The New Democratic Party

I was an F.D.R., H.S.T, and J.F.K. Democrat. I rate F.D.R. as the greatest of all Presidents. He received four terms. The American people could not accept anyone but him as our leader particularly during WWII. All three above cared deeply about working men and women and did their best to make it possible for them to support their families. I considered the Republican Party as favoring big business to the detriment of everyday Americans. Republican elected officials after fighting against President Trump have finally understood what he is trying to accomplish. He is fighting for the little people. The amazing progress in reducing unemployment has now energized them to aid rather than inhibit Trump. Together I see continuing progress in the near future. The new Democratic Party should be relabeled as the Socialist Party. They have no respect for our Constitution or the rule of law. Their despicable conduct during The Kavanagh hearing was outrageous. Should they regain power I predict the grand Democratic promise of the Founders will be diminished to where it is ineffective. Jack B. Walters October 10, 2018

The Secret of Sherwood Forrest

(Oil Production in England during WWII) By; Guy Woodward and Grace Steele Woodward I learned of this book by an e-mail from a friend. I was intrigued and purchased it. We have all read many books about this war but most were related to combat. This one I doubt if anyone ever heard of. It is not exciting, but is a detailed report of how England sent an envoy to America asking for help in developing oil production in England in 1942. We responded by organizing a group of 50 roughneck oil men to go to England together with American equipment promising to drill 100 wells in a year’s time. This was accomplished and exceeded. They worked two 12 hour shifts seven days each week. Along the way they shared their knowledge with English oil workers so they could continue after the Americans left. One of the hardest hurdles was to provide adequate food to sustain this hard work due to rationing. Some of the men lost 30 or more pounds and struggled to continue. How this was solved is interesting. We get to know the men and some Englishmen as the book proceeds. If you are looking for excitement this is not the book for you but if you are interested in one of the keys to attaining victory the contribution of these hardy men is inspiring. Jack B. Walters October 8, 2018

The Last Fighter Pilot

By; Don Brown with Captain Jerry Yellin This is a small book. I finished reading in one day. It covers the last six months of the war with Japan from the perspective of a young American fighter pilot. His final training was in Hawaii. Even here he lost friends who died while training. His squadron was shipped out to Iwo Jima. When he flew onto the airfield, which was in the shadow of Mt. Suribachi, it had not been conquered yet. They dug fox holes to protect themselves from Mortar and rifle fire. For the first few weeks their mission was to bomb and strafe enemy positions at either end of the Island. Their primary purpose was to escort B-29’s as they bombed Japan. Many of these missions are described in the book. The reason this book is important is that he and his wing man were sent out on a bombing and staffing mission August 14, five days after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The Japanese had not surrendered. There was a code word issued (UTAH) to recall the planes should a surrender be announced. In actual fact the message was sent out, but Jerry didn’t receive it so they carried on with their mission. As they were flying away from the airfield they had attacked, when Jerry came out of cloud cover, his wingman was not there. His name was Phil Schlamberg. He became the last casualty of the war. He had had a premonition that morning. Jerry tried to replace him but he insisted on going. I found this book to be a valuable addition to the many WWII books I possess. I recommend it for you to read. Jack B. Walters October 6, 2018

Suicide of the West by; Jonah Goldberg

(How the rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy) This is a very well researched book that attempts to explain where we are as a Nation and how if we do not come together for the common good we could lose this greatest of all nations. Throughout all of human history until the 1700’s except for those at the top, the standard of living amounted to survival. With the advent of the Magna Carte and especially the great achievement of the founders creating our Constitution together with the Bill of Rights, our country and others who followed began recognizing that the citizens had rights and that Government was created to assure those rights. With the freedom to achieve and receive the benefits of that achievement progress in all endeavors grew exponentially. The Appendix at the end includes charts covering many areas which show how technological progress has progressed. Where once we believed that population explosion would have us all starving, the record shows that agriculture and meat production have increased by new and better methods. In 2012 85% of the world population has access to electricity. Life expectancy grew to 72 years by 2015; Communication has grown exponentially with Americans owning 106 cell phones per100 persons in 2014. Add to that; Facebook, Twitter, Skype. We can contact anyone without knowing where they are. He credits Capitalism for this remarkable progress. He is concerned about the trend of Americans believing that Socialism is the answer. He asks us to pause to re-evaluate the many blessings nearly all can enjoy today. We just want to argue and fight over differences of opinion, all the while living decent lives. His premise is that we are all born as barbarians and only thru nurturing and learning how to relate to others do we become responsible children and adults. In the beginning all humans had was the tribe or group they were born into. This grew to include villages, towns and countries. He fears we are retreating into smaller groups like tribalism and developing a we versus them mentality. For those of you who are never Trumpers, you will enjoy his assessment of our current President. In a few words in his opinion Trump governs from his gut feelings and doesn’t countenance disagreement with his thoughts. Thinking back over my own life, I too was in a hurry to accomplish whatever goals I was pursuing. I did always ask those around me to aid in decision making but once consensus was achieved, it was full speed ahead. I believe that is how our President is conducting himself. There are many areas of concern which he is addressing some of which he has felt had been wrong from years ago. He is in a hurry to make his mark. Four years is a short period of time in politics as we all know. He covers a wide range of subjects such as; Pop Culture, Godzilla, Rock and Roll and the Romantic Spirit, The Shadow government meaning those bureaucrats who have power no matter who in in elected positions, The birth of the living Constitution and the Death of Liberty. His conclusion is that we risk losing it all if we don’t find a way to come together and find unity of spirit. He quotes a poll conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania in 2017. It reports that more than one out of three couldn’t name a single right listed in the First Amendment. Only one in four Americans, 26 percent, could name all three branches of government. That’s down from 38 percent in 2011! A third of Americans can’t name a single branch of government. I believe this is tragic; something must be done to teach our children the basics of our rights under our Constitution. You will not be bored reading this excellent book. You will learn a lot and have some of your thoughts verified. I found it at our Public Library. I was on a waiting list for a month before being notified it was my turn. Jack B. Walters October 3, 2018