B ooks Archives - Renaissance Granddad

Mind Life-Long Learning Archive by category "B ooks"

Political and Musical : Two Things Learned!

As I write and read about political and musical matters I am always learning something new. Here are two things I just learned about at 72! What counting slaves as 3/5 of a person in the Constitution really meant! The first political thing I learned came via the book Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Livitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.. I just finished the book.a few days ago. It’s really a terrific read. It’s a book anyone who’s concerned about the future of our country should read. I’ll write more about it later, However, now I just want to discuss what counting slaves as 3/5 of a person really accomplished for the southern states. It’s the first time anyone really explained the effect of that action to me! The counting of slaves as 3/5 of a person meant that for every 5 slaves a plantain owner had they counted as three people for representation in the House of Representatives. As a result even though New York had a larger white population than Virginia, when you added the slave population in Virginia to their total they received a larger number of representatives! Overall the net effect is that the southern states representation was 25% greater than the more populated Northern states. So once again Southern states benefited from owning slaves, while the slaves suffered! And yes Southerners should feel guilt about that! The Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) by the Doors Came From Where? The musical thing I learned was the origin of The…

Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America…

If You Want to Understand the Roots of Our Current Political Situation – Read this Book! Over the last few weeks I am finding it more and more difficult to post. Again I haven’t stopped reading, listening or exercising just that when I sit down to write a post, I get distracted and pick up a book or good do something else. Anyway I just finished book 9 of 2017. The following read though is for book 7. Hopefully, if I can get myself focused and motivated reviews for book 8 Parting Shot by Linwood Barclay and book 9 Descent by Tim Johnston, will follow shortly. Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean. This is the story of the Radical Rights campaign to steal our democracy. The blueprint for the campaign was laid out but conservative economist James Buchanan. Buchanan merged states rights thinking with free-market principles and laid the groundwork for the “makers”and “takers” philosophy of today’s Republican party. The campaign has been funded by Charles Koch and is bearing fruit beyond his wildest dreams. The Radical Right has goals like establishing and assuring minority rule, the elimination of both the government safety nets i.e. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and programs and agencies that protect our health and safety. They seem like current GOP goals to me. And I am scared for my country! Throughout the last year we have seen time after time the majority of Americans opposing what…

Finding Gobi – Dion Leonard – A Wonderful Tale

Finding Gobi: The true story of a little dog and an incredible journey – Dion Leonard Dion Leonard’s Finding Gobi is the typical boy finds dog, boy loses dog, boy searches for dog, ultimately finds him and brings him home. Only the boy is an ultra- marathoner who races in some of the most grueling races around the globe. And it was at one of those races that Leonard found Gobi. The race was a grueling seven-day 155 mile run that crosses the China’s Gobi Desert. Gobi and Dion Leonard Meet Actually, I guess it’s more correct to say Gobi found Leonard. That’s because at the start of the initial stage of the race, little Gobi started attacking The shoe covers Leonard had on his running shoes. The covers were in place because during the first part of the race, the runners would be going up a sand dune! Anyway, as the race started Gobi started running too and stayed by Leonard’s side through the whole 26.2 miles! That night Gobi slept in Leonard’s tent. The following morning Leonard and Gobi set off again on the next leg of the race. All and all Gobi stayed by Leonard’s side through three marathons! Of course there were a couple of times that Dion had to carry Gobi. When it came to cross the scorching black sands of the desert, which was virtually devoid of life, Leonard knew that he could risk allowing Gobi to run. So Gobi moved ahead with the…

The Winter Fortress – How Nine Norwegians Saved the World!!

The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb – Neal Bascomb The Winter Fortress recounts the tale of the 1942 sabotage of the Vemork hydroelectric plant in Norway. The plant was one of the few places in the world that produced heavy water. Nazi Germany wanted all the heavy water that Norway could produce.. Heavy water was a key element for the production of an atomic bomb. I never had really heard of the mission before reading the book, but now I feel that I lived through it! Bascomb did a great job researching and writing The Winter Fortress, The book reads more like an action novel than a work of non-fiction. The Story By 1942 Norway was and the Vemork hydroelectric plant were under the control of Nazi Germany. The Vemork hydroelectric plant was producing heavy water that was headed to German researchers. Researchers who were researching nuclear fission, which ultimately could be used in the creation of an atomic bomb Aware of this research, the Allies knew that something had to be done. The Norwegians felt that an air attack would actually miss the parts of the plant that need to be destroyed. What would be required was a commando attack on the facility. The Winter Fortress tells the story of the brave Norwegian resistance fighters. Several of these fighters escaped to England. They were trained in England, and reinserted back into Norway. Where they fought bravely for their homeland. During the months leading up to the attack the fighters…

The Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in the US in 1915!

Dark Invasion:1915: Germany’s Secret War & the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America – Howard Blum The Beginning of World War I The hunt for the first terrorist cell in the United States had its beginnings on June 28, 1914 when….. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife, visit Sarajevo in Bosnia. A bomb is thrown at their auto but misses. Undaunted, they continue their visit only to be shot and killed a short time later by a lone assassin. Believing the assassin to be a Serbian nationalist, the Austrians target their anger toward Serbia That began the march towards World War I. In the subsequent month Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia,on July 28th. That was followed by Germany declaring war on Russia on August 1st. On August 3rd Germany declared war on France and invaded neutral Belgium. After Germany ignored Great Britain’s ultimatum to withdraw from Belgium. Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th and the United States declared its neutrality. Dark Invasion:1915: Germany’s Secret War & the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America As the war progressed the United States maintained its neutrality, but was selling supplies and ammunition to the Allies. In 1915 the German ambassador to the US is instructed to find and finance a team of undercover saboteurs who can disrupt this flow of supplies to the Allies and potentially keep America out of the war. The results of those orders were terrorist attacks on…

EKK Rants About Missing Art of Compromise!

Reading In Retrospect leads to thoughts about Government and Compromise So I have not ever been a fan of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, The obvious reason, he was Defense Secretary, at the beginning and the height of the war in Vietnam, in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. But as I read his autobiography In Retrospect The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, I realize that the administrations that he served in were really in a no-win situation in Vietnam, and that he and others may have kept the US from being involved in the war far earlier. He also admits that the course the US chose concerning the war was the wrong one! At one point, he reveals for the first time what he thought John Kennedy would have done regarding the situation in Vietnam .. ….I think that it highly probable that , had President Kennedy lived , he would have pulled us out of Vietnam. He would have concluded that the South Vietnamese were incapable of defending themselves and that Saigon’s grave political weaknesses made it unwise to try to offset the limitations of the South Vietnamese forces by sending U.S. combat troops on a large scale…..(In Retrospect page 96) From what I have read so far in both this book and The Politics of Deception, i believe he may well be right! Damn you, Lee Harvey Oswald!! Anyway, this morning I read a passage in the book, that really hit home and speaks directly to the…

Liberal Policies Bad for America! No Way!

When America isn't Liberal. It isn't America

America and Americans have been Fleeced by Trickle-down Economics of the Conservative Right – not the Liberal Left! I’m pissed that Republicans and Right-Wing conservatives keep blaming liberals for the conditions of our inner cities and actually America in general. They say that liberal policies have had a negative impact on the residents of our inner cities. What has destroyed the lives of many in the inner cities, destroyed the American Dream in the Inner City and the majority of the country? I’ll tell you – Republican policies and conservative corporate policy!! Who destroyed the unions, who shipped American jobs overseas and most of all who created an income gap between the rich and normal Americans! Not the Liberals, it’s the frigging fraudulent conservative trickle-down economics! America grew in the 50s through the 80s because the lower and middle classes had money! Money to spend to buy the products that corporate America was selling! Then Reagan came along selling his lies that if we made corporate America rich, it would trickle down to all! It was voodoo economics then and it is voodoo economics now! And over the last 35 years the effects of those policies have been compound by corporations outsourcing American jobs giving the middle and lower class even less disposable income!! So while we have watched once prosperous towns throughout America become ghost towns As we see our infrastructure crumble.around us, driving over dangerous bridges and clogged roadways, the rich keep right on getting richer and…

Police Killings Out of Control? – Today's Reads

America is Number One in Police Killings – Western Democracies not even close! So it’s been a long while since I’ve done a daily reads post, so here goes……before we start let me remind everyone that I am a liberal Democrat and have been since the 60s! So one of the aspects of life in America that certainly has me pissed off recently is the number of police killings over the last year or so. Certainly as a percentage of deaths and or arrests the rate is still fairly low – in other words what I’m trying to say is that the percentage of good policemen is still high. I just wish those cops could get the other cops over on their side!! I for one can’t understand how with all the publicity surrounding these police killings that al of the policemen aren’t on their best behavior everywhere. These police killings certainly bring shame to our country and need to STOP!! The following post from AlterNet shows how bad things really are… America Is #1 in Police Killings Among Western Democracies — But We’re Only Just Discovering How Bad the Situation Is Even before the Washington Postpublished its startling report this weekend on the astronomically high number of Americans shot and killed by police in the first five months of 2015, the U.S. was already easily number one….. Look at these numbers! …..No matter which numbers you look at—even in the unlikely case that not one more case of deadly force…

What Then Must We Do? – Gar Alperovitz

What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution Gar Alperovitz The Democracy Collaborative and The Next System Project I think that few would argue that I country that was once a proud beacon for the world is in good shape. Our political system doesn’t seem to work any more, our economic system only helps the rich get richer Thoughts of upward mobility among the lower and middle classes have been crushed and it seems that the only people doing well in this day and age are members of the upper upper class. To me it actually seems hopeless. Corporate lobbyists control Congress and the elite and Corporations now control our elections thanks to Citizens United!! And what really pisses me off is that they get all our hard earned money and then they don’t even pay and damn taxes and take away all our jobs to boot!!! It all seems so damn hopeless! But what if there was a better way! A few weeks ago I came across a website and program titled The Next System Project. From their website…. The Next System Project is an ambitious multi-year initiative aimed at thinking boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic challenges the United States faces now and in coming decades. Responding to real hunger for a new way forward, and building on innovative thinking and practical experience with new economic institutions and approaches being developed in communities across the country and around…