Why Do They Vote Against Their Own Best Interest

Thursday, Mar. 27, 2014, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Even with all the money spent on political ads, it seems to be a mystery why so many of the working poor vote against their own best interest. In his book, Deer Hunting with Jesus, Joe Bageant explains that they are trapped in ignorance. They don't even realize what is their own best interest. Bageant was raised in that culture but was able to escape and is now a self proclaimed socialist. Yet he tells the story from the view of the people he grew up with. Here is an interview he gave about the book.

Campaign Finance

Thursday, Mar. 20, 2014, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We will continue our discussion on democracy in crisis. Last week the issue of campaign finance, made more serious by Citizens United, was raised.

Here is a TED Talk by Lawrence Lessig which makes the case that campaign finance reform is the single most important issue. A longer version of this talk can be found HERE. The talk was based on Lessig's book Republic Lost.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Thursday, Mar. 6, 2014, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Next meeting is on the first Thursday in March; so we will start a new theme, "A Republic, if you can keep it". Tim will be the theme discussion leader. His syllabus has been email. The first session will cover our Inalienable Rights. A good p;ace to start is our Bill of Rights. Here is a video that will provide a quick review.

No Child Left Behind

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

In the last session on the theme of "Challenges of the Next Generation", we will zoom-in on the so called fix for the American education system,  No Child Left Behind, and its successor, Common Core. 

Here is a TED Talk critical on the concept of standardized education.

Here is a student letting his state legislator know what he thinks of Common Core.

Things look bleak for US education in a competitive world, but will the next generation succeed it spite of it? There is a poll on the upper right corner of this page. Please take time to add your option on the future prospects of the Millennials.


Update 2/27/14:

Here is a link which explains the Common Core standards.

World Education Competition

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

This meeting has been rescheduled for Feb. 20 same time and place

The Unites States spends more per student than any country in the world but is getting only mediocre results when compared to other countries. For the next meeting we will explore how US education compares with the rest of the world. We will use these talk by Amanda Ripley, the author of The Smartest Kids in the World, as the the starting point of the discussion:

• Amanda Ripley: Ask the kids
• Amanda Ripley "The Smartest Kids in the World"

The PISA test is used to rank the countries. Here is a TED Talk which will attest to  the validity of these tests.

Challenges for the Next Generation

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Note: We are meeting one hour earlier!

This month, we are starting a new theme, Challenges for the Next Generation. In the first meeting we will take the broad view by looking at the next generation as a demographic group known as The Millennials. We will be show excerpts from the following videos:

• Gen Y acting entitled? New facts. You decide.
• Young Americans Are the Dumbest Generation
• Generation jobless
• Millennials Will Change the World
• Millennials: The Most Diverse Generation
• How To Sell To Millennials
• RSA Millennials Debate

For those the want more background, here is the study of the Millennials by the Pew Research Center.

Please come with suggestions on topics about the next generation topics we can cover for the remainder of February. This can include but not limited to:

1. The failed education system
2. Lack of job prospects
3. Increased health issues
4. Living in technology vs the real world
5. Inheriting our problems
6. The performance of boys vs girls
7. Lack of interaction between generations

Zoom-In on CyberCrime

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, 9am to 10:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Starting in February we will be meeting One hour later, 10am to 11:30

By now we should know what the four kinds of cyber attacks in CHEW are. We talked about the last three kinds, Hackivism, Espionage and War. This week we will focus on the first kind, Cyber-Crime, the part of CHEW that might affects us most personally.

The meeting will show excerpts from the following videos:

• Mikko Hypponen: Fighting viruses, defending the net
• Misha Glenny: Hire the hackers!
• Extreme Identity: Jeff Carter at TEDxKC

Also note the poll on the upper right of this page. The poll will close on Feb. 3 at 9am. This is an experiment so please email me if you have technical difficulties.