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TORN From the Inside Out & THE JOURNEY

 MEMOIRS In 1973,  a young woman, barely sixteen years old, and a zealous member of a cultist religious group, married a twenty-three year-o...

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist: Never Give Up Your Dream




Paulo Coelho is an internationally famed author, mainly because of his 1987 book, The Alchemist, which has sold over 150 million copies and had a 315 week run on the New York Times best seller list. That is over six continuous years as a best seller.

The Alchemist tells a tale that became almost autobiographical for Coelho: that of a young shepherd boy on a quest for what would become the most valued thing in his life. In Coelho’s case, his personal  quest was to become a writer. From the time Coelho was a young boy in his native land of Brazil; his dream was to become a writer, even though it was scoffed at by others. Writing was his dream. In The Alchemist, Coelho wrote “When you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you”, and those words inspired him to not give up when the first publication of The Alchemist flopped.

If Coelho had listened to the first publisher who decided the book was not worthwhile after the first printing sold less than a dozen copies, or if he had listened to his mother who questioned the logic of becoming a writer, there would have been no Internationally renowned Paulo Coelho, and no The Alchemist, which has won over one hundred awards. There would have been no time spent on the New York Times best seller list, I would not be writing about Paulo Coelho.
The lesson learned is to never give up on your dream.


Sara Niles

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Republican Party Holds American Government Hostage

The power struggle between the Democratic and Republican parties of American government are preventing our government from operating the way it was designed to, as a Government for the People and By the People. 

The growing power of the Republican Party is converting the GOP into a ruling despot that sits in government attempting to rule behind the scenes, by the use of delaying strategies, blocking of presidential actions, and obstructing the business of government. The GOP uses propaganda as a blind in an attempt to prevent the American People from seeing the true motivation behind Republican Power Plays, the need for more and more control, with the ultimate agenda of protecting the money of The Rich, not the interests of The People. The GOP threatens to undermine the basic premise of the American Constitution, the need to protect the government from being overtaken by power mongers, by keeping a healthy Checks and Balances system in place. The balance of the system is being placed at risk with each new power –play by the GOP.


The death of Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, has left the nation’s highest court, The Supreme Court,  crippled until a replacement is made. The usual process involves a presidential appointment as a replacement; however, just hours after his death the Republican spoke as one promising to   block any Obama Supreme Court Justice nomination

In order to make such a ridiculous and childish statement, the basis of that reasoning would have to be rooted in two things:

  • Deliberate obstruction preventing a duly elected president from performing his duty
  • Deliberate attempt to gain ‘Conservative’ (Republican) Power in the Supreme Court of the United States for the furtherance of a  GOP political agenda


The seriously dangerous actions of the GOP, once simplified amounts to ‘Holding the American Government Hostage’ in an attempt to gain more power; even more serious is the basis of the GOP’s need for more power.  The focus of the Grand Old Party has become singularly focused on one goal, that is, to protect the Money and Power of the Rich and Super-rich to the detriment of the common people. 

The smooth operation of a Democratic Government protects everyone, rich and poor equally, for the United States government is a government For the People and By the People…and it is at risk each time the Republicans operate as a team against a team, instead of united front devoted to keeping the checks and balances operational in a Healthy American Democracy.

Regardless of political agendas, the American Government is still based on "We the People".


Sara Niles