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THE ATHANASIAN
A publication of Traditional Catholics of AmericatEditor: Fr. Francis E. Fenton, STL tVolume VIII, No. 6tSeptember 1, 1987
A GREAT TRAGEDY
Fr. Francis E. Fenton
I t was, I believe, Pope Pius XII who once said that a great
tragedy of his day was that the world had lost its sense of
venial sin. A far greater tragedy of our day here in America is
way of life for countless individuals but is even more or less
taken for granted by many otherwise good people whose
minds and consciences have been warped by their constant
that our nation has lost its sense of all sin, mortal as well as exposure to immorality of one kind or another. But human
venial. Surely this is true of multitudes of Americans to nature does not change. Nor does the moral law of God.
whom, from all appearances, sin has no meaning at all. Al- Despite all attempts by the entrenched forces of evil in our
though they may profess some kind of belief in God, the midst to eliminate all trace of God and morality from the
chances are that He is for them little more than an under- mind and conscience of man-and tremendous strides have
standing friend who at least tolerates just about anything and been made in that direction-mortal sin remains mortal sin,
who certainly will not one day hold them to any strict account as does the obligation to avoid it and its proximate occasions.
for the manner in which they live. As long as we love
everybody in a "meaningful" way, you know, God is pleased. But has the materialism and the secularism and the spirit of
Hell, of course, is out. Never mind how clearly the awful real- moral permissiveness which is today so very prevalent on the
ity of hell and its eternal punishment are presented in the American scene-has any of this rubbed off, say, on those
Bible and taught by the Roman Catholic Church. The Bible, who are honestly and persistently striving to live as good tra-
you see, contains many myths-of which, no doubt, hell is ditional Roman Catholics? Are all traditional Catholics as
one. concerned today about the practice of virtue and the avoid-
ance of sin as they formerly were, or have they been adversely
The absence of all sense of sin among untold numbers of the affected and influenced in varying degrees by the satanic
American people is manifest in the rampant spirit of moral philosophy of secular humanism which so extensively
permissiveness that currently pervades our nation and con- permeates our nation in this our day? Do we have the cour-
taminates it like a deadly virus or satanic plague. God and His age to dare to be different when, in matters involving mo-
moral law have been abandoned and secular humanism, rality, it is our clear duty to be different?
which is essentially a philosophy of atheism, has become the
prevailing "religion" of our day. The Almighty has been de-,. Yes, one of the great tragedies of our present time is that
throned and man has become a god unto himself, with situa- multitudes of this nation's inhabitants have lost all sense of
tion ethics as the sole determining factor for him as to what is sin. Secular humanism, which, again, is essentially a philoso-
right or wrong. But situation ethics has as its norms those of phy of atheism, is the predominant "religion" of the day in
expediency or feeling or pragmatism and is a total denial of which man reigns supreme and is the measure of all things.
the moral law of God. With the "new morality" anything Nor is there any question but that this spirit of irreligion, this
goes, the sky's the limit and almost nothing is sacred. If an spirit of indifference to, or even utter disdain for, morality
action, whatever it may be, is the practical thing to do or and the things pertaining to God, has had its effect on many
makes one feel good, then one should by all means do it and of us-to some extent at least-with theresult that our sense
have no qualms of conscience about it. Never mind that old- of sin, both mortal and venial, has been dulled by it. To live in
fashioned, outdated moral law of God. Man has at last come an age so engulfed in immorality as is this nation of ours and
of age and now makes his own rules. to remain entirely uncontaminated by it may well indeed call
for exceptional virtue, that degree of virtue of which saints
And so it is that sin, be it of the gravest kind, is not even are made-but, with the grace of God, we all have that
recognized or admitted to be such in this perverted and de- potential, do we not? And if this nation is to be rescued from
praved age of ours. In other words, so widespread and com- the depths of immorality in which it is presently wallowing,
monplace an occurrence has the commission of sin become upon whom, pray tell, is the responsibility for this more
today that the very concept of sin as a violation of divine law incumbent than upon traditional Roman Catholics? "Be not
has been blurred or lost. So prevalent, so rampant on the overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good." (Romans 12,
American scene is the commission of sin that it is not only a 2l)t
WORLD COMMUNISM: MADE IN THE U.S.A
John Kenneth Weiskittel
' 'T he single greatest force on earth in support of the
Communist advance has been the government of
and can never be reduced in any significant way; and that the
Communists ruling in Moscow are to be appeased (since
the United States." Robert Welch, the late patriot who made they are "mellowing"); and that allies really haven't been be-
this assertion, did so after a lifetime of sober, tireless, trayed but were-or are-either: (a) the victims of bungled
probing scholarship. policies from Washington, or (b) repressive regimes that
deserved or deserve to be toppled because of their flagrant
Mr. Welch was no stranger to controversy. By writing The disregard for human rights. Unfortunately, the real record
Politician, a scathingly critical but meticulously researched has been covered up and sanitized to the point that little can
study of the public career of Dwight David Eisenhower, and be known of it without digging through decades of docu-
by founding the anti-Communist John Birch Society, he ments and then putting together the pieces.
became the target of one of the most vicious smear cam-
paigns in history. When it was seen that the compelling This study will review that record in an effort to show that a
evidence he had marshaled could not be refuted, it was ig- conspiracy does, in fact, exist and remains entrenched in the
nored-and the Establishment rolled out its big guns for U.S. government. (It must be noted that there are decent
character assassination. people in public service as well as many opportunists. But,
while exceptions are granted, a core of subversives remains
It is easy to see why many Americans were ready to accept that wields immense power.) Space perm.its only a summary
the media's disinformation since the charges Mr. Welch and, no doubt, readers will think of other examples that
made were unpleasant to contemplate. The steady socializa- could have been included. Indeed, if-and, God willing,
tion of the U.S. economy and the long series of Communist when-the conspiracy is fully exposed, it will take thousands
successes worldwide were, he concluded, due primarily to a of pages to cover its scope.
calculated course of action taken by people in the highest
echelons of the American government. Decent Americans Seven Decades of Subversion
were-and still are-horrified at the thought of so colossal A number of years ago the Miami Herald carried a work by
an evil. Denial, for some, is the comfortable (and easy) way its editorial cartoonist, Jim Morin, that could have been
out of the dilemma. titled "Presidential Bloopers." In the cartoon's first panel,
Gerald Ford declares: "Poland is free." Jimmy Carter,
But no problem was ever solved by pretending it didn't exist. peering out of the center panel, solemnly states: "There is
The destructiv·e forces in the Eisenhower Administration, no Soviet threat in the Caribbean." And from the third
exposed by Mr. Welch over thirty years ago, have continued panel, an obviously pleased Leonid Brezhnev delivers the
the same essential policies in the succeeding years. If the punch line: "With enemies like this, who needs friends?"
programs implemented by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson,
Nixon, Ford, Carter and, yes, even Reagan are reflected Morin's point, obviously, was that the Communists benefit
upon objectively, the similarities are seen to be striking. when American foreign policy is based on a nonsensical view
Although the rhetoric often differs from one administration of world geopolitical realities. Also, he seemed to be asking:
to the next, an overriding pattern of action-carried from "What are men like this doing in the White House?" The
one to the next without interruption-indicates that, behind notion that our dealings with the Reds are being formulated
the distinctive programs of each, there is an underlyinR and implemented by the Keystone Cops is the conclusion
unspoken agenda agreed upon by all. Whether the name that many, like Morin, seem to reach. Yet in order to adopt
given to a domestic policy is the New Deal or Fair Deal, the such a position it becomes necessary to close one's eyes to
New Frontier or the New Federalism, the Great Society or the fact that the government of the United States has-or, to
whatever, the results are largely the same: an ever-increasing be more precise, certain high-ranking members of the gov-
expansion of the power of the Federal Government and a ernment have-been aiding and abetting the International
diminishing of individual rights because of this encroach- Communist Conspiracy since Lenin imposed totalitarianism
ment. And whether "detente," "glasnost" or "peaceful co- on the Russian people in November, 1917.
existence" is the label applied to U.S. relations with the
Soviet Union, the same ends are pursued: helping the Actually, U.S. aid to Communism predates the Bolshevik
U.S.S.R. and its client states through trade, cultural ex- takeover of Russia by a few months. Lenin, as is common
change, diplomatic recognition and giveaways (euphemisti- knowledge, returned from Switzerland to Russia across a
cally called "sales" and "loans")-and one pro-Western, war-tom Europe in the spring of 1917, carrying millions of
anti-Communist nation after another is betrayed to Commu- dollars in gold with him aboard a "sealed train." The
nism along the way. German high command provided the funding in hopes that
the ensuing revolution would partially divert Russia's atten-
Many Americans have some idea of the situation but a vast tion from its war against Germany-but the Kaiser was not
majority of them are willing to take the government's word at informed that the money was for Communists. Less known
face value that its size is an inevitable product of the times is the fact that, after Lenin's coconspirator Leon Trotsky
THE ATHANASIAN 2 SEPTEMBER 1, 1987
was stopped in March, 1917, by Canadian authorities when the early 1920's that demonstrated a very real threat to the
he was enroute to join the revolution, they were instructed to American way of life, author Blair Coan, writing in 1925,
release him by Britain's Sir William Wiseman and by the ad- expressed the belief that Wilsun was a dupe to forces that
visor to President Woodrow Wilson, "Colonel" Edward played on his fondness for "progressive" causes. This is
Mandel House. Trotsky, along with his money and an en- quite possible for he allowed House considerable leeway in
tourage of 275 revolutionaries, was freed and continued his the selection of appointees. Whatever the case, however,
journey. What made the Anglo-American action odd (aside President Wilson complied with House's cabled advice and
from the illogic involved in supporting a Red) was Trotsky's hailed the Russian Revolution as the dawning of a "new day"
repeated statement, while a reporter for a New York City in which the Communists represented the "voice of the
Communist newspaper, that, once the Czar was overthrown, Russian people" and were working "in the true spirit of
the new Russian government would seek a peace with Ger- Western democracy … with a largeness of view, a generosity
many. From a strategic perspective this made no sense at all of spirit, and a universal human sympathy which must chal-
since it would bring more German soldiers into the Western lenge the admiration of every friend of mankind."
front to fight against British and American troops. (See Gary
Allen, None Dare Call It Conspiracy, Concord Press, 1972, Although Wilson would, in September, 1918, condemn the
p. 68) Research shows that the German and Anglo- Red's "campaign of mass terrorism," the damage had al-
American efforts, though seemingly unrelated, had a ready been done. True, the Kremlin's tyrants would have to
connecting thread. wait until 1933 for official recognition but Wilson's praise,
then criticism (but neutrality), set the course America has
The Federal Reserve Act, passed in 1913, started the followed for the past 70 years. From the beginning there has
gradual move from a free market economy to one in which been what amounts to censorship of certain aspects of
layer upon layer of bureaucracy has taken government into U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations. Antony Sutton notes that House's
the marketplace as a competitor of private enterprise and Paris message "was placed on the 'confidential file' and was
strangled small businesses. This returns us to "Colonel" not declassified until the 1960's. Open public discussion in
House. Described by the editor of his personal papers as the 1917 of Colonel House's instructions and intentions might
"unseen guardian angel" of the Act, House's influence with well have changed the history of the world." (National
Wilson was so great that the president called him "my alter Suicide, p. 52)
ego." Some historians have suggested that he was the virtual
president. "House had set down his own political ideas in Tightening The Noose
1912 in his book called Philip Dru: Administrator," writes Lenin once predicted that Western capitalists would supply
Allen: the rope with which to hang themselves. The fifteen years
following the Red takeover of Russia included a planned
In this book House laid out a thinly fictionalized plan famine, liquidation of farmers, purge trials and a system that,
for the conquest of America by establishing "Socialism frankly; didn't work. The U.S. government didn't give the
as dreamed of by Karl Marx." He described a "con- Soviets direct support at that time (unless there are still
spiracy" -the word is his-which succeeds in electing classified papers to that effect) but did give American firms
a U.S. President by means of "deception regarding his free reign to "wheel and deal" with their sworn enemies.
real opinions and intentions." Among other things,
House wrote that the conspiracy was to insinuate Opening the doors of U.S. capital saved Russian Commu-
"itself into the primaries, in order that no candidate nists from an uprising of their slaves. John Stormer writes in
might be nominated whose views were not in accord his book, None Dare Call It Treason:
with theirs." … The idea was to use both the Demo- "'
cratic and Republican parties as instruments to pro- Immediately following World War I, economic chaos
mote world government. (op cit, pp. 78-79) developed in Russia. Lenin's attempt to make the big
leap into communism had failed. The toppling of the
To advance this goal, "House, both in his book and in real socialist experiment was imminent.
life, called for the passage of a graduated income tax and a
central bank providing 'a flexible (inflatable paper) Millions were starving when American relief, food,
currency.' The graduated income tax and a central bank are medicine and other supplies eased the pressure. Lenin
two of the ten planks of The Communist Manifesto." (ibid, p. had time to consolidate his strength … (Liberty Bell
49) Press, 1964, p. 28)
Weeks after the Bolsheviks overthrew the socialist gov- While Stormer calls this a "humanitarian gesture … (that)
ernment of Kerensky, Wilson received a cable from House, solidified the power of tyrants," it is also true that other aid
then in Paris, that alluded to "statements made by American at the time had more sinister applications. A recently de-
papers to the effect that Russia should be treated as an classified document shows that the State Department made
enemy. It is exceedingly important that such criticisms no attempt to halt a U.S. firm from erecting a plant in the
should be suppressed … " (quoted, Antony Sutton, National Soviet Union for the production of aluminum powder, which
Suicide: Military Aid to the Soviet Union, Arlington House, can be used to raise the explosive force of ammunition.
1973, p. 50) In his book, The Red Web, a review of events in (National Suicide, p. 52)
THE ATHANASIAN 3 SEPTEMBER 1, 1987
The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president in creased the National Debt by 25 billion dollars and raised
1932 gave the conspiracy its biggest boost up to that time. In domestic spending by 89 percent during his last five years in
the 12 years he occupied the Oval Office the nation under- office. (ibid, pp. 196-197) So impressed was veteran Socialist
went some of the most radical changes in its history. "I do Norman Thomas that he said: "The United States is making
not believe in communism any more than you do," Roose- greater strides towards Socialism under Eisenhower than
velt once said, "but there is nothing wrong with the commu- even under Roosevelt, particularly in the fields of Federal
nists in this country; several of the best friends I have got are spending and welfare legislation." (W. Cleon Skousen, The
communists." (cited, Stormer, p. 27) If appointments are any Naked Capitalist, privately published, 1971, p. 130)
indication, he certainly believed in taking good care of his
friends. There were, without exaggeration, scores of Red The John F. Kennedy-Lyndon Johnson years produced even
agents in New Deal posts, including Harry Dexter White bigger social budgets, national debts and entrance into a war
(Treasury assistant secretary), Nathan Witt (National Labor in Vietnam that they would not win (the alleged goal was to
Relations Board secretary), John J. Abt (special assistant to "contain" Communism). These administrations were top-
the Attorney General), Lee Pressman (General Counsel of heavy with members of the ADA (a group Kennedy had con-
the Works Progess Administration, an agency heavily demned as a senator in 1953) and the Council on Foreign
riddled with Communists) and Laughlin Currie (executive Relations (CFR), a group that "Colonel" House helped
assistant to FDR). And at Yalta's sellout of Eastern Europe found. (ibid, p. 52, and Stormer, p. 199) After eight years of
in February, 1945, and at the United Nation's founding five these Democrats, Republican Richard Nixon was elected
months later was Alger Hiss, a man Roosevelt knew to be a but, the more things changed, the more they stayed the
Soviet spy. same. The Nixon anti-Communist, anti-big government
image was not matched by a corresponding record. LBJ was
Under Harry S. Truman in 1949 China was handed to Mao quoted in 1971 about Nixon:
Tse-Tung, the "agrarian reformer" (so named by his allies in
the U.S. government). When troops led by General Douglas "Can't you just see the uproar," he asked during a
MacArthur were prevented from liberating North Korea recent interview, "if I had been responsible for Taiwan
from the Reds and Truman fired MacArthur, the general getting kicked out of the United Nations? Or if I had
would later complain that he believed he was removed be- imposed sweeping national controls on prices and
cause of his recommendation that "a treason trial be ini- wages?
tiated to break up a spy ring responsible for the purloining of
my top-secret reports to Washington." (cited, Curtis L. Dall, "Nixon had gotten by with it," he observed, an appre-
F.D.R.: My Exploited Father-in-law, Action Associates, ciative tone in his voice. "If I had tried to do it, or
1970, p. 175) General James Van Fleet also gave similar Truman, or Humphrey, or any Democrat, we would
testimony to Congress of subversion in Korea. (Stormer, p. have been clobbered." (cited, None Dare Call It
32) Conspiracy, p. 111)
So concerned were Americans that they elected Eisenhower, At Nixon's right hand was Henry Kissinger as National Se-
largely on his campaign pledge to "clean up the mess in curity Adviser and Secretary of State. Kissinger was at that
Washington." He did nothing of the kind. Instead, he rein- time an official in the CFR and, according to very creditable
stated rules placing all security files of executive branch em- evidence, a member of the Soviet KGB. (See Frank Capell,
ployees "off limits" to congressional investigating commit- Henry Kissinger: Soviet Agent, 1974, pp. 74-90) During the
tees, participated in the smear of Senator Joseph McCarthy Ford tenure Kissinger negotiated with the North
and installed such leftists in the Supreme Court as Ea~ Vietnamese the "peace with honor" (a term also used for the
Warren who, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover told Congress in 1953 pullout in Korea) that led to Communist victory over
1958, was responsible for the freeing of 49 top Communists American allies in the South. During Jimmy Carter's White
and who presided over a case that a Red leader hailed as the House stint, Nicaragua and Rhodesia fell (with U.S. backing)
Party's single greatest victory. (ibid, pp. 39, 44) Eisenhower to Communism-and the Federal Government grew still
betrayed the Hungarians' fight against their Bolshevik rulers larger.
in 1956, helped Castro seize Cuba, continued aid to
Communist nations and invited Soviet butcher Nikita The Reagan Record: Rhetoric vs. Results
Krushchev to America. (ibid, pp. 11, 36, 49) While FDR had When Ronald Reagan handily defeated Carter in 1980,
affectionately called Stalin "Uncle Joe," Ike said that his many Americans believed that finally there would be a
grandchildren being photographed on Krushchev's lap was change for the better in the White House. Now, with just 16
"heartwarming." This was after the House Un-American months to go in his presidency, the informed opinion is that
Activities Committee took seven volumes to document the same policies have been continued under Mr. Reagan
Krushchev's crimes against humanity. Eisenhower was that have plagued our country for most of this century.
called a "Modem Republican" and posed as a fiscal conser-
vative, but he had had the support of the ultra-left Americans Reagan sailed to victory aboard a fairly conservative plat-
for Democratic Action (ADA) for the Democratic presiden- form, buoyed up with the kind of "get-tough," no-nonsense
tial nomination in 1948, pushed through the Truman-spon- rhetoric that appealed to many voters. He said the right
sored Department of Health, Education and Welfare, in- things: no, he would not sell out Taiwan to Red China; yes,
THE ATHANASIAN 4 SEPTEMBER 1, 1987
he wanted to get government off the people's back; no, he At a press conference in Alaska in 1984 Reagan described
did not think we need Energy and Education Departments Red China as "so-called Communist." Since, in the presi-
(Carter creations); yes, he believed the U.S.S.R. to be an evil dent's view, Red China is a "friendly, nonaligned country," it
empire and not to be trusted. He said he wanted to keep has received strategic aid, including an agreement to "buy"
Federal spending down and to balance the budget. For con- 550 million dollars worth of F-8 fighter planes from the U.S.,
servatives, it all sounded too good to be true-and, as the training of its military leaders on American bases and
record shows, it was too good to be true. numerous other deals to modernize China's fighting capabil-
ities. As late as September, 1986, China granted Communist
When Reagan was running back in 1980 he expressed his Nicaragua a 20 million dollar interest-free loan, money it
concern over the influence of the one-world lobby-the CFR could never have given without itself first receiving U.S.
and its sister group, the Trilateral Commission (TC)-on funding. Had President Reagan kept in touch with Candi-
U.S. foreign policy. When asked in Florida about the fact date Reagan, he might have recalled rejecting the idea of
that Carter had made many TC members in his administra- sending arms to the Chinese Communists "because… they
tion, Reagan responded that he did not believe that "the Tri- could tum right around and the day after tomorrow discover
lateral Commission is a conspiratorial group, but I do think that they and the Soviets had more in common than they
its interests are devoted to international banking, multi- have with us."
national corporations .. .! don't think that any administration
should have 19 of its top positions filled by people from any It was at the Alaska press conference mentioned above that
one group or organization representing one viewpoint. No, I Reagan made what may well be the most revealing statement
would go in another direction." Reagan's idea of "another during his term in office. On May 1st (the Communist holi-
direction" must mean doubling back around, because no day, May Day) in Fairbanks, the president indicated that his
fewer than 80 members of his administration are or have image as an anti-Communist was overblown, saying:
been members of these two groups, including such major fig-
ures as Vice President George Bush, Secretaries of State Now I know there's been much said about my anti-
Alexander Haig and George Shultz, Treasury Secretary communism. Well, I'm anti-Communist if you talk
Donald T. Regan, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Green- about Communism for the United States. And in some
span, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, Commerce Communist regimes, I'm very critical of their violation
Secretary Malcolm Baldrige (recently deceased) and CIA of human rights and so forth. But I have never thought
Director William J. Casey (recently deceased). Candidate it was necessary for us to impose our form of govern-
Reagan condemned the failed policies of detente promoted ment on some other country …
by Henry Kissinger, and conservatives urged him not to in-
clude Kissinger in his administration. President Reagan So, as far as I'm concerned we can live at peace with
selected the sinister Mr. Kissinger to chair a policy com- one another. If they prefer Socialism or Communism
mission on Latin America that eventually helped install so- and we prefer the democracy that we have-we may
cialist Napoleon Duarte as the head of El Salvador. know that ours is best but (laughter)-we won't say
that to them.
One of the most telling signs of the reality gap between
words and deeds came with the destruction of a Korean Translated, this is just more confirmation of the difference
airliner by the Soviets in which 269 innocent people were between perception and reality when considering Reagan:
killed, including anti-Communist U.S. Congressman he may be "very critical" of Communists in his speeches but
Lawrence P. McDonald (D-GA). Shortly after the shootdown he will not "impose" on them. (Imposing on pro-American,
the president remarked that it should "dispel any lingering' nontotalitarian nations such as South Africa is another
doubt about what kind of regime we're dealing with and matter.) But belligerent words will never defeat an en-
what our responsibilities are as trustees of freedom and trenched tyranny of organized atheism bent on spreading its
peace." But what was an opportunity to close down the darkness over the face of the earth. Stripped to their es-
Soviet Embassy, expel their personnel (read spies) and sever sence, Mr. Reagan's remarks make it clear that he will not
diplomatic relations was rejected by Reagan in favor of a lift a finger to help free the enslaved peoples. Equally
temporary suspension of Russian flights into this country chilling is Reagan's presumed ignorance of the satanic
and other wrist-slapping. Since that time he has offered to nature of Communism, of its intrinsic vileness. (Is this the
share "Star Wars" anti-missile technology with what he same man who spoke of the U.S.S.R. as an evil empire?)
rightly termed an evil empire; has had summits with his Red Aside from human rights violations, Reagan's opinion sug-
counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, which, if past summits are gests that he regards the differences between our Constitu-
an indication, will benefit only the enemy; has supported tional Republic and their bloody dictatorship to be as incon-
"the development of non-strategic trade with the Soviet sequential as whether one takes his coffee black or with
Union" (much of which has military application); and has cream and sugar.
worked for the goal of destabilizing South Africa (Reagan
signed into law sanctions against anti-Communist South Last year syndicated columnist John F. McManus wrote an
Africa that have far exceeded any placed on the U.S.S.R.) article entitled "Is There a Communist Conspiracy?" that ap-
peared in The New American (March 24, 1984). Mr.
Treatment is even better for our "ally," Communist China. McManus was prompted to write it in response to an ex-
THE ATHANASIAN 5 SEPTEMBER 1, 1987
change between the Reagan Administration and a Colorado tive principles can be made. And Reagan's "Contra" support
state legislator. On January 18, 1984, President Reagan is tainted on various counts: (1) he expounds the false ver-
signed into law Presidential Determination 84-4, which sion of the Nicaraguan revolution in which the Sandinistas
authorized financial aid to Yugoslavia for "International allegedly betrayed a wide-based freedom movement-but in
Military Education and Training." The act was defended in fact it was always a Communist-inspired and Communist-dir-
the text by Reagan on the grounds that "Yugoslavia is not ected insurgency that used non-Communists: (2) he pro-
controlled by the international Communist conspiracy." In moted a "democratic solution" to the problem-that is, a
an effort to determine just what countries are part of the coalition government-and r.ot genuine liberation; and (3)
conspiracy, State Representative Dale Elickson of Colorado he defends "Contra" leadership that includes several San-
queried the president in a letter. A State Department official danista "defectors," raising doubts about what kind of
wrote back that "a list of those countries officially controlled "resistance" they are providing. (See Warren L. Mcferran,
by the international Communist conspiracy does not exist." "It's Now or Never," The New American, July 20, 1987)
A private citizen in Washington State put the question suc- Even if these and other of his stands (such as his stated
cinctly to his senator (and received an evasive answer): "The opposition to abortion) are taken in the best possible light, it
United States is spending 350-400 billion dollars per year on remains clear that President Reagan has done little to stem
defense. In your estimation, who is the enemy of the United the conspiratorial tide. To believe otherwise is to allow the
States?" The unpleasant but logical conclusion Mr. heart to take control of the brain.
McManus makes is that the arrogant attitude exhibited by
the Reagan Administration and the senator can be summed Moving Closer Together
up as: "Yes, there is an 'international Communist In the course of the Iran-Contra hearings, Marine Lt. Col.
conspiracy' but as long as we keep Americans in the dark Oliver North implicitly told the Congress that it would do
about where it is, who is controlled by it, and whether it is well to investigate itself. Col. North may have hit upon
even an enemy, we can continue to feed it. It would seem, something more significant than was his intent. Although
therefore, that the conspiracy conceivably reaches even into the conspiracy first penetrated and significantly controlled
the U.S. government." This gives new meaning to the terms the executive branch and later subverted the judiciary, for
"covert activities" and "plausible deniability." years Congress often opposed their positions-albeit ineffec-
tually at times. Over the past few decades, however,
Domestically, Candidate Reagan promised Americans relief Congress, too, has fallen prey to the same forces.
from the oppressive effects of runaway big government. A
large part of his appeal was based on his ability to tug on Recently, House Speaker Jim Wright (D-TX) visited the
people's emotions by way of their purse strings. The ques- Soviet Union where he appeared on state-controlled tele-
tion he asked in 1980 that struck a responsive chord was: vision to offer viewers a lapel pin displaying crossed U.S. and
"Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Reagan's U.S.S.R. flags. The offer has been relayed to Americans, and
landslide reelection in 1984 indicated that personal income Wright (who stands behind only the Vice President in line of
may have improved for many but lost in the fervor was sight presidential succession) is sending this "symbol of peace and
of the larger picture. If Jimmy Carter was a big spender, as friendship" to those requesting it.
Reagan properly cast him, then what is Ronald Reagan?
Candidate Reagan was little short of a Saint George against Only those ignorant of the schemes of the conspirators
the congressional dragon, but President Reagan has given would be shocked at Wright's propagandizing. The notion
the dragon carte blanche for whatever suits its taste. Unfair of merging U.S. and Soviet systems is a crucial part of the
criticism? The first budget under Carter in 1978 was 440 goal of world domination. More than 30 years ago Ford
billion dollars; next year's proposed budget is 1,024!3 Foundation President Rowan Gaither revealed that the
trillion dollars-the first ten-figure budget in history. Forty- State Deparbnent advised him that, to conform to U.S.
two percent of this goes to direct payment programs for indi- Government policy, he should work "so to alter our life in
viduals, 29 percent for defense, 14 percent for debt interest, the United States that we can be comfortably merged with
10 percent for state and local grants and only 5 percent for the Soviet Union." In his book, Toward Economic Recon-
operating funds. The national debt ceiling has ballooned to struction, former State Department official Miklos Szabo-
2.3 trillion dollars. Mr. Reagan says he doesn't want Com- Pelsoczi, a Hungarian native, writes, in a chapter entitled
munism for America but he has been a partner in the expan- "Beyond Capitalism and Beyond Communism," that "(b)oth
sion of welfare state socialism. superpowers gradually losing their ideological and political
differences can reduce military expenditures." (Exposition
But didn't Reagan stop the Soviets from establishing a base Press, 1976, p. 226) This view of the future is so widely
in Grenada? Hasn't he appointed conservatives to the accepted that Campbell R. McConnell has included, in a
Supreme Court? And hasn't he given aid to Nicaraguan chapter on the Soviet economy in his college textbook,
freedom fighters? A careful look at these activities shows Economics, a section entitled "The Convergence Hypothe-
them to be subject to further scrutiny. The Grenada victory sis" wherein he notes that some economists have argued
is tempered with the fact that there are far bigger threats in that, "as capitalistic and communistic systems evolve, they
Cuba and Nicaragua. The jury must remain out concerning encounter experiences and problems which induce adoption
the Reagan appoinbnents to the Supreme Court until of similar institutions and policies" that will bring them to
determination of their faithfulness to conserva- the same place. (McGraw-Hill, 1978, 7th ed., p. 939)
THE ATHANASIAN 6 SEPTEMBER 1, 1987
The Hour Is Late
Again recalling the Iran-Contra hearings, a remark by
Senate Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) about a "secret gov- A CORRECTION
ernment" within the government stands out. He was re-
ferring to the attempt to divert funds to the Nicaraguan In the June 1, 1987 issue of this newsletter it was stated that
resistance, but a more powerful secret government is not 870 copies of that issue were mailed, 830 of them to paid
being investigated and desperately needs to be. The fact that subscribers. In determining those figures, however, we
it isn't ought to be reason enough in itself for Americans to neglected to include the bulk orders. So, including those,
be gravely concerned, for every day that it is allowed to some 980 copies of that June issue were mailed, of which 940
continue solidifying its stranglehold on our freedoms means were paid subscribers. Since this makes for a somewhat
the closer we are to slavery. We must become thoroughly in- brighter picture in the number of newsletter subscribers, it
formed of this sordid history and alert others. was thought worthwhile to mention it The total number o1
paid subscribers for this September 1, 1987 issue is approx
As you read this, 49 nations and over 1. 7 billion souls (one imately the same: 940. t
of every three persons in the world) are enslaved by Commu-
nism. There is not a single instance where this slavery would
exist had it not received support from highly placed indi-
viduals in the U.S. government. And yet America is the only
free country left that still remains strong enough to reverse SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS
the process.
The date on the envelope address label indicates the
Make no mistake, this is a war that confronts us and it is a month and year in which the recipient's subscription is
war that we are undeniably losing! Like it or not, we are all due for renewal. At the proper time, a subscription en-
combatants and have an obligation before God to oppose velope will be enclosed with the newsletter. One may
this monstrous evil with every morally lawful means at our enter a new subscription at any time, of course, and
disposal-before it is too late. will then receive the eight following newsletter issues. t
("Every Communist country in the world literally has a
'Made in USA' stamp on it."-John Stormer)
Pray
the Rosary
Daily
THE ATHANASIAN
Published by Traditional Catholics of America
Eight issues a year: (Jan. 15, Mar. 1, Apr. 15, June 1, July 15, Sept. 1, Oct. 15, Dec. 1)
Subscriptions: $ 8.00 per year (via First Class Mail) for the USA, Canada and Mexico; $12.00 per
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THE ATHANASIAN 7 SEPI'EMBER 1, 1987
LET THE BUYER BEWARE!
I t is safe to assume that all of the subscribers to this
newsletter are against Communism and I know
that a substantial number of them are actively so in
made in a Communist country because that item
is the product of slave labor and, by purchasing
it, he is helping to support the economy of a con-
varying degrees. (A pro-Communist Roman Catholic spiracy whose leaders have vowed to bury the
is a contradiction in terms.) Merely being against USA. Not only should we refrain from buying
Communism, however, means little unless one's anti- such a product but we should inform the store
communism manifests itself in action one way or clerk why we are doing so. Beyond that, we
another. Assuredly, the powers that be in that satanic should ask to speak to the manager-or, better,
conspiracy have nothing to fear from the passive anti- the owner-of the store and voice our protest to
communism still characteristic of multitudes of that individual, informing him that, if he
Americans even at this late date. continues to offer Communist merchandise for
sale, we will not only cease trading in that store
While genuine anti-Communist activity may take but will request our friends and acquaintances to
many forms, it is the purpose of these few paragraphs do likewise. If the store in question happens to
to focus briefly on but one of those activities. be one of a chain, then a letter of protest should
Although, in comparison to the many kinds of anti- be written to the appropriate person at the
communist action in which an individual may involve national headquarters of that particular chain of
himself, this particular one may appear to be rather stores.
insignificant, yet it is singled out for attention here for
two reasons: (1) it is an activity in which most people It also should be noted that a number of items
can easily participate; and (2) if enough tens of that are made by slave labor in Communist
thousands were to commit themselves to it, it could countries bear American brand names on them.
be a very effective weapon in the fight against That being the case, one should not purchase a
Communism. product merely because he sees the name of this
or that American corporation on it. It is
The American retail market is currently flooded with necessary to check as well the label which states
merchandise produced by slave labor in Communist in what country the item was made. If it is a
countries. There are innumerable such items on sale Communist country, then that item should not
in stores across this country and they are being be purchased regardless of the brand name it
purchased by the American people. While it is likely bears. The heads of many American business
that such items are found among a large variety of organizations have no qualms of conscience
products, they would seem to be most common in about supporting Communism in this way as
wearing apparel and household goods. (Perhaps the long as they make money in the process-and
best known single Communist slave-labor product r slave labor comes cheap, you know.
presently being sold in the USA is the junk machine,
the Yugo automobile from Yugoslavia.) From my ob- Countless Americans who consider themselves
servation, the greatest quantity of slave-labor mer- anti-Communist are actually, though innocently,
chandise being sold in this country comes from Red supporting Communism in various ways because
China, the primary reason for this undoubtedly being they are uninformed. The subject treated in this
that, according to the current un-American article provides one such example. Surely just
administration in Washington, the inhuman Red about every subscriber to this newsletter can do
Chinese rulers are really our friends! Never mind that at least this small bit. It seems so little in itself
those godless tyrants run the largest concentration but, again, if multitudes of Americans will do
camp in the world. (If, incidentally, an item is from likewise, the combined effect of such action on a
Communist China, it will be labeled: "Made in national scale could inflict incalculable damage
China"; if from Free China, it will bear the label: upon the Communist economy. If we, through
"Made in Taiwan.") our silence or inaction, do not oppose evil, are
we not, in effect, to some degree cooperating
So, while it is ardently to be hoped that every with it?t
American would do far more to save his country from
Communist domination, at the very minimum he Fr. F Fenton
should buy no product whatsoever which has been
THE ATHANASIAN 8 SEPTEMBER 1, 1987