Zoom-In at the Bain Center

Monday, July 17, 2017

The Donald Trump Jr. Emails

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

Yes, we will talk about the Donald Trump Jr. emails. At first, this story seemed to be another tempest that would blow over. But then on Friday, while Trump was in France for Bastille Day, the story broke that there was also a former Russian spy in the meeting, that Trump Jr. had not mentioned. So the story continued over the weekend and into this week. With Jared Kushner's security clearance in jeopardy, the story has least a few more days to play.

Here are the videos for the coverage before Friday:

There are a lot more videos to cover the events since Friday. The videos will be selected before our meeting.

--------------------------------- Updated 7/20/17 -------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

Monday, July 10, 2017

Missile Defense for the North Korean Threat

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

For our next meeting, we will talk about the missile treat from North Korea, the diplomatic efforts to thwart it, and the state of missile defense. Here are the videos:

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

A Tweet Too Far

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

Last Thursday, Trump tweeted an insult to Joe and Mika, cohosts on the MSNBC talk show "Morning Joe", which went too far and was condemned by many Trump supporters. In spite of all the pressing issues, such as the Senate healthcare bill and the G20 summit, the nation's attention was focused on the fallout from this Trump tweet. At least until Sunday, when another Trump tweet, this time against CNN, shifted the discussion to violence against the media.

I am still going through the videos so I do not have a complete agenda, but we will start with these video from last Thursday:

------------------------------------------- Updated 7/7/17 -----------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

Monday, June 26, 2017

The Russian Hack

Thursday, June 29, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

For the next meeting, we will return to the Russian Hack of the 2016 presidential election. Earlier this months, new leaks revealed that several state election sites were under attack, and last Friday the Washington Post published new information on how Obama responded to the attack. Here are the videos for the meeting:

------------------------------------ Updated 6/29/17 ---------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Elections Here and There

Thursday, June 22, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

This year we have all learned that elections truly have consequences. Trump definitely knows this and can't stop talking about his election victory. But other elections, here and abroad, have had impacts of their own. Elections in the UK, France and South Korea have all had major consequences that are still playing out. We are also aware of that special Congressional elections in this country can for shadow the 2018 midterms.

As of this writing, the most expensive Congressional election ever is taking place in the Georgia 6th district. This race is close and is viewed as a test for Trump support. Another race, South Carolina 5th, is considered a sure win for the Republicans, but the margin of victory may still be important.

For our next meeting, we will discuss these local and foreign elections. Here are the videos:

--------------------------------- Updated 6/22/17 ----------------------------------

Because of the additional videos about the special Congressional elections, the John Oliver video about the UK snap election was not shown. It may be shown at a future meeting about Brexit negotiations. Here are the others videos that were shown at the meeting:

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Trump Week in Review

Thursday, June 15, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

No matter how hard I try, I cannot ignore Trump. Last week was suppose to be about Infrastructure but Trump's tweets caused problems with the London mayor, his travel ban case, and the Pentagon over Qatar. All this before the Comey testimony. Here are the videos for the meeting:

------------------------------------------ Updated 6/15/17 -----------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown a the meeting:

Monday, June 5, 2017

Trump Against the World

Thursday, June 8, 2017, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

A few hours after our last meeting on Thursday, Trump announced that he would pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. This was not a surprise, but the way he did it, the timing and his justification, strengthened the resolve of the opposition. He made his announcement right after he returned from a disastrous trip to Europe, where he alienated fellow members of NATO and the G7. The leaders of Germany and France were already showing their contempt for Trump, and his climate announcement solidified and broadened the opposition. On the following Saturday, in France, India's leader Modi used the previously scheduled trade meeting to show his solidarity with Europe on Climate.

Trump's justification for the withdraw showed that he had no comprehension of what was in the Paris agreement and his position on climate change seemed contradictory. On the following Friday, Trump's handlers refused to comment if Trump no longer thought Climate Change was a hoax. By the weekend, they finally said that Trump believes that the climate is changing and pollution plays a role but elaborated no further. The attempt to make sense out of Trump's nonsense echoes his recent 'covfefe' tweet.

Here is a video by John Oliver which we will use to start the conversation:

Paris Agreement

If we have time we can ponder the deeper meaning of the word COVFEFE.

----------------------------------- Updated 6/9/17 --------------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting: