Current Events Action Meeting

Each year NHRW presents scholarships to outstanding students in the Newport Mesa School District. We raise funds partly through our dues and partly through our 50/50 raffles and member donations. In addition to the scholarship, the students we select are given the opportunity to work in local offices of State legislators. We encourage our members to be on the lookout for potential high school seniors who may qualify for one of our scholarships. The application form is available on our website as well as in the scholarship office at each of the high schools. Applications must be received by April 16, 2012 to be considered.

Please consider donating specifically to NHRW’s scholarship program. We give up to three $1,000 scholarships each year. These donations are not tax-deductible, but they are fulfilling. You may send checks payable to NHRW, with “Scholarship” noted on the memo line to:

NHRW Treasurer
Attn: Scholarships
P.O. Box 5561
Newport Beach, CA 92662-5561

NEW APPLICATION FOR 2012 - PRINT HERE

Read more about our 2011 recipents

Please join us for coffee, education and discussion regarding current events. This is an ACTION committee where we write, call, or email our U.S. and State representatives regarding important issues.

Meeting Notes are published under the "CEA" tab on the tool bar at the top of this page. Please refer to the CEA page for the handouts from the previous meetings. The notes may be downloaded and emailed to your friends and family!

Please watch for upcoming CEA meeting dates and information via email or in the UPDATE newsletter.

RSVPs are a MUST!

"IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS" by Erik Larson

Have you ever wondered why the Germans (or the world) let Hitler happen? Me too. This book by Erik Larson is a narrative non-fiction account of the first U.S. Ambassador to Nazi Germany, William E. Dodd, who assumed his new post in 1933 Berlin. Dodd was a stodgy, frugal, academic type appointed by FDR. Dodd took his wife, son and daughter (both in their 20's) to Berlin with him. If the book was about Dodd, it would have been interesting, but throw in his 20-something daughter, Martha, who loved to party and loved men and the book reads like a novel. Martha’s taste in men included the Gestapo chief in Berlin and a Soviet embassy staffer (and many others and all at the same time!) and reading about her escapades makes you forget that it is history that you are reading. The book is well researched, well written and reads in that wonderful "can't put it down" way. Most compelling to me was the reluctance by so many at that time that turned into an almost concerted effort to not see what was happening. We are living in very similar times -- when people refuse to see that things are changing in scary ways. The Jews were being persecuted, stricter and stricter laws put in place, violence against citizens increased, and there were obvious signs that Germany was arming itself for war. Dodd sounded the alarm. Many in the U.S. State Department never took him seriously and even undermined him at every opportunity. While the book didn't exactly answer my original question, it did make me think, offered some possible explanations, and gave me a unique perspective on this period of history. It also reminded me of the importance of recognizing evil when you see it and to stand firmly against it, come what may.

By: Valerie A. Boemler

Pending Announcements for 2012

For More Information....

Check the links below for a calendar of action events in Orange County and other local areas.

OCGOP Action Center

Tea Party Partriots California Events

Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum

The Nixon Foundation

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library

The White House

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

U.S. Congressman John Campbell

U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher

Governor Jerry Brown

State Senator Tom Harman

Assemblyman Donald Wagner

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor

Heritage Foundation

The Claremont Institute

Library of Congress

Family Research Council's Government Directory

Voter registration forms are available at our luncheon meetings, at most U.S. Post Offices, at Public Libraries, the Orange County Republican Headquarters, or from the Orange County Registrar of Voters at their web site, phone number 714-567-7600. Voter registration closes fifteen days prior to any election.

Contact Bonnie O'Neil, NHRW Voter Registration Chairperson, for questions at boneil@me.com