RE: We do not live in a KRITARCHY –rule by judges... Munro strongly supports Prop 8 in defense of traditional marriage

RE: We do not live in a KRITARCHY –rule by judges or in a CRYPTARCHY –rule by secret coteries. My definition of democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people.


except of a letter to a friend.


Dear X:



I know you don’t agree. But good people can agree to disagree. I strongly support prop 8 and because it I have come under a torrent of hate mail that I am against equality, that I am anti-gay, that I am against democracy and even that I am a racist etc. etc. But my conscience is clear. I don’t worry about personal attacks now; I did not worry about them in 1997-1998 when I supported Prop 227.



You know me well enough that I believe in living and let living and that I can peacefully coexist with the other be they of a different race, creed, sexual orientation or political persuasion. I respect the right of people to have a private live and live as they choose AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT HARM OTHERS nor do things that will HARM SOCIETY.



I do not believe the liberal doctrine of absolute equality of condition and absolute equality. Yet no one could be a stronger advocate for individual freedom than I but there are limits.



Blind people are not equal to you or me; they cannot be granted the privilege to drive an automobile and for good reason because the health and safety of the public is an issue.



13 year olds cannot drive legally and for the same good reason. Driving is a privilege not a right.



13 year olds cannot marry under any circumstances because by our law and tradition they are under the age of consent and even with the consent of their parents and guardians are considered too young to be able to commit to something as serious as marriage and child-bearing. 16 year olds (and slightly younger in some jurisdictions) can marry only with the consent of their parents or guardians.



Similarly, marriage between two consenting adults, one male and one female, is a privilege and not a right. T



he California Courts comparing gay marriage to interracial marriage is offensive and fallacious to me. It is offensive because our opponents claim we are sexist AND racist.



But racism has nothing to do with this campaign. This campaign is about defending democracy and the rule of law and defending the American family and in a real sense defending America itself. If we do not have strong families, we will not have a strong society. You can spend all the money you want in politicized schools but society will fall apart and drop in education standards as it is dropping now.



American society was built upon religious pluralism but all major groups agreed and had a consensus on some key issues such as the basic wisdom and goodness of the Bible and on marriage, monogamous marriage, between one husband and one wife and barring incest –though of course the exact definition and scope of incest varies somewhat.



You will recall the Reynolds v United States case (1879). The Supreme Court upheld a federal law against the practice of polygamy. Chief Justice Morrison Waite argued that the federal law prohibiting polygamy was not a violation of rights because polygamy was widely viewed as harmful to society and so for the good of society some rights-in this case religious practices- may be limited.



I am campaigning actively for Prop 8; Sunday I will dedicate four hours with hundreds of other volunteers calling registered voters all over the state to urge them to support Prop 8 for three basic reasons:



1) It is undemocratic for a coterie of judges to change fundamental laws and traditions of the people by fiat. This kind of judicial activism is abhorrent. The people already voted for Prop 22 affirming traditional marriage.

2) The unintended consequences of upholding so-called Gay Marriage may lead to a complete breakdown as to what is marriage. People will flock to California and unleash a torrent of law suits in all 50 states. In these troubled times this is nothing more than a vain and selfish act. Also I don’t see how they could stop incest, underage marriage , polygamy polyandry etc.

3) We have already seen how public schools are forcing pro-gay agendas in public schools. Teachers will be required to attend diversity training (indoctrination) and any criticism of the gay and lesbian agenda will be viewed as ‘hate speech’. This is creeping totalitarianism. I dare anyone to try to restrict my free speech. I will oppose it with every fiber of my being –to the death.



Prop 8 will not take away any rights from anyone; gay couples have with the recent civil union laws gained all the rights they say they wanted.



I just think everything about this gay marriage campaign has been duplicitous, underhanded, corrupt and undemocratic.



We do not live in a KRITARCHY –rule by judges or in a CRYPTARCHY –rule by secret coteries. My definition of democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people.



Prop 8 will be an expression of the people, by the people and for the people that is for the good of our civil society.



If Prop 8 fails, of course , I will peacefully coexist with a society which exalts the Ayres of this world and embraces many customs and practices which I think are wrong and morally evil.



But there is no question it would help alienate me from the government and the society which thinks marriage is not important and essential to the education of children and the good of society. I hope I do not survive to see the fall of the Republic but the seeds of its dissolution and fall are all around me. God help us. We are becoming an American Babylon.



I know you don’t agree but I wanted you to know how I felt. I don’t hate anyone, nor do I want to persecute anyone. People can live their private lives as they like. But marriage is a not a private matter. Marriage is a public matter a very public matter and is the most important social contract in our country by far. I agree with Dennis Prager that this could be a turning point in American history and that Prop 8 is one of the great issues of our times –more important than the ephemeral triumph of this party or that.



Sincerely,



Ricardo Munro




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: ROFTERS@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ROFTERS@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of R K MUNRO
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 12:10 PM
To: ROFTERS@yahoogroups.com
Cc: 'jul
Subject: RE: [ROFTERS] Re: Father Neuhaus Says it Well...Again



EXCERPT FROM A RECENT LETTER TO A FRIEND:

Dear X; it is God's truth: CTA gave 1 million to defeat Prop 8. As a
public school teacher I am ashamed. But personally it strengthens my
conviction as to the need to educate children in what is right and what is
wrong.

My wife and I were talking about it and she said it just means parents have
to work harder against the forces of evil and corruption in what is fast
becoming our American Babylon. (Of course she is aware that her Spain has
become a Spanish Babylon -Gay marriage already has been legal there for
years thanks to the Socialists)

And of course I am -on both sides of my family descended from families who
refused to go along with the official state religion; my mother's family
were Free Church Evangelicals and my father's family were Scottish Recusants
(though there are some Scottish Episcopalians -not Anglicans thrown in
there- but I was always told most Catholics publicly said they were
Episcopalian just to avoid trouble and persecution

I think traditional families are going to be persecuted and some as you say
will withdraw from society.

The sad part is even patriots like me start to doubt if the America we are
becoming is worth fighting for. Eventually it will get to the point of no
return. My worst nightmare would be to know my daughters or granddaughters
(none yet) were forcibly conscripted into the combat arms of the military.
Actions like that would not be 'equality" they would be the end of private
life and a true persecution of religion.

Gay Marriage is not equal rights; its about getting privileges and access
to money and inheritances and eventually Affirmative Action preference in
hiring and promotions. Marriage is a privilege and to me a sacrament -you
would call it a covenant I believe but it is the same thing-. Jesus' words
on marriage could not have been clearer.

See for example Benedict XVI's commentaries on Jesus's teachings.

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 8, 2006 (Zenit.org ).- Here is a
translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before reciting the
midday Angelus with the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday, the Gospel presents to us Jesus' words on marriage. He answered
those who asked him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife, as
provided by a decree in Mosaic law (cf. Dt 24: 1), that this was a
concession made to Moses because of man's "hardness of heart", whereas the
truth about marriage dated back to "the beginning of creation" when, as is
written of God in the Book of Genesis, "male and female he created them; for
this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become one" (Mk 10: 6-7; cf. Gn 1: 27; 2: 24).

And Jesus added: "So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has
joined together, let not man put asunder" (Mk 10: 8-9). This is God's
original plan, as the Second Vatican Council also recalled in the
Constitution Gaudium et Spes: "The intimate partnership of life and love
which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and
endowed by him with its own proper laws: it is rooted in the contract of its
partners... God himself is the author of marriage" (n. 48).

My thoughts now go to all Christian spouses: I thank the Lord with them for
the gift of the Sacrament of Marriage, and I urge them to remain faithful to
their vocation in every season of life, "in good times and in bad, in
sickness and in health", as they promised in the sacramental rite.

Conscious of the grace they have received, may Christian husbands and wives
build a family open to life and capable of facing united the many complex
challenges of our time.

Today, there is a special need for their witness. There is a need for
families that do not let themselves be swept away by modern cultural
currents inspired by hedonism and relativism, and which are ready instead to
carry out their mission in the Church and in society with generous
dedication. ( HIS HOLINESS THE POPE BENEDICT XVI)

Munro: marriage is between one husband and one wife. Anything else is
PORENIA and is morally wrong and evil. Sexual immorality is wrong. It was
wrong yesterday, it will be wrong today and it will be wrong tomorrow. It is
harmful to true love and harmful to children and families and in the long
run corrosive to society.

Most Protestant versions of the Bible translate the Greek word porneia with
the terms you mentioned. Porneia can mean any kind of sexual immorality. The
specific word for "adultery" used in 5:32 and 19:9 is moichaomai when it
says, "he commits adultery." Your interpretation requires that porneia and
moichaomai are synonyms, but I don't think that is the case.

Here is another article: http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0509sbs.asp

__

New York Times Reports:SARAH. "Palin has emerged as the most electrifying speechmaker among the four politicians on the major party tickets."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/us/politics/14palin.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y&oref=slogin





She’s intelligent, she’s adorable and she has the audacity to speak her mind,” said Ray Gilson of Corapeake, N.C., who attended the Virginia Beach rally. “I’ve never loved a politician like I love her. I want her to be president someday.” Many millions feel the same. This is not the end; it is just the beginning.



At least the NYT is sometimes honest enough to report real enthusiasm for Palin.



Ms. Palin has emerged as the most electrifying speechmaker among the four politicians on the major party tickets. She generates enormous fervor at her events; people sometimes do not stop clapping or shouting words of praise until Ms. Palin pauses.



But they are quick to point out:

But Ms. Palin’s partisan zeal could repel some independent voters in closely contested states like New Hampshire and Pennsylvania; Democratic polling in both states shows Ms. Palin with high negative ratings among independents. Palin advisers say many of these voters do not know enough about her; Ms. Palin is campaigning in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and New Hampshire on Wednesday.

This remains to be seen; the truth is there would be no race at all without Sarah Palin.



She jumpstarted a moribund campaign and gave it life. This is a tremendous achievement. Her ascent to national prominence is historic and is not a flash in the pan.



This may be like her Lt. Governor race which seemed like a defeat but like Lincoln’s 1858 Senate defeat to Douglas it really was a victory to be so close and OUTSPENT 20 to 1. In the next election, Palin then known statewide defeated all her opponents. Palin will be back and as I have said many times, no matter what happens, she cannot lose in November. She can only win. If it is close she will get credit and still be Gov. of Alaska and in place to achieve more reform and positive energy legislation. If Mac wins she will be the heir apparent; if he loses she will be the frontrunner for the 2012 GOP nomination.



At every rally in Florida, Ohio and Virginia Palin draws three , four , five times, ten times the crowds Bush raised in 2000 and 2004. There is no comparison. Many people supported Bush as the lesser of two evils –I never once met an enthusiastic supporter of Bush. Palin is a phenomenon and this is just the beginning. I recently spoke with a group of McCain supporters –even single one said they wished it were Palin’s turn and they were hopeful no matter what happened in November they would have Palin. (Munro)

QUOTE OF THE DAY by Thomas Sowell

But the country does not deserve to be put in the hands of a glib and cocky know-it-all, who has accomplished absolutely nothing beyond the advancement of his own career with rhetoric, and who has for years allied himself with a succession of people who have openly expressed their hatred of America.

THOMAS SOWELL, speaking of Barrack Obama 10/4/2008

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/10/03/do_facts_matter

War, Money, VD HANSON, and the last gasp of America

From: julzNC
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 11:11 PM
To: Richard Munro
Subject: War and money



Ancient thinkers from Thucydides to Cicero insisted that money was the real source of military power and national influence. We've been reminded of that classical wisdom these last three weeks.

That's Vic Hanson here: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzFhNDU0NmNkNDZkZGI4MDQ1YzM2NmJmZjQ3M2Y1ZTk=.



I have been pounding every table I could find in this matter for 20 years, especially in the last 8. I don't understand how this country could have conducted itself for so long as though money grew on trees, or streamed from the printing press, without horrific consequences.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Sean Sculley
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 8:12 AM
To: R K MUNRO
Cc: julzNC
Subject: Re: War and money



Yes, read this last week.

The real plague is that of multiculturalism, namely, THE MANDATE FOR DIVERSITY, that has colored if not directed every one's judgement for two generations.

Largely fostered by the educational establishment and then willingly propagated in businesses, the press and our scum politicians, should the Karamel Krooner get in, those tenets will become Law. The insertions in the once three, but now four hundred page so-called bail out plan make that quite clear.

There is no meaningful moral fiber, precious little intellectual curiosity, blah, blah, with which to resuscitate America.

Phillpe de Montebello's tenure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the sole exception and may, under the new director, a purportedly a civilzed man, may remain an island of his kind in sea of puke for another generation, possibly. Sarah America, (and the militray, particularly Pataeus's Army and the USMC), is the last gasp of a dwindling, mostly white minority that appreciate the difference between hard and soft, that knows virtue cannot be separated from brawn.
We can rail and explain all we want.

SCULLY



On Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 2:47 AM, R K MUNRO wrote:

Quite right of course VDH is right…it what happened to the British Empire 1946-1947. Essentially they were bankrupt and overextended. They have never completely recovered from 1914-1918. We could face the same fate EXCEPT we have some aces in the hole…we have food exports and vast natural resources of timber, natural gas and coal.



RM








My dearest Seanin –and friends-



I agree with you that Sarah America –Palinism may be the last gasp of White America and by that I mean English-speaking Christian America.



I certainly don’t imply any racialism or racial segregation. America is a nation of immigrants but it is not and cannot be people of nations of separate peoples. This notion of particularism and racial separatism and Marxian multiculturalism is particularly odious to me. We are one Nation, under God or we are nothing.



Palin’s family itself is racially mixed and all her children are of mixed ancestry as the blood of indigenous America flows in their veins.



And of course I myself have married into the Spanish-speaking world –also our cousin culture –we came from the same Christendom of the West.



Perhaps some forget that Scottish crusaders perished fighting the Moors in Spain and that the heart of Robert the Bruce lay in a place of honor in a Spanish cathedral for centuries but I do not forget the Men of Douglas and Keith who lay down their lives –not for Scotland and not for the Bruce but for the Spain and the Holy Faith.



These peoples –the Latin/Hispanic/Mexican peoples- are as I have said many times before our Western Allies and these peoples are and have been learning the art of freedom and democracy and gradually turning their backs to their deep heritage of feudalism and Spanish authoritarianism born in the cauldron of seven centuries of war for survival.



The Spanish-speaking peoples have great values such as a deep sense of sacredness and family which I deeply respect and honor and is one of the reasons I have married into that world- and things to teach us and they have great vigor; like a subterranean river their strength and forces runs deep throughout the continent.



But these people, like other immigrants, too must be assimilated to the American Republic and American ways if we are to retain our political unity.



We can live in a country with Americans of Latino ancestry etc but we cannot long endure in my view as a polyglot boarding house who have no loyalty and love to our states, our Armed forces,our Constitution and flag.



So let me be very clear –I am the enemy of racialists and Nazis and extremists and modern know-nothings and xenophobes. This is not just talk –the men of my race and line drained their dearest veins and blood twice in the last century in countless battlefields to stop the march of Prussian Militarism, Japanese Militarism and Nazi tyranny. My father’s and uncles’ and grandfather’s generation put these evils to the sword so even to imply that I or they are fascists or have any sympathy with the odious doctrines of those foreign dictatorships would be deeply resented.



But I do think there is such thing as an American culture and such a thing as American values and for want of a better word I call this White America. We can obfuscate and call this Western America but that doesn’t fit or European American or the culture of DWEM’s but that doesn’t fit or Anglo-Saxon America –that comes close or Christian America but it would be more accurate to say Judeo-Christian America or English-speaking America but that is not a term any American, let’s face it would use.. So I am being blunt and using a term that most Americans in the privacy of their homes would understand; it is not for most Americans an exclusive term but surely when African Americans accuse each other of ‘talking White’ –how can White be a language? –they themselves are using the same concept.



I consider myself to be an Anglophile but as most of you know I am not an Englishman nor the son or descendant of Englishmen but I respect and honor the best of that race and line and for example Washington, Lincoln, Churchill were all English and I think among the greatest statesman of our modern age or indeed anytime. I honor and revere their memory as I honor that Dutchman with a Scotch streak FD Roosevelt.



The Gaels have many virtues but unity and statesmanship of that level was never their virtue; they served as independent lieutenants to Romans and Englishmen that I freely admit. Roman law and English law are magnificent but could never have been created by quarrelsome, impetuous, and let’s face it primitive clannish Celts.



We can say what ever we want but Toynbee was right –we were the last White Barbarians of Europe. As Toynbee said the Iron Age in Europe ended on April 16, 1746. But let me say we entered the Union as free men and one of the reasons we loved America and gave to her all our heart and blood was that here was a land where a man could breath free and live as we say BYDAN FREE.



A strong English-speaking America can assimilate non Europeans to our culture and our language and our democratic way of life. What I call Bydan Free. The core of America is made of people who have been Bydan Free and not just since 1776. My race and line has always been Bydan Free. We never submitted to the Romans, the Vass (the Vikings) nor the Anglo-Normas nor the English; our heads were bloodied by unbowed.



For us Lexington was just another skirmish with the forces of Empire and enslavement going back to Mons Graupius (79AD and Alesia and before). We have an ancestral memory of a long rear guard action over the centuries with the might of Rome for as the Bard sang (and I translate)



FOR WHEN THE BEAT OF THE KETTLE DRUM,

Of the steely hard Roman come,

Taken were our own hilltops,

One by one,

In hellish storms of fire darts and missile…



Though unwritten and only half remembered the memory of a 1000 Numantias and Masadas in Spain, in Gaul, in Cisalpine Gaul-northern Italy Celtic speaking in the time of Caesar- Britain, Galatia- still runs strong. Ne obliviscaris. Do not forget.



Though I cannot prove this I am quite sure Sgt William Munroe –it was in his tavern that Hancock and Sam Adams met the night of April 18,1775 with Captain Parker- was very aware of the military history of his race and line –their brave defense of Mary Queen of Scots –their fighting by the side of Wallace and the Keiths and the Bruce against Longshanks and later against Cromwell. The had read their Paine –I am sure April 16 1745 and its aftermath crossed their lips and they talked treason to the King and Parliament. If they were Scots and sons of Scots how could they have not? For such people REMEMBER THE PEOPLE THEY CAME FROM and the FORTITUDE OF THEIR ANCESTORS who were BYDAN FREE. This love of freedom is more ancient even than our deep Christian faith and I realize that sometimes the pride and fury of this heritage of mire-catha –battle-frenzy or the ancient blood lust- lies just below the surface and threatens to break loose of the Master’s teachings.



The ancient voice says KILL OR BE KILLED and be a TERROR TO THE WORLD –take no prisoners- and essentially DIE WITH A SWORD IN YOUR HAND but the apostles bid us to channel our energies in defense of the good –our Holy Faith- and the meek and of womankind. That is the essence of course of Highland or Scottish Chivalry. One makes a oath to serve and Dread God and obey his commandments and to break that oath to kill for self or for lust or for revenge is the ultimate disloyalty. One renders under to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.



When I was a boy I learned of Bannockburn but also of Lexington –where the first Sergeant was a Munroe and veteran of the French and Indian War (Fraser’s Highlanders) and that 16 of the 77 men at Lexington were Munroes and over a third were the sons or nephews of Highland soldiers many of whom had been pardoned by Pitt after having been disposed under bills of attainder by the Duke of Cumberland and his grisly gang.



Recently I saw a rousing National Guard commercial an ode to the citizen soldier at Lexington and I could not help but think of my clansmen and kin Ebenezer Munroe who claimed to have fired the shot heard round the world. Knowing the hot blooded and proud nature of my race and line – I do not discount it.



Such men were BYDAND FREE they would never allow a Lowlander like Pitcarin tell them what they could or could not do.



When Pitcairn said DISPERSE YE REBELS that just fired them up. Five Munroes were killed or wounded that day. No one can say we are not a fighting race. But the defeat of the morning was turned into victory by evening and it was brave Englishmen, Welshmen, Scotsmen and New Englanders who did the job. It was, very much a victory of borderland people, up country English, lowland Scots, Highlanders Bristol people, Welsh people the kind of people who had never been entirely dominated by anyone and who refused to accept the yoke of tyranny from anyone. Not the Imperial Government of 1775 and not the Imperial Government of 2008. The elections of 2008 and 2012 may be the last stand for this America.





Either we take charge to ensure an EQUAL future for our children or we will be Affirmative Actioned to death and mediocrity and ultimately economic, military and political collapse.



Either we take charge to protect our natural rights to life liberty and property and our free exercise of religion and our right to bear arms or we will be ground beneath the wheel of oppressive confiscatory taxation of the Bold State.



Make no mistake if Obama nationalizes health care he will destroy vast swaths of private business and private employment and inaugurate the largest spoils system for Affirmative Action sinecures this country has even known. That is Michelle Obama times 10,000. or times 100,000. Non producers collecting $100,000, $200,000 and $300,000 a year.



When Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to the whole world –just to raise the tax base- it was basically a death blow to the Roman polity

I for one see in Affirmative Action Creeping Bold State Socialism the enslavement and destruction of the private sector and the pursuit of excellence..



For one thing service in the army was no longer a pathway to citizenship.



Latin ceased to be the lingua franca in many places and neither a lack of education or military service kept anyone from claiming land and being Roman. So many parts of the West simply ceased to be Roman. I remind all of you that Roman Britain Bavaria and Vienna and Switzerland were part of the Roman Empire for almost 500 years but in these places Latinity was all but extinguished.



Very soon the Roman Army was composed of mostly Barbarian hordes. At one of the last battles of the Roman Empire Aetius commanded fewer than 7,000 Roman soldiers –all the rest were garrison troops- and most of his Army versus Attila the Hun at Chalons were barbarians. “ I can just imagine the proud fury of the Visigoths in this campaign which may have saved the West from total annihilation. But it astonishing to think how the far the Roman Army had falling since the glory days of Caesar, Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. Sort of like the trajectory of the British Army. since 1945.



I say it without malice but England, that is to saw the UK could not withstand another 1940 today; they would fold in weeks so tiny is their Army, Navy and Air-force and so disarmed and cowed are their people.



In 1940 the common people were armed and rural people had shotguns and pistols to defend themselves. Not any longer. And the armed minority will be the true masters if the disarmed majority.



***



“The discomfiture of the mighty attempt of Attila to found a new anti-Christian dynasty upon the wreck of the temporal power of Rome, at the end of the term of twelve hundred years, to which its duration had been limited by the forebodings of the heathen." HERBET

The confederate armies of Romans and Visigoths at last met their great adversary face to face on the ample battle-ground of the Châlons plains. Aëtius commanded on the right of the allies ; King Theodoric on the left; and Sangipan, king of the Alans, whose fidelity was suspected, was placed purposely in the centre, and in the very front of the battle. Attila commanded his centre in person, at the head of his own countrymen, while the Ostrogoths, the Gepidae, and the other subject allies of the Huns were drawn up on the wings. Some manoeuvring appears to have occurred before the engagement, in which Aëtius had the advantage, inasmuch as he succeeded in occupying a sloping hill, which commanded the left flank of the Huns. Attila saw the importance of th e position taken by Aëtius on the high ground, and commenced the battle by a furious attack on this part of the Roman line, in which he seems to have detached some of his best troops from his centre to aid his left. The Romans, having the advantage of the ground. repulsed the Huns, and, while the allies gained this advantage on their right, their left, under King Theodoric, assailed the Ostrogoths, who formed the right of Attila's army. The gallant king was himself struck down by a javelin, as he rode onward at the head of his men; and his own cavalry, charging over him, trampled him to death in the confusion. But the Visigoths, infuriated, not dispirited, by their monarch's fall, routed the enemies opposed to them, and then wheeled upon the flank of the Hunnish centre, which had been engaged in a sanguinary and indecisive contest with the Alans.

In this peril Attila made his centre fall back upon his camp; and when the shelter of its intrenchments and wagons had once been gained, the Hunnish archers repulsed, without difficulty, the charges of the vengeful Gothic cavalry. Aëtius had not pressed the advantage which he gained on his side of the field, and, when night fell over the wild scene of havoc, Attila's left was still undefeated, but his right had been routed, and his centre forced back upon his camp.

Expecting an assault on the morrow, Attila stationed his best archers in front of the cars and wagons, which were drawn up as a fortification along his lines, and made every preparation for a desperate resistance. But the " Scourge of God " resolved that no man should boast of the honor of having either captured or slain him, and he caused to be raised in the centre of his encampment a huge pyramid of the wooden saddles of his cavalry. round it he heaped the spoils and the wealth that he had won; on it he stationed his wives who had accompanied him in the campaign ; and on the summit Attila placed himself, ready to perish in the flames, and balk the victorious foe of their choicest booty, should they succeed in storming his defences.

But when the morning broke and revealed the extent of the carnage with which the plains were heaped for miles, the successful allies saw also and respected the resolute attitude of their antagonist. Neither were any measures taken to blockade him in his camp, and so to extort by famine that submission which it was too plainly perilous to enforce with the sword. Attila was allowed to march back the remnants of his army without molestation, and even with the semblance of success.

***







See for example Creasy http://www.standin.se/fifteen06a.htm



PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNITION…we are going to need plenty of both if we are to survive. MUNRO




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Palin-Biden Debates: Stunning Victory for Sarah Palin is a game changer

“SAY IT AIN’T SO JOE…doggone it….we are going to look towards the future…” Sarah Palin



I agree with you about Fannie Mae but it ain’t over yet…Mac has TWO debates…centered on domestic affairs to launch an overwhelming airstrike on the Obama bandwagon. I think as in Midway McCain is holding back his best strikes for a knockout blow –a devastating knock out blow from which OBAMA’S NATIONAL CAREER MAY NEVER RECOVER. (and then it will be Hillary in 2012 possibly versus a Palin-Petraeus ticket.)



Palin was outstanding; I counted at least 10 clear factual errors by Biden TEN. Not arguable things but clear misrepresentations.. Biden claimed he and Obama would reduce taxes and waste when both have the reputation of being taxers and wasteful spenders. Palin was the clear winner. In an audience of independents 86% said Palin won. Watch the poll numbers go up next with for McCain.



Biden VOTED against COAL and said there was no such thing as clean coal. Biden voted against off shore drilling. Obama voted against it.

And both men have talked about mandating anywhere from 20 % or more of our energy to come from alternative resources at a time when 50% of our electricity comes from coal fired plants.

America is the Saudi Arabia of coal and has huge resources of natural gas. The McCain plan of clean coal, more than 50 nuclear plants for clean electricity and more American natural gas –the all of the above approach Palin mentioned is feasible.



She didn’t mention that Biden was AGAINST THE ORGINAL ALASKA PIPELINE and claimed it would wipe out the caribou population. In fact there are ten times as many caribou today as in 1973. The reason is the pipeline has created so many jobs for Alaskans and Native Americans that they can hunt merely occasionally for sport and do iron dog races rather than live a subsistent lifestyle..

Obama and Biden would wave the WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER. One of the best nights when Palin said NEVER AGAIN to the corruption on Wall Street and Washington. That is a hint of the McCain strike to come in the last two debates.



Biden promised tax cuts and talked about MRI’s but with the Obama-Biden plan would we all be on waiting lists as in Canada for YEARS to get treatment? What good is health care if you die before you can get treatment. That is Canada. That is Britain. It might even be Cuba. McCain’s plan is modest, economically feasible and appealing to middle class American. Erase state lines so there can be more choice in group plans and give every American a $5000 tax credit.



Yes there are many people who are uninsured but the vast majority of middle class Americans and retired people have good plans and good group and private insurance and they like getting the best medical care possible. My wife is alive today because they detected the tumor in December –had the biopsy by January 19-and operated before February was out. It was quite literally a race for survival. But due to outstanding preventive care, an outstanding surgeon and access to the very best voice specialists at UCLA my wife dodged a bullet, did not lose her voice or her health and is not 99% recovered (and getting stronger gradually month by month). I shudder to think what would have happened if we had had Socialized health care. Obama dangles Free Health care as a panacea to the American people but what he offers is a chimera. Socialism is and always will be the sly enemy of freedom, innovation and efficiency. The American system has brought the most innovation in medical technology and new pharmaceuticals of any country in the world. Do we really want to destroy this engine of innovation? Reform it certainly. Help more Americans get full access to it but not destroy it. That way lies madness, in my opinion.



Dick Morris said Palin was a superstar and she won the debate. He said –exactly what I told my wife and an audience of Independents and Republicans- that Palin’s performance was the best performance since the Ronald Reagan.



Now one can doubt now –looking at her solid record of reform, her executive experience, her success in laying out the foundation expanding and widening our energy with natural gas –defying the oil oligopoly, that Sarah Palin is qualified to be a Governor (one of the highest rated in the country with a strong record of bipartisanship), and qualified to be Vice President.



Biden was impressive in his own way –much more so than Obama – everyone with us said so!!! –BUT he seemed ill at ease trying to defend Obama whom he has criticized so often just months ago and whom he said was CLEARLY NOT READY OR PREPARED TO BE THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE.



And now he says that Barrack like some magic pumpkin has morphed into a highly qualified candidate for chief executive. INDEED, “Say it ain’t so Joe…SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!”



Sportin’ Life Obama –the mystery man whom even now we know very little –the man who has the thinnest resume of achievement of any presidential candidate in the entire history of the Untied States- could win, of course, it’s possible the American people might be bamboozled into such a wild gamble but then again that game plan AIN”T NECESSARILY SO!!!



And one thing is certain as I have been saying for weeks –we are watching the emergence of a new political force in America.



Sarah Palin has proved she has what it takes to lead and lead vigorously. Obama might win, and McCain might lose. McCain might win and Palin will win with him –and get most of the credit. But no matter what the outcome –it should be clear that SARAH PALIN CANNOT LOSE IN NOVEMBER. If it is close she will get the credit –still be a hugely popular governor with more chances to boost her already outstanding record. We are looking at the woman who is at this moment the woman most likely to be the first woman president of the United States by 2012 and 2016.



America’s love affair with Sarah Palin has just begun.



The Washington elites score Palin’s folksie accent and plain American speech –the Left course calumnies her and attacks her as a religious fanatic –falsely claiming that the church or churches she and her family belongs to are outside of the mainstream of American life.



But the truth is Sarah Palin’s religions beliefs are very much like mainstream America and that SHE DOES NOT BELONG TO THE CHURCHES SHE IS ATTACKED FOR HAVING ATTENDED. I have attended many religious services –out of fellowship or good manners- usually for baptisms and weddings but that doesn’t mean I accept the theology of those churches.



The attacks on Palin remind me very much of the attacks on Gen Scott –who was called falsely the “Roman Catholic Scott” and Stephen Douglas who was accused of being pro-Mormon for having Mormon friends and a secret Catholic because his second wife was Roman Catholic and raised all the children in that faith. But Douglas himself was not a religious man merely a man with tolerant view vis-à-vis the many denominations he encountered in his American travails. Sarah Palin is an authentic American personality.



I have studied American politics all of my life. I have read biographies of every president and every major political figure in American history from Fighting Bob Lafollette to Jane Addams to William Jennings Bryan, outspoken presidential nominee James B. Weaver and Mary E. Lease. It was Weaver who said –in 1892- “There is but one issue in the South. That is competition to see who can most hate the Negro. The that wins gets the nomination. The whole thing is a dead-drag on the country…Slavery must be the greatest of all crimes. Here, we are after all these years after it has been abolished, and we are still paying the penalty for it..” This was four years before Plessy V. Fergusson.



Perhaps you do not remember or know Mary E. Lease but she was an important precursor to every successful female candidate for state, local and federal government. She was a Populist in an age dominated by corrupt Republicans and Racist Redeemer Jim Crow Democrats. Like Sarah Palin, Mary E. Lease was good-looking,beloved and admired by those who knew her, courageous and plain-spoken. Like Sarah Palin she was a mother of a large family –Lease had four.



Mary E. Lease said: “What you farmers need is to raise less corn and more Hell!”. She went on:



“Wall Street owns the country. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people, but a government of Wall Street , by Wall Street and for Walls Street. The great common people of this country are slaves and monopoly is the master,” How the people cheered. If woman had had the vote she might have made governor or president. So people said at the time.



Tonight we saw the death shroud of the Old pre-1968 Democratic Party in the gaffe-prone godfather of Delaware Tort , ear marks and pork, Joe Biden. The only Senator left who voted AGAINST THE ALASKA PIPELINE in 1973 when Sarah Palin was in the 2nd grade and I was in high school. And we saw the rise of a new populist progressive Republican party –a party that has a real hope to hold its ground and win many electoral victories for years to come. This is the meaning and the essence of Sarah Palin. Her emergence and her freshness is like a whole new chapter in history unfolding before our very eyes.



Yes, I have seen every presidential and vice presidential debate since 1968. I have read and studied every race for election in American history. I have read histories of every election. And the biography of Sarah Palin, the personality of Sarah Palin, the wit of Sarah Palin, the authenticity of Sarah Palin and yes, the political instincts of Sarah Palin seems to me to be , as I have said weeks and months before to be ordinary but at the same time extraordinary. Classically Western and classically American right out of Turner’s frontier thesis.



Some consider me to be a wise and prescient man –some of you recall I predicted the triumph of Clinton and the closeness of the 2000 election, correctly predicted that George W. Bush would lose the popular vote. It would all come down to Florida –a state in which Mr. Bush took the early lead and NEVER WAS PASSED BY GORE.



But I was confident Ole W would win by the narrowest of margins because I knew how many Navy, Marine and Air Force absentee votes there were in Florida and that Florida State law allowed TEN DAYS for them to register.



Since I knew the spirit and opinion and fighting spirit of the men of the Sixth Fleet and Seventh Fleet and American bases around the world –there has never been a time I did not have a friend, former comrade in arms or former student who was not serving in one service or the other- I knew the military vote –particularly of the Navy and Marine officers and NCO’s –those most likely to vote would be overwhelmingly for Mr. Bush.



Bush never lost the lead. I was right and the liberal pundits were wrong. Joe Lieberman –you might recall –a man of honor knew this too and refused to countenance any rejections of legitimate military votes. If he had been a crook and if the Democratic operatives had been allowed to carry out such corrupt subterfuge, Gore may have won but the Republic and the rule of law would have been wounded and perhaps mortally so. McCain recognized this civic virtue in his old adversary Lieberman and it is why McCain –against the advice of many Republicans – campaigned for his honest Democratic friend against a fellow Republican. And Lieberman has paid him back with unstinting loyalty. Liberaman like Stephen Douglas and Daniel Webster will be remembered as one of those near great Americans who were true profiles of courage and civic virtue. NON MIHII NON TIBI SED NOBIS. “ Not for me alone nor for you alone but for all.”



October 2, 2008 is a date that will be remembered in American history. In Minnesota all America who wished to see saw it. A star was born. They were witnessing what Alaskans have known for years, what liberals call half in fear and half in unreasoned contempt the rise of Palinism.



Others have doubted in these past weeks and congratulated themselves on their conventional wisdom. As Fred Thompson said rightly such spinners of lies, calumnies, out of context quotations and impossible gotcha questions –the kind Obama never has to parry- ought to hang their heads in shame if they are capable of shame.



Palin showed her true mettle tonight and I feel the best is yet to come.



Obama will achieve the feat of being an interesting footnote in history rather like General McClellan or William Henry Harrison or James Buchanan.



And by saying this –for two of three of these Americans rose to the highest office of the land- I am saying that Obama might eke out a narrow pyrrhic victory in the general election as he did in the primaries and so back into the presidency as a relative novice completely unprepared and outmatched for the challenges ahead like Buchanan or Carter and so fail disastrously bringing America to the brink of moral, military and social catastrophe.



But I do not fear this even this mortal storm. Because the figure of our age may not be the superficial, charming Obama but that remarkable woman of Wasilla, Alaska who seems to be, at times, a reincarnation of TR, Annie Oakley, Harry Truman and that Mary E. Lease with whom Mrs. Palin, I am sure, would have had a lot in common.



Obama evokes a little of Adlai Stevenson,, a little of W.E.B Dubois, a little of William Jennings Bryan,, but especially Schuyler Colfax of Credit Moblier fame.



I would be very surprised if Obama can every escape the taint of Acorn, the Rev. Wright,, Fanny Mae not to mention his complete disassociation and disconnect with American victories in the field in Iraq, Afghanistan and other intelligences and counter insurgency victories in Asia, Europe and Africa that, remain for the present, unknown. The truth of his character and associations and his mediocrity will catch up to him eventually.



McClellan too wanted to cut and run and raise the White Flag of Surrender even though victory of the Union was clearly at hand.



We cannot know precisely how the future will play out but we can sense as through a glass but darkly that America will, in time, call upon the skills and virtues of Sarah Palin and discard the vain hopes of phoney Obama change.



John McCain himself will fade in history as Harrison, as McKinley as Gerald Ford or as the Bushes. But he will be forever remembered for his associations and his role in the emergence of Sarah Palin.



This is what Auld Munro thinks and this is what Auld Munro senses.



Sarah Palin –well done. It is a privilege to share this time and this century with you. She has my vote and support now and for years to come.



And like me there are legions, countless millions. And America is just getting to know her.



I do not know Sarah Palin as Whitman did not know Lincoln –Whitman knew Lincoln only from afar and by his deeds and his words- but Whitman recognized real greatness of heart and mind in honest Abe that man who came out of the wilderness.



I do not say what I say out of any hope of advancement or personal gain. All my life I have served as a citizen –and I have been active in several successful campaigns- and as a citizen only. Not for me but for the land I love, knowing that a good conscience is the best reward of all. Service is honor enough. That is the true essence of civic virtue.



But my sense of Palin is that she represents a new force in American politics and is the only hope for a progressive rejuvenating spirit in the Republican party which without her is moribund.



Sarah Palin is a game changer. She will bring onto the national scene men and women from without the tired old oligarchy of Yale, Harvard, and Columbia, men and women of the true North and West. They will bring about true change –not only in the Republican party but in Washington as well.



What a privilege it is to share the same century with such a genuine American personality like Sarah Palin.



She will make her mark on American history. We are witnessing history.



I feel more certain about this than anything since my cousin Helene Munro called to tell me she met, while a student a Junior College, a candidate for governor of California called Ronald Reagan. He talked to her face to face for about thirty minutes after giving a modestly attended speech with almost no media present. He stayed to talk to the students. She told me to watch him. Not only did every one say this was the man they wanted for governor but this is the man we want for president.



That was 1966 and since that time neither she nor I have ever seen a political phenomenon to match Reagan –until now. And her sense –what well call second sight- matches mine.



That might seem amusing to you or quaint or vain but I will never forget she was the first person to tell me that Ronald Reagan was the greatest American she had ever met and a man who seemed regal, avuncular and presidential all at the same time.



And, of course, she was right.



This I can see as ‘second-sighted Sandy could see the glory and the hope and the doom of Drummossie Moor, Gallipoli and the Struma Valley –April 1917.



All seemed hopeless –a handful of brave men were down to their last reserves of strength and their last cartridges, but one day changed everything and the world forever.



For they got the news that the Yanks were coming. America had declared war. It was a game changer.



Corporal Johnny Robertson 1st Battalion ASH –American Johnny he was known to the men because he had worked for Thomas Edison and had voted as a naturalized American citizen for Theodore Roosevelt- told them all that Germany would fall. It was, he said, only a question of months not years. And so such news was a very great encouragement. Somewhere, someplace there would be a place for them and a land of freedom. They did not know where –they would soon be scattered to the four corners of the earth but they knew Germany would not prevail.



The triumph of Palin will come though I know not if it will be in a month or in a few years. But come it will.



We too have got the news that a team of Mavericks is coming to clean up a Washington culture that has become the very sink of cowardice, corruption and obliquity..





Let us hope and let us pray,

Mac and Palin all the way.



RICHARD K. MUNRO, MA

Bakersfield, California October 2, 2008. 1052PM



AMERICAN TEACHER and American by choice and thanks to Sarah Palin, a proud Republican (I am like Joe Lieberman a former Democrat).

ON Israel I agree with Palin's statements 100%

On Sun, Sep 28, 2008 at 1:25 PM, R K MUNRO wrote:

Couric: You recently said three times that you would never, quote, "second guess" Israel if that country decided to attack Iran. Why not?

Palin: We shouldn't second guess Israel's security efforts because we cannot ever afford to send a message that we would allow a second Holocaust, for one. Israel has got to have the opportunity and the ability to protect itself. They are our closest ally in the Mideast. We need them. They need us. And we shouldn't second guess their efforts.

Couric: You don't think the United States is within its rights to express its position to Israel? And if that means second-guessing or discussing an option?

Palin: No, abso … we need to express our rights and our concerns and …

Couric: But you said never second guess them.

Palin: We don't have to second-guess what their efforts would be if they believe … that it is in their country and their allies, including us, all of our best interests to fight against a regime, especially Iran, who would seek to wipe them off the face of the earth. It is obvious to me who the good guys are in this one and who the bad guys are. The bad guys are the ones who say Israel is a stinking corpse and should be wiped off the face of the earth. That's not a good guy who is saying that. Now, one who would seek to protect the good guys in this, the leaders of Israel and her friends, her allies, including the United States, in my world, those are the good guys.

"Fabius Maximus claims this attitude betrays a "dangerous lack of understanding";

NOTE: Palin is well-known to display a full sized Israeli flag in her Governor's office

MUNRO: I agree with Palin's statements 100% that Israel has a right to self defense and WE CANNOT SECOND GUESS the efforts of an ally in the front line against Islamic Fascism. To me Israel is the Ypres Salient. In the front to survive you have to make split second decisions. For such life or death situations Israel must be its own master. Of course we should express our concerns. But it not up to us if Israel wants to have an invulnerable nuclear submarine fleet (at last reading they had five –two in the Indian Ocean and two in the Mediterranean and one to travel around Africa in reserve as a relief. I presume they travel via Gibraltar.)



What Palin shows to me is a courageous world view that there is such a thing as the free world and there is evil in the world, real evil. You may not agree with this worldview and perhaps you think it means nothing if Israel is wiped off the map, a small vital democracy and educational and technical and commercial center and an ally is annihilated and half the world's Jewry is exterminated. If we have learned anything from 1938 we should know appeasing aggressors will never work. Perhaps you don't agree with me or Palin. Fine. But Palin's view is very valid and held my millions of thoughtful and informed Americans.



Personally, I am relieved that Palin is not a wimp appeasing Europacifist screaming for disarmament. This world is a dangerous place. Iran is a rogue nation. If they threaten Israel's EXISTENCE or threaten the USA at home then they should have a bayonet to the throat. The US Marines can establish a perimeter to defend and keep open the straits of Hormuz and we can start planting roadside bombs within Iran. An attack on Iran by Israeli air forces seems, under the circumstances, inevitable.



If Palin acts like an airhead and says obliviously ignorant and stupid things like "FDR went on TV in 1929 to solve the Great Depression" (this is what the wise and experienced Joe Biden said) I will be the first to point out her mistake. But having a point of view , having strong convictions do not disqualify one for high office. I would say rather it is a prerequisite. Ronald Reagan –who read Hayek , Russell Kirk, Harry Jaffa and Paul Johnson- was also ridiculed for not having been an Ivy league man quoting all the Keynesian economics and left of center sociologists , psychologists and historians. But like Reagan or not the man had a strong foundation and a strong conviction of HIS WORLD VIEW which was arguably right at least some of the time. Reagan achieved many things –he established the petroleum reserve for example – and on balance was the most effective Republican president since Eisenhower and before that TR.



I don't expect Palin to be a god or my savior or my redeemer VP. I expect her to be a honest representative of the people and a defender and advocate of good values. I expect her to be a loyal lieutenant of Mac and to learn even more to prepare for greater responsibilities. I see in her great potential. I would agree with anyone that she is not ready to be PRESIDENT now, this very minute, certainly not as ready as she could be. BUT SHE IS NOT RUNNING FOR THE TOP SLOT. She is VP. And she is at least as experienced as Obama. And in my book she is intellectually better trained and sharper. Obama is a creature of the Big Liberal Elite and I disagree without almost everything he represents and stands for. And I do not believe he is seasoned enough to be president.



From what I can see most Palin attacks and dismissals are ideologically motivated. I see little evidence to take them seriously. Palin power will be around for a long time.



RICHARD K. MUNRO.

COMMENTARY CARLOS cemiami@gmail.com


Richard,



I don't understand the commotion regarding Palin's remarks, this is just like Santayana again...Those who fail to remember history are condemned to repeat it.



In 83' the man you cited, Reagan caused Earth shaking outrage by the MSM because he had the temerity to catagorize the Soviet tyranny as the "Evil Empire"....simplifying an issue to its core and throwing away all semblance of moral relativity.



This is what Couric and company represent....If we only talk to the Mullahs, if we only try to understand Al Qaeda, if we just reach to Castro, etc, etc.



No, Palin is right, the American people stand with the great state of Israel...her defense is paramount, she is on the front line of the battle against Islamo Fascism



We have very few true allies in this world, in my opinion....when all is said and done it would be the UK and Israel....



Great response.



CARLOS

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (THE BEATITUDES)

OUR VOCATION …….I. THE BEATITUDES

1716 The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching….The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven.
1723 The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love:
All bow down before wealth. Wealth is that to which the multitude of men pay an instinctive homage. They measure happiness by wealth; and by wealth they measure respectability. . . . It is a homage resulting from a profound faith . . . that with wealth he may do all things. Wealth is one idol of the day and notoriety is a second. . . . Notoriety, or the making of a noise in the world - it may be called "newspaper fame" - has come to be considered a great good in itself, and a ground of veneration. CARDINAL NEWMAN.
1724 The Decalogue (Ten Commandments), the Sermon on the Mount, and the apostolic catechesis describe for us the paths that lead to the Kingdom of heaven.
POOR in Spirit …I recognize my need for God. My relationship with God depends on His Grace.

MOURN….I feel the pain that sin, including my own, causes. I can let others know I am hurting without embarrassment. I can weep like Jesus did.

MEEK… I don’t have to be the strong one who is always in control. I can be tender and gentle. I have given my life over to God and I don’t always have to triumph. But with my strong faith, I can endure the evils and disappointments of this world.

SPIRITUAL HUNGER..I want to know God and his will more than anything –including my own pleasure, status or success. Righteousness is JUSTICE.

MERCIFUL I can share the feelings of those who are hurting, lonely or distressed and walk alongside them in their pain. God has given me sensitivity for the suffering of others and a compassion to help them.

PURE IN HEART I a completely honest with God and others. I don’t have to put on a false front or pretend to be something I am not. My life is marked with openness and integrity. My conscience is clear. I know the difference between right and wrong.

PEACEMAKER I work hard to keep channels of communication open with others. Rather than let anger and conflict to fester, I deal with them constructively. I help those around me work out their differences without hurting one another. I do my best not to insult or taunt others so as to preserve peace and friendship among all men and between God and man.

PERSECUTION I know for whom and what I am living. And for this I am willing to suffer and if need be stand alone for what is right. I can take criticism without reacting defensively or feeling self-pity. Even if I am repaid with ingratitude and scorn a new blessing will be mine: the Kingdom of God.
Sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we tread them, step by step, by everyday acts. By the working of the Word of Christ, we slowly bear fruit in the Church to the glory of God.

The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham.

The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven.

LATIN:

The Latin:
Beáti páuperes spíritu : quóniam ipsórum est regnum cælórum.
Beáti mites : quóniam ipsi possidébunt terram.
Beáti qui lugent : quóniam ipsi consolabúntur.
Beáti qui esúriunt et sítiunt justítiam: quóniam ipsi saturabúntur.
Beáti misericórdes : quóniam ipsi misericórdiam consequéntur.
Beáti mundo corde : quóniam ipsi Deum vidébunt.
Beáti pacífici : quóniam fílii Dei vocabúntur.
Beáti qui persecutiónem patiúntur propter justítiam : quóniam ipsórum est regnum cælórum.
Beáti estis cum maledíxerint vobis, et persecúti vos fúerint, et díxerint omne malum advérsum vos mentiéntes, propter me: gaudéte, et exsultáte, quóniam merces vestra copiósa est in cælis.


http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/16011.htm

St. Augustine’s Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount is very interesting.
3. What, then, does He say? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We read in Scripture concerning the striving after temporal things, All is vanity and presumption of spirit; but presumption of spirit means audacity and pride: usually also the proud are said to have great spirits; and rightly, inasmuch as the wind also is called spirit. And hence it is written, Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of tempest. But, indeed, who does not know that the proud are spoken of as puffed up, as if swelled out with wind? And hence also that expression of the apostle, Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. And the poor in spirit are rightly understood here, as meaning the humble and God-fearing, i.e. those who have not the spirit which puffs up. Nor ought blessedness to begin at any other point whatever, if indeed it is to attain unto the highest wisdom; but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; for, on the other hand also, pride is entitled the beginning of all sin. Let the proud, therefore, seek after and love the kingdoms of the earth; but blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4. Blessed are the meek, for they shall by inheritance possess the earth: that earth, I suppose, of which it is said in the Psalm, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. For it signifies a certain firmness and stability of the perpetual inheritance, where the soul, by means of a good disposition, rests, as it were, in its own place, just as the body rests on the earth, and is nourished from it with its own food, as the body from the earth. This is the very rest and life of the saints. Then, the meek are those who yield to acts of wickedness, and do not resist evil, but overcome evil with good. Let those, then, who are not meek quarrel and fight for earthly and temporal things; but blessed are the meek, for they shall by inheritance possess the earth, from which they cannot be driven out.
5. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Mourning is sorrow arising from the loss of things held dear; but those who are converted to God lose those things which they were accustomed to embrace as dear in this world: for they do not rejoice in those things in which they formerly rejoiced; and until the love of eternal things be in them, they are wounded by some measure of grief. Therefore they will be comforted by the Holy Spirit, who on this account chiefly is called the Paraclete, i.e. the Comforter, in order that, while losing the temporal joy, they may enjoy to the full that which is eternal.
6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Now He calls those parties, lovers of a true and indestructible good. They will therefore be filled with that food of which the Lord Himself says, My meat is to do the will of my Father, which is righteousness; and with that water, of which whosoever drinks, as he also says, it shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.
7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. He says that they are blessed who relieve the miserable, for it is paid back to them in such a way that they are freed from misery.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. How foolish, therefore, are those who seek God with these outward eyes, since He is seen with the heart! as it is written elsewhere, And in singleness of heart seek Him. For that is a pure heart which is a single heart: and just as this light cannot be seen, except with pure eyes; so neither is God seen, unless that is pure by which He can be seen.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. It is the perfection of peace, where nothing offers opposition; and the children of God are peacemakers, because nothing resists God, and surely children ought to have the likeness of their father. Now, they are peacemakers in themselves who, by bringing in order all the motions of their soul, and subjecting them to reason— i.e. to the mind and spirit— and by having their carnal lusts thoroughly subdued, become a kingdom of God: in which all things are so arranged, that that which is chief and pre-eminent in man rules without resistance over the other elements, which are common to us with the beasts; and that very element which is pre-eminent in man, i.e. mind and reason, is brought under subjection to something better still, which is the truth itself, the only-begotten Son of God. For a man is not able to rule over things which are inferior, unless he subjects himself to what is superior. And this is the peace which is given on earth to men of goodwill; this the life of the fully developed and perfect wise man. From a kingdom of this sort brought to a condition of thorough peace and order, the prince of this world is cast out, who rules where there is perversity and disorder. When this peace has been inwardly established and confirmed, whatever persecutions he who has been cast out shall stir up from without, he only increases the glory which is according to God; being unable to shake anything in that edifice, but by the failure of his machinations making it to be known with how great strength it has been built from within outwardly. Hence there follows: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What is love; or rather what are the the loves we need for happiness?

How can so many millions of us believe that love is the best thing in the world, and yet there be so little emphasis in our popular culture on what love is, as distinct from finding someone to love and to be loved by? John Lennon was quick to say “All you need is love” but he did not explain what love was. Was it just sex? Popular songs sometimes take a stab at it, but are better at phrasing questions than providing answers: “What is this thing called love?”, “Is this love?”, “I want to know what love is”, “How will I know when it’s love?” See Mathew 22:39; I Cor 13:4-7; Mathew 22:35-40, Luke 6:37, Luke 6:27) John 13-33) What is love? C.S. Lewis embarks on a personal and insightful exploration of affection, friendship, romance, and Agape Love or Charity. A wonderful book to read on this subject is C. S. Lewis The Four Loves (1960)
1) Affection (storge, στοργη) is fondness through familiarity, friendship with acquaintances , parental affection for children. Storge or storgic love is the instinctive affection most animals especially mammals have for their young.. Over time this can grow into a deeper friendship. But my Spanish wife often speaks of the importance of CONVIVIENCIA –there is no word for this in English either- which means “getting along with others; living together”. We might call it ‘socialization” but the Spanish word implies respect and affection. In other words, in is not likely you will develop a strong relationship with a cousin you see once a year at Thanksgiving. On the other hand if you go on retreats or camping trips or ball games with your friends and relatives on a regular basis you will develop a fondness, friendship and trust. In my experience “storgic” love fades quickly but the deep broad love of true friendship and true love encompassing the four loves last a lifetime and beyond. Truly love conquers all, including time.

2) Friendship, comradeship, platonic love.(philia, φιλια) is a strong bond existing between people who share a common interest or activity. Words used for this kind of love are DEVOTION, LOYALTY. It is used in the Bible for love but not as often as “agape/caritas” love. This is a strong feeling that people who serve together on the same ship or regiment develop. Many soldiers and Marines say for example that their closest relationships were with their fellow comrades, particularly if they experienced combat together. Teachers working on a faculty over many years develop this kind of friendship and so do people who share musical passions, hobbies or intellectual friendships. We do not want to be excessive in our self-love but neither should we hate ourselves. We should try to understand ourselves and our fellows. We should forgive small faults and cherish the good, especially of generous and loyal friends.

3) Eros (έρως) is romantic passionate love; physical love, a desire for sexual intimacy. Love in the sense of 'being in love'. Infatuation is what we call a relationship which is based mostly on EROS or sexual attraction. The impulsions of love are often compared with the pull of magnetism. Of course, EROS by itself can know adolescent love, adult love and illicit love (merely sex) but the highest and most satisfying loves are conjugal and familial not merely erotic. We must distinguish between true love and the murk of mere sexual lust.

4) (agapē, αγαπη) is selfless altruistic love ; an unconditional love directed to others; divine love or Christian love; “God is love”. Conjugal love at its best begins with the first love and perhaps the third love but is sustained by the second and the fourth which is the greatest love of all. This is usually translated in the New Testament as CHARITY (Caritas). UBI CARITAS DEUS IBI EST. “Where love is there is God also.” Human love is a thing of the spirit as well of the body. This perfect love is more than fallen human nature can come by and sustain without God’s love and grace. Only then do we participate in God’s love for Himself and His creatures –loving God with our hearts and souls entire and our fellows as ourselves. These are the essential precepts of the truest and deepest and an everlasting love.

THE LAST HARRAH looking back at a great film by JOHN FORD based on the O'Connor novel

• SPENCER TRACY IN “THE LAST HURRAH” –a story of American politics
•
• DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD (FOUR OSCARS BEST DIRECTOR)
• With a splendid cast of supporting actors some of whom are among the most famous of the 20th century such as Basel Rathbone (Robin Hood), Jeffery Hunter (The Searchers), Donald Crisp How Green was my Valley, John Caradine (The Grapes of Wrath)
• BASED ON THE CELEBRATED NOVEL by EDWIN O’CONNOR 1956 bestseller
• Edwin O'Connor, The Last Hurrah (Boston, 1956)
ISBN 0316626597 (Paperback edition)

• He wrote another fine book the Edge of Sadness (1961) about an aging priest.


MAIN CHARCTERS IN “THE LAST HURRAH”
• Frank Skeffington (SPENCER TRACY) is the INCUMBENT mayor of an unnamed city as well as a former governor of the state. He is usually called by the honorific title "Governor." He is a widower and he does not have a close relationship with his son who is a party animal. He represents the Irish Catholic Democratic party machine politicians who dominated big city politics in Boston , New York and Chicago from the 1870’s until the 1960’sSkeffington, is 72 and has been giving signs that he might consider retiring from public life at the end of his current term, surprises many by announcing what he had always intended to do It is commonly believed that the character of Skeffington is based on the person of historical James Michael Curley(1874–1958).
• The Irish-born Cardinal is a (DONALD CRISP) in the Roman Catholic Church; he grew up with Frank in the inner city slums. Hebelieves that Skeffington has disgraced his religion, his fellow Irish-Americans, and his office.
•
SKEFFINGTON’S PEOPLE (his inner circle)
1)Sam Weinberg, one of Skeffington's advisers, is Jewish and a shrewd political observer; he is wary about Skeffington's chances for re-election. Until recently most Jewish voters were associated with the Democratic party due to their immigrant background and anti-Semitism of some “country club “ Republicans.
2) John Gorman,another of Skeffington’s advisers, is a senior ward boss and a master politician; he is torn between his faith in Skeffington and his cold-eyed political realism.
3) Ditto Boland is an ardent supporter of Skeffington. Like many of Skeffington's acolytes, he does his best to mimic his hero's dress, manner of speaking, and personality. He has so few views of his own that he has won the nickname "Ditto" from Skeffington, a nickname that he accepts with pride because his hero has conferred it on him. Nobody remembers his real first name any longer, and even he seems not to use it.
4) HIS NEPHEW: Adam Caulfield (JEFFREY HUNTER) ( is Frank Skeffington Senior's nephew and a cartoonist for a local newspaper, where he draws a comic strip that he created, "Little Simp." He is 33 years old. He genuinely loves his uncle event though his young wife Maeve Caulfield and her father Roger Sugrue, does not. Maeve is a very Irish Gaelic name. Many of the characters are Irish Catholics.
5) HIS SON: Frank Skeffington Jr. is the son of the mayor, Frank Skeffington senior. He is a disappointment to his father, as he has no ambition and seems only to be interested in dancing and socializing.


HIS ENEMIES and RIVALS
• Norman Cass, Sr. (BASEL RATHBONE) An old Yankee, presumably of the Republican party who supports Skeffington’s opponent out of a spirit of revenge, envy and hatred.
• Norman Cass, Jr (his silly son; a weak pathetic figure.
• Amos Force (John Caradine) Amos Force another venerable Yankee, that is WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) is the publisher of the leading newspaper in the city; for an array of reasons -- personal, political, bigotry, and family -- Force loathes Skeffington and is committed to seeing him lose his latest campaign for re-election as Mayor.
• His OPPONENT Kevin McCluskey, Skeffington's designated political opponent, a young and handsome veteran of World War II with virtually no political experience. He is probably based on future president John F. Kennedy, who succeeded Curley as congressman from Boston's 11th district in 1946.

NOTES: The is a faithful adaptation of the book which despite its setting in the 1950’s, seems to evoke an early era such as the 1930’s or 1940’s. For example, there is no evidence of Puerto Rican emigration (very heavy in the 1950’s) and there are virtually no black characters (very typical of many movies of the 1950’s). There are ethnic immigrant characters –Jewish and Italian- but once again the ethnic patterns mirror 1920-1950 America. So even when the movie was made (1958) this part of the movie was dated. On the other hand JOHN FORD was a master movie-maker and he makes FRANK SKEFFINGTON and his circle come alive. He updates the book by anticipating the impact of TELEVISION ON American politics. Today we have the internet and cable television so in a way THE LAST HURRAH is a historical document of an era that is gone. But on the other hand politics is politics. It is getting PEOPLE to listen to you, to like you and above all TO VOTE FOR YOU. To win you need MONEY, YOU NEED SUPPORTERS and YOU NEED the machinery of a POLITICAL PARTY. The first quality any politician has to have is not being handsome, not being wise but GETTING VOTES. RICHARD K. MUNRO September 19, 2008


QUESTIONS The Last Hurrah
1) Frank Skeffington is the incumbent mayor . What does that mean?
__________________________________________________________________
2) How do Frank and his cronies APPEAL TO THE ELECTORATE?
_________________________________________________________________
3) Why is Mr. Boland have the nickname of “Ditto”?
_________________________________________________________________
4) Frank Skeffington is the main character but most of the story is told from the view point of which character?
___________________________________________________________________
5) The main body of the novel gives a detailed and insightful view of urban American politics, tracking Skeffington and his nephew Adam through rounds of campaign appearances and events. Describe some of the main events of the campaign:
A)____________________________________________________________
B)____________________________________________________________
C)____________________________________________________________
6) Is Frank the main character viewed sympathetically?
__________________________________________________________________
7) Some political campaigns have been marred with corruption, intimidation and violence. There is great rivalry between the parties but they all seem to play by the rules or the SOCIAL CONTRACT. Nonetheless, there are some political “dirty tricks”, What Name some of the “dirty tricks” the politicians use to influence the election.
____________________________________________________________________
8) Are there any similarities between this campaign and the 2008 presidential campaign?
_____________________________________________________________________
9) If Barrack Obama were to see this movie (he probably has) what do you think would be one of his reactions?
_______________________________________________________________________
10) What is the result of the election? What happens to Frank?

New York Times mostly hate Palin -Probably a good sign

Richard,

Respectfully, please post this letter/analysis of yours on your blog, it would be a great service to America. It is so utterly incisive and cogent...clearly framing the historical significance of Gov Palin and her relation to the greater brush of history!!!

Great job, buddy... CARLOS


On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 2:40 AM, Richard Munro wrote:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/opinion/l16politcs.html?pagewanted=2&tntemail1=y&_r=1&emc=tnt



Most NYT letters are anti-Palin (any surprise??? But they do at least have some sympathetic letters but the result is very skewed .. NYT readers will not swing Penn., VA or Ohio. MUNRO





I love the Big Liberal arrogance of this letter:



Quote: The fact that conservatives are so enthusiastic about the possibility of Ms. Palin's becoming the leader of this country is telling. It indicates that, in their quest for power, they would knowingly install a complete incompetent in charge of our government. They are, as usual, pandering to the least sophisticated Americans to achieve their goals. END QUOTE



MUNRO: I have no quest for power; only honest government for America. If Sarah Palin is a COMPLETE INCOMPETENT then what is Obama a person with almost no experience in the market place and as an executive and with the slightest resume of any presidential candidate IN HISTORY.

Obama is plain and simple a creation of the Affirmative Action Quota mentality of the Democratic party. If there had been winner take all primaries as in the Republican party, Hillary would have won the nomination. Fortunately for America the Democratic party does not have a multiplier for there votes. I am sure they would like to. They would like to multiple McCain=Palin votes by .5 and Obama –Biden votes by 1.8. A similar multiplier gave OBAMA MORE DELEGATES THAN HILLARY in Texas EVEN THOUGH SHE OUT POLLED HIM by many thousand of votes. The best evidence of the rigged Democratic system was the fact that African-Americans were 24% of their delegates. This is far in excessive of their percentage of the population.

White males, Roman Catholics, veterans, Evangelical Christians, Hispanics, Native Americans (including the RC Bishop of Denver!!!) were all underrepresented. FACT: the Democrats have not won a majority of White male votes since 1964. In other words this election will be won by any slight shift in the women's vote or the married women's vote. Mac seems to be doing just fine. I though Palin was an idiotic choice???? So far Mac looks like a genius and Obama looks like a man of weak judgment. JFK picked LBJ …he was smarter…he wasn't so inexperienced…he was ruthless…he wanted to win….Obama's poor judgment and vanity will do him in eventually, in my humble opinion….

I support Sarah Palin because I think she is a truly populist Republican as opposed to a Country Club/Wall Street Republican (or Beltway insider Democrat).

I support Sarah Palin because she is a refreshing change from all the Yale lawyers thrust upon us year after year as if they were God's gift to humanity.

If Sarah Palin were on the ticket I would vote for her over every president of the 20th century except Ike, FDR and TR. I believe her candidacy is historic. I believe her career portends a remarkable career which has only begun. I am not the only one who says we may in fact be witnessing the dawn of the Age of Palin.

I have always told my students I expected two things in my lifetime a woman president and a woman Pope (why not?) and people are excited because Sarah Palin is a perfect choice to be groomed as a future president. Not now; in four years time or more. The torch has passed to a new generation that is for sure.

Time will tell if my nose for Palin's talents were correct. As a teacher I meet talent in the most unexpected places. And I can tell you very few of my students were star athletes AND avid readers AND deeply moral, religious persons. A person like this, quite frankly, has a special sensibility. I sense quite frankly a certain genius behind the pretty forty-something face perched on a Hollywood figure. The liberals are horrified of course because they think all religious conservatives must be plain, ugly Nazi cows.

Palin's real appeal is to the old American verities of God , Duty and Country of American self-reliance and American individualism – I see in her the influence of Lincoln, TR, Truman. I have mentioned before that Palin could be a flash in the pan like William Jennings Bryan but I don't think so because I think Palin is wiser and cannier than Bryan. I have never met her myself but have written to people who have met her in Iraq/Kuwait (Yes she visited Kuwait and visited a border post in Iraq). The Army , Navy, Marines and Guardsmen were absolutely smitten by her and her personal story. Marines like a good looking woman but are in AWE of one who shoots as well as a Marine Sharpshooter! In awe. Who is this gal???? Where did she come from????

If they could have stormed the Palatine and pronounced her Empress of Rome they would have done it. Do not discount the Palin charm and charisma. She has it in abundance.

What is most impressive to people who know her and her family is that theirs is a family of teachers and readers and leaders in their local town and church communities. Palin was most known as a young girl for being a shy, modest, chaste, serious nearsighted bookworm. Somewhere along the way she found great courage –perhaps in the hunt with her father. But anyone who thinks Sarah Palin is an unread country bumpkin will be surprised. A traditionalist yes but a pragmatic traditionalist.

And the Palin phenomenon continues to grow. People like her and trust her. The people that is. Not public (big liberal) establishment intellectuals. And I will say it again…Palin herself CANNOT LOSE THIS ELECTION. It is not really hers to win. If it is close, people will say she did it. And she will be a governor and a Republican frontrunner with great name recognition. If Mac wins people will say she did it. Once again her career seems to be similar to TR especially (a favorite of McCain). In fact, one wag joked that she WAS TR (reincarnated). I don't believe in reincarnation myself but I do believe in guardian angels. If TR is a guardian angel he is with Palin. So is Molly Pitcher. So is Sergeant York. So in Annie Oakley. And who knows who else???



Of COURSE, liberals think ALL religious conservatives and ALL conservatives in general are incompetent.

I don't consider myself to be a less sophisticated American. I studied Palin's bio and decided six months ago was the most remarkable woman Governor in America Democrat or Republican.



(Richard K. Munro)