Third Saturday Seminar 2017-2018
Return of the Elders, Unleash your Wisdom
Website: http://www.northstarinst.org/TSS
Session 4
“America, Leader of a shrinking Free World”
Don’t (be) Panic(ked)
Saturday, 27 January 2018 9:30AM to 12:00 NOON (4th Saturday))
Room B-102, Lone Star College – Montgomery
3200 College Park Drive – Conroe, TX – 77384 – 936.273.7000
This is the Fourth Session of the Third Saturday Seminar for the 2017-18 Academic Year.
Before we get started on the main theme about our U.S. leadership and a shrinking Free World, I wish to digress to talk for a moment about the World Economic Forum now in Session in Davos, Switzerland (23-26 January) … https://www.weforum.org/ (You might check it out)
We will be represented, after all!! Since Our Congress finally kicked the financial can down the road one more time. Our president and his minions will be representing us in the hospitality suites!!
Trump Aims To Play Salesman During Davos Economic Forum
January 23, 20185:58 PM ET
President Trump will arrive at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday morning.
President Trump will have some shoveling to do as he heads to snowy Switzerland this week.
He’s trying to sell his “America First” brand of economic nationalism in the mecca of globalization — the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. The president will also be meeting with the head of the African Union, two weeks after he reportedly dismissed African nations in crude and vulgar terms.
“The president believes we can have truly win-win agreements. America First is not America alone,” said Gary Cohn, director of Trump’s National Economic Council. “He’s going to talk to world leaders about making sure we all respect each other.”
Etc….
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the keynote speech at the opening plenary session of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, exhorted them with, “Let us create a Heaven Of Freedom’ Sans Divisions.” – (Great idea! GCG)
This year, I actually skimmed through the World Economic Forum material and was pleasantly surprised at the scope of it. I intend get better acquainted with more of the reports. Especially, the “Global Risks Report 2018” https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2018 to discuss in future sessions. Use the “Report Reader” to help spot highlight (This report prints out to 80 pages if you download the PDF)
Now back to the main discussion:
“America, Leader of a shrinking Free World”
Freedom in the World 2018
Democracy in Crisis (report prints out to 23 pages, lots of graphs)
- Democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 as its basic tenets—including guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—came under attack around the world.
- Seventy-one countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains. This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
- The United States retreated from its traditional role as both a champion and an exemplar of democracy amid an accelerating decline in American political rights and civil liberties.
- Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced a net improvement.
A quarter-century ago, at the end of the Cold War, it appeared that totalitarianism had at last been vanquished and liberal democracy had won the
- Today, it is democracy that finds itself battered and weakened. For the 12th consecutive year, according to Freedom in the World, countries that suffered democratic setbacks outnumbered those that registered gains. States that a decade ago seemed like promising success stories—Turkey and Hungary, for example—are sliding into authoritarian rule. The military in Myanmar, which began a limited democratic opening in 2010, executed a shocking campaign of ethnic cleansing in 2017 and rebuffed international criticism of its actions. Meanwhile, the world’s most powerful democracies are mired in seemingly intractable problems at home, including social and economic disparities, partisan fragmentation, terrorist attacks, and an influx of refugees that has strained alliances and increased fears of the “other.”
The challenges within democratic states have fueled the rise of populist leaders who appeal to anti-immigrant sentiment and give short shrift to fundamental civil and political liberties. Right-wing populists gained votes and parliamentary seats in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria during 2017. While they were kept out of government in all but Austria, their success at the polls helped to weaken established parties on both the right and left. Centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron handily won the French presidency, but in Germany and the Netherlands, mainstream parties struggled to create stable governing coalitions.
Next: if there is time: (22 pages if you print out the following Transcript. The audio lasts 30 minutes, and can be downloaded.)
‘How Democracies Die’ Authors Say Trump Is A Symptom Of ‘Deeper Problems’
January 22, 20181:25 PM ET
DAVE DAVIES, HOST: (Fresh Air, NPR)
This is FRESH AIR. I’m Dave Davies in for Terry Gross, who’s off today. If watching President Trump and listening to American political discourse these days makes you feel something’s gone wrong, our guests today will tell you it’s not your imagination. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent years studying what makes democracies healthy and what leads to their collapse. And they see signs that American democracy is in trouble.
As usual, our world is still in “interesting times” We will start the session with Current Events (Distractions)
Our “Current Events segment will be mostly an open discussion of the wild events that continue since the newly sworn President Trump took up residence in the White House. Here are some ideas …
President Donald J. Trump will have been in office for 372 days by Saturday. There are 283 days to the next mid-term Congressional election. The “Russia” investigation seems to continue to gain traction. Mueller goes deeper and deeper following trails.
Mueller seeks to question Trump about Flynn and Comey departures
Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey January 23 at 3:51 PM
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is seeking to question President Trump in the coming weeks about his decisions to oust national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Trump says he considered ‘this Russia thing’ before firing FBI Director Comey
by James Griffiths, CNN. Updated 9:11 AM ET, Fri May 12, 2017 CNN)
President Donald Trump has said he was thinking of “this Russia thing” when he decided to fire FBI Director James Comey, who had been leading the bureau’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump told NBC News that he was frustrated by the ongoing investigation and believed it was motivated by Democrats’ fury at losing the election.
President Donald Trump On His Firing Of James Comey | NBC Nightly News
In an NBC News exclusive interview, President Trump revealed to Lester Holt that he was preparing to fire FBI Director James Comey regardless of recommendations from the attorney general and deputy attorney general. » NBC Nightly News
Advocacy group: #SchumerShutdown becomes top hashtag used by Russian bots
#SchumerShutdown became the top trending topic promoted by Russian bots on social media on Sunday night, a national security group found.
The Alliance for Securing Democracy, an organization led by national security officials from both political parties housed at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, found that the phrase was the top trending hashtag promoted by Russian bots as of 10 p.m. on Sunday.
The news was first reported by HuffPost
The group tracks activity by about 600 Twitter accounts that are tied to Russian influence projects
FT: US Banks Suffer 20 Percent Jump in Credit-Card Losses
The soaring bad debts has fueled fear about the financial health of middle America, the Financial Times explained.
Recently disclosed results showed Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo took a combined $12.5 billion hit from soured card loans last year, about $2 billion more than a year ago. The FT reported.
“People are using their cards to get from pay check to pay check,” said Charles Peabody, managing director at the Washington-based investment group Compass Point. “There’s an underlying deterioration in the ability of the consumer to keep up with their debt service burden.”
Trump Gives Health Workers New Religious Liberty Protections
By ROBERT PEAR and JEREMY W. PETERSJAN. 18, 2018
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it was expanding religious freedom protections for doctors, nurses and other health care workers who object to performing procedures like abortion and gender reassignment surgery, satisfying religious conservatives who have pushed for legal sanctuary from the federal government.
The new steps, which include the creation of an oversight entity within the Department of Health and Human Services called the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, are the latest efforts by President Trump to meet the demands of one of his most loyal constituencies. They coincide with Mr. Trump’s planned address on Friday to abortion opponents at the annual March for Life in Washington.
Multiple Sam’s Clubs close without notice in Houston, across nation
We’re told laid off employees will be paid for 60 days and have an opportunity to apply for transfers.
A handful of shuttered Sam’s Clubs will reportedly be converted into distribution centers for Walmart’s e-commerce operation.
Here are the three Houston area Sam’s Club stores being closed:
- 1615 S Loop W, Houston
- 13331 Westheimer, Houston
- 22296 Market Place Dr, New Caney
And whatever comes up … You can always get a quick Current Events briefing here
Bring your insights and your concerns to Third Saturday Seminar on Saturday and we will Share.
LSC-Montgomery
3200 College Park Drive, Conroe, TX 77384
ALL- Montgomery Links:
Academy for Lifelong Learning: LSC-Montgomery
Registration
Download a registration form and submit it to ALL:
· In person: LSC-Montgomery (3200 College Park Dr., Conroe, TX 77384), Continuing Education/ALL Office Building E (Room 205)
· Phone: 936.273.7446
Course Description: Third Saturday Seminars – Fall 2017- 3 Sessions
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.
Meets 9/16, 10/21, and 11/18 in B-102.
14972 Sa 9/16-11/18 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. B 102 Gibby
Schedule for other ALL Courses
Downloadable Course book PDF
Montgomery Courses start on page 36.
You can attend ALL courses on all the other campuses by registering for global membership ($55).
ALL Website: http://www.lonestar.edu/all-montgomery.htm
Registration Form
“Some part of our being knows this (the universe) is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us; We’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” Carl Sagan