Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham

(An Intimate Portrait of an epic friendship) Knowing of my very high regard of FDR and Churchill, an old friend told me about this book. I have just finished reading. Over the years I have read countless books relating to WWII and the persons involved. What this book offers is a more in depth discovery of the many episodes where their lives came together during that monumental period in our history. In the interest of keeping an open mind I have also read books by authors who do not consider them as I do. No writing by any person can result in lessening my beliefs that without these two giants the world might be an altogether different place and not for the better. Under their inspired leadership the Allied Powers defeated Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. These were powerful adversaries prepared for conflict where we were not. Isolationism was very strong in America. FDR had to take very small steps to get us rebuilding our military strength. The relationship grew steadily during the course of the conflict. At first when England stood alone Churchill was desperate to receive military hardware to be able to stave off defeat. Out of that came the 50 old destroyer deal followed by lend-lease. Once Russia was attacked they also received the weapons they needed. The book also includes intimate sections relating to each of their families. The support received was very important in aiding them to enjoy family times even while under extreme pressure. Rather than try to report on any specific situation between them, all I will do is highly recommend reading this book. If you do, I’ll bet you will have a better understanding and perhaps will feel as the vast majority of Americans did when FDR was elected to a fourth term as President. We could not stand to not have him leading us. My book is available to any interested person. Jack B. Walters May 29, 2012

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Metal Thefts in Tucson

Darren DaRonco, This note is in response to your article in the Arizona Daily Star 5/27/2012. It is astonishing to me the helplessness of law enforcement to solve any problem whether it is bank robberies, graffiti, drugs or metal thefts. All should be easily solved. As to metal theft, I have the following thoughts to share; If legislation is required then law enforcement should petition for change. If that is not the case then all places where scrap metal is purchased should be required to obtain the “real” address and name of the person selling. They should be required to state where the metal was obtained. Having staff review this information it should soon be easy to find who are routinely selling. If they are not legitimate contractors then their residences should be inspected. Perhaps surveillance could be used in the evenings to watch for traffic and tail the suspects. They devoted countless hours searching for the missing girl. That is, of course, important but so is theft on such a massive scale, $600,000 since January as stated in your report. Once found then throw the book at the perpetrators to send a clear message. I hope you will share these thoughts with the appropriate city officials. Yours Truly, Jack B. Walters

Saturday, May 26, 2012

A Chink in the Armor

Following the NATO Summit in Chicago last week, the newly elected French President Hollande advised President Karzai that effective the end of this year all French combat troops would leave Afghanistan. He would leave a few to orderly remove military equipment and trainers. This created consternation with the other NATO members. I welcome this break in unity of this cold war inanity. NATO has long ago ended its usefulness. The air war against Libya was mostly an American effort. Russia has long ago ceased being a threat to Europe. Continuing armed forces in Afghanistan only prolongs the inevitable. No matter how much treasure and blood we commit to it nothing will ever change for the better. They must decide on their own what kind of country they want to be. It is my fervent hope that other nations follow the example of France and the coalition dissolves in the process. Jack B. Walters May 26, 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Screwed by Dick Morris & Eileen McGann

I caught an interview on talk radio where Dick Morris was discussing his just released book “Screwed”. Upon returning home I placed an order for it. I have not been disappointed. I have known about him for many years beginning when he was the political advisor to Bill Clinton. I have always held him at arm’s length since he appeared to me to be a turncoat moving from one party to the other or in the news media, able to sell whatever he was promoting at the time. The reason I jumped at buying his book is that much of what was purported to be in it were ideas I have firmly held for decades. I was not disappointed, nor will you if you also read. Many of you know that my own personal writing is often blunt. I purposely present my thoughts without ambiguity. Other writers try to be balanced. I see no need to follow their example. There are more on the other side so I feel free to state my case in a simple direct fashion. There are eleven chapters, each devoted to a specific area where we Americans are getting the short end of the stick. They are; 1- A World WithoutDemocracy; America Without Sovereignty 2- Trick or Treaties; How the European Union is Preempting Congress and Binding Us Through International Treaties 3- China 4- Pakistan 5- Afghanistan 6- Saudi Arabia 7- The United Nations of Corruption 8- The World Bank 9- Foreign Aid; Biting the Hand That Feeds Them 10- In Our Backyard; The Chavez-Ahmadinejad Alliance 11- The Enemy Within I listed the chapters to give you an idea of the subject matter. I am not going to try to give a summary of each as it would need to be voluminous. I will state without exception that I support his ideas in total. As I stated at the beginning most of these thoughts I have written about since I began in 2003. Let me just say that any or all of these problems could be resolved if we could ever have a President and Congress who put the interests of America ahead of foreign countries and greed. The obscene money being earned by former elected officials is revolting. They sign on as lobbyists and promote the interests of foreign regimes against the best interest of America, often supporting issues which as a Congress person they previously opposed. He names people who I am sure you will be shocked to learn about from both parties. Money it seems is all that is important. We are constantly being deceived into voting for or against a person. We give outlandish amounts of money in the vain hope that when elected they will steer a straight course not allowing lobbyists to consume their personal time or accept their financial support. We are losing big time. My book is available for anyone to read. I hope at least some of you will obtain the book and after reading try to galvanize others to get involved. Jack B. Walters May 17, 2012

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Same Sex Marriage

I decided to go on record with my opposition to this issue. As of yesterday President Obama declared he is in favor of it. This followed Vice President Biden’s declaration a few days ago. The timing is incredible since North Carolina had just overwhelmingly approved a Constitutional Amendment to state that marriage is between a man and a woman. It was already a State law but they felt seriously enough about it to lock it in stone. Already Democrats are demanding that their convention site be moved out of Charlotte. I will follow this with amusement. The only thing positive about Obama’s statement is that he recognizes that this is a State issue. Most States have taken positions similar to N. C. While I have accepted civil unions since there appears to be many people in this country that prefer companionship with others of their same sex, I will not change my opposition to marriage. Show me somewhere, anywhere in a religious text where this was deemed acceptable. You can’t, because it is not there. I am a live and let live type of guy. If that is how they want to live I could care less, but to taint the sacredness of marriage is intolerable to me. The first time I hear that a marriage of this type is going to happen at a church I am supporting that will be my last day attending. As tolerant as I have tried to be in my life, this is the point of no return for me. I just thought you should know. Jack B. Walters May 10, 2012