A chairde —
Now . . . don’t tell
me you really expected a Certified Public Accountant who sings in two choirs to
do a full-blown newsletter right after the Easter Triduum and before April 15.
Oh. You were serious
about that? You’ll have to pardon me,
then. I missed all the e-mails
jam-packed with news and information you-all sent in. . . .
Looks as if you’re
stuck with another rush job . . . and I’m still looking at two more tax forms
in the face, leering at me on my desk.
Beannachtai!
Michael
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Contents
Announcements
Organization,
Publication and Membership Information
Letters
News and Reports
Articles
Food
Reviews
The Fourth Page
Announcements
As a newsletter, we rely on you to tell us what’s going
on. If you have an announcement for an
upcoming event, please let us know. Just
keep in mind that we try to publish on the 17th of every month, so
get your announcements in at least a few days before that. Otherwise, consider sending it in as a report
or a news item for the subsequent month.
• The Usual Nagging Announcement. We still have a number of subscribers who are
probably wondering why they’re not getting the newsletter. It’s because they haven’t verified their
subscriptions by clicking on the link in the e-mail Google sent to their
specified e-mail address. If you
subscribed but have not received the newsletter (which means you’re visiting
the blog and are reading this there), it’s an easy matter to correct. Enter your e-mail address again, and Google
will send you another verification e-mail.
• The Colonel John Fitzgerald Division of the Ancient Order
of Hibernians in America in Arlington, Virginia, has slightly changed its venue
again. It is still the third Sunday of
each month, but it has shifted from St. Thomas More Cathedral School to the
classroom in the crypt of the Cathedral, a.k.a., Burke Hall. There’s still no bar, but the meeting is
easier to get to for those of us who sing at the 11:00 Mass on Sunday at the
Cathedral since it’s right across from the choir room. The next meeting is this coming Sunday.
Organization, Publication and
Membership Information
What We Are
Litir Scéala an tSIG
Gaelach is the newsletter of the Irish Special Interest Group of American
Mensa, Ltd. More information about the
SIG and this newsletter may be accessed by clicking
on this link.
Resources
We are preparing to put together a list of
resources and organizations that might be useful to our members. Due to the global scope of our readership, we
are trying to limit the list to organizations that extend beyond a purely local
constituency. This is a matter of simple
logistics, due to the immense number of organizations out there. If you’re looking for a local group to get
involved with — and we encourage that — do an internet search. You may be both amazed and pleased at what
you will find. We expect to list
resources as we rebuild our membership, but right now . . . oh, you know the
rest.
Who We Are
No new members this month, blah, blah. We have an increasing number of visitors and
casual readers, — no, really — but that’s not going to get the SIG reactivated
officially, however gratifying it may be personally.
Anyway, here’s this month’s membership report:
5 Members of
Mensa
2 Other
1 Institutional
Member
25 Newsletter
Subscribers
33 Total Circulation
(This does not include forwarded newsletters or visitors to the website who
have not signed up for the newsletter — nearly 900 to date.)
Letters
We had a few admin notes back and forth between the
Coordinators, but nothing earth-shaking.
Evidently, none of our members or subscribers have anything to report.
• The letter-turned-book we’ve been ranting about is almost
finished.
• We haven’t heard from the other publications we submitted
articles to. You know what I think? Never mind.
You can probably guess what I think.
• The new pope has been going on about detraction for some
reason. He’s down on gossip, calumny,
backbiting, and so on. You don’t think
he suspects something, do you?
News and Reports
Members of the Irish SIG don’t usually belong only to the
SIG, but to other groups with an Irish orientation as well. This is all to the good — the more society
becomes more social, the better
chance we have of influencing our institutions in a positive way and carrying
out “acts of social justice” aimed at improving the common good for
everybody. We want to encourage your
community participation and then report on local events in which SIG members
took part.
• We still haven’t read Fulton Sheen’s Communism and the Conscience of the West. All in good time. As soon as I finish mixing up the first
person singular and the editorial we, no doubt.
• We’re rallying at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC,
on Friday, April 26, 2013, to demonstrate for Capital Homesteading. Be there, or . . . what the heck. Just be there.
Articles
Feature Article: How
Everyone Can Own Land Directly
The Easter Proclamation of 1916 asserted the right of the
people of Ireland to ownership of Ireland.
That is a very fine statement.
The only problem is how to do it.
Most people figure that, since there is only so much to go around, not
everyone can own land or benefit from land ownership without violating
somebody’s rights.
The assumption of many people, of course, is based on a
gross misunderstanding of the economic principle of scarcity, which they
automatically assume means insufficiency.
For example, they assume that the only way to finance new capital is by
cutting consumption and accumulating money savings. This, while incorrect, leads to the
conclusion that only the rich can own, or that the State must own or control
the rich so they do what’s right.
It’s worse with land.
The belief that new, non-land capital can only be financed out of
existing accumulations of savings (i.e.,
cuts in consumption) is not even an issue with land, because there can be no
such thing as new land. “They” aren’t
making any more.
In 1879 agrarian socialist Henry George tried to address the
problem of limited land. He published Progress
and Poverty. In this book George developed a proposal that would
presumably allow everybody to share in the benefits of owning land and natural
resources. Because land is a limited form of capital (so he reasoned) not
everyone can own some directly. There's only so much to go around.
That being the case, it made sense (to George) that the State should own on behalf of all the citizens. He even thought of a way that would allow socialism and capitalism to co-exist peacefully. People could retain legal title to land and natural resources, but the State would make that title meaningless by taxing away all profits attributable to land.
That being the case, it made sense (to George) that the State should own on behalf of all the citizens. He even thought of a way that would allow socialism and capitalism to co-exist peacefully. People could retain legal title to land and natural resources, but the State would make that title meaningless by taxing away all profits attributable to land.
This "single tax" would allegedly allow the State
to meet all expenditures without any other tax being imposed. People
could directly own all other forms of capital, e.g., machinery, systems,
computers (Babbage invented what many regard as the first computer early in the
19th century), and so on, but everyone would indirectly own land through the
State.
Two problems. One, having abolished the most "traditional" form of private property in capital — land ownership — George's proposal would have made all ownership tenuous and subject to the will of the State.
Two problems. One, having abolished the most "traditional" form of private property in capital — land ownership — George's proposal would have made all ownership tenuous and subject to the will of the State.
This is, in fact, what Monsignor John A. Ryan did in 1916 in
his book, Distributive Justice, when he reformed George's
proposal by applying it to all capital, land and non-land. Ryan's
argument was that the single tax is not unjust per se, but it becomes
unjust if the State takes all profits instead of most profits,
and limits it to one form of capital, i.e., land.
At about the same time, Major C. H. Douglas took the same concept and reformed it yet again. Where George said that the State should control (effectively own) only land by taking all profits from land, and Ryan said that the State should control all forms of capital by taking most profits from both land and technology, Douglas said that the State should control only technology, distributing all profits except for what is needed to finance new capital to everybody in the form of a national dividend.
Two, just as some people can make the argument that all production is due to human labor, others can (and have) made the argument that all capital is ultimately a form of land. Those machines are made of resources coming from the land, aren't they? That means that, just as all capital is simply "accumulated" (or "congealed") human labor, all capital is ultimately just land in another form.
If you're getting a headache, don't worry. Consistency is not the strong suit of those whom Pope Pius XI referred to (in quotes) as "intellectuals"(Quadragesimo Anno, § 55). All will presumably be well if you just allow the "intellectuals" to twist your mind sufficiently so that you can make the most arrant nonsense at least sound reasonable by citing an authority . . . whether or not the authority said any such thing or even exists.
Anyway, there's an easy cure for your headache. It's to realize that the corporate form of ownership is a way for ordinary people to own directly even the scarcest and most limited forms of capital: the Citizens Land Bank. It’s a way of gaining the objective Henry George sought, but without destroying private property in the process.
At about the same time, Major C. H. Douglas took the same concept and reformed it yet again. Where George said that the State should control (effectively own) only land by taking all profits from land, and Ryan said that the State should control all forms of capital by taking most profits from both land and technology, Douglas said that the State should control only technology, distributing all profits except for what is needed to finance new capital to everybody in the form of a national dividend.
Two, just as some people can make the argument that all production is due to human labor, others can (and have) made the argument that all capital is ultimately a form of land. Those machines are made of resources coming from the land, aren't they? That means that, just as all capital is simply "accumulated" (or "congealed") human labor, all capital is ultimately just land in another form.
If you're getting a headache, don't worry. Consistency is not the strong suit of those whom Pope Pius XI referred to (in quotes) as "intellectuals"(Quadragesimo Anno, § 55). All will presumably be well if you just allow the "intellectuals" to twist your mind sufficiently so that you can make the most arrant nonsense at least sound reasonable by citing an authority . . . whether or not the authority said any such thing or even exists.
Anyway, there's an easy cure for your headache. It's to realize that the corporate form of ownership is a way for ordinary people to own directly even the scarcest and most limited forms of capital: the Citizens Land Bank. It’s a way of gaining the objective Henry George sought, but without destroying private property in the process.
Food
Balls of Death
I call these “Balls of Death” because they almost killed a
member of the Cathedral Choir who is allergic to nuts. It wasn’t my fault. They were clearly marked. It’s just that a soprano (feh) who was not
aware of the person’s allergy stuffed one into the other person’s mouth,
causing a great deal of excitement.
All amounts are
approximate
1 lb of Walnut pieces (Trader Joe’s. Don’t get the whole nuts, you’re going to
chop them).
3 lbs cheap butter cookies (“Murrray’s” at Shoppers for $1
for a 10 oz. pack do well. You want four
packages).
¼ generous cup of light corn syrup
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of cheap dark rum (the harshness doesn’t matter
because the sugar smooths it out).
With a food processor turn two packages of cookies into fine
crumbs and put them into a mixing bowl.
Do the same with the walnuts. Add
the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, sugar first, then mix. If it’s not thick enough, make more cookie
crumbs, half a package at a time, until you’ve got a thick dough. This may be as much as three full packages
and part of the fourth, but it could be less, too. Put in an airtight plastic container and
chill at least overnight. As it stands,
it should last for several weeks. When
you want the balls, roll them in your hands, then put about six at a time in a
small plastic container with powdered sugar, cover, and roll around in a
circular motion.
Reviews
Can I review a review?
Sure I can. Here goes. I wrote this in to the Wall Street Journal
when a review said something stupid about a book. Much to my surprise, the reviewer actually
wrote back to tell me I was completely wrong about everything I said,
especially the main point of the letter that he completely ignored.
April 1, 2013
The Editor
The Wall Street
Journal
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York City, New York 10036
wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Dear Sir:
Dr. Jeffrey Hummel makes a common error in his review of
Benjamin Bernanke’s book on the Federal Reserve and the financial crisis. He states, “To his credit, Mr. Bernanke
considers the merits of the classical gold standard, in which the dollar was
fully redeemable for a specific quantity of gold.”
At no time in the history of the United States has the
dollar ever been “fully redeemable” in gold or any other precious metal. The only currency fully redeemable in gold
was the gold certificate. Silver
certificates were redeemable in silver.
Prior to 1933, the United States Notes, National Bank Notes,
Treasury Notes of 1890, Federal Reserve Bank Notes, and Federal Reserve Notes
were convertible into gold, not redeemable. All of these except the Federal Reserve Notes
were legally backed by government debt, bills of credit that the states are
forbidden to issue, and the federal government lacks the authority to issue.
Federal Reserve Notes were supposed to be backed by the
present value of qualified private sector industrial, commercial and
agricultural bills of exchange representing hard assets, rediscounted by member
commercial banks or purchased on the open market. These became debt-backed when the U.S.
Treasury found a loophole in the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to finance World
War I, using the provision intended to retire the National Bank Notes and
Treasury Notes of 1890 to back new Federal Reserve Notes and demand deposits
with government debt rather than private sector assets.
There has never been sufficient gold or silver in the U.S.
to meet the transactions demand for “money,” legally anything that can be
accepted in settlement of a debt. Andrew
Jackson’s Specie Circular, that prohibited the federal government from
accepting anything other than gold or silver, triggered “Hard Times,” the
depression of the 1830s. Negotiable
contracts representing the present value of future private sector marketable
goods and services — bills of exchange — have, until recently, comprised the
bulk of the money supply.
Yours, etc.
The Fourth Page
The Geraldines of
Ireland, X: Tudors and Kildares
The ninth Earl of
Kildare, Gerald FitzGerald FitzGerald, "Gerait Og,"
"Gerald the Younger," although educated in England, was even more
inclined to the Irish way of life and Irish nation than his father. He
consolidated the power of his house by continuing the policy of intermarriage
with the native Irish. His castle of Maynooth was one of the richest noble
houses of the day, superior to many of those in England or Ireland, even boasting
a notable library of 122 volumes, consisting of both manuscripts and incunabulæ.
Almost immediately upon his
father's death, Gerait Og was appointed Lord Deputy by his cousin, Henry VIII.
No doubt exacerbated by his assimilation into Irish culture, after seven years
of service the English bureaucrats of the Pale had him removed, charged with
"seditious practices, conspiracies, and subtle drifts." Apparently it
was not quite as dangerous to be related to Henry Tudor as it would be later,
and Kildare IX was reinstated as Lord Deputy a few years later.
It was about this time, 1523, that
James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, the tenth Earl of Desmond, Kildare's cousin (and
thus a connection of Henry VIII), plotted to drive the English-born English out
of Ireland. He entered into an agreement to that effect with Francis I of
France, while the other partner in "the Auld Alliance," Scotland,
was to draw off reinforcement by invading England. However, the Duke of Albany
(leader of the army of the Scots) had his nerve fail him at the last moment,
and the Scots, otherwise ready, willing and able to do battle with the Sassenaugh, retreated on May 20,
1525 before carrying out any effective action.
Cardinal Wolsey, at that time Lord
Chancellor of England, summoned the Earl of Kildare to England to answer
charges of complicity in the plot. His Eminence denounced Kildare as a traitor,
and only his eloquent defense saved him from the block. He spent six years in
the Tower, but, finally, his Irish friends convinced Henry VIII that his
cousin's release was the most politic course—at least for the moment. In view
of Henry's paranoia and totalitarian ambitions, it would never be safe to have
too close a connection to the English Crown and thus a potential claim on it.
However, Kildare was reinstated as Lord Deputy in 1532, as Henry's plans for
bringing about the downfall of the northern Geraldines and the extermination of
the Desmonds were either not ripe, or Geraldine power was still too great to
challenge on the normal flimsy grounds.
In the two years that remained to
him before his final imprisonment on a charge of treason, Gerait Og,
"Young Gerald," ruled with justice and wisdom, and cultivated the
arts of peace. He was known throughout Europe as a man of culture and hospitality.
Naturally, his fate was certain. Officials of Dublin Castle drew up a list of
charges against him, apparently focusing on the treasonous aspect of his
enculturation into Irish civilization, and he found himself back in the Tower
in 1534, where he joined such illustrious fellow "traitors" as St.
Thomas More.
Before leaving Dublin, Gerait Og
appointed his son, "Silken Thomas" (Kildare X), vice-Deputy of
Ireland for Henry (Thomas was never formally invested as Earl of Kildare, being
executed soon after his father died, but that does not diminish his place in
the succession). Although his father had carefully instructed his
twenty-year-old heir to be guided by his father's trusted advisors, he ignored
this sound advice, and fell easy prey to the intriguing bureaucrats of Dublin
Castle. A forged letter was circulated in Dublin that alleged Gerait Og had
been tried and executed for treason, and that his son would soon follow his
example.
Being a man of spirit, though
lacking wisdom and prudence, Lord Thomas ignored the entreaties of his friends
and advisors and, deciding not to wait for the official order of attainder,
arrest and execution which was presumably on its way, raised the standard of
rebellion. On June 11, 1534 he made his way to St. Mary's Abbey outside Dublin
where the council was assembled, accompanied by a guard of 140 men with helms
decorated with silken fringes, hence his nickname, "Silken
Thomas"—although others credit it to the presumption that his retainers
carried silken banners, and yet others to the magnificence of his personal
attire.
Thomas made his defiance to the
council, throwing the official Sword of State at the members' feet and
declaring that, "This sword was already bathed in Geraldine blood and now
newly whetted in hope of a further destruction. I am none of Henry's Deputy. I
am his foe. I have more mind to conquer than to govern, to meet him in the
field than to serve him in office." While secretly pleased at this
evidence of the success of their plot, the council feigned surprise and made no
effort to dissuade Thomas from his course. Instead, according to A. M.
Sullivan, they egged him on with words carefully chosen to antagonize a proud,
but inexperienced man who, as far as he knew, had just had his father murdered
in cold blood and felt himself chosen as the next victim.
At first victorious, Lord Thomas
was brought down by the same means that destroyed the hopes of the House of
Stuart in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden a little over three hundred years
later—modern artillery. Promised French help did not arrive (if it was even
sent), and Thomas's essentially medieval weaponry and fortifications were
swiftly overcome with the cannon of Henry's army.
Resistance was futile, and, to
save needless slaughter, Silken Thomas submitted and was sent to the Tower,
where his father "had already died of a broken heart, on learning of
Thomas's insurrection." He had surrendered on the guarantee of personal
safety, but was condemned to death almost the moment he was in custody. It was
this practice on the part of the English of promising anything to get what they
wanted, and instantly reneging on their given word, that was to cause endless
trouble for the next four hundred years.
The most egregious example of such
English perfidy is the siege of Drogheda by Oliver Cromwell, "Lord
Protector of the Commonwealth," in 1645. Cromwell secured the capitulation
of the garrison of 3,000 of Ireland's finest soldiers on the promise that they
would be permitted to go in peace after surrendering their weapons and giving
their parole (i.e., a promise not to
bear arms again against those to whom you have surrendered), as well as
respecting the lives and property of the townspeople.
The moment the Irish soldiery laid
down their arms, however, Cromwell butchered every man in the garrison, then
led his "Ironsides" on a five-day rampage through the town, killing
every man, woman and child they could find, down to infants in arms.
Cromwell's soldiers, in order to protect themselves from any attempt at
self-defense by the inhabitants, seized babies and used them as living shields
before dashing their brains out against handy stone walls. Cromwell himself
estimated that no more than thirty people of any description escaped the
massacre out of a town and garrison of several thousands.
Although the Lord Protector later
denied having lured the Irish into surrender with false promises, historians,
even English and Protestant ones, have believed the representations of
Cromwell's troopers as to how the town was persuaded to surrender, rather than
the report of their leader. It is also extremely unlikely that any garrison
anywhere would surrender except upon being given a guarantee that their lives
and the lives of those whom they were protecting would be spared.
#30#
