The Fear of a Pandemic

Thursday, January 30, 2020, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Never mind the impeachment, the world is about to end, maybe, and Trump had nothing to do with it, maybe. The new coronavirus from Wuhan has spread around the world and has claimed over a hundred lives. The news is getting worse by the hour, so any video about the current crisis will be out of date by the time that we meet in two days. I will gather the latest videos for the meeting.

For now, here are two old videos on how Bill Gates prepared for a possible pandemic we are now facing:

• 2015 TED Talk - The next outbreak? We’re not ready
• 2017 Davos - Inside Bill Gates' new strategy for battling epidemics

----------------------------------- Updated 1/30/20 ------------------------------------------

Here are the videos shown at the meeting:

• New Strain of SARS Blamed for Pneumonia Outbreak in China
• Could this coronavirus be Disease X?
• Bloomberg: What Is Coronavirus?
• How the new coronavirus compares to Ebola, Zika and SARS
• Guardian: What is the coronavirus?
• Virus Expert On The Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak
• China virus outbreak
• President Xi warns of 'grave situation' as infection spreads
• Sick Passenger Escorted Off Baltimore Flight
• Coronavirus ability to spread ‘getting stronger’ says China
• Schumer On Coronavirus
• China coronavirus death toll exceeds 80
• Coronavirus in China: The fight against the outbreak
• South Florida health officials on high alert for coronavirus
• How U.S. & Chinese differ on coronavirus
• WHO weighs coronavirus health emergency
• Coronavirus Is Scary! CDC Budget Cuts Make It Scarier

The Trial Begins

Thursday, January 23, 2020, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Last week, the day before our last meeting, the impeachment trial formally began with the delivery of the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Today, the trial continues with the voting for the rules. We already know that McConnell is pushing for an accelerated schedule so the trial could be over in a week, unless the Senate votes to hear from witnesses. Since it assumed that Trump will be acquitted, the real issue is the extent of the political fallout suffered by the Senators by their votes.

Will discuss the politics of the trial and other related issues in our next meeting. Here is a video summary of the events leading to the opening of the trial:

• The trial begins | Impeachment This Week

------------------------------ Updated 1/23/20 --------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi | Real Time with Bill Maher
• Impeachment showdown ramps up in Senate
• Ukraine prosecutor Offered Dirt On Biden In Exchange For Firing Of U.S. Ambassador
• GOP senators remain divided over calling witnesses
• The chief justice presides over impeachment
• Trump decries climate 'prophets of doom' in Davos

Debate for Iowa

Thursday, January 16, 2020, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Tonight is the seventh Democrat 2020 presidential debate, the last one before the Iowa caucus. There is a virtual tie between four of the six candidates on stage, Bernie, Biden, Buttigieg and Betty. There are other campaign matters, Booker's withdraw, Bloomberg's spending, why Bennet is still in the race, is it too late for Brown, and what happened to Beto.

Here are some video previews of the debate. Warning the second video goes into great detail.

• People are asking, 'what's wrong with this picture?'
• 7th Democratic Debate Predictions

-------------------------------- Updated 1/16/20 ----------------------------------------

Here are the videos that were shown at the meeting:

• 6 Democratic candidates debate in Iowa
• Sanders, Warren Clash Over "Woman President" Question At Iowa Debate
• Warren appears to refuse to shake Sanders' hand after Iowa debate
• Tucker: CNN attacks Bernie Sanders for being 'sexist'
• Audio reveals tense confrontation between Warren and Sanders
• Tom Steyer Spending Suggest Explanation For Surprise Polls In NV, SC
• Watch Pete Buttigieg Call Out Steyer on Climate Change Stance
• What Andrew Yang Thinks His Chances Are

An Act of War

Thursday, January 9, 2020, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We start the new decade with an act of war with Iran, in Iraq, about Iran. Soleimani was assassinated four days ago and we still don't know why. Congress is supposed to be informed tomorrow so we we will be able to see both sides before our meeting on Thursday.

• Trump Can Wage War With No Understanding Of The Consequences

-------------------------------- Updated 1/9/20 ----------------------------------------

Here are the videos shown at the meeting

• The Soleimani Assassination
• Trump Brings U.S. to the Brink of War with Iran
• Trump calls for economic sanctions on Iran after missile attack
• U.S. military had time for troops to take shelter before Iran missile attacks
• Geraldo: If Iran wanted to hit US troops, they would have
• Iran attack was "carefully calibrated"
• Bolton Did Worst Thing He Could To Trump
• Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander warns of “future revenge”
• Donald Trump Gets No Credit

The Year 2019

Thursday, January 2, 2020, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Last week, we spoke mostly of the past decade. So for the next meeting, we will talk about just the past year. We will be using a series of video from ABC news which spans a broad range of topics.

• The 2020 presidential race
• Heros
• Politics and the presidency
• Young newsmakers
• Big news events
• Viral videos

Year and Decade in Review

Thursday, December 26, 2019, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Yes, the Bain Center will be open on the day after Christmas and we will hold our meeting at the usual time. Since this will be the last meeting of the year, and of the 2010s, we will discuss the top stories for the year and decade. So bring your ideas. I will have some videos, but I will only use them if necessary to kick off discussions.

Here are some worthy news stories:

• 2019: A Year In Review
• The decade in review: 2010-2019

Impeachment, Necessity or Distraction

Thursday, December 19, 2019, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We know how the impeachment and Senate trial will go. But there is still an argument if it was a necessity or a distraction. Will this hurt the Democrats in the election, or would they have been hurt more if they had not impeached Trump.

Here is a video which summarizes the arguments for both sides:

• Thomas Friedman and Eliana Johnson on impeachment

----------------------------------------- Updated 12/19/19 ---------------------------------------------------

Here are the videos shown at the meeting:

• Yes, The Trump Presidency Is Just a TV Show We All Have Tt Live Through
• Fallout after historic House vote to impeach President Trump
• Pelosi has leverage over Senate impeachment trial
• Gabbard casts single 'present' vote on Trump impeachment
• Focus on impeachment ahead of Democratic debate
• Varney: Socialism lost last night in Britain and America
• Bloomberg pulling support away from Biden
• COP25 negotiations fall short
• President Trump Mocks Greta Thunberg on Twitter
• New Rule: Nowhere Else to Go