Upcoming Discussion Sessions:
· 9am Monday June 25 at the North Shore Senior Center
(Note: Ralph Bernstein will conduct this 6/25 session.)
· 10am Thursday July 5 at the Northbrook Library
· 9:30am Wednesday July 18 at the JCC on Revere Drive
· 7:15pm Wednesday July 18 at The Lodge
Note: Ralph Bernstein is leading the 6/25 discussion. Here are Ralph’s topics.
1. President Trump said Monday he's directed his
administration to identify $200 billion worth of
Chinese goods that will be subject to additional tariffs,
which may escalate the ongoing trade
dispute between the U.S. and China. These tariffs are in
addition to the announced tariffs on 50
billon of goods. Is this the onset of a trade war?
2. The United States announced a deal on last week to
lift tough American sanctions on the Chinese
telecommunications
giant ZTE and
ZTE is to
pay a $1
Billion fine in
the deal to
end U.S.
sanctions. Noticeably salient are the reported loans to
be made by China to develop a theme park
in another section of the Far East that will be developed
by Trump companies with others. On
Monday the senate included a provision in proposed
legislation keeping the penalties in
place
against ZTE despite a deal reached earlier this month by
the Trump administration. What about
this? Are the senate and the administration in sync?
3. Discuss
the administration’s separation
of children from
their parents. Is
the action by
the
administration
an action instituted
to prevent future
illegal border crossings
and is used
as a
deterrent or is the separation an inhumane action as
alleged by others? Some Repubs are said to
be abandoning the president on this issue. Zero tolerance
White House senior advisor, Steven
Miller, called the separation of children from parents a
“potent tool” to stop illegal immigration.
The president was quoted as saying that the Dems are
responsible for the separation of children at
the border from their parents. Your thoughts.
4. The CEO of Tesla, Musk, has announced his intention to
build a tunnel for transportation at a
high speed to and from O’Hare. Good idea?
5. This week a district court judge revoked the bond for
Paul Manafort and remanded him to jail pending the trial on his indictment.
Some say this jailing will be enough for him to tell all and others say
that the president
will pardon him
thereby keeping him
from “talking.” What
will happen?
6. Recently the village of Deerfield has announced that
it enacted an ordinance banning “assault
type” weapons. In response, two groups have filed
lawsuits contesting the ability of Deerfield to
enact such ordinances. Highland Park and other
Cities/Villages have enacted similar ordinances
which have been tested by courts, including the 7th
circuit court of appeals and the U S Supreme
court. These courts have rendered decisions that such
ordinances are constitutional. Now what
about Deerfield?
7. With all the press reports and talk regarding a
possible indictment for Michael Cohen, will he
flip?
8. Mayor
Emanuel has suggested a program
for preschoolers where
no charge will be
made for
those attending.
Your thoughts.
9. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in court last
week, that key parts of ObamaCare are
unconstitutional, siding in large part with a
conservative challenge to the law. The move is a break
from the norm
of the DOJ
to defend federal
laws when they
are challenged in
court. Under
President
Trump, the department
has opted not
to defend a
law that it
strongly opposes. The
lawsuit in question
was filed in February by Texas
and 19 other GOP-led states, arguing that
ObamaCare is unconstitutional and should be overturned.
Legal experts are deeply skeptical the
challenge can succeed, and 17 Democratic-led states have
already intervened to defend the law in
the absence of DOJ action.
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