The Hill to Die On

By; Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer I found this book at the Public library. Since I continue my practice of trying to understand government, I took it home to read. It turned out that it wasn’t written specifically because Trump was President. It was an effort to try to shed light on how Congress works. To this end I believe they accomplished their agenda. They report on the two first years of Trump, ending with the changeover in 2018 and the prolonged shutdown which was won decisively by the Democrats. I have always resented the fact that so much of their time and energy is devoted to raising funds, both parties. Pelosi came out as the most prolific achiever. She receives the lion’s share of credit for the huge changeover of the House from Republican to Democratic in 2018. Sometime, somehow this must be corrected. They can talk all they want about caring for the little guy but when a donor gives millions and wants a favor that is going to occur. How else to explain why Americans must pay more for drugs than anywhere else on Earth. It was interesting to me how hard Trump attempted to reach accommodation with Democrats from the very beginning but the die was cast. They resented him winning the presidency so much they refused to co-operate on any issue that would make Trump look good. Even though for decades both parties approved funds for walls on our Southern border, he was denied any funds of substance which could assist him in his stated goal. When Senator McCain did his thumb down histrionics Trump again tried the other party, still no chance. Schumer and Pelosi stood firm. Trump was truly interested in accomplishing good things for America but his party was so fractured that they could not or would not compromise to get things done. How tragic that the art of compromise is gone. Again the purpose was to expose the inner workings of the Legislature. To this end they achieved their purpose. Should you read you will be as distressed as I am learning why it is nearly impossible to enact reasonable legislation?

The Storm on our Shores

By; Mark Obmascik If any of you are WWII buffs like I am, you will enjoy reading this book. The battles against the Japanese in the Aleutians on Attu and Kiska were of minor importance as far as the overall conflict was concerned. It was only important to the Japanese because they had invaded American soil and for the same reason we had to recover our land. The death toll on both sides was similar. The reason Mr. Obmascik felt it was important to chronical was because of the life stories of two men who were involved. One was a Japanese physician Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi, the other an American soldier Dick Laird.The author gives a biography of both before hostilities started. Their lives came together in the battle. I hesitate to say much more as I don’t wish to give away the story except to say that the story came to light with the finding of a dairy which was so interesting that it was published many times. We often read detailed accounts of battles fought. This one is devoted to telling the story from the aspect of these two men. It is more a human interest story rather than a conglomerate battle account. I found it at the Tucson Library. Jack B. Walters December 12, 2019