-Caveat Lector- >From Slate.CoM <E-mail-able> > > ARTICLES > Hail to the King > What Jimmy Carter has in common with Henry VI. > By Steven E. Landsburg > Posted Monday, August 23, 1999, at 4:30 p.m. PT > > Henry VI was the Jimmy Carter of the 15th century: > Ostentatiously pious, surrounded by mediocrities, and > oblivious to England's crumbling international prestige, he > managed to cripple the military and bankrupt the government > simultaneously. Contemporary accounts repeatedly emphasize his > gullibility. Senior statesmen of Henry's own Lancastrian party > judged him an unworthy successor to their previous > standard-bearer, the legendary Henry V, identified in the popular > mind with the romance of chivalry and the tragedy of an early > death. > > All London cheered when Henry VI was driven from office by > Edward IV, an almost unbelievably charismatic and handsome > man whose personal badge, the Sun in Splendor, evokes the > image of a shining city on a hill. The elegance of Edward's court > contrasted sharply with Henry's drab and simple style, and the > implied promise of a brighter future proved spectacularly true. > After a rocky first few years in office, Edward shored up the > military, restored England's presence abroad, initiated serious > economic reforms, and presided over a decade of remarkable peace > and prosperity. He was, however, frequently distracted by attacks > on his wife, who was seen as an extravagant spendthrift and a > sinister influence on the king. > > Edward was followed in office by Richard III, the man who had > been closer to Edward than any other. Though renowned for his > great personal courage, Richard was widely disdained as a man > with no guiding principles other than an instinct for power. > Before long he had squandered his predecessor's magnificent > legacy. The general dissatisfaction with Richard spilled over > onto the Yorkist party, which had seemed so invincible with > Edward at the helm, and raised Lancastrian hopes of regaining the > crown. > > Determined not to miss this opportunity, the Lancastrians > swallowed their distrust of relative outsiders and turned to > Henry Tudor. Henry was from the remote country of Wales, but he > looked like a winner. And so he was. After ousting Richard and > claiming the throne as Henry VII, one of his first official acts > was to raise taxes. It was Henry's tax collector, John Morton, > who invented the notorious policy known as "Morton's Fork": If > you live extravagantly, then you can obviously afford to pay more > taxes. On the other hand, if you live frugally, then you can > obviously afford to pay more taxes. > > If history repeats itself, we ought to be able to figure out > who's destined to succeed Bill Clinton in the White House. Henry > VII was followed by Henry VIII, a man best remembered for his > gargantuan appetites, his dissipative lifestyle, his troubled > marriages, and his rocky relationship with the Catholic Church. > The message is clear. Ted Kennedy, your time has come at last. > > RELATED ON THE WEB > > Learn more about the former president at the Jimmy Carter > Library and Museum > [http://carterlibrary.galileo.peachnet.edu/] Web site. Click here > [http://www.britannia.com/history/h6f.html] for a list of all the > monarchs of England since 802. The site includes profiles of > Henry VI [http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon36.html], > Edward IV [http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon37.html], > Richard III > [http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon39.html], Henry VII > [http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon40.html], and Henry > VIII [http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon41.html] (the > one who's like Ted Kennedy). One thing that Henry VI did right > was his 1440 founding of Eton College > [http://www.etoncollege.com/], which the boys of the British > royal family still attend. > > RELATED IN SLATE > > Jimmy Carter is a central figure in Jacob Weisberg's "Strange > Bedfellow [../../StrangeBedfellow/98-06-12/StrangeBedfellow.asp] > " about how the human rights issue became such a major issue in > the United States' policy toward China. > > . A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Universal Declaration of Human Rights + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
