However, with the Inquisition and the destruction of the Albigensian heresy, the Church again parts company with the world and with beauty, and gives back to history its pre-eminence over nature. Jaspers is again right in saying: “It is the Christian attitude that gradually empties the world of its substance…since the substance resided in a conglomeration of symbols.” These symbols are those of the drama of the divinity, which unfolds throughout time. Nature is only the setting for this drama. #RandolphHarris 15 of 32
The delicate equilibrium between humanity and nature, man’s consent to the world, which gives ancient thought its distinction and its refulgence, was first shattered for the benefit of history by Christianity. The entry into this history of the Nordic peoples, who have no tradition of friendship with the world, precipitated this trend. From the moment that the divinity of Christ is denied, or that, thanks to the efforts of German ideology, He only symbolizes the man-god, the concept of mediation disappears, and a Judaic world reappears. The implacable god of war rules again; all beauty is insulated as the source of idle pleasures; nature itself is enslaved. Karl Marx, from this point of view, is the Jeremiah of history and the Saint Augustine of the revolution. Dr. Freud and Dr. Darwin are among the great men who came upon their most decisive contribution only after a change of direction and not without neurotic involvement at the time of the breakthrough to their specific creativity. Dr. Darwin failed in medicine, and had, as if accidentally, embarked on a trip which, in fact, he almost missed because of what seem to have been psychosomatic symptoms. Once aboard the Beagle, however, he found not only boundless physical vigor, but also a keen eye for unexplored details in nature, and a creative discernment leading straight to revolutionary insights: the law of natural selection began to haunt him. He was twenty-seven years old when he came home; he soon became an undiagnosed and lifelong invalid, able only after years of concentrated study to organize his data into a pattern which convincingly supported his ideas. #RandolphHarris 16 of 32
Dr. Freud, too, was already thrifty when, as if driven to do so by mere circumstances, he became a practicing neurologist and made psychiatry his laboratory. He had received his medical degree belatedly, having decided to become a medical scientist rather than a doctor at the age of seventeen. His moratorium, which gave him a basic schooling in method while it delayed the development of his specific gift and his revolutionary creativity, was spent in (then physicalistic) physiology. And when he at last did embark on his stupendous lifework, he was almost delayed further by neurotic suffering. However, a creative man has no choice. He may come across his supreme task almost accidentally. However, once the issue is joined, his task proves to be at the same time intimately related to his most personal conflicts, to his superior selective perception, and to the stubbornness of his one-way will: he must court sickness, failure, or insanity, in order to test the alternative whether the established world will crush him, or whether he will disestablish a sector of this world’s outworn fundaments and make a place for a new one. The worthless reputation of criticism is often exemplified by the fact that the opposition of the narrow-minded critics forms the best service they can render our doctrine. Argument is a language some cannot understand, because logic is a science they have never learned; but invective and ridicule are something that they can understand, something that will arouse their passions and cut their feelings and corrode their credulity. #RandolphHarris 17 of 32
It has been said that one of the greatest problems with the advancement of the fire service is the lack of hard data available. Many feel law enforcement has been more successful at collecting and compiling data in regard to their needs, and thus have been able to secure more grants and resources. It is not uncommon for a police department to have extra personnel on duty for traffic enforcement or school resource officers (SROs) as a direct result of those grants. It is not that law enforcement is more important—it is just hard to justify what the award-winning Sacramento Fire Department does when they cannot prove what it is that they do. As a result, the fire service had worked hard over the past several years to try to collect data and get grants to the forefront. For example, utilizing information gained from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and converting that into legislation for Fire Act has proven successful. Unfortunately, statistical reports are only as good as the data that are recorded. Not long ago, there was a structure made of reinforced concrete with a brick facing and had four floors and a basement, each containing 8,400 square feet of floor space. The building was also drained into an abandoned mine shaft 100 feet below the store, a common practice at the time of construction. The store was the place to go for a variety of products, and people came from miles around to buy everything from nuts and bolts to toys and appliances, and wire fencing to shingles and roofing tar. #RandolphHarris 18 of 32
This particular Monday found people all over the city trying to cope with flooded basements as the area had received eight inches of rain during the night. The river was rising 12 inches an hour, and homes and streets had flooded around the area. As the employees arrived at the store and began the process of opening up for the day, they noticed a smell of sewer gas that seemed to get stronger as the morning went along. No smoking signs were posted in the store, and businesses proceeded as usual. The store owner believed that water had backed up into the basement and went downstairs, with an employee, to see if the sump pumps were working properly. Seconds later, a tremendous explosion ripped through the basement and the building. The explosion ravaged the store, destroying the interior and blowing out the windows on all four floors. The shockwave traveled the length of the basement and exited through the sidewalk at the front of the store, blowing out a fifteen-foot section and flipping over a car parked at the curb. The shock also traveled up the elevator shaft at the rear of the building and blowing off the top and part of the back wall. The rear absorbed most of the blast, but as the shock vented from the back to front, the Northwest corner was blown off and took a big chunk of the sidewall with it. The bricks and debris crashed down into the alley to the North and the store, crushing a car and its owner who had just come out of the store. #RandolphHarris 19 of 32
A man, who had gone to the store for parts to fix a sink, was killed instantly by tons of debris from the sidewall and the roof. His body was later recovered by workers using an end loader to clear the alley. Others were critically injured. One firefighter did not know that he would soon become a hero, a 17-year veteran of the fire department and the United States Navy. In the Navy, he served as a chief instructor of firefighting. Upon arriving at the scene, he heard a woman screaming for help and entered the store. Following her voice, he made his way to the balcony. As he began to assist the woman, the conditions inside the store began to deteriorate quickly. Despite being overcome several times by the intense heat and fumes on the balcony, firefighters managed to free the woman and get her outside to an ambulance. Afterwards, the men said that the last three rungs of the ladder were smoldering as they made their way down from the balcony. As the veteran firefighter returned to the front of the store, a man appeared in the middle window of the second floor. The man, clothing and hair afire, was hanging over the windowsill, screaming for help. The firefighter grabbed a ladder and set it near the window, and started up. The front of the story was now wrapped in smoke and flames, and the pit in the sidewalk was also belching smoke and fire from the basement. Just as he was about to reach the window, an explosion rocked the basement, and a fireball erupted from the pit and engulfed the ladder. #RandolphHarris 20 of 32
The firefighter was blown off the ladder and back into the street. Witnesses said that he was blown almost 15 feet back from the store. He was dragged by firemen onto the sidewalk across the street. Once there, he was taken to the hospital where he was treated for burns, smoke inhalation, and a sprained ankle. After the explosion, the inside of the building became engulfed in flames, and the man was never seen again. Despite the ferocity of the fire, it was contained to the hardware store and eventually put out 12 hours later. Downtown, the businesses in the area of the fire were evacuated and closed during the fire. In the end, 6 people perished, and many others were injured. The danger of fire in downtown stores has decreased over the years with the use of fire sprinkler systems and modern fire detection and prevention programs. In the early 1900’s, a carelessly discarded cigarette or an electrical problem would often spell disaster for a business. The mostly wooden construction and absence of fire sprinklers would often turn a small fire into a major conflagration that would threaten not only the building involved but also entire blocks of the business district. Technology should be viewed as a vital layer of protection, but it does have its limitations. For most of us, it is hard to imagine a time when emergency vehicles responded to emergencies and had no communication with dispatch or other apparatus once en route to an incident. Technology will continue to be an asset to emergency services, adding safety and providing more effective operations. Although it should be welcomed, we must continue to insist on rigorous testing and consider the applications to emergency services. The new technology must be trained on and used in conjunction with the other tools we have to provide an effective system. #RandolphHarris 21 of 32
If you see a fire truck stopped in the street without the lights on, be very careful. Sometimes there is an emergency, and you should not pass the fire truck. It might be a good idea to safely turn around and go another way because if you hit someone and they happen to die, you could be charged with manslaughter. Sometimes fire firefighters are getting back into their vehicle, and if you pass the apparatus, you may collide with a firefighter who is on foot. Also, be sure to look at their signals; sometimes emergency vehicles are in motion, albeit slowly, and drivers try to pass them, and this could lead to a dangerous situation. Also, if you are in an intersection when you see an emergency vehicle, continue through the intersection. Drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop. Obey any direction, order, or signal given by a law enforcement officer or a firefighter. Even if they conflict with existing signs, signals, or laws, follow their orders. When their siren or flashing lights are on, it is against the law to follow within 300 feet of any fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle. If you drive to the scene of a fire, collision, or other disaster, you can be arrested. When you do this, you are getting in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, or other rescue and emergency personnel. The concept of professional courage does not always mean being as tough as nails, either. It also suggests a willingness to listen to other people’s problems, to go to bat for them in a tough situation, and it means knowing just how far they can go. It also means being willing to tell the boss when he or she is wrong. #RandolphHarris 22 of 32
California is the third most expensive state in the nation. In 37 percent of counties, a family of four living on a six-figure income is now considered low-income. The average home price in California is nearly $1,000,000.00 USD, while the average salary is $96,036.00, meaning that most Californians cannot even afford to buy a home. California is having an affordability crisis. A single person making an income above $100,000 is now considered low-income in five counties in California. This distinction now applies to individuals living in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. The maximum percentage of your gross income that you should earmark for a monthly mortgage payment is calculated at 28 percent, and no more than 36 percent of your gross income to all debts, including mortgage. If you take 28 percent of the median household income per home in Sacramento County, homeowners can only afford a mortgage of $2,070.23 per month. And if you take 36 percent of their gross income to all debts, including mortgage, they should be devoting no more than $2,661.72 a month to these debts. The mortgage lenders must be using some kind of sorcery to get buyers into these expensive homes. To afford one of these homes using traditional guidelines, a household would need to gross $11,280.24 per month or $135,362.88 per year, but the median household in Sacramento County is grossing $7,393.67 a month or $88,724.00 annually, and that typically means two to four people in the home are working and contributing to the mortgage. Home prices in Sacramento County are rivaling the Bay Area, and in some cases, homes in the Bay Area are more affordable. Historically, homes in the Bay Area have been more expensive because they have higher-paying jobs, a larger population, and the Bay Area is a tourist destination. Contributing to the housing affordability crisis is Gavin Newsom, who has been lavishing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded resources and cash aid, when state workers should be receiving a 25 percent wage increase instead. #RandolphHarris 23 of 32
In 2025, many people in California saw their bills increase by an estimated $500 a month. This includes items such as food, automobile insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and electricity. In fact, more than 3 million people in California are facing household hardship, and more than 300,000 of them are facing eviction soon. This comes at a time when California is having a shortage of affordable housing. The crisis is caused by nearly half a century-old laws that discourage home sales and encourage higher rents. The incompetence in California is very easy to see. From 2018 to 2023, California received $24 billion, which they used to fund 30 homeless and housing programs. These programs created 100,000 units. That is an average cost of $240,000 per unit. In comparison, Roger Lucas, owner of Grand Castle, LLC, spent $50 million to build The Grand Castle, which is a 522-unit residential apartment community in Grandville, Michigan. The community includes studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and even a multi-level penthouse. Rents generally range from $1,000 to $2,500. The community is a 23.6-acre site. It features 750 covered parking spaces, a clubhouse, a resort-style swimming pool, and was built over a period of 12 to 18 months. The average cost was about $95,785.45 per unit, which is $144,214.55 less per unit than California spent. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.5 percent. As people are seeing their bills skyrocket, and minimum wage has increased to $20 an hour, people on Social Security retirement are really bearing the burden with the checks the typically equate to $5-$7 an hour. Furthermore, while Americans are struggling to find and afford housing, Gavin Newsom, Democrat governor of California, signed two bills into law on February 7, 2025, to protect illegal immigrants. Bills SBX 1 1: Budget Act of 2024, and SBX 1 2: Budget Act of 2024, allocates $50 million to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Governor Gavin Newsom also granted 700,000 illegal immigrants free health care, which costs taxpayers $3 billion annually. At the same time, Newsom cut vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled, and the homeless. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. #RandolphHarris 24 of 32
Meanwhile, China, where we are sending all our jobs and money, has more than 50 ghost cities, with 65 million vacant homes. Ghost cities are regions where housing has been overdeveloped to the point that these places are uninhabited. If they are all officially counted, California has approximately 4 million homeless people. The highest home prices in the nation, the highest taxes, and the most unfriendly business regulations known to man. Because California is so hostile towards people and businesses, more than 360 companies have fled the state since 2020. Businesses like Chevron, SpaceX, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are among the names on that list. Also, more than 500,000 people a year are abandoning California because it is too expensive to live in, Gavin Newsom has criminalized homelessness and actually started arresting people without homes, crime is out of control, and they are losing their jobs due to companies relocating. More than 100 companies have announced layoffs in California for 2025. Intel is cutting 15,000 jobs, PayPal is cutting 2,500, and Meta has terminated 4,000 employees. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.1 percent. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. Accordingly, California has more than 3.5 million illegal immigrants. Having the Southern American border open and not having American farmland protected, not producing beef, poultry, fish, fruit, produce, and dairy in America, and without American goods and services being our number one manufactured and selling items, America has created a dangerous and significantly elevated risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health. Some people may believe that these claims are overstated, but by not routinely monitoring Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CEVs) or other security-relevant alerts, such as the end-of-life of machinery is how the Oroville Dam Crisis occurred in 2017. #RandolphHarris 25 of 32
Additionally, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom seems to be uneducated about economics. Newsom has spent $300 million to try to stop proposition 50. Proposition 50 would replace the maps drawn by the state’s independent commission with districts drawn by legislators solely to gain or protect Democratic seats. Newsom only cares about the environment when his policies allow him to raise taxes and restrict freedoms. To further highlight this illustration of incompetence by Governor Gavin Newsom, Mexico has been causing one of America’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons a day of industrial chemicals, untreated sewage, and trash flow from Tijuana, Mexico, into southern San Diego County daily. This toxic waste has been turning up on Imperial Beach and is causing the miles of white sands to become polluted and the ocean breeze to smell of feces, which has been sickening residents and wildlife and costing San Diego millions in the form of lost tourism and health problems. The problem has been going on for more than a century, and by 2030, Mexico plans to dump one hundred and twenty million gallons of sewage a day into Imperial Beach. Other crises that have occurred due to neglect of critical infrastructure such as the 2025 Palisades fire. Southern California ran out of water because Newsom is totally neglecting the state and the American people. And while the fire departments in California are critically understaffed and underfunded, Governor Newsom vetoed firefighter pay raise. The Palisades fire cost $275 billion, which is money that could have been used to insure the State of California had the resources it needed. Furthermore, when Southern California is located next to an ocean, Newsom should have invested in desalination plants to help with the water shortage in California. The water in the ocean is so plentiful that it is currently eroding land and causing homes to fall into the sea. Desalination has been identified as one technology that will help solve California’s water scarcity problem. Desalination is a cost-effective technology that can transform an abundance of salt water into a reliable supply of potable, fresh water, which is a great way to fight climate change and have enough water for our region’s water requirements. Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, is producing 1,036,000 meters (273,682,192) per day of desalinated water. #RandolphHarris 26 of 32
America needs an approach to eliminate safety vulnerabilities in American cities. There needs to be a road map by the end of 2025, outlining a prioritized approach to eliminate crisis situations in America. There is enough money to send aid to foreign nations, but the American government does not have enough money to care for its infrastructure, provide adequate resources, or end the affordable housing crisis. Nor is there enough money to fund other national critical functions (NCFs). These bad practices of putting America and Americans last are considered exceptionally risky, particularly to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. In 2024, Americans spent $100 billion on Japanese cars. As a result, the American automobile trade deficit with Japan was $39 billion. Additionally, Japan exported 1.4 million cars to the United States of America, but only imported 16,000 American-built automobiles. However, Japan imported approximately 143 thousand motor vehicles from the European Union. This is why President Trump created tariffs. We need to balance the trade deficit that America faces with other nations so we are not taken advantage of and so America can go bank to being a creditor nation, instead of borrowing money for other countries. Each year, President Trump is bringing $400 Billion in Tariff revenue into America and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. With this money, America is paying down debt, and with a portion of it, President Trump plans to send Americans a stimulus check anywhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000. However, if President Trump’s Tariffs are deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, taxpayers will have to pay back trillions and trillions of dollars. As we literally and /or figuratively see gangs, federal judges, and Governor Gavin Newsom fighting with federal law enforcement and President Trump– states and cities refusing to honor federal laws. Politicians are also showing an utter disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America, and anarchy is becoming increasingly common. #RandolphHarris 27 of 32
Anarchism is a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Derived from the Greek root anarchos, meaning “without authority,” anarchism, anarchist, and anarchy are used to express both approval and disapproval. The anarchist denies man-made laws, regards property as a means of tyranny, and believes that crimes are merely the product of property and authority. However, the anarchist would argue that their denial of constitutions and governments leads not to “no justice” but to the real justice inherent in the free development of human sociality—the natural inclination, when unfettered by laws, to live according to the principles and practice of mutual aid. Anarchism is also a form of treason. Treason, the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the monarch’s enemies. In the United States of America, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. Treason against the United States of America “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort,” which is something that many politicians are currently guilty of. The American government should know all exploitable vulnerabilities and fix them before the situation becomes a crisis. Failure to take such mitigating actions is dangerous and significantly elevates risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. The American government must understand that significant time and resources must be invested in America. They must also encourage corporations to plan for both mitigating safety vulnerabilities in the short term and eliminating them in the long term. For instance, a company might begin by reaching out to the federal, state, or local government and requesting tax incentives to provide security to dangerous communities, to help the government repair bridges and potholes. #RandolphHarris 28 of 32
Drug cartels have been threatening the health and safety of Native American communities. The trafficking of dangerous and illegal drugs into their territories is leading to a second genocide. The overdose rate for Indigenous people is 42 percent higher than the national average. A recent bust on Montana’s Blackfeet Nation’s Tribal Reservation resulted in the seizure of more than 700,000 fentanyl pills, which was the largest bust in Montana history. Recently, the Blackfeet Nation had to declare a state of emergency after facing 17 overdoses in just one week. There are only 6.8 million Native Americans left in the world, which is 2 percent of the American population. We should be doing more to protect these proud and honorable people; they should not want for anything. People rush and give away resources to illegal immigrants, but totally disregard the Indigenous people of this land, as their race silently fades away into extinction. We must secure our borders and increase federal funding to Native American tribes so we can save this precious population. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom has given billions of taxpayer dollars away to illegal immigrants and protected them from law enforcement, while arresting law-abiding Americans because they cannot afford to pay rent or mortgage, and the homeless shelters are unsafe, overcrowded, and have restrictions on who is allowed inside. He has also totally ignored the cartel problems on American lands. Clean air, water, land, and preserving our heritage are extremely important. We cannot just allow criminals to kill off the people who are native to this land and do nothing about it. Wars have been started over governments that tax citizens without representation. Taxation without representation is what led to the American Revolution. #RandolphHarris 29 of 32
Much like the land crisis in Las Vegas, we could also run out of land to farm and will not be able to grow or cultivate our own food. We can protect American farmland and support American farmers by buying American made beef, poultry, dairy, and produce. Also, country of origin labeling is very important so Americans can know where their food is coming from and can support American farmers and ranchers. As money flows, it influences further investment. Save the land that sustains us by protecting American farmland. Once the land is built on, we lose it forever. And in the future, there may be food wars. Also, to ensure that we have farmland and buildable land for future use, we need to start limiting the number of people allowed to immigrate to America. Perhaps with the immigrants we do allow into America, there needs to be a diversity program to make sure we have a population that equally represents all races of people. If Americans continue to spend money on American products, then more need to be made to keep up the inventory. When investors notice these goods are selling, it gives them the confidence to pour more money into that local business. It shows that people want these goods made in America and pressures investors to keep these goods and services in America. The jobs stay here, the business stays in America, wages naturally increase, and more money is invested to keep up with demand. This reduces the burden on the taxpayer. When you support American businesses, that money stays in our economy and can help to reduce the national debt. The government creates debt by borrowing from businesses in the private sector or from foreign countries. It also increases the national debt by spending more than it gains in tax revenue in a fiscal year. #RandolphHarris 30 of 32
When people shop locally, more tax money stays in the economy and goes to the government. This way, it keeps more money in our national economy and keeps more jobs located in America which also sends more taxes to the government, which can again help to reduce the national debt. When you buy foreign goods, these companies usually have lighter tax loads or exemptions, meaning less money for the national debt, plus you are helping to strengthen these foreign nations by sending more money overseas. Buying American-made products is also better for the environment and helps to reduce the carbon footprint because these products do not have to travel nearly as far. Furthermore, American companies and manufacturers are held to much higher standards on pollution. American companies must be more careful about air, land, and water pollution and have proper ways to dispose of waste. Under President Trump’s administration, he has make America a priority. President Trump has closed the southern border, illegal crossings have fallen to an all time low, and are 90 percent lower than under the previous administration. Since President Trump’s crack down on crime, violent crimes in Washington D.C. have dropped by approximately 80 percent. He has stopped thousands of pounds of drugs from entering America and killing citizens. And since President Trump took office, investments in America have increased by trillions of dollars in U.S.A. manufacturing, production, and innovation. As you can see, President Donald Trump and his pledge to “Make America Great Again” is exactly what America needs to save the country and the American people. And yes, diversity is important, so you can see why it is also important to preserve blonde hair and blue eyes, as the people with these characteristics are becoming a minority in America. #RandolphHarris 31 of 32
We must think before we can understand the soul’s existence; we must understand before we can realize it. The earliest beginnings of thought, as apart from instinct, when it was itself still but a lurking tendency, belong far back in primeval time. The human intellect as we find it today, so rich and developed an instrument for the consciousness of the ego, did not arrive at this fullness without a series of graduated stages. We have had plenty of scientific thinking, business thinking, and political thinking long enough, but we have had very little inspired thinking. That is the world’s need. The intellect is cradled in selfishness but runs the evolutionary track into reason, where it will one day finish at the winning-post of selflessness. As a reminder, parents, please teach your children to love America and be patriotic citizens, and to buy goods and services made in America. It is also important to respect law and order and treat your elders with respect. It is inborn in the human mind to wish to know. If this begins with the endless surface questions of a child’s curiosity, if it continues into deeper questions of a scientist’s probing investigation, it cannot and does not stop there. For the higher part of the mind will eventually come into unfoldment, that union of abstract reflective thought with mystical intuition, which is true intelligence, which needs and sees a view of the whole of things. And so, the knowing faculty enters the realm of philosophy. Therefore, remember to take your education seriously so that you will be successful in life and make your family proud. Also, to make sure they have all the resources required, please donate to the Sacramento Fire Department to help improve our national security. “Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved home and the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’ And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” #RandolphHarris 32 of 32
According to locals, over a century ago, the land that houses The Winchester Mansion had been vacant forever. Then, sometime in the early afternoon of Saturday, March 13, 1886, Sheriff Angel Camilio began getting reports that a massive castle made of wood had suddenly appeared. Gables rose, towers peaked into the sky as the mansion mushroomed into a labyrinth overnight.
The house’s sudden manifestation had been both disconcerting and fascinating to the community. Some felt dark curses flowing from the estate, and things moving around in the darkness. Others saw a fairytale castle glimmering in the spring sunlight. Perhaps this is why there are no records of construction, no blueprints, and no permits filed with the county. And then one day, a hearse came tearing through the gates, and in that hearse was a coffin, some believed it contained Mrs. Winchester.
According to legend, when Sarah Lockwood Pardee (Winchester) married William Wirt Winchester in 1862, she enjoyed a life of extravagant luxury. William Winchester, President of the Winchester repeating rifle, became a very wealthy man through the sale of his guns, and the couple were among the elite New England society.
However, in 1866, the death of their infant daughter drove Mrs. Sarah Winchester into a deep depression from which many thought she would never emerged. Several years later, she lost her husband to tuberculosis, and her grief was overwhelming. Mrs. Winchester sought the counsel of a Boston medium to reach her beloved dead family members. The medium told the grieving widow that she was cursed and demons straight from hades had sought revenge by ending the lives of her beloved husband and darling baby girl.
She also told Mrs. Winchester they would kill her too, unless she moved out West and built a great house for the spirits. In addition, Mrs. Winchester was told construction on the house must never end in order to appease the spirits and keep her alive, perhaps even give her eternal life. Mrs. Winchester followed the medium’s suggestions, and in 1886, she moved to the Santa Clara valley just outside San Jose, where she bought an 18-room farmhouse and property to build her mansion. At its peak, the Mansion once stood 9-stories tall and had as many as 600-rooms. Today, the stately mansion is 4-storys, and over 100,000 square feet.
Experience an unforgettable journey back to the time of kings and queens with this entry ticket for The Winchester Mansion in Santa Clara, California, which was the residence of Heiress Sarah L. Winchester. Come and see what secrets this so-called, “Winchester Mystery House” may hold. Take advantage of this fascinating experience. After the tour, there will be time to enjoy the mansion’s splendor at your own pace. You might even discover secret passages that lead to hidden chambers within the mansion. These chambers served as safe places for valuables, precious documents, and as private sanctuaries for Mrs. Winchester, and allowed her to move stealthily throughout her home. At one time, there were even secret tunnels that extended beyond the mansion, leading to nearby Victorian houses that were also on the property, and other structures, creating a network of escape routes or hidden pathways.
Please come and enjoy a delicious meal at Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, which once spanned 740 acres, all the way down to Stevens Creek Boulevard; wander through the miles of hallways in the world’s most mysterious mansion.
For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available for purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/
Harris Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric has been in business for 30 years. How many businesses can say that? We take pride in everything we do – no matter how big or small the service call might be. We’re here to help your home be as safe and comfortable as possible for you and your family. We take that responsibility very seriously as a company.
Harris will ensure you have the information you need to decide what to do next, whatever your home is facing. We’ll perform a diagnosis and detail what issues are present before starting any work. This gives you a personalized quote and service plan specific to your home’s needs, not some random quote based on the best guess. The only way we can do our best work is to make sure we handle the issues at hand. https://www.callharrisnow.com/about-us/
With its top ranking in Consumer Reports’ Auto Brand Report Card and consistent market share growth, BMW, The Ultimate Driving Experience, has demonstrated its ability to produce high-performing, reliable vehicles that meet consumer demands. BMW stands out due to its focus on driving dynamics and engineering excellence. While other luxury brands prioritize comfort and opulence, BMW is known for creating cars that are fun to drive and offer a unique connection between the driver and the machine. This is why BMW is known as The Ultimate Driving Machine. https://www.brianharrisbmw.com/
Randolph Harris San Francisco Taxation & Mergers
Building strong and lasting client relationships is crucial for a successful legal career. Many lawyers mistakenly believe that mastering legal skills alone ensures success, but law is fundamentally a service industry—our job is to solve problems through the time we sell. To build long-term relationships, attorneys must focus on three core elements: knowing their clients, understanding how their legal issues fit into a larger context, and consistently delivering exceptional service.
Randy advises clients with regard to business transition, taxable and tax-deferred mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, integrated tax planning, federal and state tax controversy resolution, and real estate transactions. Trust is the cornerstone of any client relationship. Ultimately, my clients feel they are in capable hands with someone who genuinely understands their problems and goals. https://www.jmbm.com/l-randolph-harris.html
At Millhaven Homes our professionals bring extensive experience in creating custom luxury properties. Your needs are the central focus.
We savor the sanctuary of awe-inspiring spaces, unique architectural details and fine craftsmanship. The key to a successful relationship is communication. We will incorporate your thoughts and ideas into your new home.
With vast experience in all types of custom home construction, our premier services are created for you, so you can get the most out of the function and design of your dream home.
Discover Millhaven Homes today. Let us design and build a custom home that reflects your style, comfort, and aspirations. We are here to bring your vision to life with creativity, care, and attention to every detail.
Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. Whether you are considering building a dream home or simply fascinated by architectural marvels, Millhaven Homes is the builder for you.
“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.” -President Abraham Lincoln
America is a nation founded on godly principles, by God-fearing men. As a nation, we have convinced ourselves of our uniqueness with concepts such as Manifest Destiny and American exceptionalism. Manifest destiny was the imperialist belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand from sea to shining sea.
American exceptionalism, idea that the United States of America is a unique and even morally superior country for historical, ideological, or religious reasons. As a nation we appear favored and blessed by the Lord with success and prosperity unparalleled in human history.
America has a lot of amazing things – its beautiful natural scenery, vibrant cities, unique culture, and some of the world’s most iconic landmarks — it us no wonder many choose to make America their home.
“We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country .” -President John F. Kennedy
We will make America strong again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again, greater than ever before. -President Donald Trump
Randolph Harris II International 