Understanding Trump

Thursday, December 28, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

For the past year, pundits have been trying to figure-out Trump. Is he just a Dotard, or is there a method to his madness, or is he being used by some puppet master. In any case how do you counter someone whose missteps seems to be the source of his strength. Maybe the trick is to just laugh.

Here are the videos for the next meeting:

• What exactly is a 'dotard'?
• How Trump makes extreme things look normal
• Robert and Rebekah Mercer
• Comedians have figured out the trick to covering Trump
• Jeff Sessions Gump
• Stephen Reacts To Trump Calling Him 'A No-Talent Guy'
• Not The White House Correspondents' Dinner
• #MAGAMealChallenge

Tax Cuts, Infrastructure and China

Thursday, December 21, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

This should have been the week where we focused on the Republican tax bill, but then two major failures in infrastructure, a power failure in Atlanta's airport and an Amtrak derailment south of Seattle, happened within days of each other. Then Trump, as part of his national security strategy, warned of global completion from China. So will the tax cuts further degrade our infrastructure, can we compete globally without fixing it. 

Here are videos to tie these themes together:

• Winners and losers of the latest GOP tax bill
• GOP losing the messaging battle on tax reform?
• GOP tax plan will usher in bleak future
• Passengers Left Stranded After Atlanta Airport Blackout
• Amtrak Train Didn't Use Safety Tech
• Private vs Public: Infrastructure Spending
• You didn't build that
• Can America out-innovate China?
• Who will reap the wealth of the GOP corporate tax cut?

MeToo Alabama

Thursday, December 14, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

As of this writing the polls in Alabama will close in a few hours. By Thursday, we should know if the MeToo movement was enough to affect the result of the special Senate election. No matter who wins, the MeToo movement is about to shift its target from Moore to Trump. So unless Moore wins in a landslide, we can expect Trump's lewd behavior with women to be a major factor in 2018 midterms.

For our next meeting we will discuss the results of the Alabama election and the continuing MeToo movement. Here are some of the videos for the meeting:

• Trump Lost To The #MeToo Movement
• How we can end sexual harassment at work
• Gillibrand on Military Sexual Assault
• Betsy DeVos announces rollback of Obama-era policies on campus sexual assault allegations
• Betsy DeVos Takes Aim At Title IX's Sexual Assault Protections

Mo' Trump

Thursday, December 7, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

It appears that I lost my opportunity to have a No Trump meeting. With what happen on Friday, there is no way to avoid Trump. So instead of a No Trump meeting, we are having a Mo' Trump meeting. Here is a video to to summarize the situation:

• Weekend Update on the GOP Tax Plan

----------------------------------- Updated 12/8/17 ---------------------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Jerusalem, God, And The United Shursh
• GOP Gives America's Neediest Millionaires a Tax Break
• Jimmy Kimmel Explains Trump Flynn Scandal Using Star Wars
• Trump is Finished

News Without Trump

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

Just got back from Hawaii and I completely ignored the news while I was there. Since I am totally unprepared we are going to have an open session. We can talk about any news as long as there is no relation to Trump. If you draw a blank, I will show a TED Talk that have nothing to do with Trump or anything else upsetting. Here is an example:

• How to engineer a viral music video

Due to the flu, I had to let Norm substitute for me. Without the videos. a non Trump meeting would not have worked. We may try this format later this year.

Showdown at COP23

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

The 2015 Paris Climate Accord was threaten when Trump announced his intension to withdraw. COP23 in Bonn Germany, November 6 to 17, will be the first test of the resolve of the rest of he world. The Paris Accord has been severely criticized for being ineffective and Trump has encouraged the nations of the world to act in their self-interest. But Trump has seemed to unite the rest of the world to stay in the Paris agreement. In fact, Nicaragua and Syria, the only two holdouts have now joined, totally isolating the US.

Here are the videos for the next meeting:

• Trump’s push for fossil fuels overshadows Bonn climate talks
• Bonn Climate Change Conference takes on CO2 challenge
• Syria signs up to Paris climate deal, isolating Trump
• Anti-Trump US delegates back Paris Agreement
• The inside story of the Paris climate agreement 

----------------------------------- Updated 11/16/17 ----------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Revolt at Trump’s Pro-Coal, Pro-Nuclear & Pro-Gas Panel (long version)
• Yeah, Petra Nova's kinda a big deal
• Trump Has Made China Great Again

Bad Guy with a Gun

Thursday, November 9, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We talked about mass shootings before; last time after the Las Vegas shooting just five weeks ago. Last SundaySutherland Springs became the fifth worse shooting in modern US history, pushing Columbine out of the top ten. An assault rifle was once the again the weapon of choice, but in spite of the outcry no action is expected. However, Sutherland Springs had others elements that became the focus of media attention.

This time there was outside intervention by a private citizen, which stopped the shooter from escaping. This played into the pro-gun rallying cry, "only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun". Meanwhile, gun-control advocates focused on the shooters history of domestic abuse, which should have kept this bad guy from getting a gun.

Here are the videos for the meeting, note that the comedy videos were made before the shooting:

• What happened when a gunman opened fire at Texas church
• Man who shot Texas church attacker recounts confrontation
• Good Guy with a Gun
• Why Did Media Overlook Sept. Shooting in Plano
• Close the Boyfriend Loophole

----------------------------------- Updated 11/9/17 --------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown ay the meeting:

• Karma Election
• Unlocking Texas Shooter Phone

While not shown at the meeting, HERE are the 10 most deadly shootings. Note that Columbine which had 13 victims, excluding the two shooters, is no longer on the list.