Page 14 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • January 9, 2013 sian grand duke, he or she should not expect the rest of us to bail him or her out. The rest of us just might have troubles of our own. Can either party save the economy? No. One hundred years ago, the United States was a secret partner in a tri-partite treaty with the United Kingdom and Japan. The British and the Japanese inked the treaty in 1902, and it lasted for 20 years. The U.S. role was silent, but palpable. The paper trail showed President Theodore Roosevelt telling future President William Howard Taft to sign the top secret TaftKatsura Agreement of 1905. Japan got Korea. The U.S. got the Philippines, which we already had, but could have had trouble holding onto if the Japanese had supported the Filipino insurrectionists, as some of them wanted to. In moral terms, it was a sellout by both sides. America betrayed democracy and the right of all peoples to govern themselves. Japan betrayed the proclaimed brotherhood of all Asians. The secret deal, however, made some people a lot of money. Above all, it kept Russia out of China and India, two huge countries where people knew what money was and how to earn it by working at a loom or a sewing machine as opposed to poisoning fish or driving buffalo over a cliff. In 1908, Roosevelt approved the Root-Takahira Agreement, which handed the Japanese economic ascendancy in Manchuria in return for the status quo: no Russians in China and India. Roosevelt said that if the Americans had tried to maintain the Open Door -- all countries could trade with China and no country could take more Chinese territory -- America would require a fleet as good as that of England, plus an army as good as that of Germany. The British-American-Japanese deal was much cheaper. Things went bad in 1914, when Britain let itself get dragged into a mutual-fault war between Germany and Russia, which was allied with France. Japan kept the British alliance in the hopes of grabbing the Chinese peninsula of Shantung from Germany, and did so. America stood pat The New York banks lured us into a war with Germany and Austria-Hungary -- but not with Turkey, which had committed most of the atrocities. The United States lost 123,000 combat soldiers so the Germans could eventually replace a nervous eccentric with a homicidal maniac. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill both knew and liked Wilhelm personally, but, as Churchill sententiously proclaimed: “It was not his fault. It was his fate.” The Anglo-Saxons bonded and made up with France, and Japan got dumped. Shantung went back to China, and the Japanese had to settle for the Marianas, Saipan, and Tinian, which Americans of the next generation had to die to take back from them after the Great Giveaway of 1919. The Japanese still sent more soldiers to fight the Bolsheviks in Siberia than all other nations combined. In 1922, however, Britain let the alliance with Japan slide, now sure that America would back whatever Britain wanted to do to protect China and India. Cut to 1945. Having seen what the Japanese did to the white guys -- the Philippines and Singapore were both captured by Japanese who were outnumbered three to one by the Anglo-Saxons -- the rest of Asia became indefensible to the British, French, and Dutch. The system of European colonies collapsed like a house of cards. America rode high for two decades because the German and Japanese factories were bombed to rubble and Britain was broke. Soon, Japan, South Korea, and China developed their manufacturing capacities. India and Pakistan were next. Then came the Philippines and Indonesia. American industry became non-competitive. The Chinese and the Japanese, are not conspiring to take over the Western Hemisphere. We are their safe market in the 21st century. In China, most people distrust their own government more than they despise most foreigners. However, as more Chinese become Christians and as their standard of living improves, they will cease to be any threat. The point is not to need anybody too much. We should continue to raise our own food, police our own borders, and let other countries control their internal affairs. For Christmas, my son gave me a high-tech electric razor. The best part was what it said on the box: Made in the U.S.A. Let others be inspired by his example. America is still a great country and must be saved. Since the politicians are mostly good for dubious entertainment, we had better do it on our own. We can all heave a sigh of relief: The nation did not go over the fiscal cliff. The fiscal cliff is a sideshow that both parties put on every few months to try to prove politicians are still important. More people now work for (or within) the federal, state, county, and local government -- if one throws in the oversized military machine and the inmates of the world’s largest set of prison systems -- than are now employed in productive labor. Optimistically, this means that the chances of the type of Great Depression that brings dictators to power elsewhere and makes communism attractive to people who are not drastically envious and tendentiously anti-Christian are nil. Everybody who does not work for the government probably knows somebody who does. A long-term friend of mine who lives on an Indian reservation explained dryly how it works. “The people who actually have jobs watch the free Prairie Network on TV and we get to see a lot of the shows from PBS. By the way, what are you guys doing to the whales -and did Lady Mary really marry her cousin on Downtown Abbey? The people who are on Welfare now get free satellite from the government so they get more networks than we do and another excuse not to work,” he said. If free satellite transmission keeps the peace in the West, it could be a wise investment. Elsewhere, TV encourages people to think that everybody in the United States lives in an eight-room house with three cars and a pool. When they come here and find out you cannot have that lifestyle while earning the minimum wage, disgruntlement reaches epidemic proportions. The fiscal cliff circus cannot be played too often. If either party were to shut down the federal government and the people who work in government offices and agencies were not to get paid, the ripple effect would doom that party to political perdition. Politicians cannot let that happen. One hundred years ago, if officers in European armies compromised their status as officers and gentlemen, they were ushered into a room with a chair and a table. On the table was a loaded pistol. I suspect that anybody of either party who led the plunge over the fiscal cliff would encounter similar options. The show must go on! Politicians would love us to believe that they run things. The reality is that things usually run themselves unless politicians mess them up. Towns where most people are intelligent generally survive with vital services intact whether the people in office are Republicans or Democrats. Towns where most people are not intelligent do not do well without massive transfusions of outside help. The net effect is to foster dependency on the government, which then fosters more government, which of course fosters more taxes. Americans would be much better off fostering foreign children than they would by fostering foreign wars or more domestic spending. The taxpayers should step in to make sure nobody starves or freezes and that nobody who is willing to work hard and practice thrift loses the house due to an outside setback. If the homeowner uses his credit card for gambling casinos or for weddings or funerals worthy of a Tsarist Rus- Yawning over the fiscal cliff Our hat’s off to the first grade members of the CCD Home Group Service Project who made giant stockings filled with goodies for our families. The kids are Joey, Bobby, Daniel, Matthew, Erin, Alexandra, and Joseph. We thank everyone who helped with the holidays, from the food and gifts to the volunteers and drivers who made sure all 60 families received food, gift cards, and presents! Our thoughts are with our families who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy. They will continue to have many needs long after the repairs are done. Please call us to see how you can help. We are looking for gently-used clothes for boys, and new twin and queen-size sheets. We need a few office volunteers weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m. who can help fill in when one of our regular volunteers is unable to make it in. Call Laura at (201) 612-8118. Meet Joel: Joel has retinoblastoma, a rare type of eye cancer that usually develops in early childhood. In most children with retinoblastoma, the disease affects only one eye. However, one out of three children with retinoblastoma develops cancer in both eyes. Joel is one of these children. He has had several operations, but the mass behind his left eye is inoperable and has left him with partial blindness. In addition, Joel is diabetic and is restricted to lowsugar or sugar-free items. Joel is now 11 and in the sixth grade. He was transferred to a school 45 minutes from his home to escape relentless bullying due to his condition and appearance. Despite the fact that he has had to overcome much adversity in his short life, Joel is a cheerful, thoughtful child with an amazingly positive outlook. He enjoys music, movies, and football. He is unable to participate in many physical activities, but is looking forward to a sports-filled future. He loves meeting with his ECF caseworker and is always excited to give an update on his progress at school. Joel’s mother is incredibly involved and supportive of her son. She is currently unemployed because she frequently had to leave work to care for Joel. She is actively searching for work, but this small family is struggling financially. To complicate matters, they have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy. When asked what he would wish for this Christmas, Joel answered, “Food and warm clothes and blankets.” He didn’t even consider his own wants. When questioned further, he said he would like a portable DVD player and some movies. Joel’s sizes are as follows: 34/30 pants, M/L men’s shirts, and size 10 shoes. Joel would be incredibly grateful if his wishes came true. Our annual fundraiser will be held at The Brick House on Friday March 1. Please call us if you would like to be involved. We could use help in marketing, selling tickets, finding sponsors, etc. This annual fundraiser is very important to us. The proceeds help support our families in northern New Jersey. Tickets are $75 per person or $700 for a table of 10. Please join us for an evening of cocktails and buffet dinner, dancing, and auctions. One of our teenage clients will be our guest speaker. Call (201) 612-8118. Invitations will be mailed soon. Please call if you would like to receive an invitation and haven’t. We rely on the local community to help support our families. Many of them do not have the financial or emotional support to help them get through a major illness like cancer. We do not charge anything for our services. You can help us in a variety of ways. Turn your event into a fundraiser, and collect checks or gift cards for our families. Your efforts help us to help families in many ways, including sending a case worker to visit the families at their home or in the hospital. This support for the kids, their siblings, and parents is crucial. Get your kids involved, too. Some have held sales or events and donated the proceeds to ECF. Is your Cub Scout or Girl Scout Troop looking to earn badges? Call us for some ideas to get creative and have fun while learning about philanthropy! If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer, or just stop by and meet with us, take a look at our pantry, and see what ECF is all about. Call us at (201) 612-8118 before you stop by. Please do not leave items at the center without checking with us first. Our storage space is limited. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue in Midland Park. Visit us on the web at www.emmanuelcancer.org. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families!