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.                                                                                         

Congress defied Trump on Epstein files. Are we at an early stage of Trump as a “Lame Duck”?  Will Epstein’s many victims ever see justice? Might we see names of significant wrong-doers? How likely is it that some victims will take the risk to name names if Justice doesn’t release names?

 

How fair is it to blame Trump for rising prices? But is Trump making Biden’s mistake by trying to convince America, “You’re really OK”? People clearly don’t feel OK about their personal economy.

 

People hate when benefits are taken away. What happens now to address Obamacare? Will Congress support extending costly subsidies? Will Republicans finally offer a new plan?

 

Things happen.” What does America gain by disregarding human rights sins of Saudi’s Crown Price? Is “swinging a business deal” more important than standing up for our values?


How dangerous is this? Are both sides wrong? Congressional Democratic leaders warned that the President’s posts accusing several Democrat senators of “seditious behavior from traitors, punishable by death" would encourage political violence against lawmakers. Democrats were in a viral video calling on members of the military and intelligence community to refuse to carry out illegal orders from higher-ups. While this is true, is there evidence of any illegal orders being issued?

 

Which Party may have the advantage in the Redistricting battle we see in several states?

 

Trump is offering a new peace plan for Ukraine that basically supports Putin, asking Ukraine to give up land and cut their army. Are Americans OK if we stop supporting Ukraine?

 

The predictit.org site takes bets on who will be elected President in 2028. It has Vance at 27%, Newsom at 21%, AOC 7%, seven at 4% or less. What is that telling us?

 

How does a 50-Year Mortgage help with Affordability?

 

How meaningful is a $2,000 “Tariff Dividend Check”?

 

How concerned should we be about Racism here? Paul Ingrassia is a racist, and was picked to lead the office of special counsel. Lacking votes, he dropped out. Was this staff incompetence? Or was a political message being sent to please racist voters? But…what message was sent now that he was picked to serve as deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration?

 

Racist move? Or just treating Immigration more fairly? Biden limited refugees to 125,000. Trump cut limits to 7,500—with 7,000 being Afrikaners, a group not traditionally eligible for the program. The Administration says they have been “tyrannized by South Africa’s Black majority”. The other 500 will be chosen by their ability to speak English and views on “free speech,” upending a system that for decades took in people fleeing conflict and persecution anywhere regardless of race or language.

Is AG Bondi breaking any laws by acting as “hit person” against Trump’s political enemies?

 

Are national parks and museums wrong to cover how bad Slavery was? Does History need to be more positive? What’s more harmful: not covering full details, or covering it all?

Fetterman dines with Trump. What’s wrong with often agreeing & working with Republicans?

 

GOP wants DOJ to void pardons and EOs Biden signed with an autopen. Your thoughts.

 

How might Pritzker’s new Illinois Accountability Commission make a difference? A new independent Board is now tasked with capturing examples sent to them, and creating a public record of the conduct of ICE agents and recommending actions to hold the federal government accountable.

 

For years, Trump has asked for $230M for being “wronged” by the Justice Department. How valid is his charge? Now Justice is his. Is it meant to be more of a distraction? Is it working?

 

Ultra-Orthodox are being asked to join the Israel Military Service They hate this. What now?

 

Miller, Hegseth and others moving to Military bases to be free from protests. Your thoughts.

 

What should we make of RFK jr. (and Trump) saying Tylenol causes Autism…and so does circumcision?  How confident are you with who is in charge of America’s Health?

 

Does Cashless Bail put more peace-loving Folks at risk while putting Law Breakers back on the street?

 

Are things going too far in pushing back against “Woke”? Cracker Barrel is accused of being “woke” after their flap with their logo to “erase the White guy”?

 

Is a “Christian Soldier” heading our Military? Hegseth is openly aligned with Christian nationalist, Doug Wilson. Wilson believes in a patriarchal society: stop women from voting, criminalize homosexuality, build a government ruled by Christ.

 

Good move? Trump has directed the Commerce Department to start working on a new census, noting that illegal aliens in the U.S. will not be included in the count.