Freemasons of Gettysburg By. Sheldon A. Munn

Great "little" book about the many Freemasons of the Civil war.  At only 92 Pages it is very short but chock full of mini-biographies of many Freemasons of that period.  I feel such a special bond with all of these long lost Brothers.  Knowing that they too went through the same degrees I did is very interesting to me.  I enjoyed it because of my affiliation with the fraternity. Others that are not may find it non-engaging.

Paperback: 92 pages
Publisher: Thomas Pubns; 1 Ed edition (October 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0939631687
ISBN-13: 978-0939631681

Lincoln Über Alles: Dictatorship Comes to America By John Avery Emoison

Quite an amazing book about Lincoln's "indiscretions" as 16th POTUS.  The book flies in the face of the "Lincoln Scholars" perspective.  I have long said that Lincoln was one of, if not the worst Presidents this country has ever had.  I know this subject is controversial to some, however if you open your mind and read this book with an open mind, you WILL at a minimum need to question your belief in "The Great Emancipator".

Mr. Emison blows the lid off of the "conventional" Lincoln story.  The book focuses on the many of the Unconstitutional and even treasonous acts committed by Lincoln and his minions.  Although many reviewers comment on the "German connection" made by this author, I found that there was one chapter about it and then sporadic mentioning in the latter chapters.  The majority of the book is about Lincoln's interpretation, and subsequent disregard of the Constitution and the concept of State's Right and sovereignty.

The book explores the incongruous statements by Lincoln sympathizers past and present.  The author gives you examples of "Lincoln Scholar" authors and their statements and shows you how their arguments do not hold water.  

My opinion is based on many books I have read.  When viewing secession of the Southern States compared to the secession of the original 13 colonies, it is clear to see that the South was well within their rite to dissolve their affiliation with the Northern States.  Mr. Emmison explains the basis of "equal footing" where all additional states brought in after the initial ratification were so brought in on an "equal footing" as the other existing states.  In addition to that, there was a lack of "unmistakablility" by the States in the Constitution.  Finally the precedent of Legislative Entrenchment makes it clear that no previous legislative body could have more power that any future body. 

With all of the aforementioned, it is clear from this book and many others that the North were the aggressors in this conflict.  The North wanted to subdue and overthrow a duly elected government by force.  It is clear that the war was not fought to free slaves as per the words of Mr. Lincoln himself and the actions he permitted as the commander in chief.  

I enjoyed this book because I am one of those who believe Lincoln was wrong for our country(s) and gets way too much credit for things he did, said, did not say and did not do.  Most of the books about Lincoln try to show him as deity and that he could not do wrong.  Those with even an elementary level of knowledge can see through that veil.

The book is well written and I enjoyed it greatly.

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company (August 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1589806921
ISBN-13: 978-1589806924     

On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M M. Poole

In the spirit of disclosure,  I started to write this review as I read the book.  Thinking the subject matter would end with the civil war.  Anyone who has read my reviews will know that Lincoln was not one of my favorite POTUS'.  I also do not agree with the premise that the "Civil War" was fought to free the slaves.  I also dont like the attitude the North takes/took as if they were somehow anti-racist because some of the were anti-slave.  With that being said.  Man was I wrong about this book.


**** ORIGINAL REVIEW DRAFT *******

Interesting book regarding how Arlington Cemetery came to be.  Ironically, the land on which it sits belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's step-grandson and adopted son.  Mary Anna Custis Lee (his daughter and wife of General Robert E. Lee) inherited the property after the death of her father.

At the onset of the war, Robert E. Lee left his wife and home and headed South to fight in the Confederate Army.  Mr. Lee realized that Arlington House was in a very strategic location and would soon be overtaken by Union Soldiers.  He warned Mrs. Lee to collect the valuables and leave Arlington.  She heeded the warning and left to family eventually making her way to Richmond, VA (controlled by the South).

President Lincoln decided that he would tax those in VA a high tax for their property in hopes of having the owners default and the North take ownership of those lands.  Mrs. Lee sent a family member to pay the tax in full, and the office taking the payments insisted that it be Mrs. or Mr. Lee in person.  Montgomery C. Meigs, who hated General Lee, the Union Army's Quartermaster, decided to inter the bodies as close to Mrs. Lee's garden and as close to the home to ensure that the Lees would not be able to inhabit the home lest they wanted to live with the ghosts.

Eventually, General Lee's son, George Washington Custis Lee assembled a successful case against the United States claiming that the U.S. illegally and Unconstitutionally took the Lee's homestead.  The government paid the Lee son for the property.

This book proves that the all mighty "North" was not as great as they purported to be.  We see time and again how the North treated the South.  How the Southern soldiers, the very same the North wanted to stay in the union at all costs, did not allow for the southern soldiers to be interred in Arlington.  The blacks that the North claims to have gone to war for where called "contraband", forced to live in shabby shanties and were denied proper interment into Arlington.

*************************

This book was amazing.  I learned so much about the different wars and "conflicts" that I have an entire list to add to my 'to read' list.  The chapters on the "Unknown Soldiers" were amazing.  I did not know that the Vietnam "Unknown" was identified and now sits empty in Arlington.  It is impossible to do this book justice in such little space.  Read it, you will love it.

 The saddest part of this book is that you see just how many people are affected by war.  If we continue the Jingoistic views, we will soon require an entire state to bury those lost in wars.


Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Walker & Company; Fourth Edition edition (October 27, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802715486
ISBN-13: 978-0802715487

Now or Never: Saving America from Economic Collapse By: Sen. Jim DeMint

Jim DeMint is a great senator. Although I do not agree with him on every point he seems to have common sense and that, I can work with.  I do not believe the politicians need to agree 100% with each other, but what we have today is obviously not working.  We have indebted ourselves with the past two administrations and there appears to be no end in site, even with Romney being touted as the Savior.  The out of control spending and the misinformation and divisive ways of this administration is mind blowing.

This book is marketed as a call to action.  I think it is wonderful what the Senator has done with the Senate Conservative Fund.  With his help, we have seen Senators elected to office against the established RINOs that have fidelity to the Constitution such as Sen. Mike Lee and Sen. Rand Paul.  Others not so much like Marco Rubio (See my review of "The American Son").

DeMint described the gridlock in Washington and the reasons for it.  The importance of a balanced budget and the stonewalling by Democrats in the Senate who refuse to even put it to a vote.  He sheds some light on the reasons why the Dems are stonewalling. DeMint also described the "problem" with bipartisanship and how nothing good comes from it except expansion of government.

I do not believe in parties.  I think they corrupt the system and leave you with a black/white solution for everything.  You are either 100% on or 100% off and they divide the country into class, race, sex, etc.  I am not a Republican, nor do I think they have all the answers, but I tend to see that they have more of a handle on the financial situation than the Dems.  This hoopla of taxing the 1% would only bring in 47 Billion in 10 Years.  We are borrowing $41K a second.  This would just be more money into the Federal Government to spend on frivolous shit.  This is a class warfare move since the Democratic run senate refuses to pass a budget, refuses to cut anything, even the Simpson Bowles recommendations from an Obama appointed commission has been ignored.  It seems the Dems are more concerned in divide and conquer than actually fixing the problem.  Why not say that there will be no more spending outside of the budget and all the money collected from the 1% would ONLY go to pay down the debt?

I do believe which DeMint barely touches that the reason the government can continue to do what it does is because of the "Federal" "Reserve".  Without their ability to fabricate money, it would be impossible for the US to maintain the constant state of war and the unsustainable social programs they have today.  If you don't track something, you can't improve on it.  There are hundreds of programs that are failing and rather than try to do away with them or consolidate with others and fix them; the politicians would rather not give the impression of "taking something from someone" and just create other useless failed programs.  This is where the duplicity comes into play.  Why have 200 failing programs and not one that is tracked and improved upon? 

Something needs to be done, and quickly.  The current administration does not seem to have an idea what they are doing.  It is not working partially because its ironically more of the same (W).  



A truly good book although most of the Information contained therein, I had already learned from other books, It was an interesting read with introductions of each chapter by one of the Senators SCF supported. 

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Center Street; 1 edition (January 10, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1455511846
ISBN-13: 978-1455511846

Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street by: Neil Barofsky

I will begin by saying that I was and still am against T.A.R.P..  With that being said, it was passed and we had it.  Neil Barofsky is a Democrat and donated to the Obama campaign in 2008.  He was nominated as Inspector General of T.A.R.P. by President Bush and was confirmed by both sides with barely any incident. 

Barofsky nails it in this book.  He starts by being critical of the Bush administration and then states that he is hopping that the new administration (Obama) and his appointments will be better in trying to create the atmosphere of corruption that would allow T.A.R.P. recipients to game the system.  Those hopes were crushed by Timothy Geithner and his minions.

I am not saying the Bush and Obama were directly involved, but at a minimum, it makes them inept and indirectly responsible with what happens on their watch; especially something as big and egregious as this.  Barofsky breaks down the Troubled Asset Relief Fund (TARP), Public Private Investment Program (PPIP), roubled Asset-backed Loan Facility (TALF) and other boondoggles by our Federal Government. He describes in layman's terms how the system was gamed and by whom.

He describes encounters with Treasury officials, Congressmen, and Senators and how he informed them and warned of how the system could be and would be gamed. Those warnings fell on deaf ears. 

Required reading if you are interested in what happened and worst yet, how the more things change, the more the stay the same.  We are doomed.



Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Free Press (July 24, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1451684932
ISBN-13: 978-1451684933

Along the Way By: Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez

Amazing story of father and son.  Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez AKA Martin Sheen and son Emilio Estévez take you on a journey through their lives.  I was never a hard core fan of any of the Sheen/Estevez clan until this book.  WOW!  What a life young Emilio and the rest of his brothers and sister lived.  They were jet-setting all around the world while their father Ramon (Martin) was on location filming movies.  

It is written in a way where the father reflects on a time period and then Emilio does the same.  You get to hear both sides and how Marin felt when Emilio was coming into his own and how Emilio felt during the same time.  Fame, travel, and money notwithstanding, I find parallels in mine and Emilio's life.

Amazingly, his youth in Malibu was surrounded by the up and comers Rob Lowe, Sean and Chris Penn, Robert Downey Jr that lived on Emilio's block and they grew up together.  Also during the casting for The Outsiders, Tom Cruz lives with the Estevez/Sheen family.

I found myself re-watching Apocalypse Now, Bad Lands, and The Outsiders with an entirely different view of the movie.  Knowing some "insider" information gives you perspective on the films.  I plan to watch "The Way" which inspired this book.

What a great book for any father to read.  I have already started putting certain things into practice with my kids.

Highly Recommended.

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (May 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1451643683
ISBN-13: 978-1451643688

An American Son by: Marco Rubio

Well Well.  Mr. Marco Rubio is certainly an interesting person.  I was attracted to this book because he is my same age and we grew up somewhat the same way as sons of immigrant exiles of  Fidel Castro's regime and the long lost country.

The book details the plight of his parents and grandparents as they struggled to provide for their families both here in the US as well as in Cuba prior to coming here.  Rubio details his life as a football loving, specifically Miami Dolphins, political junky.  He states in the book that he was following the election of Jimmy Carter.  I consider myself to be somewhat of a political junky but do not really remember being interested at that age.

Rubio gives the impression of a spoiled egotistical calculating person.  Although people may say that is typical of Republicans, I think it is typical of politicians in general.  He made it clear that he felt politics was a career.  He painfully states, atnasium, how much better he did for himself that his parents. 

The book also covers the tumultuous campaign between him, Kendrick Meeks and Charlie Crist.  The book gives you an insight which I have not seen in other books.  He shares certain aspects of the campaign and how the tacticians thought and acted.

The criticism notwithstanding, I like Marco Rubio and I think he has potential.  He needs to embrace the Constitution more and relax on the Jingoism.  I follow his actions in the Senate and there is some wasted time on his part voted for frivolous things that do not benefit or protect the State of Florida which should be his job.


Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Sentinel HC (June 19, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595230947
ISBN-13: 978-1595230942