Thursday, December 26, 2019

Current Events Discussion Topics

An on-line "Zoom" discussion is conducted every Monday morning at 9:30am Chicago time through the North Shore Senior Center hosted by Ron Mantegna. You can enroll in this discussion session at   https://www.nssc.org/

Ron conducts a Northbrook Library zoom discussion every 1st and 3rd and 5th Thursday, 10-11:30am. Open free to all who enroll.  Contact the Northbrook Library to connect with Ron Mantegna.                                                                        

How comfortable are you that the Hantavirus will not become another COVID? Are you still OK planning to go on a cruise?

 

Where are we with Iran compared to where we were before the War?

 

Support for Israel has fallen significantly in America. How much is because of Netanyahu’s negative approval? Today, 59% of Americans are NOT confident in Netanyahu’s dealings with world affairs.

 

Do Democrats still have an electoral advantage? Courts have struck down Democrat Redistricting. National Approval for Democrats is very low—as are Republicans. Does that matter for a Mid-Term Election that will likely be driven by Trump’s Approval—today he is at record lows?

 

How is it in America’s best interests to be separating ourselves from our Traditional European Allies? Spain has called for the creation of a European Union army to replace NATO protections.

 

Stats show Crime falling. But, do you feel Crime is truly on the decrease? Violent crime dropped significantly in 2025. Big cities saw murders down 19-21%. Robberies and aggravated assaults also down, with some metrics falling below pre-pandemic levels to 100-year lows. 

 

How is Artificial Intelligence affecting you? Do you use it? Why not?

 

What is likely to come of Comey being charged with threatening Trump by posting a photo of “86 47” in shells on a beach?  Who may suffer more negative “fall out” from this: Comey, Trump, or the Justice Dept? When did you first learn that “86” meant to kill someone?

 

Is it OK to allow bets on ANYTHING?  FANDUEL is now entering the Prediction Market. Folks who never worked on a trading floor are moving markets with informed wagers. Some are getting rich. What’s going on?

 

How much of America’s current Affordability Problems are a carry-over from Biden’s Liberal policies still affecting us today?

 

Are UFO’s “real”? Do you believe there is Intelligent Life outside Earth? Could they be so different we’d never know they were here?

 

The color of money is now gray. What are the ramifications? In 1989, Americans over age 55 held 56% of the wealth. Today it’s 74%. Americans under 40 has shrunk from 12 to 6.6%. 18% of Americans are senior citizens, up from 13% in 1990.

 

Let’s play “what if”. If Republicans picked a Presidential Nominee today, would it be Vance or Rubio? Who would Democrats pick? 

 

US will be “taking over Cuba almost immediately”.  Good idea?

 

How healthy are we with RFK Jr? Officials at the Food & Drug Administration blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles.

 

What happened between Trump and Xi when the two met?

 

Is ABC right in seeing this as a Freedom of Speech issue? ABC has accused the Federal Communications Commission of violating its free speech rights by investigating “The View” just because the program discusses political views the Administration doesn’t like.

 

Is the issue of Women’s Rights back on the ballot? The Supreme Court temporarily restored access to the teleprescribing and mailing of abortion drugs, which now account for more than 60% of all abortions in the health system. How might this issue affect the November Election?

 

Pope v. Trump? The Pope calls for peace through diplomacy and speaks out against nuclear armament. Trump attacks the Pope as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. Are both correct? Should Hegseth’s Christian views disqualify him from office?

 

A President shapes the political culture of national life. Is “divisiveness” today’s tone? How much does this attitude reflect our nature as a People vs. just the attitude of our President?

 

Is it OK for Trump to be stamping his “brand” on everything?