It has been said that Henry Ford was a genius who expanded the horizons of the average American.  In “Slaughterhouse”, Dr. Pacyga tells the story of the Chicago stock yard and the world that it made.  In fact, the stock yards of Chicago did much more than industrialize the slaughter of cattle, sheep and hogs, they were responsible for increasing the diet of Americans and Europeans by providing meat products in a timely, cost effective manner.  They also were instrumental in the invention and improvements in rail transportation including refrigerated cars, smoother rides, etc. 

This excellent history would be my first recommendation for anyone who would like to understand the Russian experience during this period; it is solid, packed with information, excellent profiles of the key people and makes one wonder how the Russian army held out and together for such as long time in the face of command stupidity, poor planning, lack of food, weapons, and munitions.  The key to any positive found in the book, is due primarily due to the Russian peasant who made up over 90% of the population as well as the army.  Largely illiterate and use to generations of abuse and misuse, millions of men lived in conditions that were primitive and faced death with a steel determination that few modern armies could copy.

With a new Administration in office, we find a renewed crisis brewing on our Southern border. Many of the old arguments on both sides will be dragged out to defend their positions, but few cite facts to support their own claims. Coulter can be loud and brash at times, but the question I always ask when someone attacks the messenger, is, “If the information correct or not?” Closing one’s mind because one does not like the messenger is a sure way to insure group think. I would recommend this book for advocates on both sides of this debate.  The key point of her book is that any immigration policy should firstly be designed for the best interests of the country (any country).  An immigration policy is NOT designed for the benefit of 1) the immigrants, or 2) the nations supplying the immigrants.

It looks like the Culture War is going to heat up again. We forget that for a few years we did not have to listen to the whining of every group who felt they were abused, we did not have to hear about micro-aggressions or shrinking free speech zones. Hopefully, this silly idea will be batted down. Democratic Senator Telci Gabbard is out there to protect women’s sports, hopefully she can also protect women’s right to privacy in showers and bathrooms. https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/03/chuck-schumer-endorses-bidens-plan-to-force-public-schools-to-allow-males-in-female-bathrooms/

I have read biographies of Mussolini and military books, trying in vain to find out why Mussolini was so adored by his I have people.  Hitler, Stalin, Mao, I could understand as they tapped into the needs of the people, promised them what they desired and delivered on many of the promises (although at a huge, terrible price).  Mussolini, aside from killing off (or their fleeing to the US) the Mafia and making the trains run on time, seemed to stagger from one disaster to another.  It must have been the pomp and uniforms that kept many people enthralled and we need to remember that FDR and Churchill both had favorable opinions of the Italian dictator for quite a while.