First published on October 25, 2013

"...We are at the stake, and bayed about with many enemies; and some that smile have in their hearts, I fear,

"Millions of mischiefs." – Wm. Shakespeare

THE BRITANNICA, 11th edition, on the sixties hippies: "Having learned the rudiments of positivism, they conceived the idea that Russia had outlived the religious and metaphysical stages of human development, and was ready to enter on the positivist stage. She ought, therefore, to throw aside all religious and metaphysical conceptions, and to regulate her intellectual, social and political life by the pure light of natural science. Religion was to be replaced by the exact sciences, family life by free love, private property by collectivism... [etc]."

Reminds you of anything on our side of the Atlantic? The Russian Nihilists were 100 years ahead of our own hippies – who thought they had come up with something unique in the 1960s – and Russia went off the deep end about 50 years later (2017 will be the 100th "birthday" for the Communism that ended up bringing sorrow to much of the planet).

The following list of goals was found in 1919 in post-WWI Germany: COMMUNIST RULES FOR REVOLUTION

These nine rules were seized in a raid in Dusseldorf Germany. The files were marked, "Communist Rules for Revolution."

• Corrupt the young: get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex.** Make them superficial; destroy their ruggedness.

• Get control of all means of publicity. Get peoples' minds off their government by focusing their attention on athletics, sexy books, plays and other trivialities.

• Divide people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no importance.

• Destroy the peoples' faith in their natural leaders by holding the latter up to contempt and ridicule.

• Always preach true democracy; but seize power as fast and as ruthlessly as possible.

• By encouraging government extravagance, destroy its credit; produce fear of inflation, rising prices and general discontent.

• Foment strikes in vital industries; encourage civil disorders and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of government toward these disorders.

• By special argument cause a breakdown of the old moral virtues: honesty, sobriety, continence, faith in the pledged word, ruggedness.

• Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext with a view of confiscation of them.

Does anything there ring a bell yet? Whoever the author was, he describes 2013 America to a "T" – right down to the "harping on controversial matters of no importance." Think Washington Redskins (truth be told, they may drop the "Washington" part of the name because it's so embarrassing). But seriously, folks:

Five hundred years ago, 1513, "The Prince" was written by Niccolo Machiavelli. Ol' Nick had some rules of his own for rulers:

• In order to be popular and secure in power, a prince need not be virtuous, only appear so.

• Morality and ethics are for the weak; powerful people should feel free to lie, cheat, and deceive.

• Never show humility; it is more effective to show arrogance when dealing with others.

• It is better to be feared than loved.

In the 1970s, psychologists identified a modern-day personality type called "High Machs." One wrote:

"Machiavellian personalities are committed to the proposition that a desired end justifies virtually any means.... "[H]igh machs" display a keen and opportunistic sense of timing, and they appear to capitalize especially in situations that contain ambiguity regarding the rules." – "Who's Pulling Your Strings?" by Harriet Braiker, Ph.D.

Sound familiar to you yet? Have you ever heard of Alinsky's Rules for Radicals? An O'Bama aide said that there's a lot of Homer Simpson in people, so there's a lot that can be done to manipulate them.

*P.S. The title of this column contains a Bible passage. If you can't figure out the last half of the title, here are a couple of hints:

On August 15, 2013, USA TODAY published an article (p. 6A) entitled "LET TEENAGERS HAVE THEIR ROMANTIC SLEEPOVERS; as youthful cohabitation rises, parents should see it as an opportunity to teach."

This columnist tries to bring you things you don't know, things the New York Times may not see "fit to print," but the "paper of record" published seven pages online this summer promoting "Hooking Up" in college ("Sex on Campus – She can play that game, too").

A U. of Michigan "sociologist" says that "women at elite universities are choosing hookups because they see relationships as too demanding..." (i.e., "Let's get intimate but not too personal").]

The December 9, 2004, Badger Herald did an article on the subject titled "LET'S GET IT ON; random physical encounters becoming norm in college, replacing long-term dating."

PPS: The Badger Herald used to be the CONSERVATIVE student newspaper. I was admitted to the University of Wisconsin twice, but I'm not sorry I left – voluntarily – if this is what they now call elitism and "progress."