INFLATION PROOF! - Jun 18

-> END MONETARY POLLUTION, BUY GOLD! -CR Smith
-> THE GOAL OF A FATHER -David Delk, Maninthemirror.org
-> The Islamic Gold Dinar -Raidan Al-Saqqaf, Times
-> I AM THE FLAG -Ruth Apperson Rous
-> A TIME FOR CHOOSING -Ronald Reagan, 1964
-> THE IRON LADY STILL HAS HER MAGIC -Mauldin
-> THE GREAT LIBERATOR -Baroness Margaret Thatcher
-> YOU CAN'T BE LUCKY FOREVER, BUSTED -Bonner
-> THE FAITH FACTOR -Nancy Gibbs, TIME

"Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country."

-Noah Webster

FEEDBACK: CRAIG SMITH INTERVIEW ON FOX & FRIENDS (6-11-04)

Dear Mr. Craig R. Smith,

Thank you for your touching words this morning in your interview on FOX. You are a rare commodity, offering such valuable advice to every husband in America. Thank you for challenging all husbands to step up to the plate. It was wonderful to see just how President Ronald Reagan inspired you. I am very blessed to have a wonderful loving husband who was also inspired to become a better husband thru his involvement with Promisekeepers years ago. Through the grace of God he also recognized the importance of respecting and valuing our marriage. I praise you for your strong values and commitment to your family and your country. Even though I had never heard of you until this morning, I feel blessed. You may not realize this sir, but God used you mighty this morning. Thanks for being part of our business world, you do America right and are a credit to this generation. May God Bless you and your family and continue to place accountability in those around you.

Sincerely,
Carmen Garcia
Coral Springs, FL.
Cuban Born-Blessed and honored to be an American

* * *

Dear Mr. Smith:

Your reflection this morning on FOX NEWS was ever so touching. I hope that that message of love, honor and respect for one's spouse rang clear. Of the many testimonials of President Reagan that I have heard, yours touched me the most. Thank you. You should include those sentiments on your website, it tells me more about you and this company than charts, numbers and projections. My wealth is my husband of 26 years and our three sons.

God Bless,
Nina Mucha

* * *

Dear Mr. Smith,

I just saw Craig Smith on Fox News. I didn't catch the whole thing, but did hear how he had met President Reagan and that he had learned something from him that made his marriage better. I was hoping to find that info on your website, but it isn't there. Would you possibly forward this email to Mr. Smith and ask him? My marriage is in a trouble and I felt strongly that this was important information.

Thank you.

* * *

READ: WHAT I LEARNED FROM RONALD REAGAN -Craig R. Smith
REAGANOMICS - Craig R. Smith - June 10, 2004 - Ronald Wilson Reagan was one of the three greatest presidents we have had in our nation's history. His love of God, country and family has been an example to me that has kept my priorities right throughout the years. FULL STORY

MARKET NEWS DIGEST

U.S. Q1 deficit widens to record $144.9 Billion -CBSMW
By Corbett B. Daly, CBS Marketwatch
June 18, 2004

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. current account deficit widened in the first quarter to a record $144.9 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Economists had expected the current account deficit to expand to $139.5 billion from a revised $127.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch.

The current account deficit, the broadest measure of the nation's financial balance with the rest of the world, includes flows of goods, services and capital. It shows how much more Americans consumed and invested than they earned and saved.

http://www.cbs.marketwatch.com

Stocks Flat on Iraq, Inflation Worries -Reuters
Thu Jun 17, 2004
By Vivian Chu

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A jump in producer prices and increased inflation worries kept U.S. stock investors in a noncommittal mood early Thursday afternoon, leaving the three major stock indexes slightly below the unchanged mark.

The surge in the Producer Price Index last month overshadowed other economic data that pointed to a recovering U.S. economy.

Jabil Circuit Inc. was among the top percentage losers on the New York Stock Exchange, a day after it gave an earnings outlook weaker than Wall Street estimates, despite posting quarterly earnings that rose nearly nine-fold.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. dragged down the technology-laden Nasdaq. The Standard & Poor's 500 Communications Equipment Index fell 1.8 percent and was the S&P 500's second-biggest percentage losing sector.

Producer prices rose at their fastest pace in a year in May, putting inflation concerns in focus, while a June regional factory index rose and jobless claims fell in fresh signs of a strong U.S. economy.

Separately, the Conference Board, a private business group, said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.5 percent in May to 116.5, suggesting the U.S. economy's momentum will likely continue in the coming months.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 8 points, or 0.08 percent, to 10,371. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index eased 2 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,131. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 14 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,984.

The Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee meets June 29-30, and is widely expected to raise its fed funds rate, or the rate for overnight bank loans, from its current 1958 low of 1 percent, in an effort to curb budding inflation.

http://www.reuters.com

Traders bid up crude on blast, data -CBSMW
Pipeline explosions, inventory reports bring out the bulls
By Lisa Sanders, CBS.MarketWatch.com
June 16, 2004

DALLAS (CBS.MW) -- Crude oil prices continued to climb Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange as reports of a second pipeline explosion in Iraq and the weekly U.S. inventory data brought out the bulls.

The Energy Department and the American Petroleum Institute both reported a build in U.S. oil inventories that fell short of market expectations. The Energy Department reported that oil inventories rose by 800,000 barrels for the week ended June 11, while the API said they were up by 482,000 barrels. The market had expected stockpiles to increase by 2 million barrels, on average.

July crude rose by 43 cents to $37.62 a barrel on the Nymex.

"Really this report is basically very bullish," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Alaron.com. Hear more from Flynn.

The Energy Department said distillate stocks were up 1.5 million barrels, and the API reported a build of 913,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories were down 500,000 barrels, according to the Energy Department and lower by 503,000 barrels, according to API figures. The market had expected a build in gasoline supplies, and refineries ran at 96.4 percent capacity in the latest week, the Energy Department said.

"Though there's the perception that we're not building inventories ... refiners are able to meet demand on time," Flynn said. "It will be difficult to keep this market lower with the geopolitical turmoil and the data."

Flynn noted that energy futures weren't in a breakout rally, which he attributed to the market's belief that OPEC would increase output.

In Jakarta overnight, OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the cartel would send official letters to non-OPEC countries such as Mexico, Angola, Oman and Russia to raise their production to curb oil prices, AFX News reported.

Late Tuesday, Reuters reported an explosion at an oil pipeline in the northern part of the country. The Northern Oil company said the act was likely that of saboteurs, the news agency said.

http://www.cbs.marketwatch.com

RELATED STORIES:
U.S. Hostage Beheaded, Terror Group Says - 6-18-04 - RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - An al-Qaida group said Friday it killed American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr, posting an Internet message that showed photographs of a beheaded body that appeared to be his.
Gasoline prices stir talk of golden age - 6-18-04 - Houston Chron.

May Consumer Prices Rise 0.6% - 5.1% Annually

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Prices paid by U.S. consumers in May rose 0.6 percent, the biggest increase since January 2001, as gasoline costs surged and dairy products rose the most since 1946, government figures showed.

The increase in the consumer price index followed a 0.2 percent gain in April, the Labor Department said in Washington. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core index rose 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent rise.

Consumer prices were 3.1 percent higher last month than in May of last year, the biggest 12-month increase since June 2001. The acceleration, combined with the boost to incomes from the creation of 1.2 million jobs so far this year, means Federal Reserve policy makers will bring an end later this month to the lowest interest rates in almost 46 years, economists said.

``In addition to price increases, hiring and business spending have picked up and earnings are better, so the recovery looks sustainable without the easy money that we've had,'' said John Byrd Norris, senior fund manager at Regions Financial Corp. in Birmingham, Alabama. ``A lot of the things that prompted the Fed to lower rates to 1 percent just aren't there anymore.''

Economists had projected a 0.5 percent increase in the consumer price index, based on the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Core prices were forecast to rise 0.2 percent.

Fed officials, led by Chairman Alan Greenspan, have signaled for more than a week they are prepared to increase rates, and perhaps more quickly than investors have been predicting, if inflation exceeds forecasts. Greenspan testifies before a Senate panel later today.

``The recent pickup in price increases probably does not represent the leading edge of steadily worsening inflation,'' Fed Governor Donald Kohn told the National Economists Club in Washington on June 4. ``That said, the federal funds rate cannot be held at its current level indefinitely if price stability is to be preserved.''

So far this year, consumer prices are rising at a 5.1 percent annual rate compared with a 2.3 percent increase at the same time last year. Core prices are increasing at a 2.9 percent annual pace, compared with a 1.3 percent rate in the first five months of 2003.

Energy prices, which account for about a 14th of the index, rose 4.6 percent in May after a 0.1 percent increase a month earlier. Gasoline prices jumped 8.1 percent, and electricity prices rose 1.1 percent. Pump prices for regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, rose to $2.05 a gallon on May 26, according to the AAA, formerly the American Automobile Association.

Food prices, which account for about a fifth of the index, rose 0.9 percent after a 0.2 percent rise in April. The price of milk, cheese and other dairy products surged 6.8 percent in May, the largest increase since an 8.2 percent jump in October 1946.

U.S. personal spending rose 0.3 percent in April, more than expected, a government report last month showed. Prices paid by consumers for goods and services may rise 2.7 percent this year, the most since a 3.4 percent increase in 2000, according to the median estimate of 45 economists surveyed from May 27 to June 7.

U.S. consumer sentiment rallied in early June, according to media reports of proprietary research from the University of Michigan. The UMich consumer sentiment index rose to 95.2 in June from 90.2 in May. It's the highest in two months. Economists expected a slight increase to about 90.5. The current conditions index increased to 108.1 from 103.6 in May. The expectations index rose to 86.9 in June from 81.6 in May.

http://www.bloomberg.com

Trade gap sets another record in April -CBSMW
Imports rise despite decline in oil imports, exports fall
By Gregory Robb, CBS Marketwatch.com
June 14, 2004

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Defying the predictions of economists, the U.S. trade gap surged further into record territory in April, it was reported Monday.

The nation's trade deficit widened by 3.8 percent in April to $48.3 billion, the Commerce Department said. This marked the second straight month for a record trade gap. Read full report.

The widening of the trade deficit was unexpected. Wall Street economists had predicted that the trade deficit would narrow to $45.1 billion.

Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit for March was revised to $46.7 billion from the $46.0 billion initially estimated last month.

Some economists said the trade gap would be a drag on second-quarter growth in gross domestic product, but others cautioned that it was too soon to say as April is the first month of the reporting period.

Imports continued to increase while exports fell in April after two impressive monthly gains.

Imports rose 0.2 percent to a record $142.3 billion.

http://www.CBSMarketwatch.com

Higher Rates Not Automatically Bad News For Metals -Dow Jones

New York, June 14 (OsterDowJones) - Comex Aug gold futures sagged to 14- day lows of $383.50 per ounce Monday on light dealer selling amid a scarce buyer environment.

Dealers said players seemed content to camp on the sidelines over the short term ahead of the release of the Consumer Price Index on Tuesday morning. They said that that data will offer further insight into the extent of inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy and therefore provide another guide as to when to expect interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve.

Paul McLeod, vice president of precious metals trading at Commerzbank in New York, said: "All the talk in the gold market right now is about the U.S. dollar yield and interest rates, so consumer prices are closely watched for signs of inflation that will affect the dollar. Being as that is the next big thing on the agenda, people seem to be waiting for it."

The all but certain forthcoming rise in U.S. interest rates isn't necessarily bad news for base metal prices, Australia's Macquarie Bank said in a report issued Monday.

"There seems to be a general assumption that the start of a rising interest rate cycle in the U.S. is automatically bad news for metals prices, although we would focus more on the prospects for global economic growth, and therefore metals demand growth, than U.S. interest rates per se," it said.

The benchmark Fed Funds rate in the U.S. has been held at a multi-decade low of 1% for more than a year now, in an effort to provide monetary stimulus to a lackluster domestic economy.

However, concern about the eventual impact of higher rates has weighed on base metals recently, particularly last week when seemingly hawkish comments on inflation by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan triggered a sharp pullback in prices.

But given their effective inevitability, the prospect of higher rates this year "surely... no longer represents a bearish surprise" to the market, Macquarie said.

"It is understandable that the metals market would view increasing interest rates as a negative for future economic growth and therefore a bearish factor for metals prices," it acknowledged.

But Macquarie stressed that the historical relationship isn't so simple, noting that from 1990 to 2002, base metals prices and U.S. rates were in fact positively correlated.

http://www.dowjones.com

The End of Cheap Oil -National Geographic
June 2004
By Tim Appenzeller, Photographs by Sarah Leen

It's inevitable. But just how soon will the vital fuel become so scarce and expensive that we're forced to make hard choices about how we live?

Get a taste of what awaits you in print from this compelling excerpt.

Below more than a mile of ocean and three more of mud and rock, the prize is waiting. At the surface a massive drilling vessel called the Discoverer Enterprise strains to reach it. It's the spring of 2003, and for more than two months now the Enterprise has been holding steady over a spot 120 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship is driving a well toward an estimated one billion barrels of oil below the seafloor—the biggest oil field discovered in United States territory in three decades.

The 835-foot (255-meter) Enterprise shudders every few minutes as its thrusters put out a burst of power to fight the strong current. The PA system crackles, warning of small amounts of gas bubbling from the deep Earth. And in the shadow of the 23-story-tall derrick, engineers and managers gather in worried knots. "We've got an unstable hole," laments Bill Kirton, who's overseeing the project for the oil giant BP.

The drill, suspended from the Enterprise's derrick through a swimming-pool-size gap in the hull, has penetrated 17,000 feet (5,000 meters) below the seafloor. Instead of boring straight down, it has swerved more than a mile sideways, around a massive plume of rock salt. But now, with 2,000 feet (600 meters) to go, progress is stalled. Water has begun seeping into the well from the surrounding rock, and the engineers are determined to stem its spread before drilling farther. Otherwise, the trickle of water could turn into an uncontrolled surge of crude. "There's a lot of oil down there wanting to come out," says Cecil Cheshier, a drilling supervisor, after struggling all night with the unruly hole. "You can cut corners and take chances—but that could cost you a lawsuit or cause a spill into the Gulf of Mexico, and then deepwater drilling gets shut down."

The troubled well is just one of 25 that BP plans to drill in the giant field, called Thunder Horse, which sprawls over 54 square miles (140 square kilometers) of seafloor. The entire project, including a floating platform half again as wide as a football field that will collect the oil from individual wells and pipe it to shore starting next year, will cost four billion dollars. But if the wells live up to expectations, each will eventually gush tens of thousands of barrels a day. "That's like a well in Saudi Arabia," says Cheshier. "We hardly get those in the U.S. anymore."

You wouldn't know it from the hulking SUVs and traffic-clogged freeways of the United States, but we're in the twilight of plentiful oil. There's no global shortage yet; far from it. The world can still produce so much crude that the current price of about $30 for a 42-gallon barrel would plummet if the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) did not limit production. This abundance of oil means, for now, that oil is cheap. In the United States, where gasoline taxes average 43 cents a gallon (instead of dollars, as in Europe and Japan), a gallon of gasoline can be cheaper than a bottle of water—making it too cheap for most people to bother conserving. While oil demand is up everywhere, the U.S. remains the king of consumers, slurping up a quarter of the world's oil—about three gallons a person every day—even though it has just 5 percent of the population.

Yet as the Enterprise drillers know, slaking the world's oil thirst is harder than it used to be. The old sources can't be counted on anymore. On land the lower 48 states of the U.S. are tapped out, producing less than half the oil they did at their peak in 1970. Production from the North Slope of Alaska and the North Sea of Europe, burgeoning oil regions 20 years ago, is in decline. Unrest in Venezuela and Nigeria threatens the flow of oil. The Middle East remains the mother lode of crude, but war and instability underscore the perils of depending on that region.

And so oil companies are searching for new supplies and braving high costs, both human and economic. Making gambles like Thunder Horse and venturing into West Africa and Russia, they are still finding oil in quantities to gladden a Hummer owner's heart. But in the end the quest for more cheap oil will prove a losing game: Not just because oil consumption imposes severe costs on the environment, health, and taxpayers, but also because the world's oil addiction is hastening a day of reckoning.

Humanity's way of life is on a collision course with geology—with the stark fact that the Earth holds a finite supply of oil. The flood of crude from fields around the world will ultimately top out, then dwindle. It could be 5 years from now or 30: No one knows for sure, and geologists and economists are embroiled in debate about just when the "oil peak" will be upon us. But few doubt that it is coming. "In our lifetime," says economist Robert K. Kaufmann of Boston University, who is 46, "we will have to deal with a peak in the supply of cheap oil."

Get the whole story in the pages of National Geographic magazine.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com

Economic Data June 21-25, 2004
---------------------------------------------
MONDAY, June 21, 2004:
Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills
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TUESDAY, June 22, 2004:
Weekly Chain Store Sales (9 am ET)
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WEDNESDAY, June 23, 2004:
Treasury auctions 2-year notes
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THURSDAY, June 24, 2004:
Durable Goods Orders for May (8:30 am ET)
Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 am ET)
New Home Sales for May (10 am ET)
Help Wanted Index for May (10 am ET)
Weekly Money Supply (4:30 pm ET)
---------------------------------------------
FRIDAY, June 25, 2004:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q1 (8:30 am ET)
Corporate Profits for Q1 (8:30 am ET)
Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for June (9:45 am ET)
Existing Home Sales for May (10 am ET)
---------------------------------------------

COMMENTARY

END MONETARY POLLUTION, BUY GOLD! -Craig R. Smith, CEO SATC
Jun 15, 2004

"When the money of any country loses its backing there is no standard for any behaviour. Money sets a standard that spreads into every area of human activity."

-HARRY SCHULTZ, The International Harry Schultz Letter

INTRODUCTION

The only solution to the "monetary pollution" created over the last three decades is a return to the gold standard, according to Swiss banker and author, Ferdinand Lips. Below is the text of his latest speech in which he explains in detail to audiences from Bahrein to Tokyo that we are on the threshold of a historic "dollar panic" that could incite a "gold panic" any day.

Mr. Lips, in the tradition of sage Swiss bankers, gives the reader a peak at the top ten reasons why a return to the gold standard must become a top priority before the next geopolitical crisis hits or inflation spins out of control.

After reading this speech you will be moved to reconsider your position on both gold and silver, as Mr. Lips is even more bullish on silver than gold, due to historic ratios and supply/demand statistics.

To help the reader understand the historic importance of a gold standard and the 100-year old debate, we have included link to order Mr. Lips book, "GOLD WARS" (2002) and several other important article links in the Addendex.

I have corresponded with Ferdinand and he is the real McCoy. May we all find the same inspiration from his speech that prompted our Founding Fathers to demand a gold standard back in the 1792 Coinage Act.

May 2004 bring We the People closer to financial realism -- and may we have the courage to boldly tell our leaders that the time has come to restore the standard of greatness to our money system - GOLD!

FULL STORY

The Islamic Gold Dinar -Raidan Al-Saqqaf, Yeman Times
June 15, 2004

In order to minimize dependency on US Dollar; Malaysia will be using the golden Dinar in its international trade transactions with other Muslim nations before the end of this year, as a step to push the new currency (Islamic Dinar) to be the currency adopted by the Islamic countries in their inter-transactions in order to increase the number of trade transactions between Islamic countries and enhance their economic development.

The idea came from Professor Omar Ibrahim Fadillo, founder of the Morabeteen International Organization. According to him; Islamic unity can only be established after the economic unity, coordination and cooperation between the Islamic nations. In addition to that, the important thing behind this concept is that it denotes a symbol from the Islamic history, and adjusting it with today’s international trade operations, symbolizes the real power of Islamic concepts especially while encouraging boycotting of American products, and to limit the influence of the American dollar.

The success of the gold Dinar as a unified Islamic currency is dependent on three factors: (a) the level of demand for the golden Dinar as a currency, (b) the number of trade transactions between countries dealing in this currency, and (c) the intensity of economic cooperation and coordination between Islamic countries.

Islamic countries will benefit in many ways from implementing this new currency project, most important of which is that these countries need not have enormous foreign currencies reserves. On the other hand, it is sad to point out that the insignificant amount of trade and economic cooperation between Arab and Muslim nations, knowing that the overall total production of all the Arab countries is less than that of Spain.

Indeed, this is a very hard time for the Arab world, especially after the war on Iraq; each country now has its own foreign policy and follows its own road, not towards Arab unity but towards its own individual interests. This demonstrates the weaknesses of our nations. We have no shared strategies for the region or future plans with our neighboring Arab and Muslim countries, we are in a sad position lacking in the teamwork required for both short and long term survival.

However, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad understands the magnitude of the situation; his attempt to create a united Islamic market using one currency, which is the gold Islamic Dinar, is praiseworthy. The system is built on the idea that the Islamic governments keep the gold in a central bank and use it in settling their commercial dealings between each other. Mr. Mahathir has also conducted in 2002 bilateral talks with several Islamic countries, including Bahrain, Libya, Morocco and Iran, in order to convince them to use the Islamic Dinar as a way of payment in their commercial dealings with Malaysia. Now the ball is in our court; whether Mahathir’s attempt is to succeed or fail, that depends on our governments.

Endnote: The Islamic golden Dinar can increase the amount of trade between Muslim countries; in fact, it can create a strong fund unity that helps our economic position.

YemenTimes

Read the FULL STORY on The Gold Dinar ...

I AM THE FLAG -RUTH APPERSON ROUS

I am the flag of the United States of America.
I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.
There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.
My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.
Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.
My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.
My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters. My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.
My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.
I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.
I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.
I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.
I am as old as my nation.
I am a living symbol of my nation's law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy: "A government of the people, by the people, for the people."
I stand guard over my nation's schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.
I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.
Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.
I have my own law-Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.
I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.
Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.
I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.
If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots. Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.
As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.
Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.
Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.
God grant that I may spend eternity in my "land of the free and the home of the brave" and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.

IAMTHEFLAG.com

On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson announced during his Memorial Day address, that June 14th of each year would be celebrated as Flag Day. "This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation," said President Wilson. "It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation... Though silent, it speaks to us -- speaks to us of the past, of the men and women who went before us, and of the records they wrote upon it."

On Flag Day 2004, we American patriots to display and pay homage to our National Flag.

A TIME FOR CHOOSING -Ronald Reagan, 1964

[Ronald Reagan's "A time for choosing," is considered one of the most successful political fundraising speeches in history. It was made on Oct. 27, 1964. In this speech Ronald Reagan urges voters to support Barry Goldwater, who was the candidate for President.]

I have spent most of my life as a Democrat. I recently have seen fit to follow another course. I believe that the issues confronting us cross party lines. But I have an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn't something upon which we can base our hopes for the future.

No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income. Today, thirty-seven cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector's share, and yet our government continues to spend 17 million dollars a day more than the government takes in. We haven't balanced our budget twenty-eight out of the last thirty-four years. We have raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months, and now our national debt is one and a half times bigger than all the combined debts of all the nations of the world.

Well, I think it's time we ask ourselves if we still know the freedoms that were intended for us by the Founding Fathers.

FULL SPEECH
ORDER THE VIDEO FROM REAGANFOUNDATION.ORG

THE IRON LADY STILL HAS HER MAGIC -John Mauldin, FLT
June 11, 2004

There they were. The Iron Lady, Baroness Thatcher, sitting next to Mikhail Gorbachev at the funeral. I had watched them as they paid their respects to Reagan under the Capital Dome. You could see they were moved, as they remembered the man with whom they had acted upon the largest stages of the world, forever changing the course of human events.

Her doctor would not allow her to speak, so she recorded her eulogy. She was seemingly frail as she moved around the capital. Would she, I wondered, be able to find that part of her which earned her the title "The Iron Lady?"

She did, and then some. I am sure my English friends know of a more dramatic speech by the Prime Minister, but I can remember none. It was warm and yet showed the old fire within her. Is there a man with soul so hard who did not tear up listening to her speech? I will close with a few brief comments after we read the text of Baroness Margaret Thatcher's eulogy at the funeral of President Ronald Reagan:

THE GREAT LIBERATOR -Baroness Margaret Thatcher

We have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man. And I have lost a dear friend. In his lifetime Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk.

Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. For Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause - what Arnold Bennett once called 'the great cause of cheering us all up'. His politics had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation - and ultimately from the very heart of the evil empire.

Yet his humour often had a purpose beyond humour. In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria, one great heart at least remained sane and jocular. They were truly grace under pressure.

And perhaps they signified grace of a deeper kind. Ronnie himself certainly believed that he had been given back his life for a purpose. As he told a priest after his recovery "Whatever time I've got left now belongs to the Big Fella Upstairs."

And surely it is hard to deny that Ronald Reagan's life was providential, when we look at what he achieved in the eight years that followed. Others prophesied the decline of the West; he inspired America and its allies with renewed faith in their mission of freedom.

Others saw only limits to growth; he transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.

Others hoped, at best, for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union; he won the Cold War - not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.

I cannot imagine how any diplomat, or any dramatist, could improve on his words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva summit: "Let me tell you why it is we distrust you."

Those words are candid and tough and they cannot have been easy to hear. But they are also a clear invitation to a new beginning and a new relationship that would be rooted in trust.

We live today in the world that Ronald Reagan began to reshape with those words. It is a very different world with different challenges and new dangers. All in all, however, it is one of greater freedom and prosperity, one more hopeful than the world he inherited on becoming president.

As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president.

Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively.

When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership.

And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding.

Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform.

Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire.' But he realized that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation.

Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.

Therein lies perhaps the final explanation of his achievements. Ronald Reagan carried the American people with him in his great endeavours because there was perfect sympathy between them. He and they loved America and what it stands for - freedom and opportunity for ordinary people.

As an actor in Hollywood's golden age, he helped to make the American dream live for millions all over the globe. His own life was a fulfillment of that dream. He never succumbed to the embarrassment some people feel about an honest expression of love of country.

He was able to say 'God Bless America' with equal fervour in public and in private. And so he was able to call confidently upon his fellow-countrymen to make sacrifices for America - and to make sacrifices for those who looked to America for hope and rescue.

With the lever of American patriotism, he lifted up the world. And so today the world - in Prague, in Budapest, in Warsaw, in Sofia, in Bucharest, in Kiev and in Moscow itself - the world mourns the passing of the Great Liberator and echoes his prayer "God Bless America."

Ronald Reagan's life was rich not only in public achievement, but also in private happiness. Indeed, his public achievements were rooted in his private happiness. The great turning point of his life was his meeting and marriage with Nancy. On that we have the plain testimony of a loving and grateful husband: "Nancy came along and saved my soul." We share her grief today. But we also share her pride - and the grief and pride of Ronnie's children.

For the final years of his life, Ronnie's mind was clouded by illness. That cloud has now lifted. He is himself again - more himself than at any time on this earth. For we may be sure that the Big Fella Upstairs never forgets those who remember Him. And as the last journey of this faithful pilgrim took him beyond the sunset, and as heaven's morning broke, I like to think - in the words of Bunyan - that "all the trumpets sounded on the other side."

We here still move in twilight. But we have one beacon to guide us that Ronald Reagan never had. We have his example. Let us give thanks today for a life that achieved so much for all of God's children. [speech end]

-------

This Mortal Coil and the Nature of Funerals

"What," I wondered, "were Bush, Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford thinking as they heard the words spoken this day? Were they thinking of their future date with destiny and what would be said? Were not all the great and near great who were in attendance, the leaders of the world, reflecting upon their own legacies? Would history and their friends be so kind to them?"

(As a side note, Gorbachev reached over to Thatcher after her eulogy, partly in comfort, but also, I imagine, grateful that she accorded him a place of redemption and honor for his own legacy.)

In fact, when we attend the funeral of someone who has life has made an impact upon his world for good, whether small or large, do we not all reflect upon our own small roles in this mortal coil as we play our part upon our local stages? For Shakespeare, coil was a synonym for tumult and turmoil, the hurry and bustle of life.

And much of life seems to be in fact a mortal coil - tumult and turmoil, full of hurry and bustle. How much, we wonder, of what we do matters?

Yet life does matter, both small and great. The world is a sum of the kindness and friendship, the love and caring, the honor and courage, of us all. As we each do our part, we can help leave a world where our children can hopefully deal with their own coil in a time of peace, finding their own way to redemption through the grace of their God. As we confront the darkness of fear and oppression, both in our back yards and in the world, we can each do our part. And that is a legacy that matters.

Your reflecting upon his own life analyst,

John Mauldin
John@FrontLineThoughts.com

http://www.frontlinethoughts.com

YOU CAN'T BE LUCKY FOREVER -Bill Bonner, DR
June 14, 2004

We were pumping gas at a station along the autoroute on the way home last night. For $60, we got about half a tank of diesel fuel.

Soon, prices will probably be as high in the homeland.

On the front page of today's International Herald Tribune is a story announcing a fall-off in oil production, even though reserves have increased.

Normally, production rises with the discovery of new reserves. But lately, reported reserves are still climbing, but the amount of oil coming out of the ground is dribbling down.

Readers may recognize this phenomenon as "peak oil," a hypothesis put forward by a growing number of geologists who think the world really is running out of oil - at least at the kind of prices we've been used to paying. It used to be that new reserves were found at a rate equal to or greater than current production. Now, major new oil deposits are harder to find; we've already looked almost everywhere. At some point... possibly next year... oil production is expected to peak out; the world will never again pump so much of the stuff.

"Everybody lies about reserves," said a source quoted in the IHT article. Apparently, the more reserves a nation has, the higher its production quota. Knowing that everyone else lies about it, even honest nations are tempted to grease the numbers.

Besides, oil is typically regarded as a strategic commodity. Producers keep the truth to themselves.

So, no one really knows how much ready oil the world really has. And no one knows when, and how, actual production will fall off. But however much oil is left, the amount goes down everyday. And if Americans expect to use it, they're going to have to bid against Asians for it.

One expert, mentioned here last week, estimates that the price of oil needs to rise by more than 400% in order to bring demand in line with real supply.

How fortunate we've all been! The industrial revolution gave us such a head start on the rest of the world, we were able to use up much of the world's easily available energy before the Chinese and Indians ever got into the race.

And thank God for communism! We never understood why Ronald Reagan was so eager to get rid of it. Instead, we give a cheer for Lenin... and a loud huzzah for Mao too. As long as you didn't have to live in a communist country, it was wonderful. For many decades, it kept millions of people penniless - unable to compete for the world's oil. And while the U.S. guzzled cheap oil for half a century, communism retarded the economic development of its competitors.

Alas, you can't be lucky forever. Now, every remaining barrel of oil comes on the market with people bidding for it from all over the planet... Americans, Europeans, Russians... and 3 billion Asians too!

*** A friend sends this... a remembrance of Ray Charles. Perhaps America's householders will find it useful, he says, as interest rates rise.

Busted
by Ray Charles

My bills are all due and the baby needs shoes and I'm busted
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound, but I'm busted
I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay
A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day
The county's gonna haul my belongings away 'cause I'm busted.

I went to my brother to ask for a loan 'cause I was busted
I hate to beg like a dog without his bone, but I'm busted
My brother said there ain't a thing I can do,
My wife and my kids are all down with the flu,
And I was just thinking about calling on you 'cause I'm busted.

Well, I am no thief, but a man can go wrong when he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone and I'm busted
The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow,
Me and my family got to pack up and go,
But I'll make a living, just where I don't know cause I'm busted.

I'm broke, no bread, I mean like nothing,

(Substitute "$200 basketball sneakers" for "shoes," "BMW" for "belongings," and "swimming pool" for "cow.")

http://www.dailyreckoning.com

THE FAITH FACTOR -Nancy Gibbs, TIME
Just how devout do Americans want their President to be? The answer is proving to be a major reason why the 2004 campaign is so divisive
June 13, 2004

It's only natural that a country founded by pilgrims would never let its politics wander far from its faith. As voters weigh the faith-based presidency of George W. Bush, they should note that his is hardly the first of its kind.

George Washington ad-libbed the line "So help me God" at the end of his swearing-in, and Thomas Jefferson extolled Jesus as the most important philosopher in his life two centuries before Bush ever did. Abraham Lincoln, the President whom Bush says he admires most, called the Civil War God's punishment for the sin of slavery, and the presidency an office that drove him to his knees "by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."

William McKinley decided to invade the Philippines to "uplift and civilize and Christianize" its people. And Woodrow Wilson, a son and grandson of ministers, believed that God had ordained him to be President, inspiring Freud to wonder whether he had a Messiah complex.

And yet, and yet. . .

http://www.time.com

THE GOAL OF A FATHER -David Delk, Maninthemirror.org
June 2004

There are many different goals that parents have for their children. Some of the goals prevalent in our society are a good education, proper behavior and manners, high self-esteem, social or economic success, and happiness.

While these are good goals, they each fall short of our ultimate purpose as parents, because they miss the heart of the matter our children's relationship with God. Our ultimate goal should be God's ultimate goal, to help our children live a life of faith and dependence on Him.

The primary purpose of parenting is to create an environment that helps our children be transformed into the image of Christ. The Bible shows time and again how God changes men's and women's hearts so that they can have a renewed relationship with Him. As parents, we cannot change our children's hearts -- only God can do that. But we can be His instruments by helping our children learn that they desperately need to depend on Christ. As the psalmist wrote, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God" (Ps. 146:5).

3 KEYS TO REACHING YOUR GOAL

How do we create an environment that helps our children learn to depend on God? We do this by showing unconditional love, administering discipline, and being honest and vulnerable.

1. Show Unconditional Love

By loving our children unconditionally, we model God's love (Psalm 103:13). During the times of stress in our families, when waves of crisis come crashing over the walls, our children should never doubt that we have a deep and abiding love for them. They learn to depend on our love in much the same way we want them to learn to depend on God's love.

Our children have an emotional bank account, just like our spouses. Often, disobedient attitudes and actions come when their bank account is empty. Make daily deposits into the emotional bank accounts of your children by reading stories, playing wrestle, taking a walk, shooting baskets, or catching a movie. Keeping the bank account full lays a solid foundation for a life of dependence on the love of God.

Here are some more ideas for showing unconditional love:

Eyes -- Don't look your children in the eye only when you are angry with them, but communicate "I Love You" with your eyes at times when they have done nothing special to deserve it.

Focused attention -- Concentrated time with your children communicates "you're important" and "I'd rather be with you than do something else." Many of us need to put down the paper, turn off the TV or computer, and focus on our children. If we establish a pattern of really listening to our children about "unimportant" things, they will feel the freedom to approach us with more serious matters.

Look for Open Doors -- Keep an eye out for the times when your children are especially open to expressions of love: 1) When they find something funny; 2) When they have accomplished something; 3) When they are ill and want your love; 4) When they are hurt emotionally; and 5) During times of pleasant experience (camping, athletics, etc.)

2. Administer Discipline

God disciplines us to help us return to a right relationship with Him (Hebrews 12:7-11).

In the same way, when we discipline our children, we help shape their attitude and character. As Christian parents, we cannot be satisfied with children who simply act moral. The heart governs the actions, and God will judge our children's hearts. We don't want them to grow up thinking they can be self-sufficient and righteous in their own strength; rather we want them to realize that only God can change their hearts and give them the righteousness of Christ.

Here are some keys to effective discipline:

Remember that your goal is to shape the attitudes of your child's heart.

Discipline your child's attitude, not just the action. Continue the discipline until your child shows that his/her attitudes have changed. Don't stop short just because he is willing to stop the offending action. Appeal to his conscience so that he will see his sinful heart and know that he needs God. Always affirm your love for your child as you discipline.

Require "First Time" Obedience.

At the heart of many disobedient actions is an attitude of defiance. If we do not require obedience the first time we ask, we simply encourage our children to creatively develop this defiant attitude toward us, and, by extension, toward God. Once your children know that you will discipline them the first time, they will obey the first time. This prepares them to live a life of obedience and dependence on God.

Praising positive attitudes helps prevent discipline problems.

When you praise your child, he will gain an appropriate self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. Make sure that you praise for attitudes as well as behavior ("Johnny, you had such a kind and helpful spirit when you put those blocks in the basket."). Be sure that your praise includes focused attention, affirmation, physical contact and eye contact. All of these things help to shape your child's heart.

Discipline is for the child, not the parent.

There is a tendency to use discipline as a way for the parent to stop unwanted behaviors and get a few minutes of peace. Then the child returns to normal activity without ever being confronted with his sinful attitudes. But discipline should primarily be focused on helping the child, not the parent. Make sure that you follow-up discipline with an appeal to your child's conscience, seeking to transform the attitude that led to the disobedience and defiance.

3. Be Honest and Vulnerable.

Sometimes men want to parent by reputation rather than reality. They don't want their children to think that there are any "chinks in their armor".

But if we want our children to learn to depend on God, we need to be open and honest with our children about our own failures and weaknesses. We need to let them see that we are not self-sufficient, that we can't make it on our own. They need to see us living a life of dependence on God.

When we fail to love our children the way we should, or when we discipline them in an unrighteous way, we need to ask for their forgiveness. If we sin against our wives or others in the presence of our children, we need to let them know that we have asked for forgiveness and restored the relationship. Our kids already realize that we are not perfect, we may as well go ahead and admit it. They need to know that although we will not always meet their needs, God will.

CONCLUSION

When we love our children unconditionally, we teach them that they are valuable and that God has created them to live in a relationship of dependence on Him. When we discipline our children, we help them see the limits of their own "self-righteousness" and their desperate need for the righteousness of Christ. When we are vulnerable with our children, we model for them a life of dependence and faith in God.

As fathers, we cannot afford to be distracted by the multitude of choices and options that confront us each day. We have a limited amount of time to impact our children, and we need to make each day count. Commit today to lift your eyes and focus on the goal that God has for you -- helping your children live a life of obedience and dependence on God.

FULL STORY
David Delk is the Executive Director of Man in the Mirror.

LAST WEEK'S HEADLINES ...
REAGAN'S LEGACY
Jun 11, 2004
MARKET NEWS DIGEST
-> Fed. Gov't, Markets Close to Honor Reagan -AP
-> G-8: U.S. can handle 'modest' hike, Bush -CBSMW
-> Greenspan: "Do What's Needed" to Stem Inflation
-> Fed to Double Rates This Year, Bond Firms Say
-> Dollar dives against yen on Nikkei rally - CBSMW
-> NY precious metals hit by dlr strength -Reuters
-> High prices at the pump aren't a gas -USATODAY