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Table of Contents

Republicans Must Reject the Legacy of Lincoln to Save their Party's Soul
Cheating and Lying Statistics of College Freshmen Point to Faulty Moral Formation
The Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist are Two Parts of the Same Coin
David Ricardo, Paul Craig Roberts and Alan Greenspan Provide Insight on Globalization
William Polk is a National Treasure in this Time of Guerilla Warfare


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Republicans Must Reject the Legacy of Lincoln to Save their Party's Soul - The Republican Party is full of people who give sincere support to family values, state's rights, local control, the reduction of Federal taxation, and the curtailment of Federal regulation. Yet, Lincoln remains the iconic hero of the party.

This President who more than any other President promoted centralized control, the emasculation of the rights of the individual, the family, and local government, and the total subordination of the states to the Federal government. The inconsistency of the two positions creates within the party a schizophrenia, a split that is difficult to rationalize internally or explain to others. This schizophrenia allows one party to contain within it a group of wire tapping, warmongers like Cheney, Bush and their neocon friends while also accommodating the likes of Ron Paul, Joe Sobran, and Pat Buchanan.

The Party must decide if it is the "stay at home and tend to your own knitting" party of Henry Cabot Lodge and Charles Lindbergh ..... or not. The party must decide if it is dedicated to a U.S. economy with a proper mix of domestic manufacturing, tariffs to protect these, and immigration controls .... or not. The party must decide if the family and the localities are really suppose to be the most important building blocks of society or if power should mostly reside on the shores of the Potomac. Yes, the party must decide; however, the first step in that decision process must be to frankly discuss the Party's unwholesome, unquestioning attachment to Lincoln. .. (Prepared by Hugh Murray on 4/19/2006)


Cheating and Lying Statistics of College Freshmen Point to Faulty Moral Formation - Recently Derek Bok, the former (and future) President of Harvard, addressed the Western Association of Schools and Colleges on this country's underachieving universities. His thesis is simple. America's colleges are not teaching nearly as much material as they might. He is suggesting that college teachers be trained in "teaching techniques" in the same way that high school and grade school teachers learn teaching tactics that capture and hold student interest. Bok feels the college lecture should be replaced with other modes of teaching. All this was interesting but really not germane to a factual aside which he mentioned to illustrate the sad moral state of the typical incoming college freshman.

Bok noted that polling shows that 90% of high school seniors feel they have a "good value system". Bok also reported that of these 90% the following was also true - 54% had cheated on an exam in the last year, 63% had lied to a parent about something important in the last year, and nearly 80% had lied to some other adult (eg a teacher, employer, etc.) about something important in the last year.

These statistics are very interesting. The fact that 18 year old students are cheating on tests or lying to important adults in their lives is not surprising. One might suppose that young adults have been cheating or lying a bit since time immemorial. That's part of growing up. What is alarming is that 90% of those surveyed thought they were in good shape morally. I believe that in other times the young adults would have said something like "I screwed up some", or "I haven't been perfect", or perhaps "I sinned some, but I'm trying to do better". The difference between then and now is not that sin exists, it is that sin is not readily acknowledged.

God wants to extend His forgiveness and mercy to every person. In fact, God wants to see every human being in heaven. But God is also just and he will not overlook the essential first steps. What are these steps? These are the acknowledgment (1) that each person is a sinner, (2) that no one can deal with sin without the help of God, and (3) that each individual has to take action, reject his sin and ask God to help him reform. The preceding sentence has been written describing the person who has only the dictates of his heart and the natural law to help him know God and himself.

Of course, for the Catholic Christian, the testimony of the New Testament and the Church makes it clear that all men are sinners and that Jesus came to die on the cross and thus provide the grace men need to deal with sin. The New Testament additionally points out that men must deal with their sin by confessing to one of Christ's apostle (or their authorized successors) and receiving absolution.

There has developed of late, a group of Catholics that talk endlessly of God's mercy but never seem to get to Confession. These Catholics are presuming on God's mercy and, of course, presumption is a sin. God is both just and merciful. It is true that "all have come short" and that "none can merit heaven by their own efforts"; so it is true that all ultimately depend on God's mercy for admittance to heaven. But Catholics can never forget that they must satisfy the requirements of God's justice first. Then God will dispense not only His forgiveness but also His mercy and ultimately allow admittance to heaven. ......(prepared by HVM on 4/25/2006)


The Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist are Two Parts of the Same Coin - The Catholic Church proclaims that Christ created seven Sacraments - Baptism, Reconciliation (formerly called Penance), Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and the Sacrament of the Sick (formerly called Extreme Unction). While all these sacraments are important, only two define the week in and week out life of a practicing Catholic. These two are Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist.

Reconciliation is the sacrament by which a Catholic can obtain forgiveness for his sins, he can obtain counsel, comfort, and advice about the particular difficulties in his life, and finally he can also obtain God's Grace to help him avoid sin and be virtuous in the future. The sacrament was created by Christ when he said to his apostles "whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven and whose sins you shall retain are retained" (Mt 16:19, 18:18, and 28:16-20).

Holy Eucharist is the sacrament in which (1) the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is recalled by the offering of bread and wine to God the Father, who in response to this faith filled offering and in fulfillment of Christ's promise (Mt 26:17-29, Lk 22:7-20, Mk 14:12-25, 1 Cor 11:23-26) (2) sends the Holy Spirit to make present Christ's body and blood to the gathered faithful as the priest recalls Christ's words from the Last Supper, and (3) Catholics present are given the opportunity to receive in communion Christ's Body and Blood and thus become physically united with Him. This sacrament, because it involves this profound encounter and union with God, is the most intense source of Divine Grace. It is rightly said that if a person could fully appreciate the profundity and depth of this sacrament a person could not help but be deeply changed - physically, mentally and emotionally.

But of course, very few can so appreciate the Holy Eucharist. Most people have not adequately dealt with their fallen natures, in other words with sin. It is this inclination toward and involvement with sin that blocks their full appreciation of the Eucharist.

Fortunately the sacrament of Reconciliation is at hand so people can, (1) with God's forgiveness given through the priest, (2) with God's grace to help them cope with sin, and (3) with the priest's advice, curb their fallen natures and allow the Holy Spirit to gain fuller access of their minds and hearts. As this reformation and reorientation occurs the Catholic becomes increasingly able to appreciate the wonder and depth of the Holy Eucharist.

Returning to the coin analogy found in the title. It might be good to think of the Holy Eucharist as a relatively thin piece of pure, 24 K gold and Reconciliation as a piece of pure copper. Now every one knows that 24 K gold is beautiful but impractical. Pure gold is very soft and is unable to withstand any harsh treatment. But when gold is alloyed with copper, it takes on strength and can resist abrasions and be polished to a high gloss. The Catholic who receives both of these wonderful sacraments regularly is positioned to handle life's trials and temptations more effectively while growing closer and closer to God........ (Prepared by Hugh Murray on 6/15/2006)


David Ricardo, Paul Craig Roberts and Alan Greenspan Provide Insight on Globalization - David Ricardo expounded the idea of "comparative advantage" under which he argued countries should focus on producing those products where they have a natural advantage and allow other countries to supply them with products where the other countries have a natural advantage. For instance in the 18th century, England might concentrate on providing wool products to Spain while Spain might concentrate on providing olive oil to England. Ricardo also articulated the idea of "absolute advantage" (and "absolute disadvantage") under which he argued that countries that lack any natural advantage on any important products have no choice but to erect tariff barriers to protect themselves from a flood of lower priced/higher quality products which necessarily will drive domestic producers out of business and create a steady trade imbalance which will impoverish the importing country. This second insight about "absolute advantage" is little discussed in the world today but is extremely important.

Paul Craig Roberts is a trained economist and a former writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page. In recent years Roberts has been vocal in pointing out that Ricardo's thoughts about "absolute advantage", rather than his thoughts about "comparative advantage", seem to be most applicable to America's current trading relationships with the rapidly growing economies of Asia. Roberts points out that year after year we have these huge trade deficits, and in every product category these countries seem to be able to develop cheaper or better offerings while America is unable to find any significant product categories against which these trade imbalances can be offset. For instance, in the large body airplane market, where America has been dominant, America's premier producer Boeing has lately been transferring technology and manufacturing to Asia. In high tech services, Microsoft has transferring a lot of programming to Asia. Even in agriculture, these Asian economies are becoming self sufficient. Roberts points out that America has no choice but to establish tariff barriers, if it wishes to maintain its strong middle class. The alternative will be to force America's middle class to compete directly with Asian workers who are prepared to work for $1.00 per day. American politicians, who have been bought and paid for by businessmen who support globalization, tell American voters not to worry that all will be well as American "creative and educational superiority " comes to the fore. Roberts says there is no justification for any such optimistic assertions.

A few months ago, Alan Greenspan was asked during one of his many appearances before Congress "What kind of higher education would you recommend a high school graduate pursue to be assured an strong position from which to compete in the globalized economy of the 21st century?" Greenspan was stopped cold. What the questioner had done was say "what area of the American economy offers a solid "comparative advantage" for the next 25 or 50 years?" The questioner wanted to know how he might direct the high school grads in his district. Greenspan after stumbling around for a couple of minutes finally said "tell them to pursue educations that give strong math and verbal skills." Greenspan at the time was Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and had greater knowledge of the economic statistics of the United States than probably any other economist. With his general catch all answer, Greenspan was admitting that America doesn't not have any identifiable areas of "comparative advantage", and inadvertently he was also admitting that Roberts was right about America's absolute disadvantage vis a via Asia and its need for protective tariffs. ........ (prepared by Hugh Murray on 6/22/2006)


William Polk is a National Treasure in this Time of Guerilla Warfare - Prof William Polk, of Harvard, author of The Birth of America, spoke on 6/6/2006 in New York about the problems he sees in guerilla war; although his remarks were general in nature the questions and answers caused him to focus more intensely on Iraq. Prof. Polk was introduced by John Brademas, the President Emeritus of New York Univ., who noted that Polk has been sought out for decades by policy makers in both the legislative branch and executive branch who have had to shape or direct US policy in the midst of guerilla wars. Prof. Polk made several enlightening comments including:

(1) The American Revolution was essentially won by the guerilla tactics of the revolutionaries. They attacked the British with hit and run strikes, they "tarred and feathered" Tories and forced them to flee to Canada. The British had the advantage of a better regular army and a navy that could deliver supplies and reinforcements nearly anywhere (just as helicopters and planes can today). The British by their rough tactics toward the settlers caused the number of revolutionaries to increase. Although Washington's armies were unable to consistently win battles, the growth of the guerillas, particularly in the south, sealed Britain's eventual fate.

(2) The officer class in any military is always unrealistically optimistic about eventual success against a guerilla rebellion. There are several reasons for their optimism including (a) the rapid promotions that come with service in a war zone and (b) the unwillingness to admit helplessness in the face of such a seemingly small, disorganized enemy.

(3) Guerilla warfare is very corrupting of the psyche of each solder that is trying to fight the guerillas. They inevitably are asked to do things like invade innocent peoples' homes and in the process innocent women and children are injured or killed. The psychic toll over time on healthy, normal soldiers is severe and can be irreversible. It can give these soldiers warped personalities. This is seen in some Vietnam Vets and is called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Particularly worrisome are situations were soldiers are asked to serve for several years in these stressful situations. (Gen. de Gaulle was particularly sensitive to this problem. When he decided to "sell out" the French settlers in Algeria (who had fought for years to suppress the Muslim guerillas) and give Algeria independence, the General knew he would have to bring the French in Algeria back to France. However he also knew there were about 17,000 hardened French solders in Algeria who had been mentally affected by the atrocities that they had committed against the Muslims. These hardened, partially deranged fighters might become more deranged if they were pulled back to France, so de Gaulle gave their names and locations to the new Muslim leadership so they could be "eliminated" before the evacuations to France occurred. ).

(4) Polk pointed out that Iran has been acquiring weapon systems that are particular useful to guerilla forces. He did not catalogue these by type, but one can imagine: land mines, explosives, small arms, remote controllers, etc. He went on to say that Tehran has been working hard at maintaining good relations with Shiites living across the Muslim world in such places as the eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia (where most of the oil is), Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon, etc. He said Saddam's secularism had isolated Iraq from the rest of the Muslim world and left Saddam with no chance of getting support from his neighbors. Iran's leadership, on the other hand, will have millions of friends in nearby countries should the US invade.

(5) The British, when they occupied Iraq following WWI, decided for efficiency sake to dismantle local clinics, schools, farmers markets, etc. Iraq's communities under the Ottomans had had a strong local focus. They felt they had local control over their food, schooling, and health. The centralization that the British started was continued by Saddam and over generations a strong sense of community was lost. People now have more negative motivations, they resisted the British, they wanted to get rid of Saddam's police, now they want to get rid of American soldiers. Dr. Polk feels they want local control back.

(6) American attitudes toward family life is very offensive to Muslims. Americans forget that through most of human history people of the Book (Christians, Jews, and Muslims) have had cultures where women and men had profoundly different life experiences and very different dress codes. For most of human history in Europe and the Mideast, women have remained covered and/or hidden and only men have operated outside the home. Modern western culture is the exception; the historical norm is closer to what our soldiers are encountering in Afghanistan and Iraq today. ........ prepared by Hugh Murray on 6/30/2006



prepared by HVM (x/xx/xxxx)

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This page hopes to bring a common sense, old fashioned view to today's news. The comments displayed on this page were prepared by Hugh V. Murray, who can be reached at hvm@aol.com