Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Transfer of some suspected terrorists to Illinois

The first action of President Obama was his announcement that Guantanamo would be closed. I was glad to hear that. Now 10 months later he advises he will spend millions renovating an unused correctional facility in Thompson, Illinois and transfer most but not all of these prisoners. This means to me that Guantanamo will still be a prison. I fail to see the merit to this decision. I call upon my Congressperson to deny funding so this idea can have a quick death.
Here is my simplistic solution. Put them on a secure plane ride back to their country of origin. Turn them over to authorities and let them decide their fate. This could be release, continued confinement or death as their laws prescribe.
To bring them to the heartland of America is just plain insane.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
December 16, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Monday, December 7, 2009

Pay for the War

This is for all of you war hawks and weepy doves. Our Nobel Peace Prize winner president has told you of the dire necessity of increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. So be it. You hawks love the smell of Napalm in the morning and you doves like to look sad and say woe is me. If perpetual war is to be the future for us then I have only one request. Change that. I have only one demand and that is we pay for it. No more adding to the debt for our children’s children to pay. This is our war. This is our time. This is our decision. If it is truly needed then we should all be willing to pay for it.
What I demand is the Congress adds a surcharge for those of us paying income tax or creates a national sales tax so that the rest can also contribute. I leave it to the experts to decide how much of an increase is required. I just demand it be large enough to pay every penny of the “surge”. Play now and someone else pay later is no longer acceptable. This is not a game. We cannot continue spending money we don’t have. The day of reckoning is now.
I know the wars would be over in a minute if your children were to be drafted. Because of the lack of courage or integrity of our elected officials that will never happen. By paying huge bonuses they are able to convince sufficient numbers to sign on or re-up. Therefore the only other way to get your attention is to make you pay for the cost. I am willing to pay my share, are you?
This will be a drag on the economy, no mistake about that, but do we really deserve to buy all these toys and gimmicks while we have boys dying in the desert so far from home. I say no.
I have sent this to my Congressperson and our two Senators which will be promptly tossed in the trash. If in the other hand they received thousands of letters they might get the message. That is all I can ever hope for.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
December 7, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Opinion Article by Leonard Pitts (Poll as mirror)

Dear Mr. Pitts,
First I want to say that I usually look forward to reading your columns or listening to you on MSNBC. Your insights are normally well done. Where you fail is when you beat the race card thing to death. The last time I wrote was about the cop, the professor and the president. I feel compelled to respond to your latest.
You might be interested to know that I am a white man who voted for Obama. Race was just a side benefit. I liked what he said and after 8 years of the other idiot I wanted a complete change of course. You state that after all Obama is the president, Bush was also the president, I gave him no slack or respect because of the harm he did to America and the world. I never expect total agreement. That is not necessary. What is necessary is that I believe the president, no matter who he might be, makes decisions in the best interest of our future not what is expedient.
The fact that you can count me on the negative side of the poll has nothing whatever to do with his race but has everything to do with the policies he has promoted, those he hasn’t but promised during the campaign he would, the old guard he has surrounded himself with which guarantees that no substantive change can possibly take place, his love affair with Islam world wide and placing Muslims in high level government positions, his “don’t jump to conclusions about the slaughter at Fort Hood”, trying terrorists in court instead of military tribunals, trying to scatter the rest from Guantanamo to US prisons, the multi billion bail out of Wall Street, billions for the ridiculous clunker program, billions for GM and Chrysler ( Our reward for this is GM expanding production facilities in China), green jobs for solar collectors, light bulbs and windmills being produced overseas (these were promised for Americans). You get the idea.
If I were black I would overlook many things to provide support to one who had finally reached the pinnacle. What could you expect? For the rest of us who think and care we have had enough. I think we expected too much. Obama’s solutions to problems are mostly throwing money without changing the basics that have brought us to where we are today. His latest on the troop increase in Afghanistan is the worst to date. I am including a letter I wrote yesterday for your perusal.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
December 3, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My response to President Obama's speech

Our Security is at Stake

The above title was the theme of President Obama’s speech delivered last evening to an audience of West Point Cadets, the nation and the world. Once again we are told that is in our best interests to place over 100,000 Americans in harms way, fighting an insurgency that will just not go away. I am convinced that our best days are behind us. We will squander thousands of lives at an additional initial cost of $30 Billion. This of course doesn’t include the following year’s costs nor the continuing cost of our 140,000+ still remaining in Iraq or the cost for the 71,000 already in Afghanistan. It doesn’t matter that our national debt exceeds $12 Trillion nor that our tax and trade policies continue shipping more and more manufacturing jobs to China and elsewhere, nor that the unending give away unemployment fund is nearly consumed while they continue to consider extending for another year. To my way of thinking it might as well be forever since we continue to find ways to live a reasonable life without working for a living. Our government can just continue printing more dollars. So what if the value drops as long as the overseas suckers are willing to keep purchasing our nearly worthless bonds.
It really is easy to scare Americans, at least the Americans of today. It was just six years ago Pres. Bush, VP Cheney and Secretary of State Rice warned us of mushroom clouds and weapons of mass destruction. The Congress and the bulk of Americans bought it then and I believe still do. Half are still convinced that Hussein was behind the attack which has been proven false over and over to no avail. We lost over 3,000 in the 9/11 attack. Since then twice that many Americans have given their lives in the Middle East and perhaps as many as one million Iraqis and Afghans. Perhaps we should not consider them as people in the same class as Americans. That may be your thought but it surely is not mine.
I voted for Obama believing him to be a man of peace. I was wrong. He is no different from any of the other leaders in power since Jimmy Carter. The look on the faces of Defense Secretary Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the other over decorated brass showed me that they were proud of our President and that in the end he did just what they wanted. He just dragged it out a little longer on the pretext that he was studying all options.
The comparison with the novel 1984 is eerie in the sameness. In the book we are in continuous war with one or the other great powers. It shifts from time to time. All historical records are erased so no one knows any difference. They only know we must fight the enemy, no matter which one. Being kept in fear makes docile citizens who comply without dissent. Those who try are quickly rounded up and mysteriously disappear. All have implants so the government has no trouble finding those who are viewed as trouble makers.
How close to this we are. We have troops stationed all over the world, 60,000 in Germany, and 35,000 in Korea and a similar number on Japanese territory. In case you don’t remember we won WWII in 1945 and signed the armistice with N. Korea in 1953. While it was reasonable to occupy those countries at the time the conflict ended, it is totally unreasonable to remain today. Our excuse is security. With these troops ready and available we can initiate conflicts much easier. These numbers are totally inadequate should we face enemies in the millions as we do in Korea. To me it is all a charade. We continue to follow the dictates of the military/ industrial complex as we were warned many years ago by President Eisenhower. We cannot win the confidence of the world’s people by dropping bombs all over the place. We squander a minimum of a trillion dollars every year in our pursuit of military dominance. In the end we will destroy ourselves. There will be no white knights to come to our rescue. The world will laugh and enjoy seeing us in our misery. It doesn’t have to be this way but will come to pass if we do not change. As for Obama he has set his course. Now we wait for our next opportunity to find a savior. I don’t think it will be Governor Huckabee after we found out he commuted a 95 year sentence for the shooter in Seattle.
I watched a couple of news shows today just to get a feel. The hosts and their guests are all over the place. Trust me, it is all a sham. In the end when all the rhetoric has been spoken, Obama will get his troops and his Billions. The truth is, no one will accept the consequences of pulling out, which brings me to the end. Two years from now, ten years from now or twenty there will still be American boys dying in the desert.
I am too old to do other than write or talk with others about these issues. I will not stop.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
December 2, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Islamic Republic of America

This latest outrage at Fort Hood together with other news items and history compels me to put the following words on paper. Army Major Nidal M. Hasan killed 13 soldiers and wounded 38 others. As the story unfolds it is becoming clear that there have been many instances that should have sounded alarm bells. Soldiers have come forth and stated that they said nothing out of fear of being rebuked for discrimination. The thought of this man counseling soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is very disturbing. What might he have said to them and what might be the continuing effect of his words? Hasan yelled out “Allahu akbar” as he was killing our soldiers. Checking Google we find that it means “God is the greatest” The God of Islam of course.
President Obama in his eulogy stated that it was the act of a deranged person. “This much we do know—no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice—in this world, and the next." I don’t fault him for this. This was not the time to discuss the larger issue of America and Islam. I am sure in the next few days he will address the American people as this subject will not just disappear. This was not thousands of miles away in a strange different country. This was right here in the heart of America on a base of 50,000 soldiers. If they cannot feel safe there, then is there any place of safety? That is the burning issue.
Six soldiers from Britain were killed recently by an Afghan in their unit. There have been instances in both countries of natives turning on Allied soldiers and killing them. This has happened repeatedly since the first Gulf War as we have tried to train and build local forces so they could provide a safe environment to their people as we start the withdrawal, at least in Iraq.
While the president said nothing, two of his underlings have; Army Chief of Staff General George Casey and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. Gen. Casey is worried about backlash and so is Janet Napolitano the Director of Homeland Security. She has filled top positions with Muslims.
In an interview with John King on CNN’s “State of the Union” program the General said, “And frankly, I am worried — not worried, but I’m concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers. And I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that. It would be a shame — as great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well.” He went on to clarify that there were about 3,000 active Guard and reserve Muslim soldiers at the present time. It appeared to others, including myself that the possibility of discrimination was more important to him than the lives lost and the potential danger to our soldiers by some Muslim soldiers that have the same conviction Hasan has. How can this be shoved under the table? The Associated Press reports that while in the United Arab Emirates, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano warned against an anti-Muslim backlash after the attack at Fort Hood last week. "This was a terrible tragedy for all involved," Napolitano told reporters in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi. "Obviously, we object to -- and do not believe -- that anti-Muslim sentiment should emanate from this… This was an individual who does not, obviously, represent the Muslim faith.” In other words backlash is her greatest concern. This is the Secretary who just recently placed two Muslims in high positions in her agency. Arif Alikhan, a devout Sunni Muslim to assistant secretary for the Office of Policy Department of Homeland Security. He was instrumental in taking down the LA Police Department's plan to monitor its Muslim community.
Alikhan is affiliated with MPAC, the "Muslim Public Affairs Council". The other is Kareem Shora, who was born in Damascus, Syria. He was appointed by DHS Secretary Napolitano on the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC).
It was Islamic terrorists that destroyed the Twin World Trade Center Towers taking the lives of over 3,000 Americans. For eight years our soldiers have been fighting in two Arab nations against terrorists all of whom are of one sect or another of the Islamic faith. While I will not state that all Muslims are potential terrorists, the fact remains that there are millions worldwide already identified as such.
President Obama has said repeatedly his admiration for Islam in speech after speech and has stated America would never go to war with Islam. The real problem is that we have been at war for many years except it has been one sided. Islamic Fundamentalists are at war with America and our leaders will not accept this as fact. They fall all over themselves to not upset the Muslim followers of Islam. My greatest concern has to do with our current president, who I voted for in the last election. A friend sent me a video of his remarks over the past few years. It was created by Feel the Change media. Click on the following to hear for yourself what he has said and obviously believes about Islam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28
After you have done so, ask yourself if this is the person we feel confident in leading us through these treacherous times. What will happen to the rest of the civilized nations if America falls? Total domination will be the result. If these radicals are allowed to continue being embedded in the highest government positions, sooner or later confusion and conflicting directives will undermine our confidence in government. Check out your history books. Whenever Muslims have attained control they act as a superior race. All who have not converted must live in a subordinate position. I for one will resist this with everything I have. I happen to like the basic freedoms we enjoy in this country while at the same time I am concerned about the direction we are going which I consider to be national suicide. We are doing this on our own, can’t blame jihadists.
I just felt compelled to put these thoughts on paper whether they are read or not. At least I am willing to stick my head out. If it gets chopped off so be it.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
November 11, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, November 5, 2009

THE STRONGEST TRIBE- a book report

By Bing West
Mr. West is a reporter who became imbedded with our military in Iraq beginning in 2003. The book ends as 2008 begins. He provides detailed information about our policies and procedures in conducting the war throughout these years. The title was from a statement made to him by an Iraqi. It was meant as a tribute to the fighting ability and total dedication of our soldiers in carrying out their mission.
As a person who was totally against starting this war from the beginning and still today, this was difficult reading. I spent most of my reading time over three weeks to finally finish.
Before even starting to read, I knew that my opinions wouldn’t change after reading. As far as I am concerned it was a fiasco from the start. It became a dark pit into which billions were poured together with the blood of thousands of our military men and women, for what purpose?
His concluding sentence hit me directly. “No nation can sustain its values by claiming to support the soldier while opposing his mission. The truth is that the nation determines the mission.” In the many articles I have written since the war began I have continued to praise our soldiers while condemning the leaders who put them in harms way, presenting them with a nearly impossible job to do with their hands tied behind their backs. Over and over they were sent into cities going door to door with death waiting each time they entered. Not being able to distinguish who they were in conflict with, they sometimes took fire without responding to avoid civilian casualties. They weren’t functioning as soldiers but as policemen in a foreign land without knowledge of language or customs.
The lack of leadership from Prime Minister al-Maliki created many obstacles. He was so concerned about the resurgence of Sunnis that he created the division between them and the Shiites which he supported. It was our military that convinced Sunni leadership to stop fighting us and work with us to drive out Al Qaeda terrorists and bring peace to their areas. This began in 2006 followed closely thereafter with the “surge”.
I accept that this book is accurate in its content. What I do not accept is that we have any business being there or Afghanistan for that matter. If you are interested in learning much more than you have read in newspapers or heard on TV, then I recommend this book to you. I found it at the Public Library.

Jack B. Walters 3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750 (520) 722-2958
November 5, 2009 jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

High Infant death rate in U.S.

Associated press article 11/4/09

In the late 60’s my family and I were living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Our youngest son was born there. A nurse started calling on my wife early in her pregnancy and continued for several months after birth. She provided information and counseling. Since this was our third child, my wife well understood the process but none the less it was appreciated. For a first time mother it would have been extremely valuable. This service was provided without cost to us.
We have it all wrong in America. Compare this minor expense to the tragedies that were mentioned in this article. Is it even possible to apply a cost evaluation when so many lives are lost who could have been saved?
Hooray for our health care system.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
November 4, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Monday, November 2, 2009

1,000 SAHC Peaks Climbed

November 2, 2009 I reached my latest objective of climbing 1,000 peaks on the SAHC Peak list. I guess I am one of those people who need goals to spur them on to accomplish something. After reaching the highest award of 400 different peaks in April 2008, I kept climbing whenever I could and bit by bit the numbers increased until this new goal came in sight.
I started climbing mountains shortly after arriving in Tucson in the fall of 1993. Wasson Peak in the Tucson Mountains was my first. I fell in love with the beauty of the desert and the joy of reaching the summits and then looking down on the spectacular landscape which Southern Arizona possesses. The original top achievement award was the 315 which were peaks identified within 75 miles of Tucson. This took me to remote mountain ranges and onto 4 wheel drive dirt roads to places 99.9% of Arizonans have never seen. All of it is spectacular. We have seen all forms of animal life including bears, lions, coatimundi, fox, antelope, deer, lizards and lots of snakes, mostly rattlesnakes. We enjoy seeing them. We keep our distance and let them live. We also never litter. We have great respect for the wilderness and try to enjoy it without leaving a trace that we have been there except for the practice of hiding a bottle in a rock pile on top with our names written in. It really has no significance. It is just something we enjoy doing.
Once I reached the 315 goal I started leading hikes helping other friends reach their goals. In addition I would go on hikes led by others particularly to the newest peaks that were added for the 400 award. The distance from Tucson was increased to 100 miles to find enough named peaks for this purpose. I never really intended to try for the 400 but while I was off on a family visit Roxanna opened a member account for me on the web site created by John Yau and had started putting in my peaks. Once I accepted her idea I spent a considerable amount of time going through my records and when I brought it up to date I found I had 345 separate peaks already so I accepted the challenge of adding 55 more. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to those who cheered me on and particularly those who guided me to these new very remote areas. The ones most responsible were Doug Howard, Brian Larson and Ron Meech. There were others of course but these three really took on the challenge and I will be forever grateful for their encouragement and extreme effort extended on my behalf.
I must now admit that in recent months I have climbed Saddleback in the Catalina’s on a weekly basis as club hikes. Erika Hartz leads a hike to Blackett’s Ridge usually every Monday and Friday. To reach it you pass by Saddleback, so every time I hiked with her, I took the side trip to the peak. Many do not think highly of this as far as difficulty is concerned but at my stage of life it still takes considerable effort for me to climb. It is 6 ½ miles and about 1,700 ft. of elevation gain and takes me about 3 hours and 20 minutes roundtrip to complete. Particularly in the hot summer months we are grateful to finish before the extreme heat builds up so we leave very early sometimes using flashlights. Another aspect of aging is that my pace is slower now. Erika has allowed me to start ahead of her main group and I usually hike with Roxanna so Erika doesn’t have to accept responsibility for me. If I end later, I will call her at home and advise of my safe return.
This past Saturday Ron Meech led a hike with 15 hikers to Harts Butte, Helvetia BM and Weigles Butte in the Santa Rita Mountains. The wind was unexpectedly fierce and each of the peaks were extreme bushwhacks including rocks, many of which were loose. I was very conscious that I held up the group from the beginning but particularly the last peak. I honestly didn’t think I could make it, but because of Ron’s patience, the understanding of the group and Roxanna and Jim Terlep hiking with me step by step, I did reach all three. Jim steadied me numerous times as fatigue affected my ability to maintain balance. I wanted these to close in on my objective. They were 997, 998 and 999. This was the fourth time for me to climb these peaks, but the only time it was so difficult to finish. For the sake of friendship with Ron and the other hikers, I will limit the times I hike with the group to hikes I am fairly confident I can finish without delaying the hike.
Now that I have cleared this point up I want you to accept this letter as a feel good report on what for 16 years has been my main source of amusement and accomplishment. This morning Jim Terlep came in support of my 1,000th peak. We met him at the route leading to Saddleback peak. Erika and her group were also waiting for me to lead them to the top. Once there, we all signed the register. Roxanna provided treats at a tailgate party in the parking lot to celebrate my achievement.
I am not sure what I will do, going forward from today. There are trail and canyon hikes offered, but being a dedicated peak bagger I would like to continue on those I feel confident I can do at a reasonable pace. I have had unbelievable experiences over the years and have made many friends. I could write another book just about those adventures but I won’t.
(K.O.H) Means keep on hiking,

Jack B. Walters

Monday, October 26, 2009

Job Creation

I sent this to Representative Gabrielle Giffords

Thank you for responding in a positive manner to my letter with reference to outsourcing American jobs. I am encouraged to continue providing ideas. I understand that leaders Pelosi and Reed are making job retention an important issue. My comments will be brief.
1-Jet aircraft maintenance sent to San Salvador resulting in our machinists and technicians losing their jobs. What ever happened to safety concerns?
2-Mexico renewing their plan to construct a deep sea port on the Baha coast. The result will be fewer longshoremen workers on the job. If Mexico is allowed full trucking access to America then teamsters and independent drivers will either lose their jobs or be forced to work for $10/hr. Would you like to sit in a cab 10 to 12 hours a day in summer and winter conditions for such meager earnings? Further, I understand a major hub is being planned for Kansas City as a terminus for these trucks. All of this is happening without any response from Washington.
3-General Motors taking tax payer dollars and investing in a new Buick factory in China.
4-GE is shutting down the last incandescent bulb factory to manufacture in China. Green revolution jobs are fast moving overseas. Are you telling me that nothing can be done to assure this new technology results in good paying jobs for Americans.
5-Read the 10/26/09 edition of Fortune to learn the plans China has to purchase the world. If this doesn’t get your attention, nothing will.
6- The present health care program being discussed with the burden of paying for it placed on manufacturing, please explain to me how this will create a climate of growth of manufacturing jobs. We are not just talking about laborers but all kinds of technical support jobs being lost. Trust me I know. I was the Plant Manager of the Firestone factory in Des Moines, Iowa with a work force of over 3,000 people.
7-It seems to me that all Congress’s efforts are to provide balm in the form of unemployment benefits or public service type jobs, nothing is being done to create private sector jobs. Believe me I understand that the Manufacturers Association and The National Chamber of Commerce will fight every step of the way. They have no loyalty to America only profit. This was not always so. In my day we cared about our employees and our communities.
My solution to all of this is that you need to re-adjust the rules of the game. At the present time it is more profitable to move jobs off shore. Just reverse tax laws to give our factories a chance. You said you agreed with fair trade, so do I. The free trade agreements in effect do not assure that we have a fighting chance. Don’t distinguish between large and small. I even want lower taxes on the US Oil Industry. That would renew their incentive to find energy in America instead of Iraq.
As the dollar drops in value our export opportunities should increase but cannot when countries like India and China peg their currency to our own. Our government is too subservient particularly with China. Their Yuan gives them a 40% edge. That together with the government providing factories and low cost or free power and not burdening them with health care makes it impossible for us to compete. I don’t care that they possess over 2 trillion of our dollars. How can you allow them to use that as blackmail? They will dump them at the time of their choosing anyway so why not put a 40% surcharge immediately and let the chips fall where they will.
Refuse to accept that our time has passed for America to produce products. Too many of your co-horts have. Rebuilding our manufacturing base will provide the opportunity for our people to have jobs which can support their families as we were able to do just 30 years ago. That was about the time American jobs started heading overseas. Remember well paying jobs creates tax revenue to help with our countries needs. Isn’t that better than paying out unemployment checks with money we have to borrow. The clock is running out. Swift decisive action is what is required before it is too late.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 26, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Friday, October 23, 2009

FDR's words quoted on the WW II Monument in Washington, D. C.

On July 1, 2004 I wrote an extremely critical letter condemning the people responsible for the quote from FDR’s Declaration of War Speech which appears on the World War II monument which was dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004. I accused them of deliberately leaving out the words “so help us God”. After discussing with others and rechecking with Snopes I find that I was partially wrong. I say partially because I still feel that they were insensitive and chose another phrase that was more politically correct.
This is the phrase they used;
PEARL HARBOR
DECEMBER 7, 1941, A DATE
WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY…
NO MATTER HOW LONG IT
MAY TAKE US TO OVERCOME
THIS PREMEDITATED INVASION,
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, IN
THEIR RIGHTEOUS MIGHT,
WILL WIN THROUGH
TO ABSOLUTE VICTORY.
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

If I had been on the commission it would have read as follows;
PEARL HARBOR
DECEMBER 7, 1941, A DATE
WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY…
WITH CONFIDENCE IN OUR
ARMED FORCES, WITH THE
UNBOUNDING DETERMINATION
OF OUR PEOPLE, WE WILL GAIN
THE INEVITABLE TRIUMPH.
SO HELP US GOD.
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

The first two lines were at the beginning of his speech. The rest was five paragraphs from the end. The sentence I want is the second from the end. Now you may ask what is the difference. I will reply that his final words which ended with a prayer were the words that inspired all of our people to come together to defeat the Axis powers. If there was someone who was an adult living at that time on the commission, then I just cannot understand why he or she did not feel as I still do about his speech and that sentence. People born after can be excused I guess, based on how screwed up we have become. The greatest generation caught fire hearing those stirring words. As we die off no one will remember. I think that is just plain wrong.



Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 23, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, October 15, 2009

ANTI-SEMITISM

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about the resurgence of anti- Semitism in the world today. The following are my thoughts after reading the letter written by Mr. William E. Grim, an American of German descent telling about his personal observations gleaned by visiting Germany. He is not a Jew.
Everything I have read regarding this subject makes the truth of his words acceptable to me. If you disagree strongly or even mildly then I ask that you send information to me so I can learn from reading it.
In 1945 the civilized world was stunned to realize the enormity of the Holocaust and the slaughter of over 6 million Jews and another 6 million of persons found to be inferior or not willing to conform to the tenets of Nazism. It is starting all over again. It is like a virus that just can’t be killed. It pops up here and there and eventually consumes all in its path. The Jewish people it seems are blamed for all sorts of problems. They are an easy target. A funny thing happened after the war when they settled into the Holy Land. They were attacked again and again and guess what instead of allowing themselves to be led to the slaughter houses they fought back and won each time. For them there will no second chance. The first war they lose and the curtain of death will descend on them. That will trigger world chaos. It cannot be allowed to happen.
A few days ago I forwarded an e-mail entitled “The Speech” given by the current Prime Minister of Israel. I thought it was brilliant. Some of you responded about how horrible the Jews have been in their treatment of the Palestinians. I cannot dispute the truth of this. In particular those who fled during the wars with neighboring Arab countries were not allowed to return. In addition many were forced off their land to make room for Jews immigrating to Israel from Europe. I will not equate this to the extermination of over six million Jews by the Nazis during WWII.
Now that they have a homeland they are determined to stay against the entire Arab world whose goal is to rid the world of all Jews. The Arabs are supported again and again by the majority of countries in the U.N. The U.N. never condemns the Palestinians from sending missiles indiscriminately into Israel. They only condemn Israel when they fight back.
Early in Mr. Grim’s letter he refers to Mein Kampf, the famous book written by Adolf Hitler. It was published in 1925. I read this after America entered WWII to try to understand what was happening. The one part I will never forget was his condemnation of all Jews. He used the Bible as reference. Go to Mathew Chapter 27, verse 25 and there it is written, And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and our children”. That was his justification for the slaughter that followed as soon as he acquired the power to do so. He called all Jews “Christ Killers”. It worked. The German people allowed them to be rounded up and deported to places unknown. Whether they knew of their fate is a question to be answered. They happily acquired the homes and properties as their own.
A book written by Bruce Bawer in 2006 entitled, “While Europe Slept” exposes the threat to Jews everywhere in Europe by the rapid increase in the Muslim community which he estimates at over 20 million just three years ago.
I have just re-read the letter I composed to the Israeli Embassy in Washington 6/11/03. It was entitled, “Open Letter to the Israeli Government”. My basic premise I still believe was right. The only difference is that Bush is no longer President, Obama is. Regrettably he is pushing hard for a separate State solution, which I claimed then and now, can never be. All of the territory must be encompassed under one government with charity and understanding between those of different beliefs. If in fact the current Israeli government is pushing to create a Jewish State then they will fail. A homeland for displaced Jews is one thing. Discrimination against other faiths is another. What I had proposed was assimilating portions into the new nation and letting the natural process of improved lives for all create the climate necessary to sustain the process.
I decided to check out the internet, so I Googled “Anti-Semitism”. You could do the same. There are many opportunities to research history up to the present day even here in America. I copied a few that caught my attention. Most I gleaned from Wikipedia. There are hundreds of other sources. I do not have the wherewithal nor energy to explore every word to see if 100% correct. Should you see something that bothers you as to accuracy I would be pleased to hear from you. I have sent out retractions in the past and will no doubt also in the future with this or other subjects.
The following are from those sources:
Recently Professor Dietz Bering of the University of Cologne defined anti-Semitism as, “Jews are not only partially but totally bad by nature, that is, their bad traits are incorrigible…..Jews bring disaster on their “host societies” or on the whole world, they are doing it secretly, therefore the anti-Semites feel obligated to unmask the conspiratorial, bad Jewish characteristics.
Henry Ford wrote many anti-Jewish articles in his newspaper “The Dearborn Independent”.
There is a large section entitled “New Testament and anti-Semitism. It points out the many instances where the Gospel writers expressed Jews in unfavorable terms. I had pointed out one in the paragraph at the top of page two.
Martin Luther wrote a book “On the Jews and their lies”. He advocated the murder of those who refused to convert to Christianity, writing that “We are at fault for not slaying them”.
The Roman Catholic Church in the 19th and 20th centuries was strongly anti-Semitic.
Saudi textbooks today teach Muslim children to “hate” Christians, Jews and other non believers. A line from a book stated that ” fighting between Muslims and Jews will continue until judgment day”. In 2005 the US expressed “serious concerns” over anti Semitic passages in Pakistani text books.
Finally there are recent articles about incidents in America which proves to me that those of the Jewish faith are not safe even in our country, so we can’t just say it is a problem somewhere else.
I guess all I can ask of you receiving a copy of this letter is to take any opportunity to stand up for and offer protection to Jews whenever a situation presents itself. In my life I have known a number of people who are professing Jews. I have considered them friends. I don’t discriminate based on a person’s religious beliefs.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 13, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com


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Saturday, October 10, 2009

FUEL

This is a documentary film now showing in a few theaters around the country. For those living in Tucson it started at the Loft today. I went to the matinee. There were six others who watched it with me.
It is a film that took 11 years to compile. Josh Tickell was the director and the energy behind the production. Growing up in Louisiana surrounded by the petroleum refineries he witnessed first hand the staggering pollution to the environment and the health problems as a result. His own mother had 9 miscarriages.
He discovered that Bio Fuels could power any vehicle with a diesel engine. He visited Europe. Germany and Sweden in particular have made great strides in converting. Sweden has a goal to be 100% free of petroleum products in another decade.
One part that confused me was that progress was being made in our country until about four years ago when the press starting with Time Magazine came down on it as being the wrong thing to do which killed the progress being made. I will try to check it out. It is strange that I missed this. I think it had to do with using crops for fuel.
The hopeful part is that technology is starting to blossom giving hope for the future. As usual the politicians come out as villains. Just like the banks and the health industry, the petroleum industry spends big bucks getting them to do their bidding. He asks us to make our voices heard and pay attention and vote out those who refuse to make the decisions we all are waiting for so that we can climb out of the hole we are in.
That’s enough. I sure hope some of you will see this film and become more active.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 10, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, October 8, 2009

The Bible (A book report)

By; Karen Armstrong

This is another difficult book to read and understand. It is something like a text book that I imagine might be used in a Seminary to create discussion with students. I will defer to Pastor D. assuming he reads it to interpret the content.
This is an astounding effort by Ms. Armstrong. She follows the origin of the Old and New Testaments as they were created and passed on generation to generation. Mark was written in 70, Mathew and Luke in the late 80’s and John in the late 90’s. She makes the point that these men in their writings separated the Jewish community into good and bad. The bad meaning they did not follow Christ. These words written have been used over the centuries as justification for the persecution of Jews.
We tend to think of the Bible as if it was always as we know it today. She details the endless revisions made over the centuries, revising texts, eliminating books or adding. Whether these revisions were God directed or the work of men is the question she raises.
Until Luther and the printing press, it was something that only scholars and priests could read and study. Luther broke away partly because he was incensed by the papal policy of selling indulgences to swell the coffers of the church.
In the 1600’s people like Zwingli and Calvin wanted their congregations to be acquainted with the entire Bible whereas before they only read portions. Science and Astrology were pointing out facts about the natural world. These men could accept advances as religious activities. Galileo was silenced by the inquisition at about the same time and forced to recant his conclusions that Earth was not the center of the Universe.
The Puritans who ventured to the new world likened their journey to the Exodus. They gave their colonies biblical names like Hebron, Salem, Bethlehem, etc.
In 1859 Charles Darwin published “On the origin of Species by means of Natural Selection”. This created havoc continuing today. Dwight Moody founded the Moody Bible Institute to bring people back to the faith. The Rapture theory was ardently articulated by Nelson Darby during the same time period.
She mentions the role people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell have had in our time. Their goal was to replace the secular administration with a Christian government run along strictly biblical lines (Page 216).
Let me conclude by admitting my ignorance as far as ascertaining if the content is totally factual or not. Her work was praised by noted organizations and knowledgeable persons. I believe her intent was to prove that the Bible is a living thing in that meanings have changed generation to generation. I liken it to our Constitution. It too is not a dead document but living and changing over time.
If you have the time and willingness to concentrate while reading and want to learn more about the history of the Bible, this book will do it for you. I found it at the Tucson public Library.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 8, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Afghanistan

( This is an abreviated version of my previous article to fit within the guidelines to be considered for publication.)

The invasion of Afghanistan was a direct result 9/11/2001 and our desire to punish the Taliban because of them allowing terrorist training camps in their country. We joined forces with a group already fighting the Taliban. They were called, “The Northern Alliance”. It worked to our advantage. We gave them support including heavy weapons and air support. Our troops acted as advisors minimizing loss of American lives. It was brilliant. Why then must we now go it alone? I realize training of Afghans is in process but what happened to the Alliance? They should be fighting for their country as they did at the beginning.
I am not soft on the need to control radical Muslim terrorists and the threat they pose to us, but continuing to fight and die here, if anything just enrages more to join with them to drive out foreigners as they did the Soviets.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 7, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Afghanistan Question

Our politicians, military officers, media and others are debating ad nausea about what steps to take to solve the riddle of this poor country that has centuries of history of being conquered by other nations. The United States with support from a few NATO countries being the latest.
I find this tragic not only for them, but also ourselves, as we continue to be trapped by an ideology that demands that we never surrender but must always be victorious. What this means is that when our current president makes his decision it will be to remain and in all likelihood involve increasing our forces. He can make no other decision. If he did he would be accused of being a coward, and a betrayer of all those who have given their lives in that country.
There is no getting away from it we are a militaristic country. We see the world conforming to our viewpoint or risk our wrath. Being a super power means only that we have the capability of destroying any and all that do not conform. Under the Republicans it was called Pax Americana. Obama was elected partly because of his disagreement with the war in Iraq. So far we still have substantial forces there with no clear cut decision to end our occupation any time soon.
Americans are divided on what course to take in both countries mainly I insist because they have no personal stake in it. Their sons and daughters do not have to die as there is not a draft which would equalize the equation between rich and poor. That is the fundamental difference when compared to Vietnam.
I started writing this article to bring to light something that I have not heard or read about. To refresh your memory, the invasion of Afghanistan was a direct result 9/11/2001 and our desire to punish the Taliban because of them allowing terrorist training camps in their country. In addition all decent persons were appalled at their stern treatment of the people. Women, in particular, were denied dignity. They could not be educated, nor could they work outside the home as nurses, teachers or anything else.
Now here is the punch line. We joined forces with a group already fighting the Taliban. They were called, “The Northern Alliance”. It worked to our advantage. We gave them support including heavy weapons and air support. Our troops acted as advisors minimizing loss of American lives. It was brilliant. Why then must we now go it alone? I realize training of Afghans is in process but what happened to the Alliance? They should be fighting for their country as they did at the beginning.
It is after all, their country not ours. I am not soft on the need to control radical Muslim terrorists and the threat they pose to us, but continuing to fight and die here, if anything just enrages more to join with them to drive out foreigners as they did the Soviets.
One final point, the downfall of the Soviet Union was caused to a large degree because of the cost of fighting in this country. We face the same situation. We are nearing bankruptcy just as they were. For this reason alone we must leave this tragic part of the world and let them settle matters as they choose. Perhaps we would no longer be the object of their wrath.



Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 7, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Capitalism-A Love Story

A documentary written, produced and directed
By Michael Moore

I went with a like minded friend on opening day. I have seen all of the films produced by Mr. Moore. They have all been excellent but this one surpassed them all. He spared no one, the fat cats raking in their plunder and the politicians from both parties who do their bidding. He asks all of us if we intend to accept our lot forever without taking action to put an end to the carnage that the huge mega companies have foisted on an unsuspecting citizenry.
While, theoretically we have the power of the vote, in reality it amounts to nothing because they are able to use scare tactics and hot button issues to pit us one against the other, nullifying any opportunity to bring common sense solutions to resolve the many woes we face as a nation.
There was one news item which shook me and that was when President Roosevelt sent in the Army when the union workers were on strike with G.M. early in his first term. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to discover that they were sent in to protect the workers from local law enforcement and goons sent to harass the people. Another great segment was seeing him give his speech in 1945 asking for a second Bill of Rights to be enacted on behalf of all Americans. One of the items was universal health care for all. Others were the right to an education; the right of gainful employment at a wage sufficient to support a family and live in dignity. It was obvious that his health was deteriorating. He died shortly thereafter. His dream died with him. Nothing ever came of his ideas.
Both Clinton and Reagan come in for scorn as they collectively wiped out any vestige of regulation standing in the way of corporations who wanted and received unfettered rights to do as they please. Some of you adore Reagan. He does not come out too well. His Chief of Staff, Don Regan standing next to him, is caught on tape whispering in the President’s ear that he is talking too long. The implication is that Reagan was the spokesperson to convince the electorate that all was well and to go back to sleep because daddy is protecting you while all the while the thieves were at work.
Wal-Mart comes in for scorn when it is discovered that they were taking out life insurance policies on their employees with Wal-Mart the designated beneficiary not the person’s family. Millions are garnered for the company.
He shows families being forced out of their homes after being conned into using their homes like bank vaults and not being able to pay back as the interest balloons. He shows whole areas of communities with bordered up factories and houses. He even interviews a realtor who has named his company Vulture Condominiums. He buys up vacated homes for pennies on the dollar and resells garnering huge profits. This company is not alone. Many with excess funds are doing the same all over the country benefiting from the misery of others.
Two judges in concert with a contractor in Pennsylvania were given millions for sentencing juveniles to the privately owned correction facility. They were eventually found out and punished for it with jail time of their own.
He exposes the pressure that was brought to bear by Secretary of the Treasury Paulson and President Bush which resulted in the passage of the 700 billion dollar bailout with the smiling leadership of Rep. Pelosi and Senator Reed. He goes on to disclose the abuse of the use of those funds in granting lavish bonuses, parties, purchase of private jets and buying up other banks so they could keep getting bigger while we the taxpayers are treated like the saps we are for allowing this to happen.
President Obama is not spared as it is confirmed the huge sums given to him by Corporations during the last election. He has continued the mega funds give away to these same corporations during his administration. Moore doesn’t mention it but I will. The Health Care Bill being debated is just another huge present to the health and drug industries. Those of us who voted for him were hoping for another FDR. So far I have been disappointed.
He closes the film by showing him stringing yellow tape around the headquarters of places such as The Bank of America. The tape has crime scene written on it. He uses a bull horn asking them to surrender peaceably. He can mix humor into a dreary subject.
I know full well before even mailing this that 90% of you will not go to see it. That is a shame as we must band together to tell our elected leaders that enough is enough. Seeing this film would open your eyes.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
October 3, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Monday, September 28, 2009

A Century of Horrors ( a book report)

Communism, Nazism, and the uniqueness of the Shoah
By Alain Besancon

This is a very short book, only 94 pages. It was originally published in French in 1998. The English translation was published in 2007.
There were several purposes. The first was to bring to light the carnage inflicted on innocent people during this century. The second to point out how readily we understand the Nazi slaughter but know so little about what happened in Russia and China under Communism and third the definition of the word Shoah.
His claim is that the number killed under Communism ranged from 85 to over 100 million. While the millions killed by Germany have been well documented, those under Communism are clouded in mystery as the borders were sealed and there doesn’t seem to have been concern on the part of the Western countries to find out and perhaps stop it. It has always been the case that a tragedy to a person or even in the case of the World Trade Center where over 3,000 died is deemed of great importance but when the number is in multiple millions the human mind is not capable of grasping the enormity of it. These were not only Jews but also other ethnic groups.
A large part is devoted to the ongoing hatred of those of the Jewish faith. We see it today with the leader of Iran threatening to wipe out all in the State of Israel. There are deep references to religion in general with specific emphasis on the ‘chosen” people and their part in the crucifixion of Jesus.
Shoah is the word the Jewish community prefers as compared to holocaust. Holocaust indicates sacrifice. Shoah means catastrophe which they feel is more appropriate to describe the senseless paroxysm of evil that occurred.
This is not light reading. In my mind hatred between people’s and religions is ongoing. It can only end in complete tragedy for all mankind. That is the conclusion I reached after reading. How tragic that we cannot accept all people as equals.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
September 28, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, September 24, 2009

With Wings Like Eagles

A History of the Battle of Britain

By; Michael Korda

Another prize found at the library. It was published just this year. I found it extremely interesting. It is not what you might expect. It did quote from a few pilots about their dog fights but for the most part it concentrated on the strategy and planning that helped to make the pilots efforts successful.
Students of history will remember that all of the Allied countries drastically reduced the size and quality of their armed forces after winning the First World War. This continued into the early 1930’s until it became apparent that Hitler was rearming at an accelerating rate. Until then the RAF consisted of bi-wing fabric airplanes not much improved since the war. The author gives credit to a few leaders that started the modernization which resulted in the production of Hurricanes and Spitfires plus the network of radar sites which were most valuable in allowing for better utilization of the limited fighter force.
Stanley Baldwin was the Prime Minister up until 1937 when he resigned. He was one of those who believed that bombers were more important than fighters but could not accept the havoc bombing would inflict on innocent civilians of any country. It was easier to get Parliament to approve funding for fighters to be used to defend English cities. His attempt to speed up production was what brought his downfall. He was replaced by Neville Chamberlain. Before he left the radar network was in place and the first Hurricanes were reaching fighter command. He also appointed Sir Hugh Dowding as Air officer Commanding-in-chief of fighter command. This was the man who directed throughout the battle while facing extreme criticism and to whom it was said by Winston Churchill, “To him the people of Britain and the free world owe largely the way of life and the liberties that they enjoy today”. We all remember Chamberlain for giving in to Hitler and proclaiming, “Peace in our time”. This author goes out of his way to give him credit for continuing the production speed up of modern fighter planes without which England certainly would have been defeated.
2,000 young fighter pilots were all that stood between Hitler and victory. Their victory like the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar is etched deeply into the national conscience as the most important victories in their long history. September 15th each year the “Battle of Britain” is commemorated. That was the final decisive day after which the threat of imminent invasion was over. They had held out long enough so that worsening weather made an invasion impossible. Hitler then turned his attention to Russia. Had these young men, with the courageous support of the men and women on the ground, not been successful, history would have been altered. America would not have had England as a base to assemble our soldiers. The Axis Powers perhaps would have prevailed.
I would be remiss if I did not end this with Churchill’s famous words spoken August 20, 1940; “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.
If history is important to you, I strongly recommend this book to you.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
September 24, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985

This letter is in response to an e-mail received from a friend who is like me in that he searches for facts to explain or help understand current events. He alerted me to the Act mentioned in the title. While we argue about stupid end of life issues during the current discussion about health care, it is important to review past actions to understand how we got to where we are today. An important part of history occurred in 1986 with the passage of this Act. It mandates that all hospitals are required to provide treatment for all without consideration as to their ability to pay. This sounds so nice. On review the Federal Government did not see fit to reimburse these facilities leaving private and public hospitals to pick up the costs.
This is another constitutional matter, in my opinion, where the Federal Government has usurped the rights of the States by dictating policy without regard to costs private citizens are forced to bear. Guess who actually pays? You guessed right, it is you and me, tax paying suckers who live our lives trying to do what is right.
Google Wickipedia and you will see that over half of all emergency cases are uncompensated. This includes over nine million illegal immigrants. So when our current President says they won’t get free health care, he is wrong because nothing in the legislation being debated changes the current law, at least to my knowledge.
I will be sending this particularly to those who are most opposed to legislation currently under consideration. They flood my e-mail box with hate filled rhetoric about our President. Let me be clear, the legislation is an abomination. Forcing all citizens to purchase from the thieves in the health care industry or be fined is so ludicrous that it defies understanding. Also adding mandated costs on industry by providing a portion of the cost or be fined will only continue driving all manufacturing out of our country.
Now here is the punch line. I didn’t know, and I’ll bet you don’t know either who was President when this Act was signed into law. Hold your breath, it was Ronald Wilson Reagan, the hero of all the wild eyed right wing conservatives, who can’t wait until sanity is restored and the current occupant of the White House finishes his term in office.
If you are one, I challenge you to defend your hero. I can’t wait to hear from you.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
September 19, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Health Care

86% of Canadians approve of their government health care system. Their costs are 1/2 ours and they live longer. They do not place the cost burden on industry which gives their companies an edge when competing with us.
We don’t have to adopt their plan. Thanks to LBJ we have a system. It is called Medicare and Medicaid. All that is needed is to lower the age for joining Medicare to 50. We also have CHIP for children; it was expanded earlier this year. Expand it again to cover all children regardless of family income to the age of 18.
Drop the end of life counseling, it is a distraction. Cut down on fraud which robs Billions each year and make people pay for frivolous lawsuits.
Control costs without adding 100,000 Federal employees. Those between 18 and 50 will have to wait till the next time. One step forward is better than doing nothing.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
August 13, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

America's Contribution to the World's Economy

There were two articles in this week’s Arizona Daily Star that caught my attention.
It seems that we as American’s can only handle one crisis at a time. The health care debacle consumes everyone. I include myself in this remark. I have written a number of letters which were shared with my House Representative and others who I felt might agree. I didn’t bother with our Senators as they have shown repeatedly that they have no interest in the subject other than handing a defeat to President Obama.
The subject of this letter is America as the number one exporter of death. Our most profitable industries are ‘defense”. Millions are employed in the only industry we have left that is protected from foreign competition. Good wages are paid to employees in, I would venture to guess, every State in the Union. It has always been my belief that this was done deliberately so that voters in all States would become irate should their cushy jobs disappear.
9/13/09- AZ overseas arms sales on rise by Enric Volante. This article starts by stating that arms sales last year boomed to more than $1 billion. Arizona deliveries rose 72% from 2006. Raytheon led the way. The biggest buyers among at least 25 countries included Egypt, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Secretary Clinton finalized an agreement to clear the way for large sales to India. Raytheon officials stated that they do business with more than 40 allied nations.
9/15/09- “The poor get poorer; leaders buying arms” an opinion piece by Andrés Oppenheimer. Overall defense spending in Latin America and the Caribbean grew 91 % over the past five years to $47.2 billion in 2008. While this is going on the World Bank estimated that the number of poor in Latin America will grow to six million this year. In Latin America the United States has competition for arms sales from Russia and France.
My opinion is firm in that America should provide assistance to any country that wants to improve the lifestyles of their people. Just a small portion of these enormous funds channeled in such a way as to minimize corruption could make a huge dent in the outrageous poverty billions of people are forced to accept today. Perhaps, just perhaps, these people might look at America in a positive light. Wouldn’t that be better than the bitterness that drives them to become “terrorists”?
Weapons flooding into the Middle East I am convinced will one day, if not already, be used against our armed forces in the area. Three nations already possess nuclear capability with others closing in. It is just a matter of time before the holocaust begins. This is where the bible tells us it will begin. We are certainly doing our part to help make this prophesy come true.
As to South and Central America, they have many problems to resolve. Buying military aircraft and missile systems will not resolve them. One false step and chaos will be the result with us and Russia taking sides. This is just what we need, another world war between us. Will we never learn? Will we never get past the macho image we like to project of being the #1 Super Power as far as weaponry is concerned?
I have no illusions that a change will occur. Those of us who voted for our current president had hoped he would back away from using our troops as our means to resolve problems. We are still in Iraq. We have increased our forces in Afghanistan. The missile system is still under construction in Poland. War appropriations continue spiraling upward.
It is amusing to me that those who claim we are a Christian nation are the most militaristic in their approach to the world. I wonder how they will react when the chickens come home to roost. Perhaps they won’t care as the chosen ones will be lifted up to heaven leaving the rest of us to pay the piper.
It probably won’t make a difference at that time if we have a health care system or not.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
September 16, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Monday, September 14, 2009

THE FAMILY

THE SECRET FUNDAMENTALISM AT
THE HEART OF AMERICAN POWER

By; JEFF SHARLET

Mr. Sharlet immersed himself into the heart of the fundamentalist movement to find out personally what was happening. In addition he did deep research into the beginnings and gives great detail and insight. There are numerous endorsements from reputable news outlets and individuals, sufficient to assure me that the content was verifiable. He lays the program open to scrutiny and proves at least to someone like myself that he is telling the truth.
The book was released in 2008. A friend, knowing my inquiring mind, recommended it to me. I purchased it to read while on my annual visit to family back East. I finished it before landing in Tucson. It was a tough read, not just because of the small print and length but because of the content.
Most of you who will read this report will not be pleased. Rather than get angry with me, I ask you to check it out for yourselves and read other books that might counter this one. While I don’t take issue with the millions who seek support by attending fundamental churches, I do take umbrage at the driving force of the leaders, who as the author states, are more interested in power than in helping the poor. There are numerous references to their admiration of fascist regimes including Hitler in the thirties, stating that where two or three are gathered together great results can be achieved. This was in reference to Hitler and Mussolini. This was not necessarily supporting the ends they achieved but rather the totalitarian process which is more productive than a democracy with the many factions to be listened too. Page 130- What was desired was a “God-controlled Fascist dictatorship”.
The other theme that runs throughout the book is that the poor will be with us always and that real progress will only be achieved by ignoring the poor while keeping the power and influence in the hands of a select few individuals whose only requirement is devotion to someone called Christ. Not the teachings of Jesus which we try to adhere to but some vague person of power. The quote about “bringing a sword not peace” is repeated several times.
These people provided leadership supporting using our armed forces or by supplying weapons to dictators around the world resulting in millions of dead people, women and children included, all in the attempt to eradicate communism. Our government leaders such as Ford, Reagan, H. Clinton and many others are implicated in the search for a world order under the banner of Christianity. Places like East Timor, Chili, El Salvador and others are documented.
On page 260 there is a quote by Senator Sam Brownback. It was, “Washington right now is a town where if you’re going to be powerful, you need religion. That’s just the way it is”.
My personal opinion is that religion as the driving source can be dangerous whether Christian or Muslim. Spending our capitol and the lives of our troops in the field because of religious beliefs is wrong. Only when we band together as people of God, whoever called, will be able to rise above hatred and move forward creating a better world for all.
I wonder who, if anyone will take the time to read this book?


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
September 12, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Needed Private Sector Jobs

I have searched in vain in newspapers, TV news and opinions and radio for discussion on what I consider to be the #1 fault with the health care legislation being proposed. Placing the cost burden on business and industry will decrease their ability to compete with companies in countries where the cost is borne by all taxpayers not industry. Campaign pledges should not be so sacred that our leaders pretend that another 47 million people can have health coverage without all of us contributing.
If business was freed from this burden they would be better able to compete and good income jobs would be created. The individual taxes would go a long way to cover the shortfall.
Would someone please tell me why I am wrong?

Analogy (Health Care)

While pondering the health care issue being debated vociferously between the Democratic Administration, Democratic controlled Congress and the minority Republicans, for some reason a statement made by General Patton came to mind.
His 3rd Army had been making great progress pushing into Germany when the decision was made to cut off all supplies including fuel and ammo for his tanks. He had just arrived at the scene of an all night battle. He noticed the Germans were using carts. The statement was that he had the right instrument (3rd Army) at the right place at the right time. Nothing could have stopped him except the decision to give full support to General Montgomery as he drove up the coast. The V-2 rockets were creating havoc in England. Patton was not allowed to use his full resource and the moment passed by. The Germans had time to move their forces and the drive once resumed met heavy resistance.
The majority of American voters put the Democrats in charge expecting the “change” promised. There are only 18 months left before mid term elections. Traditionally the party out of power gains seats. The overwhelming power the Democrats have now will vanish. Nothing of great importance will be accomplished particularly in health care. Their time is now. They have the power and the issue. In my humble opinion they are blowing it. They have caved in to the mega health industry with only a possibility that a public option could be part of the package. No other major country on earth has allowed the private sector to reap obscene profits while denying care as best they can. The cost for most American families is prohibitive. Many do without protection because the cost is out of reach.
Let me make this point clear. I want Doctors, Nurses, hospitals, clinics, and all other health providers to make a good living or profit. The investment in education and facilities must be rewarded. When the original concept of insurance was created the thought was to pool resources to lesson the impact on families and companies. Somewhere along the way the industry realized they could increase their profits by denying care for pre existing conditions, delaying payments and vastly increasing the cost with their incessant paperwork.
It is obvious to everyone by now that the minority party will not agree with any proposal put forth by President Obama and his co-horts. It is time to fish or cut bait as the saying goes. Go all out for the best and lowest cost proposals which will at last provide care for all our citizens. This will cause serious downsizing of the private insurers. Perhaps the blow could be cushioned by letting them handle the paperwork. Their problem is of minor importance as compared to citizens. They had their chance and like the huge banks they blew it with their lust and greed. Tough.
We as a nation cannot continue the irresponsible excessive spending that started with Bush and continues with Obama. If this continues we will become a third world country with only our military to create the premise that we are a super power. In other countries the individual taxes are the source of funds. Pretending this can be done by just taxing the rich and business is nonsense. Maybe a referendum is in order. Let the people decide to increase taxes to pay for health care. We must remove this burden from business to give them a fair chance to compete worldwide. Good paying American jobs will solve our debt problem and pay the costs. Another source of funds could be any of the following;
Cancel the Bush tax cuts for the super rich which are scheduled to expire a year from now anyway. That is assuming the Administration and Congress has the guts to do so.
Bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, these are wars which can never be won.
Eliminate the “No child left behind” program; this is only a paperwork nightmare which only improves the student’s ability to pass tests. It does nothing to improve learning.
Make drastic cuts in funding for the CIA, Homeland Security, Star wars, stop the installation of the missile system in Poland, cut funding for the Energy and Education Departments, cancel the Senior Drug program, replacing it with our government using it’s leverage to lower drug costs across the board, etc, etc. These could lower annual costs by a trillion or more.
The Democratic proposals are seriously flawed. If approved, as much as a trillion dollars will be added to the national debt. Why can’t they just create the process and let it be implemented piecemeal. In the 60,s President Eisenhower got legislation approved to build a super highway system. Fifty years later look what has been created. He knew that once started no subsequent administration or Congress would ever be able to stop it. The same would be true for health care. We already have the superhighway built. Its names are Medicare and Medicaid. I have proposed this before. Start lowering the age of eligibility from the current 65 and at the same time move towards covering the children who are still without coverage. This would be relatively easy to do since the procedures are already in place. As to the question of these programs and Social Security running out of funds, the simple solution is to create a committee charged with advancing solutions which the Congress can only approve or reject without amendment. That is how it was done before.
No one has to re-invent the wheel.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Arthur M. Schlesinger book

JOURNALS
1952 – 2000
Arthur M. Schlesinger,Jr.
By; Andrew and Stephen Schlesinger

Mr. Schlesinger was a prolific author and historian. For over 50 years he was in contact with the most influential politicians, artists and world leaders. He would be considered an intellectual. He died at the age of 89. Prior to this he had asked his sons to write a book using his personal notes. Since there were over 6000 pages, their task was to choose the most important and condense to fewer than 1000 pages. They ended up with 958.
It would be impossible to write a review. What I have chosen is to list comments I found interesting. Should this trigger interest on your part be prepared for long hours of intense reading?
Page 37 - A quote from HST when asked for advice by Adlai E. Stevenson as he sought the presidency, “Do you want to know what the issue in this campaign is?” He went to the window and pointed at a passerby. “The issue is who’s looking after that guy? The people down in Washington aren’t looking after him. They’re looking after themselves. What we have to tell the country is that we Democrats intend to look after the ordinary guy.”
Page 156 - President JFK observations about comments made by President Eisenhower at a press conference. JFK said, “The thing I liked best,” he said, “was the picture of Eisenhower attacking medical care for the old under Social Security as “socialized medicine” and then getting into his government limousine and heading out to Walter Reed.”
Page 286 – A conversation with Jackie Kennedy. She took Arthur aside and said, “Do you know what I think will happen to Bobby if he is elected president?” I said no. She said, “The same thing that happened to Jack… There is so much hatred in this country, and more people hate Bobby than hate Jack. That’s why I don’t want him to be President… I’ve told Bobby this, but he is fatalistic, like me.”
Page 336 - Stalin was very much impressed with Roosevelt; you could almost say he was in awe of Roosevelt. He saw in Roosevelt the power of the USA, but he also saw in him the New Deal: he knew that something had been happening in America which did not fit the categories and which he had to take account of….
Page 362 – Nixon continues to get away with murder. Now it is the progress toward a Vietnam settlement…. What is saddest of all is that if Nixon had been willing to make these concessions in 1969, we could have had the settlement then; and 20,000 Americans and God knows how many Vietnamese, now dead, would be alive.
Page 612 – Describing a British film… But its vision of an electronic world in which nothing works, of cities drowned in filth and litter and divided between the stupid rich and the aimlessly poor, of an intrusive, incompetent and brutal state bureaucracy- all seemed peculiarly convincing. I find I have no faith, none at all, in progress. I do not expect a better future.
Page 660 – He comments on the debate between Dukakis and Bush. Bush regurgitated his demographic crap about liberalism, the pledge of allegiance, the ACLU, etc….. I have thought that George Bush knows better but I am beginning to wonder if he really does.
Page 670 – With reference to the book “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie- Last Thursday Waldenbooks, claiming the need to protect its bookshops and employees from Muslim fanatics, ordered the removal of the book from its shelves. This provoked him to fire off a letter.
Page 673 - So democracy has won the political argument. The market has won the economic argument. The elections this year in the Soviet Union, the demonstrations this week in Tiananmen Square—all signify not just the survival but the triumph of democracy in its century- long struggle against the totalitarians. For the historian, an exciting time.
Page 684 – With reference to American troops sent to Panama-As one opposed to presidential wars undertaken without congressional consent, to unilateral U.S. intervention in the hemisphere and to sneak attacks by superpowers on small countries, I am deeply unhappy, but I am very much in the minority.
Page 701 – With reference to the first gulf war- The most unnecessary war in American history began on the 16th.
Page 832 – Starr’s report lived up to anticipations. It is indeed the most salacious public document in the history of the republic… Starr, who is already exposed as the nation’s number one pornographer…
Page 857 – The Florida roller-coaster rushes on. Very odd succession of sensations: in the morning, Bush is winning; in the late afternoon, Gore is granted a reprieve and is still in there. I suppose Bush will win in the end. But if he wins when votes are still uncounted, it will be regarded as a steal.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
August 17, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Health Care Thoughts

Why must everything be so complicated? Sure there is a problem in this country. How can we ignore some 45 million people not having access to affordable care? I am concerned as are many of you who I receive e-mails from that the reforms planned are ballooning out of control. The legislation being debated will probably contain a thousand or more pages of details which no one in the Congress or Administration will ever review much less understand. Health care in America today is complicated enough as it is. I am always frustrated with the myriad of forms I must sign no matter how routine the procedure might be. Have any public officials taken the time to review the systems in place in other countries, many of which have been in effect for decades? Why must we start from scratch? If there are flaws in any of these, then it should be relatively easy to make whatever changes are necessary.
This is what I truly believe.
The Insurance Community and the Drug Companies will come out stronger than ever and more obscene profits will be theirs for the taking. Our Congress and Administration will do their bidding, where to my way of thinking they should be bypassed and in the case of the insurance industry they should be redundant, completely put out of business. Why would we need insurance if a Medicare type system was made available to all instead of just seniors? Perhaps their role could be to supplement just as my former company does for me now. Those who could not afford, at least would have basic care.
I would rescind the Drug Companies right to advertise to the public as they so obscenely do today. Every time I am watching some program, on they come with Viagra or some other miracle drug that you must talk to your doctor about. Most of the ads tell all the bad things that the drug could do to you. It is just sick. In a recent article written by Christopher Lane he reveals that only two countries around the world allow this; New Zealand and America. He quotes an August 2007 New England Journal of Medicine article that the total cost for 2005 for all drug-related marketing in 2005 was $29.9 billion, with $4.1 billion spent on Direct to Customer advertising. The authorization to allow DTC advertising was granted while Clinton was our President. Think about that as you contemplate which political party has your best interests at heart. This should not be construed as an endorsement for the Republican Party. If that party means so much to you, then tell me what wonderful things they did during the eight years when they had total control.
One pillar in the plans being discussed is mandatory benefits to be paid by employers. Doesn’t anybody understand that this is totally wrong? I have harped on this subject for years now without result. My basic premise is to relieve businesses in America from this cost burden, particularly their obligation to retirees like myself. The burden to cover my medical expenses has to be paid out of product sales for which I no longer contribute. Eliminating these would immediately increase the profit they could make while producing goods and services here in America. Jobs would come flooding back that were lost to China and elsewhere, tax revenues would increase dramatically enabling our country to afford health care, pay down the debt or whatever else is deemed important.
I would rein in the huge costs the Doctors and Hospitals pay to protect them from excessive law suits. There undoubtedly are abuses which should be punished but there are also frivolous law suits, many of which are settled out of court to limit the cost, even when completely unfounded. The Democratic Congress is indebted to the Trial Lawyers for campaign funds and I can assure you this will not be discussed. President Obama at a medical convention recently told them that it was off the table.
Medicare fraud is rampant. I have seen a report that so far this year alone it exceeds $33 billion. Putting more people and resources to work to drastically reduce this amount would provide billions to be put to work helping people instead of enriching thieves.
Do not provide government paid procedures having anything to do with sexual enhancement, cosmetic surgery, tummy tucks, etc.
Limit free or subsidized health care to citizens and legal immigrants.
I have one final thought, why must it be all or nothing? Why not chip away at it? People without insurance can still be served at the Emergency Rooms. Not preferable and terrifically expensive but still it is an option. Why not take the creepy crud approach and lower the age to receive Medicare by one year each year until it covers all age 50 and older while at the same time covering children up to the age of 18. That would leave those in their prime working years not covered now but perhaps later. I only suggest this as the Trillions in costs being discussed will no doubt derail any meaningful program and something is better than nothing.
I am mailing a copy of this to my elected officials as well as e-mailing to friends and others. If you agree in part or all, I request you let your voice be heard as well. Sitting back and hoping for the best just won’t do.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
July 29, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Challege to Arizona's employer sanction law

US Chamber of Commerce
Asks justices to kill Ariz. Rule
Article written by Howard Fisher-Capitol Media Services
In the Arizona Daily Star-July 28, 2009

In his brief to overturn our program, Attorney Carter Phillips makes the point that there were over 1,000 immigration bills and resolutions introduced in all 50 States so far in 2009 alone. He complains that they place an undue burden on employers and all should be found to be interfering with the Federal government’s immigration program.
I would predict that the Chamber will be successful. What the Court should review is the complete lack of commitment on the part of the Federal government to do their job. They should review the underlying reason why citizens, state and local governments are taking matters into their own hands to resolve because the Federal government will not. I was upset with President Bush and Senator McCain when they pushed for amnesty. The response from citizens was enough for them to back off and wait for a better time. Now I realize that President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the rest want the same thing.
Further, I have read that the health system revision being proposed does not specifically deny coverage for illegal immigrants and therefore they will be covered.
The State of California has the largest illegal population. The cost to support them has nearly bankrupted the state, but even there, they pretend that all is peaches and cream.
The Court, the Administration and Congress had better understand the anger building in American citizens, 10% of whom cannot find employment. There will be an up roar if amnesty and complete surrender to special interests is tried.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
July 28, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Response to opinion by Eugene Robinson

Your opinion article in today’s Arizona Daily Star, entitled,” Rising number of Powerful minorities change race mix”.
You ended the article by throwing down a challenge. “Any body wanna bet”. I accept. I am 81 years old and white. Any time I have ever had the occasion to talk to a police officer, I always addressed him as “Sir”. This is my way of letting them know I appreciate all they do for me, putting their lives on the line, never knowing if they are dealing with a crazed person.
Your precious professor took offence at the officer questioning him, as if to say, I am important, you are just a lowly peon. How dare you challenge me? I know Obama personally, etc, etc.
You know that in the past there were lynchings, blacks had separate drinking fountains and were told to move to the back of the bus. That was then, this is now. It is time for you and other educated, articulate people of color to put that aside and deal with the here and now. We are getting tired of being told how bad whites are. By the way, to my knowledge I never dealt with a black man any different than a white man, so don’t put me down as a racist. Put me down as someone who believes we should all be treated the same regardless of race, or for that matter standing in the community.
President Obama is doing the right thing trying to close this episode, but I will not forgive him for jumping to the typical black position that race was involved.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
July 28, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A book review

Write It When I’m Gone
By; Thomas M. DeFrank
Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford

Mr. DeFrank is a reporter who was assigned to follow Vice President Ford in 1974 during the time leading up to the resignation of President Nixon. He became a trusted friend who did not betray confidences. As the years passed by during the Presidency of Ford and the years following they began meeting on numerous occasions’ right up until President Ford’s death at the age of 94. The only proviso was that the content would be held for publishing after his death.
For those of you interested in American history and politics, you may be surprised at the opinions he held for other political persons. For example, right up until the death of President Reagan, Ford held him responsible for losing his bid for re-election to Jimmy Carter. There had been a bitter nomination battle between them, and after Ford won, Reagan did little to help Ford get elected. In contrast Ford worked tirelessly on Reagan’s behalf when he ran against Carter.
I won’t share more than the above. Read it and you will better understand this wonderful, courageous, loyal person who worked hard for his party, his country and the numerous charitable endeavors he supported.
For recreation, he was an avid golfer, which proves that he was OK.


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
July 22, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, July 9, 2009

America and the World

A book report

I found this new book at the Wilmot Public Library. It was published in 2008 before the election for president had been completed. It was interesting for a number of reasons. The first was that it wasn’t written. It consists of taped interviews. The moderator was David Ignatius. The principals were Zbigniew Brezezinski and Brent Scowcroft. Both of these men served many years for different presidents as National Security Advisors. The second is that even though they were of different parties, they agreed on the main issues of concern. Topics discussed were the Cold War, the Middle East, relations with China and other immerging powers, mistakes made over the years and the successes. They have advice to give to the incoming president, whoever he or she might be.
From my lofty position of knowing all things, I found I disagreed on a few of their positions such as;
They feel that those of us critical of illegal immigration are racists. We don’t agree. We believe that for a government to exist there must be rules and laws to follow, otherwise you have chaos. These people flooding into our country, deliberately breaking our laws, have caused great financial distress on law enforcement, medical facilities and undercut the wages that citizens could be earning. We just want order not wanton disregard.
They believe that those of us who want to preserve employment in manufacturing are protectionist. Nothing could be further from the truth. We just want a level playing field. China, in particular breaks every rule in the book with impunity.
They champion our military involvement in the Middle East, whereas I want an orderly withdrawal so that the people of those countries can choose their own destinies without having to suffer under our military occupation.
What I did agree with was their hope that the incoming president would reverse the damage done by our last president and vice president. A statement made was,
” The new president will come into office in a world that is very angry at the United States. I can’t remember, in my lifetime, a time when the world was more hostile to the country”.
All in all, if you are a person interested as I am and keep searching for the truth; you will find this book informative, particularly as they recall decisions made during their tenure.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
July 9, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Friday, June 26, 2009

The Golden Age of America

You would probably think this occurred during the roaring 20’s. I disregard that period as being false prosperity, it was reckless and out of control, much like the fiasco we are trying to dig out from at the present time. High leverage and no accountability led us like Lemmings over the cliff.
The golden age I am referring to occurred during my life time and lasted from about 1947 to 1974. These were the years following WWII. The growth was real, solid and dependable.
I’m going to ignore the effects of the war in Korea (or police action) as it was referred to, and the Vietnam War. Both of these conflicts had a negative effect on the prosperity of Americans to say nothing about the millions of oriental lives taken together with over 100,000 Americans and billions of dollars wasted. It took rioting students to bring the latter to a halt. I have stated that the IRAQ war would never have occurred if the draft was still in effect. Since the current generation of students weren’t involved they just ignored it, and so it goes. Putting that aside I want to talk about the good things that occurred during these years.
Before FDR’s death he convinced the Congress to enact the GI Bill of Rights. This provided opportunities for returning GI’s to learn new skills and stretch out their horizons. This one simple act took the pressure off of business and industry, as there were not sufficient jobs available for the millions of returning veterans. It must be remembered that America’s factories had quickly converted from peacetime products to producing weapons and material to support the war effort. Manning those factories were men not qualified for military service and the women of America. Do you recall the name, Rosie the Riveter? These women gladly returned to their home responsibilities to make room for veterans. I might also add that President Eisenhower deported millions of illegal immigrants back to Mexico. I believe it was in the early 50’s. It was simple then. It is only complicated now as our leaders have no intention of sending them home regardless of the unemployment status of millions of American workers.
The GI Bill was to expire in September 1946. I turned 18 on 7/30/1946 and immediately enlisted in the Army Air Force. When my enlistment was over in 1949, I took advantage of this opportunity and entered college at the University of Buffalo. I graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering, married my wife, Carolyn and started my career with Firestone in Akron, Ohio. You can multiply my experience by millions of other veterans. The point I want to make is that these men receiving higher education and spreading across the country was unprecedented. Prior to the war only the children of doctors and lawyers went on to college. The rest stayed in the communities where they were born, worked for the local factory and retired after 35 or 40 years never straying far from home.
During the four years of war civilian goods were just not available. Civilians put their extra money into war bonds. There was a pent up demand for goods and services. These bonds were cashed to purchase. With increasing speed the factories converted back to civilian goods. The influx of new GI graduates greatly helped in spurring on development of new products. Salaries and wages increased on a steady basis. Families could now afford to purchase homes where previously most lived in rental units, including my own family. Year after year prosperity spread from State to State. There were of course pockets of despair and the Negroes for the most part were not as prosperous as the rest of us, but even here they had jobs paying wages they had never seen before.
President Truman is credited with the Marshall plan which sent goods and agricultural products to Europe at a critical time. This also increased production here at home. The net effect was increasing capacity with more good paying jobs available. These were happy times. People moved to the suburbs, bought fishing boats, campers and vacation homes. They were able to put aside college funds for their children. We were determined that they would be able to inherit a better life. This continued until the early 70’s when chinks started to develop.
Once again using me as an example, the opportunity for growth was astounding. The tire industry blossomed. New plants were built all over America and Canada. Because of this, men like me were given advancement opportunities. It felt as if it would never end. These were heady times but solid not flaky as recent times. Salaries and wages steadily increased. Houses grew in value at a steady rate. All was well with the world and then it was over. If you did not live thru these years you cannot possibly understand.
I have many former union friends but would be remiss if I didn’t make the point that unions became so powerful, they could shut down whole industries to realize their demands, the granting of which made it more difficult to produce quality products at reasonable cost. It was during this time that rebuilt factories in Europe and Japan started exporting products to America. At first it was a bother but later on became a real threat. We could no longer compete as many of our factories were aging with high wages and benefits and with decreasing productivity. Then along came President Jimmy Carter. He and the Democratic Congress started enacting punitive legislation such as OSHA, DOT, and EPA. These, while of some benefit, added enormously to our cost of production.
In spite of all of the above, our country was still growing and still prosperous. The Golden Age finally came to an abrupt end with the creation of OPEC. They instantly raised fuel costs from $4/ gal. to $40/ gal. The whole industrial world was affected. In my own industry six huge factories were immediately shut down. The tire industry to this day has not recovered to where it had been previously. We might have grown to overcome this huge financial setback but there were other forces at work. The Northern States were depleted first by sending factories to the Southern States where unions did not have power. This went on for some time until the next step was initiated and that was to desert America entirely. Decisions were made to send the latest equipment overseas whereas previously they would have been installed in USA factories. This ushered in the era of huge corporations making profit only decisions without consideration of the problems created by lost, good paying factory jobs here at home. This led to entire factories being shut down and reassembled first in Mexico and later the Far East i.e.; Thailand, South Korea and China. The unions already weakened continued losing influence. This was accelerated during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
As the men lost their status as breadwinners, millions of housewives entered the work force, not because they wanted to, but because the families were desperate to maintain the standard of living they had grown to accept as their right. Men worked two or more jobs. None of these had the wages and benefits that they had become accustomed to.
Even with all of the above, families continued to lose ground. It is my contention that this is when drug use intensified. They were used to cloud reality.
Government, whether Democrat or Republican, was either too stupid to realize what was happening or just didn’t care. I have heard politicians say that manufacturing can never return. I deny that categorically. All Americans need is a level playing field. As it is now the cards are stacked against us. Corporate taxes in America are far greater than factories located overseas. Health care costs are borne by factories here but not elsewhere. How can we ever compete? The so-called free trade agreements have created havoc both at home and abroad. Their real intent is to foster huge profits for corporations with total disregard for Americans or for the citizens of the country where the factories are installed.
The military/ industrial alliance exerted their influence forcing America to spend billions and yes, trillions on an annual basis to create the illusion that we were a super power. Europe and the other industrial nations took a different route. Without ever declaring it as a plan, they reduced their military to a reasonable level consistent with backing away from wars as the way to settle disputes. Having their countries devastated during two world wars, they have said no more. The funds thus made available were used to improve the lives of their citizens which included universal health care. This alone reduced the cost of production and kept their industries viable, even though high wages are paid to their workers.
I sometimes wonder what life in America might have been like had the golden years continued. I think my generation would have opted out of the work force at earlier times, probably to play golf year round in Arizona or elsewhere. The void of us leaving would have created opportunities for younger people to take our places. Children wanting college educations would not have to go deep in debt to do so. The tension people live with today would not exist. Drug usage would be lessened as well as crime. We would be a more content society. We would probably donate funds on a larger scale to assist poorer people around the globe, etc. etc.
Can we ever return to those solid years? The answer is yes and no. Yes, if our government would take the steps necessary to remove the barriers that make it nearly impossible to compete on the world stage. No, if the status quo remains the same. I will be honest here even with the creation of a level playing field, those industries that are labor intensive will not return, but there are many where labor costs are not the principle cost of doing business. Those would come home. With competition as it is, we will never regain our #1 status, but the hemorrhage of jobs being lost would slow down and hopefully some would return. We will never know if we don’t try.
My thoughts on regenerating the golden age would include the following ideas;
1- Reverse the taxation policies from encouraging companies from sending jobs overseas. This would include closing tax loopholes such as using the Cayman Islands as a pseudo headquarters.
2- Universal health care, to remove this pediment from our factories.
3- Eliminate star wars funding immediately.
4- Begin an orderly but systematic withdrawal from our over 4,000 military bases around the world, starting with Korea.
5- Renounce war as our first reaction to disagreements with other countries.
6- Reform the election process. As it is today corporations exert enormous pressure on those seeking public office. Ban them as well as unions from contributing campaign funds. They do this in Canada, why not here? Restrict primary campaigns to six months before the voting day. Limit TV exposure to specific hours and thereby eliminate round the clock campaigning. How can anything worthwhile ever get enacted when our elected officials need to spend so much of their valuable time begging for contributions? It has reached the point where the candidates of the two parties are indistinguishable except for social issues like gay rights and abortion rights.
7- Spend whatever funds are necessary for us to become energy independent. Make sure these funds are spent in American factories here at home.
I could go on and on but to do so would only bore you. The point is that Americans today could be enjoying a higher standard of living but the huge mega corporations have seen different. In their pursuit of obscene profits they have abandoned Americans to second class status except for those few at the top. We only have ourselves to blame as we let it happen without so much as a mild protest. I believe it will take us going to the streets in peaceful demonstrations in order to get the attention from our “leaders”. The news media will not help. They make too much money with the way it is. I would support, but am too old to lead something like what I envision will be necessary. Don’t think it can’t happen here. Just look at the bravery of Iranians who have taken to the streets in defiance of what they consider to be a rigged election.
Think about it. Will you be the one?


Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
June 25, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com