Dear Jim,
Thanks for your kind words. And thanks for your vote of confidence in what the essay seeks to accomplish. To your question, "...are the quotes original?". Most everything that I write is original. That's why there are rarely any references to outside sources. The writing is my conscious effort to communicate my thoughts in as clear and concise way as I can. I find long expositions rather imposing and often confusing. So I try to capture the essence of what I seek to communicate in brief haiku-like statements.
What is important in your intellectual venture in physics is not your education, but your passion for ideas and commitment to Truth and Reason. Contrary views by many physicists, as to the need for specialized expertise to do physics, have only dug us deeper into the 'rabbit's hole'. They have created a Universe that defies common sense-experience. These theorists have put us in conflict with our lives. This cannot be good! What is mostly needed in physics are 'physical explanations that make sense'. Physics has failed to deliver on this mission. More abstract math is not needed. Great new ideas can be found in unsuspected places by unsuspected people.
I have read your linked paper and agree with much of what you say. But I must confess to you that I have not kept up with the many fascinating discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology, or given any of this thoughtful reflection. It's only just recently that I started to show more interest in cosmology, thanks to Peter Jackson and John Merryman in these forums. So please take my comments as provisional and with some skepticism.
I agree with you that 'dark matter' is used like another 'epicycle' to bring observation in line with theory. And I also agree that the application of established theory to new fronts is a little like generals fighting the 'last war'! We simply take on faith that the laws of physics we have established here on earth are the same everywhere else in the Universe.
I don't believe in 'universal laws'. But I do believe in our ability to describe mathematically regularities in the world we know. But we must not confuse 'description' for 'explanation'. We have yet to 'explain' anything!
Fortunately, non of this has any bearing on any of the mathematical derivations and physical results in my essay!
Best wishes,
Constantinos