Attached is a preliminary patch for fixing "the package-initialize
problem" (see [1] [2] [3]) by adding an early init file.
My thoughts are:
1. For most Emacs users who do not program in Elisp, there should be only a single init file that they would personalize, generally as they find snippets of code they can cut and paste for their use.
2. For Elispers, another optional init file for more fine-grained control would be okay, though not ideal.
But this means whatever problem exists with package-initialize, it should be solved without requiring the use of a 2nd init file.