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.                                                                        

Are Trump and Hegseth seeking ways to use our Military offensively, more than defensively?


“Short term excursion”? How long do you see military action continuing in Iran?

 

Where is the Democrat Party?  Just 30% of registered voters in an NBC News poll view the Democratic Party positively, compared to 52% who view it negatively. 37% of registered voters said they viewed the Republican Party positively, with 51% seeing the GOP in a negative light. Only 62% of Democrats viewed their party positively. 77% of Republicans gave the GOP a favorable rating.

 

Is Fetterman right? He blasted his Party after almost 25% of House Democrats refused to call Iran the world's biggest terrorism underwriter.  Are Democrats run by Hard Left Progressives?

 

Are Democrats mostly anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian? How much does that reflect the country?

 

What might a “friendly take-over” of Cuba look like? Would “taking over Cuba” be in our best interests? Trump: “I’ll take care of Cuba.”  Lindsey: “The Liberation of Cuba is upon us.”  FOX reports: “Cuba will be falling in a few weeks.”

 

Trump’s focus is on securing the Western Hemisphere.  Is “Shield of the Americas” the start of the “Don-roe Doctrine”? Is his foreign policy approach: “You can take yours. We’re going to take ours.” The initiative reflects Trump’s effort to shift U.S. national security strategy toward the Western Hemisphere. How does being at War with Iran in the Mid-East fit into this broader strategy?

 

How effective are local Democrat candidates who mostly just hammer Trump in their ads?

 

Will Netanyahu be pardoned? Trump wants President Herzog to pardon Netanyahu "today”. "Every day I talk to Bibi about the war. I want him to focus on the war and not on the f*cking court case. I want the only pressure on Bibi to be the fighting against Iran.”

 

How does Trump’s often combative approach with anyone who differs with him affect Republicans running in November? Is he concerned about polls that show his key polices are not well received by voters?  Trump’s Approval is 40% driven by Prices, Immigration, Tariffs, Warfare.

 

Is Voter I.D. logical and necessary in today’s high-tech world?  Or does requiring a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate to register create an unacceptable hurdle for too many?

 

The DHS Shutdown continues. Who do you believe is winning the political battle?

 

How useful an idea is Trump’s Board of Peace? Can it make an important difference?

 

Will Trump compromise with Dems and change how we execute Deportation? Would it help Republicans if Trump only targeted bad guys, not ALL Undocs—as Miller prefers?

 

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. 

 

Is eliminating all standards for greenhouse gas emissions in our best interests? How smart is it to totally disregard the concerns of scientists vs. moderating how standards apply?

 

Re: Trans Sports. Do you Agree, or Disagree? Sport already accommodates biological variation. Hormone therapy can mitigates advantage so there is no clear evidence of systemic unfairness, and excluding Trans athletes from women’s sports is inconsistent, unnecessary, and ethically unjustified.

 

How important is the TrumpRx pharmacy plan that gives discounts on popular drugs?

 

Can Mayor Mamdani effectively help “the poor” by super-taxing “the rich”? “Replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

 

What good comes out of raising skepticism about Vaccines? RFK jr.’s new “whole foods pyramid” focuses on Proteins and Fats. (Have you tried Tallow?)

 

$3 meals? Agriculture Secretary  Rollins claims their revamped food pyramid leaves plenty of room for us to maintain a healthy diet for as little as $3 a meal. Just eat “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli”, “a corn tortilla” and “one other thing”.

 

How big an issue is the stealing of federal funds from public assistance programs in Minnesota?  Does it matter that criminals are mostly Somali?

 

NY Times: Are there any limits to your power? “My own morality. My own mind. That’s the only thing that can stop me.”

 

Our Current Divisive Politics aside, how do you feel about America’s experiment in Democracy? Where do we stand as a nation as we celebrate our 250th Year? Are we generally heading in a mostly positive direction?