JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Brett Ahrends, Marketwatch, in re:  The EU.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 1, Block B:  Liz Peek, The Fiscal Times, in re: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/06/24/brexit-stuns-world-and-delivers-message-hillary-clinton-should-pay-attention.html
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 1, Block C:  Dan Henninger, WSJ editorial, in re: http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-trump-ryan-condominium-1466635447?tesla=y
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 1, Block D:  John Fund, NRO, in re:  http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-24/seven-lessons-from-the-u-k-s-departur e  ;  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
 
Hour Two
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 2, Block A:  Michael E Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re:  REVEALED: The 40-mile chink in Europe's border where Nato fears ... Express.co.uk-Jun 21, 2016  ;  The Suwałki Gap - measuring just 40-miles wide - is the only link ... of Nato troops in the gap area, which is the only overland route linking the ...
This tiny stretch of countryside is all that separates Baltic states from ...  ;  WW3 Scenario: Russia Can Conveniently Invade the Baltics  ; East-West Standoff in Europe Becoming Progressively Institutionalized Eesti elu, Estonian World Review-Jun 20, 2016  ; In push for equal NATO status, Poland asks for flashpoint troops (1 of 2)
Suwałki note: in Polish, Ł or ł is pronounced approximately as W is in English.
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 2, Block B:   Michael E Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re:  REVEALED: The 40-mile chink in Europe's border where Nato fears ...   Express.co.uk-Jun 21, 2016
The Suwałki Gap - measuring just 40-miles wide - is the only link ... of Nato troops in the gap area, which is the only overland route linking the ...
This tiny stretch of countryside is all that separates Baltic states from ...  ;  WW3 Scenario: Russia Can Conveniently Invade the Baltics  ;  East-West Standoff in Europe Becoming Progressively Institutionalized Eesti elu, Estonian World Review-Jun 20, 2016   ; In push for equal NATO status, Poland asks for flashpoint troops (2 of 2)
Suwałki note: in Polish, Ł or ł is pronounced approximately as W is in English.
 
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 2, Block C:   Sean Wilentz, The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics  (1 of 2)
“A shrewd and engaging assessment of the variable American tradition of egalitarianism, particularly as manifested in the political lives of Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, right up through Lyndon Johnson and his Great Society―scrupulously detailed, elegantly written, incisively argued, and effectively combative.” (Philip Roth)
“A bracing and persuasive defense of political partisanship as essential to a functioning democracy, and a timely reminder that from the country’s earliest days, political struggle has been the most effective mechanism for moving America toward the egalitarian ideals enunciated in its founding documents. It is a message that American citizens should never forget.” (Annette Gordon-Reed)
“Sean Wilentz is a rare historian who writes with confidence about the entire scope of American history and who does so in a way accessible to a broad reading public. The Politicians & the Egalitarians, like his previous books, is sure to command attention.” (Eric Foner)
“Wilentz evinces a vast knowledge of the American past while exploring, in his unique way, the interplay between raw party politics and the ebb and flow of reform efforts. In offering his take on pivotal figures from Jefferson to Du Bois, Lincoln to LBJ, Wilentz challenges us to debate history and ideas in a way that honors the best of the democratic system he has written about so provocatively throughout his career. Even when I most disagree with him, his arguments are always vigorous and passionate, lively and engaging.” (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.)
“This stimulating book provides a major new interpretation of the alliance between egalitarian social movements and partisan politics to achieve some of the most notable liberal victories in the American past. Sean Wilentz has done more than anyone else to blend social and political history in a manner that offers powerful new insights.” (James M. McPherson)   https://www.amazon.com/Politicians-Egalitarians-History-American-Politics/dp/0393285022/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466812441&sr=1-1&keywords=EGALITARIANS+AND+POLITICIANS
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 2, Block D:  Sean Wilentz, The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics  (1 of 2)   https://www.amazon.com/Politicians-Egalitarians-History-American-Politics/dp/0393285022/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466812441&sr=1-1&keywords=EGALITARIANS+AND+POLITICIANS
 
Hour Three
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 3, Block A:  Heather Mac Donald, The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe
“Heather Mac Donald is an unsung hero in the transformation of New York into the safest large city in the United States. Her essays helped to lay out the rationale that gave me and my police commissioners guidance during the largest continuous reduction in crime ever accomplished in our city and nation. This book is a necessary read for anyone wondering what is happening in ‘the capital of the world.’”  —The Honorable Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City
“The War on Cops is an important and timely book. Mac Donald’s clear-eyed analysis separates fact from fiction and provides keen insights into the politics at play and the consequences for law-enforcement officers and the communities they are sworn to protect.”  —Ray Kelly, former commissioner of the New York City Police Department
“If you have heard the rhetoric on all sides of the issues involving the police, and would like some facts to put that rhetoric to the test, there is no better source than The War on Cops. Whether you want facts about the explosive events in Ferguson, Missouri, or in Baltimore, or you want to know why murder rates in New York City fell sharply in the 1990s, this is the place to find solid information. If you want to understand the role of race in all this, that, too, is documented with data. This is a book that can save lives.”  —Thomas Sowell, the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
“Heather Mac Donald has made an indispensable contribution to our public debates with her incisive and critical reporting on the thorny issues of race, crime, and policing in America’s big cities. Time and again, I have found myself turning to her writings for guidance. While I do not always agree with what I find, I often do. Moreover, I am invariably edified. All serious students of urban America today should read this book and reckon with its arguments.”   —Glenn C. Loury, the Merton P. Stolz Professor of the Social Sciences, Brown Universityhttps://www.amazon.com/War-Cops-Attack-Order-Everyone/dp/1594038759/ref=... (1 of 2)
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 3, Block B:   Heather Mac Donald, The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe
“Heather Mac Donald is an unsung hero in the transformation of New York into the safest large city in the United States. Her essays helped to lay out the rationale that gave me and my police commissioners guidance during the largest continuous reduction in crime ever accomplished in our city and nation. This book is a necessary read for anyone wondering what is happening in ‘the capital of the world.’”  —The Honorable Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City
“The War on Cops is an important and timely book. Mac Donald’s clear-eyed analysis separates fact from fiction and provides keen insights into the politics at play and the consequences for law-enforcement officers and the communities they are sworn to protect.”  —Ray Kelly, former commissioner of the New York City Police Department
“If you have heard the rhetoric on all sides of the issues involving the police, and would like some facts to put that rhetoric to the test, there is no better source than The War on Cops. Whether you want facts about the explosive events in Ferguson, Missouri, or in Baltimore, or you want to know why murder rates in New York City fell sharply in the 1990s, this is the place to find solid information. If you want to understand the role of race in all this, that, too, is documented with data. This is a book that can save lives.”  —Thomas Sowell, the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
“Heather Mac Donald has made an indispensable contribution to our public debates with her incisive and critical reporting on the thorny issues of race, crime, and policing in America’s big cities. Time and again, I have found myself turning to her writings for guidance. While I do not always agree with what I find, I often do. Moreover, I am invariably edified. All serious students of urban America today should read this book and reckon with its arguments.”   —Glenn C. Loury, the Merton P. Stolz Professor of the Social Sciences, Brown Universityhttps://www.amazon.com/War-Cops-Attack-Order-Everyone/dp/1594038759/ref=... (2 of 2)
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 3, Block C:  Gregory Copley, StrategicStudies director; GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs; & author, UnCivilization, in re:  Brexit May Lead to Escalation of NATO-Russia Tensions - Source  ;  "Brexit will most likely result in escalation of tensions between NATO and Russia as the ...  ;  Russia Reacts to Brexit Referendum  ;  NATO Chief Says Britain's Role In Alliance Will Not Change, Despite Brexit
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 3, Block D:   Brian Benstock, Paragon Honda & Paragon Accura; in re:  The larger question, and perhaps issue for society to think about . . .   What’s the impact of Disruptive Technology on the automobile industry?  What’s the significance of Apple and Google entering the automobile market?  Why did Google recently hire a senior executive from TrueCar.com, an auto retail website?  While Elon Musk and Tesla are media darlings . . .
What will Tesla’s direct-to-consumer business model do to dealerships in the next 5 – 10 years?  Why should the audience care?
Disruptive Technology & Car Dealerships
The 17,800 US car dealerships are ripe for disruption.
Have car dealerships have become complacent?
Have easy credit and low-interest loans made buying and selling a car too easy?
If dealerships fail to wake up and start competing, what’s the impact?
Losers:

• There are 17,800 car dealerships nationwide
• New-car dealerships employ more than 1 million people (NADA, 2014 stat.)

Ultimate loser:

• The consumer: there’s no more negotiation. Cars will be sold like commodities, or iPhones. When was the last time anyone negotiated over the price of an iPhone?

Hour Four
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 4, Block A:  Alan Furst, A Hero of France: A Novel  (1 of 2) /   “Furst never stops astounding me.”—Tom Hanks 
“Suspenseful and sophisticated . . . No espionage author, it seems, is better at summoning the shifting moods and emotional atmosphere of Europe before the start of World War II than Alan Furst.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Furst is the best in the business.”—Vince Flynn
“Though set in a specific place and time, Furst’s books are like Chopin’s nocturnes: timeless, transcendent, universal. One does not so much read them as fall under their spell.”—Los Angeles Times
“[Furst] remains at the top of his game.”—The New York Times
“A grandmaster of the historical espionage genre.”—The Boston Globe
https://www.amazon.com/Hero-France-Novel-Alan-Furst-ebook/dp/B018CHH2A8?...
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 4, Block B:  Alan Furst, A Hero of France: A Novel  (2 of 2)
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 4, Block C: Amity Shlaes, chairman, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation; with three young winners of the new Coolidge award:  Regan Brady of Ohio; Sam, and Samuel Reddick of Tennessee, and Joshua Moriarty of New York.  See: http://www.cbs8.com/story/32238471/coolidge-foundation-announces-inaugur...
The first three winners of the Coolidge, a new full-ride merit award to any college, have been awarded.  This is the first year; the three winners are 16 or 17, and have won a large gift, amounting to about $300,000 a child, because of their achievements and respect for Cal. That is more than 100 times many National Merit Scholarship awards. 
Text: Americans woefully underrate Coolidge. To honor the thirtieth president and his values, The Coolidge Foundation launched a scholarship of the highest caliber -- a full ride to ANY college.   The scholarships are worth about $300,000 each.  The Foundation did not know if juniors would respond to our appeal to merit. We did not advertise much: a little youtube ad; a letter to debate network counselors; and an ad in Rostrum, the debate periodical, also went out. The application takes place during junior year, a little early.
    The high-schoolers did respond -- and wildly. In fact, over 12,000 registered to apply for what started out as two slots. More than 2,300 completed the rigorous application process. That process included demonstrating appreciation for the values of Coolidge in essays and through extracurricular experience. The average pupil in the "Coolidge Hundred," our top hundred, earned higher scores on the SAT and ACT than the average Ivy-enrolled student (2014 class).  
     Teens with special problems actually made the finals, and they too let us know they were glad to be picked on merit.   Many of our candidates were   immigrants or the children of immigrants (typical parents: radiologist plus housewife in suburb). The students told us repeatedly that it wasn't just the money but the idea of merit that drew them. Nine juries evaluated the top 100 or so, each picking a top candidate. For finals weekend, we brought ten finalists to Plymouth Notch. 
  A jury led by former NEH chair Bruce Cole and including Gov. Mitch Daniels, Judge Edith Jones, and Kurt Schmoke (now president of the University of Baltimore) interviewed and picked two winners. We were able to add a third winner by grace of a last-minute gift. We aim for twelve a year, eventually.  Each year the Coolidges will return to Plymouth Notch to help us with our debate program and to study philosophy, history, economics —and Coolidge.
 We believe just a few scholarships can have an impact on a whole cohort, if only as inspiration. Not all our students will be movement conservatives, nor should they be. But they do appreciate CC.   Coolidges will enter college with the wind in their sails and we wager they will be more independent about making curriculum choices.  (1 of 2)
Friday 24 June 2016 / Hour 4, Block D:   Amity Shlaes, chairman, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation; with three young winners of the new Coolidge award:  Members of the inaugural class of Coolidge Scholars include Miss Regan Brady, Shaker Heights, Ohio;
 Mr. Joshua Moriarty, New York, New York;
 Mr. Samuel Reddick, Bartlett, Tennessee (2 of 2)
 
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