the family that had once owned the factoryrnsell it when the “salaried employeesrn. . . were within a few years of a full pension”?rnWhy are they totally blameless inrnMr. Kauffman’s moralistic framework?rnIs it merely because they were not “tiedrnto Bata’ia only by the flimsy cord of thernalmighty dollar”? Perhaps only longstandingrnresidents of Batavia should bernallowed to buy Batavian businesses. Perhapsrnonly a Batavian could have savedrnthe factory.rnThrough a system of profit and loss,rnthe market economy decides whichrnfirms survive by rewarding those firmsrnwho respond to customer wants and penalizingrnthose who do not. If the factoryrnwas profitable someone could and wouldrnhave stepped forward to rebuild it. Itsrndemise had nothing to do with Germanrnowners, and to try to rectify the situationrnby restricting ownership would do nothingrnto save the localitv from “internationalization.”rnInstead, if we are to stop the despicablerntrend of “internationalization” andrn”new world orderism,” we must insistrnthat our representatives and judges honorrnthe Constitution rather than trash it.rnWe must insist on extricating the UnitedrnStates from the United Nations, a bodyrnwhich seeks to destroy our Constitutionrnand our local way of life.rn—Dan WinterrowdrnPilot Hill, CArnOn Rock’n’RollrnAs one who was embarrassingly raised inrnthe moral fog of a rock-and-roll culture, Irnenjoyed reminiscing over the Kinks’rnIvrics while reading Jesse Walker’s article,rn”The Muswcll Hillbilly” (March 1997).rnUnfortunately, Ray Davies has not beenrnas consistently reactionary as Mr. Walkerrnimplies. For an example of the “irrationalrnexuberance” in the Kinks’ music, Irnoffer the following lines from their 1981rnhit, “Better Things”:rnI know you got a lot of good thingsrnhappening up aheadrnThe past is gone, it’s all been saidrnHere’s to what the future bringsrnI know tomorrow you’ll find betterrnthings.rnQuite naturally, such optimistic verse remindsrnme why I no longer listen to thernmusic of my youth: blind drivel was suitablernfor a naive teenager, but eventuallyrnwe must open our eyes to the bitter realityrnthat the future might not bring betterrnthings. In other words, I grew up.rn—Brett M. DeckerrnAlexandria, VArnJesse Walker Replies:rnYeah, but you gotta admit, it’s a catchyrntune. On a more serious note, I realizernthat Mr. Decker’s tongue is probablyrngrazing his cheek, but for the benefit ofrnother readers, I’ll point out that “BetterrnThings” is the final cut on Give the PeoplernWhat They Want (1981), an albumrnfilled with songs about people whosernlives are far from happy. The readers ofrnChronicles may thus rest assured thatrnDavies is not guilty of a giddy, immaturernoptimism—or of an adolescent bleaknessrnthat would prevent him from recognizingrnany cause for hope.rnOn the Federal Police StaternSamuel Francis’s article entitled “SomethingrnLike Waco: The New Federal PolicernState” (February 1997) brought tornmind an incident that occurred in myrnneighborhood in November 1994.rnA house across the street was raided byrnthe INS and DEA in the eariy morningrnhours. They broke in with such forcernthat they knocked in the heavy frontrndoor. The attack caused the husband tornhave a heart attack, and the wife, also ailing,rnwas denied access for some hours tornher essential medication. The son, a boyrnwho is not well, developed a severe traumarnas a result of the attack. The DEArnapparently tried to cover for itself by implyingrnto my next-door neighbor that itsrnagents had found illegal narcotics. Thernupshot? They had the wrong address.rnNo apologies followed. I understandrnthat the family sued the governmentrn(more money from the taxpayers), althoughrnI do not know the final dispositionrnof the case.rnThis assault by government goons onrninnocent people as well as the numerousrneases that Mr. Francis cites cry out forrnsome kind of clearinghouse for collectingrna database on government transgressions.rnWith the “information highway”rnnow available, such a database should berneasy to establish and maintain and couldrnbe invaluable in publicizing, as well asrndefending against, these federal assaults.rn—Robert C. WhittenrnCupertino, CArnOn Gabriel Garcia MorenornWilliam Mills was right about so muchrnin his account of Ecuador (“DownrnEcuador Way,” Part I and II, Decemberrn1996 and January 1997) that it is unfortunaternthat his only reference to GabrielrnGarcia Moreno was a passing one havingrnto do with this “ruler of the country duringrnpart of the 19th century” guillotiningrnhis “enemies.” The reference reducedrnGarcia Moreno (1821-1875) to thernstature of a tin-horn tyrant.rnIn truth, there was ample reason forrnthe late Hamish Eraser to hail himrnas “the greatest [Catholic] statesman wernhave had since the Reformation.” It wasrnalso to Garcia Moreno that Pope Pius IXrnreferred when he said, “If every rulerrnspent a half-hour each day in meditation,rnthe face of the world would berntransformed.” Well, Moreno, spent morernthan a half-hour in prayer and meditation.rnMass, the Rosary, and devotionsrnwere all part of his daily routine. It wasrnafter a visit with Our Lord in the BlessedrnSacrament that Masonic assassins killedrnhim on the porch of the cathedral inrnQuito. His last words: “You cannot killrnGod.”rnA warrior and educator (he spent timernas rector of the National University) asrnwell as a statesman, always opposed tornthe corrupt and un-Christian oligarchyrnwhose misrule he replaced, “recognizedrnby the masses [in the words of the oldrnCatholic Encyclopedia, 1915] as a leaderrnloyal to both their common Faith andrntheir common country,” it is true that afterrnsparing the lives of several leaders of arnseditious movement, “though they hadrnby all law and custom incurred thernpenalty of death, he was severely criticizedrnfor ordering the execution of anotherrnsuch when it had become evidentrnthat an example was necessary for thernpeace of the republic.” That execution,rnhowever, scarcely made Garcia Moreno arnbloody despot accustomed to “guillotiningrnhis enemies” routinely. Nor did itrnprevent Pius IX from erecting in Rome arnmonument to the memory of the greatrnman.rn—Gary PotterrnWashington, D.C.rn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn