Vote for peace

US Presidents can do jack about the price of gasoline at the pump. They can fabricate evidence and drag us into unnecessary wars in Iraq or bomb other countries into the stone age, but they can't do jack about oil. Here's a quick primer.

The dollar is the reserve currency of the world. This means international trade happens in dollars. This is a consequence of the Bretton Woods agreements, a result of the US' major contribution to winning World War 2. So what happens when the US government does not have its house in order and spends more than it earns? The price of gold goes up as evidenced over the last few years.

Oil is traded in dollars. When the dollar weakens due to fiscal indiscipline, the price of oil rises. When there is speculation about a strike on Iran or shutting the straits of Hormuz, the price of oil rises as speculators envision an uncertain future.

If your Government spent as much or less than it took in, if your leaders didn't threaten to bomb other countries into submission, if there was certainty in the economy and every day life - then oil would trade at $70 a barrel rather than $120, gold would be cheaper and jobs would be growing.

When you vote in November, vote for peace and sensibility, not bellicosity or rhetoric.

The keys of the kingdom

And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven - Jesus Christ to Peter

When I was a teen, I read my first book by A J Cronin, The Citadel and was mighty impressed by the author's prose and his ability to immerse the reader in a human story and the times in which it was set.

I recently caught up with A J Cronin again and read what is probably his best novel The keys of the kingdom. Set at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, this story starts in the author's native Scotland. Francis Chisholm is a young catholic boy growing up in a predominantly protestant region. His father is beaten up by protestants and Chisholm is orphaned when both his parents are swept away by the Tweed. It is a tough childhood growing up at his grandfather's house until he is taken away by his aunt Polly, a magnificent character. Cronin catalogs Chisholm's entry into the catholic church along with his more suave and dapper friend Anselm Mealey. These two characters and their progression over time are a study in contrast.

Francis Chisholm is a rebel by nature and does not accept the Church's dogma readily. This eventually culminates in his being dispatched to China as one of the pioneering missionaries to open up that country to the church's religion. What follows is a fantastic tale of a simple, dedicated and open minded man who struggles to establish his church in a strange land and attract adherents. Unlike some of his peers, Chisholm does not believe in bribery or coercion to build his flock but leads by example. He openly accepts Chinese culture, their ethos and tenets of Confucianism much to the chagrin of his peers and superiors in his church. Over thirty six years he fights prejudice both within and without his church and selflessly leads by example. The narration and prose are spectacular. The story moves fast and you feel like you are right there watching it unfold.

At a time when religion seems to be a dividing force in today's world, this is a story of tolerance, co-existence, faith, open mindedness and dedication.  

On socialism

This was posted by one of my friends on Facebook. What do you think?

An economics professor at a local University made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "Okay, we will have an experiment in this class on the socialism principles. All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.

After the FIRST TEST were averaged, everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were HAPPY.

As the SECOND TEST rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too, so they studied much lesser than before.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the THIRD TEST rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED. The professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed - could not be any simpler than that.

These are possibly the five best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.