Trump's First Earth Day

Thursday, April 27, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

From the moment Trump was elected, all of Obama's work on the environment was put into jeopardy. Trump's new policies dismissed the science of Climate Change, so scientists came out in force on Saturday, Earth Day, to march for science.

For our next meeting, we will explore Trump's battle with the environment. Here are the videos for the meeting:

• Paris climate accord is signed on Earth Day 2016
• Trump's budget cuts climate science research
• Science in America - Neil deGrasse Tyson
• 'March for Science' rallies held around the world
• Scientists: Why We March
• New research links human activity to extreme weather
• What Trump's Climate Policies Mean For Global Warming
• Trump Vows to End the Nonexistent War on Coal
• Rick Perry orders review of US power grid
• California to shutter its only remaining nuclear power plant

Trump's Other Nuclear Option

Thursday, April 20, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Has the nuclear situation in North Korea finally come to ahead or is it just business as usual? In spite of all the threats over the weekend, it all culminated with a failed missile launch. Yet tensions continue to build and three carrier groups are expected to arrive next week. For our meeting, we will talk about the the never-ending crisis with North Korea.

I am still collecting video about the North Korean, but here is a start:

• Nuclear North Korea: What Are Trump's Options?
• North Korea could kill 90 percent of Americans
• US Considers Possible Strike To Stop North Korea Nuke Test
• Trump 'I don't know' if ISIS strike sends message to North Korea
• North Korea showcases new missiles at military parade
• Mike Pence in South Korea reassure allies
• 5 facts you need to know about North Korea

----------------------------------------- Updated 4/21/17 --------------------------------------

These are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Pence warns North Korea 'era of strategic patience is over'
• Why tension between the US and N. Korea will only get worse
• Easter at the Trump White House
• North Korea: Missiles Sabotaged?
• What made North Korea so bizarre

Trump's Move

Thursday, April 13, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

So, right after our last meeting Trump bombed Syria. That became the obvious topic for our next meeting, but the news kept on coming; so I decided to delay as long as I could to collect a proper sample of videos. What is below is some of what I have so far:

• Syria's war, Who is fighting and why
• US launches missile strikes in response to chemical attack
• Trump just became president
• Bill Maher: Bombing Both Sides
• Russia strongly condemns US missile strikes
• US Congress questions Trump’s decision
• Evacuation of rebels in Al Waer resumes
• Former ambassador to Syria: U.S. can't change Assad regime
• After U.S. missile strikes, what’s the next move on Syria?
• Sen. King: Syria is Congress' responsibility
• G7 rejects fresh sanction plan
• Mattis: 'Our Priority Remains Defeat of ISIS'

Gorsuch's Expected Confirmation

Thursday, April 6, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Next Friday, Neil Gorsuch is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court by "nuking" the Democrat filibuster. After that, the topic will be lost in the news cycle due to the many other Trump issues vying for attention. So next Thursday is probably our last chance to discuss this most important topic.

The issues surrounding this topic are mostly old news that we just did not have time to discuss because of all the other Trump stuff we covered. Rather than going back to old news clips, I found material from the late night comedians that we can use to setup our discussion. We will show excerpts from the following videos: 

• Sam Bee on the Biden Rule
• Trevor Noah on Trump's Gorsuch announcement
• Seth Meyers on the Senate hearings
• Al Frankin on the case of the "Frozen Trucker", Part 1 and Part 2

Calling Senator Al Franken a comedian may be stretch, but his reputation as a comic follows him even in serious matters. When Franken was a comic, he exposed the absurdity of Rush Limbugh, and he continues his fight against nonsense in the Senate.

Coincidentally, a recent video on VOX, praises the role of comedians in the current political climate.

--------------------------------------- Updated 4/6/17 ------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Krauthammer on how filibustering Gorsuch could hurt Dems
• Assisted Suicide
• Plagiarism Allegations

Trump Fail

Thursday, March 30, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Last Thursday, I said that we would cover Trump's NASA space initiative unless something else came up. Well, it didn't take long. On Friday, the TrumpCare bill was put on indefinite hold because it lacked sufficient support by Trump's own party. Trump said he has moved on to other issues. In fact. his weekly Saturday address was about NASA, but was completely ignored by the media which focused on the TrumpCare defeat. For our meeting, we will follow the media's lead. Here are the video's:

• Republican repeal effort in ruins
• President and GOP plan next move
• Health care bill collapse highlights GOP divide
• Fox News Panel on TrumpCare defeat
• Sanders pushes for single-payer plan

Trump's Budget

Thursday, March 23, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

So many things concerning Trump are happening this week that it was head to choose which to focus on. The few comments I received were about the national debt, so we will do a session on debt and Trump's budget.

The following videos show the magnitude of the national debt problem and how Trump's budget does not address it. Budget Director Mulvaney says that the current budget just addresses discretionary spending and a more complete budget is due later, but the even this partial budget is creating much alarm. Here are to videos for the meeting:

• Donald Trump's $20 Trillion Problem
• Trump's Budget Explained
• OMB Director: President Trump's Budget Is 'Hard-Power' 
• Trump budget prizes military buildup and sweeping cuts
• Critics Warn President Trump's Budget Cuts Could Hurt Terrorism Fight
• We'll spend less money on people overseas

TrumpCare

Thursday, March 16, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

The debate to repeal and replace ObamaCare has started in earnest. The replacement, proposed by Paul Ryan, is on the table and has been named TrumpCare by the press. Trump supports Ryan's plan but not the nickname.

Just like everything else with Trump, things are moving fast; so I will wait until Thursday morning to make the final selection of videos. For now here are some videos to provide background:

• The Republican health care bill makes no sense
• Rand Paul says Senate conservatives "not going to vote for" new health bill
• Bernie Sanders calls new healthcare bill "an absolute disaster" for working class
• Paul Ryan confronts healthcare bill critics: "Everybody doesn't get what they want"

------------------------ Updated 3/16/17 ---------------------------

Here are the additional video shown at the meeting:

• Speaker Ryan’s Presentation on the American Health Care Act
• Speaker Paul Ryan talks about the new #CBO report