The New Hampshire Gazette, Friday, December 31, 2021 ...

1 The New Hampshire Gazette, Friday, December 31, 2021 Page 1. We Put the Vol. CCLXVI, No. 8 The New Hampshire Gazette Free! Friday, December 31, 2021 The Nation's Oldest Newspaper Editor: Steven Fowle Founded 1756 by Daniel Fowle PO Box 756, Portsmouth, NH 03802 in Free Press The Fortnightly Rant Understatement of the Century T ime Magazine's Man, Woman, Thing, or Random Editorial Notion of the Year is a promotional stunt masquerading as a tradi- strong men of Europe. Luce tried to mold his own strong man in China. In 1937 Time named Generalissimo tion. Every year, though, Americans* pay at- Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei- tention to it. Why? Ask Charlie Brown why ling referred to as Madame Chiang, of he lands flat on his back every fall. course as its International Man & Wife of This annual marketing ritual does have one the Year. A rare honor, perhaps, but the couple saving grace: it reliably provokes the savage wit had appeared on the cover before, in 1931. of our Starving Artiste.

2 The magazine misfired Madam Chiang made another appear- badly by featuring a billionaire who wants to ance, solo, in 1943. Far from being outdone, go to another planet without having under- the Generalissimo's face appeared alone, aglow stood this one. Mr. Dater, on the other hand, with all the glory Time's art department could has once again pinpointed or pen-pointed bestow upon it, in 1927, 1933, 1936, 1938, the single most salient thing going on today. 1942, 1945, 1948, and 1955. Our only quibble is that of the Year is the That's a lot of hype to lavish on one man, understatement of the century. even a supposed ally particularly when that Cheap flim-flammery is all we should ex- ally's corruption was so pernicious that it led pect from a rag with such a pernicious history; FDR to OK his assassination.. in its 98 years, Time the magazine has done FDR's ire stemmed from Chiang's habit more damage than the natural phenomenon of demanding ever-greater amounts of aid to after which it is named.

3 Much of that history support his starving, ill-equipped Koumintang is archived in the pages of Henry Luce's week- troops. Never mind that they were starving ly news magazine. Don't take Time's version at because Chiang was raking off much of the face value, though. Many essential elements money, or that when it came time to fight the are missing, especially certain linkages which Japanese, or later the Communists, his troops would help to explain a great deal of the 20th were elsewhere, and otherwise occupied. century's bloodshed. Among the Koumintang's other occupations, Luce was born in China, the son of a Pre- opium smuggling ranked high. syterian missionary. That personal connection Despite his innumerable flaws and failings, convinced him, despite ample evidence to Chiang remained a hero in the pages of Time. the contrary, that he knew all anyone need- Its constant cheerleading on behalf of the ed to about the Celestial Empire. In this he China Lobby diverted assets from the fight greatly resembled a powerful contemporary against Japan, and set the stage for wars in Ko- with a similar, if less respectable, connection.

4 Rea and Vietnam. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's grandfather We have offered this forced march down Warren Delano Jr. had made the family's for- memory lane with a sense of nostalgia for a tune by smuggling shiploads of opium into better, happier time. Sure, the world was at war China. In fact, many respectable American everywhere you looked, even as our weapons fortunes were founded by 19th century drug became ever more frightening. Bellicose fools pushers. seemed determined at every junction to make cially here, in the biggest, strongest country on We have even lost the comforting notion Even Luce, the missionary's son, had his things worse by hook or by crook. Earth. That ought to matter, right? that we might be overstating the magnitude of own connection to the opium racket. His was But all throughout we had the hope per- Uh, nope. Not anymore, Bunkie. the threat. Former New Hampshire Supreme just a few steps further removed, in the person haps not well-founded, but hope it was that The moral and political successors to the Court Chief Justice John Broderick wrote on of a one-time Person of the Year.

5 We might turn things around. Within living China Lobby think there has been entirely too Monday, in the Hollowed Out Local Daily, At the height of its power, from the 1930s memory we had seen peace treaties signed, much democratizing going on around here. that Republicans in Congress and legisla- through the 1970s, Time was a mighty mega- followed by periods of prosperity. Bolstered, like Luce, by the strength of their tures across the country are actively working phone for the China Lobby. Unelected, uncre- Most people believed that most other peo- misguided opinions, they have diligently la- to grind our democratic process to a halt and dentialed, and unchecked, the China Lobby ple just wanted a chance to make a decent liv- bored to make sure that policies the public replace it with autocratic rule.. practically dominated foreign policy. ing so they could raise their families in peace. favors by two-to-one majorities don't stand a Having stolen nearly everything that's not Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin were the How could that be too much to ask?

6 Espe- chance in Congress. nailed down, the GOP has taken to toting If the people don't like it, let them pester the claw hammers and crowbars. * For the purposes of this Rant we will write as if the The bumpoff was requested by General Vinegar Joe . Americas were uninhabited outside the Our Stillwell, FDR's liaison to Chiang's Koumintang, and Supreme Court, where perjurers in black robes Certain things, though, can never be stolen, apologies to the citizens who outnumber us by was thwarted by surprise, surprise the China Lobby. can solemnly pronounce their concerns to be only cherished and used, or surrendered: our a margin of two-to-one. See our Volume 265, No. 19; June 4, 2021. irrelevant and immaterial. hope, and our will to fight back. The Alleged News . Notice: Subscription Fulfillment Has Been Temporarily Suspended The Warped Politics of Inflation by Thomas Meisenhelder generous government housing poli- to agree, by the rising price of oil, cusing on everything but corporate We are temporarily suspending cies.

7 In other words, ordinary Amer- selected commodities, and essential profits. Their focus is on how rising the mailing of our newspaper to subscribers. We will resume just as soon as conditions allow. T he recurring mantra from Fox, the Republican Party and the mainstream media is that Joe Biden, icans were the problem. As a result of this thinking, the government responded to the crisis by providing services such as health care and ed- ucation. Conservatives, the media, and even many so-called liberals oil prices are increasing production costs (cost-push inflation, really profit push ); how supply chain We are loathe to take this government spending, and the rising banks and other financial institu- seem to agree that prices are rising problems are pushing prices up step. Considering the Omi- incomes of ordinary people are re- because the government has allowed by creating a situation where too cron variant's transmissibility, sponsible for our increasing inflation ordinary people to have too much much money is chasing too few its ability to overcome even full rate.

8 That is incorrect and this error our politicians and other talking money. goods (demand-pull inflation, really vaccination, the average age is preventing an effective national heads' in the news are focusing on Doesn't hearing these explana- profit pull ); and, how things like depth of experience of our staff response to inflation. everything but corporate profits. tions make you want to ask what the national debt, low interest rates, and volunteers, &c. we be- This misconception about infla- country these people live in? Do you human psychology, the rising cost of lieve this is necessary. The paper tion leads to policy errors similar to tions with huge amounts of stim- and your neighbors have too much imports, and the declining worth of will continue to be available for those made in response to the 2008 ulus money while doing very little money? Working people do not the dollar are causing higher infla- physical pickup and online at housing mortgage crisis and eco- for everyday homeowners who were control prices.

9 Corporations con- tion. In short, Joe Biden is to blame: nomic recession. Somehow the me- losing their savings and their homes. trol prices and they increase them to he gave too much money, directly The Editor dia and the politicians understood Today's economic problem is a protect their profits. that crisis to be the result of unwise slightly high inflation rate (6-8 per- Still, our politicians and other The Alleged News . decisions by consumers and overly cent or so) driven, everyone seems talking heads in the news are fo- to page two Page 2 The New Hampshire Gazette, Friday, December 31, 2021. The Alleged News reduce inflation, protect returns on investment, and maintain the value and indirectly, to ordinary people, of our currency. These are all issues of which overlooks the fact that infla- concern to banks and corporations;. tion and government spending are at they matter much less to the mid- best only weakly correlated. dle and working classes who do not What is not talked about are the derive their incomes from loans and ever-growing profits of banks, finan- investments.

10 Cial institutions, and corporations Could it be that the overblown and the wildly increasing incomes and disturbing talk about inflation and shrinking tax responsibilities of from the media and the political the wealthy. It is never recognized Right reflects the corporate fear of that neither Biden nor us ordinary low unemployment, rising wages, folks control the cost of oil, health low interest rates, and subsequent care, education, or the operation of falls in profits and rents (meaning international and national supply payments received from then own- chains. ership of debts and material resourc- Finally, the argument is made es). In the new American economy that the only thing to be done is for dominated by finance, natural re- government and the federal reserve sources, and exports, corporations to tighten the money supply by in- do well when interest rates are high creasing interest rates, increasing and wages are low. When unem- taxes on the middle and working ployment is low and wages go up, classes, and decreasing government corporate profits are threatened.