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Reading
Liberally – Discussing Liberally
What Are We?
Founded in the Fall of 2005, Reading/Discussing Liberally is a monthly Discussion Group that focuses in depth on a particular issue selected by the group members, who then suggest relevant materials they encounter (e.g. articles, book reviews, books).
At the end of this home page is a list of the monthly discussion topics since our Bulletin Board was established in August 2007 – the list also serves as a Table of Contents for the Bulletin Board.
“Six Degrees of Separation”
E-Mail Campaigns to the President:
We
take pride in the fact that there are NO MORE THAN SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
between us and 100% of the American electorate. And that, on important occasions, our 150 members can send the
President an already-prepared e-mail urging a particular position – and our 150
members can ask all of their friends and acquaintances to contact the President
and their friends/acquaintances in an unending chain. Recent examples =
· Following our January 2009 meeting – to President Obama: In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2007 reversal of Brown v. Board and return to separate AND UNEQUAL public schools, and faced with the inconvenient truth that America has produced a permanent inner-city under-class despite identical-twin studies that consistently show that inner-city IQ's are equal to suburban IQ's, we respectfully recommend since the experience of the “I Have A Dream Foundation” tutoring/mentoring 15,000 inner-city kids from third thru H.S. graduation with a guarantee of college tuition through 180 projects in 50 American cities demonstrates that A SURROGATE PARENT (a tutor, mentor, etc. who is able to bond with the child) IS THE ONLY FACTOR CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A QUANTUM TRANSFORMATION OF H.S. GRADUATION/COLLEGE MATRICULATION RATES from single digits to 65%-70%, (1) that a portion of your proposed economic-stimulus funds be used to replace some of the failing inner-city schools with federally financed and operated K-12 magnet schools that attract suburban students whose families will become SURROGATE FAMILIES for the inner-city students; and (2) that as such federal K-12 magnet schools prove their worth, you dedicate a portion of the $10 billion/month savings from winding up the war in Iraq to replacing all failing inner-city schools with such federal K-12 magnet schools.
· Following our November 2008 meeting – to President-Elect Obama: We respectfully recommend you champion Al Gore's 17 July 2008 "Generational Challenge" to America to Re-Power Its Electrical Grid To Rely 100% (except for hydro which would remain in place) on Wind and Solar so that WITHIN 10 YEARS the grid is carbon free in order to (1) bring our economy back to life by creating American jobs, (2) achieve energy independence for our foreign policy, (3) eliminate our balance of payments deficit (borrowing $700 billion/year from the Chinese to buy oil from other foreign countries, many of whom hate us), and (4) constitute a major step in halting global warming.
When/Where Do We Meet?
We meet the second Wednesday evening of each month at the Salt Lake Public Library (210 East 400 South) from 6:30 pm > closing (formal discussion 7:00 pm > 8:45 pm).
We send out a weekly e-mail with information up-dates and one of our most popular features – a monthly quiz related to the topic we are examining followed, a week later, by suggested answers.
To sign up for our weekly e-mail, simply e-mail ReadingLiberallyEmailList@johnkarls.com with the subject “Email List Addition” and the mail box you used will be added to our list.
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· Feb 2009 – "Saving the Democratic Party from Extinction - Foreign Policy" focusing on (1) The Jan 2009 Report of the 2007 Democratic Congress' Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, and (2) "America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy" between Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, moderated by David Ignatius. The Jan 2009 Report of the 2007 Democratic Congress' Commission received wide publicity for one of its conclusions - that the U.S. will likely face a terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons by 2013. It would be a shame for the Democratic Party to become extinct if such an event were to occur.
· Jan 2009 – “The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” by Jonathan Kozol
· Dec 2008 – “Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Crisis in American Capitalism” by Kevin Phillips, author of 12 best-selling books on American politics, a regular contributor for NPR & analyst for PBS’ Bill Moyers