John Cornwell, a British historian focused on Germany before and during the war, joined us in 2003 to discuss his challenging book , “Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War and the Devil’s Pact.” After all Jewish scientists were fired and left Germany, only two out of thousands of remaining scientists protested. Some others left but, in the main, the many thousands pursued their work seeking not only truth but public reward and either imbibing or privately resisting the Nazi ideology. The worst part of the story, as we discuss it with Cornwell, concerns those scientists – some of international reputation – who used their “sciences” to confirm, rationalize and advance Nazism. Names are named and dreadful stories told.

We drew together two members of our “A-Team” and a major Democratic strategist. They are: old friend and regular Chris Robling; the Chicago Tribune’s great editorial cartoonist, Scott Stantis: and joining us for the first time, Kevin Lampe who really is and has long been an election manager and consultant for Democratic party candidates.

Our friendly combatants zero in on a number of expected and unexpected issues and questions.

Among them are:

• T-Tip. Whazzat?
• Obama’s personality as a factor in the great humiliation of his party;
• 32 million green cards for illegals and Republican responsibility for encouraging border-jumping;
• As campaigners, all new Republican Senators  called for full repeal of Obamacare;
• How the life of one of the discussants may have been saved by Obamacare;
• The banning of the  pipeline and the planned death of coal;
• Hillary as failed campaigner;
• The continuing war within the Republican Party;
• Obama’s penchant for “executive actions” and what the new majority (and the Supreme Court?) might do about it;
• Racism, sexism, homophobia and the minimum wage as worn-out Democratic ploys;
• And, oh yes, our problems elsewhere, including Iraq, ISIS, Putin and Ukraine, the Chinese challenge

Way back in 1974 there occurred a memorable encounter with Abba Eban who served Israel at the UN and ultamitely as Foreign Minister and a great public intellectual. An amusing side impression during this early encounter is Eban’s totally British rhetorical style as he denies any persisting British identity.

…was, of course, the so-called “Battle of the Bulge .” In 2003 four American veterans of that last great assault share their vivid memories of how the Wehrmacht advanced with massive force and was after a dreadful month of unrelenting combat, routed by the American and British armies led respectively by Patton and Montgomery.