CONSERVATIVE BOOK CLUB
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The club meets monthly. See below for the next meeting details. We'll meet at Panera Bread @ the Outlets - San Clemente at 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. for our Book Discussion. All conservatives welcome! Come and bring your friends! Besides insightful discussions of the books we select, our members are having opportunities to know and appreciate one another and our thoughts and hopes for the Republican Party, past and present. You can help determine future books for 2018 when attending our next meetings. We welcome your input, and request that any recommended book be rated at least as a 4 or 5 star read. |
Hello SCARWF Book Club Attendees!
Welcome to our upcoming book club selections:
Meeting days: 3rd Wednesday each month,
Time: 4:00 – 6:00PM
Place: Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente
Join us for interesting reading and a lively discussion about a variety of topics of interest to Conservatives!
Welcome to our upcoming book club selections:
Meeting days: 3rd Wednesday each month,
Time: 4:00 – 6:00PM
Place: Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente
Join us for interesting reading and a lively discussion about a variety of topics of interest to Conservatives!
Our Book Club met on March 21st at the Panera Bread Restaurant in San Clemente.
Besides being a local restaurant at The Outlets that has agreed to our meetings, we’ve found
their chai and lattes to be very yummy.
We meet from 4-6 p.m. on the Third Wednesday of each month, and would love to have new members join us.
This discussion was lively, and we’ve been fortunate to have chosen books that are so informative,
and this time, quite inspiring.
We have chosen two final books for the Spring. In April, we will be discussing BULLIES by Ben Shapiro. It is a book that we believe will help us understand and learn skills for meaningful, and perhaps
powerful conversations with Liberals.
The book we’ve chosen for May is AMERICAN PRAVDA by James O’Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to investigating corruption, dishonesty, waste and fraud in public and private institutions.
As you heard from Jackie Cooper—this book comes highly recommended.
Please consider joining us. We have fun and learn so much through these readings and discussions.
Susan Campion, SCARWF Book Club Chairman
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Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Discussion Leader: TBA Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm AMERICAN PRAVDA My Fight for Truth in the Era of Fake News by James O'Keefe The one real difference between the American press and the Soviet state newspaper Pravda was that the Russian people knew they were being lied to. To expose the lies our media tell us today, controversial journalist James O’Keefe created Project Veritas, an independent news organization whose reporters go where traditional journalists dare not. Their investigative work–equal parts James Bond, Mike Wallace, and Saul Alinsky—has had a consistent and powerful impact on its targets. In American Pravda, the reader is invited to go undercover with these intrepid journalists as they infiltrate political campaigns, unmask dishonest officials and expose voter fraud. A rollicking adventure story on one level, the book also serves as a treatise on modern media, arguing that establishment journalists have a vested interest in keeping the powerful comfortable and the people misinformed. The book not only contests the false narratives frequently put forth by corporate media, it documents the consequences of telling the truth in a world that does not necessarily want to hear it. O’Keefe’s enemies attack with lawsuits, smear campaigns, political prosecutions, and false charges in an effort to shut down Project Veritas. For O’Keefe, every one of these attacks is a sign of success. American Pravda puts the myths and misconceptions surrounding O’Keefe’s activities to rest and will make you rethink every word you hear and read in the so-called mainstream press. |
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Previous book club selections:
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Wednesday, April 18, 2018 Discussion Leader: TBA Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm Bullies: How the Left's Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americans by Ben Shapiro From the editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire comes a galvanizing and alarming look at the strategy and tactics of leftist thuggery. While President Obama and the left like to pretend that they oppose bullying with all their hearts and souls, the truth is far darker: the left is the greatest purveyor of bullying in modern American history. Bullying has morphed into the left’s go-to tactic, as they attempt to quash their opponents through fear, threat of force, violence, and rhetorical intimidation on every major issue facing America today. Ben Shapiro uncovers the simple strategy used by liberals and their friends in the media: bully the living hell out of conservatives. Play the race card, the class card, the sexism card. Use any and every means at your disposal to demonize your opposition—to shut them up. Then pretend that such bullying is justified, because, after all, conservatives are the true bullies, and need to be taught a lesson for their intolerance. Hidden beneath the left’s supposed hatred of bullying lies a passionate love of its vulgar tactics. The left has created a climate of fear wherein ordinary Americans must abandon their principles, back abhorrent causes, and remain silent. They believe America is a force for evil, that our military is composed of war criminals, and that patriotism is the deepest form of treason. They incite riots and threaten violence by playing the race card, then claim they’re advocates for tolerance. Disagree with Obama? You must be a racist. They send out union thugs and Occupy Wall Street anarchists to destroy businesses and redistribute the wealth of earners and job creators. No target is off limits as liberal feminists declare war against stay-at-home moms, and gay activists out their enemies, destroy careers, and desecrate personal privacy. These are the most despicable people in America, bullying their opponents while claiming to be the victims. Shapiro takes on the leftist bullies, exposes their hypocrisy, and offers conservatives a reality check in the face of what has become the gravest threat to American liberty: the left’s single-minded focus on ending political debate through bully tactics. Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Discussion Leader: TBA Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm The American Miracle: Divine Providence in the Rise of the Republic by Michael Medved LUCKY... OR BLESSED? The history of the United States displays an uncanny pattern: At moments of crisis, when the odds against success seem overwhelming and disaster looks imminent, fate intervenes to provide deliverance and progress. Historians may categorize these incidents as happy accidents, callous crimes, or the product of brilliant leadership, but the most notable leaders of the past four hundred years have identified this good fortune as something else—a reflection of divine providence. In The American Miracle, bestselling author and radio host Michael Medved recounts some of the most significant events in America’s rise to prosperity and power, from the writing of the Constitution to the Civil War. He reveals a record of improbabilities and amazements that demonstrate what the Founders always believed: that events unfolded according to a master plan, with destiny playing an unmistakable role in lifting the nation to greatness. Among the stirring, illogical episodes described here: • A band of desperate religious refugees find themselves blown hopelessly off course, only to be deposited at the one spot on a wild continent best suited for their survival • George Washington’s beaten army, surrounded by a ruthless foe and on the verge of annihilation, manages an impossible escape due to a freakish change in the weather • A famous conqueror known for seizing territory, frustrated by a slave rebellion and a frozen harbor, impulsively hands Thomas Jefferson a tract of land that doubles the size of the United States • A weary soldier picks up three cigars left behind in an open field and notices the stogies have been wrapped in a handwritten description of the enemy’s secret battle plans—a revelation that gives Lincoln the supernatural sign he’s awaited in order to free the slaves When millions worry over the nation losing its way, Medved’s sweeping narrative, bursting with dramatic events and lively portraits of unforgettable, occasionally little-known characters, affirms America as “fortune’s favorite,” shaped by a distinctive destiny from our beginnings to the present day. Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Discussion Leader: TBA Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm All Out War: The Plot to Destroy Trump by Edward Klein Since the moment Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign, powerful figures have been working to delegitimize the brash-talking businessman and drive him from office before he can drain the swamp and take away their power. Who are these determined and ruthless individuals who are waging all-out war against the president? Why have left-wing progressives and members of the conservative establishment joined forces to drive Trump from office? And what does this mean for the future of American democracy? Edward Klein, the former editor in chief of the New York Times Magazine, and the investigative reporter behind national bestsellers The Amateur and Blood Feud, exposes the villains behind the plot to destroy Trump. “In America,” writes Klein, “you are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to overthrow the democratically elected president of the United States and inflict irreparable damage on our country. That, however, is what Trump’s enemies on the Left and Right are doing with lies, leaks, obstruction, and violence. For those who want to join the effort to prevent these villains from crippling our democracy, All Out War: The Plot to Destroy Trump is essential reading. |
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Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Discussion Leader: TBA Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populists vs. The Establishment from Reagan to Trump – by Laura Ingraham Americans didn’t just go to the polls in 2016. They joined a movement that swept the unlikeliest of candidates, Donald Trump, into the Oval Office. Can he complete his agenda? Or will his opponents in the media, protestor class, and political establishment block his efforts and choke off the movement he represents? In Billionaire at the Barricades, Laura Ingraham gives readers a front row seat to the populist revolution as she witnessed it. She reveals the origins of this movement and its connection to the Trump presidency. She unmasks the opposition, forecasts the future of the Make America Great Again agenda and offers her own prescriptions for bringing real change to the swamp of Washington. Unlike most of her media colleagues, Ingraham understood Trump’s appeal and defied those who wrote his political obituary. Now she confronts the president’s critics and responds to those who deny the importance of his America First agenda. With sharp humor and insight she traces the DNA of the populist movement: from Goldwater’s 1964 campaign, to Nixon’s Silent Majority, to Reagan’s smashing electoral victories. Populism fueled the insurgency campaigns of Buchanan and Perot, the election of George W. Bush, and the Tea Party rallies of the Obama presidency. But a political novice—a Manhattan billionaire—proved to be the movement’s most vocal champion. This is the inside story of his victory and the fitful struggle to enact his agenda. |
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Dear SCARWF Book Club Ladies,
We've read wonderful books together in 2017 and we plan to celebrate the Season and the
first year of our Republican President at our SCARWF Book Club Holiday Happy Hour Party!
Wednesday, December 13th from 4 - 6:00PM
At the Fisherman at the Pier-Bar Side
(No host)
See you There for a fun festive time!
Go Republicans!!
Susan Campion & Rita Bennett
We've read wonderful books together in 2017 and we plan to celebrate the Season and the
first year of our Republican President at our SCARWF Book Club Holiday Happy Hour Party!
Wednesday, December 13th from 4 - 6:00PM
At the Fisherman at the Pier-Bar Side
(No host)
See you There for a fun festive time!
Go Republicans!!
Susan Campion & Rita Bennett
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Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Discussion Leader: Barbara Runolfson Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left – by Dinesh D'Souza What is “the big lie” of the Democratic Party? That conservatives—and President Donald Trump in particular—are fascists. Nazis, even. In a typical comment, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow says the Trump era is reminiscent of “what it was like when Hitler first became chancellor.” But in fact, this audacious lie is a complete inversion of the truth. Yes, there is a fascist threat in America—but that threat is from the Left and the Democratic Party. The Democratic left has an ideology virtually identical with fascism and routinely borrows tactics of intimidation and political terror from the Nazi Brownshirts. To cover up their insidious fascist agenda, Democrats loudly accuse President Trump and other Republicans of being Nazis—an obvious lie, considering the GOP has been fighting the Democrats over slavery, genocide, racism and fascism from the beginning. Now, finally, Dinesh D’Souza explodes the Left’s big lie. He expertly exonerates President Trump and his supporters, then uncovers the Democratic Left’s long, cozy relationship with Nazism: how the racist and genocidal acts of early Democrats inspired Adolf Hitler’s campaign of death; how fascist philosophers influenced the great 20th century lions of the American Left; and how today’s anti-free speech, anti-capitalist, anti-religious liberty, pro-violence Democratic Party is a frightening simulacrum of the Nazi Party. Hitler coined the term “the big lie” to describe a lie that “the great masses of the people” will fall for precisely because of how bold and monstrous the lie is. In The Big Lie, D’Souza shows that the Democratic Left’s orchestrated campaign to paint President Trump and conservatives as Nazis to cover up its own fascism is, in fact, the biggest lie of all. We invite all our SCARWF members to read this book and join us for our meeting on Wednesday, November 15th. At the conclusion of this meeting, we are considering choices for our 2018 book list. Perhaps you know of some four-five star books to recommend. Please share your ideas and come join us! Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Discussion Leader: Susan Campion Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan – by Bill O’Reilly This book “takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan” Many of us have read former O’Reilly books and enjoyed the historical research and writing style of both he and Martin Dugard. Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Discussion Leader: Susan Campion Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm The Zookeeper's Wife A Novel by Diane Ackerman This book is about the saving of human and animal life, when the Warsaw Zoo is overrun by the Germans during the 1939 invasion of Poland. The main characters, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, risk their lives by hiding Jews in the empty animal cages, saving hundreds from extermination. The New York Times Book Review stated this book as ”Poignant…..This is an absorbing book.” SCARWF members are encouraged to join our discussion on September 20th, 4-6pm in the Panera Bread Restaurant at “The Outlets of San Clemente”. Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Discussion Leader: Barbara Runolfson Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back - by Jeff Faux "You will never think about 'free trade' the same way ….. the globalization debate is really about whose interests are served by global elites, and how we need to go about reclaiming a democracy that serves ordinary people." -Robert Kuttner. "Globalization is a cover for American imperialism, but the beneficiaries are not the American people at the expense of foreigners but corporate executives at the expense of working-class and poor people wherever they may be. Jeff Faux offers a comprehensive and devastating analysis."-Chalmers Johnson, author of The Sorrows of Empire . Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Panera Bread @ The Outlets at San Clemente 4:00-6:00 pm Discussion Leader: Carol Browning America's First Daughter: A Novel by Stephanie Dray In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph--a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy. "[A] triumphant, controversial, and fascinating plunge into the complexities of Revolutionary America, where women held power in subtle ways and men hid dangerous secrets. You'll never look at Jefferson or his legacy the same way again." (C.W. Gortner, bestselling author of Mademoiselle Chanel) NOTE: Come to the May meeting with your 1-2 suggestions for books for the rest of the year. Each book should be 4-5 star rated. Your suggestions should include a brief summary or overview. Wednesday, April 19, 2017 4:00-6:00 pm Panera Bread at the Outlets San Clemente Discussion Leader: Susan Campion Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency – by Bill O’Reilly An epic account of the career of President Ronald Reagan that tells the vivid story of his rise to power -- and the forces of evil that conspired to bring him down. Just two months into his presidency, Ronald Reagan lay near death after a gunman's bullet came within inches of his heart. His recovery was nothing short of remarkable but Reagan was grievously injured, forcing him to encounter a challenge that few men ever face. Killing Reagan reaches back to the golden days of Hollywood, where Reagan found both fame and heartbreak, up through the years in the California governor's mansion, and finally to the White House, where he presided over boom years and the fall of the Iron Curtain. But it was John Hinckley Jr.'s attack on him that precipitated President Reagan's most heroic actions. In Killing Reagan, O'Reilly and Dugard take readers behind the scenes, creating an unforgettable portrait of a great man operating in violent times. Wednesday, March 15, 2017
4:00-6:00 pm Panera Bread at the Outlets San Clemente Discussion Leader: Susan Campion Three Days in January:Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission -by Bret Baier & C.Whitney January 1961: President Eisenhower has three days to secure the nation's future before his young successor, John F. Kennedy, takes power — a final mission by the legendary leader who planned D-Day and guided America through the darkening Cold War. Baier masterfully casts the period between Eisenhower's now-prophetic farewell address on the evening of January 17, 1961, and Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the closing act of one of modern America's greatest leaders -- during which Eisenhower urgently sought to prepare both the country and the next president for the challenges ahead. On January 17, Eisenhower spoke to the nation in one of the most remarkable farewell speeches in U.S. history. Ike looked to the future, warning Americans against the dangers of elevating partisanship above national interest, excessive government budgets (particularly deficit spending), the expansion of the military-industrial complex, and the creeping political power of special interests. Seeking to ready a new generation for power, Eisenhower intensely advised the forty-three-year-old Kennedy before the inauguration. Five decades later, Baier's Three Days in January forever makes clear that Eisenhower, an often forgotten giant of U.S. history, still offers vital lessons for our own time and stands as a lasting example of political leadership at its most effective and honorable. |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017
4:00-6:00 pm Panera Bread at the Outlets San Clemente Discussion Leader: Rita Bennett Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis - by J. D. Vance From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class. Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck. A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country. |
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