Free A Twist in Time by Frank J. Derfler Page B

was the largest mixing bowl in history.  North America, Africa, Arabia, Central Asia, the South Pacific... they had it all."       
      
    Bill nodded and wrote British Empire next to Greece and Rome on the white board.  "Caesar crossed the Rubicon," he repeated and nodded.  "When Caesar crossed the Rubicon he was breaking an ancient law about a general bringing an army home to threaten Rome.  He was breaking an ancient law." 
     
    Sally just nodded.  Bill was obviously on a roll. 
     
    "One thing all of these participative governments brought to the people was a body of laws and some degree of fairness in their application.  British Common Law and the Code de Napoleon are the two best examples for us.  It's when the laws aren't enforced, or are enforced unfairly, that things quickly fall apart."  
     
    "There is no benefit to having a government if the laws aren't enforced.  The same thing is true of Christian Church Law and Sharia Law," Janet supplied. 
     
    Bill played with the marker for the white board.  "I don't want to work to prove a hypothesis, but could we start with some scenarios that involve loss of faith in the United States judicial system?"
     
    Janet stood up and stretched like a cat.  Bill thought it was delightful.  She talked as she walked around the room looking at the books on his many bookshelves.  "The easiest scenario to project is election fraud in twenty ten or twenty twelve. Right now conservatives are organizing in splintered, but really enthusiastic fashion.  The class of people who are 'entitled'...  who pay no taxes and who rely on government handouts... is large and growing fast.  The liberal and intellectual coalition has the levers of power and has no shame and no fear of unfair play, stacking the deck, or other practices that people perceive as immoral or even illegal." 
     
    Bill was now standing against the wall watching his new wife.  He was enthralled.  "So, what happens?" he asked to prompt her along. 
     
    "So, the liberals steal the twenty twelve election.  Lord knows the Democrats thought George W. stole the election from Gore in two thousand.  I mean redistricting, gerrymandering, motor voter, losing or finding absentee ballots, it's all about getting the votes one way or another.  But, let's say there is physical intimidation at specific polling places.  Or even bombings at polling places in Conservative areas or something."  She turned to him, "It would have to be physical.  Physical harm to the voters.  Physical harm that does not receive justice in the courts or that leads to injustice."
     
    He nodded and said, "No faith in the executive branch, disgust with the legislative branch, and breach of faith with the judicial branch.  Nothing left."
     
    "Worse," she expanded.  "Actual maltreatment by the judicial branch.  Whatever it is has to be wide spread, but yet focused unfairly on a specific group." 
     
    "Then the shooting starts," Bill said. 
     
    "In the US?" she replied.  "You don't even know the half of it.  Explosives, anthrax, radioactive waste, it's all out there in the US and there is also a lot of skill behind it.  A couple of generations of US Citizens learned the art of asymmetrical warfare in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Justice Department held classified seminars about this stuff and it drives Homeland Security nuts.  That's why military veterans made the list of potential subversives that some idiot issued.  They know how to make things go boom in all the important places."  
     
    "MacArthur and the Veterans," he said.
     
    She smiled, "The Bonus Army.  That's another reason I love you.  We speak the same language." 
     
    He was almost embarrassed and waved at the bookshelves.  "It's more like we read the same dusty old books." 
     
    The two historians knew that in 1932 Douglas MacArthur was ordered by President Hoover to disperse a group of over 40,000 protestors, most of them World War I veterans,