The Cold War was not so cold in Southeast Asia for the twenty years of the 1950s through the 1970s.  Hundreds of thousands of people perished in a civil war and a war of ideologies.  What prompted America to enter into this area of the world where it had no real vital interests, other than trying to stop the spread of communism?  What were the events leading up to it, and how did the United States handle its involvement through the early 1970s?  Listen in to Dr. J give his take on this awful chapter in our nation's (and Vietnam's) history.  In the next podcast Dr. J will wrap up our America's involvement in Vietnam, as well as a follow up to what happened in southeast Asia after the US left.  

A unique aspect of the tension between the Communist Soviet Union and the Free World of the United States and its Western Allies was the competition in space.  Who would be the first nation to land a man on the moon?  The Soviets definitely had a good lead in rocket technology and scored many impressive accomplishments.  But it wasn't long before Americans would catch up.  What was it like to be a witness to this amazing chapter in world history?  I look back now and count myself so blessed that I actually watched in real time some of mankind's greatest achievements.

It is often called "The Forgotten War", or "The Coldest War."  The Korean War was the first open shooting war between Communist forces and the forces of the Free World.  It was eventually a stand-off, and today we still have the brutal regime of North Korea occupying the northern half of the Korean peninsula, while the free Republic of Korea occupies the southern half.  How did we get here?  Listen in to today's podcast!

Did you know that NO full length feature film has ever been done on George Washington?  WHY?  I have no idea.  However, Angel Studios is really on a roll these days.  They have produced a really good movie about the life of George Washington before the American War for Independence.  This is a pretty good movie...I would actually watch it again.  And your children (probably age 12 and up) should watch it too.  No profanity or sexual content, but some graphic violence in the battle scenes.   Way to go Angel Studios with another movie about a real hero we would do well to imitate!  

Happy Independence Day everyone!  I hope you all have a great day celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America.  As we take stock of our great country, I thought it would be good to compare the ideas, values, and accomplishments of our founding with the stated goals of a major political party in the US today:  The Democrat (Socialist) Party.   

The aftermath of World War 2 is what we call "the Cold War"...a war between the Soviet Union and communism versus the Western nations (the US, Great Britain, etc.) and capitalism/political freedom.  The march of communism in China begins in the early 20th century and progresses into a victory for Mao Zedong in 1949.  The defeated armies of the Nationalists (under Chiang Kai-shek) flee to Taiwan and establish their competing government.  This story continues today with the communists in China wanting to eliminate the free Chinese on Taiwan and absorb them into their totalitarian control.  So...in a sense the Cold War continues in the standoff between today's Communist China and the free China of Taiwan.  

The United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.  Why?  What was the reasoning of the US at that time?  And what did the US do for its allies, and even its former enemies immediately after World War 2?  And how did we get such states as communist North Korea and communist China?  The answers all lie in what happened at the end of this war and its aftermath.  

By 1943 it was clear that the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were not going to win The Second World War.  Through numerous brutal campaigns the Allies (Britain, Soviet Union, America) slowly slogged their way across Europe and the Pacific to invade the home territory of the Axis Powers and finish them off.  

World War 2 was known not only for the staggering loss of life (some 60 million people perished), but the war saw entire state governments targeting vast groups of people for extermination.  What are some of the lessons we can learn from this evil?  

You'll hear me say this many times...the way things are now, they won't be forever.  In 1941 hope looked pretty bleak for the free world.  Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo and their armies looked pretty invincible.  But things change.  And fortunately the Nazi, Fascist, and Imperialist armies were stopped cold in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific.  The war was not over by a long shot, but the tide had definitely changed.