Current Events – Seminar Presentation
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Third Saturday Seminar 2012-2013
Return of the Elders, Unleash your Wisdom
Session 01
“Lone Wolves are Endangering Our Species”
Unleashing Your Wisdom in the Brave New World of Tomorrow may be a Challenge.
Curt Gibby
Saturday, 15 September, 2012
9:30AM til 12:00 noon
This meeting is the first meeting of the 2012- 2013 Third Saturday Seminar
Room B-102,Lone Star College – Montgomery
3200 College Park Drive – Conroe, TX – 77384 – 936.273.7000
Who can predict what will start to happen on the day after The General Election, Tuesday, November 6, 2012? Will we have a two term president or a brand new one? Will we start to pull together, or will we dig in our ideological heels even deeper?
Are You ready? (See Current Events)
- Last Day to Register to Vote – October 9, 2012 (Tuesday, which is next business day after Columbus Day)
- First Day of Early Voting – October 22, 2012 (Monday, which is next business day after statutory deadline)
- Last Day to Apply for Ballot by Mail – October 30, 2012(Received, not Postmarked)
- Last Day of Early Voting – November 2, 2012
Note well please: When I provide excepts as in the following, I also provide a link to the entire article, which often has numerous references and links that can provide a much deeper understanding.
When Barack Obama was elected President, immediately, ammunition started to sell out in stores. In fact, recently, the weekend that President Obama decided he was, by imperial edict, his own version of the amnesty/dream act, I happened to be in a big box store, and while I was checking out, after commenting on the disorderly appearance of some of the shelves and difficulty in finding stuff, got a totally unrelated response from the clerk that they had sold out of ammunition. I asked, “hunting ammo?” and was told “all of it”.
There was a saying, “Insanity is hereditary. You get from your kids”
May I suggest that in reality: “Insanity is very contagious. You get it from your leaders and it’s transmitted by the media” (If they can act that way, why can’t the rest us?)
Lately, there seems to be a rash of lone wolf episodes. Are these lone wolf actors going to be the definers of our generation? Is it inevitable? There is no shortage of literature on the subject.
Are lone wolves giving in to an uncontrollable (out)rage, or is this a cold calculated act that the actor feels will settle a real or perceived injustice.
Please read on:
An excerpt from:
Lone Wolf Killers Are Often a Combination of Hatreds and Frustrations
By Brian Levin, J.D., Director, Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, California State University Posted: 08/06/2012
Wade Michael Page, the alleged killer, (of six people in a Sikh Temple Aug 6th) according to multiple news sources was a 40 year old Army veteran with a hate symbol tattoo who received a demotion and a less than honorable discharge from the military in 1998 for “patterns of misconduct” according to CNN after six years of service, finishing up at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Disgruntled military veteran killers like Nidal Hassan (who was in the Army), Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn, Olympic and clinic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph as well as executed Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh and D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad (the latter two had accomplices), have led many to mechanistically conclude that military service is part of a profile of loner extremists.
The real story is far more complex, as it is more likely that a first responder or victim to a mass shooting will be a military veteran than the shooter. Irrespective of their military status, these kind of killers are often depressed, socially and psychologically itinerant adult males whose significant and defining life setbacks in career or relationships create a festering anger that explodes into violence against a symbolic target. These targeted locations and innocent people are the sincere focus of aggression in the contorted thinking of someone whose anger and belief system leads them to settle a score and reaffirm their self worth by achieving notoriety through violence. A violent act transforms them from losers to warriors for a cause that is bigger than they are, and they are hitting back, not only on behalf of themselves, but for others who faced similar unfairness from an uncaring society.
The three main categories of extremist aggressors are listed below, and usually one is the primary element with an offender, with at least one other playing a secondary supporting role:
. The Ideologically Motivated (Religious, Political or Hybrid)
. The Psychologically Dangerous (Sociopath or Cognitively Impaired)
. Personal Benefit or Revenge
The following is an excerpt from a Wikipedia Report on the 22 July 2012, Aurora theater shooting
Now try to put the following into perspective…
Related incidents to Aurora (Please see the caveat at the bottom of the quote)
Following the attack, several people around the U.S. were arrested for threats and suspicious activities at or near screenings of The Dark Knight Rises.
On the same day as the shooting, a man was arrested outside a theater in southern Arizona. The man had been intoxicated, and a confrontation later occurred, leading to “mass hysteria” and 50 people evacuating the theater.[92]
In Westlake, Ohio, a heavily armed man was arrested at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.[93]
In Los Angeles, a man was arrested before a screening of The Dark Knight Rises for holding his cell phone in the air and yelling that he should “go off like in Colorado”, after complaining about the movie not starting on time.[94]
In Pittsburgh, a man faced criminal charges for being involved in a fight in a cinema restroom. During the fight, a person shouted “Gun!”, which then led to panic inside the theater.[95]
During a screening of The Dark Knight Rises at Eastridge in San Jose, California, a package was thrown into the theater by a person who claimed it was a bomb, leading to an evacuation.[96]
This section contains information of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article’s subject matter. Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information. (August 2012)
The above caveat, notwithstanding, there seem to be elements in our society that are just looking for merest provocation or inspiration to let out their inner “hulk” (monster). What about the role played by music in Wade Page’s past?
With a little bit of research and reading you will find that there were indicators in the behavior of most lone wolf criminals before they acted. It seems simple until you realize that in a free society, at any given time there may be thousands of individuals exhibiting similar traits and at similar intensities, but they never present a danger to themselves or others.
Would you, if you observed a good friend or relative showing such patterns, feel empowered to explain your concerns and provide effective counsel, which might well save his life as well as others, and still keep the person as a friend?
By the way, Wikipedia has a brief profile of James Eagan Holmes as well.
A video made right here in Houston for you to watch and think about
Mayor Annise Parker had the video produced as part of a disaster preparedness plan, with the help of a $200,000 federal grant.
Parker told CBS News, “These incidents are fortunately very, very rare. But they’re not impossible.”
Parker said she believes at least two uncomfortable truths were uncovered by the massacre in Aurora: Mass shootings can happen anywhere, anytime. And people caught in crossfire usually have no idea how to protect themselves.
Current Events
As usual, we will start with current events. I expect the election will demand some attention.
you might want to go to Fact Check.org. Here are some suggestions
Also Netanyahu is talking all about drawing red lines. Have we totally forgotten how easy it was to perform “shock and awe” on Afghanistan the first time and then Iraq? And how it is taking ten years and trillions of dollars (paid for with our debt) thousands of lives and more to get out and what do we have to show for it. Remember weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that were not in Iraq after all? If Iran had a nuclear capability, do you think they would be suicidal enough to use it? Remember the lesson of the 10,000 Greeks?
By way of review from last (May) session:
How long does it take to pay off a 15 $trillion debt? Does someone have a secret business plan on a spreadsheet that has it all figured out?
Will the world economy miraculously multiply itself by 10?
Will the sequestration monster be allowed to kick in, end the Bush Tax cuts, enforce austerity on all departments of government? (Sequestration = In U.S. law, a procedure by which an automatic spending cut is triggered, introduced to the federal budget in 1985 by the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act , most recently implemented in the Budget Control Act of 2011)
What options will the people have? What could lighten the load of a debt brought on by 12 or more years fiscal and political irresponsibility on the part of our political and economic leadership and consumers alike?
Will the dynamic of “top down” pipe-dream leadership be continuing? That is, all those entities who have real control of the minds of our elected politicians, continue to flood us with their ideologies and ideologically driven ideas which they will continue to force on to the people whether its more bailouts paid for by the victims for banks and corporations or an “Affordable” health care plan, that is not affordable to a large chunk of the population and preserves all the prerogatives of the medical industry, insurance companies and pharmaceuticals, that are driving the cost of health care through the roof.?
Will our savings accounts and money market ever start to pay us interest?
Approx. 1 in 4 are wage earners in the USA. 310 million people living here and only 77,500,000 are actually earning a wage or have a reportable income! You and I who are working are paying all the bills, taxes, national debt, or any and all expenses incurred by the Government and or any other entity spending money, including our own needs!!!
We The People of the United States may need to start seriously and cooperatively looking for Creative solutions to some Very Complex Problems, because we will not see any promise from those who have been promising us Grandiose Schemes of World Power and Leadership for as long as we can remember, yet they cannot or will not figure out how to pay our bills, nor will they rein in those who see the American worker as a beast of burden …
Being realistic, none of us has serious delusions of starting a revolution. On the other hand, I don’t believe Rosa Parks was planning a revolution either, but when destiny called, she responded. She was ready. I wonder if she was surprised when she realized just how many other people were as hungry (or hungrier) as she was for it to happen. Did she consciously give herself permission? (Or, like other American heros, just took the appropriate action …)
Regardless of the outcome, and of the abilities of those we the voters will choose, it is We The People who are going to be living in and rebuilding the once respected American culture and economy. While our elected leaders will try to continue to let the country be played by cultures and interests that are trying to get us to self-destruct. (You heard me quote bin Laden on that subject.)
It’s turned into a war between good and evil. By definition one side is pure and the other side is impure. It’s OK to fabricate the accusations to be venomously heaved at the other side, to totally disrespect them and their concerns. Reality, common sense, intelligence are not in the equation, only the party line.
Let’s have a great conversation Saturday!
This September 15, 2012 meeting is the first meeting of the 2012–2013 Third Saturday Seminar. We will not meet in December, possibly in January, and then we will run until May or June, 2013. (Stay tuned)
Third Saturday Seminars
To refer to an ancient Chinese saying, our world is in interesting times and individual citizens are assaulted with a blinding array of propaganda from every conceivable source. The third Saturday seminar is about demystification of what is going on around us. Time will also be spent on current events. 3 Sessions. No fee.
LSC-M B102
16281 S 9/15-11/17 9:30AM-12PM Gibby
Come, join the discussion! Let’s see if there is hope!
Academy for Lifelong Learning: LSC-Montgomery
Registration
You can fill out a registration form (at the end of the schedule PDF link above)
and submit it to us at
LSC-Montgomery
Continuing Education/ALL Office Building E (Room 205)
3200 College Park Dr.
Conroe, TX 77384
or get in touch directly
- Phone: 936.273.7446
- Fax: 936.273.7262
- Sorry, no on-line registrations this semester
See you Saturday — Thanks for your support!
DON‘T (be) PANIC(ked)
Curt Gibby
Director, Third Saturday Seminar
P. O Box 73207
Houston, Tx 77273
P.S. As usual if anything in this notice doesn’t make sense, please let me know. (You won’t be the first, I will appreciate it and say, “Thank you,” Curt)