Third Saturday Seminar 2012-2013
Return of the Elders, Unleash your Wisdom
Session 03
“Turning the World Right Side Up”
(Which side is that?)
Curt Gibby
Saturday, 17 November, 2012
9:30AM til 12:00 noon
This meeting is the third 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
Tradition has it that when Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown he had his band play, The World Turned Upside Down
The Universe seems to be dead set on keeping us Americans, if not entertained, off-balance and puzzled that those responsible for governing the last of the world’s great superpowers, can seem to be so “out-to-lunch.” Then they double-down on their stupidity and risk our futures with their blind incompetence. (Where did they go to school?)
We have just endured a major election when both sides used unlimited funds to convince the voters that their opponent was a no good crook. Obama and his people were the better game players in the winner-takes-all the state’s electors rules of most states, Barack Obama handily won the majority of electoral candidates of (all) the battleground states, but to me the more telling indicator is that he won 50.68% of the popular vote. That says that he has no strong mandate, except as allowed by the Constitution. In the popular election he squeaked by Romney, because Romney and his advisors couldn’t separate confirmation bias from reality, and shot themselves in the foot with two major minorities, women and factory workers. (Why did they call them battleground states? Because, they were potentially fed up with the Obama administration, which the Romney camp correctly surmised as an opportunity, which it was. But then when you let you own dogmas blind you to reality.
We were so smart during the Carter Administration when we somehow enticed the Russians into invading Afghanistan, so it could become their Vietnam (Which it did and probably contributed greatly to the breakup of the USSR). What cruel irony that it is now us and our NATO Allies that have taken our own bait. We get to enjoy the Vietnam experience all over again. Fortunately(?) we have lost less than 10 percent of the troops we lost in Vietnam, but we are spending more and borrowing heavily to keep it going. Where will that lead us?
Kharma:
Afghanistan has turned into a career minefield for the likes of, Gen. David D. McKiernan, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, and now General David Petraeus USA (Ret)
As you now know ad nauseum:
CIA director David Petraeus has resigned following revelations of an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, a married U.S. Army reservist. “This personal issue that cropped up that ruined his career at the end, I think, is very much a minor thing … compared to his big exploits in Iraq and Afghanistan,” says historian Juan Cole, who responds to the surprise departure of the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Petraeus retired from 37 years in the military to head the CIA last year (DemocracyNow.org-12 Nov 12)
While our media is doing its best to the promote the more salacious aspects of the “Petraeus File” with a delicious cast of characters. ( It might get a Emmy awards season as, “The Real Generals of MacDill” (The headquarters of CENTCOM – U.S. Central Command in Florida) Throw in a Benghazi connection as seasoning.
Instead:
We will watch and listen to a 32 minute interview of University of Michigan History Professor Juan Cole who will call our attention to the far more serious aspects of the dogmatic approaches to gain the Middle East to scratch an itch created by the Neocons of “New American Century”
If you can, I strongly suggest you watch the video at the link below and read the transcript
Juan Cole: Real Petraeus Failure Was Counterinsurgency in Iraq, Afghanistan
Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan. His most recent book is Engaging the Muslim World.
Here is a report that suggests ways to modify our defense strategy that was just released by the Stimson Center, Washington, D.C.
A_New_US_Defense_Strategy_for_a_New_Era
A New US Defense Strategy for a New Era Military Superiority – Agility and Efficiency
Current Events
Raking Over the Coals of the last election, Why the Republicans need to recreate themselves if we are ever going to again have a “Loyal Opposition” to facilitate intelligent dialog in future political decisions
If you can’t understand how Romney not only lost the election, but couldn’t believe it when it happened, perhaps there are some clues in the following videos which we will watch during the current events segments. I encourage you watch them now so by class time you will have digested some of the incongruity of it all. As all these videos are from the The Daily Show and Colbert Report, there is a really good chance you will be entertained.
Wednesday November 7, 2012
Post Democalypse 2012 – America Takes a Shower – Fox News Meltdown
The party of personal responsibility blames the mainstream media, Hurricane Sandy and the Obama smear machine for Mitt Romney’s loss.
Wednesday November 7, 2012
Post Democalypse 2012 – America Takes a Shower – Karl Rove’s Math
Karl Rove disputes Fox News’ Ohio electoral math, Megyn Kelly goes for a stroll, and Bill O’Reilly pronounces the election a victory for people who want stuff.
Is this the math you do to make yourself feel better, or is this real?
Megan Kelly to Karl Rove, Fox News
Tuesday November 6, 2012
Andrew Sullivan
Editor Andrew Sullivan believes that Europe will follow Barack Obama’s national employment strategies and hopes for a civil war within the Republican Party.
Other Current Events
- Texas has filed a petition along with 3 other states to secede from the union
- When will the 2016 election campaigns start?
- What are China’s plans? I can’t predict what China will decide but I am very confident that they will decide whatever they think is best for them and they can prevail if there is resistance. They will be pragmatic and persistent.
- Did you believe either or both presidential candidates? Why?
- Do you believe Obama with his thin majority has a true mandate to do anything?
By way of review from the 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?
Regardless of the outcome of the election, 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. If a person is deemed evil then he is assumed to have no rights. Reality, common sense, intelligence are not in the equation, only the party line. Isn’t it written that we are all the children of God?
Let’s have a great conversation Saturday!
This November 17, 2012 meeting is the third meeting of the 2012–2013 Third Saturday Seminar. We will not meet in December, possibly in January, definitely in February 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)