Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Audio Book John McCain

Worth the Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick, and the Heroes Who Inspired Him


Price: $6.47
Sale: $9.07
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Senator John McCain tells the story of his great American journey, from the U.S. Navy to his electrifying campaign for the presidency in 2000, interwoven with heartfelt portraits of the mavericks who have inspired him through the years.

After five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, naval aviator John McCain returned home a changed man. Regaining his health and flight-eligibility status, he resumed his military career, commanding carrier pilots and serving as the navy’s liaison to what is sometimes ironically called the world’s most exclusive club, the United States Senate. Accompanying Senators John Tower and Henry “Scoop” Jackson on international trips, McCain began his political education in the company of two masters, leaders whose standards he would strive to maintain upon his election to the U.S. Congress. There, he learned valuable lessons in cooperation from a good-humored congressman from the other party, Morris Udall. In 1986, McCain was elected to the U.S. Senate, inheriting the seat of another role model, Barry Goldwater.

During his time in public office, McCain has seen acts of principle and acts of craven self-interest. He describes both extremes in these pages, with his characteristic straight talk and humor. He writes honestly of the lowest point in his career, the Keating Five savings and loan debacle, as well as his triumphant moments—his return to Vietnam and his efforts to normalize relations between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments; his fight for campaign finance reform; and his galvanizing bid for the presidency in 2000.

Writes McCain: “A rebel without a cause is just a punk. Whatever you’re called—rebel, unorthodox, nonconformist, radical—it’s all self-indulgence without a good cause to give your life meaning.” This is the story of McCain’s causes, the people who made him do it, and the meaning he found. Worth the Fighting For reminds us of what’s best in America, and in ourselves.
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Faith of My Fathers


John McCain learned about life and honor from his grandfather and father, both four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy. This is a memoir about their lives, their heroism, and the ways that sons are shaped and enriched by their fathers.
        
John McCain's grandfather was a gaunt, hawk-faced man known as Slew by his fellow officers and, affectionately, as Popeye by the sailors who served under him. McCain Sr. played the horses, drank bourbon and water, and rolled his own cigarettes with one hand. More significant, he was one of the navy's greatest commanders, and led the strongest aircraft carrier force of the Third Fleet in key battles during World War II.
        
John McCain's father followed a similar path, equally distinguished by heroic service in the navy, as a submarine commander during World War II. McCain Jr. was a slightly built man, but like his father, he earned the respect and affection of his men. He, too, rose to the rank of four-star admiral, making the McCains the first family in American history to achieve that distinction. McCain Jr.'s final assignment was as commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific during the Vietnam War.


It was in the Vietnam War that John McCain III faced the most difficult challenge of his life. A naval aviator, he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and seriously injured. When Vietnamese military officers realized he was the son of a top commander, they offered McCain early release in an effort to embarrass the United States. Acting from a sense of honor taught him by his father and the U.S. Naval Academy, McCain refused the offer. He was tortured, held in solitary confinement, and imprisoned for five and a half years. 
                
Faith of My Fathers is about what McCain learned from his grandfather and father, and how their example enabled him to survive those hard years. It is a story of three imperfect men who faced adversity and emerged with their honor intact. Ultimately, Faith of My Fathers shows us, with great feeling and appreciation, what fathers give to their sons, and what endures.        

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Price: $7.00

Sale: $9.80

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Smile, things could be worse, we smiled and things sure enough got worse!

More horrible news from our Federal Government in Washington, D.C.  Congress has received President Trump's proposed budget for 2019 which spreads pain across the country and guarantees fiscal havoc for years to come.

War on Poverty was the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his 1964 State of the Union address.  He sought  expansive social-welfare legislation in his  proposal to Congress.

While there was no doubt a great need existed, circumstances of the growing Vietnam War was draining the resources of the nation and it became truly a domestic battle between Conservatives who claimed the "give-away" programs would leave Americans dependent and dysfunctional, not self-sufficient.  While Liberals beat the drums that far too little was being proposed and was insufficient to meet the need to lead people out of poverty,.


President Trump has completely turned the War on Poverty around and his budget declares war on the victims of poverty.  While spending goes wild and the Republican-Trump tax cuts for the rich and corporations runs the United States into huge deficits and creates public debt far, far into the future.  Programs for the poor and government protections for everything from the environment to banking to health care are to be destroyed.


Unless Congress changes its' tune and it doesn't look promising with the current bunch of Republicans lining up behind Trump like sheep.  The first chance to correct the numbers in Congress won't come until November and by that time it may be too late in the season to shear Trump blinded sheep. Hopefully unlike the past, election confusion we may once  defeat Republicans-Conservative-Tea Baggers in Congress and the result be more liberal faces appearing.


Public education is deteriorating and private for profit schools are fighting for taxpayer funds at heavy cost to local traditional education facilities with so far no effort to stop the trend has succeeded.  Public education has their warriors and patrons alerting everyone that corrections must come.  Public awareness of the raising individual education costs are slowly being recognized. 


Great advances in Medicine are being made, however, at the same time health care options are suffering under constant relentless attacks by Republicans "hell-bent" to destroy "Obamacare".  Resolute in his election promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Trump has stirred on the Republican majority in Congress and while being unsuccessful on repeal millions of Americans stand to lose their newly found health care by slow death actions designed to kill the Obama health care options .


Education, Financial Protections, Tax Policy and Environment short comings are being widely discussed but one of the most critical needs and under strong attack in President Trump's new budget proposal are housing requirements and shelters for the homeless and others in the cycle of poverty.


How often have we heard, "let them pull themselves up by their boot straps"?  


Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said recently.  "Not everyone can just pull themselves "Up by the bootstraps',  Unless you do something to knock [barriers] down or help that person up they will never have a chance."


It is tough all most impossible to get  employment without a permanent address, what about school and that education needed to strap up those boots, living out of the back seat of a car?


LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?  NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO WITHDRAW FUNDING!


In President Trump's Federal Budget, he proposes to reduce Section 8 Housing assistance and eliminates $1.9 Billion fund for public housing capital repairs.  Putting off bridge repairs and maintenance has shown what happens there.  Can you imagine what public housing will look like in a few years of neglect?


MORE!  The Trump Budget zeros out community development Block Grants which pays for disaster recovery and provides grants to states and local governments to increase home ownership for the lowest income Americans and funding for neighborhood redevelopment.


The problems continue to mount, in Orange County, California a US District Judge David Carter is demanding Orange County officials find shelter for hundreds of people who have been living in camps along the Santa Ana River.   Judge Carter also put a halt to Sheriff's Deputies arresting homeless people who refuse to leave.  The Judge issued a temporary restraining order barring arrest of those who refuse to leave.  This problem of homeless encampments, living cars in parking lots, in business doorways, "on the streets"  is so wide spread cities and towns across the country are forced to waste scarce taxpayer dollars on police enforcement in trouble areas through out their jurisdictions.


Not even mentioning the massive disruptions between the FEDS and  sanctuary cities harboring undocumented 
people.   Transient populations are constantly under pressure with citizens in the communities making complaints to authorities like a dog chasing its' own tail.  Round and round we go.

Our national disgrace in housing requires action and solutions!


Desperation can bring solutions.  The National Housing Act of 1934 was a result of banks failing in the Great Depression.  Out of the "New Deal" legislation the Federal Housing Administration was born. Over the years FHA provided credit-constrained borrowers, Young Americans. African Americans, Hispanic American home purchase financing with low down payments, long term amortization, honest terms and honest appraised values. 


FHA and government home purchase assistance is still available and should be expanded.


Land Grants, providing land for building could provide leveraging to obtain financing to build a home with a backup loan available through FHA if necessary.  Land Grants or Homesteads were available in Alaska up until 1986 and today long term, low down payment Homesteads are still available in Alaska.


Modern day Homesteading is available in Tennessee, Iowa and Colorado.  Federal, state and local surplus lands need to be put to the highest and best use.  It may well be open space or reserved for future development would be the priority, however a complete inventory and determination should be worked in for all vacant public lands especially in the West where huge parcels of land are requiring local services, fire and police protection without payment of local taxes.


Federal and other publicly owned lands are exempt from property taxes avoiding paying for public services.  This opens up the question of "in lieu of tax" payments to relieve the burden to local taxpayers for massive parcels of non-taxed public lands.


Highest and best use maybe consolidation and transfer of land between public entities or even private ownership.  Long-term land use planning, the question of  in lieu of taxes are a definite consideration in providing for housing.  The pressure of both providing public services and solving squatters encampments in California must be included in the housing needs of our citizens.


Looking at surplus public lands to be used for "tiny house" subdivisions or similar to what is happening in Portland, Oregon. They are using waivers of building fees and zoning restrictions to build a guest house or "mother-law" cottage on existing single family lots.  


Building fees and some carefully provided zoning and building restriction waivers could be provided to encourage "in filling" in some urban areas.


Unproductive motels have been rehabilitated to provide low cost housing.  Vacant mobile home park spaces using trailers similar to those furnished
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could be used for "interim housing" with the tenants responsible for the park space charges.


Traditional shopping malls are being abandoned in favor of larger "super store" shopping centers and outlet malls replacing them.  Vacant space at abandoned  {not really abandoned but not used} strip malls are being converted to Churches, schools and other non-original uses.


What if private funding could be used to convert some of these malls using the tiny house concept to individual units for rentals or condo/coop housing units?  Public facilities, parking, transportation, sewers, roads, water already in place.  {Tenants, the prospective residents are all around and ready to be helped off the streets.}

Housing is a problem and solutions will lead to the stability providing pride, holding family units together.  We desperately need to stop dropping off the kids with family or friends to live.  How much better finding employment opportunities without worrying where the family sleeps tonight.


Smile, solving some housing problems will be a giant step lifting many up from drowning in the waters of despair.















Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Will the false stories and attacks on SOCIAL SECURITY never stop?

2018 Election in the hands of YOUNG VOTERS
Click here--discover more  <====Jan 4, 2018


There is so much misinformation and kicking around of Social Security I wrote a reply to some friends recently.
  
 ~~People for the most part have so many long held believes it doesn't do much good to discuss it with them.   One thing I did not even mention was SSI, Supplemental Security Income, handled and maintained by the Social Security Administration, SSA.  Simply put it is a welfare payment sent out by SSA, but funded out of the "Federal General Revenue" and has nothing to do with SS.  It is another misunderstood payment because it is sent out by SSA.  It is a very complicated formula and varies state by state and again has nothing to do with monies collected and put aside for retirement, Social Security Trust Funds.~~

RESPONSE to letter reprinted below:


You are absolutely correct, too much burden has been placed on the Social Security "Retirement System".  When it was enacted in 1935 it was designed to be exactly that a forced retirement savings plan.  Prior to that if you couldn't work or had no savings and could not support yourself you were sent to a poorhouse, in the city or a poor farm.  Edgefield Manor which was located in Troutdale was originally a poor farm.  Later it became a county nursing or retirement home for people who were old and had no means to pay.
  
After World War 2 and into the early 50's there was a clamor across the country for some kind of welfare program to take care of the disabled workers (face it companies didn't want the heavy cost of insurance to provide for their workers) and state governments wanted to close institutions caring for those born with disabling handicaps.  State Legislatures called it "main streaming" and they were putting these people handed over to the state for care into homes but with no financial resources.  Elected officials didn't want raise taxes to provide for sick, blind, children born with defects so Congress was called upon for a solution.  Here again Congress didn't want the responsibility to raise taxes and provide for these people under a general welfare program, they said it was a state's responsibility.


As the public out cry grew louder, the successful Social Security System with all of it's resources building up to return to retirees looked good, remember minor children of a deceased "covered parents" <were the money goes when some people die without collecting a dime> were added to the benefit program.  As the beneficiaries grew without increasing taxes the pot started down, rather than face raising taxes age limits were raised and finally in desperate circumstances the "cut off" for wages was raised to increase money coming into the Social Security Fund.



TO QUOTE the e-mail:  And these governmental morons mismanaged the money and stole from the system, so that it's now going broke.

Not exactly; they BORROWED from the system, they added to the system beneficiaries, extended programs without the courage to immediately pay for them through higher taxes and answered public "NEEDS".


OH, by the way these were done by Republican Congresses just as the so called Republican Congress is paying for tax cuts for the few now with huge growing Federal DEBT.   Who needs these huge tax "give-aways"?  Who benefits?  Who is pushing this latest *Ponzi scheme*, taking money from the next generations to pay for the current Republican TAX-DEBT scheme?


The crude reference to Lyndon Johnson who inherited the costly Vietnam War was really misplaced.  Much of his "Great Society" program was facing racial problems.  ie  Ending school segregation   ie THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT  



I guess you might say I have a much different take on things, than covered in this e-mail.



President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1965 focusing mainly on eliminating racial injustice and ending poverty in the United States.  In which America ended poverty, promoted equality, improved education, rejuvenated cities, and protected the environment. This became the blueprint for the most far-reaching agenda of domestic legislation since the New Deal of the 1930s. ...

Here is the original letter being circulated:




A woman dies at age 65 before collecting one benefit check.  She and her employer paid into the system for almost 50 years and she collected NOTHING!

Keep in mind all the working people that die every year who were paying into the system and got nothing!

And these governmental morons mismanaged the money and stole from the system, so that it's now going broke.

BEAUTIFUL! and they have the audacity to call today's seniors "vultures" in an attempt to cover their ineptitude. DISGRACEFUL!
The real reason for renaming our Social Security payments is so the government can claim that all those social security recipients are receiving entitlements thus putting them in the same case as welfare, food stamp recipients.

THIS IS WORTH THE FEW MINUTES IT TAKES TO READ AND DIGEST!
F.Y.I.  By changing the name of SS contributions it gives them a means to refute this program in the future.
It's free money for the government to spend under this guise.
The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a *Federal Benefit Payment*?
I'll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you.

Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it.
The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal Benefit Payment."
This isn't a benefit. It is our money paid out of our earned income!  Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too. It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.
(This should be enough for you to forward this message, If not read on.)



If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that's close to $180,000 invested in Social Security.






If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social security ($375/month, including both you and your employers contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved!


This is your personal investment. Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per year, or $3,277 per month.
That's almost three times more than today's average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security Administration. (Google it – it's a fact). And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65)! I can only imagine how much better most average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.
Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger *Ponzi scheme* than Bernie Madoff ever did. (Lyndon Johnson)
They took our money and used it elsewhere. They forgot (oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR money they were taking.  They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them.  And they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently they've told us that the money won't support us for very much longer.(Isn't it funny that they NEVER say this about welfare payments?)
But is it our fault they misused our investments?  And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a *benefit*, as if we never worked to earn every penny of it.
Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't mean that our investments were a charity!
Let's take a stand. We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare.. Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government.
Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going for the sake of that 92% of our population who need it.

Then call it what it is:
Our Earned Retirement Income.


Thursday, January 4, 2018

Arizona is a target for NEXTGEN {TOM STEYER} Political Action

Tom Steyer is doing the following: Putting $30 million behind NextGen America’s youth organizing program, to unleash the full political power of young voters.

Redoubling efforts with the Need to Impeach campaign — already over 4 million strong. The movement is going to take action to stand up to this president in 2018, and demand our elected representatives stand with us.

With the people on our side, we’re going to send a progressive wave across the country. Tom Steyer has already spent “well over” $10 million on airing the IMPEACH PRESIDENT TRUMP ad in all 50 states.

When asked whether he was attempting to get Trump’s attention by airing it on a news channel the President is known to watch, Steyer says his team is simply attempting to reach Americans “of different political groupings” in order to energize a grassroots campaign to oust Trump from office.

 In 2018, NextGen Rising will register, motivate, and turn out more than half a million young people to vote. Across 10 states, young voters will help progressives flip Congress, win Governor’s races, and take back state legislatures.

Tom Steyer sees the key to achieving progressive victories in 2018 as young voters.

 Arizona is at the top of the list for successful political change in 2018. United States Senator-Governor-Congressional Offices-State Legislature all in position for change.

 Join the political movement now as the foundation is being built.

 JOB OPENINGS:

 Arizona Campus Organizing Director
https://nextgenamerica.org/who-we-are/?job=966465

 Arizona State Youth Director
https://nextgenamerica.org/who-we-are/?job=966460

Regional Campus Organizing Director
https://nextgenamerica.org/who-we-are/?job=989552

Saturday, December 16, 2017

FABLE of School Choice

As stated in the introduction of  Over-60-Liberals-Who-Brunch-and-Lunch/ MEETUP GROUP       Click Here         

{Original credit Arizona Leg. District 26   August 2011, most of the following.}

As argument goes, "When it comes to schools, parents should have a choice."  In the real world
the choice is being exposed, the choice remains with the for-profit charter schools.  Across the
country there is a growing effort to privatize the school systems using publicly funded charter
schools.

In Arizona there are 546 charter schools with 180,000 students enrolled.  {December 2017 Arizona Daily Star}

What we actually see is a collect of students based on family income and parental motivation.
The free education mandated by Arizona State Constitution is under the present system a transfer
of wealth to the wealthy corporations in charge of the resulting new education INDUSTRY.

The basic tenet of democracy is the right to a world-class education, a right to every American child.  Every adult in America has a responsibility to insure excellence in our public education system, for our own children and for the children of other Americans.

To guarantee equal opportunity for all children, our public schools must emphasize teacher experience, class size, and a well-rounded education (not just training).  School infrastructure
must be clean, safe, and have the latest technological advances.

"Choice" is being used as a euphemism for segregation.  Children born to parents of means or motivation can choose which school to attend (subject to acceptance).  All others will attend a second-class "public" school.

<Where has the public revenue for education gone?>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRIVATE MONEY CREEPS INTO THE PUBIC SCHOOLS--What is the REAL reason?

ARIZONA DAILY STAR 12/14/2017
After a controversial economics class with ties to the Koch network slipped into four high schools without proper vetting or approval, Tucson's largest school district is dropping the class.
The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board voted Tuesday to retroactively approve Philosophy 101: Ethics, Economy, and Entrepreneurship, and allow students who are enrolled in the class, or who previously completed it, to earn credits towards graduation requirements.
But the board, in a 4-1 vote, agreed that in lieu of a separate vote to formally approve the class going forward, it should be automatically canceled after this year.
Still, backers of the class aren't giving up, saying they're going to try to save the course in TUSD, this time going through the proper channels and getting approval from the district governing board beforehand.
The class is offered as a dual- credit college course developed in partnership with the University ofArizona's Center for the
Philosophy of Freedom, better known as the 'Freedom Center.'
The Freedom Center receives funding from Charles Koch and other Libertarian- minded donors, some of them unnamed, as well as from a special appropriation from the Legislature.
The class is taught at Tucson, Rincon, Pueblo and Cholla high schools.
Cholla offers it only as an elective, which does not satisfy the requirement for a high school economics credit. The other three TUSD schools allow it to fulfill state requirement that high schoolers take at least one economics class.
At least three other public school districts in Pima County - Amphitheater, Sahuarita and Vail - along with some private and charter schools, offer the course, either as an elective or to
See TUSD, A4
TUSD nixes plan to make Catalina new home for UHS / A2

TUSD
Continued from Page A1
meet a core requirement for graduation. But unlike TUSD, all of those other public school districts say the class was vetted and approved through the proper channels.
Stacia Reeves, who teaches the course at Rincon, noted that the dual enrollment class is different from an advanced placement course because it takes a college level course and spreads it out over a full year, which is less intimidating for students like English language learners.
'Let's give some of our students who have multiple learning styles an opportunity to have this rigor in order for them to know they are college-ready,' she said.
And she noted that the state's new A-F letter grades place a heavy emphasis on having students college and career ready, and keeping the course would help boost schools' scores.
Mario Villarreal-Diaz, formerly of the Freedom Center but now an associate professor of ethics, economy and entrepreneurship at the UA's department of political economy and moral science, which houses the Freedom Center, said the course seeks to empower students and teach them about what it takes to be an ethical business person.
And he told the Governing Board that while the introduction at TUSD was flawed, the controversy is misplaced, and he hopes the board will revisit the issue.
'We commend you as the leadership for finding a way to protect those students who have already taken the course, and more importantly, we look forward to working with you in following due process so this course remains as part of the overall advanced learning TUSD offerings,' he said.


Board members signaled that they may be willing to hear them out.

Board member Rachael Sedgwick noted that after learning more about the class, it seemed like the controversy surrounding it was overblown, and that the only real issue was about the textbook, which was developed by professors with ties to the Freedom Center, and which district auditors said would be not be balanced enough on its own to satisfy state requirements.
'Now that we have a lot more information about the course and what goes on in the classroom, I'm much more willing to have a more robust conversation about it,' she said.
But board member Adelita Grijalva, the only board member to vote against theproposal, said she still had concerns about how the book ever got into classrooms.
Grijalva noted that the district never purchased enough books to have them in four schools.
'My concern is if any other textbooks got into our classrooms, who purchased those and how did they get in there? Because that's a major problem,' she said.
'I don't want to punish these students who are participating in the classes, because none of this is their fault. But I have a real problem with the process and how we got to this point.'