Our regular meetings during the season are held the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from 7 to 9 p.m.
Look at http://www.scshca.com/Events_and_Activities/Calendar.htm to confirm.
Meeting announcements*, with suggested topics, can be found in the club's group archive (sign on req'd).

Friday, June 26, 2009

air conditioning units / national health care / energy

Our next meeting is Monday, June 29, with these suggested topics:
  1. Phase 1&2 a/c unit concerns - presentation by resident Don Hauser
  2. Two major reforms, which the President ran on, are before Congress now. Can further government action improve
  • Health care?
  • Energy supply and demand?
Regarding item #1:
The claim is that the metal pans, below the attic evaporators in many homes here, are rusting away and will eventually cause failure in those units, possibly extending to ceiling damage.

Regarding item #2a:
infantile denial lies at the heart of much contemporary political disaffection
NY Times editorial: A Public Health Plan
Obama started by courting the major interest groups, and so far none of them—insurers, drug companies, hospitals, or doctors—has come out against him. He has repeatedly stated his flexibility and openness to compromise. Instead of proposing a plan, or even endorsing any specific policies, he has laid out eight broad principles—universality, affordability, portability, quality, choice, prevention, fiscal sustainability, and financial protection—and left the rest to Congress.

Regarding item #2b:
A sense of doom or shame only motivates a small segment of the public — and puts off the rest
The piece errs, as so many do, in not drawing a distinction between climate change and energy use.

See also another blog of mine and post there: Jimmy Carter's malaise speech.
This is my principal concern; I can't emphasize this enough. It's summarized in this 2004 interview with Richard Heinberg. Here are active links updated from those in the interview: Richard Heinberg's Museletter and Energy Bulletin.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

parental authority / California budget / President Obama

Our next meeting is Monday, June 15, with these suggested topics:
  1. What happened to the mother who ran with her son so as to avoid subjecting him to chemotherapy? Does government know best?
  2. What's a gubernator to do on B-day?
  3. Is there merit in assertions (afloat in some circles) about the new president?
  • That he is a secret Muslim with a forged birth certificate.
  • That he stole the election with an ACORN.
  • That he seeks to perpetuate power by taking control of the Census.
  • That he runs the country with 16 (or 17) czars.
  • That the economy is all his fault.
Regarding item #1:
Regarding item #2:
from WSJ
Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget by June 15 for the state to obtain its annual loans from Wall Street.
also: csmonitor, publicradio, scpr, kcrw, MSNBC

Regarding item #3:
NYT: Rich re Fox News
PBS Frontline: Breaking the Bank

Newsweek:


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

torture / technology / the economy

Switching to once a month summer schedule, July through September, on the 2nd Mondays.

We discussed these topics at our meeting on Monday, June 1:
  1. the torture debate
  2. technology
  3. the economy  
Regarding the economy:
NY Times on GM: The Quagmire Ahead