Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Executive Order 13166 I looked this up to try to find when the Federal law was passed which required government to conduct business in other languages. I discovered that in communities with refugees from Arab countries that they have benefit programs furnished in Arabic. To me this spells trouble. Since very few Americans can read or write in Arabic those hired to provide services will no doubt be recent immigrants themselves. Do you really believe that they will deny whatever service is available? As more and more communities develop with large populations of Arabic speaking people the possible abuse is without limit. It is time to correct this program. I look to this new administration to start correcting the hugely expensive give away programs.

Monday, October 17, 2016

An attempt to bring clarity for the disarray in the Middle East today

I received a link to a two hour video. It was made by Frontline called Confronting ISIS. I took the time to watch. It does not refer to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya or Israel. It only covers the area from Turkey to Saudi Arabia. After finishing I came away convinced that our government under Bush and Obama has to a very great extent caused the chaos. We continue to pour billions in armament to almost every country over there thinking they will do our bidding, how sad, as it not true. Whenever I decide to write something like this I am quick to exclude Israel. We can never do enough to provide support to these courageous people who have carved out a special enclave surrounded by Muslim countries who collectively hope to destroy them. Our mistake is that we continue to think of each place as countries that should be made whole. Most historians will agree that when the West after WWI carved up the Ottoman Empire, that they made a tragic mistake by not understanding the hatred between the three factions; Kurds, Sunni, Shia. There was no attempt to reconcile one to the other. Take Iraq as an example, Saddam as a Sunni was in control of his mostly Shia citizens. He fought a long war with Iran which is Shia, somehow getting his soldiers to fight. Bush conquered Iraq eliminating any concern by the Iranian Ayatollah clerics. We invested $25 billion over the last eight years in training and arming the Iraqi Army. Mosel, a city with over a million people was conquered by 1,500 ISIS fighters. Two Iraqi divisions dropped their weapons and fled leaving billions of brand new military hardware which became the tools by which ISIS could expand. When ISIS moved toward Bagdad they could have been wiped out on the road. They weren’t as Obama would not act until Maliki was removed. When they finally tried to take back Fallujah, it was Shia militia who led the way. Finally Obama was able to get the government involved. Once the city was in their hands they rooted out Sunni citizens for revenge including beatings, killing and destroying their homes. What it amounts to is that the arms and training we continue to provide are actually beneficial to IRAN since both countries are now aligned as believers in Shia. Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Yemen are Shia while ISIS, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are Sunni. I learned that Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia is very much like ISIS. In fact ISIS uses their educational system to teach young boys. They both are Sharia. Saudi still has their women wearing full length burkas, cut off hands, flog and stone women for various offences. We still provide them with weapons. Their spokesmen state clearly they no longer feel they need to accede to our wishes. They kill Shia in Yemen not Sunni ISIS. For a long period of time Turkey would not allow us to use our air base in Turkey to attack ISIS. When they finally got into the fight it was to kill Kurds, the only ones who had proved able to stand and fight. When Russia got involved it was to destroy the Syrian Sunni rebels not ISIS. By the way Obama spent $500,000,000 to train locals to fight ISIS. Only four remained when it was all over. Obama has supposedly been supporting Syrian rebels in their fight against Assad. Now he does nothing while Russia destroys those who we were supporting in Aleppo. I am confused about Jordan, a Sunni nation that did send bombers against ISIS. When their downed pilot was burned alive they did retaliate for a short period of time but then stopped. What this all amounts to is that Americans are being played for the fools are leaders are. We are all alone trying to eradicate ISIS while the other countries promote their religious beliefs with Sunnis and Shia trying for dominance. ISIS is a natural ally of any Sunni Nation. I believe that continuing to give military equipment and place our Americans in harm’s way accomplishes nothing except weaken us as we drown in debt. Until and unless our government finally figures out the problem we will continue to pour our soldiers and wealth into a lost cause. The video ends with pictures of the thousands of Syrians fleeing their country for Europe and the devastation that is and will continue to bring to those countries which have opened their doors for millions. If you care and are willing to spend two hours I believe you will conclude as I do. Jack B. Walters October 17, 2016

Thursday, October 13, 2016

In Trump We Trust by Ann Coulter

I found this today on the new book rack at the Public Library. I finished reading four hours later. I did it so I could return it quickly hoping others would read before voting. It is almost too late, as my absentee ballot arrived in today’s mail, but if only one other reads, it might make the difference. I have never liked Ms. Coulter. She always annoyed me with her sharp tongue and disparaging remarks. What she wrote in this book is little different from the many articles I have written in the last year or so. While I was an ardent admirer of FDR, the Democratic Party of today is not the party that backed him, oh so long ago. The Republican Party is criminal in continually telling us what we want to hear while having absolutely no intention of following thru. We gave them the House and then the Senate. They accomplished nothing of value. Let me tell you directly as plain as I can. I intend to vote for Trump and against McCain in the Senate and McSally in the House. If Trump wins, it will make little difference to him whether the Congress is Republican or Democrat. He will force thru the ideas that us deplorables have supported him thru thick or thin. If he loses then it is all over as far as patriots like me are concerned. Let Hillary have all the rope she wants to carry out her nefarious schemes. Those of you who are offended by Trump and believe that a woman as evil as Hillary should be President should have all the support she needs. As an aging warrior, I probably won’t be around to see the end of America under her leadership but with Trump I might live long enough to see my country bounce back from the cliff. This is really not a book report as much as it is a convenient way for me to express myself. One thing she stressed in her book was the continuous negative reporting from the establishment including Fox. Megyn Kelly just yesterday took the time to show the entire bus girl talk conversation. She is doing her best to thwart him as does Krauthammer and Wills. It is astonishing to me that the “leaders “ like McCain an Ryan are running for the hills as if to show how pure they are, what a joke. The Media tells us it is all over except for the shouting. I am not so sure, Democrats, independents, African Americans who want a chance to succeed will join with Republicans like me. Stay tuned and pay attention. Jack B. Walters October 13, 2016

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Trump is Crude- Hillary is a Liar

Trump was taped by a “friend” 12 years ago on a bus, making crude comments about a woman. You can say shame on him, but more shame on the person who taped the conversation in the first place, and also the media who pounced on it so quickly, hoping to deliver the coup-de-tat on his hopes to become President. Let’s clear the air. Sex is the driving force that continues to provide off spring to all species including fish, birds, animals and humans. Anyone like me who spent time in the military can be labeled sexist. That includes millions of men who far from home dreamed of the fairer sex. Bob Hope would parade a beautiful movie star on his USO shows telling them he wanted to show them what they were fighting for. Many former Presidents and Congressman have been found to have affairs while in office. For me, I accept that the attraction between men and women is a natural force. Most resist but others succumb. I don’t judge them on this issue alone. I judge them on whether they made the world a better place while in office. Don’t forget Bill Clinton and his many sexual encounters with women other than Hillary. I wrote before that he could have been one of our greatest Presidents but his sex drive was exposed for all to see. Why is it that so many Democrats adore him but despise Trump? Even Jimmy Carter admitted that at times he had lust in his heart. Give me a break. The issue in this election is about the future of America and if it can continue as a viable nation. Hillary will continue the policies of Obama. In the case of immigration she plans to open the door even further than him totally without regard to Americans who are willing to work for a fair wage. Those Americans who are doing well today and the many who are satisfied to live off the largess of generous welfare programs and who love low prices at Walmart do not have empathy for former factory workers whose jobs have been exported to distant shores. These are the people Hillary described as deplorable. That includes me. At 88 I am not looking for employment but my working life was spent in factories and I well remember the working men and women. In my experience they were well paid and could support their families. That is not true today. We force industry to pay the highest taxes in the world and wonder why a company would re-locate to a lower cost country. Trump intends to correct this imbalance. Clinton would increase forcing more factories to close. Again, those I mentioned above just do not care. Trump would renegotiate NAFTA and the other trade agreements which were so beneficial to other countries but not America. In today’s newspaper was an article about Chinese manufacturers selling Carfentanil, a hugely powerful narcotic worldwide. A single drop is deadly. I believe Trump would immediately order that it not be allowed into America. How is the only question? All Obama can do is complain. The deteriorating crisis in Syria has Russia calling all the shots. We are powerless to defy them. Russia is now in control not America. This is true all over the world on any subject you might want to mention. Hillary is as much to blame as Obama. Together they destroyed Khadafy’s military who were trying to keep the ISIS types under control. Libya is a basket place today as a direct result of their decisions. I will never forgive the falsehoods they both put forth about a video causing the attack on our Benghazi Embassy when it was known at the beginning it was a terrorist attack. No attempt was ever made to send aid when the attack continued for 13 hours. This was a total disgrace, in my opinion. Hillary has shown on many occasions her dislike of the Secret Service, military or law enforcement. She, together with Obama continue to favor the “black lives matter” hooligans who destroy cities whenever than can find an excuse. Trump would restore order; Hillary will just meet with them and spend more billions providing sensitivity training to police. She and Obama have greatly weakened our military by forcing them to concentrate on females, transgender, etc. which has nothing to do with assuring a viable fighting force. Iran brags about making drones capable of flying over our carriers. Trump would tell them they will be shot down if they threaten our carriers, Hillary won’t. I could go on and on but you get the idea. I do not expect anyone reading this to change their vote from Hillary but perhaps you will understand better why deplorable people like me will vote for Trump. Jack B. Walters October 8, 2016

Friday, September 23, 2016

Chaos in Charlotte

My son and his family live in Charlotte. I have visited it many times. It is a beautiful city with an exciting downtown and beautiful tree covered hillsides for neighborhoods. Because of a confrontation between an armed black man and a black police officer the blacks took to the streets in what was supposedly a peaceful demonstration. It was anything but. As is usually the case when these occur the heavily protected police form a line while at the same time individuals are destroying cars parked on the street and breaking into and looting stores. They are easily identifiable but no matter, in the interest of being nice they are allowed to carry on. My son was told to stay home yesterday together with 35,000 other workers. What is the cost of that? How many people enjoyed eating out, going to a movie or show or sporting event? How many booked rooms were canceled? Who pays for all of this? Oh by the way I just heard from President Obama “Police try to improve community relations but sometimes get it backward”, another slap at law enforcement. This is his standard response. Hillary said the same thing. A report today stated that an aide for Trump was forced to resign because she laid the blame for the deteriorating relationship between black and white on Obama. I too blame it squarely on him. Every time he opens his mouth he takes the side of “black lives matter” types. I truly believe he hates white Americans. When he first took his apology tour it was white America he was apologizing for. I am totally convinced that there is a network all across America of blacks who are ready and anxious to destroy. All they need is an excuse and away they go. All of the progress from the 60’s has been wiped out. I heard a black man on the radio today talking about white devils. This all started in Watts years ago when the video of Rodney King was made available and the police were not charged. They destroyed the better part of Watts. I remember a white truck driver taken out and murdered with a cement block crushing his head. The police did nothing to protect property or lives. Ferguson was the same and everywhere else. When the Charlotte police finally started arresting people, they discovered that 70 % were from somewhere other than Charlotte. Ask yourself if this is accidental or is it orchestrated. If so who is doing it and how are funds distributed? Charlotte is the last place I would expect trouble like this. At some point they will no longer be allowed to destroy the quality of life as has become the new normal. No city can say it won’t happen here. It must stop or there will be a race war as there were in the past. If it does decades of progress will be lost. What a tragedy that would be for America. Jack B. Walters September 23, 2016

Monday, September 12, 2016

And So it Continues

Yesterday was the 15th year of remembering the tragic events that occurred on 9/11/2001. There were many reports of Americans meeting to remember and give honor and respect to those 3,000 victims perpetrated by 19 Muslim terrorists, 16 were from Saudi Arabia. Many of the dead were valiant firemen and police who entered the buildings while others were escaping. Black football players in the NFL chose that day to demonstrate their total lack of respect either for these victims or for this great country. Their actions have been condoned by NFL coaches and owners. Obama, never missing an opportunity came out in support of these ungrateful millionaires. He has endorsed the “black lives matter” organizers by inviting them to the White House a few days after five police officers were gunned down in Dallas. I am sure there are very few Americans who do not understand that the institution of slavery in this country was wrong. How many of them realize the hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the North who gave their lives to end this heinous practice. With the continuing support of the Democratic Party the blacks no longer slaves were subjected to hateful acts by the Klu Klux Klan and Jim Crow for over 100 years. This finally was halted first by President Truman who ended segregation in the military followed by President Kennedy and President Johnson ending segregation and opening up the opportunity for blacks to vote. That was over fifty years ago. These three presidents were Democrats. They deserve credit for understanding the rightness of the cause. They did it in spite of overwhelming defiance from mostly Southern Democrats. From my standpoint there has been great progress since then. Will it ever be 100%. I doubt it. Prejudice against one segment of the population has been ongoing for centuries. It takes constant vigilance and determination to keep positive progress. I added the above paragraph to try to make the point that I can understand frustration but regardless, this type of behavior, refusing to stand during the playing of our national anthem, only stiffens resolve to think of other races as different rather than the same. I, for one, am offended every time actions like this occur. The facts clearly state that the preponderance of blacks being killed are being killed by other blacks not the police. If police continue to be thought of as the enemy they cannot possibly resolve crime committed in predominately black districts. The arson and pillaging following a police shooting does nothing to create sympathy for blacks. One last point, I have tried to make for some time is that until we all consider that we are Americans, not African Americans, Mexican Americans, etc., we will never resolve this conflict. Jack B. Walters One of those deplorable people you have heard about September 12, 2016

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Letter to the editor

Message for Colin Kaepernick and his supporters I read today how pleased you are that those who agree with you are rushing out to purchase your jersey. You live in a country, as a black man, who earns $16 million/year throwing a football. You refuse to honor that country out of your and their distorted “black lives matter” beliefs. I understand one other teammate followed your example and that others are starting to copycat. Here is where it will end. Those Americans, who love this country unconditionally, like me, will no longer purchase tickets nor watch on TV any team with a player who shows disrespect to America. I am confident millions feel the same. They may not put their name to a letter to the editor but they will no longer support any athletic team that has players such as you on their team. Jack B. Walters September 8, 2016

Friday, August 26, 2016

Night by, Elie Wiesel

Mr. Wiesel was a young boy of 15 when the Germans rounded up all of the Jewish people in his small town of Signet, Hungary. On April 10, 1044 an American tank drove into the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. He alone of all of his family survived after enduring hardship that I cannot conceive anyone could endure. He made it his mission in life to keep the memory of these events from disappearing over time. He was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for this book and forty others he wrote. This one is only 120 pages and easily read. When I requested it at the library I was told that a large number of other people had also requested it. We had noticed his death notice in the paper and all wanted to read. This time I am not going to provide details, rather I am requesting that you also exhibit interest and read it yourself. As the survivors of WWII dramatically decrease in number, in a few years none will be left. Only books, museums and old movies will be left to keep the memory alive. Jack B Walters August 26, 2016

The Killing of Osama bin Laden by; Seymour M. Hersh

I had gone to the Library to pick up a book I had reserved. It is” Night” by Elie Wiesel. He was a survivor of the Holocaust. I will report later. As I was leaving I browsed the new book section and saw this book and of course just had to read. It is a small book, only 124 pages, but packed with dynamite. Many of my thoughts about Obama’s weak handling of Islamic Terrorists are confirmed. Some of you will quit reading at this point. All I can say is shame on you for not wanting to hear the truth. Hersh is not just some right-wing nut job. He is the real McCoy. It was he who exposed the My Lai, Vietnam massacre, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. He has won the George Polk prize five times, the National Magazine Award for Public Interest twice, the LA Times Book Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Osama bin Laden We were told that Pakistan was not informed. That was a lie. General Kayani and General Pasha knew in advance. They made sure that the two helicopters could enter Pakistan without interference. The Generals wanted the release of military aid plus under the table personal incentives. By the way Saudi Arabia was financing bin Laden’s upkeep. The Generals even supplied the DNA proof that it was bin Laden. Another falsehood was that he would be taken alive if possible. The clear evidence is that he was to be killed and he was. The compound guards were under orders to leave as soon as they heard the rotors so there was no fire fight. The only shots fired were into bin Laden except one that hit the leg of one of his wives. There was no cache of computers only some books and papers which were collected. The agreement was to keep silent for a week but Obama spilled the beans as soon as the hit was confirmed. The Seals involved were forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement so as not to compromise Obama’s story. The claim that bin Laden was active in planning was also false. He was in ill health. The burial at sea was another lie. The picture we have seen so many times of Obama, Hillary and staff waiting with bated breath was just an act. The story told to the American people was sufficient to assure Obama’s election for a second term. The Red Line and the Rat Line In 2011 Obama led an allied military intervention in Libya without consulting Congress but before attacking Syria he asked the Congress to approve. The Red Line had been drawn in the sand by Obama threatening to strike Assad hard if he used chemical weapons against the rebel forces or civilians. There was a Sarin Gas attack on a Damascus suburb of Ghouta. Obama ordered our military to prepare to strike. A report from England proved that the type of gas used was not something Assad’s forces had. It had come from a rebel group instead. The French and English were ready to do their part. It was called off and the Russians persuaded Assad to remove his inventory. We, the American people were never told that Assad was not responsible for the gas attack. It is hard for me to understand as it would have removed the criticism of Obama for drawing a red line and then not taking action. The Rat line is something else altogether. Rat line was named by the CIA and refers to the program to send military hardware from the former Khadafy’s arsenal to the Syrian rebels fighting Assad. The Obama administration has never admitted to its role. This was done in cooperation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It was authorized in 2012. Many of those receiving turned out to be jihadists, some affiliated with al-Qaida. The assault on the American Embassy and CIA compound in Benghazi which resulted in the death of Ambassador Stevens and three others was undoubtedly because Stevens was in Benghazi to expedite these shipments. This was never admitted to by Obama nor was the Congress ever advised we were doing this as required by law. The writer claims that Erdogan was responsible for the Sarin attack hoping Obama would be forced to enforce his red line threat. In 2013 al-Nusra and the Islamic State were being aided by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar allowing them to make enormous gains. Our effort to find and train so-called nice rebels failed miserably. Erdogan has hopes for re-establishing the Ottoman Empire. The author also states that Obama is wrong about removing Assad and that we should co-ordinate with Russia instead of resisting. A comment very disturbing was that Putin had seen a video of the murder of Gaddafi. He was sodomized by a bayonet. He didn’t want that outcome for Assad. Criticism of Obama by the Pentagon is not accepted. Those who disagree are quickly removed. The book should be a must read for anyone who cares. Jack B. Walters August 26, 2016

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Blood Telegram by' Gary J. Bass

Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide I, sometimes think I am a student of history, but I have no recollection of the events written about in this book. In looking back, my career took me to Canada from 1963 through 1971. I have said many times that those years were the most peaceful of my life. I devoted my time and energy to my work and family. I became like a Canadian who understands that their country is too small to make a difference and therefor pay little attention to what is occurring around the world whereas as an American we feel responsible for everything and feel the need to participate. Those were the years of Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, the hippies and overall turmoil in America. We were spared all of that. The year I returned 1971 is the basis for this book. It recalls the genocide of Hindus in East Pakistan by the Armed Forces of West Pakistan. The military leadership of General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan had allowed an election to take place in East Pakistan. The people overwhelmingly voted for a party completely at odds with him. They wanted separation from the West. He sent in his military arresting leaders and systematically driving Hindus out of the country. They bombed villages and killed as many as one million. This started in March. In the ensuing months over 10 million escaped to India seeking refuge. Many died as a result. India, a poor country, was ill equipped to handle. Aid from other countries was inadequate. The Blood Telegram was written by Archer Blood, the U.S. Consul General in Dacca, East Pakistan. He saw what was happening and sent this telegram to Washington. It infuriated Nixon and Kissinger. They were strong supporters of Gen. Khan and were not going to interfere with what they considered that country’s internal affairs. Blood was demoted and returned to Washington, his career blocked. Beginning with Eisenhower America had been providing weapons to Pakistan including jet fighters, troop transport planes, tanks, etc. This continued with Nixon. He had a fierce hatred for India. It was obvious that the killing was being done using American weapons. The liberal press and the Democrats led by Ted Kennedy raised a ruckus. The American public was pro-India. None-the-less he continued to ship arms while this was going on. Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. She turned to Russia for aid and support. This, of course, further angered Nixon. India started training and equipping male refugees and sent them back into the country to harass and kill the soldiers. Finally in November India and Pakistan went to war. Nixon tried to get China to send troops against India, they refused. He actually sent a nuclear carrier force from Vietnam to the Bay of Bengal to scare India. Pakistan lost; the new country of Bangladesh was created. It was very poor and struggled to establishing themselves. The book concludes with what happened in the decades following. First India and then Pakistan became Nuclear Powers. As a final thought, I have become increasingly distressed with our constant arming all of the countries in the Middle East, my one exception being Israel. One day a country is our friend then tomorrow our enemy. Countless Billions wasted. Without our involvement they would still be fighting on the backs of Camels. Now the devastation is horrendous and we are starting to become victims as well. Jack B. Walters August 14, 2016

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Hillary

Yesterday Hillary Clinton was nominated at the Democrat Convention as the person they chose to become President of the United States. The same day I went to a theater to see the movie Hillary which was produced by Dinesh D’Souza. He is the same person who produced 2016-Obama’s America which was released just before the election in 2012. That one was devastating for Obama. I urged friends and family to see it but am sure no one did. I will ask again for you to see this one. Mr. D’Souza was convicted of contributing more money to a candidate than the law allowed at the time. How ridiculous that was with the billions being spent today. He was sentenced to eight months in prison and required to perform community service for five years thereafter. He is convinced it was retribution for producing that film. The movie opens with the court case, his time in prison and what he learned from being with criminals. After that he documents the racist history of the Democratic Party from its inception. I believe it was factual. The part I didn’t agree with was his portrayal of Andrew Jackson as a mean slave holder who punished slaves viciously and took slave girls to bed. I have read a number of books about him and that was never brought to light. Jackson was, of course, responsible for the “Trail of Tears” episode which was shameful. We all must agree there were any number of things that occurred which we cannot be proud of as our country grew to its present size. I am adding an attachment to this letter. In my last published book, “An American History Lesson and a Wake Up Call for America”, there is a book report “Setting the Record Straight- American History in Black and White” I urge you to re-read. It could have been the basis for the movie as it covers much of the same material. Interesting that the NRA tried to give blacks the right to own guns when the Democratic Legislatures prohibited blacks from ownership. Not one Democrat voted for the XIV Amendment. In 1893 under Democrat Grover Cleveland his Democratic majority attempted to repeal the XIII and XIV Amendments. There were enough Republicans to prevent it. The KKK was synonymous with the Democrat Party. They also were responsible for Jim Crow Laws. Truman desegregated the military; as a result many Southern Democrats revolted forming the Dixiecrat Party. Eisenhower tried to pass civil rights legislation but faced stiff opposition from Democrats. Kennedy tried but was assassinated before he could help black Americans. Johnson did but reluctantly. To listen to the speakers professing their love and support for blacks is outrageous to me after their several hundred years of doing everything possible to keep them in their place. Finally he gets to Hillary and Bill. He follows them as young college people till today. The nefarious schemes and cover-ups are so distasteful that it left me in disbelief that so many of my friends and family still believe a vote for her is the right thing to do. Just to complete this effort I am also attaching my book report which was printed in my third book “Still Angry” entitled “Her Way” The hopes and dreams of Hillary Rodman Clinton. I request you go to the theater and learn for yourself. Jack B. Walters July 27, 2016

Monday, July 25, 2016

Letter to the editor-Arizona Daily Star

You guys are working too hard to defeat Trump and get us to vote for Clinton. I don’t know about others but your strategy is not hard to detect. Just today the Editorial page was completely full of condemnation of Trump, the cartoon, Joel Mathis, Ben Boychuck and Leonard Pitts. This follows day after day and I assume you will not stop trying to scare the voters until the November elections. This time I am confident that Americans are savvy enough not to be indoctrinated by you or all the rest of the Liberal leaning media. We have had it with a system that just doesn’t work anymore for the rank and file of our country. That is the reason that no matter what Trump says that may offend us under no circumstances can we allow Clinton back into the White House. She is corrupt in so many ways it is impossible to count. Just as the British people did recently in taking the step to get out from under the dictates of the European Union, we are desperate to regain our rights as tax paying citizens. Jack B. Walters July 25, 2016

Friday, July 22, 2016

Eisenhower A Soldier's Life by;Carlo D'este

This is a thorough review of his life. It is over 700 pages of well researched information starting with his immigrant grandparents through the end of the war. You no doubt have read many accounts of WWII. This one concentrated on Eisenhower. The disturbing part to me was the constant pressure from Churchill, Montgomery and others from England to have a greater footprint on the war to the detriment of the American Army. This created great pressure on him and was uncalled for. Once the war was on in earnest with the invasion of Europe from Britain as each day went by the burden from a numbers standpoint was overwhelmingly American. After the battle of the Bulge he did transfer part of Bradley’s forces to Montgomery with him directing the forces north of the Bulge. Later as we advanced into Germany the forces were returned to Bradley. Each commander wanted his group to have preference. I believe that Eisenhower stayed with his broad front stategy to keep the peace. I am one, who in hindsight still believes that Patton was on the verge of entering Germany when his supplies were cut off so Montgomery could advance along the coast with the goal of stopping the V-1 and V-2 rockets from hitting England. As a result the war did not end in 1944 but continued until May 1945. A lot has been written about the decision Eisenhower made to stop his forces at the Elbe River. He did it to save American lives. At that point of time the Nazis were defeated. All that remained was their unconditional surrender. Patton wanted to end in Czechoslovakia at Prague. He was ordered to stop fifty miles short. The tragic thing was the uprising of the people. Just as Russia did for Warsaw, here again they paused their forces until the patriots were wiped out. How tragic. The author doesn’t put blame on Ike. After all he was told Russia was our ally. The author did not hesitate to criticize Ike when warranted but overall it was a tribute to one of our greatest Generals and later President which is not a topic for this book. Ike graduated from West Point in 1915. When WWI broke out he, of course, wanted to be in action as Patton was. He had become so accomplished at training civilians to become soldiers that the Army kept him in the States till the war was over. After the war the Army was drastically cut. From a peak of 3.7 million men the Army by June 1921 was reduced to 150,000 enlisted men and 12,000 officers. It stayed this low until 1936. Very few officers or enlisted men stuck it out for the next twenty years or so. The pay was low. Accommodations for wives and children were dismal at best. Those that did were to become the top leaders during WWII like MacArthur, Patton, Bradley, Clark and others. Ike was second in command to MacArthur when President Hoover ordered the removal of the veterans during their bonus sit-in. He resented MacArthur’s handling of it. Later in his career he again served under him in the Philippines. In 1919 he led a convoy of Army trucks across the country. The roads were abysmal. It took 62 days and showed how important good highways were. As President he started the Interstate Highway System that we take for granted today. His first born son was nicknamed Ikky. He died tragically at the age of three. Later Ike and Mamie had another son John. He graduated from West Point just as the war was ending and though shipped to Europe did not get into combat. If you are a WWII nut like me I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy reading this book. I found it at our Public Library. Jack B. Walters July 22, 2016

Friday, July 15, 2016

Radicalized

I went to my old copy of Webster’s Dictionary to see what they said it was. There are a number of ways to describe radical but none were called radicalized. As to radical, it mentions reaching to the principles, fundamental, extreme, etc. I am writing this out of disgust with the news media that are afraid of offending a religious sect, i.e. Islam. Hundreds mowed down by a 31 year old Muslim from Tunisia. They search for some connection to ISIS or al Qaeda so that they can make us all agree to destroy these radicals, after which the world will be safe from harm. While I am one who believes these groups should be dealt with as harshly as possible, none-the-less I am convinced that these groups are only the most visible and that believing Muslims as a group are dedicated to the overthrow of secular governments like ours and other Western Countries. This is a long time war. The most radical are those who do as this man did. The rest do their part by pumping out babies knowing that sooner or later they will be in control of the whole world. By the way Wikipedia defines al Qaeda as a Sunni Islamic Global Organization which believes that killing non-combatants is religiously sanctioned with the goal to destroy secular governments and replace with Sharia Law. Obama and Clinton refuse to accept, in fact neither did Bush, the President who allowed Bin Laden’s huge family to fly out of our country when none of the rest of us could get on an airplane after 9/11. He, as well as the other two keep preaching the falsehood that Islam is a peaceful belief system. How many more tragedies like we are witnessing on an increasing frequency, will it take for the World Leaders to face up to the challenge and destroy those like ISIS and re-educate Muslims to accept that theirs is not the only belief system to be allowed to exist. As Americans we believe in freedom of religion. Muslims are dedicated to destroy all who believe otherwise. They cannot be allowed to use our Constitution to force their system onto the rest of us. Jack B. Walters July 15, 2016

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Republic Lost by Lawrence Lessig

This book was originally published in 2011. This revised 2015 edition added the “Citizen’s United” issue which has dramatically increased the funds pouring into political campaigns which has distorted the process so dramatically that the idea of a government of, by and for the people no longer exists. The money from the few means that Congress ignores the will of the people and provides benefits for the few. This money process goes both ways, sometimes from the lobbyists to Congress and other times a demand from Congress. Both should be illegal, in my thinking and punishable by fines and jail time. I added that last sentence. It of course is off the table. On page 102 he states the following, “The lobbying industry has exploded over the past 25 years. In 1971… there were just 175 firms with registered lobbyists. Eleven years later, there were almost 2,500. In 2009, there were 13,700 registered lobbyists. They spent more than $3.5 billion-twice the amount spent in 2002. On page 107 he points out how Congress and their staff have come to look at political service like being on a sport farm team, being willing to work for less money while aiming for the payoff on K Street after leaving office. They can expect to receive exorbitant incomes for the influence they can have on current members and staff. Between 1998 and 2004, more than 50 percent of Senators and 42 percent of House members made that career transition. As of June 2011, 195 former members of Congress were registered lobbyists. Chapter 9, I found of particular interest. It concerns the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. He came in with his party in the majority of the House and Senate. People were ecstatic about the changes he promised i.e., health care for all, global warming, attack Wall Street and take on corruption. While it is true the Republicans were opposed to nearly everything he proposed, it is equally true that for the first two years he did not need their support. The author was a colleague of Obama at the University of Chicago and supported him in his political journey. Obama said all the right things. He convinced me (Jack Walters) to vote for him. After his election I actually wrote to him a number of times with my thoughts on how he could accomplish his goals. I soon realized that my effort was in vain. Rather than attack the system, he bought into it by striking bargains with the most powerful lobbyists as a way to get a bill through Congress. The author said he could not believe it. As he sees it even with majorities he still had to curry favor with the lobbyists to have any chance to achieve the goals he had promised which confirms that our government is broken with little chance for recovery. On health care the ‘public option” had been his promise. In actual fact it was never considered. He promised to curtail the influence of the drug companies. Instead right off the bat he struck a deal with them continuing to forbid Medicare from using its size to negotiate drug cost which means Americans continue to pay the highest cost of most other nations. For those of you who continue to be supporters of Obama, you will be pleased to note that the author, as he concludes this chapter gives Obama high praise for accomplishments. After lengthy writing about the money problem which I will not discuss, as you should know as well as I, his final Chapters address Constitutional Conventions as the only real hope our country can have to resolve and return to being the government of the people. He reviews the history from the beginning pointing out that it could be done without jeopardizing the basic Constitution we now have. He believes it will never start in Congress, that only three quarters of the States (38) need to request and the Congress must authorize. It can be limited in scope. I will not try to describe the process, I only hope to put this thought in your mind and perhaps mention to others. In my opinion, it is almost too late but I do like to have a sliver of hope for continuing this great country. Jack B. Walters July 12, 2016

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Patricia McKnight’s Response to my Benghazi article of 7/2/2016 “Setting the record straight on Benghazi”

Her letter was well written. It showed she had attempted to do research. It did not however set the record straight as you titled her letter. I typed in to Google “Why no response at Benghazi.” There were reports from many sources; Wikipedia, AND Magazine, Judicial Watch, Politico and many others. You certainly have staff capable of checking as easy as I did. The sum total is wrapped around the e-mail from a Mr. Bash which stated assets were ready to go on confirmation. The order was never given. WHY ???? Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf stated firmly that it was a planned attack not a response to the video. The why Stevens was even in Benghazi seems to be to co-ordinate shipment of arms to Syrian rebels. This was never confirmed. Contrary to Mrs. McKnight conclusion that assets were too far away doesn’t jibe with comments from these articles. Gunships or Jet fighters could have been sent and would have stopped the continuing attack. I never stated that anything could have been done from Washington to save Ambassador Stevens but could have stopped the attack on the annex where many Americans were under attack. Jack B. Walters July 9, 2016

Friday, July 8, 2016

Obama did it again

I listened to Obama’s concerned speech from Warsaw yesterday and predicted to myself the probable outcome. It occurred yesterday in Dallas with five police officers dead. There was a demonstration by blacks about police killings’ in Minnesota and Louisiana. I contend that he has fanned the flame of racism throughout his tenure as President starting with the Black Professor trying to enter his own home. Obama said something to the effect that police can be stupid. The policeman was there after receiving a concerned call by a neighbor that people were breaking into a home. His reaction after Fergusson triggered a massive review of police departments all across the country, do doubt costing millions and diverting police from fighting crime to being re-educated whether they needed it or not. Two days ago he called on American law enforcement to root out bias in its ranks and said all Americans should be troubled by frequent shootings of blacks and Hispanics, insisting that fatal incidents in Minnesota and Louisiana are not isolated. He said all this while out of the country. He could not have had information on what triggered the shootings since investigations are being conducted. It was his typical knee jerk reaction whenever something like this occurs. Therefore I hold him directly responsible for the loss of lives of these five policemen in Dallas who just happened to be white. Jack B. Walters July 8, 2016

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

The Mantle of Command (FDR at War, 1941-1942) By; Nigel Hamilton

Over my lifetime I have read countless books on the WWII years, biographies, action on the seas, in the air and on the ground. Many books have been written about FDR and Churchill. This one puts it all in perspective for me. You need to know that I have worshiped FDR as a young boy and still today. No one will ever be able to change my mind that he was one of our greatest Presidents. The author’s purpose was his attempt to retell the story of the military direction of the Second World War from a different perspective: that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his role as U.S. Commander in Chief. This book starts with the meeting of FDR and Churchill at a place called Placentia Bay which was one of the bases ceded to us by England in exchange for Lend Lease. It was manned by Americans. This was part of his strategy. He didn’t want to meet on British soil. The date was August 8 to 10, 1941. Churchill, of course, hoped that America would declare war with Germany. He was disappointed to learn that FDR’s goal was to make a statement that amounted to freedom for all the peoples on earth. It was called the Atlantic Charter. Its objective was to provide four freedoms (of speech and worship, from want and fear). Churchill was determined to keep his colonies intact after the war and signed on reluctantly so as not to create a problem between our two countries. He knew then that without America, they had little chance to defeat Germany. Before Pearl Harbor the British were defeated overwhelmingly by the Japanese. Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma were all surrendered to much smaller Japanese forces. Two Battleships were sunk and many other cruisers, destroyers, etc. The Japanese fought with high energy. India would have been next if America had not entered the war. Contrast that to MacArthur’s American and Philippine forces on Bataan and Corregidor. They held out until May 6, 1942 Various episodes are covered. It was FDR that pressured his military to find a way to hit back at Japan. Out of that came the Doolittle raid on Tokyo by B-25’s taking off from an aircraft carrier on April 18, 2041. That was followed by the sinking of four Japanese carriers in the battle of Midway on June 4th which stopped the expansion of Japan and put them somewhat on defense. Those of you too young to remember America was overwhelmingly Isolationist. There was no enthusiasm to enter the conflict in Europe. FDR believed that sooner or later it would happen and he took what steps he could to increase military production and training of soldiers, sailors and airmen. Most of the book is about the ideas of how we could best attack Germany. Early on it was agreed that it had to be Germany first and Japan second. The American military including General Marshall and Secretary of War Stimson pushed for a second front into France from England. FDR was convinced that it would be a blood bath which we would lose to the hardened soldiers of Germany. This was proven when the Dieppe raid was conducted by Canadian soldiers on August 19, 2042. It was completely routed with heavy loss of life and prisoners. He had the idea as early as December 1941 that the best way to initiate war in Europe would be through the French colonies in Western Africa and that it would be 100 % American since there was great hatred for the British after their raid on French warships. The ending chapter is the report that the landings in November 1942 were successful and that the French had capitulated and were in agreement to fight with us to defeat Germany. The author’s next book covered 1943. I wrote a book report on that one. After reading these two books I shudder to think what our world might be like if Japan and Germany had won. With our isolationist feelings, we could not have declared war on either country. They had to initiate it. Hitler’s mistake was breaking the pact with Russia. Japans mistake was attacking Pearl Harbor. Looking at a world map, if you start at the Western coast of France go East through Russia to Japan and go South from there through China all the way to Burma. All of that could have been theirs. It is doubtful that we would have interfered with Japan if they by-passed the Philippines and only attacked the British, Dutch and French colonies. Once that was accomplished our Hemisphere would be all alone. Very doubtful we could have prevailed. A scary thought that I added just to give you something to consider. Jack B. Walters July 5, 2016

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

How Pathetic

In today’s Star is a front page article that absolves Hillary Clinton on her lack of action for the Americans at the Benghazi Embassy who were attacked by a planned group of Muslim activists on 9/1/2012. The Congress spent $7 million and two years investigating. I call this pathetic because any thinking caring person who was alive at that time understood that when Hillary, Obama, Rice and Petraeus went public stating it was a response to a video that they were attempting to mollify the Arab Muslim world. I took the time to watch that video. It was amateurish in the extreme. The dumbest thing I’ve ever watched. One week later Obama apologized in a United Nations speech for the video. Our government spent thousands in Arab newspapers apologizing. All of the above were blatant lies to support Obama’s claim that he had defeated el Qaida several months before the election that continued him in office. The attack continued for 13 hours. No attempt by our military was initiated. Of course no one could predict how long it would be. My position was so what, make an attempt whether successful or not. To abandon these Americans was disgraceful. Clinton and Obama have weakened our military in many ways, in my opinion deliberately. You might ask why. My answer is because neither of them believes that America should be the leader we once were and may never be again. How tragic that for the most parts this is not understood by Americans. If they did they would not be supporting Clinton to be our next President. Jack B. Walters June 29, 2016

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Commander in Chief

FDR’s Battle with Churchill, 1943 By; Nigel Hamilton Once again I was pleased to read a book complimentary to FDR’s leadership. I continue to hold him in my highest esteem as one of the greatest of our Presidents. Not only did he do his utmost to bring Americans out of the Great Depression but he took on the mantle of wartime leadership with great skill and success. This follows another book written by the author of his leadership in 1941 and 1942. The title is; The Mantle of Command. You can be sure I will read this book as eagerly as I did this one. The author faithfully records the events from the landing in North Africa by American troops through the destruction of all enemy forces in Tunisia, the next phase in Sicily and onto the mainland of Italy which results in the surrender of Italy. While there can be no disagreement that Churchill was a great wartime leader and his total respect for FDR, the theme of this book was Churchill’s reluctance to a landing in France from England. He feared for the consequences and did his utmost to keep the Allies in the Mediterranean theatre and enter the mainland of Europe from the South. FDR was convinced that only by assembling overwhelming forces in England and invading from there could the war be brought to an earlier end. Finally Churchill conceded but only reluctantly. He had no choice because by this time America was the predominant partner with over eight million men in uniform and the Arsenal of Democracy in full force not only providing for our people but keeping Russia supplied without which they would have been defeated by Germany. I readily admit that the forties was the decade that formed my personality and influenced me in my work years and beyond. We were all patriots then and of a singular mind to work and fight together as one for the common good of all humanity. I don’t apologize for this, merely state it as fact. This is a book worth your time to read. I found it at the Public Library. Jack B. Walters June 22, 2016

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Orlando Tragedy-June 12, 2016

I waited until I heard President Obama speak this morning before putting thoughts to paper. Once again he failed the American people by not clearly identifying the shooter Omar Mateen as an ardent Muslim who just before shooting called 911 and declare his support for ISIS. Starting with Fort Hood which Obama referred to as workplace violence, he has never been able to add Muslim or Islam to the many tragedies occurring in our country and around the world on a continuing basis. By doing so, in my opinion, he encourages other disciples of the Muslim faith to carry out their own initiatives. By the way Hillary could not and would not use those words either in her debates. If you are satisfied with this level of leadership then by all means vote for her. Another eight years of denial and it will be all over for us as the nation we once were and still could be. Jack B. Walters

Friday, June 3, 2016

The Confessions of Congressman X by; Robert Atkinson

I ordered this book before it was even printed. It came in the mail today. It is 5x8x1/4. I received a discounted cost of $8.96. The print is large on 65 pages. It took me 20 minutes to read. I believe the whole thing is a scam to suck small change from those of us who still care about our country and desperately want government reformed to provide the leadership so obviously missing today. I found nothing new except that it was stated as fact, where people like me so far removed from the process can only assume, based on the reality of the lack of progress we hope to see. We hear fine words like “Reform the Income Tax” while there is never any action taken in that regard. I can accept and believe that these were the words of a Congressman. We all know, or at least, should know that what is described is how Congress functions today and has for many years now becoming more and more disconnected with reality and what could and should be done to get us going again. The ease of buying Congress was only exaggerated by the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United when any restrictions on the use of money were lifted. He estimates that the 2016 elections for President and Congress will exceed $10 Billion dollars. He is a Democrat but could just as easily have been a Republican. On a 60 Minute program a month ago Congress was exposed on fund raising. There are actually two buildings located near the Capitol dedicated to the raising of funds to support the candidates and their party. It was reported that they were duty bound to spend four hours each day calling and asking for money. I wonder if the tax payers paid for the construction of these buildings. The essence of the book was how easy it is to dupe the Public. Most have little knowledge of government. It is my belief that Civics, as we were taught in my day, is no longer considered important to teach the youth of today. I will claim the same for American history. Instead of holding those great men in high esteem, the children are told they were slave holders and therefore not worthy of respect. Is it any wonder therefore that they have little respect for how this great country evolved over the Centuries? That is why it was so easy to remove President Andrew Jackson from our currency and replace with a female (any female). Thirteen years ago when my son installed a computer for me to use, I started writing. First was my biography closely followed by what I refer to as my “Angry Man” books. I researched the best I could, read numerous serious books and wrote what I felt would be received as information that could be used if multiplied by those reading and sharing. There is no question I am a complete failure. The only way I could reach anyone was to give the books away to as many as I thought might be interested. Books sold are less than your finger digits. I am not even convinced that most who were given even read other than skimming. The nut of it is that I am not going to report on the content of this book as it would be of no use. Buy it and read for yourself if interested. You will not find anything that you should not know yourself if you are in the least interested in your country and its future. Jack B. Walters June 3, 2016

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Ty Cobb-A Terrible Beauty by; Charles Leerhsen

I found this book courtesy of Hillsdale College. They published a talk given by Mr. Leershsen and published it in their March 2016 Imprimis Publication. I was intrigued by the thought that this author felt that Mr. Cobb’s reputation had been tarnished by other authors and he wanted to clear the record. I immediately purchased a copy from Amazon and have just finished it. Since most of Mr. Cobb’s great achievements were before my time I have taken the position that this latest effort was done with a noble purpose and therefore I accept his writing as factual. I read this, not as a fan of baseball, but because of the author’s attempt to right the record of Ty Cobb. There can be no question that to this day his records stand as recognition of his great ability, strength and persistence. Right up until his last days as a ball player he gave it all he had. It was the stigma that he was a dirty player and would deliberately spike players as he slid into bases that tarnished his image. For me the author cleared the air. Mr. Cobb’s family should be relieved that his honor has been restored. He played in the Majors from 1905 to 1928 (the year I was born). He played in 3034 games with the following statistics; 11,434 at bats, 2246 runs, 4189 hits, 1938 RBI’s 897 bases stolen and a life time batting average of .366. The book chronicles his life as a child, through his years as a ball player and his later years. He was fearless and always strove to win. Fans either loved him or hated him, but for sure he was not ignored. Whether baseball is a sport you care about or not, this is a well written biography of a legend whose achievements will never be equaled. Jack B. Walters May 22, 2016

Saturday, May 14, 2016

The World Crisis by Winston S. Churchill (1911-1918)

This book contains 840 small print pages. It, of course, is well written as only Churchill could do. Trying to absorb the contents and avoiding eye strain, it took over one month to finish reading. It was recommended reading by Marc Johnson, one of my favorite lecturers in my OLLI classes. It covers the years leading up to the First World War and the war years until it ended at the 11th hour of the11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The difference between this conflict and the Second World War is that in the 1940’s significant advances had been achieved in the weaponry which was not available. Airplanes were mostly of the observation type and tanks were not introduced until the war was in its final stages. This was a brute force, savage waste of manpower, with one side or the other sending thousands across desolate landscape and being killed my machine guns, artillery and poison gas. All told over 20,000,000 casualties, either on the ground or in the sea. An incredible wastage of an entire generation of all countries involved. In the years leading to the war Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty. His responsibility was to assure the British fleet was superior to that of Germany. In that he was eminently successful. The last years he became the Minister of Munitions with responsibility for supplying all necessary to support the military. It is not my intent to record the events of these years, only a serious reading can accomplish that. This is not the first time I have read about this war but it was the most thorough. As one battle blends into another the sickening waste of lives is all pervasive. The Germans, until the end, had a favorable advantage in casualties of two to one. One short sentence by a German soldier says it all. He kept his machine gun sweeping the field cutting down scores of men. Wasting the lives so frivolously is a violation of the word civilization. Jack B. Walters May 14, 2016

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Islamic Terrorism-letter to the editor

We are so duty bound to respect religious freedom that we dare not be critical of Islam. There is a difference between Islam and all other religions. I am referring now to those Muslims who adhere to the strict tenants. Once a Muslim, always a Muslim or you face death. Anyone who speaks or writes critically about their Prophet or the Koran can be condemned to death. Any parcel of land that was once under the rule of Islam is considered their land which is why they will not stop until all the Jews in Israel are driven out or murdered. Few in government or the media will condemn the religion. They speak of radicals as if they were somehow distorting the tenants of that faith. I contend they are only carrying out what they consider to be their duty. Those who don’t are cowed into silence for fear of retribution. Jack B. Walters March 24, 2016

Friday, March 18, 2016

The Wright Brothers

By David McCullough We all should know that these two men were the first to fly. Others, in other countries were attempting to do it often with funds provided by their governments. The Wrights did it on their own with only studying birds in flight, their own ingenuity and thoughts shared by friends who believed as they did that it was possible. What set them apart I believe after reading this excellent book was their willing expenditure of time and energy. Except for Sundays, they earned their living while experimenting with concepts. There were two quotes attributed to them that I want to share as I believe their philosophy of hard work and diligence could allow anyone to be successful. “Make business first, pleasure afterward. And that guarded. All the money anyone needs is just enough to prevent one from being a burden to anyone”. “In business it is the aggressive man, who continually has his eye on his own interest, who succeeds. Business is merely a form of warfare in which each combatant strives to get the business away from his competitors and at the same time keep them from getting what he already has. No man has ever been successful in business who was not aggressive, self-assertive and even a little bit selfish perhaps. There is nothing reprehensible in an aggressive disposition, so long as it is not carried to excess, for such men make the world and its affairs move….” They grew up in Dayton, Ohio. Their father was a minister who traveled a lot carrying out his mission. Bicycles were a new form of transportation. Wilbur and Orville opened a repair shop and later designed two bicycles one less costly than the other. With sales and repair they provided for the family and later hired a good man Charlie Taylor to work in their shop. He covered for them while away to Kitty Hawk and built the first engines that powered the planes. Motors this small were not available on the market. McCullough is an excellent researcher and writer. I hope you will all read .It is an inspiring book. I found it at the library. Jack B. Walters March 18, 2016

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

The ISIS Apocalypse

The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State By; William McCants I purchased this book in the interest of adding to the information I have been gleaning for over a decade. The title of this one was what got me interested. I hoped that I could finally grasp what it is that inspires thousands of Muslims to leave their homelands and travel to the Middle East in their zeal to become a part of the Islamist State of Iraq and Syria. It started in earnest in June 2014 when the head of the Islamic State conquered the second largest city in Iraq, Mosel. Black flags were unfurled. They proclaimed the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth and that Judgement Day approached. It will be nearly impossible for me to provide the content of this book but I will try. The U.S. invasion of Iraq and the stupendous violence that followed dramatically increased the Sunni public’s appetite for apocalyptic explanations of a world turned upside down. Throughout the centuries this has occurred before, each time believing that the end times were at hand with the call to rise up and create a Caliphate. The difference today is the weaponry that is available to them and the potential acquisition of more devastating weapons including Nuclear and chemical. I found it extremely interesting that the Islamic State’s theology and method of engaging with scripture is nearly identical with Wahhabism, the ultraconservative form of Islam found in Saudi Arabia. Penalties are identical for the same crimes; death for blasphemy, homosexual acts, treason and murder; death by stoning for adultery; one hundred lashes for sex out of wedlock; amputation of a hand for stealing. Why America continues to support the Saudi’s just doesn’t make sense to me. The weirdest part is the belief that Jesus will return to lead the Muslims in a war against the Jews. In February 2013 the Islamic State’s spokesman proclaimed, “We will not lay down this flag until we present it to Jesus, the son of Maryam, and the last of us fights the deceiver”. I have no idea who Maryam is nor do I intend to try to find out. The point is this religion has been fomenting mayhem ever since Muhammad and will continue one way or another until such time as they and all men renounce violence and agree to live in peace, one with the other. Not in my lifetime, that is for sure. I feel compelled to add a paragraph about slavery and the barbaric treatment of captives. As an example, there is a sect called Yazidi who lived near the Sinjar Mountains which is close to the Syrian border. They were deemed falsely of Devil worship. Many were killed and many captives were enslaved in August 2014. Muslim countries had forbade the practice of slavery in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries but in 2014 Islamic scholars permitted the enslavement of Yazidi women According to a prophecy attributed to Muhammad, the Prophet foretold the Hour would be close when “ the slave girl shall give birth to her master”. Some were sold at auction. The slaves were bought by jihadists and human traffickers, who reportedly shipped them to homes and brothels across the Middle East. The following paragraph is particularly heinous to me and I am writing it verbatim from the text. “Yazidi children were not shielded from the sexual advances of the Islamic fighters. “Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female slave who has not reached puberty?” asked a pamphlet distributed by the fighters in mosques throughout Mosel. “Yes, if she can have intercourse. If she cannot have intercourse, then one should enjoy her without intercourse”. This shows the depravity of the followers of the Islamic State. Jack B. Walters February 17, 2016

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Cruz’s Dirty Trick played on Carson during the Iowa Caucus

I am only writing this to be assured you understand what occurred in the Iowa Caucus yesterday. Cruz's staff sent out an e-mail and used twitter to reach potential caucus goers. It said that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race and therefore they urged those who might have voted for Carson to instead give their votes to Cruz. This was not made public until the evening was essentially over. At first Cruz and his staff denied it but I find that today he reversed himself and apologized. I guess I am a vindictive type person but in my opinion Cruz should not only apologize but suspend his campaign. He knows that most Americans do not follow elections closely. For them the record from Iowa shows Carson as a distant fourth to Cruz. I had hoped all along that those Iowans who had a chance to meet with him would, in spite of the polls, actually vote for him. Carson is the most decent candidate in the field. The press has written him off weeks ago. In the two hour Republican Debate last week he was only given 4.5 minutes to talk. I was outraged and made another pledge. I am done watching these stupid so-called debates. The panelist’s sole purpose is to have one candidate or the other engage in verbal confrontation which has absolutely nothing to do with the critical issues our country is facing. For Cruz to do such a despicable trick pulled on the last day is inexcusable. I have to ask you, any candidate that would do this; do you want him to be President of the United States? I don't. You can take it to the bank Cruz will not get my vote when it is finally Arizona’s time to vote.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

To Hell and Back by Ian Kershaw

Europe 1914-1949 This is another remarkable book that provides a thorough accounting of the people, events and ideologies that occurred during these momentous years. It contains 522 pages of text and 37 pages of Bibliography which are the documents he used to create this work. It is so detailed that it took me over three weeks to finish reading. It is the kind of book that requires concentration totally different from reading and enjoying a work of fiction. It is different from most WWI or WWII books in that little is concentrated on the battles but more on the events leading up to the wars and the aftermath. The one overriding issue was the lack of regard to humanity. Whole groups were treated as if they weren’t human. They were callously murdered by the millions. The Jewish people were hated the most. Many countries had large populations of Jews. It wasn’t just Hitler. It happened in Russia and other Eastern countries. In the second war the conquered nations were only too willing to aid the Germans in rounding up and sending them to their doom and taking their former properties to their own use. Even the several years after WWII was ended the slaughter continued, but this time Germans and other ethnic groups were forcibly removed from wherever they had lived and sent back to their own country. During these years millions more were killed but this time not by gas chambers but one by one with whatever means were available. It is so unbelievable that inhumanity could be so rampant. In today’s world we think of the 3,000 victims of 9/11 as outrageous. Don’t get me wrong, it was outrageous, but compared to multiple millions over the 35 years covered by this book it is minimal. I can’t say I recommend reading except by scholars. You will have your core belief in the humanity of man shaken. Jack B. Walters January 27, 2016

Sunday, January 24, 2016

13 Hours- The True Story of Benghazi

Knowing who I am, you will not be surprised that I went to the theater yesterday to see this new film. It was similar to the true story about “The American Sniper”. It is amazing to me the footage from the actual location where this story played out. It was as realistic as anyone could make a film like this. It states that it is the true story based on the reports from those involved. I am inclined to agree. The six Special Forces guys refused an order to stand down but were delayed sufficiently that by the time they arrived at the Consulate they were too late to save the Ambassador. They did rescue other staff and under intense gunfire they returned to the CIA compound. Shortly thereafter and periodically throughout the night they fought off attacks by many men who are believed to be Al-Qaeda guerrillas. They kept bringing in heavier armament and finally mortar rounds registered direct hits killing two of our men. While all of this was going on, there was a drone overhead recording what was happening. A team was assembled in Tripoli and flown to Benghazi. It didn’t arrive until the fighting had ended. The staff was then driven to the airport for evacuation to Tripoli. The White House knew and various efforts were contemplated on bringing firepower but no orders were given to release them. This was clearly a well-organized attack well planned with many men and modern weaponry. Obama, Clinton and others proclaimed for a week thereafter that this incident was because of a video produced in California and not a planned Al-Qaeda attack. The supposition of some analysts surmised at the time that it was because Obama had declared Al-Qaeda to be diminished and to acknowledge that they were the attackers would be embarrassing. The handling of this episode which continued for 13 hours was disgraceful. These people deserved whatever assistance our Armed Services could provide. To not order a response and leave them to their fate I will never forgive, nor should you. Jack B. Walters January 24, 2016

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Do you ever wonder?

I must admit for the past months I have been watching and reading about the candidates for President. They as a group from both parties tell us over and over the ideas they have to restore America to its greatness. Reforming the Income Tax, becoming energy independent, creating good paying jobs for our workers, improving the health care system, solving the illegal immigration process, protecting us from the Muslim terrorists, stop the growth of debt to foreign countries and many other topics. Do you ever wonder if it is possible with our form of government that just by placing him or her into office as President that these great and wonderful achievements will miraculously appear? The President can request but cannot dictate to the Congress. The reason FDR was able to accomplish his goals was because he had his party to enact his programs. Think what has happened in recent years particularly from the Republican side. First we were told if they had the House (which initiates funding) that they could accomplish good things. When that didn’t happen they said give us the Senate so we gave it to them. How has that turned out? Since they have the majority but not super majority nothing gets past the Senate even if the House tries. So unless they can get control of the Senate even with a Republican President none of these great wonderful achievements can occur. There are so many issues that in my mind are important for our well-being, why is it that both parties cannot find common ground? It appears to me that no matter who becomes president that person will not be successful unless the Congress is overwhelmingly of the same party so your voting decision for a candidate must also be for the House and Senate of the same party. Only in this way in this Century can anything of value be accomplished. The party you choose, of course, is up to you. Don’t let the TV blitz adds funded by pacts persuade you to change your mind. They have been so successful increasingly in my life time that we have just become lemmings. Jack B. Walters January 21, 2016

Falling Oil Prices

The price of oil has been dropping over the past year to historic near record lows. This has been a boon to many industries and consumers. The credit should go directly to the discovery of fracking in America and other countries following our lead. In America many workers have been making high wages and together with their employers have stimulated our economy. It has brought America closer to energy independence from the OPEC cartel. Decreasing the exorbitant funds to these mostly Muslim countries could slow down their drive for total dominion over the world. Saudi Arabia is determined to put the fracking companies out of business and regain their control. Their strategy is working. It is reported that many American companies are filling for bankruptcies. Once this runs its course then OPEC will resume their dominance. Restarting fracking might take years to accomplish. The Sheiks in a country like Saudi Arabia can make any policy they desire while Democracies such as ours looks to the free market to decide winners or losers. Understanding what is happening our government should find the way to support our companies similar to what was done for General Motors to help them through this crisis period and prevent the Saudis’ from destroying our American production capabilities. Should that be done then they would be forced to reduce their production as the low cost is cutting drastically into their reserves and the world price would stabilize at a higher price. It appears to me that somewhere in the $50/barrel would allow our fracking industry to restart with sufficient cushion to cover their costs and make a profit. In this way we could regain our drive towards energy independence. Shouldn’t both political parties agree on this? This is such a simple idea which could avert this (in my mind) tragedy why haven’t we heard about in in the news media or from any politician? Are the two parties so locked in their hatred of each other that they are incapable of enacting sensible legislation? The answer is yes they are which is why there is so much anger by Americans with our present government which is incapable of doing what is needed to solve the problems of today. Jack B. Walters January 21, 2016

Friday, January 15, 2016

Leonard Pitts editorial 1/14, 2016 Comparing Trump to Hitler

When Hitler gathered enough support to influence the German people to vote him and the NAZI Party into power it was during the years following the Depression which was devastating to the country. He did in fact restore Germany well ahead of all other countries including America. In his popular book Mein Kampf he laid blame for the depression on the Jewish people. That turned out to be acceptable to them. In fact the Jews were made scapegoats by most if not all European countries and were singled out for retribution. That they were responsible, of course, was not true. What is happening today with Muslims in entirely different? The zealots of the Islam religion carry out atrocities on a daily basis all over the world. The leaders clearly state their goal of converting all to Islam or they will be subjugated or killed. It is that simple. Do all Muslims support this, of course not, but there are millions who do. You should be aware that our current President has done all in his power to support Muslims. His ineffectiveness in fighting them in the Middle East is proof of that. With the overwhelming military we possess we could make ISIS disappear as an entity but our forces are handcuffed to where they cannot do the job. He has placed many Muslims in positions of authority sufficient, in my opinion, to confuse any effort to slow down their march to total dominance. Every time Muslims are identified as perpetrators of some heinous act he and his staff go out of their way to protect Muslim citizens by convincing Americans that these are just isolated happenings. Donald Trump, Ben Carson and a few others recognize the threat and propose dealing with it forcefully. It will never happen during the rest of Obama’s term nor will Hillary or Bernie should one of them become the next President. As each day goes by we drop further behind. My fear is that when Americans finally understand it will be too late. The thought of Sharia Law being the doctrine replacing the Constitution is sickening to me. I have granddaughters who I want to grow and become whatever they are capable of achieving, not subjugated to a status of inferiority and dominion. Jack B. Walters January 14, 2016

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Lights Out by Ted Koppel

My granddaughter Jada gave me this book as a Christmas present. She is aware of my ongoing interest in world affairs. At first I questioned the ability of Mr. Koppel to write such a book. As I finished I was satisfied that he had done extensive research and as a result presented a book that clearly states the threat America faces that cyber-attacks can cause great harm to our country. In fact cyber-attacks are occurring at an accelerating basis. We are all aware of the attack by North Korea on the Sony Co. which exposed many of their e-mails and financial data which caused considerable damage. Another serious breach was the identification of all 2.1 million current Federal employees and an additional 22.1 million retires and former employees. Their personal identification information was revealed. Government sources were quoted as claiming that the intrusion originated in China. Although threats to respond were made by our government nothing has occurred, at least to the author’s knowledge. We are also guilty of cyber-attacks. In concert with Israel we caused great damage to Iran’s centrifuges by causing them to speed up exceeding their capacity all the while the operators had no knowledge it was occurring. The centrifuges were destroyed setting back their nuclear program by several years. Iran responded by attacking Aramco in Saudi Arabia destroying 30,000 computers. He speculates that the intent was to affirm their ability without directly attacking America. While there are many ways to inflict damage on our country, the main emphasis of this book is on our electrical grid system. Decades ago we would not have been so vulnerable but with advent of computers, Internet and digitized records we are vulnerable to having systems breached. Consider the devastation that would result if grids supplying power to whole sections of the country were taken off line for days, weeks or months. People trapped in elevators, people starving as food supplies are used up. Without electricity there would be no way millions could survive. Chaos would be the result as people take action to feed their families. Only rural areas particularly in the West could conceivably support themselves as they did 100 years ago. Major cities would be the most vulnerable. No heat, no cooling, no gas for transportation. The National Guard and the military called out to attempt to control. Another way of crippling our grid would be simply to destroy large transformers which are located all over the country in unprotected places. The time period to replace could be years. The power lines could also be brought down by a small group of determined terrorists. There have been many programs proposed by members of Congress but the staggering cost has prevented many from being enacted. When you add up the cost of security already it is monumental. Just think, it has only been in the last decade that we even thought about security. Now it is centermost in our concern. We are bankrupting ourselves which in my opinion means the terrorists are winning. How tragic that we pretend we are secure with our military might when we can be brought down by a computer program. In the last chapters he describes ways people can prepare to at least provide a few days of supplies. It reminded me of the 70’s when bomb shelters were being placed in back yards. Remarkably the Mormon Church has created enormous warehouses in their communities all over the country. They as a group tithe. These funds have been invested in many ways to protect their people without assistance from government. The one weakness is what happens when hordes of people with guns break into these warehouses. That question was not answered. This is an easily absorbed book which should be read by Congress. Perhaps you may be interested as well, particularly if you want to prepare yourself. Most will not, leaving us to hope that somehow our government will take care of us. As of right now they cannot. Jack B. Walters January 5, 2016

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

H.Res. 569

You should be interested in checking out the above resolution. It was introduced by 82 Democrats in the House. Condemning violence, bigotry, and hateful rhetoric towards Muslims in the United States. You might ask why isn't this proper? My answer is; when or where has the House sponsored an act similar to this protecting the Jewish, Christian or other religions? This is just the first visible attempt by our government to single out Islam as something to be protected. I have read previously that this is what happened in Europe. Supposedly an agreement was reached with Saudi Arabia that the governments would protect Muslims from criticism just as this Resolution would do. In exchange the oil would flow smoothly from OPEC. Do you remember when Kerry said after the Charlie Hebdo mass murder in France that they were asking for it. For you who don't yet understand, Muslims will not accept any criticism of their religion and especially their Prophet Mohammad. Nor do they allow any Muslim to leave the faith. These acts are met with violence including death. Regardless of your party affiliation this Resolution signed by 82 Democrats should turn you all into instant Republicans. No other issue is as important for our survival as a free Republic. Jack B. Walters January 5, 2016

Saturday, January 2, 2016

1944 byJay Winik (FDR the year that changed history)

I highly recommend reading this book by anyone interested in American history. It is a well-researched book of 536 pages. I have read many books about WWII. This one filled in gapes. Although the title is 1944 the author keeps returning to earlier times when concentrating on a particular subject like the rise of Adolf Hitler from an aspiring painter to the position of Fuhrer over the Third Reich with total power over Germany. Other subjects include FDR, General Marshall, General Eisenhower and others. In this way he enhances the events of 1944 with information about the events preceding this historic year. While the book concentrates on 1944 it does lead up by starting with the Tehran Summit between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin in November 1943. It was the first time the three had met and resulted in agreements on the next steps to take to defeat the Germany. Rather than repeat the battles fought I want to concentrate on what I believe to be the main reason the author wrote this book and that is the fate of the Jewish people who were slaughtered by the millions while the Allied nations took the position that winning the war was all important and that diverting resources towards saving Jews would not be of value. The really tragic issue is not just the killing but the indifference of the Allied nations and quite frankly the anti-Semitism that was predominate throughout the world. Before the war began in 1939 a boatload of Jews trying to escape Hiller was not allowed to embark in America supposedly based on immigration quotas but sold on the idea that some might be infiltrating to cause us harm. They were returned to Europe and consigned to the sure knowledge that death would soon be their plight. A second ship was also refused entry. There should have been no misunderstanding of the fate that awaited all Jews living in Europe. It began by burning synagogues and homes, shutting down their businesses and not allowing them to participate in normal living. This was followed after the war started by mass shooting and later on more sophisticated ways much faster and efficient. The gas chambers once started would kill thousands every day. There were U.S. leaders in the State Dept. that were alerted early on about the mass killing but the news was suppressed for any number of reasons, the foremost being indifference. Again that is the tragic part to me. At the time the immigrants were returned to Europe Hitler gloated “that see they don’t want them either”. To reduce the slaughter the request was made to bomb the rail roads leading to the death camps and bombing the gas chambers also. By the end of the war our bombers were targeting other sites near the camps but were not sent to destroy them. As I read the book and the allies were closing in from the East and the West amazingly the trains taking Jews to their deaths continued almost until the camps were overrun. No matter that the war was lost nor that Germany was destroyed as a nation, the drive to remove all Jews from Europe never stopped. It was even reported that Hitler had counted Jews living in America, England and all other countries as he looked to the future when no Jews would be left alive. I believe that Anti-Semitism exists today as it did then. Now it is driven by the Islamic sect in the Middle East but also around the world. Many Americans support groups that boycott products from Israel on behalf of the Palestinians. The goal of Islam has been to destroy Israel. At least the majority of Congress of both parties continues to support Israel as do I by contributing to AIPAC, the committee devoted to assuring Congress is informed on Israeli issues and thereby assuring their support. I should apologize for adding the last paragraph but don’t believe I will. Jack B. Walters January I, 2016